El Calafate
A pleasant town spread out on the slopes rising up from Lago Argentino, El Calafate (named after a bush with an edible berry) makes a good stopping point between top attractions a few hours away in various directions.
What I didn't expect was the flamingos... I'd always imagined them to be found in lakes amid the heat of the African plains. But Chilean flamingos are at home in the windswept wetlands here. The Laguna Nimez nature reserve surprised me for the number of types of birds you could see, flamingos in the smaller lake being one of these. Meanwhile, around and sometimes directly above me, a bunch of what I think were cinereous harriers swooped, floated on the air currents, and circled round.