Argentina
We`ve spent the past 9 days in Argentina, and it`s been fantastic. Very European. But before I say anything about Argentina as a place, I would just like to say that this week I have climbed two mountains! So yes you guessed it, I am VERY proud of myself. Anyway, more about that later.
Our first stop in Argentina was Buenos Aires (well not included our day at the Argentine side of the falls a while ago). We firstly had to say goodbye some of our group (Pino, Nikki and Alice - although Nikki and Alice then followed us down to Bariloche). We also have had 8 new people join the group and we are now truly well represented with people from England, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway (and of course us from South Africa). We have finally increased our male numbers, so the group is a bit more diverse now too.
We had quite a hilarious experience in Buenos Aires. We checked into our hotel, and had to meet 45 minutes later for our tango lesson and show. So we both quickly showered, and I then decided to unpack a couple of things into the cupboard. When I opened the cupboard there was someone else`s clothes there. A few minutes later a guy arrived, and it turned out that we had been given someone else`s room! He was really furious as our stuff was all over the room and we had both just showered in his bathroom. We moved rooms in the end, but it was quite amusing.
Buenos Aires is a great city. On our first night we did a samba lesson. I gave up half way as I really have 2 left feet. I got a certificate anyway so that will certainly be the first and last dancing certificate I`ll ever get! We then had a really nice dinner (along with wine and champagne) while watching a samba show. It was a great introduction to Buenos Aires.
The next morning we got up early and started off at the Recoleta cemetery which is where Evita is buried. It was a really fascinating cemetery as it is filled with very elaborate family mausoleums, some with photos or statues of the dead outside. The cemetery was also full of cats. From there we walked through the areas of Recoleta and Palermo. We saw the "sculpture to the rose" which is a giant metallic rose that opens and closes depending whether it`s light or dark. We then went to the Malba (Museo de Arte Latinamericano de Buenos Aires) which was a really awesome museum and was in a fantastic glass-dominated building. I was quite impressed that I recognised some of the artists work as we have seen quite a bit of Latin American art on our travels.
We then went back to the city centre, had lunch at an outdoor cafe, and then started our walking tour of the city. We went to the main square, Plaza de Mayo which has the Casa Rosada (the pink government palace where Evita gave her famous speech). The building was covered in scaffolding unfortunately. We also went to the Catedral Metropolitana which bizarrely has a guarded mausoleum to Independence hero, General San Martin.
We then walked up Florida, a pedestrian mall and did some shopping (well browsing). We walked through the main shopping area all the way to the first northern suburb of Retiro. We went to San Martin Square which was a beautiful park and ate ice cream under the trees. We then walked back into the city centre to Teatro (Theatre) San Martin, which too was closed and under scaffolding. You get the idea that this General San Martin was an important guy as everything is named after him! We walked to the Oblisco (a 67m obelisk that dominates the BA skyline). We walked back down Mitre, another Pedestrian street and then had dinner at Cafe Tortoni which is a 150 year old cafe famous for it`s artistic and literary connections. It was a very European cafe and the waiters were in black tie.
The next day we got up early again and went back to Plaza de Mayo and to the Bascilica de San Francisco. We walked to the southern area of San Telmo which has a really good vibe. We went into the shops and markets on the way, including the most famous Mercado de San Telmo. The area has lots of antiques and arty shops with home ware and clothes. On our walk we saw Plaza Dorrego, the Russian Orthodox Church and the San Lorenzo Passage (which houses the "Minute House" - the narrowest house in BA, it`s 2.3m wide and was built in 1850). We ended our walk through San Thelmo at Lezama Park.
It was raining so we took a taxi to La Boca, we had lunch there and walked on Street Museum Caminito. La Boca is a fantastic area full of colourful tin houses, tango, tourists and a great vibe. The area was originally poor, and the houses were painted with left over paint from the ships, hence the bright colours. La Boca was also the home of Maradonna and his football team Boca. The shops are full of artefacts of him as well as of Che Guevaro and Evita.
We then went to the northern area of Palermo Viejo and walked along the shopping street Jorge L Borges. There were lots of boutiques and nice shops. We ended in Plaza Julio Cortazar which has lots of bars and restaurants.
That night we went with the new group to an all you can eat steakhouse on the waterfront (just my cup of tea). Luckily they also had chicken for me, but Juliet had to contend with salad. We then walked along the waterfront and past the famous Santiago Calatrava bridge and went to a club called Opera Bay, which is really a copy of the Sydney Opera House. It had beautiful views over the water and was completely astronomical (drinks were almost UK prices) and it was very much the in place to be on a Friday night.
The 17th was our last day in BA. We didn`t do too much as we were leaving in the afternoon for Bariloche. We took a 20 hour sleeper bus south to San Carlos de Bariloche (a very uneventful, pleasant and comfortable trip). The views were spectacular as Bariloche is in the Argentine Lake District (on Lake Nahuel Huapi) and at the gateway to Pategonia. We have finally hit some cold weather which was quite a shock after the heat of the past couple of months.
Bariloche is an alpine town, much like you`d find anywhere in Europe or the US. The area is absolutely magnificent with lakes, mountains and forest. There was snow on many of the mountains and the temperatures (especially at night) were very low. It`s a very cute town with lovely shops, restaurants, bars and views.
We stayed in chalets so we had a kitchen. On the first night we invited the whole group round to our place for dinner (Juliet cooked). It was a great night and was really nice to eat home cooked food, drink good Argentine wine, and enjoy Bariloche chocolate.
The next morning we took a bus to Cerro Catedral which is a ski resort 20km from Bariloche. A few of us decided to climb the mountain rather than take the cable car up. I think I must`ve been mad! It was a difficult hike, but very rewarding when we got to the top, and the views were beautiful. We walked up to Punto de Reunion which is 1800m high. It took us just under 2.5 hours. I was damn proud of myself! We then had lunch there, and took the ski lift the rest of the way up to the summit at 2100m. There was some snow on the mountain and it was very cold. We went inside as soon as we were at the summit and drank hot chocolate. We took the ski lift and cable car down the mountain and a bus back to Bariloche. That night a few of us went out for Mexican food and went to an Irish Bar. I was exhausted from the hike and slept so well that night.
On our third day in Bariloche we went to Cerro Campanario. We took the ski lift up this time (I could hardly walk let alone hike). The weather was really sunny and warm (well comparatively), so we spent a few hours sitting on top of the mountain with a couple of Canadians that we met on the bus. The views from here were by far some of the most spectacular I have ever seen. It was a great and relaxing day.
That night Erin (a Canadian Chef travelling with us) cooked the group dinner. It was a delicious meal as you could imagine. We also managed to find fantastic apple pie and chocolate cake (Bariloche is famous for their chocolate). This was accompanied by the always very good Argentine wine.
Yesterday, we took a bus 300km north to another alpine town, San Martin de Los Andes (yet another thing named after our friend General San Martin). This alpine town is very much like Bariloche, just smaller and much quieter. The drive here through the Andes was spectacular.
Yesterday we walked around the town, and had lunch and dinner out. I had fresh lake trout which was a real treat. Today we decided to climb one of the large hills/small mountains (not sure which it is) as there is apparently a fantastic view of the town and surrounding lake and mountains from the top. We unfortunately got lost and ended up very near the top of the mountain but couldn´t figure out how to get to the summit, so after much aimless wandering we came back down. What should have been a 90 minute hike took us 3 hours as we got lost both up and down the mountain and ended up coming down on the complete opposite side of town. The rest of today I plan to just relax as I cannot remember when last I spent a day doing nothing. I´m sure we´ll all go out for dinner tonight, but it will be an early one as we are catching a 6am bus tomorrow to Pucon, Chile.
And so ends the Argentina leg of the trip. I have really enjoyed the country, and am just sorry we do not have the time to travel further south into Pategonia. I´ll have to come back again. Tomorrow begins the Chile leg of the journey, and I am sure some new adventures.
Our first stop in Argentina was Buenos Aires (well not included our day at the Argentine side of the falls a while ago). We firstly had to say goodbye some of our group (Pino, Nikki and Alice - although Nikki and Alice then followed us down to Bariloche). We also have had 8 new people join the group and we are now truly well represented with people from England, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway (and of course us from South Africa). We have finally increased our male numbers, so the group is a bit more diverse now too.
We had quite a hilarious experience in Buenos Aires. We checked into our hotel, and had to meet 45 minutes later for our tango lesson and show. So we both quickly showered, and I then decided to unpack a couple of things into the cupboard. When I opened the cupboard there was someone else`s clothes there. A few minutes later a guy arrived, and it turned out that we had been given someone else`s room! He was really furious as our stuff was all over the room and we had both just showered in his bathroom. We moved rooms in the end, but it was quite amusing.
Buenos Aires is a great city. On our first night we did a samba lesson. I gave up half way as I really have 2 left feet. I got a certificate anyway so that will certainly be the first and last dancing certificate I`ll ever get! We then had a really nice dinner (along with wine and champagne) while watching a samba show. It was a great introduction to Buenos Aires.
The next morning we got up early and started off at the Recoleta cemetery which is where Evita is buried. It was a really fascinating cemetery as it is filled with very elaborate family mausoleums, some with photos or statues of the dead outside. The cemetery was also full of cats. From there we walked through the areas of Recoleta and Palermo. We saw the "sculpture to the rose" which is a giant metallic rose that opens and closes depending whether it`s light or dark. We then went to the Malba (Museo de Arte Latinamericano de Buenos Aires) which was a really awesome museum and was in a fantastic glass-dominated building. I was quite impressed that I recognised some of the artists work as we have seen quite a bit of Latin American art on our travels.
We then went back to the city centre, had lunch at an outdoor cafe, and then started our walking tour of the city. We went to the main square, Plaza de Mayo which has the Casa Rosada (the pink government palace where Evita gave her famous speech). The building was covered in scaffolding unfortunately. We also went to the Catedral Metropolitana which bizarrely has a guarded mausoleum to Independence hero, General San Martin.
We then walked up Florida, a pedestrian mall and did some shopping (well browsing). We walked through the main shopping area all the way to the first northern suburb of Retiro. We went to San Martin Square which was a beautiful park and ate ice cream under the trees. We then walked back into the city centre to Teatro (Theatre) San Martin, which too was closed and under scaffolding. You get the idea that this General San Martin was an important guy as everything is named after him! We walked to the Oblisco (a 67m obelisk that dominates the BA skyline). We walked back down Mitre, another Pedestrian street and then had dinner at Cafe Tortoni which is a 150 year old cafe famous for it`s artistic and literary connections. It was a very European cafe and the waiters were in black tie.
The next day we got up early again and went back to Plaza de Mayo and to the Bascilica de San Francisco. We walked to the southern area of San Telmo which has a really good vibe. We went into the shops and markets on the way, including the most famous Mercado de San Telmo. The area has lots of antiques and arty shops with home ware and clothes. On our walk we saw Plaza Dorrego, the Russian Orthodox Church and the San Lorenzo Passage (which houses the "Minute House" - the narrowest house in BA, it`s 2.3m wide and was built in 1850). We ended our walk through San Thelmo at Lezama Park.
It was raining so we took a taxi to La Boca, we had lunch there and walked on Street Museum Caminito. La Boca is a fantastic area full of colourful tin houses, tango, tourists and a great vibe. The area was originally poor, and the houses were painted with left over paint from the ships, hence the bright colours. La Boca was also the home of Maradonna and his football team Boca. The shops are full of artefacts of him as well as of Che Guevaro and Evita.
We then went to the northern area of Palermo Viejo and walked along the shopping street Jorge L Borges. There were lots of boutiques and nice shops. We ended in Plaza Julio Cortazar which has lots of bars and restaurants.
That night we went with the new group to an all you can eat steakhouse on the waterfront (just my cup of tea). Luckily they also had chicken for me, but Juliet had to contend with salad. We then walked along the waterfront and past the famous Santiago Calatrava bridge and went to a club called Opera Bay, which is really a copy of the Sydney Opera House. It had beautiful views over the water and was completely astronomical (drinks were almost UK prices) and it was very much the in place to be on a Friday night.
The 17th was our last day in BA. We didn`t do too much as we were leaving in the afternoon for Bariloche. We took a 20 hour sleeper bus south to San Carlos de Bariloche (a very uneventful, pleasant and comfortable trip). The views were spectacular as Bariloche is in the Argentine Lake District (on Lake Nahuel Huapi) and at the gateway to Pategonia. We have finally hit some cold weather which was quite a shock after the heat of the past couple of months.
Bariloche is an alpine town, much like you`d find anywhere in Europe or the US. The area is absolutely magnificent with lakes, mountains and forest. There was snow on many of the mountains and the temperatures (especially at night) were very low. It`s a very cute town with lovely shops, restaurants, bars and views.
We stayed in chalets so we had a kitchen. On the first night we invited the whole group round to our place for dinner (Juliet cooked). It was a great night and was really nice to eat home cooked food, drink good Argentine wine, and enjoy Bariloche chocolate.
The next morning we took a bus to Cerro Catedral which is a ski resort 20km from Bariloche. A few of us decided to climb the mountain rather than take the cable car up. I think I must`ve been mad! It was a difficult hike, but very rewarding when we got to the top, and the views were beautiful. We walked up to Punto de Reunion which is 1800m high. It took us just under 2.5 hours. I was damn proud of myself! We then had lunch there, and took the ski lift the rest of the way up to the summit at 2100m. There was some snow on the mountain and it was very cold. We went inside as soon as we were at the summit and drank hot chocolate. We took the ski lift and cable car down the mountain and a bus back to Bariloche. That night a few of us went out for Mexican food and went to an Irish Bar. I was exhausted from the hike and slept so well that night.
On our third day in Bariloche we went to Cerro Campanario. We took the ski lift up this time (I could hardly walk let alone hike). The weather was really sunny and warm (well comparatively), so we spent a few hours sitting on top of the mountain with a couple of Canadians that we met on the bus. The views from here were by far some of the most spectacular I have ever seen. It was a great and relaxing day.
That night Erin (a Canadian Chef travelling with us) cooked the group dinner. It was a delicious meal as you could imagine. We also managed to find fantastic apple pie and chocolate cake (Bariloche is famous for their chocolate). This was accompanied by the always very good Argentine wine.
Yesterday, we took a bus 300km north to another alpine town, San Martin de Los Andes (yet another thing named after our friend General San Martin). This alpine town is very much like Bariloche, just smaller and much quieter. The drive here through the Andes was spectacular.
Yesterday we walked around the town, and had lunch and dinner out. I had fresh lake trout which was a real treat. Today we decided to climb one of the large hills/small mountains (not sure which it is) as there is apparently a fantastic view of the town and surrounding lake and mountains from the top. We unfortunately got lost and ended up very near the top of the mountain but couldn´t figure out how to get to the summit, so after much aimless wandering we came back down. What should have been a 90 minute hike took us 3 hours as we got lost both up and down the mountain and ended up coming down on the complete opposite side of town. The rest of today I plan to just relax as I cannot remember when last I spent a day doing nothing. I´m sure we´ll all go out for dinner tonight, but it will be an early one as we are catching a 6am bus tomorrow to Pucon, Chile.
And so ends the Argentina leg of the trip. I have really enjoyed the country, and am just sorry we do not have the time to travel further south into Pategonia. I´ll have to come back again. Tomorrow begins the Chile leg of the journey, and I am sure some new adventures.
