Archive for December 2008
Dec. 28-31
I successfully traveled to Mendoza from Bariloche on a bus. The bus trip was rather luxurious and surprisingly comfortable. The bus was a double- decker and my seat was able to fully recline. There were movies displayed on flat screen displays, in addition there was a game of bingo where the winner received a bottle of wine (not me). The trip started at 3pm and the movies and games ended around 10pm. I slept the remainder of the trip. I arrived to Mendoza at 8:30am the following morning.
The weather in Mendoza has been very hot, averaging 85 degrees in the shade. Mendoza is in the dessert but you would not know it with the abundant irrigation ditches known as acequias that run beside every main road. There are fountains in every main plaza so I am never far from the burble of running water.
Plaza Independencia, originally uploaded by dollop.
Tuesday I walked around Mendoza and booked a wine tour for the following day. In the evening I visited The Vines of Mendoza and participated in a personal wine tasting that introduced me to Legendary Malbecs and provided preparation for my day of wine tasting for the following day.
Wednesday morning I was picked up from my hotel at 8:30am and joined five others on an excellent tour of some wineries in Mendoza.
First we took a tour of Alta Vista, an old style winery completely renovated and refurbished by a French wine family. We sampled Torrontes, Bonarda, Malbec and had a special tasting of their Grand Reserve, one of Argentina’s best Malbecs.
Barrels used for aging, originally uploaded by dollop.
Next we had a tank and barrel tasting at the large, ultra-modern Bodega Tapiz. We started the tour with a horse drawn ride through the vineyard and an instructive tour of the winery followed.
Carriage ride through the vineyards, originally uploaded by dollop.
Metal tanks used for large volumes of production, originally uploaded by dollop.
Lunch was at the Ruca Malen. We enjoyed a five-course gourmet meal, created by chef Lucas Bustos who paired each dish with five different wines, including Ruca Malen’s top varietal Kinien.
View from Ruca Malen, originally uploaded by dollop.
We finished the tour at the boutique winery CarinaE. We met the owners of the winery, Brigitte and Philippe Subra and I ended up purchasing a bottle of a special reserve Malbec directly from Philippe to bring home.
I returned to my hotel at 6:00pm with a much better appreciation for wine. It was an excellent way to spend the last day of the year.
Dec. 25-27
Lake Nahuel Huapi, originally uploaded by dollop.
Barliloche is a happening little town located in the foothills of the Andes, surrounded by lakes. The town is bustling with lots of tourists taking in the summertime activities. Barlioche is also Argentina’s chocolate capital and many of the storefronts are dedicated to fresh chocolate and I have had my fill.
Chocolate at Mamushchka, originally uploaded by dollop.
On Thursday in the late afternoon I took a tour of the nearby lake, Nahuel Huapi. The tour was a couple of hours and the views reminded me of Lake Tahoe in California. On Friday morning I took an extended tour of the area known as The Road of Seven Lakes. It was a full day tour that traveled through two national parks and through several towns including San Martin which is a mellower version of Bariloche.
San Martín de los Andes, originally uploaded by dollop.
Half of the tour was on paved roads and the other half was on gravel road which provided a bit of a rough ride but it’s hard to complain when surrounded by such beautiful landscapes. The tour of the seven lakes arrived back to my hotel at 8pm. Today I spent most my day preparing for my departure to Mendoza tomorrow. I purchased a bus ticket (I am going to give the bus another attempt) that will take me directly from Bariloche to Mendoza, so there won’t be any transfer mishaps. In addition, I purchased a plane ticket back to Buenos Aires from Mendoza next weekend. I will spend a final day in Buenos Aires before my departure back to San Francisco. I will be spending a total of six nights in Mendoza and I hope that Mendoza will meet my expectations since I will be spending a significant amount of time there. The internet access in Barlioche has been very slow when accessible so hopefully I will be able to publish more photos once in Mendoza.
Dec. 23-24
El Calefate to El Chalten, back to El Calefate, and finally to Barlioche.
On Tuesday morning I left El Calefate by bus and was supposed to travel on a two day journey to Barlioche, however there was a transfer from the first bus to a second bus two hours into the journey that I somehow missed. I witnessed the transfer take place, however I did not know until it was too late that I was supposed to participate. I ended up in El Chalten a very small village located 220km north of El Calafate. The highlight of my hour stay in El Chalten was my downfall. I am traveling with two backpacks. My main backpack that weighs about 60 pounds and I have another that I wear in front that contains my photography gear. It’s another 20 pounds easily. When I got off the bus there were 30+ mile an hour winds and I attempted to walk from the bus to the bus station/hostel a few yards away to figure out my next move. With both packs on I turned into a human wind-sail and my feet where unable to keep up with my surprised momentum and I ended up tripping over a downed tree a few feet away from the bus. I banged my shin hard enough that it tore my pants but my ego was hurt the most. Once on the ground I had to free myself from my packs in order to get up and I had a bus load of people all wide eyed in my direction. I am sure for those watching me extract myself from my gear while face down on the ground and half bent over a tree was very amusing. Once free, I chose to drag my back packs into the bus station/hostel for fear of taking flight again. I had only one option once I arrived to El Chalten and that was to return with the bus back to El Calefate since another bus would not arrive for two more days. After spending a total of 9 hours riding the bus I ended back where I started. I had enough of the bus and decided to fly to Barlioche the following day. I arrived in Barlioche Christmas Eve and the few restaurants that were open where all reserved for special Christmas Eve dinners. I ended up finding a small market and purchased a ham sand-which, some grapes, and a chocolate bar.
Feliz Navidad!
Dec. 19-22
I arrived to El Calafate from Ushaia Friday afternoon. The main attraction in El Calafate is the Los Glaciares National Park, located in the area known as Austral Andes in Argentina, in the south west of Santa Cruz on the border with Chile. Saturday morning I visited Perito Moreno Glacier where I had the opportunity to put on some crampons and hike the glacier.
Perito Moreno Glacier, originally uploaded by dollop.
At the end of my adventure hiking the glacier my guide had a little bar setup on the glacier and served me some Scotch with glacier ice. A excellent way to end my glacier hike.
Perito Moreno Glacier, originally uploaded by dollop.
After hiking on the glacier I had my packed lunch with a view of the glacier and as impressive as the site of the glacier was the sounds of the cracking ice and the occasional break-off of ice that falls into the water was truly awesome. I can only describe the sounds being a combination of what sound like gun shots, a tree falling in the forest and thunder.
Perito Moreno Glacier, originally uploaded by dollop.
Sunday morning I took a catamaran tour of several more glaciers inside Perito Moreno National Park. The Upsala Glacier, and Spegazzini Glacier. Unfortunately the tour did not leave the catamaran. There was supposed to be an opportunity to disembark and hike around one of the glaciers, however there was too much ice in the lake for the catamaran to safely dock.
Lake Argentino, originally uploaded by dollop.
Tomorrow I will take a two day bus ride to Bariloche. I have chosen to take a bus so that I can view the countryside along the way. There will be a overnight stay on the route.
Dec. 16-18
On Tuesday I arrived to the southernmost city in the world, the end-of-the-world. It´s hard to believe that it´s summer here. The weather has been mostly sunny but there have been moments of hail and everyone is dressed as if in a ski village. Minus the ski boots. The sun rises at 5:30am and sets a little past 11:00pm. The extended daylight is an experience in itself.
Wednesday morning I set out to get my first experience in Patagonia via the Tierra del Fuego National Park. My first stop in the park was a train that was used in 1902 by a penal colony to transport materials 8km from town. The train stopped working in 1942 and was rebuilt in the late 1990´s asa tourist attraction but is very unique and provided my first views of the park. The train ride lasted about an hour. After the train ride I went with a guide further into the park and hiked a couple of 40 minute trails that provided access to the glacial landscape along the Beagle Channel. I returned to town around 2pm, had lunch, and then at 3pm took a catamaran that toured the small islands in the Beagle channel.
Beagle Channel, originally uploaded by dollop.
The highlight of this trip was a distant island that has a Penguin colony. I had hoped to get off the boat but that was not an option so that people don´t disturb the colony, however we did get very near the island and I was able to take some decent pictures of the penguins.
Penguin colony in the Beagle channel, originally uploaded by dollop.
The catamaran returned to Ushuaia at 9pm. A long and eventful day.
Thursday morning I got up early and did more hiking. This time it was a bit more intense but worth every effort. The highlight was a lagoon created from a glacier and it took about 3 hours of hiking to reach it. My guide was very patient with me since I had to stop every 5 minutes and take a picture. Much of the trek was on peat bog and it felt like I was hiking on a mattress, which was pleasant except for every once in awhile my foot would find a very special spot and I would sink a leg through the pete bog and into mud up to my knee. I arrived back to my hotel at 6pm, exhausted, exhilarated and very muddy.
Lagoon, originally uploaded by dollop.
Tomorrow I leave Ushuaia for El Calafate.
Dec. 12-15
Buenos Aires, originally uploaded by dollop.
I arrived in Buenos Aires Friday morning at 7am, 25 hours after leaving San Francisco. I was exhausted upon my arrival and ended up sleeping until 6pm. The night life of Buenos Aires is alive until the sun comes up and I ended up walking around, taking in the life of the city until about 3am Saturday morning. Early Saturday evening I met up with a tour guide by the name of Lorena who I contacted via Craigslist prior to my departure from San Francisco. Lorena took me on a 3 hour personal-private-walking tour, and showed me the most important places around the historical heart of Buenos Aires city center. After the walking tour Lorena and I had dinner at one of her favorite Pizzeria’s. The food and company was excellent. On Sunday I randomly walked around the city taking in some of the sights, and eating excellent food. I plan to stay in Buenos Aires another night and aim to fly to Ushuaia on Tuesday. Ushuaia is said to be the southernmost city in the world.
I am currently visiting Buenos Aires, eating lots of beef, drinking excellent wine, and watching lots of tango dancing.
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