Buenos Aires - Asado en Benavidez

A couple of days before leaving Argentina, we got into an asado freenzy. We needed to have as much grilled beef as we could before leaving the country.

We enjoyed a fantastic one in Olivos on Tuesday night, and then we ventured even further away from Buenos Aires. We went to a NW suburb called Benavidez. It is a little far, in fact, I thought there weren't many houses that far. As it happens, it is a very developed area now. Buenos Aires has grown so much in the last 10 years...

The host and asador was a university classmate (from long time ago): Ezequiel. We were joined by a couple of other classmates: Caro and Ceci, and respective significant others.

So much I wanted to schedule these asados, that I didn't realize that I booked them both for the same night, Tuesday. Thankfully Eze, Caro and Ceci were flexible enough to move the asado to a day later on short notice (so short that on Tueday evening they were alredy waiting for me to pick me up, and I was on my way to the other grill). Oooops. So we gathered on Wednesday night. Ezequiel picked us up and gave us a city tour on the way to his place. He had everything ready for the night, the cuts of meat I like the most, appetizers, vegetables for the salad, wine, and drinks (including Fernando, I can't forget to mention this, a beverage that reminds me of happy times when I was young. Even a longer time ago).

The pictures show the asado and the carnivores: Ceci, baby Fede, Simon, me, Eze, Fatima, Adri, and Caro. By 12:30am a car picked us up to take us to the airport. We had a flight to Brazil at 4am. We arrived in Florianopolis before 7am, without much sleep. My mom, aunts, and uncle were waiting for us with breakfast. And then the sun came up and we spent the afternoon at the beach. Quite busy and filled with Argentineans... but, without their beef.

I already miss the asados....

Mercedes

El Chalten - Trekking in Patagonia

Back in Argentina, we were keen to continue our exploration of Patagonia. We took a bus to El Chalten, a small town about 250 km from El Calafate and the gateway to the northern section of Parque Nacionale de los Glaciares. It was a bright sunny afternoon and, as we approached El Chalten, the mountain ranges behind it looked like a postcard scene. The centerpiece is a mountain called Fitz Roy - only 3,400 meters above sea level but dominating the landscape since everything else around the range is so flat.

El Chalten is an attractive town. It is a little raw, a mere 25 years old and in many ways work-in-progress, but the buildings are modern and tasteful and there are patisseries and coffee shops at every turn. Somehow the town retains its quiet charm despite the huge influx of trekkers, backpackers and more serious climbers.

We spent the first evening (daylight lasts until well after 10 pm) and the next three days exploring the trails around El Chalten. The first day took us high up for a panoramic view of both Fitz Roy and the neighboring Cerro Torre range. It was a long climb up through grassland, beech forest and scree with more than 1,000 meters of elevation. But the views of the ranges and their glaciers were very rewarding, even if Fitz Roy itself was partly obscured by cloud. We could have marveled at them for a long time, but an icy wind soon encouraged us to make the descent. Even after hiking for 7 hours, we still had energy to use the evening light to tackle another shorter trail to a nearby waterfall.

The second day we took a less elevated trek to Laguna Torre, a small lake at the foot of Cerro Torre with Glaciar Grande as its backdrop. It was another sunny day, although clouds maintained a strangle-hold on the highest peaks, and most of our route was sheltered from the wind - at least until we reached the lake itself. It was pleasant hiking, but still a long day, and we built big appetites for the barbecue meal in the evening. Patagonian lamb was on the menu and it was good.

Our last day on the trail was grey and overcast. It was always threatening to rain but it never actually did. It certainly blew. The trail we chose took us to the base of Fitz Roy for close-up views. Unfortunately, Fitz Roy and the weather were not co-operating and the peaks remained hidden from view despite our efforts to find a good vantage point. But never mind. Mountain weather is fickle and we were lucky to see as much as we did in our three days around El Chalten. We left the town very happy to have spent time there.

Simon

Chilean Patagonia - Torres del Paine

It was not in our original plans, but we decided to take a detour and spend a couple of days in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The park is approximately 350km from El Calafate, sealed roads more than half the way. We rented a small car for maximum flexibility around the park, which proved to be a good idea.
The park has several trekking trails with distances ranging from a few hours to 8 days long. It has hotels, restaurants, and camping grounds. We were lucky enough to find an available hotel room in spite of the high season; much better than our plan B alternative of sleeping in the car :)
There are large granite mountains in the center, including the Cuernos del Paine and Torres del Paine, and the trails take you around providing views from different angles. There are several lakes colored in different shades of blue and green, big and fast rivers connecting them, and a few glaciers; Grey is the largest and most famous, but smaller than the ones we saw on the Argentinean side. Vegetation is very scarce like in most of Patagonia, and we managed to see a few animals, mostly guanacos. Also, as in most of Patagonia, there is a lot of wind, at times blowing really hard. In the picture I'm struggling against the wind, but enjoying the view of Cuernos del Paine across Lake Nordenskjold (European names are ubiquitous in Patagonia). The views are really impressive. None of the mountains exceed 3100 meters, but they are sharp, raising to the clouds, and some even show marble cake colors. If you look at the picture, the Cuernos are dark brown on top, and lighter brown further down. Very cool.
Our hiking approach was to choose several short trails (usually backtracking), but this allowed us to see the place from several different perspectives. The car was invaluable getting us from one trail to the next. Except for those easily reached by tourist buses (mostly with German tourists for some reason), most trails were extremely peaceful, as if we had the place to ourselves.
Overall, we are glad we chose this detour. Chile is expensive, particulary inside the park, but everybody seemed friendly, the rangers were extremely helpful, the park was less crowded than expected, and the hiking was superb.
Now we are on our way back to El Calafate where we will return the car, and shortly thereafter take a 3.5-hour bus to El Chalten, the base for trekking on the Argentinean side. We had to leave Chile early this morning, so that we can reach El Calafate before noon when the rental car company shuts down for lunch (and probably siesta since it doesn't open again until 4pm). It rained overnight and the passenger seat was soaked with water. We discovered that the passenger side door does not close properly, it must have had a previous accident. Most likely it was blown by the wind, since we have been told that it is very common to find tourists, who are not mindful of the wind, opening the doors in the direction of the gust and ending up with a door open 180 degrees, like the little doors to enter a bar in those western movies. Winds here are really that strong. Anyway, pure speculation, wind or not, something happend to my door that we didn't notice when we rented the car, and now I'm seating on a wet seat. Well, I decided to move to the back seat and Simon is performing as my personal chauffer. :)
Mercedes

Patagonia Glaciers

Enthusiastic for more glaciers a a result of yesterday's encounter with Perito Moreno, we boarded a boat to explore some of the other glaciers in the park.

We set out on Lago Argentino, apparently the largest lake in Argentina, and went up the north arm to the Upsala Glacier. This is the biggest in the park and we were lucky to be able to get up close - often floating icebergs make this glacier impossible to approach. Upsala is massive, 60 km in length, but (unlike Perito Moreno) is receding steadily.

Next was a quick pass by the Onelli Glacier, but we couldn't get close because navigation through the icebergs was too dangerous. So it was on to Spegazzini, the tallest and most spectacular of all the glaciers, descending steeply from surrounding mountains but stopping with walls of up to 130 metres above the water.

Finally we were able to see Perito Moreno from the water and observe some of its "calving" activity from very close by. Spectacular. Then back to El Calafate where it's still broad daylight after 10 pm.

Simon

Patagonia Glaciers

A three hour flight from hot and sunny Buenos Aires brought us to windy and cold El Calafate in southern Patagonia. We weren't expecting such a large difference in temperature, but fortunately we were prepared for it anyway.

El Calafate is a small tourist town which services the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and, in particular, the Glaciar Perito Moreno, which is only 80 km away. We wasted no time in making our way to the glaciers and have already spent a full day on and around Perito Moreno. It is spectacular. It rises 50-60 meters high over a lake and stretches 30 km up into the mountains. It is one of the very few glaciers in the world which is not receding. In fact, it has remained "stable" since 1917 - which does not mean that it hasn't moved, but just that new accumulation keeps pace with ablation. All because of a unique combination of geography and weather patterns.

The glacier is an amazing sight. A white surface punctuated with deep blue sinkholes and caverns. And it is constantly active, as evidenced by the sounds of cracking wich reverberate every few minutes and, less frequently, the sight of ice chunks or walls falling away into the lake. We spent a lot of time watching and listening to the activity from scenic catwalks across the lake from the glacier. Almost transfixed, we could have stayed there for much longer. But, instead, it was onto a boat and across the lake to get right on top of the glacier. We pulled on crampons and went for a guided walk on the ice. Using crampons in these conditions was something new for both of us, but all part of the experience. We climbed up and down the ice slopes, peered into sinkholes and caverns, and generally had a blast. There can be no better way to appreciate the glacier.

Simon

Argentina - Buenos Aires

We have spent the last three days looking around Buenos Aires, a city which Mercedes knows well since she used to live here. On the first day, we focused on the older areas of San Telmo and Manzana de las Luces which are distinctive for their narrow streets, plazas and grand buildings - many of them churches and mostly dating from the late 19th century. The architecture is quite extravagant, often courtesy of French and Italian designers, and representing the world's best at the time. Many of the buildings are now museums of some sort. For contrast, we moved on to Puerto Madero, an early port area which quickly became redundant for its original purpose and has now been redeveloped as the prime location for slick waterside restaurants and expensive high rise aparment complexes.

Next day was the tour of the city's main central sites - from the Plaza de Mayo with its pink Presidential Palace and nearby Cabildo and Cathedral all the way down to the Plaza del Congreso. Many of the buildings on this stretch date from the early 20th century and reflected the prosperity and glamor of the times. We also took in the expansive theater district and the opera house which is one of the city's prides - unfortunately under cover for renovation right now.

For a change of pace, we visited the Palermo area yesterday. This is the Soho of Buenos Aires - in fact, part of it is even called Palermo Soho - and is the place to find small trendy boutiques and stylish outdoor restarants and bars. They are interspersed with the commercial and small-scale industrial businesses which have so far survived the gentrification. Nice atmosphere.

We have been busy in the evenings too. A very pleasant dinner one night with Mercedes's cousin, Teresa, and brother, Alejo. And last night we went to see the Argentine version of the musical "Hairspray" in which Mercedes's friend and former tennis opponent, Oscar, was performing. It was fun to have dinner with Oscar afterwards and see the celebrity status he is accorded at the restaurant.

Simon

NE Argentina - San Ignacio

Five hours southwest of Iguacu, we reached San Ignacio, a small town with two claims to fame - the house of Argentine poet and novelist Quiroga and the ruins of the largest and best-known of the 17th century Jesuit missions (“reducciones”) to the native Guarani people.

First, Quiroga’s house. A little way out of town (in fact, a long way out of town when Quiroga actually lived there in the early 1900’s), we found a secluded property with two houses. One house was a replica of Quiroga’s first house on the site, built for a biographical movie, while the second was his original second house. Plenty of memorabilia which gave some insights into Quiroga’s character. And a very tranquil and inspirational setting. For all that, it seems that Quiroga was quite a tortured individual.

On to the Jesuit mission of San Ignacio Mini. This is an enormous complex of ruins that, in its prime, was inhabited by almost 5,000 Guarani, along with a few Jesuit priests. A lot of restoration work has been done and it was easy to appreciate the scale of the place. It was just one of 30 such missions in Argentina and Paraguay. An excellent museum gave a description of how the Jesuits succeeded in building an entirely new social structure, importing some aspects of Guarani culture and using music and art, how they then managed the missions and, ultimately, even led the Guarani successfully in battle. It seems that they were multi-talented priests, and still held in high regard by the modern Guarani population long after they had been expelled from the country in the early 18th century.

After walking around the ruins in the late afternoon, we waited for darkness and a light and sound show which took place in the ruins. Everything looked great under lights and the bonus was a historical explanation by a native Guarani guide. If you have seen the movie “The Mission”, the same atmosphere was all here.

Simon

NE Argentina - Iguacu 2

After a day viewng the Iguacu Falls from the Argentinian side, we took a quick trip over the border to see how they looked from the Brazilian side. It was a little complicated to get there but, despite a few bus changes, immigration checkpoints and a walk over the border, we were at the Falls by mid-morning.

The Falls were no less spectacular than we'd previously seen them in Argentina the day before. The advantage of the Brazilian view was that we got a more panoramic perspective of the entire Falls, since we were further away from them than before. We certainly appreciated more just how extensive the Falls system really is. There is water crashing over the cliffs everywhere. And the speed of the river flow is very dramatic.

We reached a point upriver from the Devil's Throat where the river flowed gently. It seemed so serene. Hard to believe that, just below the line of sight, it thundered over the edge and far down into the canyon below.

Having seen the Falls from every angle that we could, we spent the afternoon doing some mountain biking, hiking and canoeing in the surrounding forest. Lots of exotic birds, insects and reptiles, including the occasional crocodile - but not too close to our inflatable canoe.

Then back over the border to Argentina, trying to avoid the rain which had arrived in the early evening. We felt like refugees as we arrived on foot at the border in our rain gear - still, we were allowed to cross. We had been lucky to see the Falls on both days with the benefit of sunshine. But they would have been memorable in any conditions.

Simon

NE Argentina - Iguacu

We took a very long (almost 24 hours) bus trip from Salta across the northern part of Argentina to reach Puerto Iguacu, the closest town to the Argentine side of the Iguacu Falls.

A whole day and night in a bus is a little challenging, but we were rewarded today for our perseverance with a visit to the Falls. They were spectacular. We were captivated. We went to every vantage point - at the top of the Falls, at the bottom of the Falls, on an island in the middle of the river ... In the case of the Devil's Throat, generally regarded as the highlight, we even went back a second time. It is a massive chasm of churning water, which seemed almost to move in slow motion. The combination of sound and grace was unforgettable. Definitely a feature of our travels so far.

Simon

Salta - Chicas tchururup 2

Another picture: Ana, Sol, Mer y Gabi