Feliz Año Nuevo! Arriving in Chile

We arrived in the airport pretty much on time. It was weird being back, trying to recall if construction was there on our arrival earlier this year...or whether this was a remnant from the big shake that messed up our last trip.

Queue Número Uno
Upon arriving in Chile, visitors from US, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Albania have to pay a reciprocity fee. While paying a fee sucks, it is better than having to go through the hassle of getting a visa. But standing in line, we couldn't help play the old Sesame Street game of "One of these things is not like the other...". Curious to know the explanation behind adding Albania to the list.

Queue Número Dos
So we finally get through the first queue, go down the stairs and find an even bigger queue. Suddenly we flashback to our Patagonia boarder crossing with multiple confusing queues. Only with the traffic at the airport it was multiplied. So we begrudgingly entered the immigration control queue and wound through the lengthy snake of a queue.

Queue Número Tres Plus Plus
This was the lamest of all queues. In the world. We arrived at Alamo to pick up our rental. At this point I should note that we had already booked everything online. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

To start, there were only two other people ahead of us in the queue. Oddly enough, all the other car rental desks were pretty much empty. I guess everyone found the same better price we did.

A half hour passed - still no movement in the queue. Really?

Finally we get up to the desk. Our processing time? It had to have been 30 minutes. They requested the very same information we provided upon booking, coupled with long stares into some space we assume where a screen was hidden. Then they had to call out to the lot to determine what car exactly we were getting. (Note that when we got to the parking lot there were less than a dozen cars out there...and maybe a couple in our class...) Had this been in North America, Alamo would be no more.

Finally leaving the aeroporto
Well after two and a half hours after our plane landed, we finally left the parking lot. We promptly passed our first toll both of many, but at least we were on our way. Or so we thought. In hindsight I recall Valparaiso being THE place to be on New Years Eve...and thankfully we weren't going there. However, a good chunk of the road we were planning on taking was the same.

It felt like we were in some weird version of LA, with bumper-to-bumper highway traffic. Surrounding us were rolling barren hills, covered with the odd plant and cacti. And it was hot. (So hot, in fact, that Mike burned his non-driving arm.)

The most insane part was when we came to a toll station that had over a dozen lanes (Disclaimer - photo does not do the insanity justice, as I needed a wider lens). Now this would be great in most situations, except that this eventually filters back to a whole two lanes. I swear this should be found in the dictionary under "bottleneck". I gather under normal conditions it wouldn't be as bad, but in engineering school it should still get a big fat F.

The road less traveled
There was point on the journey where we were able to ditch and take a longer, but potentially more quick, route. After battling for an hour and covering maybe a fifth of our route, we were willing to take the gamble. So off the main route we head, and what a nice surprise it was. Well-signed, scenic and relatively fast-moving, it made the trip a lot nicer.

The Pacific ocean!
Finally, after over two hours of driving we made it to Algarrobo. A smaller town on the ocean, with a room overlooking said ocean, it was perfect. Not too touristy or traveled, it was a good place to relax and wind-down before subjecting ourselves to a slightly more intense pace.

We set out to find some food, as at this point we were starving. Walking up and down the main street we settled upon a smaller cafe place to eat some monster-calzone-sized deep-fried cheese-bursting-at-the-seams empanadas, and a small pizza. The empanadas were heavy on the cheese, but tasty. They paired awesome with the beer.

First up, an old favorite: Austral. The traditional lager, it was light and refreshing. It hit the spot.

Next we decided to try what the locals were having: Kunstmann, from northern Patagonia. We tried both the "lager" and "torobayo ale". The first was light and nutty; a great touch of complexity from a normally simple beer. The second was reddish, and drinking alone it was fuller and bitter. But with the pizza it tasted a distinct hazelnut - yum!

Celebrating the arrival of the New Year
Feeling the effects of travel we decided to pick up some bevvies for the room and just relax to the sound of the ocean. I was delighted to find the Austral Calafate and picked it up with the monster-bottle of lager (the only decent one they had). The New Year's festivities was just getting started by the time we got back, so along the crashing waves we were also serenaded by some Spanish acoustic guitar.

So Feliz Año Nuevo to everyone! 2010 has been an amazing year, and I only hope that 2011 can come close.

The Next Adventure : Chile - Shaken, but not broken

At least that is what we hope!

While our last trip got cut short and we weren't able to see the central Chile, we are going back again for our next adventure. Stay posted for adventures of wine, food, ocean, mountains, volcanoes, valleys and driving fun!

Churchill Follow-up

On the way back home I was hoping that there'd be some place that I could connect online to upload my final post. Unfortunately our three hour layover in Thompson was a bust.

For anyone considering the Churchill trip, you are more than welcome to experience the very long train trip. If, however, you want to cut it only one overnight, it is common to drive to Thompson and hop on board there.

If you bring your vehicle, make sure not to park it at the train station, as it is pretty likely to either not be there, or only be partly there upon your return. It seems that most folks use McCreedy Campground, which charges a reasonable fee to not only keep your car safe in their lot, but also pick and drop you off at the train station.

Last day in Churchill

I can't believe our time here is over. Time has flown by yet lazed along at the same time. Vacation here wasn't rush rush like I've been used to in trips past. Instead there were one or two things to do at its own pace through the day.

Sunrise, sunset
One thing that is hard to get used to is the light outside, hardly getting dark. Now I know that compared to most of the world, Winnipeg sees its fair share of daylight in the summer. But here? Looking out at 2am you can hardly see stars. It is pretty freaky!

Churchill Sat, July 31st
Sunrise: 5:03
Sunset: 21:43

Winnipeg (same day)
Sunrise: 5:57
Sunset: 21:13

Windsor, ON (just to compare)
Sunrise: 6:23
Sunset: 20:53

Is that a gun you're carrying?
A common and weird site you'll see around Churchill is people carrying rifles. On our way to the tundra yesterday there was a guy riding his bike on the road, with a rifle on his back. In the town itself you're safe, as you have the guards on the lookout. But once you leave the main urban area you either need a guide or a gun.

Is that a berry?
To honour Chris' random berry eating, I ate some not-so-random berry on the tundra! I know it wasn't a bear berry, which isn't in season, but I can't remember what berry it was. I blame the berry, which was seedy and tart and dark purply-blue.

There are actually quite a few berries that can be picked around here, even including cranberries in Wapusk. Not too sure why more people don't get into local eating and pick berries around here.

Land of Big Tables
In the restaurants of Churchill it is not uncommon to find tables that can seat large quantities of people. When these have been used it has either been by large families, or groupings of families. Or they are used by large groups of friends. Whatever the case, it seems like there is a real sense of community up here.

Off to the Train
We decided to spend out final meal at the Tundra Inn, which was night and day compared to our last visit. Taking 15 minutes before anyone came to talk to us about food should have been an indicator for us to pick up and leave. (Ah the joys of hindsight)

When we were finally able to order our food we specifically noted that we needed to be on the train that was leaving that day. We were assured it wasn't a problem. Of course it was.

We finally got our nachos 30 minutes later, at which point we were sucking them down like vacuums. At the same time I was looking for any sign of waitress life to cancel what we could, or pack up what we couldn't. Another 20 minutes and we were flying out to get back to our Lodge.

Thankfully for being a small town we ran into the shuttle taking us to the train station, along with our luggage. This made us even more furious at the Tundra Inn, as earlier that day (of course) we were talking about how we wouldn't want to be the stragglers holding up a group.

It wasn't the best ending to our trip, but we were happy to be on board the train to settle down and try to relax. Looking out at Churchill and seeing how serene it was reminded me of the week's events. It was a fantastic trip and Churchill is a place that everyone should try to experience!

Tundra life

Today was a full-day adventure on the Tundra Buggy! (If you haven't seen this behemoth of a vehicle, you've got to check out the link.) It is absolutely massive and VERY bumpy on the summer tundra.

In the summer the buggy drives around on "roads" constructed by the US Military back in the day when they used the site as a training ground. Sometimes the "road" dips down into one of many lakes, and sometimes it is just easier to drive through one of the hundreds of lakes.

Note that standing at the back of the buggy is not only crazy bumpy, (think back of the bus from school, times a thousand) but dusty. While the views are great; the coating of dust is not.

Land of many Lakes
The lakes are only a few feet deep at maximum and all freeze over come winter. This means that there are only a teeny stickleback fish and a couple of frogs that live in these lakes. The frogs actually freeze in the winter, but survive since they have antifreeze in their blood, which keeps them alive.

These frozen lakes, and ample snow, means a smoother ride for the tundra buggies in the winter. But I still like the summer, as you get the beautiful colours of the vast plant life and flowers. Apparently we're really lucky this year as everything seems to be blooming ahead of time, and at the same time.

Finding North
It isn't hard to find North in Churchill. With the skinny pine trees here you just have to look for the side with no branches. The joke in Churchill is that to make a Christmas tree you have to take two trees and put them together.

Countless birds
Besides the flowers and plant life, there were tons of birds. Snow geese, snow swans, pipers, these whirly birds and dozens of names I can't remember since they're foreign to me. There was always something to look at when cruisin' the tundra.

Polar Bears
The first bear we spotted was a ways away. The buggy seems to go about 5 km/hr, so by the time we got near the water's edge it was walking out into the water and out on a point. You could see it swatting at the horse flies, and generally just content to sit. Such a magnificent creature.

I won the prize for the best spot - the second (and final) polar bear. While we didn't achieve great quantity, we surely made up for it in quality. This bear was more ambivalent to us and was fine with us driving, and parking, pretty close to it. It did everything a photographer would love - sit, walk, lay down, swat at flies, shake its head, sip from the water and more. I'd guess we were watching for about an hour, and even took the opportunity to have some lunch.

Since the buggy started to sink in the bog, we had to move on to the end of Polar Bear Point on more stable ground. We didn't move too far, so the bear ended up making its way towards us! It came so close to the buggy that I could see the bugs on its face. It looked at us, swatted a bit, stuck out its black tongue, and then made its way out into the Bay. We couldn't have asked for a better bear!

Unfortunately we weren't able to spot much else. The arctic fox population has taken a hit due to an outbreak of rabies and mange. Arctic hare are generally hard to spot. Still, with our friendly bear and the rest of the wildlife we saw, it was an amazing day.

Top notch tourists
Having traveled a fair bit, I'm actually pretty impressed with the tourists we've ran across. All are respectful of the environment and surroundings, most have traveled a fair bit and the good majority have excellent cameras. It seems the higher cost and remoteness seem to weed out the chaff you'll usually find in your typical foreign urban or well-traveled haunts. An added bonus!

Last night in Churchill
As the day is winding down, I'm really going to miss this place. Being out of town you find nothing but wilderness and beauty. This place has a certain charm to it that gets under your skin. I can see why foreigners come to live here and pick up work, just to be able to enjoy this beauty every day. Makes you think about what life is about!

More Belugas

The morning started off with a lazy start. With no tour in the morning, and stores opening at 10am, we were able to relax. There was some debate on weather and trying to figure out the rest of our stay. Finally we booked our final tour and just wandered through some stores.

Northern Images
One of the stores you can spend some time browsing is Northern Images. Featuring Inuit and Dene art, it is a co-op that pays their members a fair price for their art. My main purchase was a kick-ass and fully functional ulu!

My break as a Model
Picking up a quick bite at Gypsy's I ended up running into a former University friend. (Of all places!) Turns out that she works for Travel Manitoba and that she's been living the good Churchill life, experiencing all the Churchill fun on her organization's tab!

The job involved shooting and filming Churchill for Travel Manitoba, and finding models had been a challenge. So understanding her struggles - as a fellow Marketing grad - I volunteered to play a prop in the Eskimo Museum. So if you happen to see a Churchill video or advert and you see someone who you think looks like me, odds are it will be! It was a quirky fun thing to do that killed some time before the next adventure.

Kayaking
I love kayaking. Being on the water is so peaceful and relaxing. The steady pace of the paddle, being the master of your fate by choosing where to go, the possibilities are endless. (Well, depending on currents and tides.)

The belugas brought kayaking to a whole other level.

Belugas love to swim with kayaks. Once you find a pod - or a pod finds you - they literally hover under water, watching and swimming next to you. They also love it when you move, as they like to hang out at the back, enjoying the bubbles. There they'll slow turn on their back, belly up, almost waving at you with their fins.

There were several times where we had over half a dozen whales next to us, behind us, and diving under us. If you're lucky they'll also bump the underside of your kayak. For us we got a little nudge on our rudder.

It was an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone. You actually felt like you were with the whales.

Don't order the steak
Tonight's meal was our freebie at the Lazy Bear Lodge, as part of our package. I was excited to try either caribou or musk ox, but sadly both were not available. With a slab of meat on my mind I went to the third choice - steak.

I like my steak cooked slightly more than rare. My steak was medium to well done. Total fail. Mom had the arctic char with cranberries and other bits, so with presentation alone it seemed like a better choice.

While we haven't tried the more common dishes, I have a hard time recommending any upper end dishes considering the price. And to boot, they don't serve alcohol! The milkshakes weren't bad though.

Out on the water

Today was our beluga boat tour, and it did not disappoint. We had gorgeous weather with clear skies, a bit of wind and belugas.

Where the Churchill River and Hudson Bay meet, the belugas enjoy a feeding frenzy. There were literally hundreds of belugas that it was hard to tell where to look at times. Absolutely amazing!

Prince of Wales Fort
Our first stop was across the river to the Fort. Created by the British, it was taken over by those pesky French for a short period of time. Over time weather has done quite the number on the site, and now it is being slowly reconstructed. It is hard to imagine this Fort being built in the 1700s! A highlight was seeing a little masonry symbol carved in one of the stones.

Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea
I love belugas. They're playful, not too big, and just so cute. We saw tons of babies, which are grey and swim right along side their mothers. We even had a sonar to listen to their squealing and squeaking. Our two hours on the water passed by like minutes. I just wish I could reach out and touch one!

They don't really have much fear and swim around and under the boats. Sometimes they'll swim behind the boat (under water), enjoying a facial from the bubbles from the boat's motor. If you want to see belugas, this is the place to come.

Tides
A lot of the tours are not only weather dependent, but also tide dependent. When you think of Manitoba you don't really think of it as a maritime province. When you come to Churchill, you can't help but think of it as such.

Eskimo museum
The Museum is home to one of the oldest and most comprehensive collection of Inuit artifacts and sculpture in Canada. Free of charge (donation appreciated), it is an easy way to spend upwards of 45-60 minutes.

Eskimo dogs
A guy in town raises Eskimo dogs, and apparently holds a good chunk of the existing population he is trying to revive. We passed the little pups who were, like pups, bounding about and curious. The best part was their talk - yipping, yelping and a little bit of howling. I've never seen such talkative puppies! I wonder if they could pull me to work in the winter time.

Dining in Churchill
I came here with few expectations, including minimal veggies and fruits. I've been pleasantly surprised with the variety and relative cost. Tonight's meal was at the Tundra Dining room, featuring pizza with olive paste, tomato, artichokes, caramelized onion and feta. Yum!

Creatures spotted: belugas, seal, arctic turns, parasitic jaegers, and horseflies.
Flora: fireweed, yarrow, purple paintbrush, yellow ones, white ones and others I can't remember.

Arriving in Churchill

After another good night of sleep, we arrived at Churchill at 7am. If anyone is thinking about traveling to Churchill by train, I would recommend splurging and bunking in sleeper class. For two nights of travel, the option of Economy is filled with people and kids. Seeing the people who chose this option this afternoon, you can see how sleep deprived they were.

Chillin'
The temperature we arrived to was nicely crisp: 12 C! The day has been pretty gloomy, foggy, and chilly. Long sleeves have definitely came out, and I'm still resisting pants.

We walked down the main strip in Churchill, which didn't take long. The town is filled with accommodations, tourist shops, tour companies, and a few restaurants. There is a lot of housing and not too many houses.

The main eating spot is a place called "Gypsy's", which is a Portuguese ran bakery, restaurant and even little grocery store. Highly recommended and popular with the locals.

Oddly enough, I haven't found a standard Chinese take-out place that even most small towns have. Hmm, I guess they do have their limits?

City tour
Our first tour started in the afternoon, taking us around town. This was a great tour than allowed us to explore the far reaches.

We started north of town, viewing the shipping port where the grain is held. This started back in the 1930s, but has really taken off recently. Today the first ship was scheduled to come in for this year's season. It wasn't certain whether it would be able to come in today, as the weather was iffy, but we could see it sitting out in the Bay.

Next was Cape Merry, which has a Battery and a great view of the Bay and Churchill River. We also saw a large pod of belugas feeding at the mouth of the river. The views of the rocks, colourful flowers and lichens was absolutely brilliant. The rocks are the same as you'd find in Whiteshell, but seasoned by the different environment. I can see why people find themselves enthralled by Churchill's beauty.

After weaving back through Churchill we emerged on the east side up the coast. On our way to Miss Piggy we had the most delightful treat - a polar bear! There he was, big and lazy. At this time of year polar bears are in a walking hibernation. While they don't sleep, they don't eat or move around much. They can wonder in to town, so Manitoba Conservation has guards on regular duty to shoot warning shots in the air to scare away any wayward bears. Fortunately, and unfortunately for the camera, the bear was far enough away to be anywhere near danger.

However, since the bear was close enough to Miss Piggy, we weren't able to go play inside the aircraft. I do think the polar bear was worth the trade though!

Traveling by Train

The train trip to Churchill takes two days from Winnipeg. The distance from Winnipeg to Churchill they say is 1000 kms. The reason it takes so long is two-fold:

1. Stops along the way
There are a few stops along the journey. The main ones in the southern part of Manitoba are Dauphin, The Pas and Thompson (the latter of which a boatload of people get on). From there, there are a some stops in the northern part of Manitoba - mainly small reserves that are mainly accessible by train. Even cargo is carried to these reserves by train. And wow are they remote.

2. Speed of travel
While there are times a decent speed is achieved from the train, a good part of the northern trip you're going somewhere near 50 kms/hr (from my judgment). My suspicion is that the train tracks can't handle the fast speed, as I remember hearing reports of the track needing upgrading. Even grain shipped to Churchill's port gets carried in smaller cars, since it is what the tracks can handle.

American delays train
I found out the reason for our near 45 minute delay - a (not-so-bright) American. From what I can tell she flew into somewhere in the US and drove to Winnipeg. "Normally", she explained, "the boarder crossing is only 5 minutes. I didn't think it'd take an hour!" She lives in Hawaii.

Now maybe I'm too type A, but I would think that the average traveller would know to give themselves more than 5 minutes of slack when crossing an international boarder. I still can't believe that Via held the train for her!

Via Rail customer service
The transition from train to bus went pretty smoothly, as there were only a handful of staff to take care of our train. Soon we were packed - even including a washing machine! - and on our way.

On our trip there we received free drinks (pop, juice, iced tea) and cookies. This was on top of our free continental (read: toast) breakfast. They also made a detour to Pisew falls to take in the beautiful sights.

Finally, they took care of dinner for those of us in the sleeper car. Great service!

Smoking
I feel like I've stepped back in a former Europe with the amount of smoking I've encountered. I think one of the reasons the train stops is so that everyone, including the staff, can take smoke breaks. It seemed like half the train smoked! When we stopped in Thompson, I saw 16 year olds smoking. Quite the eye opener.

The next adventure: Churchill

A journey of firsts
This week brings a new adventure - exploring the north of my own province. It's a place I've always wanted to go, and a place many people have on their travel list: Churchill!

First #1 - Going by train in Canada
I've traveled by train quite a bit in Europe, as it is a pretty standard way of travel. In Canada, it is more of a luxury method of travel.

We ended up going all out and choosing sleeper class, as I'm too old to spend two days and two nights in a chair. The commercials from Via touted train travel being luxurious and fancy and spacious.

They got the spacious right - compared to a plane. But the interior actually reminds me of old planes, with some well worn decor and a bathroom door that doesn't stay closed. Now I'll take the commercials I saw with a grain of salt, as the Churchill run is very small. I'd imagine one some of the more popular routes in Ontario that the cars would be a bit more spiffed.

Still, I'm excited to see my province by train.

First #2 - Traveling without my spouse AND with my mom
This is our first trip together - without dad. The reason this trip came about was because mom had always wanted to go to Churchill, but dad didn't. So when the Via rail sale came about, it made perfect sense. (Plus I have more vacation time than my spouse, so that too helped.)

Leaving without my spouse was more challenging than I expected. But doing the math, it started to make sense. In all the years we've been together (almost six years), we've never traveled without each other. And for someone who is so independent, it is strange to feel a part of me missing.

The journey
Our train was quite delayed from departing, as we were apparently waiting for one person to board. Now on a plane this makes more sense when (1) checked luggage is involved, and (2) the person is delayed because of a connection. But a train? And about 45 minutes!

The next hiccup is that there is a derailment on the track ahead. So at The Pas we have to get off the train, board a bus for four and a half hours to Thompson. And this happens at 5:30am. (Which is better than the 1:30am time we were initially given) So we'll see how smooth the process is.

Premature ending

Thanks to Skype, we were able to get in touch with our (super!) visa company, which includes trip interruption. I knew there was a reason I got the visa!

The good news is that anything we payed for should be reimbursed, plus we get to purchase a new flight home. The flight home is ugly, and we have to go through the US (something I worked hard to avoid in the first place!), but at least it is a certain flight home.

Watching the news here, there are a lot of awful images of Chile and we couldn't imagine being there right now.

So to try and unwind from all the stress of the past few days we booked one last night just outside of Mendoza in a beautiful little town called Chacras de Coria. Lunch was at a local winery and the food and wine was absolutely fantastic. We strolled around town, did one last wine tasting, finally got to see the mountains (at this end) and just relaxed.

We were hoping to laze by the pool, but for some reason the sun only comes out when we're in a city...but we're trying not to let it dampen our spirits. (Especially since everyone says that there are only 30 cloudy/rainy days in a year....and we've already had a few!)

But I know we should enjoy the weather while we can.
Winnipeg -4 C, or -10 C with windchill
Mendoza 30 C

Let's just hope that Winnipeg warms up soon :)

Now to just focus on packing to stringent US standards and get ready for an early return home.

Trip of a lifetime

I've always wanted to go to Argentina and Chile, and knew that this would be a trip of a lifetime. Little did I know how that trip would turn out.

After much panic and stress, we finally heard back from DFAIT that we should stay in Mendoza and that travel to Chile was seriously discouraged. Searching news on the internet I found a CBC story that mentions the road through the Andes had landslides and one tunnel was closed. (Whether this is the road we were to take, who knows.)

It is frustrating not knowing what is really going on, but at least we know that we aren't moving onward. Now we wait to hear whether we can get a flight out of Mendoza home, hopefully sooner than later.

A journey with uncertainty, we will only know what is going on by the hour. What is worse is that today is Sunday, so everything comes to a hault here. (Now if we were at a resort instead of a crummy hotel, it may not be as bad.) In the meanwhile, we'll try and get some sleep and be thankful that we're safe and alive.

Luján de Cuyo and Maipú, Mendoza

With no wine bookings made, we hit the road to see what fate had in store for us.

First attempt: La Rural
Again, the maps we used were short on details and great for general area. I'm not too sure whether we took the wrong street (the winery was shown between two), but the only thing we could find were dogs that loved to chase our car.

Result: Fail

Second attempt: Tempus Alba
I was looking forward to this winery, as it needed no appointment and had a wine bar. Bonus points were also awarded for Heather recommending it as the best wine tasting room.

Result: Success!
This winery is ahead of its time with respect to wine tourism. Upon entering the ground you see a sign that you can do a self-guided tour around the facility, or if you want a guided tour to just ask.

After looking around and enjoying the finally nice weather, we made our way upstairs for the perfect tasting. There were three options of wine flights, plus you could buy some tapas if so desired.

Unfortunately the wines weren't anything stellar, but the experience was.

Final attempt: Lagarde
I had received a recommendation about this winery, so we decided to stop there for lunch.

Result: we found the place...

We found the place in Luján de Cuyo - it looked like it was rural on the aforementioned map - with its regular guard. Driving up, he was nice to let us in and show us where to park to go to the restaurant.

So far so good.

We walk into the out courtyard/restaurant, where we were asked it we had reservations. Noticing the ample empty tables we were easily ushered in.

That's about where the good ends.
Unlike the previous two days, we only 3 courses, paired with three wines.

The first course was delish, the white Viognier was alright.

The second main course was a disaster. It was an assortment of asado meats, grilled cold veggies, lettuce, and tomatoes and olives. The worst part was the meat, which was salted to the hilt and well overdone. One of the worst steaks of my life. (Coming into a tie with the aforementioned chorizo fat monster.)

The Malbec it paired with was also acceptable, but nothing outstanding.

The dessert was pretty good, but by that point we were stuffed. The pairing was with a champagne, which was actually not bad (for someone who doesn't like champagne), but could have been chilled more.

To the chaos of Cuidad de Mendoza
Tired of drinking wine and just wanting to rest we made our way to Mendoza city. Realising the road we were on had the same name of the street name near our hotel, we decided to follow it north and avoid the policia.

Somewhere along the way, the street randomly changed names and we had no clue where we were. So, taking the safer option, we found our way to Ruta 40 and the traffic chaos. For a town about the size of Winnipeg, it certainly is much more hectic! We dodged heavy traffic and finally found a street to turn to our hotel.

The challenge? One-way street heaven. Oh, and minimal allowance of left turns. We did a few circles around our hotel and finally came upon it with a huge sigh of relief. We were quick to check in and ditch the car and enjoy the less hectic pace on foot.

While Mendoza doesn't have a lot to offer, it is nice to stroll around and rest. And after much chaos driving around, it was certainly welcome!

The Unexpected

As you might have heard on the news this morning, central Chile had a major earthquake early this morning.

The good news (for us):
- we are in Argentina when it happened
- the quake was south west of where we are going

The not so good and moreso uncertain news:
- the quake is close enough to where we are going
- we have no clue what the status of things are with respect to our trip

The plan:
We still have our bus tickets to depart to Valparaiso tomorrow, where I gather things are still okay. If I know any new news, I'll be sure to post.

Today:
We have our last day in Argentina, and plan to play ignorant so that we can enjoy our day in Mendoza. Wine to the rescue! :)

La Policia

While driving down Ruta 40, and even other routes, you'll notice that there are a TON of policia randomly pulling drivers over.

Now I know that some countries are more (openly) corrupt than others, but I didn't think that Argentina was one of them. But when we picked up our rental, there was a sign that said that if a police officer pulled us over and "fined" us for not having proper papers, that we were to call the 24 hrs of the day.

I had read about this dubious activity further north in Argentina, but didn't think (rather hoped) it would take place further south in Mendoza. Well apparently it does happen.

And thankfully we were lucky enough for it not to happen to us.
Another reason to rethink hiring a car here in Argentina - is it really worth the frustration and hassle?

Uco Valley, Mendoza

We overnighted at a fancier hotel, which is also a small winery. It was one of the treats of the trip, and it was very much appreciated. Thankfully trying to find the place wasn't too much of a challenge, but it still wasn't easy.

As soon as we arrived we hit the sheets for a good mid-day siesta. It was the most amazing bed on the trip thus far, which is really appreciated after over a week away from our own bed.

We woke up in time to eat supper, which was mediocre at best. Truth be told we were still full from lunch, but since supper was part of the price we were certainly going to eat it!

By dinner's end the cold was taking its toll, so I went fast asleep. Meanwhile Mike ended up watching the Canada-Russia men's hockey game.

Round 2 - Tasting wine
Appointments made: 3
Appointments kept: 2
Appointments made on time: 0

Navigating around the province of Mendoza is a pure exercise in frustration. While we had expected some challenge, what we ended up facing was just insane.

Signs: minimal, and usually small and sometimes spray painted
Street signs: one or two, unless you're in a town
Signs to get to Ruta 40 (the main route): none

La Azul
With some reverse navigation we made it to our first winery. It is small and thankfully only had a tasting with some education about the winery. (Which I don't mind at all)

Number of tastings: 3
Wine quality: good and outstanding
The outstanding bottle is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec 2004, aged in oak for just over a year. For just over $20 it was a steal.

The problem? It had no label. So in a rush decision I decided not to buy it, fearing what customs would think.
Oh how I regret my decision - it was that good.

O Fornier
We had lunch here, and unfortunately (for Mike) there was only the pairing option.
6 dishes, 4 wines.

Again we were quite late, but had gotten really lost at one point looking for the major Ruta 40. Apologizing when we arrived, the host says it is common for people to get lost.

Umm, wouldn't that signify a problem that you might want to solve?
I'm starting think that the remise industry has a hold on the wine tourism industry.

I found the Alpha Crux the best, which priced for about $30 USD. If you want to understand the markup incorporated our bureaucratic system, this same wine can be purchased through Opimian for just under $60 CAD. (And yes, I understand there is shipping fees, brokerage fees and the like....but that's quite the markup!)

Thankfully I managed to escape the tour.

Still trying to find our way
Skipping the last tour, we just wanted to find our B&B and relax.
We were fools for thinking that trying to navigate was frustrating thus far, since the fact that we actually found our B&B was nothing short of a miracle.

We had direction and found the street no problem. We also had an address. We, of course, were hoping for a sign to identify the B&B. Fools!

We drove for more than we thought we should and couldn't find a single sign. We then looked to the building numbers: 2013, 1985 - we were heading in the right direction.

2165, 1801, 937, 1593, 1689...

While the numbers may not be precise, that is pretty much the sequence: random.

We turned around one more time to give one last go of it, and preparing to ditch the accommodations to find something else. We had randomly pulled over to try and figure out a plan, when looking over there was the address we were looking for! But no sign, or any indication that it was indeed the right place.

Desperate, we rang the bell, when a lady came out inquiring "Tiffany?" Success! And pure fluke. I haven't a clue why they don't have a fricken' sign.

Oh, and to make matters worse there is apparently another building down the street with the same number. They get so many people looking for the B&B that they have the phone number of the B&B to communicate with.

Common sense need not apply.

Wine country

After a long night flying from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, we arrived early this morning in Mendoza.

The weather is a lot cooler than expected, but that is probably a good thing.
What is not good is that we're now both fighting a cold, which is something I feared with all the different weather changes. Just when I need my tasting palette!

Visiting wineries
In France, there are two ways to taste wine: pull up directly at the winery and walk in or go to a tasting caveaux in a city.

Here it is not so simple. Wineries expect reservations for the most part, and worse, they also expect you to do a tour. Now I've been to all sorts of wineries, and quite frankly I don't want to hear about how grapes are grown, etc.

What I want to do is taste the wine. Oh, and buy it if I like it.

In France this was done for free, which was nice, but usually came with a guilt trip to buy wine. I'd rather pay a token fee and get a nice sampling.

Wine country - not quite what I expected
Driving through Spain, France and even Canada's wine country, it is very picturesque. Here, driving down Ruta 40 you see a bunch of industrial-looking buildings, dust and some wineries.

We pulled off the main road to a quieter parallel one and it got better. Still, there was a touch of ghetto versus sprawling vines everywhere you look in other countries.

Finding your way
I was hoping with the big push towards wine tourism that there'd be more signs to help me find my way. I was lucky enough to get through to a winery and book a tour before we landed at our hotel. The only problem was that we couldn't find it and was too tired to try.

Instead we found a large winery - Bodegas Norton. We pulled up to be met by a security guard. (Yes, a security guard) I told him that I would like to try some wines, and he put me on the phone with someone inside.

She told me that I needed a reservation, but no problem, there was an English tour at noon that I could go on. I told her that I didn't want to go on a tour and just wanted to try wines. She told me that I could try wines after the tour.

Noticing they had a restaurant, I asked if we could instead just eat at their restaurant. Sure, but I would need a reservation. Luckily this wasn't a problem - which was obvious when we got in, seeing that there was no one in there!

The meal
I got a choice of 5 dishes, of course paired with their wines. To me this is the best way to try wines, as it really allows you to experience its character.

The food was stunning, and the wine was pretty good too. But quickly fading, we wanted to get on our way to our hotel.

Before we left I wanted to pick up a bottle at the shop. The problem? No one was there! So I went back to the restaurant and asked if someone could assist. We waited for over 5 minutes and ended up leaving without success.

Looks like the wine tourism industry needs some work.

Ushuaia - penguinos

Ushuaia is a pretty town, surrounded by mountains and the Beagle Channel. But unlike the other smaller towns we've visited, there's a much bigger tourist trap feel. Plus it is filled with old people, unlike the young ready-to-hike vibe we've gotten before.

The reason is that there are a ton of cruises that leave for Antarctica. And the size of the ships, they just dwarf this smaller town.

Penguinos
One reason for coming to Ushuaia is to see some penguins. We took the only tour that allows you to embark on the island and walk among the charming creatures.

First was an uber-cramped mini-bus ride, filled with mostly old tourists from Europe. The drive was long and winding, and I got the worst seat on the mini-bus. I had to open the window - even though it was probably around 10 C outside - just to give my shoulder some room. (Thankfully on the way back I was able to get a better seat just in front of the crappy one, and I heard that the younger guy who got stuck with the seat complaining just as much.)

We eventually arrived at Estancia Haliburton, ready to get on our zodiac to take us to the island. The ride was short and pleasant enough and soon we set our eyes on an island with many black and white dots.

Greeting us were penguins swimming in the water, scampering on shore, or just sleeping and minding their own business. With a slow and quiet walk we were right amongst them - you could probably get right next to one if you sat long enough. (Only the guide said we should keep a few meters away to give them their space.)

The penguins were everything I expected - cute with their waddle and shakes, awesome in their cries and general chatter, and just so trusting. If I had the chance, I could probably watch them all day.

We walked among their nesting ground, where I was surprised to learn that they actually burrow holes to nest in. Mating for life, they return to the same nest every year. First comes the male, who prepares the nest. After about a week the female comes back to inspect, and if satisfactory lay her eggs.

Apparently there is an exception clause to the "mating for life". If the male doesn't make the nest to the female's satisfaction, she will just leave the nest for another.

Now only if us ladies could just leave as easily if the male didn't do his share of the upkeep! ;)

Ushuaia
Once back to town, we wandered back to our B&B to change into cleaner clothes. After an early morning wake-up, we were lazy and took our time to go back into town to wander around and grab some food.

Unlike other towns, restaurants here close after 3pm and only open again after 8pm or so. Plus the number of restaurants was far less than we would expect for a town of this size, so we had to settle for one that was open.

Luckily it turned out really well, even though they didn't have half wine bottle sizes. So I convinced Mike to split a white Torrontes with me, and was surprised at how yummy it was.

The good life continues, even though it is at a slower pace. (Yes, it is taking some getting used to!)

Ushuaia - trying to generate industry

Our remise ride from the airport to our B&B was the most amusing yet.

We got quite the lesson, including about how the beaver was brought to Ushuaia to create a fur industry. The problem was that there is no natural predator for the beaver, so it ended up destroying forests. Even more crazy is that it has mutated, where they are about 1 meter head to tail and I'm guessing twice as large (45 kgs-ish).

Even worse, with this mutation the beaver's fur became no good to use as pelts.

The beaver wasn't the only animal brought over, as the rabbit was brought for the British. Well you know rabbits and their population also exploded and ate the food that the sheep ate.

The solution? Import some foxes from Patagonia (just north) to eat them.

The problem? They didn't like the rabbits. Instead they choose to eat the local birds.

That's what happens when you play with nature.

A solution
Our remise had the most hilarious solution for Ushuaia's animal problems.

Import Chinese! They eat anything, so they will help control the out-of-control animals.

The problem? Well, just take a look at China :)

Best just stop with the foxes.

Rest day in Calafate

Since you are supposed to rest on vacation, we finally got a day to do not much.

We wandered around town, kicked up our feet at the hostel, and caught up on things (like this blog). It felt nice to slow down and take it easy.

Late in the afternoon we headed for the airport and made our way to the next stop: Ushuaia. Next report will be from the fin del la mondo in Tierra del Fuego.

Big Ice - Perito Moreno glacier

Another early morning had us putting the last bits into our backpacks, scarfing down some breakfast, and waiting for the shuttle pickup. This was the big day.

Weather: perfecto! Bright blue skies and sun. Perfect to see the mountains.
Total hiking time: 6.5 hrs

We were picked up on comfortable buses and slowly made our way the Glacier National Park. So far so good.

Arriving at the park we went on a mini-hike to get a good frontal view of the glacier. Up and down stairs with many different lookout areas, the only reason that it took so long was for everyone to stop and take photos. No problemo.

The best part of viewing the glacier from a far is watching the ice calf off the glacier. Huge rumbles of the ice cracking and creaking, it is truly an amazing sight.

The Glacier
The perito moreno glacier is one of the few (only?) glaciers that is maintaining its size. The theory is that its collection field makes up the majority of the glacier so it is able to maintain its size. As well, the area gets ridiculous amounts of precipitation.

What is also neat is that the glacier is fast moving, with the centre section moving about 1.5 metres per day. That would explain all the calving.

The Big Ice
After the hike we took a quick trip to the boat, which would pass by the glacier (basically the same as all the boat tours except faster and not as close) and drop us of across the lake so that we could hike to our destination.

Once docked, we hopped off to get the details of our trek. First was to make sure we had gloves - mandatory wear in case of a fall due to the sharp ice. Check.

Surveying the crowd, my worries of not being able to keep up quickly melted. My competition? At least half a dozen wearing jeans, another half wearing runners. Some didn't even have backpacks. And I was worried my injured-self wouldn't be able to keep up?

So we were on our way, with 1 hr to hike on land.
Second stop: getting fitted for crampons.
Then more hiking along the glacier.

Almost there: getting fitted for harnesses, just in case.
Then it was just a few more minutes hiking until we were at the base, having our crampons put on (they were really old fashioned and involved intricate lacing) and getting a lesson on how to walk on the ice.

Nothing I could write would be able to describe how awesome an experience it was. (Photos will hopefully do it more justice) If you ever get a chance, do it. Pure awesomeness.

Injuries: Tiffany - a matching blister on the other food (probably compensating) and a red neck. No, not the Albertan red neck at the back, but at the front. WTF?
Mike - two red spots by his ears that got missed with the coating of sunscreen.

Who needs a beach when you've got a glacier? :)

The Bottleneck
In all my travels I cannot recall running into anyone from Israel. So I had no bias, and the only information I had was a story that a coworker told me (which was actually verified by my story below).

I also believe in every guided tour that there is one "Nanook", or some idiot who is the weak link of the group.

The two happened to be from Israel, and wow.
The one guy was larger and huffing and puffing a storm. Comments were "why are we hiking so long" and the like. Apparently he hadn't read the details of the trip? I mean, what did he expect?

The one girl, wearing white sweat-like pants carried not only a backpack, but a little purse AND this paper shopping bag. (The latter of which she left at the first stop.) Any downhill step or crossing was met with apprehension. At one point one of the tour guides said to her "what, are you afraid?!", obviously frustrated.

I should also point out that this tour has a, poorly chosen, age restriction of 45. From what I've read, if you can prove you're fit they'll let you on the tour. I'm sorry, but I know of several people beyond that age who would fair much better than these two. New restrictions are a definite need.

Asado
Our great hostel had this all you can eat asado. For about $20ish you get:
- all you can eat meat: steak and this incredible sausage. Plus there was some sort of red spicy sauce that went on top.
- all you can eat veggies: grilled eggplant, grilled squash (my favourites), corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans and probably more I'm forgetting.
- 1 litre of beer or some wine

By the end we were chatting it up with some German travelers until some wee hours of the morning. Good times had by all, and thankfully we were able to sleep in the next morning.

Back where once we came

I was sad to leave Torres del Paine, but was thankful to see that the clouds were even more covered in clouds than the previous day. (How I would have hated to still had an opportunity to try and reach the Torres peaks)

Views: even worse
It is amazing how the clouds completely hide the mountains and how it would be completely disappointing to never have seen at least a few.

So we got on the first catamaran and made our way out of the park and back to Argentina.

The Boarder
This time we took the boarder that is closer to Torres del Paine, since we didn't have to go to Puerto Natales. The system was far less confusing, more efficient and we didn't have a problem at all.

We even had a bonus treat at the Argentine boarder with a couple of fuzzy black puppies to play with while waiting to get stamped through.

El Calafate
After another long and desolate drive we arrived back to El Calafate to drop off our rental. We had underestimated our gas level (with the not-trustworthy gas gauage) and had to wait in a very long queue to fill up, since the other gas station had ran out of gas.

Welcome to life in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

The town is much bigger than we expected, with a ton of little shops and restaurants. Apparently the town is just exploding, as it is close enough to Torres del Paine and the Glacier national park, which includes the Perito Moreno glacier and Mount Fitz Roy to the north (about 2 hrs away).

Are you sure you're okay?
The two days of hiking took its toll and after a lengthy car ride I was walking quite stiff. The hostel had booked our tour for the next day, which was a semi-intense hike on the Moreno glacier. This hike was the other highlight of the trip, so there was no way I was missing it.

There were stern warnings that if I showed that I was limping that I would be denied to go on the hike, even though I had paid. And no, they would not repay my money. And yes, the excursion wasn't cheap and definitely a treat.

So all evening I worked on stretching and resting my fatigued muscles and blisters.

Flight of meat
Argentina is back in my good books! We found a recommended restaurant that had excellent service, great wine, a flight of meat and the most amazing papas fritas, or french fries.

The meat: Of course grilled, we had lamb and two types of beef - one a sirloin of sorts and the other the infamous chorizo. While there was some fat, it was no where near what we experienced in BA. The lamb stole the show though, being tender and flavourful.

The fries: Cooked with white wine, garlic and herbs. Must try to replicate at home. I could actually go for some now they were that good.

More dogs
On our short trek back to our hostel we encountered several more dogs. Of course we had to pet as many as we could, even rescuing one whose leash was wrapped up around its fence.

How can you grow that here?
For being so far south, and being really in a tundra/desert terrain, I was absolutely amazed at what is grown here.

Roses - huge bushes with large flowers covering the bush. Something you'd see in Vancouver.
Lavender - again, huge bushes littered with flowers. Reminds me of what I saw in France. Again, wtf?!

Torres del Paine - Day 2

We woke up to the sound of rain on the roof and clouds all around.

Weather: boo!
Views: out of order
Total hiking time: 10 hrs

While I appreciated the weather for hiking in, what I wanted most was the views. Knowing that weather can change on the fly, we decided to put our best effort into the hike and hope for the best.

When we reached the mirador, or viewpoint, there was cloud all around - including beneath us. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but that is the risk when hiking in the temperamental mountains.

Injuries: Tiffany - mountain-sized blister and ridiculous amounts of aches and pains. Mike - general soreness and tender spots from his boots.

What I never thought I would do: drink water from a stream.
One of my hiking paranoias is to run out of water on a hike. For the first time this fear actually was realised. With two hours to go back to the Lodge, we decided to take the risk and dream from the steam. After all, it was fed from the snow/glacier, so it should be okay, right?

Success! With several days past, there were no adverse reactions by either of us.

So while we never got to see what we came for, we knew it was a risk and still were glad we came. Besides, perhaps it will give us reason to come back one day.

Torres del Paine - Day 1

Another early morning and we were our way to Torres del Paine.

Weather: sunny
Views: amazing
Total hiking time: 5 hrs

The roads to the park are absolutely awful and range between potholes and gravel washboards. So it took us a bit longer than expected to get to the park, where we arrived just in time for our catamaran to our lodge.

The rental
We got this small VW with an iffy gas gauge - always helpful when gas stops are so far and few in between. The other "feature" was the extra "air conditioning". The seal between the door and car wasn't quite, so when driving on paved highways you get this loud whistling sound like you're on a small plane. When you're driving on a dirt road your extra treat is layer of dust in your car.

We suspect with the winds here that someone opened the door to a gust which just wrenched the door. There were several breaks in the glass too, but that seems to be the norm here.

We ran into another Canadian couple who drove up from Ushuaia (REALLY barren drive) and their windshield even featured a hole. But I'll count our blessings, since when we last ran into them their car nearly died on the way to Calafate.

The Park
Outstanding. On our first day we hiked part of the famous "W" trek, going to Glacier Gray. Since we had a later start and wasn't sure what time we'd lose daylight, we didn't quite make it to the glacier. Still, outstanding views with the weather.

Injuries: Tiffany - 2 blisters; Mike - sunburn on the face

We got back in time for a badly needed shower and dinner, which included in our stay at Paine Grande. While it was nothing spectacular, it filled the gut.

Best discovery: Austral beer, Calafate. An amber ale with calafate berry. Would love to be able to drink at home.

Onward to Torres del Paine

This morning was a difficult awakening at 2am to make our very early flight to El Calafate. But despite the early wake up, we were happy to be on our way.

Special kudos to LAN a mostly efficient service, with bonus points for having English spoken on the flights down. (Funny how we now really appreciate it.) Still, I am amazed at the Argentine bureaucracy and love for queues.

As soon as people arrive they must form a queue. Wait, is that an announcement about the flight? A mad rush swarms the check-in, even though there are announcements about boarding by seat row. I've still to figure out why the obsession with queues.

Have car will travel
The first car of our trip, as soon as we arrived in El Calafate we picked up our car to head west for Chile. The pickup was smooth and the sky blue. The temperature was much more my liking, even though it got quite warm in the car on the drive down.

The scenery is just so barren and unlike anything I've seen before. Imagine vast rolling plains of dirty sand, with rock and little land urchins everywhere. (That's why I call the shrubbery in its greys, greens, yellows and blacks.) Sometimes in the distance you see snowy mountain peaks, that don't quite fit with the dessert-like terrain before you.

Creatures along the road: Sheep, horses, cows, ostriches (or maybe a rhea) and guanacos (picture a llama). Certainly not stuff you'd see at home.

Total drive time: 5 hrs/forever, or about 400 kms

Stops: minimal. Being a Canadian from the prairies, this at least helps to prepare you for vast openness and isolation. But this terrain takes it to a new level.

Gas stops from El Calafate to Puerto Natales: 2

Cost of gas: Holy sh@#$!!!

Boarder crossing
You think you know bureaucracy? You don't know bureaucracy until you've tried crossing a board in South America. (I can only imagine how it would work in some other countries on this continent.)

First, unlike a crossing to the US, you have to stop at the Argentine boarder. You park your car on the side of the road and walk into the office. First you go to this "entrance" desk, where they stamp your passport, and then look hard and sharp at your rental papers. (We had to pay extra to get these in proper order)

After that? You walk across the small room to the duty desk, waiting, of course, in another queue...just to have someone else examine your passport and at your rental papers. Of course a hard time is given, mumbling stuff about not having the proper documents. Finally, after some glances, papers are stamped and we are on our way...

To the Chilean boarder....about 18 kms past the Argentine one.

To our delight there were hardly any queues, and the first "police" desk kindly handed us papers to fill out (yea for English translations!), and promptly stamped them with our passport. Of course we then went to the customs desk, where mumblings about how the Argentine boarder guards didn't stamp the forms properly ended our boarder experience.

Phew, two down, and only two more to go on the return. *ugh*

But we were happily on our way, and safely arrived in Puerto Natales.

Puerto Natales
A small town that is the gateway to Torres del Paine, we planned a quick-overnight here before heading over to (the more expensive) Torres del Paine.

The town is a bit like Banff, with its tourism explosion. On quaint little streets are tons of gear shops, hostels, laundromats and anything else to appease the tourists. The town is easy to navigate and has gortex-laden tourists walking about along the streets and along the water channel.

While it is a bit of a trap, the small town size surrounded by mountains, nature and water is much more my speed. Yeah for being out of BA!

A satisfying meal
We found this parilla closer to our B&B and what a great delight! Beer was still cheap, there was some creature being cooked on a spit over open coal flames, and the beef and papas (potatoes) were gut-warming. And the temperature outside was perfect for me, so much that I ordered my demi-bottle of Chilean wine.

So far, Chile is winning the race. We'll see what Torres del Paine holds in the next few days. Notice that internet connection is probably unlikely...which is probably good as I'll be pooped from my hours of hiking and fresh air!

Buenos Aires

(trying to catch up)

Knowing we're not big city folks, we only planned a couple of days in BA. For us, that is more than enough.

Having traveled quite a bit, seeing many cities - mainly in Europe - I can't say that BA is worth the trip. And we gave it an honest effort!

The buildings have a European flavour, but are very worn and only some are well-kept. The sidewalks are a disaster and add an extra challenge to walking. It is a big city and numerous in its people on the streets.

Have feet will walk: San Telmo to La Boca
Our first journey by foot was from San Telmo to La Boca. Judging by our host's face when we told her of our adventure, this isn't really common for tourists to do.

Now we were fully aware that going by night was highly unadvisable, but it was Sunday morning. Not many people were out and it was quite tame. Sure there were some really dodgy areas off the main road, but we weren't THAT stupid to take them.

The highlight of the trek: Roadside empanadas and passing La Boca's stadium.

La Boca
This is probably the highlight of BA. It has charm in its brightly painted buildings, but it is also a tourist trap. Cafes have sales staff in front trying to lure you in. Tango-dancers offer to pose with you for a photo, for a price of course. Still, this is the Forks of Winnipeg.

Dogs
There are a ton of dogs here in BA, which is actually a big thumbs up for us. No, they aren't skin and bones, but are well fed and looked after. In all our travels never has there been so many dogs. Go dogs!

La Defensa
On Sundays the street is closed and people pack down the street to view antique shops and booths, plus booths of other fairs. While an interesting look, the street is endless and fairs end up looking the same.

Tango
This is a beautiful dance that you can find it everywhere. Everywhere! While the initial thought was to take in a show, it just felt so commercialized and cheapened. We watched some street performers at Plaza Dorrengo and seeing the square fill with people off the street was probably the most genuine passion. Otherwise I might have been at Folklorama.

Bottom line is that I still love tango, but am disappointed at how BA has sold it out to make a quick buck.

Is that rain?
If you're walking on Florida, or in the central area of the city, odds are you have air conditioner condensation dripping on you as you're walking. At least that's what we'd hope for.

Exchanging USD
A punishing adventure, as we were told that the airport rates were not good and they were much better in the city. We had read that exchanging at a bank provided better rates and guaranteed real (ie. not counterfit) currency.

Oh the lies! While you can exchange money at the National Bank at the airport, this is the ONLY bank you can do so. We found this out after waiting over 1 hour in line to get to the teller, only to be told "no"...along with a bunch of other spanish we didn't understand.

What we've learned is that bank "service" in BA sucks and there a lot of long queues. Cambios are pretty much the only place to exchange cash, with the exception of Banco Piano. Not only did they speak some english, they were very helpful! A serious contrast in service.

Oh, and the exchange rates? Pretty much the same. Next time this way, we'd seriously consider ditching the cash and just withdrawing from an ATM.

Cheap beer
At about $3 for 1L of beer, on a hot muggy day you can't complain. And yes, for those who know me are probably wondering where the wine is. Well with this heat, certainly not in a glass in front of me!

What good food?
I had read that the pizza, steak and ice cream are above par in BA. The ice cream? Absolutely. Satisfying on a hot day and the dulce de leche is uber-yummy-rich-goodness.

The pizza? Meh. A bit of sauce, some meat, spare veggies and nothing really special.

The steak? Alright, the one tenderloin was cut with a spoon and was yummy. The chorizo? I've never seen so much fat in my life. Without joking this steak was 50% fat. The waiter said it was the best cut of the house! I can only be left to guess that the locals love their steak fat. Me? Not so much.

An honest effort
We tried to find the love for BA, but just couldn't find it. While it had its moments, all in all, it wouldn't rate in the top 10 places to visit. We searched several different areas, looked at a variety of cafes, and yet it just wasn't for us.

The last night, after our "fancy night out with fat-steak" it ended up in a torrential downpour - almost a sign that it was time to move on. And so this morning we did, happily, even though it was 3am.

A new adventure: Argentina and Chile

We´re off to a new adventure - this time in Argentina and Chile!
Also, apologies in advance: we´re having some "technical problems", so that means posts may be more sporatic this trip.