Two Weeks to Cross…Bienvenidos a Peru! -- Part 1: Twelve days on a bus

The 12 day trip from Buenos Aires to Peru DEFINES the phrase…a whirlwind of a tour: Three countries.  Six cities. Dozens of new friends.  64 hours on 8 different buses. Hundreds of pictures. 3300 miles…and memories to last a life-time.  So let’s start from the beginning…

Iguazu Falls (1/14-16): After a 20 hour bus ride, spanning two days, I arrived in Puerto Iguazu at 9am.  I’d already booked a hostel to stay at, Marco Polo Hostel, which was conveniently located across the street from the bus terminal (I knew this when I booked it).  With a 9am arrival time, I knew I’d be there a bit before check-in, but figured I’d close my eyes for about an hour while I waited for the normal 10-11am check in time.  Boy was I wrong.  Though their check-out time was quite normal, 10am, their check-IN time was not: 2pm.  Now if this had been a five star hotel, with cashmere robes, fresh towels, slippers, and a fruit basket waiting for me upon my grand entrance into my room, then yes, I could understand the need for a four hour turnover time; but not at a hostel.  I mean what is there to do? Change the sheets … uh…. and… well… THAT’S IT!!!  If lucky, a nice hostel will wash the floors as well.  Despite my frustration, I wasn’t going to let this ruin day one of my trek across South America.  They had a luggage storage room where I proceeded to place my life in their hands.  Not the most re-assuring way to start my trip, but I had no choice.  I slipped into my bathing suit, which I conveniently packed on top in my suitcase, and went to catch a bus.

    

After a 20 minute ride to the falls, I proceeded to pay the 100 peso entrance fee (only 40 pesos for any South American citizen) and entered the park.  There are two sides to the falls, the Argentine side and the Brazilian side.  Actually, Paraguay also borders the falls, but I read nothing about a Paraguayan side…still not sure why.  Well, on day one I had decided to go the Argentine side; since I wasn’t leaving ‘til 9pm the following day, I planned on going to the Brazilian side then, which never happened, but I’ll get to that later.  On the Argentine side, there are three potential paths available; the first takes you to a view overlooking the falls.  The path includes bridges which give you the opportunity to actually look out over the falls ALLLLLLLL the way down to the bottom.  There must be close to 100 different waterfalls scattered all around.  There’s really not much to say,check out the pictures, they are incredible!  The second path takes you further down to the bottom of the falls.  At one point, you can nearly walk underneath one of the falls, which was extremely refreshing on a scorching hot day.  

The first two paths are the more popular, touristy paths to take.  They take you to see the main falls and without a doubt laid the groundwork for some of the most breath-taking sites I have ever seen.  But for me, the third option was my favorite.  A bit more off the beaten path, was the Macuco trail.  I didn’t read anything about this prior to my arrival, but realizing I may never again visit the falls, I went for it.  The path was an easy 3km walk along which I saw a few locals and maybe one or two other tourists.  The 35 minute walk was more than worth it.  After descending some rickety stairs, I was greeted by a small swimming hole, with a water-fall pouring down and a few locals cooling off enjoying themselves.  For me, this was heaven.  I snapped a few pictures, hopped in the water, and climbed underneath the waterfall.  I hung there for a little more than an hour and then headed back to the hostel.

The hostel was offering an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet for dinner that evening.  Though I was skeptical, I really had no other choice and went for it.  Though the pizza was not great, to my surprise, it ended up being all you can eat!  I had met some nice travelers at dinner/happy hour and decided to head out with them to the only club in town, Cuba Libre.  Around 4:30am, not too late for Argentina, I couldn’t find my companions and decided to head back to the hostel.  After nearly getting lost on my way back, I ran into a couple of locals hanging out consuming some beer.  I started chatting with them and ended up hanging out drinking beer learning about the real side of Iguazu.  As the sun came up, I regrettably had to let them know I’d be going after we finished the next liter of beer.  Two hours and two liters later, I made it back to the hostel at 8am.  As I approached my room, my roommates (they hadn’t gone out the night before) were walking out the door to start their day.  I took a quick two hour nap, remember check out time was 10am, ate some breakfast and laid by their pool for the rest of the day.  To be honest, I was never too sure about going to the Brazilian side of the falls, as I had heard they charged Americans the same fee it costs for a 90-day visa, $200, to simply enter for one day.  I figured everything happens for a reason.  That night I watched some of the playoffs on my computer before I had my next long trek to San Miguel de Tucuman.

Tucuman (1/17): After another 20 hour, overnight, ride from Iguazu, I arrived in Tucuman at 6:30pm.  Definitely one of the worst hostels I’d stayed in, but options were limited and I was only staying one night.  All but ONE of the locks to the lockers had been ripped off in my room; naturally I was a bit nervous once again to leave my laptop, ipod, camera etc. but I had no choice.  I placed my valuables in and proceeded to check out the town center.  Northwest Argentina was a very important trade route, and as a result, became the center for many South American battles.  I came to learn that all of the cities in Northern Argentina were developed in a very similar manner.  Upon their establishment, a beautiful town center with government buildings and other important monuments were constructed, and the town expanded from there.  Though Tucuman was not the most beautiful city, the buildings in the town center, when lit up at night, were stunning.

Salta (1/18-21): Here came the first hiccup in the trip.  I expected to have a bit more to do in Tucuman, though I’d heard prior it wasn’t anything special, so I booked my short 4 hour bus ride for late in the evening as to have the day to explore Tucuman.  Poor decision on my part.  Only took about three hours in the morning to see the entire town which left me the rest of the day to relax.  While this wasn’t so terrible, the planning was.  I ended up arriving in Salta at 1am (after changing buses halfway through the trip) and stayed the night at a different hostel than I had booked.  Live and learn; don’t arrive after 10pm.  The next morning I moved to the hostel where I actually had a reservation and immediately struck up a conversation with one of my new roommates, Agustin.  A cool fellow from Buenos Aires, we went to check out the town (another beautiful town center) and grab some food.  He had met some people at another hostel and their hostel was having an asado that night, so we decided to check it out.  Prior to, we had a very entertaining conversation (or so we were told the following day by other guests at our hostel) in which I spoke Spanish for the greater majority and Agustin spoke English, only to switch to our native tongue when incapable of expressing ourselves.  The asado was great, but I had booked a tour to Cafayate the following day that left at 7am, so we left early.

When I signed up for the tour, I thought I was going on a typical tour bus, I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I was picked up at 7:40am in a small minivan with two ladies in their 30’s and our guide, a native “Salteno”.  After picking me up, we proceeded to pick up a grandma and her granddaughter and off we went, me and five Argentine females.  Needless to say, the tour was in Spanish, along with all conversations.  This wouldn’t have been so terrible if there were one other male to join the conversation, but it turned into a lot of jokes aimed at yours truly (it also didn’t help I was the only foreigner).  Oh, and not to mention I probably didn’t understand 75% of the jokes, though I laughed the entire time.  Luckily the views along the way were absolutely breath-taking (pictures don’t do it justice) and because we were in our own car, and not a tour bus, we could get out and take pictures wherever we pleased.  Our first stop was brief, just long enough to take pictures of a tiny, remote town called Alemania. Alemania has a population of about 300 indigenous Argentines, whom live on their own in the middle of the mountains.  Though the government has issued them solar panels to help keep warm during the winter, they generally refuse to accept the changes in society today and live off of their own farms, animals and labor.  It was truly incredible to witness, even from a distance.

There was only one part of the trip where I decided to cause a problem: wine tasting.  We had planned to visit two wineries, but due to rain, one was not running tours.  So when we got to the second (just in time for a new tour to start) I was keen to listen to the history of the winery (one of the oldest in Argentina).  Apparently I was the only one.  While I listened/followed the 20-30 minute tour, the five women sat by the car.  I wasn’t about to let that ruin my experience, and I carried on with the tour until OF COURSE the wine tasting had finished. ***Side note: For my first time, I tried a Torrontes, and absolutely loved it.  I am normally not a fan of white wines, but this particular grape was delicious.***  Following the wine tasting, it was back on the road to Salta where we had one more stop to take along the way: Tres Cruces. This was a view point we passed by on the way to Cafayate (ironically to try and make it in time for BOTH wine tours) and was undoubtedly the best sight of the day; overlooking the river, mountains and winding road we had just passed along.  After 12 hours with 5 women, my brain had taken all the Spanish it could for one day; I was ready to get back to the hostel and relax.   Upon my arrival, I was informed by Agustin that we would be heading to the other hostel that night to play ping pong…jackpot!  Agustin was rather confident in his abilities, but I was quick to put that to rest.  I was leaving the following day at noon for San Salvador de Jujuy and still hadn’t climbed Mt. San Bernardo; the closest mountain to Salta, just on the outskirts of the city.  Agustin and I recruited some others to join us for the 8am departure time and off we went.  To get to the top was less of a hike than a stair climb, which included 1,070 stairs.  Every step was worth it.  At the top was a breath-taking view over-looking the entire city of Salta, including the beautiful mountains in the background.  We got back with just enough time to have a snack and I was off on my bus ride to Jujuy.

San Salvador de Jujuy (1/21-23):  After an easy two hour ride, I was at my next destination…and after telling the cab driver the wrong address, I got in some more exercise, walking a few extra blocks than were necessary.  To my delight, the receptionist at Wak Yohi Hostel thought I was Argentine!  Of course this was before we proceeded to have any kind of lengthy conversation, but hey, it’s a start!!! I was starving, so naturally, I went out to buy some groceries.  Upon my return it was raining, so I cooked a late lunch/dinner and hung in the hostel the rest of the evening.  The following day, Agustin and I made plans to rent a car (in Salta, where he still resided) with two girls we had met and head out for the day.  I was ready to go at 12, the time we arranged the pick-up, and about 15 minutes before I was going to venture out on my own, they arrived…twenty past two.  I was just relieved they made it at all.  It took two hours to get to Purmamarca, once there we climbed a small hill to get a better view of the town, and more importantly, the mountains of seven colors.  Following our descent, I attempted to take the wheel, but failed (limited experience driving manual) and Rivika was once again put in the driver seat (where she resided the rest of the day).  Our next destination was the Salinas Grandes, translated as Large Salt Flats.  After about another 2 hours, climbing just under 10,000 feet (and reaching a peak height of 18,000) in the car and then descending about halfway, we arrived.  The salt flats basically appear to be massive, frozen over lakes, which in reality are made all-naturally out of salt.  We took some awesome pictures, and I became a bit obsessed with the salt crystals.  Though difficult to explain (and see in pictures), the crystals broke off into millions of perfect right angles.  Stunning to witness.  We had hoped to make one more stop on the day, but with our late start, we decided to head back to Jujuy from the Salinas.  Though it was Saturday, and the hostel was having an asado, I had to be up early for my next departure, so called it an early night.

Arica (1/24-1/25): This was probably the most difficult stretch of the trip.  At this point, including day tours, I had been seated in either a car or bus for close to 60 hours over a span of nine day.  Though the seats were plenty comfortable, there is only so much reading, sleeping, (bad…whatever they offered) movie watching, window peering, and thinking one can do.  And I was in store for another 24 straight.  The trip from Jujuy to Arica took me first to Calama, after crossing the border to Chile, which was a 12 hour trip.  I then had a 4 hour “lay-over” in the bus terminal which offered a brief glimmer of relief: I was able to get ESPN on. For those unaware, the NFC/AFC Championship games were on that day.  Though the NFC game was not shown, after watching an hour of tennis highlights, WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Steelers vs. Jets game came on! I couldn’t believe I was getting away with watching American Football in a Chilean bus terminal.  It was too good to be true, and after watching Big Ben’s 9-minute, dominant, opening drive, the manager changed the channel to local news…which NO ONE was watching! Needless to say, I was distraught and sat for the next two hours praying he would change it back.  No such luck.  Even writing this now, that moment still irks me quite a bit.  As the next two hours painfully eked by, my bus arrived and I got on for another 8 hour ride where I finally arrived in Arica at 6am.  Thank goodness I had looked up a few different hostels, ‘cause the first one I rang was booked. It seemed luck was finally on my side when I arrived at the second hostel. I was greeted by a very lovely Swedish mom who had basically turned her house into a B&B.  The prices were the same as any other hostel, but the location was perfect (5 minute walk to the beach) and the atmosphere was that of a house, not a hostel: just what I needed after a LOOOOOOONG 24 hour journey.  I laid down for a bit and then got headed to the beach.  It was beautiful and the water was the perfect temperature, but it was filled with jellyfish, so I only went for a brief dip.  Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that in Arica, there is a hole in the O-zone layer.  Luckily I had put on sun-screen, but still burned pretty good after lying out for only an hour.  I learned quickly and afterwards went to town to buy some veggies to cook dinner.  Though I only stayed one night in Arica, the hostel I stayed at made it a pleasure and was just what the doctor had ordered. 

The city of Arica is located at the northern point of Chile, only 30 minutes from the border of Peru.  The next day I enjoyed a delicious breakfast and was on my way to my third and final country (of this trek).  After the entertaining taxi ride across the border, I quickly found a bus to take me to Arequipa, my first stop in Peru.  The 8 hour trip was a bit uncomfortable with my recent sun-burn, but after 12 days of traveling, I was jubilant to have FINALLY made it to my new country of (temporary) residence: Peru!

Soon to come…Part Two: Arequipa, Mejia and the Capitol of Peru: Lima

Despedidaaaaa…Goodbye Buenos Aires, Hello Lima!

I last left you anxious readers wondering, waiting and eager to hear about my NYE and trip to Uruguay (I know this isn’t really true, but it makes writing this more fun, so let’s just pretend! Haha!).  This will be my last blog post written in Buenos Aires, and likely, the last post I write within the country of Argentina.  Wow, how time flies!

New Year’s Eve in Argentina is a family celebration.  Families bring in the New Year together, with family and friends at their houses.  Due to the fact that clubs, bars and other nightlife don’t begin until two or three in the morning, our house did the same! There were about eight of us who hung out, drank and celebrated together.  I made sure to do TWO shots at midnight, one for my friends in Argentina, and one for my friends and family back home in the States!  The entire city was lit up with fireworks for about twenty minutes, including the park around the corner from our house.  We all sat outside, enjoying our beverages and watching the shenanigans around us, while bringing in what hopes to be another wonderful year!

The following day, I spent the entire day, along with a few of my other roomies, seated on the coach for the greater majority of the day; only getting up to buy an entire pizza for myself to consume throughout the day.  Grease + water = best cure to a hangover!

Though I came to Argentina to work, I didn’t tell that to the customs officials, who stamped my passport with a 90 day tourist visa.  Well I had nearly overstayed my welcome by the beginning of the year and had to leave the country before January 8^th! I had booked a ferry ticket for the 3^rd of January to travel to Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay.  Colonia is a very quaint city with a calming view of the ocean/river and beautiful sunsets.  After the worst three hour ferry ride of my life; during which nearly half the passengers had to ask for barf bags, close to a quarter actually did the deed, and the girls sitting both next to me and in front of me each made multiple trips to the toilet; we arrived in Uruguay.  What a relief.  The hostel I was staying at for one night had advertised they were within walking distance AND had posted signs from the port leading to it; to my pleasant surprise, they had!  The hostel was nice enough, comfortable bed, a few available hammocks to lounge on and a good sized kitchen, but since I only had night in Colonia, I wasted no time!  The hostel also offered bikes to rent for the whole day ($2.50) which I immediately took advantage of.   I had done a little research before arriving and read about the best beach In Colonia, Playa Ferranda.  It was a bit outside the main drag of the city, but I was determined to spend a day on the beach, basking in the sun. 

 After an easy 25 minute ride, I arrived at my destination. Empty. There was not a sole on the beach which stretched for probably about half a mile. I repeat, not a sole.  I wasn’t going to be bothered by this and pulled my bike onto the beach, which is when I realized (1) I had forgotten a towel and (2) the wind was whipping around quite violently (hence the lack of inhabitants).  Undeterred, I removed my shirt, laid it out and rested my head on my flip flops while listening to some Rolling Stones.  After about 10 minutes I saw a few other natives braving the winds, though I quickly realized, only to eat at the local Beach House.  After about 20 minutes, I went for a stroll down the beach, snapped some photos and went to try the local grub.  The menu was nothing special and I got the “Beach House” sandwich.  The sandwich would have been tasty, if while I sat, taking in the view, the wind wasn’t whipping sand onto my plate (and my sandwich) which added an undesirable crunch to my meal.  The owner, a man who claimed to be from Miami, and insisted on speaking horrible English to me, recommended I check out a private, man-made lake around the corner.  After finishing up my meal, I made my way to the lake, which was actually quite nice, and then headed back to town.

I took a quick nap before heading to the grocery store with my roommates and making a late lunch at the hostel.  Since I only had one day in Colonia, I wanted to get out and check out the historical part of town before the sun went down.  It was a very unique area, which you could only enter by draw bridge (no longer functioning) and was surrounded by massive walls.  I expect it was some sort of military base in the past and was clearly a popular spot for light houses.  I walked around, checked out the ruins and both the old and new boat docks where I realized (in my opinion) the best part of this town, the sunsets.  Though the sun was not setting yet, I could tell there were a couple of beautiful spots in this historical town to take it in.  I spent the next 45 minutes (I had seen the whole town) deciding where best to take in the view.  I settled on a spot and relaxed there until the gorgeous “puesta del sol” came and went.

 

Since the moment I had arrived in Colonia, I was dreading one thing: the ferry ride back.  My ride was at 11:30 the next day and I wanted to stay up and drink the night away so I would simply pass out on the ride back.  No such luck. Not much to do in Colonia on a Monday and I ended up wandering around the “city” a bit before heading back to the hostel.  It must have been my lucky day, ‘cause the ferry ride back was smooth sailing the whole way, and took only two hours!  I had successfully renewed my tourist visa in Argentina for 90 more days!

 

After getting back from Uruguay, I still had a few things on my list to do here in Buenos Aires, first one being to visit the town of Tigre; actually a small island about 45 minutes to the North of the main city.  It’s considered an island because it is surrounded on all sides by rivers, though it is not actually in the middle of an ocean…quite interesting!  I had planned to go alone, but knew that some of my roommates probably wanted to check it out as well, as it is a well known spot for visitors of Buenos Aires.  I got two takers!  We planned to leave early Sunday morning, which for me meant a wonderfully laid back night of watching the NFL playoffs on Saturday night.  ***Side note for the playoffs – how in the WORLD did the Saints lose to the Seahawks.  I watched the whole game and still have no idea how they blew that.  They were undeniably the better team, yet managed to lose the game. Congrats Pete Carroll*** Ended up only being two of us who made the trip, one individual couldn’t make the early 9am departure time.  After a crowded 45 minute train ride, we checked out the Puerto de Fruta, which had everything BUT fruit (ok two stands had fruit out of close to 100) and I bought myself a new Mate’ gourde.  Up to this point, I hadn’t eaten anything but a couple of pastries all day, so we searched for food.  We found a waffle spot, that served waffles with just about anything you could want.  Quite an interesting concept, I got one waffle sandwich with bacon and cheese and another waffle stick (check the picture) of jam and cheese with a four cheese sauce.  They were delicious, and I was stuffed!  We continued on. After having read multiple reviews suggesting NOT doing the boat tour…wait for it…we did the boat tour.  It was an hour long ride that went through five of the seven rivers around Tigre.  Got some good shots, but, like the reviews said, it wasn’t anything too special.  It was a scorching hot day, so after the boat ride, we walked around the city briefly and made our way to the train back to BA.  To my surprise (and delight) we made it back in time to watch the second half of the Eagles vs. Packers game! (I must admit, though I love watching Vick play and lived in Philly for four years, I was happy the Eagles lost.  A part of me just needs Vick to at least be out of jail for TWO full years before he can win a super bowl…which, by the way, is my prediction next year. )

I experienced my final asado in Buenos Aires last night.  While it was sad to say goodbye to everyone, I was overjoyed to have met so many wonderful people during my time here.  Per usual, as the crowds left, I stayed up with some of the house-mates chatting the night away (and paid for it this morning).  Though I am sad to leave Buenos Aires and all the wonderful people and places I have enjoyed; I am overjoyed for the next journey, the next discovery, and the next adventure that awaits me.  

 

I want to add…I am overwhelmed by the number of people who read this blog.  It is such a pleasure to write and I hope you all enjoy reading.  I’ll do my best to keep it interesting when I get to Lima!  I know I’ll have plenty to discuss from my journey across this continent so stay tuned!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Felices Fiestas (Happy Holidays) from Bariloche and Feliz Año Nuevo!!!

Of course first and foremost…Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!!  I hope everyone had an absolutely incredible holiday season…filled with laughter, joy and maybe a little drinking; like I said at midnight here in BA, cheers “to one more year in good health and happiness.”

This will officially be my last “this is a long entry” warning.  They are all long.  My only advice is to stop reading when you get bored.  Oh, but for this one specifically, you may want to split it off into a few sections, or set aside a time to sit and enjoy, cause it’s looooong.

For those who don’t know, I spent the first half of my holiday season in Bariloche.  Bariloche is known world-wide as a jumping off point to trek the Southern half of Argentina, including the Andes Mountains in Chile.  To get there from Buenos Aires, buses leave daily to make the 20 hour trip down south.  Our group of six left on Wednesday Dec. 22^nd to start our amazing adventure.  The five of them had all booked their seats well ahead of time, and selected seats near the front of the bus (with the best view).  Unfortunately, the procrastinator that I am, I waited a bit longer and got a seat a bit further back on the bus.  I was seated next to a young guy who grew up in Bariloche and now lives in Buenos Aires, and across from a couple who also grew up in Bariloche but now attends University in Buenos Aires.  Seeing as how we had a 20 hour ride (turned out to be 25 hours!!!) ahead of us, I made some small talk.  To my surprise (and delight), they had very differing opinions of the town they grew up in.  The couple, specifically the boyfriend, raved about it; how incredibly beautiful it is, how the nightlife is amazing and the people are so friendly and welcoming.  Everything I was expecting, hoping and planning for!  The exact words from the solo traveler next to me “me odio Bariloche”…translation: I hate Bariloche.  To be honest I was shocked.  I didn’t pry too much, but I got the feeling he was more into tall buildings and a fast paced life style, which is not the atmosphere in Bariloche!  The (25 hour) bus ride was not all that bad.  The seats were pretty comfortable, they showed three movies (two in English), fed us five times and gave us a few chances to get off the bus and stretch our legs.  Not to mention, when I wasn’t sleeping, the scenery was amazing!

We finally arrived (Thurs, Dec 23^rd), 4 hours late, in Bariloche.  Such an incredibly beautiful little town/city.  It looks like a ski town you may find in Colorado, clearly built up recently due to a massive in-flux if tourism.  There is a ski resort just a few kilometers South that is very popular during the winter and the city is known for having some of the best chocolate in Argentine, if not the world!  After arriving at our hostel,Penthouse 1004, we quickly settled in and were off to explore the city.  Bariloche is set on Lake Nahuel Huapi, which is actually a collection of seven different lakes, and we immediately headed down to the lakeside to take in the beauty.  After perusing for a while, our stomachs got the best of us and we headed to a neat restaurant in town called La Alpina for a snack (we had plans to eat at the best restaurant in town that night, so we didn’t want to spoil our appetites).  I’d read somewhere that smoked foods in Bariloche were delicious, so I ordered the smoked platter which came with smoked trout, boar, and venison; all delicious!  The girls ordered some delectable fondue, and Rudy got a hamburger.

We had an informational meeting to attend at the hostel at 8:30, so after our snack a few of the girls went to check out the chocolate shops, while the rest of us hit up the grocery store and made our way back.  The staff introduced themselves, and provided details for the following nights (Christmas Eve) festivities.  With the hostel fully booked, there were about 40 of us, each group was to cook some sort of dish for all to enjoy.  Some starters, entrees and of course, desserts (though I ate none of them).  Following the meeting, everyone showered and got ready for dinner, and we headed to El Boliche de Alberto.  I split the most expensive beef option on the menu with Mandy and ordered a heap of fries.  It was amazing, and I polished off Karina’s chicken, which was cooked perfectly, as well.  There was only one down-side to our hostel: the common area “closed” at 1:30am.  We didn’t get back from dinner ‘til close to 12:30 and Rudy and I settled in and cracked open a few beers.  As 1:30 came around, we were forced into our rooms, but Rudy and I were determined to continue celebrating our first night in Bariloche.  We cracked open one more liter of Quilmes and proceeded to pass the bottle between the two of us while quietly standing in the hallway, which became a bit of a running joke between the two of us: How to drink ‘after hours’ without getting ‘caught’.

The morning of Christmas Eve arrived and we had plans to be up and out of the hostel by 9am, we left at 10. 

We headed to the grocery store to buy our ingredients for dinner that night, grilled veggies and garlic mashed potatoes, and then were off to check out Llao Llao and Campinario, two places a friend of Karina’s had suggested going to.  We took the #20 bus 25km outside of the city to the locale of the most famous hotel in Bariloche, Llao Llao.  Though we didn’t go in, it sat on top of a small mountain and I can only imagine how incredible the views are from the rooms (though I doubt better than our hostel!).  The first hike we intended to do was through the Bosque de Arrayanes (Arrayanes Forest), but failed to find the correct path.  The one we did take was about an hour long through a beautiful bamboo forest surrounding one of the seven lakes.  We ended up walking back along the road, and passing the hike we intended to do along the way ha! But we had more important things to see, and had to be back at the hostel by 6:30 to get our cooking done by 8:30 (the owners were VERY adamant about this), so we hopped back on the #20 bus and got off at km17 – Campinario.  We had two options here, (1) take the gondola to the top, (2) about a 30 minute, very steep hike to the top.  We chose option two.  It was worth it.  Words cannot describe what I saw, but I will just give you an idea, and you can see the picturesfor yourself! Just to give you an idea, the view from Campinario is considered one of the top 10 greatest viewpoints in all of the world.  At the top, you have a 360 degree view of all seven lakes that make up Lake Nahuel Huapi and the surrounding mountains and cities as well.  On this day, it was cloudy and rainy, but that in no way took away from the stunning beauty before us, simply gave a different perspective.  At the top, there is a small café with some of the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever tasted.  This was already one of the highlights of the trip, but what followed was somewhat of a miracle.  As we made our way out of the café for our descent, the sun had crept through the rain clouds, and an absolutely stunningly, gorgeous rainbow shone clearly through the forest trees. Breath-taking.  We finally made our way down the mountain and back to the hostel to prepare for the feast that would ensue.

 

Julia and I did the cooking for our group.  I made heaps and heaps of garlic mashed potatoes (soooooo cheap) and Julia prepared the veggies.  You wouldn’t believe the plethora of food options that were presented throughout the night, it was incredible.  Here’s a list of what I remember eating:

                

 Starters:

-          Salmon patte

-          Brushectta

-          Pepper filled olives

-          Cheese platter

-          Smoked trout (caught fresh the day before by one of the other guests)

Entrees:

-          Gemran Schnitzel

-          Meatballs

-          Baked chicken wrapped in prosciutto

-          Garlic mashed

-          Veggies, veggies, veggies

-          Pasta salad, multiple types

Dessert: (I only tried one tiny piece of white chocolate…my favorite)

-          Applie pie

-          Truffles

-          Chocolate

-          Cookies

-          Chocolate fondue-ish

Everything was absolutely delicious and needless to say, I was stuffed by the end.  But that wasn’t going to take away from the festivities that ensued for the rest of the night.  I had purchased a bottle of Hiram Walker (Johhnie’s MUCH cheaper little brother) and Rudy had brought a bottle of Patron with him from the states.  Dangerous.  Since I cooked, I was exempt from doing dishes, but kept the washers company and struck up a nice conversation with two older women from Santa Cruz.  After all was washed up, the cork came off the bottle of Patron.  I was my usual outgoing, friendly self and after borrowing a Santa hat from one of the women was dubbed the “San Diego Santa".  The owners cleared out tables from one of the common areas and had a disco ball set up which led to some dancing, and at the end of the night a few of us headed out to an Irish pub down the road.  Rudy and I were the only ones from our group to make it out, and after having a few drinks we made our way back to the hostel earlier than the rest (around 5:30am) to catch some shut-eye before the following days activity.

December 25^th – Merry Christmas!!! Our group had booked tickets to go to Puerto Blest (Port Blest), another one of the seven lakes, the day before and were getting picked up by bus in front of our hostel at 9:30am.  After only three hours of sleep, I was definitely still drunk when I woke up (I am sure of it because I wasn’t hung over at all…haha) and was greeted with a lovely surprise in the morning! One of the other guests had waken early to perform her Christmas ritual back home in Netherlands (I think) and was in the process of rolling up fresh truffles!  She offered me one, and I graciously declined, but after offering again only a few minutes later, I felt inclined to try one.  It was scrumptious.  For the day trip, I packed a ton of food, including left-over’s from the night before, and was out the door and ready by 9:25.  (Obnoxiously) Right on time--thank you family.

From what I hear, the hour boat trip to Puerto Blest was beautiful, I couldn’t tell you, I slept the whole time.  We got there around 12 and had about 5 hours to explore two separate paths.  The first, about a 45 minute walk along a gravel road, lead to Lago Frias. Unfortunately, there were a few ugly, old boats blocking the better views, so I climbed aboard one to get a better feel for the surroundings.  Once again, amazing.  I had quite a few suggestions for the tourism center to improve the walks that day and I’ll list them as we go along.  Here was (#1) REMOVE the old, ugly, broken down boats from the spectacular views.  (#2) Create a path leading from Lago Frias to the second attraction of the day, the waterfalls.  Since clearly this path doesn’t exist, we had to walk back along the same gravel road to the starting point and headed towards Lago Cataras, and the waterfalls that preceded it.   (#3) Don’t only advertise the waterfalls, advertise the stunning lake as well!  We were a little strapped for time, or so we thought, and moved quickly along the next hike/walk through the mountains.  Along the way we crossed over a few rivers and were blessed with a few incredible views of the lake.  Clearly we were not the first to explore these waterfalls, as we neared, beautiful wooden steps replaced the dirt path which we climbed for a solid ten minutes.  It was more than worth the climb. We made it to the top at ten ‘til 4, and had been told to meet for the ferry again at 4:15.  As we made our descent, we ran into the tour guide (whom we chose not to follow for the day) and were informed the ferry was now leaving at 5.  Typical Argentina. 

Once again, I slept the entire ride back; my body was not pleased with my decisions the night before.  Upon our return, the girls went for chocolate again, Rudy and I grabbed some garlic fries and socialized with the other hostel guests, and then we all went out for a Christmas dinner.  A few of the girls went out that night, but I decided to give my body a break as we had a bus to El Bolson to catch at 8am the next day!

I ordered two remises (similar to cabs, but with a set price not a running meter) for 7:25 on Sunday, Dec 26^th.   A common theme of the trip, at least for me, was to sleep during ANY form of long term transportation.  Once again, I was told the two hour bus ride from Bariloche to El Bolson was beautiful and even included a few glaciers (I failed to see them on the return trip as well).  We arrived at 10am and I immediately fell in love.  This small town looked as if it were dropped out of the sky in the middle of the mountains; on one side, the Andes, and the other Mt. Piltriquitron   Our hostel was considered “a ways” outside of the town centre, I chuckled upon our arrival at the hostel as it took only ten minutes to walk there.  I immediately struck up a conversation with the worker at the hostel trying to plan an activity for the day.  We knew about a street fair that occurred every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but when we arrived, and walked past where the fair was supposed to be, no one was setting up.  I quickly found out it was because it didn’t open until noon.  Our plan was to check out the fair and hopefully upon our return, rent some bikes and check out Lago Puelo.  To my dismay I had forgotten it was Sunday, and that most places, including tourism offices, were closed!  Oh well, we tossed our luggage in our room, locked up our valuables in the locker and set off for the fair.  It was a gorgeous day and the food there was delicious and cheap.  I got a few empanadas and a massive Suprema de Pollo (chicken sandwich).  The stand I bought it from had a few homemade spreads that I put on my sandwich and to my surprise…they were SPICY! The first truly spicy ANYTHING I had found in all of Argentina.  I perspired quite profusely as I tend to do when eating spicy food, but I enjoyed every last bite!

El Bolson is also well known for their delicious beers.  There were a few stands offering up some of these delectable drinks and Mandy and I decided to split a tall glass of the blonde ale (as it was a gorgeous day, it fit the mold).  Wow! I have never tasted such a flavorful and savory beer in my life.  I just wish it weren’t so expensive, one glass was enough.  We made our way back to the hostel, and fell into a bit of luck.  The hostess at the front desk knew a couple who rented out bikes in El Bolson and called their house directly.  I am pretty sure they were ECSTATIC to have a group of six wanting to go for a ride, and arrived at the hostel within minutes.  Off we were on our next adventure!  The husband gave me a very brief and helpless idea of which paths to ride along, and needless to say, we went down a road with a dead end.  Eventually, we made it to La Playita (a little beach) which was packed with locals.  We stood out like a sore thumb walking along the beach with our back-packs, shoes, socks, and bikes…oh and to top it off we took some jumping pictures haha!  The real beauty in El Bolson is the ambiance, atmosphere and lifestyle that the locals live.  So being able to relax and enjoy this was the perfect way to experience this small town.  That night we grabbed dinner at the Tenedor Libre (buffet style diner) and Karina and Mandy grabbed some ice cream at Jauja (famous in Argentina, originated in El Bolson); I held off for the following night.

The next day we were up early and made our way to the tourism/excursions office in town.  I had a strong desire to do some type of water activity during this trip, and today was the perfect day for it.  Some of the girls were opposed to the idea of going in the water so we decided to split up.  I went with Rudy and Julia on a kayaking trip along the same lake we had rode to the previous day.  It was amazing, the water was beautiful, and we stopped off on some rocks halfway through the ride to have a bite to eat.  Mandy and Emily went horseback riding, and Karina did some beer tasting.  Rudy, Julia and I were feeling quite ambitious that day (why not…it may be the only time in my life I’ll be in El Bolson!!!) and so we also planned to go on a hike with Karina after our kayaking adventure.  We got back from kayaking at 3:30, changed, got ready and were picked up by our ride at 4 to go to the Bosque Tallado.  The drive took about 30 minutes, which took us halfway up Mt. Piltriquitron, and we took it from there.  Bosque Tallado is about a 45 minute, steep hike, to a carved out area on the mountain.  At this point, a very ambitious, intelligent, and savvy individual had brought massive wooden carvings to the middle of the mountain for people to see.  It was really neat, but for me the real treat was the refuge camp about 400 meters above this.  Rudy and I were feeling quite ambitious and decided to climb to a point a bit higher up on the mountain which turned out to be my highlight of the trip.  The view from up top was spectacular, amazing, breathtaking, incredible, wow, wonderful, and any other words you can think of!  The two of us sat up there for about 15 minutes, speechless; taking in the view.  To our left we could see Lago Puelo (the same lake we had been kayaking on that day, now about 8,000 feet below us), below us, the quaint little town of El Bolson, and stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see, the Andes Mountains.  Truly a sight I will never forget.  As we rode back down the mountain, our driver, a very nice man who had lived his whole life in El Bolson, reminded us that just on the other side of the Andes was Chile.  Something I hadn’t truly grasped, which once again set me aback. 

That night, we made some pasta at the hostel and then headed into town for a taste of the famous Jauja ice cream.  I got white chocolate, chocolate with almonds and raspberry.  The flavors were…to die for.  Each tasted EXACTLY as depicted in the title, unbelievable.  That evening Rudy and I hung outside the hostel polishing off the bit of Patron we had failed to finish on Christmas Eve as it was his and Julia’s last night with us.  I was sad to leave El Bolson, it is undoubtedly one of my top three places in the world that I have visited.

We took the 8am bus from El Bolson back to Bariloche, and were to stay there one more night.  I had read about a spot on the other side of the lake from Bariloche called Villa La Angostura, about an hour away, that I wanted to visit before we headed back to Buenos Aires.  As Rudy and Julia departed back for BA; Mandy, Karina, Emily and I all made our way to the bus station to head to Villa.  We got there and immediately headed to the famous park in the area, Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes.  There was a small beach when we arrived, and decided this is where we would spend the day.  We met an adorable black lab/retriever mix that I played fetch with for quite some time, never to meet the owners (if any existed).  The girls had decided to take an earlier bus back to Bariloche to have one last go around of chocolate shopping in the city.  I chose to hang back in Villa and do a separate hike to a waterfall.  I failed.  The tourist office gave me piss poor directions on how to get there, and told me there would be signs along the way for where to go.  As I did not have a watch on me and did not want to miss my bus back to Bariloche, after successfully getting lost three separate times, I decided to turn back.  All was not lost though, while failing to find the waterfalls, I stumbled upon some really unique trails.  Signs were posted (I think) that said I was entering tribal grounds, or something of the sort.  As a perused, I saw some amazing old huts, gardens, cages, and pathways.  I even saw a local off in the distance fixing a broken down wire fence, and was able to see the makings of what appeared to be a small village in the middle of the forest.  I didn’t want to upset the locals, so I didn’t tread too far onto their grounds, but what I saw was mind-boggling. 

While my adventure here in South America is one I will never forget, this trip to Bariloche will forever remain a highlight of my time down here. I am so blessed to have had this opportunity and will cherish every breath- taking, mind-blowing panoramic view I took in.

I didn’t even get to my New Year’s Eve or trip to Uruguay, but I’ll save that for my next post.  Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!  And welcome everyone to 2011!!!