AMR

After my visit to the Perito Moreno Glacier, I thought it was time to get back on the hiking trail. This time, my adventures led me to El Chalten and to Mount Fitz Roy. El Chalten is a small hiking village accessible from El Calafate, which is surrounded by towering glaciers, crystal lagoons, vast lakes, and the ever-looming presence of mount Fitz Roy. This is quiet village is often deemed the "National Trekking Capital of Argentina," due to its unparalleled access to glacial terrain. The area is also known, however, for recreational climbing, camping, horseback riding, fishing, and rafting. It was an early morning start from El Calafate and a four hour bus ride to El Chalten. I befriended an Israeli couple on the bus and asked them if they wanted to hike together. The reply ... read more

After my mammoth adventure across the lakes, I arrived in Bariloche, the Switerland of Argentina around 9pm. Bariloche is located about 450 miles southwest of Buenos Aires and 50 miles from the Chilean border. The city’s center is comprised of dozens and dozens of lpine chalet-style buildings; each constructed of logs of Argentinean hardwood and covered with sloping green-tiled roofs, and decorated with charming wooden shutters and tiny flower gardens; quite befitting of its European namesake. Set on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, with its brilliant blue-green waters and seemingly endless borders, Bariloche serves as the hub of Argentina’s own Lake District, and the northernmost point of Patagonia. As such, while relatively small, it is a bustling, international city filled with charming cafes, quaint boutiques, fashionable restaurants, luxury hotels, and enchanting lakeside lo... read more

Santiago - it is a city who’s postcard face is that of a modern metropolis poised under gargantuan snow tipped Andean peaks. Its courteous and orderly surface makes it the least intimidating of all Southern American capitals for travellers. The city itself defies pinning down. You can find polished suburbs and worn down cafes, neoclassical architecture dulled to grey and a conservative culture that erupts in street protest every now and then. Perhaps the most evasive face of the city is its lovely mountain backdrop. And every now and again when you are wandering around the city you catch glimpses of the beautiful Andean mountains. It really can catch you by surprise. I was only in Santiago for a day, as it was really just a pit stop in order to catch a flight down south ... read more

It was another long day on the bus to get us from Tupiza to Salta. We were up at 3am to catch the 4am (teeth chattering) bus from Tapiza to the boarder. Once we got into Argentina it was about an eight hour bus ride to Salta. We arrived at our hostel about 8pm that night, just in time to have a quick shower and head out with a group from the hostel to a traditional folklore resturant. This was my first introduction to Argentinean meat, and by god it was good. I am not a massive steak eater, and this thing was massive. I did pretty well and managed to polish almost all of it off. Ahh yumm…… Over the next couple of days, me and Karin didn’t really do too much except sit around ... read more

Okay, so our 7 - 20 hour bus ride ended up being 10 hours. We were doing really well until we came to the big river crossing. We all had to get out to lighten the load before the bus driver tried to negociate the dry, but very soft, river bed. As we made our way across, we all had a good chuckle at another bus that was bogged. Well we all laughed too soon, because as we turned around we saw our bus drive about 20 metres into the river bed and get stuck. Just great. After about 20min of digging and pushing our bus was free and off it went.......and then got stuck about 50 metre away. Crap. We tried and tried to get it but it just kept sinking and sinking. In the ... read more