http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Code99/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Code99 en-us Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:27:47 BST Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:27:47 BST I LOVE EL CHALTEN http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Chalten/blog-253913.html Finally after days of driving if we ever go again we'll be flying we made it to El Calafatea place I had long dreamed of visiting. The town itself is a nice little place with lots of nice restaurants wine bars chocolate and ice cream shops and hotels and makes for a comfortable place to spend a few days. Of course the real reason we came hereas does everyone elsewas to see th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Calafate/blog-236640.html We had originally planned to drive from Bariloche to El Calafate via the Carretera Austral and Ruta 40 but everywhere we went when we told people of our plans everyone looked at us like we were crazy. The rental car people. The border control people. The hosteria people. Finally we decided to follow everyone's advice and travel from Coyhaique to El Calafate via Rio Mayo and Sarmiento and along http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Chubut/blog-233586.html We arrived on the Carretera Austral via Trevelin Argentina and Futaleufu. Though we only ended up driving the Carretera for 2 days rather than the originally planned 3 or 4 it was still a high point of our trip. The scenery is stunning and constantly changing and is some of the most beautiful I've seen anywhere on the planet. If you decide to go I would recommend the suggestions you'll find in http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Aisen/Carretera-Austral/blog-232676.html Finally...After more than a year anxiously anticipating a return to the land of tango beautiful scenery and friendly people yerba mate excellent wine and the best beef in the world we finally return to Argentinaone of my most favorite places in the entire world...We spent only one night in BA we had to have parrilla and Malbec before heading to Bariloche via LAN picking up a rental http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/blog-232670.html Like Nike we just did it... http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Mississippi/blog-200504.html Ok so this isn't exactly travel but I'm going to post some pictures here from in and around my home state. This is just a start more to come... http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Mississippi/blog-192548.html Matagalpa or Mataglaplia if you happen to be my mom is worth a visit if you're ever in the area. Its a working town up in the hills that is quite tidy and seems to be a bit wealthier than most other places in Nicaragua. Definitely not a tourist destination we didn't see a single foreigner there... http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/blog-168170.html Selva Negra is a very unique place and well worth a visit. Beware if you have mold allergies though as this place is some kinda damp. Everybody but me suffered mightily from the allergic snothead the whole time we were there. Beautiful place... http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/blog-168154.html Leon is a great contrast to Granada. These two cities are similar in size and both have many sights to see but their similarities end there. Leon isn't a tourist town like Granada and we saw few foreigners beggars or as many signs of obvious poverty. The locals don't take much notice of youunless its just to nod and give a quiet holaunlike in Granada where it seems that every male under http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Leon/blog-168143.html Laguna de Apoyo is a great place to lie around and take it easy for a few days. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Laguna-de-Apoyo/blog-167884.html Things have changed a bit here since our last visit a year and a half ago. There has been more restoration work and more hotels and other businesses opening but there has also been an increase in crime and general seediness. There was an American expat who we actually knew from our previous trip who was brutally attacked the night before we arrived and who died from her injuries two days later. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Granada/blog-167806.html Mendoza was kind of an afterthought and I'm still kicking myself for my stupidity in not providing for more time there. We had to take a bus from Santiago to Buenos Aires and since we didn't much like the idea of spending 23 hours on a bus and since the bus route to BA would take us through Mendoza I thought what the hell let's spend a daynight there. We could have easily spent a week. Its a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/blog-116255.html Chiloe just as all the books will tell you is really quite different from the rest of Chile in terms of culture cuisine topography etc. If you ever find yourself in the south of Chile Chiloe is definitely worth a few days... http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/Chiloe-Island/blog-115962.html Esquel was quite a pleasant surprise. I didn't know much about the town beforehand but it turned out to be a very nice place. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Chubut/Esquel/blog-115363.html Bariloche is a nice place to spend a few days. The city itself doesn't have much to offerother than good restaraunts great chocolate and pleasant surroundingsbut it makes a great base to see the nearby attractions. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Rio-Negro/San-Carlos-de-Bariloche/blog-115357.html Mention El Bolson and you'll hear from folks and the guidebooks hippie town. So I was thinking stinky tiedyed unwashed dreadlocked stoners reeking of Patchouli banging on djembes like chimpanzees. Well happily I can say that wasn't the case at all. The only thing hippie about El Bolson that I noticed was the allnatural getting back to nature vibe of the place and I think that's a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Rio-Negro/El-Bolson/blog-115155.html These are from Buenos Aires. I wish I had better and more pics but it seems we spent more time doing things than taking pictures. Buenos Aires is definitely one of the world's great cities. It is a beautiful place with plenty of things to do and some of the best food and wine I've ever had anywhere and it is very affordable. Surprisingly it isn't overrun with tourists yet like say Paris o http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/blog-115059.html These are from our recent South America trip when I finally got to meet Lorena's family after nearly 4 years http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Rios/Valdivia/blog-115050.html These are pics from our recent trip to Colonia. If you're ever in Buenos Aires it is definitely worth the hourlong ferry ride over to Colonia Uruguay. Its very small and can be seen in an afternoon but I highly recommend spending a night there to get the full effect... http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/West/Colonia-del-Sacramento/blog-114903.html