El Calafate Another long trip - 24 hrs - brought me through Rio Gallegos, the capital of the Santa Cruz region of Argentina, to the much visited town of El Calafate. In Argentina you just cannot avoid these long bus rides unless you fly everywhere or just endure the long trips on some other mode of transport, like the popular Navimag (which I would love to go on if only the price did not exceed my budget by so much). I spoke with a Dutch man yesterday about this detail. Since no more than a 5 hour car ride is required to travel between any two points in Holland, he said, Argentina puts Dutch peeps in an "interesting situation" (ie this is very weird for them). El Calafate is another one of those towns whose existence ... read more

Puerto Madryn The regular route that travelers in South A. take has a place called El Bolson next on the itinerary after Bariloche. El Bolson is known as a bohemian's town, often brimming with backpackers looking to explore the surrounding wilderness or getting wrecked alongside people from all ends of the Earth. It sounds like an intriguing place but I didn't come to this continent to see tourists. So I decided to head east to Puerto Madryn and observe a different kind of "wild"life. A port town, Puerto Madryn is located on a scenic piece of Atlantic Argentinean coast and serves as base camp for tourists wanting to see the Reserva Faunistica Peninsula Valdes (Valdes Peninsula Wildlife Reserve). The main attraction arrives in April: southern right whales on a migratory path north, following the schools of ... read more

Bad Ideas when Traveling Another post for my entertainment and yours. Please comment from your own experience. The following are bad ideas that I may have or may not have tried plus contributions: 1. Walk through a moth- and mosquito-infested jungle during the night with your headlamp on. 2. Travel Bolivia without toilet paper. 3. Start country-bashing without asking where your audience is from.... read more

Bariloche During my stay in Chiloe I was able to meet some Argentineans who were visiting their neighbours. Despite the Chileans' rave reviews of Chiloe these gauchos gave disappointed reports of the island and told me that across the mountains, in Argentina, paradise waits. So I was off to Bariloche, Argentina. When you arrive in Bariloche one of the first things you notice is the large lake the city sits beside and the dramatic snowcapped mountains that cradle Bariloche. Some of these mountains meet the sky in needle-like spires, other are vast plains of white snow. You start getting the idea of this place... the most interesting attractions lie outside of the city, in the wilderness. Many people, especially bonaerenses (people from Buenos Aires) travel to Bariloche to camp. When I arrived I found most campers ... read more

Valpo There is a complex variety of personalities among travelers. In Santiago I met a German man who claimed to not own any sort of electrical apparatus in order to have as few tie-downs as possible. He is a polyglot, speaking Spanish, German, English, French, and who-knows-what-else. When he is not working on a cruiseship he makes jewelry for a living. Another man I met is an American who drove all the way south to Argentina, where he drove his 2003 Tundra off a 15 ft. cliff. He believes that life is better in South America than in the States (quite a contrast to all the locals who try desperately to get a Visa for the U.S. or Canada). These two are just a sample of all the different people I have been meeting and their ... read more