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Published: July 30th 2009
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Mendoza symbol
In the main plaza So after the obligatory farewells, it was farewell to the remaining people from my Oasis trip and farewell to Chile as I jumped on the very fancy Chile/Argentina bus service. It was a 8 hour bus service but it flew by. It helped that all the seats were individual and were more Laz-y-boys than bus seats. The scenery was also amazing as we climbed up and over the Andes' mountains and several ski resorts, which reminded me how long it had been since I have been skiing.
Once in Mendoza, I made the short walk to the hostel, dumped my stuff and headed out to explore the town. As advertised, the town was very beautiful, full of squares and fountains and very open. My overall view of the city improved even further that night when I joined several people from the hostel in heading to Don Marios, reputedly a good place for steak. I now wish I had taken my camera as not only was the steak the best I had ever had, it was quite possibly the biggest and perfectly cooked. It must have been very close to 1kg! Just amazing and my mouth is watering again writing about
Plaza Art
Describing the history of the city it.
The next day, I had booked it to see one of the other sights Mendoza is known for, the nearby treks into the Andes. I had spoken to several people who had done the trek the day before and they ahd nothing bad to say about it. We drove out there and it turned out to be me, the guide and a British father and daughter combination doing the trek. We started fairly slowly, but I sped up the further we got up. One, because I was used to the altitude, and secondly, because as opposed to the people I spoke to, we had bad weather slide over. No rain, just bitingly cold winds, which when we got to the top turned into snow! We all huddled behind rocks for our lunch before heading down rather quickly. Despite the temperatures, I really enjoyed it and will be exploring a lot more hiking once I get back to the UK.
From Mendoza, I had a bit of a blank slate for my travels so I spent a couple of days here relaxing and sorting out my options and I eventually decided on heading next to Cordoba, which in
Andes #1
Looking down retrospect, I should have bypassed. A city never looks as good as it can when you arrive in rain (the first I had seen in 51 days!), and it didn't improve with the weather either. The main square was covered for restoration and there was very little to do. So after staying an extra night just for a BBQ, I headed along to Buenos Aires.
It was another night bus, and a much better experience than when I did it in Europe. I even managed to sleep a bit, which I rarely do on planes! I was upstairs with 3 others, who happened to be a family of Kiwis from Torbay! Once I arrived, I had an inauspicious start as soon after leaving the bus terminal, I had lemon merangue thrown on me! Whether it was an accident, malicious, or a diversion attempt while someone tried to rob me, I will never know as I kept walking to hostel where I cleaned up and headed out to explore. And what a city it is!
I have heard comparisons with Buenos Aires and European cities, but my first mental comparison was New York, just on an older scale. The
Andes #2
Looking up buildings here were huge and all very impressive. Despite the lacklustre weather I managed to get around most of the main sights in the centre before collapsing at the hostel for a siesta. I tried a local parilla for a steak, but it was a disappointment compared with Mendoza. I do have a recommendation, but I decided to save it for another day.
The following day, I was feeling a little run down so after organising bus tickets up to Puerto Iguazu and back, I checked out La Recoleta Cemetery, which is based in a very exclusive part of the city. So all the crypts here are huge and incredibly ornate. Many of the wealthy and famous are buried here as well, including Evita Peron.
The next morning I relaxed around the hostel before heading to the bus terminal, where my 18 hour bus trip up to Puerto Iguazu awaited. They had an average selection of movies so it kept me from finishing my book too quickly and we got there with no problems. From there, I skipped the hostel and went straight to my reason for coming up here, the Iguazu Falls, the greatest flowing waterfalls in
Andes #3
Looking at me the world.
I had my trusty walking stick from the Inca trail so avoided all the terribly touristy mini-trains ferrying people a few hundred metres round the park, and walked the paths instead. First stop was straight to Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat, where the sound was incredible. Hopefully the photos can do it justice. Then for the next several hours, I explored the park, where there were several other trails to various other waterfalls, though not quite as spectacular, still pretty amazing. Once I had had my fill, I headed to the hostel, where after a delicious buffet dinner, I chilled out and chatted to various travellers. The following day, I just relaxed around the hostel before heading into town to catch my bus back to Buenos Aires.
The next day proved I had chosen my options wisely (if not a little luckily) as it was raining, so I hung out in the hostel before heading into town to catch the return bus trip back to Buenos Aires. Another 18 hours.
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Darran
non-member comment
nice
Good blog James. Have fun in Guatemala