Blogs from Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina, South America - page 3

Buenos Aires We arrived in Buenos Aires feeling like middle-aged housewives of a morning, following our champagne and Valium-fuelled bus ride from Iguazu Falls. Jimmy, Dylan and I were staying at the renowned party hostel- ´The Milhouse´, in downtown B.A., which turned out to be a trap for all the young Pommie and Aussie backpackers who never seemed to leave the bar. We found that out on our first night, but luckily for us, a friend (Pablo) of a friend from back home was a local and keen to show us around. First things first though- we were in the land of cheap steak and wine and we had been hanging for weeks to try them. Dinner hours in Argentina range from 9-12, but we were too hungry to wait until then. Jimmy and I had ... read more

December 10th, 2007 After the Inca trail I spent a few more days in Cusco before heading to Lima for a day on my way back to Buenos Aires. Lima was probably one of the grottiest South American cities I have been to. The taxi journey from the airport into the centre of town took me through shanty towns full of stray, mangy dogs and children clambering of heaps of rubbish. People sifting through the detritus of their lives. A truly depressing sight. The centre of town isn´t too impressive either. There is a main square (Plaza de Armas) with the usual Presidential Palace and Cathedral which you would expect in any South American city. The shops around the square are also tired and only seem to sell cheap tat. The only decent place I actually ... read more

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TRÆERNES BY Efter tretten timer i en bus, der dog var en hel del klasser over det, vi er vant til i Europa, ankom vi til Mendoza. En by tæt på grænsen til Chile, med 130.000 indbyggere. Den ligger 703 meter over havets overflade og er omgivet af Andesbjergene, der rejser sig ude i horisonten næsten uanset, hvor i byen man befinder sig. I Mendoza går man gennem grønne tunneler af træer, der læner sig ind over gaderne fra begge sider. Turistguides kalder Mendoza for vinlandets hjerte, og det er også rigtigt, for byen ligger midt i området med de største og vigtigste vingårde i Argentina. Men man kunne også kalde Mendoza for Træernes By, for uden træerne, ville den se mærkeligt nøgen ud. I Mendoza går alting langsommere. Folks gang, deres talestrøm, køerne i supermarkederne, ... read more

Aconcagua with its hight of 6962m, one of the 7 cumbres, the 7 highest mountains in the world! thats one mountain i would like to climb! It didn´t quite work out like that! It started with the search in Mendoza to a real expedition! I was still alone in my search to the top, and people told me to look for more people, just in case! This wasn´t going to be the easiest mountain! A guide wasn´t an option because that would mean a big chunk out of our budget, even maybe going home afterwards, so expensive! Plus a lot of local guides and people who went already said, it was do-able by yourself, just meet people on the mountain and you can group up with others! alright, lets do that then! And so i ... read more