Following on from Frank, the tango show was incredible. We saw it at Cafe Tortoni, a very famous cafe in Buenos Aires, established in 1858 by a French immigrant. The cafe was beautifully decadent (thought that might amuse uni friends), all velvet drapes and gold plaster, serving delicious French food and drinks. We had front row seats in this small, intimate room with a tiny stage. The show tells a story (sadly all in Spanish), with a tenor singer, a violinist, a pianist and cello. The music is so good on its own, but the dancing is just so moving. Although [View Full Entry]

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Road to Aconcagua National Park Ruta 40 heads south out of the winegrowing region of Mendoza towards Bariloche. This is the main Andean carriageway of Argentina, stretching from the Bolivian border in the north, 5100km down to the southern most part of Patagonia in the south. It forms part of the Pan American, a road which, apart from a few miles between Colombia and Panama, forms a continuous highway into northern Alaska. 20km or so beyond Mendoza, Ruta 7 turns west, towards to Chilean border, Aconcagua National Park, and the route across the Andes. The skyline is marked also by the [View Full Entry]

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Edellispaivana pyorittiin taas Valparaison kaduilla ja kukkuloilla. Kaytiin Pablo Nerudan kampalla ja on kaverilla ollut melkoinen koti. Hamaria juttuja raahattu ympari maailmaa... Sielta mentiin kukkuloiden "ulkoilmamuseon" lapi eli valtavia ja upeita graffiteja maalattu isoille seinille ympari kukkulan rakennuksia. Muutenkin graffiteja loytyy joka paikasta. Ei siis mitaan "paska kaupunni -juttuja" vaan ihan oikeaa taidetta. Iltapaivalla mentiin Vina del Mariin junalla ja hmm... olihan se ihan hanurista. Kaveltiin rantaa pari kilometria ja tarkoitus oli menna uimaan. Vesi oli aivan jaatava [View Full Entry]

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Okay so here is my next blog that consists of nothing but pure happiness. and im very happy that im starting to feel that way =) =) So, ive had some problems with my host family. To keep it short (and i dont like to talk bad about anyone), we didnt get along. So, i talked to my AFS leison Renzo and we decided on a family change, because i had tried a lot of things to make it work and it just wasnt going to happen. I moved just over a week ago. So, i have a new family now!! [View Full Entry]

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Most of us said our goodbyes on leaving the evening meal, but the spanish guys were flying to iguazu, so I ended up saying goodbye in the airport. My plane was late, as expected, but as soon as we climbed above the city the weather was fantastic.. As we flew further north I could see Torres del Paine quite clearly in the distance. The flight stopped in calafate, and was late taking off; I was supposed to have 40 minutes transfer time, so by now it was looking unlikely that i'd make the next flight. We had a change of crew, [View Full Entry]

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I went to Mendoza this past weekend and had a great time. I left Santiago around 22:00, the bus ride to the Argentine border was about 3 hours, a little more, but customs took 3 hours. I got into Mendoza at 7 in the morning, and of-course nothing was open. My friend Mandy came with me, so we decided to walk around the city a little and see what there was to do. We ended up finding a cafe and had some food to eat. After the food we went to our hostel, called Pirka, which was great, the people who [View Full Entry]

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Having given up on climbing Volcan Villarica we headed to Mendoza for some vineyards, wine and bife de chorizo. This meant another crossing of the Andes which true to form didn't disappoint. The weather was typical of the mountains - as we climbed higher the snow got heavier but the sun also sometimes came out, beautiful. Then once more we'd be in mist and cloud, all four seasons in a day, again. This is the land of the Monkey Puzzle tree, there are thousands of them in the parque nacional the road passes through. They really are strange. On the Argentinian [View Full Entry]

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Pictures! [View Full Entry]

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OLA We are now in Mendoza folks and today we are both suffering from sore bottoms! We did a wine tour on bikes yesterday. We cycled about 17 miles in 37 degrees (in the shade) with lots of tastings inbetween. So im feeling rather precious but what a day , it was magnificent! Summer has come early in Mendoza it usually peaks at about 40 degrees in high summer but today the temp is about 41 degrees so it is very hot in the city. After some lunch we are heading to the park to the outdoor pool to laze about. [View Full Entry]

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Steves grubbings, The city of Cordoba, its grand old churches residing over a city full of all the trappings of a modern working metropolis; coffee shops, icecream bars, homeless people... and lots of McDonalds. We soon escaped the city setting off for the hills, first came a day trip to Alta Gracia. The childhood home of the great Che Guevara, and oddly once visited by JFK. Che´s former home is now a museum, and it turned out to be really good, his story told in photos and letters, his bicycles, toys and books, a film of local people and their recollections [View Full Entry]

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