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Only six months left then! Three months gone and our South American adventure is over in hours rather than days. What an adventure it has been. We have travelled from Rio right down to the southern tip of Argentina, up the western border of Argentina, in to northern Chile to San Pedro de Atacama, across the salt flats of Bolivia and over to La Paz. From there we did a circle of southern Peru before crossing back down into Chile and finishing in Santiago. I don’t know how many km’s we have travelled but its sure to be near or even over 10,000km and most of it by bus.
In my first blog I said our opinions and perceptions would change after travelling. They definitely have for South America. When we first thought about going we wondered would our safety be ok. We had heard all the usual stories of kidnappings, robberies, taxi drivers, buses etc etc. It couldn’t be further from the truth. We have met nothing but nice, friendly and helpful people who are proud of their countries and want top make sure we enjoy and understand their country. It would be unfair to compare each country and
say which is best as each one has different things to offer and even different ways of living. Argentina we will remember as been great for steak and wine. Bolivia for been cheap and inexpensive. Peru for all the different things you can do. Brazil for one of our favourite cities, Rio. Uruguay for it old fashioned town of Colonia. Chile for being far more expensive than the rest but definitely a better quality of life. We have decided to compile a top three of South America under different headings. This is mainly for ourselves so that in five or ten years we can remember some of the little things.
Top 3 Wines (to get the ball rolling) Darren………………………………...................Michelle……………………………….... Trapiche (in Puerto Iguazu, it got me started)..Di Tommasi……………………………
Di Tommasi (bought in the vineyard)………..Trapiche Collection Roble……………..
Trapiche Collection Roble……………………Carmenere (Chile)
Top 3 Dinners Darren………………………………..................Michelle……………………………….... La Cabrera (BA steakhouse)…………………Viejo Jacks……………………………
Las Vacos Gordes(Santiago-T-Bone/Late entry)La Cabrera……………………………
Viejo Jacks (Salta, 500g steak)………………BBQ(Asado in El Plubito)……………
Top 3 Hostels Darren………………………………..................Michelle………………………………...... Pudu(Bariloche)……………………………...Same………………………………........
El Plubito(El Bolson)………………………..Same………………………………......
La Posta(Ushuaia)……………………………Mango Tree(Rio)………………………
Top 3 Activities Darren………………………………...................Michelle……………………………….... Sand boarding (Huacchina)…………………..Same……………………………….......
Horse Riding (Mendoza)……………………..Wine Tasting bike tour(Mendoza)……..
Wine Tasting bike tour……………………….Horse Riding…………………………
Top 3 Treks
Darren………………………………....................Michelle……………………………… Inca Trail(Machu Picchu)…………………….Same……………………………….......
Colca Canyon(Arequipa)……………………..Same……………………………….......
Laguna Las Tres(Fitz Roy)……………………Same………………………………......
Top 3 Cities Darren………………………………....................Michelle……………………………….. Arequipa(Peru)……………………………......Same………………………………......
Rio(Brazil)…………………………….............Same………………………………......
Buenos Aires(Argentina)………………………Same……………………………….....
Top 3 sights Darren……………………………….....................Michelle………………………………. Machu Picchu……………………………….........Same………………………………............
Perito Moreno Glacier…………………………..Same………………………………............
Iguazu Waterfalls………………………………...Same………………………………............
Other things we will remember is Dulce de Leche(sweet caramel sauce Argentineans put on everything), Coca Tea, Empanadas(filled pastry), luxury buses, long buses, chicken buses, gringos, cheesey llama wool clothes, bread(too much), no change in Argentina, endless mountains, all the different nationalities we met, all the new friends we made and travelled with, all the hostels, lomo saltado(beef, onions, peppers and homemade chips stir fried together) and I’m sure many, many other things.
Well its time to go now. At present we are packing our bags and trying to squeeze everything in. Our next blog will be from New Zealand and hopefully the beautiful weather that has followed us there. Its very unlikely though. We are now heading straight into their winter (similar to the Irish) but we are we used to rain all through our lives. We may even have to use snow chains on our campervan. The van by the way we have decided to call ‘Ted’, in honour of the episode of
Father Ted where they stay in the caravan with Graham Norton. For those who want an early preview on Ted go to www.wildernessmotorhomes.com . For those of you that know Whitesnake!
We don’t know where we’re going,
But we sure know where we’ve been,
Hanging on the promises of the songs of yesterday,
And we’ve made up our minds,
We aint wasting no more time,
Here we go again!
In a bit. DH
Song of the blog: Here I go again - Whitesnake!
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Sara
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Wow SA
Wow guys what an amazing group of photos! They are so picturesque, i'm very excited that 1/3 is down, only 2/3's left until we get to see ye....eek!! (I know Daz i know!) Ps: You can buy that Dulce de leche stuff here :-) mmmm!!! x x x x x