Page 5 of stewartgetslost Travel Blog Posts


South America » Argentina » Santa Fe » Rosario April 2nd 2009

So, after leaving Buenos Aires, I had 3 weeks to spend before I wanted to be back there for yet more football. Just about enough time to check out Rosario, Cordoba and Uruguay thought I. And so this first leg took me just 4 hours from BA to Rosario, famous for being the birthplace of Che Guevara. Now, I'm no communist, but this Guevara fellow seems rather popular, so I thought it was only right to see what the city had to offer in this respect. And at first glance, it seemed OK, apparently there was a monument to him in a park just outside the centre, and it was also possible to visit the house where he was born. So now, here comes my warning to anyone going to Rosario for Guevara tourism. Don't. The ... read more
Monument a la Bandera
Che statue
Rio Parana

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires March 29th 2009

Well I think thats how the song went! So, as promised, I thought I'd write a little about my adventures in the football stadiums of Buenos Aires (with the promise of a Superclassico to come). It all started one fine March day, when I wandered down to the Monumental, home of River Plate, to see if I could buy tickets for the Argentina vs Venezuela game the following week. Turned out they weren't on sale yet, but I could buy tickets for the River Plate vs San Martin de Tucuman game that Sunday, and also, there was a stadium tour leaving in 10 minutes if I wanted a look around. Of course, I bought both. The Monumental gets overlooked in favour of the Bombonera by most people that come to BA, and I have to admit, ... read more
Where I was
Bombonera
Town on tour!

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires March 21st 2009

Buenos Aires was a huge culture shock for me at first. All of a sudden, in the space of a 4 hour flight, I went from the depths of Patagonia to a huge, hot, bustling city. I was amazed by the size of some of the streets here, I all but needed a pair of binoculars to see to the other side of Avenida Libertador! I was very thankful that for the first few days there I was able to stay with Sandy, step-brother of a friend of my parents. As he lives just outside the city centre, it gave me a calm place while I tried to get used to the new pace of life. One of the things I had been told about Buenos Aires, was that it is a city with two passions. ... read more
Recoleta Cemetery Entrance
Puente de la Mujer
Obelisk at night

South America » Argentina » Tierra del Fuego » Ushuaia March 15th 2009

Oh come on, don't tell me you didn't see that title coming did you? You didn't? Shame on you. Michael Stipe would be very upset, and so am I. I did play with using "At least its not the end of the world" but I plumped for the obvious instead. I don't regret it at all. Anyway, enough of that. I arrived in Ushuaia quite late at night, so just had enough time to pitch my tent in the lovely Pista del Andino campsite before it got dark. Tired from the bus journey, I ate then slept fairly soon after. Excitement all the way. So, the next day I woke and after breakfast went off to explore Ushuaia a little bit. It's actually a nice city, and is obviously cashing in on "End of the World" ... read more
My Antarctic cruise liner struck a leak
Beagle Channel
You looking at me?

South America » Chile » Magallanes » Punta Arenas March 9th 2009

So, after a bit of deliberation, I went Ipodless from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas, Chile's southermost city. I didn't really have much planned for there, but I had a couple of days to spare before I wanted to be in Ushuaia, so I thought I might as well check it out. What was slightly worrying, was that on the bus ride down we went past quite a large area with signs saying "Keep out, minefield". I can't for the life of me work out why there is the need for a minefield right down here, but hey, whatever floats their boat. I just made a mental note not to go trekking round here, just in case. Arriving in the city, I decided I'd spent quite enough time in the Condensator for now, and parked up ... read more
Lighthouse at the end of the continent
Tierra del Fuego
The Ferry to Tierra del Fuego

South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine March 7th 2009

Day 5: Camping Seron - Regugio Dickson I'd steeled myself for a tough day today, but it turned out to be anything but. For starters, the weather was absolutely beautiful, so as we made our traditionally tardy start, it was in high spirits. Jonas had overheard a group of Germans discussing how that they had only started at 9am the previous day, and that was far too late, and tomorrow they would need to start earlier, therefore, they had to skip tea. Being as we got away at 11:30, it was clear that we didn't skip tea, but these 2 words would become the catchphrase for the rest of the walk. Anyway, apart from one rather annoying hill, it was pretty flat between Seron and Dickson, with some superb views of Lago Paine, and the mountain ... read more
I got a bit snap happy here
Surveying the scene
Glacier and Lago Dickson

South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine March 2nd 2009

Torres del Paine that is. Didn't see that one coming did you? So, upon my arrival in Puerto Natales, I once again followed some Israelis to find the cheapest hostel in town, and started my preparations for my trek in the Torres. I had planned to do the W, but some girls in my hostel had just finishing the full circuit, and were strongly recommending that. I decided to leave it until the next day to make my final decision. There exists a hostel in Natales called Erratic Rock where they give a talk at 3pm everyday about trekking in the park. As I was currently dithering over doing the O or the W (technical names here) I decided to go along to see what the guys had to say. Somehow, over the course of this ... read more
View from Mirador Pehoe
Sunrise down the valley
View down the Valle Frances


I had a nice surprise on the bus from Chalten to Calafate, Die Hard 4 was the chosen film, and it was in English. This led to it being one of my favourite bus rides so far. I had no desire to stay in El Calafate longer than what was required to go and visit the Perito Moreno glacier. It's a hugely touristy, expensive, and not very pleasant city. The advantage of travelling with Israelis is that they always seem to know the tricks of how to save money. In this case, the guys I was with had heard that its possible to rent a car in Calafate, and drive early in the morning to the glacier, thus avoiding paying the 60 pesos entrance fee. Therefore, upon arriving in town, we found a hostel, rented the ... read more
Perito Moreno glacier
Glacier and mountains
Splash!

South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz » El Chaltén February 21st 2009

I arrived in El Chalten at 7am with nothing planned. I had nowhere to stay, didn't have a map, and all I knew was that I wanted to go hiking in the national park. My usual course of action in these instances is to hit the tourist office, but thats closed at 7am. It was blowing a gale out, so I asked a guy where the nearest hostel was, and went and took refuge inside. This turned out to be a very smart move, as the hostel had a good map of the trails available around the area, and also a spot where I could dump my stuff before heading out into the National Park. As it happens, I wasn't the only one taking refuge in the hostel after the bus journey, and so it was ... read more
Fitz Roy range from Laguna Capri
Laguna Suiza
Fitz Roy from Laguna de los Tres

South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz February 19th 2009

I didn't plan to stay in Los Antiguos. But when you arrive in a town, and find that the next bus out isn't for 2 days, you generally end up staying there. Not knowing a great deal about the place, I hastened for the tourist office, to find there were a couple of nice walks around the area. Even better, is that Los Antiguos is the cherry growing capital of Argentina, and one of the farms does a free tour and tasting everyday at 4pm. Excellent. My first walk was to the municipal campsite at the edge of town, which was very well set up. It was also very close to one of the places the tourist office had said was a nice place to walk to, so as soon as my tent was pitched, I ... read more
National Cherry Party!
Fishing on Lago Buenos Aires
Los Antiguos




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