Argentinian adventures and gourmet delights

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Hola! We're currently in El Calafate, Patagonia, southern Argentina. I'm back on blog duty after Olie valiantly battled through the Bolivian entry. I'm afraid that this one could be equally beastly as we've let 14 days pass. To make matters worse the one internet cafe in town charges over £3/hr, so I'm attempting to type this entry on my touch screen phone using our hostels free Wifi...slow, painful progress! Anyway, I'm determined to try as I absolutely love Argentina…you may not have had such enthusiasm if I'd attempted this for Bolivia! I was looking forward to Argentina the most and it hasn't disappointed...gorgeous sunshine, stunning and often monstrous scenery, pretty town centres, amazingly friendly locals and delicious wine/chocolate/ice cream/steaks etc etc. This place is on par with New Zealand for me...lucky we're here for 2 months :-)

28/09/11 - After 'spending 10 hours on a bus and another hour in a supermarket queue' (O.Summers, 2011) we started to enjoy the delights of Salta, north western Argentina. With its beautiful colonial architecture, plaza side cafes, high street stores and 30C heat we soon realised this was going to be a step up from Bolivia…thank god! We spent the morning wandering round the town centre and stocked up on a few essentials that we'd lost along the way - namely some flip flops and a padlock for me and a belt for Olie. We then visited the Museum of Mountain Archeology, a fantastic museum about mountain exploration and Inca sacrifices. Three sacrificed children have been found in the mountains surrounding Salta. The children were buried alive after being forced to consume maize alcohol until they passed out! The most fascinating, if not slightly controversial part of our visit, was seeing the 15yr old/500 yr old 'maiden' immaculately preserved...her skin and hair was in perfect condition. She just looked like she was sitting up, asleep! She was found in 1999 at the peak of Llullaillaco volcano (6,739m), between Salta and the Chilean border. It is the highest known archeological site in the world. The cold, low pressure and lack of oxygen and bacteria created perfect preservative conditions. Alongside the maiden were two c.7 year olds - a boy and girl. We didn't see them as the three sacrifices are rotated on display in their cylindrical frozen tubes throughout the year. It is thought that the girl was struck by lightning at some point as she is severely burnt on one side. Moving on… we then visited the 'Patio de las empanadas' for lunch...I think Olie consumed 9 empanadas that day!! Gluttonous piggy :-) That eve we went to a 'peña', a bar where you eat, drink and listen to a live performance of folklore music. Really interesting experience, average meal, an outraged pair of budget travelers upon realising they'd been charged for using cutlery!!

29/09/11 - Flew to Mendoza. We were pretty worried about the 15kg weight limit, but my accidental bag loss helped prevent what we thought was an inevitable fine. Hostel Alamo was lovely, located off Chile Plaza, on one of Mendoza’s many leafy avenues. Wandered to the main plaza and then around the city’s centre. The city has a very European feel and even has a Carrefour! Bizarrely, Mendoza is an Andean desert town, it’s just very well irrigated! It's also synonymous with wine; with over 300 exporting wineries in the region, so our plan was to visit vineyards and sample the local Malbec...

30/09/11...sticking to plan, we headed to Maipu, a small town just outside Mendoza, packed with wineries, olive groves and other gourmet businesses. We rented a(nother) bike and embarked on a self-guided tour of some vineyards (yep, we opted for the cheapest means of wine tasting!) It's pretty odd that a desert town has so many vineyards, but when you look at the surrounding landscapes and see snow capped mountains it soon makes a bit more sense. Apparently the key to successful wine making is controlled irrigation - a heavy rainfall can spoil entire crops. Here there is no such problem as two-thirds of the required water is piped in from snowmelt in the nearby Andes. Different grapes grow better at different altitudes, so the region also benefits from having vineyards at various points up the mountains. We only visited the lower Malbec vineyards. For those interested in opening their own enterprise, we learnt that low humidity helps keep pests away and that warm days encourage sugar production, whilst the cool nights ensure decent acidity levels. Anyway, back to our tour...we set off with a basic map, a bottle of water and a camera...felt a bit like a work site visit, apart from the bike and beautiful surrounds. I had a girl’s bike with a basket and brakes within easy reach :-). Wahoo. We cycled 12km to the end of the wine route, enjoying the sunshine and the flat roads with vineyards either side and snow capped mountains in the distance. Decided we better stop at one of the vineyards, so we popped into the regions oldest...Di Tommaso, which established in the 1830's. We had a quick tour into the cellar and huge old fermenting barrels, found out that they now use French and American oak to age the wine and then tasted 4 different types of wine...and to Olie´s delight they weren't shy with the measures. We had a basic, premium and ultra premium Malbec, then a glass of sweet dessert wine. Felt a bit light headed climbing back on the bike! Next stop, lunch at vineyard numero dos for lunch and another glass of wine. We then visited Tempus Alba; a modern, large-scale winery, followed by a chocolate liquor establishment (bit grim to be honest!) and finally ended up in a random beer garden to enjoy the last of the sunshine. Fab day. Arrived back in Mendoza about 7pm and cooked dinner.

01/10/11 - Snapped up the final two seats on the Andesman bus to Bariloche for the following night...lucky we booked in advance, we don't normally! Finally found an Argentinian adaptor (the downside of an e-book finally reared its ugly head when we were stuck for 4 days without the ability to charge!) Enjoyed a picnic in 'Parque General San Martin' (Argentina's liberator and Simon Boliva equivalent) with its beautiful lake, regatta club, tennis courts, abundance of roller bladders (young and old), skate boarders, runners and an enormous yoga group! Wandered round the lake and then sat on a bench sipping water, when a randomer came over and asked the time...he spoke English so the conversation continued and it transpired that this guy from Belgium had had his belongings stolen at the bus station...everything, including passport and money. The police weren't helping much, no hostel would let him in without money and the embassy wasn't open until Monday. We didn't really know what to suggest and ended up giving him 50 pesos and wishing him well. At the back of our minds we were wandering if this was some elaborate scam, but he seemed genuine and we kind of hoped that if we ever got into that situation someone would help us out...karma. Didn't help the budget though!

02/10/11 – After finding ourselves in a ghost town (Sunday!), we meandered back and cooked a pizza in the world’s slowest oven, which meant that we missed our planned cinema viewing. Ended back in San Martin Park. It was packed!! Obviously the place to be on a Sunday. By the time we got back to the hostel it was 7pm, so we grabbed our bags and headed to the bus station to catch our most expensive bus ever...£80 each (still cheaper than flights). Expected good things, despite our failed attempt to get into 1st class. The 17hr journey to Bariloche would have been unbearable in any of our previously visited countries, but in Argentina it was fine. We left bang on time and an hour later were enjoying a three course meal (albeit on a blue plastic tray) with a polystyrene cup full of red wine! Roasted butternut squash and chicken...better than an aeroplane. The bus pulled everything out of the bag...a film, lights off by midnight, reclining leather chairs (cama), breakfast at sunrise, mid-morning bingo (bottle of vino for winner), followed by lunch and another film! By 2pm the following day we didn't really want to get off! If it wasn’t for the threat of DVT (we noticed we had very swollen ankles!) we may have carried on south.

03/10/11 - Bariloche Hostel was wonderful. Our bedroom had a gorgeous wooden floor, views of Lago Nahuei Huapi and heating so intense that we had to open the windows (not very green!) Unfortunately we arrived in Bariloche in the aftermath of a Chilean volcanic eruption (started a few months ago) which has covered the local area in a thick layer of volcanic ash! Everything looked grey and a bit miserable - nothing like the postcards of this lake district hub. A lot of residents were walking around with face masks on, as if they were in the middle of a SARs epidemic! We were told that today was particularly grim because of the wind direction, so we crossed our fingers for better weather and headed to one of the 'chocolate capital of Argentina's' famous chocolate shops. We also visited Jauja, rumored to have the best ice cream in the country - amazing stuff! The surrounding mountains provide popular ski slopes for those that way inclined (def not me after my last attempt!) so the town has a real ski resort feel with loads of wooden chalets (even the ash could pass as snow!) I managed to pick up a few replacement presents for Olie (whoops...he's still fuming about the bag!) and having cooked every night in Mendoza, we decided to (finally) treat ourselves to a proper Argentinian steak at El Boliche de Alberto. It was incredible. We shared a bife de lomo…huge slabs of thick, rare steak cooked on a huge indoor bbq, served alongside a generous portion of papa de frits and salad. Olie declared it 'the best day of ´bests´ in his life...best bus, best ice cream, best steak'. I wasn’t going to disagree.

04/10/11 - Had to retrieve our travel card from HSBC as the ATM had eaten our card. We'd signed up to a half day kayaking trip in Lago Guittlerez in the heart if the lake district. Unfortunately we weren’t rewarded with the spectacular views normally enjoyed on this trip...the ash cloud was in full force and we could barely see the other side of the lake. The trip was still great fun though. We were with a group of Argentineans and were invited to join in an age old custom...mate sharing. Mate (pronounced mah-tay) is a strong tea, a bit like green tea, which is sipped from a gourd through a metal straw. Argentineans seem to be lugging thermos flasks around and sipping from gourds everywhere they go. In parks, cars, shops and apparently on excursions. It's their answer to coca tea and they seem to love it. According to the trusty lonely planet, an invitation to partake in mate is a treat and a rarity for travelers (unless you buy a tea bag...which isn't the same as sipping water filtered through the leaves). Although it tasted hideously strong, we felt quite privileged. That eve we cooked up spag bol accompanied by a bottle of Mendoza Syrah and then found a nearby pub.

05/10/11 - The wind changed direction and we had blue sky!! It didn't last long, but we were able to glimpse over the lake for about an hour. Realised that the ash problem would potentially affect our flight to Patagonia, so went down to the Aerolineas office in town and were told that our flight had been changed to fly from Esquel, 4hrs south (thanks for contacting us...good job we checked!) We had to be at Bariloche airport at 5.30am the next day, to catch a bus to Esquel. Grrr! Traipsed back, packed a lunch and headed back into town to find an allusive ticket office, which was apparently the only place you could purchase a local bus ticket. Our plan was to go up Cerro Campanario for great views of the lakes. We finally found the ticket office and were shocked to discover that we were queuing directly behind Matt and Sups (STA customers/Bolivia pals). We thought they were in Chile!! This was the 3rd time this had happened...crazy world! They were planning the same trip...having come from Chile the previous eve. We joined forces and spent the rest of the day together. Having climbed Campanario, enjoying breathtaking views of the lakes despite the ash and cloud, we then completed the 20km Circuto Chico in Llao Llao national park - visiting Lago Moreno, Lago Escondido and another one...the name escapes me now! Really beautiful views...we want to come back once the ash has gone! Few years of saving I expect. Back in Bariloche we cooked up some dinner and then headed to the others 'apartment' to share a bottle of wine, before dragging them out to our favorite ice cream parlor. You wouldn't imagine an ice cream at 11.30pm on a freezing cold, rainy night would be that popular, but the place was heaving!

06/10/11 - 4.30am rise. Taxi to airport, bus to Esquel, plane to El Calafate (4C-sooo cold!), arriving at Hospedaje Lautaro by 1pm. The hostel is owned by the friendliest couple we've come across - they were so lovely and helpful (left us sweets on our pillow and gave Olie a leaving gift - candles with a 2 and a 7). Booked onto a budget busting glacier trip for the next day...rationale being that since we've made it all the way to Patagonia, we might as well see the most amazing natural wonder here. Weather was forecast to be clear (rarity here) so we had our fingers crossed whilst cursing another restaurant for charging us for using cutlery to eat their lamb stew!!!

Right, I'm giving up with the phone. Olies cooked dinner for us and has now fallen asleep...hopefully next update is from a pc!

Back on the phone...waiting at the airport. We're flying to Buenos Aires today! The end of our cold South American route :-). I'm probably going to end up cross eyed...

07/10/11 - Glacier Perito Moreno day/the day I was forced to wear a hat! The infamous glacier is 80km from El Calafate and although we'd paid most of the trip cost on card, we still owed the park entrance fee in cash. None of the cash machines were working for us and we/I had a pre breakfast panic. Fortunately the lovely hostel owners offered to lend us the cash. We caught the bus and drove through seriously heavy cloud. Olie had a bit of a strop as we'd paid a fair chunk of money for essentially crap views. As we got closer, patches of blue sky emerged and a smile broke out on his little face. Phew! We passed Lago Argentino; the country’s' largest lake and evidence that the glaciers were once far more extensive than today (reaching El Calafate...80km away). The lonely planet describes Perito Moreno as 'among Earths most dynamic and accessible ice fields....the stunning centrepiece of Southern Parque Nacional Los Glaciars'. To give you an idea of the scale of Patagonia, the entire glacial national park alone is equivalent in size to Israel! We've both seen Franz Josef glacier in NZ, but this is incredible! Perito Moreno glacier is the same size as Buenos Aires...a city of brilliant blue ice. Everything here is just enormous. The huge mass of ice rises 60m above the water level, stretches 30km long and is 5km wide at the front, where it meets the lake. In parts, the glacier is 1.4km deep. Crazy. The most amazing fact about this glacier is that it is constantly advancing. It is one of the few glaciers in Argentina (3/100) that is in equilibrium. Snow falls at the peak in the accumulation area c.300 days/year, due to its proximity to the Chilean Pacific storms. This snow takes a few years to compress into ice, but in parts the glacier has recently measured to be creeping forward 2m/day! The reason its in equilibrium is because it calves multiple times a day. We witnessed huge, building size chunks of ice break away from the main body and crash into the lake, with an incredible splash. The split sounds a bit like a gun shot followed by an almighty explosion. Visual and auditory show put on by nature. Amazing stuff.

Anyway, enough gushing geog facts. (We're now waiting in Buenos Aires airport for our backpacks). We first navigated the labyrinth of viewing platforms at the base if Buenos Aires mountain. It's been brilliantly done. We admired fabulous views of the north face of the glacier and mountain range across from 'Canal de los Tempanos'. After eating our packed lunch, we jumped on a bus to the port and took a quick boat ride across the 'Brazo Sur' lake arm, to the southern face. After a quick glaciology lesson from our wonderful guide (who also works at the Glaciarium museum and is moving to Europe to visit various schools and teach kids of any age about glaciers...any takers?) we attached our crampons and set off on a 1.5hr trek on the ice. We were in a fairly large group with a wide ranging age span, so the trek wasn't particularly challenging, but the views were spectacular. We went in an ice cave, drank from ice cold pools and climbed to a 'summit' (of what, we're still unsure!) Quote of the day, in a thick Israeli accent..."umm, at wvat time will the ice be falling from the glacier?!" The guide looked at us and clearly wanted to mirror our thoughts...its not a bloody theme park you moron!! Instead he stifled a laugh and simply said..."it’s mother nature, it’s impossible to tell". Some people! That eve we finally managed to get money out of an ATM, so popped to the supermarket and cooked pasta for tea.

(I´m on a PC at last in the most amazing hotel in Buenos Aires...Olie´s pre-paid for birthday accomodation).

08/10/11 - Rose early and caught the bus to El Chaltén, a small town in the northern sector of the national park and gateway to the Fitz Roy mountain range. It was a complete ghost town. Nothing was open. It appeared to be a random collection of failed DIY projects…many houses were built out of plywood and duct tape – no joke! Not quite the cute log cabins claimed by the Lonely Planet. This is Argentina’s youngest town; a frontier town slapped together in 1985 in order to beat Chile to the land claim. There weren’t really any proper roads or banks and the national park advice leaflet told us to ´behave like a cat – bury your poop and paper´(do cats use toilet paper?!). Bizarre place. We arrived at Nothofgus B&B and were pleasantly surprised…a rare gem amongst the tumble down ramshacks! We set off around midday, battled through the incredibly ferocious wind, bought some empanadas from the only place open in town and completed a 15km round trip to Lago Capri. The walk offered absolutely beautiful views of spiky Fitz Roy. We just wished the weather was better. Slept for 4 hours (must have been exhausted!!) and then walked the length of the town in the bitter winds trying to find somewhere, anywhere to eat! Three recommendations were closed - it wasn´t even low, low season. In the end we both sampled the locro - a lamb, chorizo, bean and veg stew, at the only place in town. Pretty nice, but very overpriced.

09/10/11 - Spent the day tackling one of the longer trails with erratic terrain...the route to Laguna Torre (about 25km). On clear days it offers views of the Cerro Torre mountain range. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy and at one point started snowing, but the walk was good fun. We found ourselves completely alone most of the 6 hour walk. Felt like tiny ants in the grand Patagonian landscapes - everything is just enormous. We´d both love to come back in the summer...dreaming! Found a pizza place open and then went straight to bed.

10/10/11 - Got back to El Calafate around midday, sampled the Calafate ice cream (a local berry, a bit like a blackcurrant) and then made our way to the impressive Glaciarium Museum, on the edge of El Calafate. Well worth a visit for anyone interested in glaciers. We watched a short documentary on the local area and saw the Fitz Roy trails we´d just attempted in the autumn...gorgeous!!! We def want to come back! That eve we stayed in the hostel and I started writing this blog.

Finito. We can now go and relax in the hotels swimming pool...this place is incredible. We´ll show you a pic and update you again when we get to Posadas (1 month of teaching...agghhhh!). Hope everyones managed to battle through that. Lots of love, E xxx

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