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Published: December 19th 2008
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Chile!
Our rocket filled with beer! Over the last couple weeks we have covered many miles and spent many hours on the bus, our longest bus was 32 hours! (from Arica, Chile to Vin Del Mar, Chile). The highlight of Arica was the pedestrian street lined with outdoor patios where we sat and enjoyed a ´rocket´ of beer and a couple hot dogs smothered in mayonaise, tomatos, lettuce and ketchup . . . a Chilean specialty. A couple things we noticed about the Chilean people are that the overwhelming majority take really good care of themselves and work out and dress quite fashionably, something we have not seen in any other South American country thus far. Also, they really like their beer. Every table along the pedestrian street was full of people drinking beer, again another thing we havent seen thus far. After a painfully long but scenic 32 hours on the bus, winding through the Andes mountains, we arrived into Vina Del Mar and spent a couple days at the beach. Moving along due to time constraints our next stop was Mendoza, Argentina . . . famous for wine and amazing steaks. Bottles of wine that would cost $17 at home were in the supermarket for
$3! Meg was in heaven! And the steaks, Wow! For about $6 you got the most tender, HUGE steak, about 3 inches thick and the size of Ryan hand. Ryan was in heaven! Mendoza is the wine captial of Argentina and there are dozens of wineries in the area. Trusting our good ol Lonely Planet we rented bikes and attempted to ride to some wineries and do our own wine tour. Instead of riding leisurely along country roads and stopping to eat the picnic lunch we had packed as I had imagined, we rode at least 20 kms on crappy bikes through the downtown part of Mendoza dodging cars while trying to read the map. We never made it to any wineries and our bike ended up in the back of a cab. Turns out we were suppose to take a bus out of the city, then rent bikes. Thanks Lonely Planet, maybe should have mentioned that?
Finally, our last overnight bus of this trip! Mendoza to Buenos Aires. We went with a superior class and were extremely happy. Our first class size, leather seats were on the top of the 2 decker bus and reclined all the way back.
Chile
Church in Arica Chile. We had our own attendant, the bus organised bingo, clean washrooms, the movies were in English, our dinner had wine, appetizers and a main course (and it was really good). And just before bed . . . the attendant came around with a glass of champagne for everyone. Random, but appreciated. An extra bonus was that we arrived into Buenos Aires over an hour early which is absolutely unheard of here. Up early the next day for our flight to Puerto Iguazu, the base town for visiting Iguazu Falls. The falls were really incredible to see. The Devils Troat is a half moon shape collection of falls that flow into one giant fall. The pictures just cant capture how truly huge and loud these falls are or how much water is rushing through. The mist at the base of the falls creates a rainbow and you can barley see the bottom of the falls. The first day we went to the falls we saw the Devils throat and then made our way down to the bottom of the falls for our boat ride. The bost ride speeds along the base of the falls, dodging in and out of the mist.
Sunset
Sumset in Arica Chile. A couple times the entire boat went directly under the falls. Needless to say we got soaked but it was a nice relief from the scorching sun. Soaked and tired from out long day of travel and the first bit of the falls, we decided we would come back to the falls the next day to explore further. The second day we took it slower and spent more time at the falls. We went on a hike in the less busy part of the park in search of a toucan but didnt find any. There were warnings about seeing jaguars but luckily we didnt see any of them either. The pamphlet given to us by the ranger told us that if we were attacked by a jaguar we should push it away forcefully . . . thanks for the advice. That night we went out for another amazing steak dinner. I think it would be impossible to get sick of eating the steak here. For a bottle of white wine and 2 steak dinners with bread, veg and mash it cost us $20 on a christmas lighted patio at a 4 star restaurant. We are now in Buenos Aires. We
Argentina
Iguazu Falls have rented an studio with our own kitchen and an outdoor pool where we can laze around and enjoy the last bit of our time in South America before we head home for a much anticipated break with family and friends . . . and probably some snow?
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