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After a fulfilling day spent in the National Park in Iguazu we are going to update you on our latest adventures.
As we indicated in the last blog, our next destination was Mendoza, which was a very good choice. We hired a car and went towards Alta Montaña to discover Aconcagua, the highest summit in the Western hemisphere (6,962m!!). Well, not necessarily to hike it ourselves (only because it was not the right season for it - just kidding ... would need at least 15 full days and QUITE some exercise beforehand... :-) but to have great panoramic views from the nearby National Park.
During the mountainous ride to the last town before the Argentinian/Chilean border (Las Cuevas), the temperature dropped to minus 6 degrees and we were a bit afraid whether our Chevrolet Corsa (which is actually just an Opel in Argentinia) was going to survive. It did, although the battery did not quite like that we left its lights on during lunch break... It turned out that it was really good that we met those local engineers in the nostalgic mountain chalet who got our car alive again. We enjoyed a hearty lunch, but thanks to the waitress missed out on cow stomach ("Cow stomach, are you sure you would like to eat THAT?") ... it helps that we speak a bit of Spanish.
After lunch we walked a couple of hours around this well maintained Park, with lagunas and snow-capped mountains surrounding the Aconcagua. Simply fantastic picture time! Then we returned to Uspallata, where we stayed in Hotel Viena - hard for Martina to say, but so far the worst accommodation - unless you like the smell of paint and gas.
To compensate for this, we needed a splurge the following night - we went to Cacheuta Thermal Spa Hotel; everything there was just perfect, except for the looks that the staff and guests gave us when we arrived in our hiking gear, carrying our big backpacks. Please, have a look yourself: http://www.termascacheuta.com/hotel/que-es-un-spa-termal.asp and organize your next holidays there!
Marieke managed to loose her bikini in Peru but the hotel was so kind to lend her a super-sexy (NOT), 60ies, flowery bathing suit (no pictures here). Still, we enjoyed the hotel facilities, including massage, fango (mud) treatments, swimming in the thermal pool in the moonlight and a very nice lunch buffet.
To have another radical change, the next night we stayed in a so-called Cabaña - which is a mountain cabin/chalet with basic facilities and of course, no hot water.
Then we finally did the wine tour which was the reason for coming to Mendoza in the first place (not necessary to mention here that we enjoyed Mendoza wine before). We organized a tour in the vineyard CHANDON (famous for its champagne) and NORTON (owned by the Austrian Swarovski family) and bought some bottles of Merlot and Malbec...
To conclude on the Mendoza trip, we drove the "Camino del Año" - a sandy road with 365 curves. And the Chevrolet, again, did not let us down !
Back at our "hub" in Buenos Aires this weekend, we stayed in Palermo Viejo, an artistic, fancy neighbourhood where we explored nice restaurants and bars. We also went to the famous Theater Colon; well unfortunately this was to be renovated - so the opera "La Traviata" (Verdi) was performed in another theater. Spanish subtitles, good for our learning curve of formal Spanish !
With very good memories we left Buenos Aires but also looking forward to our next destination - the Iguazu Falls. We stay in a big youth hostel where the average age is around 20, we feel like grannies !
Yesterday we first explored the Brasilian side of it, by doing the so-called "great adventure day", including mountain biking, hiking, boat rides and exploring the flora and fauna. Luckily for us, the group left in the morning without us (´did they think we are too old for this ?´), which meant that once we finally arrived in the Park, we received VIP treatment for the rest of the day - a guide for ourselves, a boat for ourselves etc...
The Iguazu Falls are breathtaking and we could not believe in the first place that each second 2 million liters of water comes down the falls; but after having seen it, now we do! Today, we were lucky enough to also see the Argentinian side, which gives a closer look and even more opportunity to get wet. A rainbow in all the pictures !
Although expected to be warm & tropical here, we make well use of our warm and waterproof stuff. In a couple of days we will leave for Rio - let´s see if the weather then forces Marieke to buy a new bikini...!
For your information, our next update will be in Portuguese - after all we need some practice once we get to Brazil (well, we can negotiate on this :-)
Hasta pronto !
Marieke & Martina
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Monique
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Woh!!
Seems you are having a fantastic time! Will visit your site again for sure, to keep informed about your adventures! Keep enjoying. And be careful!