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Published: October 5th 2019
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“Going Argentina for Honeymoon?!”
“What an exotic place to go. Be careful especially at night”
“Do they speak English there?”
Those were some of the comments we heard when we (or rather I) decided to make Argentina our destination for a 3-weeks honeymoon. Why you may ask? We were considering Canada (Banff mountains) too but since i loved mountains & she doesn’t mind the nature, Patagonia came to mind, the haven for trekking and the outdoors. And it was autumn! So why not take the plunge, on 2 Long haul flights to the other side of the globe, and go on a journey we won’t forget!
And so we did, backpacking (on a honeymoon?!) through the beautiful Lake District of Bariloche, immersing in the majestic glacial blue of Perito Moreno, getting blown away by the mountains in El Chalten, washed off our feet by the thunderous roars of Iguazu, and of course intrigued by the multi-facades of Bueno Aires. Each destination & the journey through it brings about different feelings and sense of wonder.
Our first stop was San Carlos de Bariloche, the lake district down south. The city has a very quaint town centre, filled
with chocolate shops enticing travellers with all sorts of chocolaty temptations. Bariloche was unforgettable for the superb scenery surrounded by lush mountains and lakes. Our AirBnB, "
Little Home" was perched right in front of the lake, and offered the perfect viewpoint right from our bedroom. It's akin to staring straight into a painting! We started day 2 with an early morning drive around Circuito Chico, before stopping by a lake, taking in the freshest of air, enjoying the tranquility alongside 2 stray dogs. Another highlight of Bariloche was taking the Cerro Campanario chair lift for a panoramic view from the top. There's a cafe/restaurant where we immersed ourselves in the splendid views in the comfort of warmth and good pizza. Somehow, looking through the frame (windows) makes us appreciate the scenery even more! Talking about perspective...
We made a short stop at Colonia Suiza, a little Swiss inspired town, pausing for beer and a stroll around the charming old-fashioned little town, before the most unexpected incident happened. Steph was driving out towards the main road when we realised the car was leaning on one side... The tyre burst! Of the many times we've drove in foreign land, this was still
a first for us. Stopping by the roadside, i tried to apply my very limited mechanical engineering skills to use. 1 bolt out, then 2... In the midst of taking out the burst tyre, a random stranger stopped his car in front of us, stepped out, spoke a bunch of Spanish which of course we were clueless, looked pretty shocked at the state of the punctured tyre, and offered to help! And within a minute of his assistance, our car was ready to go again! What a way to introduce the people in Argentina to foreigners! Besides, our experience driving there was that locals were very polite and courteous on the roads, contrary to what we've heard. 1 fun fact is that roads there are named after months and dates: "12 de Octubre", "24 de Septiembre" just to name a few.
One of the most distinct elements of being in Argentina is the food, and we highly recommend dining at
El Fuego. We managed to snag lunch there, and probably had the best Bife (Beef) during our time there, bearing in mind we probably had Beef every other day! We've learnt that portions here are almost twice of what we'd
get back home (typically 500g for a single portion), so we'd order a portion of Bife with sides to go along. I think with the amount of red meat we've eaten throughout the trip, it'd be no surprise to gain a few kilos when we returned. Not that Steph was keen to weigh herself... We spent another good half of the day driving on Ruta 40 towards Villa Angostura and chilling in the laidback town before driving back to Bariloche.
We both agree that the most unique experience we had was on the last day in Bariloche, where we engaged Arianeand went horseback riding in vast pampas land, experiencing a glimpse of the gaucho lifestyle. What a carefree moment for us, trotting in the wild, wind gushing towards us, birds flying freely in the air, and riding into seemingly boundless lands. It was our first time horseback riding on our own and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We continued to lunch at a local gaucho farm house and the very friendly hosts greeted us and hosted us ever so hospitably. We had grilled meat and shared Mate with the other mates (pun not intended) Hah. I even tried milking a
cow but she was not obliging! Highly recommend the experience with
Cabalgatas & Aventura Ariane Patagonia! To be continued...
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
COngratulations on your marriage...
I don't recall that announcement, but I assume it was recent unless you postponed you honeymoon. Nice destination!