Argentina (Part 2)

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So we got to the Hotel Inn around 10am, just in time to get some breaky before it finished. We had planned on going to the Brazil side of the falls today, but it was abit of hassle trying to get buses and we were wrecked after the night bus. So booked our bus to Buenos Aires and headed straight for the pool at our hostel. It was incredible weather, about 35 degrees, so there was nowhere better to spend it. Next day after breaky, we headed for the Argentinian side. It was totally mind blowing. We got the little train up to the start of devils throat, where you walk for a km along the platform across the river to Devils Throat. The sheer size of it is incredible. It’s not that deep, about 100m, but it’s the width of it. 1500 cubic meters of water per second flow down it. People stand and stare at it for hours on end. Even tho we were up above it, we were still getting wet from the spray. There are about 4 different walks you can do around the different falls, from easy to difficult, ranging in length of times. The lower circuit is the most popular, so after doing the upper one, we did the lower one. This is where you get the boat from. The boat is a 15 min trip that brings you in close to the falls that allows you to get great pictures from the bottom. Then its cameras away time & they drive in towards the falls, where you get absolutely soaked. It was perfect, just what we needed to cool down it 35 degree heat. Then they go back in again to make sure you are fully wet. After that it’s off to another waterfall to get soaked again. I’ve never heard Roma scream so loud, but it was screams of joy. We weren’t long drying off in the heat. After abit more walking, it was time to head back to the pool.



The next day, we were on the bus to Buenos Aires. As it was our last night bus, we went for a cama suite, which is a chair that folds out completely flat, same as a bed. On the bus, we were given about 4 appetizers, then a large chicken dinner. With that we got a bottle of wine and 2 glasses of champagne each. We were really looking forward to a great night’s sleep. Unfortunately tho we hadn’t accounted for the road being so rough and bumpy, so we were lucky to get about 2 hours of broken sleep. Even all the wine & champs couldn’t help us.



Eventually, after 18hrs, we got to Buenos Aires, and a taxi straight to the hostel. We stayed in Hostel Estoril, on Ave de Mayo. It was really nice hostel, with a patio area and a roof top terrace. The room was ready when we landed so first thing to do was catch up on some sleep. That evening, we went for a walk & ended up in San Telmo, one of the oldest parts of the city. It is also one of the main squares in the city for bars and music, and comes alive at 10pm at night. On Sundays, there is a massive antiques market in the square. After watching some music in the square, we went into a restaurant at midnight, to hear a local music group. The wine was cheap so we treated ourselves to wine and a platter f hams and cheeses and breads. Next thing it was 4am and time to go home. The next day, we did a tour of the city on a tourist bus. But because the tour is so big, we only got half of it done. We saw the house where the Mayo native, Admiral William Brown lived. He was the man who founded the Argentinian navy. Then it was on to Boca Juniors football stadium, then an area known as La Boca. Here all the houses are painted different colours and extremely well decorated. We hopped off here for a wander around. Then it was time for a siesta as we were going to a tango show, then meeting our two Dublin friends that night. The tango was brilliant, the music and the way they can dance. It was on it Café Tortoni, on Ave de Mayo. It is probable the famous coffee house in all of BA, having visitors like Hilary Clinton & Francis Ford Capolla amoung the names. We finished the tour bus the next day, which was like being slowly killed. It was the most boring thing in did on our whole trip, showing us the first Sheraton hotel in BA, and other rubbish. The first day of it was really good and interesting but day two just drags and we couldn’t wait to get off the bus. We went out for dinner with Kevin & Dylan, as it was Kevin’s last night before he headed off. As we were sitting down to dinner, a Tango show started in the restaurant. Then we realised, the 2 dancers we had paid to see the night before, we were now getting to see for free. Next day, as it was coming up to Christmas, we went and did abit of shopping for each other. The shops were packed and sweaty, but we did find what we wanted. As Dylan was left on his own now Kevin had gone, we wanted to get him something small for Christmas. We got him a pair of Simpson’s underwear and a Smurf teddy. Christmas Eve is when they really celebrate it here, with dinner with all the family, fireworks display at midnight and then party all night. The next day, after they get up, they have a late lunch and then it’s back to normality for them, with work on the Monday morning, the 26th. Our hostel put on dinner for us on the roof terrace. We weren’t sure what to expect but cold meat and salad wasn’t quite it. That night we partied away with the gang in the hostel and Dylan. By pure chance, we met a couple in the hostel, who were there for the dinner, that we had met in La Paz & Popayan. It was great to catch up with them. Then, at another party, we met 3 girls we had met along the way also. Ended up having a brilliant night. The next day, we lied in bed most of it and skyped home to the families, making us very jealous of all the nice food, while we had tomato sandwiches for breaky at 3pm. The streets had being quiet all day, with hardly a sinner around. We went for dinner around 7 with Dylan and could not believe how busy everywhere was. The streets were full of traffic and most of the restaurants had opened. We went into one local joint that had a great crowd. We gave Dylan his presents and he was so delighted. It was brilliant watching him open the Simpson’s boxers in a busy restaurant in front of everyone. Dinner time & we got most amazing steak ever, massive tenderloin, cooked to perfection. It was so soft, you could have cut it with a spoon. It came with a red wine sauce, with onions, mushrooms and bacon in it. As it was Christmas day, we had a 3 course meal, with wine, and I had brought cigars to make the occasion. We went back to our hostel where we had another bottle of wine, then called it a night. Pretty damn good Christmas day. Next day, we were flying to Mendoza, as we had little time left and didn’t want to waste another night on a bus. We said our goodbyes to Dylan and headed for the airport.



People had raved about Mendoza and how it was their favourite city so we were really excited. With 6 nights left, we wanted to make the most of our time, in nice places. Mendoza was really nice but it was so hot, you didn’t feel like doing anything. We walked the city, and went for another steak dinner that night. It was good, but didn’t live up to the standards that had being set. It was hard to sleep at night because of the humidity and heat, so we were still banjacksed in the morning. Nap time. From talking to other people, we had decided on going to Valparaiso in Chile for New Years. It is about 1.5 hours north west of Santiago, along the coast so it would be handy for getting to the airport on New Year’s Day. A lot of people in our hostel in Mendoza had just come from there & commented on how busy it was. So we went to look for hostels, only to realise that 3 options were left, 2 had bad reviews and all were expensive. So after a lot of research on hostels, hotels and other places in Chile for New Year’s, we decided to go for it. But that had taken up most of the day, between that and booking our bus for the following morning. It was so hot and humid there all of the time, that we needed to get to the coast quick where there would be a nice Pacific breeze to keep us cool, and beaches to lye out under the sun. We had the bbq in the hostel as we were getting lazier by the minute and it was well recommended. Potato salad, salad and about 4 kgs of steak each for the 4 of us eating and we were well full. A bottle of local wine each helped the steak go down. The steak was being cooked piece at a time so it was always fresh and hot and perfectly cooked. We met 2 girls from Canada and Irish lad whom we chatted to for the night. Bright and early next morning, quick breakfast and off to the bus station. Last stop on our trip, and last border control, Valparaiso in Chile.

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