A combination of slow internet, laziness, and more laziness resulted in no photos. We have come across a fast internet connection, however the lazy factor is still present so we´ve just pilled a bunch of photos from the last month and a half into one. Enjoy!
After arriving in Buenos Aires, we went straight to La Plata to stay with friends of Julian´s family. Here we went to Museo de La Plata which has the most extensive collection of stuffed animals and full skeletons that either of us has ever seen. This photo is just a taste:
After a couple days in La Plata we stayed in Buenos Aires. Here is a sample of the buildings in the city.
Theatre-turned-bookstore in Buenos Aires:
Just one of probably a hundred antique stands in Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, Buenos Aires. (Jen- I think you should fly to Buenos Aires with two empty suitcases, this place has your name written all over it!)
Boca Juniors vs Racing futbol match
The stadium:
After Buenos Aires we briefly went to Uruguay. Here´s Julian chilling at our hostel in Montevideo:
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
Little did we know the night we were in Colonia that there would be a huge street performance just outside our hostel. The performance seemed like a comedic opera of some sort with almost the whole town in attendance.
We popped up to see the Iguazu Falls. They were pretty neat to see, but the 22-hour bus ride there and back, 35C heat, and hoards of people kind of took away from the stunning natural feature.
Thankfully we were headed straight to the bottom of South America (Ushuaia, Argentina) afterwards where the high was 8C. Here´s a photo of some houses in the city:
A view of Ushuaia from the sea:
From there we did a day trip into Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego:
It started hailing so I decided to show off my wet-weather gear. Clearly I think I´m pretty awesome (..don´t you?):
From Ushuaia we headed over into Chile (Puerto Natales) and from there did an 8-day hike in the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine:
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. C´mooon water... boil!
Nacional Parque Torres del Paine. Julian and I in front of THE Torres del Paine. We woke up at 5:30am to leave our campsite in time to see the sunrise on the Torres. Ohh did I mention it was an hour straight uphill in the dark? And that there were gale-force winds? And that it was freezing cold (note the sleeping bag we brought up with us.. brr)? TOTALLY WORTH IT. (At least this is what we´ve been telling ourselves...).
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Just having a snack in front of a glaciar- no big deal.
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. On the 6th day we hiked up over a pass, and the massive Glaciar Grey was waiting for us on the other side. The sight of it was euphoric. So we decided to take another snack break. (Photograph curtesy of a well positioned rock and 20 second timer).
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. (On the day after this photo we took the best showers of our lives and went to an unlimited asado (Argentinian/Chilean bbq) where we´ve never eaten so much meat in our lives).
After we headed back into Argentina and from El Calafate went to see the Perito Moreno glaciar. It was pretty massive and cool to see, but the park entrance fee, bus fees, and mandatory walkways made us feel really touristy. I guess that´s okay every once in a while!
Next we went to El Chalten where we did a 3-day hike. Here we are in front of Fitz Roy et al. The photo captures a nice moment, but most of the time we were up there the strong wind was shooting snow at us.. so much for missing Canadian winter.
This photo is probably a more accurate representation:
Another shot of the surroundings near El Chalten.
After our hike we had to get up early for a bus and happened to catch the sunrise on Fitz Roy et al.
From El Chalten we took a 2-day bus ride up Ruta 40 through Argentinian Patagonia. This photo is a pretty good representation of the view. It was actually a cool experience.
After the 2-day bus ride we decided to stop off in Esquel, Argentina. This town is off the ´gringo trail´so the bus didn´t actually drop us off in the town.. instead at a roundabout a couple kms away. The bus driver assured us he called a remis for us then they left. We hung out for an hour, met an extremely intoxicated cowboy, and eventually arrived in Esquel. Here is a photo of a mural protesting a mine:
Typical building in Esquel. ´Quilmes´is THE beer of Argentina. There is no other.
From Esquel we did an afternoon trip to Trevelin which was (and apparently still is) a Welsh settlement town (although we saw no evidence of current Welsh occupation). Here, Julian is waiting outside a building where we randomly took a lesson in traditional Argentinian dance. It was me, Julian, 3 older Argentinian ladies and the teacher. All in all an interesting experience. They liked having Julian there because apparently it´s very difficult to get men to participate.
The next day from Esquel we did a day trip in Parque Nacional de los Alerces.
Parque Nacional de los Alerces.
After Esquel we went to El Bolson, Argentina which was and still is a hippie town. We hiked up to Bosque Tallado which is a forested area that experienced a fire about 10 years ago. Artists from around the area decided to turn the dead trees into sculptures which was really cool. Here´s an example of one:
Me at a Refugio (hut) on our way up to a mountain summit. Behind me is El Bolson.
View from the top of Cerro Piltriquitron.. this was an intense hike up loose rock to a peak where three sides were straight down. The view was awesome though, and there was a condor nest not far away so we were able to witness a couple fly-bys.
A couple days later we hiked up to Cajon Azul (blue gorge) and stopped off at a Refugio for some mate. Here´s Julian preparing it:
The Cajon Azul hike also consisted of crossing this super sketchy bridge. Notice all the broken boards? YA.
Clear blue water of the Cajon Azul.
From El Bolson we hitchiked to Bariloche, Argentina where we went on day long bike ride with our Dutch friend Peter around the Circuito Chico. Apparently National Geographic named this view one of the top 7 views in the world.
From Bariloche we went to Mendoza, Argentina. Here´s Julian hanging out in city´s park.
In the park there is a huge statue up on Cerro Gloria (Glory Hill) representing a major battle along the road to independence for South American countries. Julian asked me to take a photo of him in front of the statue. So I did. He was not impressed. (hahah)
Here´s a photo of the statue on Cerro Gloria:
A flower truck in Mendoza:
Mendoza is the city located in the major wine region of Argentina. Naturally we went for a bike ride to visit some bodegas (wineries) to sample the local produce.
Wine storage. These bottles are being stored for a period of probably 2 years after having been stored in oak barrels. This adds a smooth vanilla flavour to the wine, with subtle background spices, and complex aftertastes of berries and chocolate, which can be paired with foods such as meat, fish, cheese, sandwiches, etc etc. Obviously we did not learn anything.
Grape vines. Actually, we DID learn that these are planted in a North-South direction to maximize sun exposure.
Me cycling from bodega to bodega.
After Mendoza we took a bus to Valparaiso, Chile which is known for it´s bohemian style. This is where we are now!
