Category: Argentina

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February 16, 2018

We were up early to catch the 7:30 bus back to El Calafate. We just had to walk across the street to the bus station so it was very easy. The bus was large and very comfortable. We stopped at the same rest stop and arrived at El Calafate bus station at about 10:30. From there we took a taxi to the hotel. I always feel quite accomplished when I successfully take local transportation.

The hotel proprietor took us about things to do in El Calafate. We did not go to the famous glacier called Perito Moreno because we thought we had seen enough glaciers. In hindsight that was probably a mistake because we saw others’ pictures and it looked amazing. Oh well! We walked down to the lake. Here are pictures of the lake.

Then we walked downtown and had a really great lunch at a little place called Vivre la Pepo recommended by the hotel. We took a leisurely walk around town which was very cute. Rick got a couple of t shirts.

We need to be back at the hotel in order to be picked up for our dinner trip to the ranch, Nibepo Aike. We wanted to do this to see some of the local culture. We were picked up by a taxi that was in rough shape. It needed a muffler, had a cracked windshield, and had rugs in the backseat doors to keep them sealed. It took about an hour to get out to the Estancia and over an unpaved, rocky and dusty road. Located in the Los Glaciares National Park, the estancia was beautiful.

The farm was established before the park was created. However since they are inside the park, the park authorities limited the number of animals they can have on the estancia. Today most of their revenue comes from tourism. They offer two tours/meals every day and they run a small bed and breakfast on the estancia.

Once the rest of the people had arrived we took a walk down to the southern arm of the lake, Lago Argentina. It was extra high because the glacier is blocking the water. Here are some pictures.

After the walk they herded the sheep into the corral to protect them at night from the pumas.

Then they caught one sheep and gave a sheep shearing demonstration.

Additionally there was a lamb whose mom was killed by a puma so we bottle fed her.

We returned to the dining room for lamb. Here are pictures of the lamb cooking.

It was delicious. After dinner we returned to our hotel via the bad roads and broken taxi. It was a fabulous evening.

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February 15, 2018

We are hurting from our long walk yesterday so we took it easy. We slept in and after breakfast we walked through town along the main street. We bought a map of the park.

Then we went for a short hike to a condor viewing area. It was very, very windy and a couple of times I thought I was going to be blown off the trail. Rick estimates we were having 60 mile an hour gusts. We got up to the top and saw no condors, even though several people have told us that they saw lots of them yesterday. Here are some pictures from the top.

We came back down, stopped at the hotel to change our shoes and then went out to lunch. After lunch we came back to the hotel to work on the blog but the internet is actually worse than the internet was on the ship so we will have to wait to upload all of our entries.

While we were hangIng around the hotel we saw several condors, flying along the cliff face outside our hotel.

That night neither of us was very hungry so Rick went to the bakery and got sandwiches. We packed up because we need to leave El Chalten early tomorrow morning.

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February 14, 2018

Happy Valentines Day! 💑👩‍👦‍👦💕💘💖

We were up early because we had booked a bus to take us to the trail head at El Pillar, 17 km north of El Chalten. Before the bus picked us up, we walked to the local bakery and got sandwiches and water for lunch. While on the bus we panicked because we didn’t have a map. We went in to a hotel near where we were dropped off and they had a map that we took a picture of. We walked for the morning and stopped often to take pictures of many beautiful views, including views of mt. Fitz Roy and glaciers. It was a beautiful day, blue skies, no clouds, no winds, and no rain. Around noon we arrived at the split up to Laguna de Los Tres. This is where the climbing got more difficult. It reminded us of our walk in the Himalayas from Phakdink to Namache. We went up 400m in 1km. It was worth it because the view of the glacier lake at the top was beautiful. Then we had a walk back down which was difficult to say the least. Everyone was passing us because we went quite slow. Then we had a long walk back to El Chalten. Luckily the terrain was gentle. We saw an pygmy owl on the way back.

Otherwise we saw no wildlife, including birds.

Here are pictures from our walk.

This is a picture of El Chalten as we walked back into town.

We didn’t get back until 7:00 that evening. We were SO tired. We stopped at the pizza restaurant, had a little dinner, hobbled back to our hotel, and collapsed into bed. We walked 39,067 STEPS,  15.13 MILES.  Yikes!

 

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February 13, 2018

We were up early to finish packing. We were loaded onto a bus to go to the airport. We flew from Ushuaia to El Calafate. Once in El Calafate we got on a bus for El Chalten. All very easy. El Calafate is on the south end of the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and El Chalten is on the north side of the park. It was a three hour bus ride from El Calafate to El Chalten with a 10 minute stop at an Argentinian rest stop.  There are pictures of the rest stop.

The landscape was really barren. Lots of scrub grass and small bushes. It almost looked like a desert but there would be a glacier river running beside it. We could feel the wind blowing the van.

We were dropped at our hotel which is very nice. By now it was about 4:30.

We got settled in our room and then headed out to explore the town. It was raining, very windy, and overcast. There were not a lot of people out and about. El Chalten is quite small. We stopped at a restuarant and Rick had a beer, a locally brewed red ale, and I had a Diet Coke. That evening we went to a great restaurant called La Tapera. We both had big Argentinian steak which was delicious.

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January 24, 2018

We had a relaxing morning. We did a few errands, picking up things we had forgot to bring and returning the car. After lunch at the hotel, we were picked up for our tour of the Brazilian side of the falls. The majority of the falls are in Argentina. We are guessing that a quarter of them are in Brazil.

Brazil is right across the river, 10 miles from our hotel but it took awhile to get to the Brazilian National Park because we had to emigrate out of Argentina and immigrate into Brazil. We had an interesting discussion on the way; our guide was born in Argentina but now lived in Brazil. He told us that the Brazilian economy is much more stable, opportunities much more plentiful, and Argentinean’s go to Brazil to shop so we assume the prices are lower.

It had become overcast and the sky was getting darker and darker. While we were waiting for our guide to get us tickets into the park, the skies opened up and it started to rain. We waited briefly to see if it would stop and then forged ahead even though it hadn’t stopped. About half along the 1 km trail it stopped raining.

Initially we could see the Argentinian falls. We were far enough away that we could see most of them. As we continued to walk we started to see the Brazilian falls as well as the Argentinian ones. The falls were even bigger than what we had seen yesterday and we were amazed by the size of them then. At the end of the walk we were by a fall that dropped half way to a small plateau and then dropped further. The trail went to the bottom of the first drop and then walked over to the top of the second drop. As we walked to the end of the trail it was very windy due to the turbulence from the falls. There was also a lot of spray and I went to the end and got quite wet.

We learned today that the falls are one of the seven natural wonders of the world. They definitely deserve that recognition. Here are a bunch of pictures and a couple of videos so you can hear how loud and expansive they are.

We returned to the hotel, had an appetizer at the bar, and returned to our room to pack up. We leave at 7 tomorrow morning for the airport and onto Ushuaia.

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January 23, 2018

Today we went to the Argentinian side of Iguazu falls. They are the largest waterfall system in the world, a chain of waterfalls almost 2 miles wide.

This is from the Lonely Planet guidebook, “According to Guaraní tradition, the falls originated when a warrior named Caroba incurred the wrath of a forest god by escaping downriver in a canoe with a young girl, Naipur, with whom the god was infatuated. Enraged, the god caused the riverbed to collapse in front of the lovers, producing a line of precipitous falls over which Naipur fell and, at their base, turned into a rock. Caroba survived as a tree overlooking it.


Geologists have a more prosaic version. The Río Iguazú’s course takes it over a basaltic plateau that ends abruptly just short of the confluence with the Paraná. Where the lava flow stopped, thousands of cubic meters of water per second now plunge down as much as 80m into sedimentary terrain below. Before reaching the falls, the river divides into many channels with rocks and islands separating the many distinct cascades that together form the famous 2.7km-long cataratas (waterfalls).”


We got lost several times on the way to the park but eventually found it.

There were three trails around the falls, upper, lower and Devil’s Throat. As the names suggests the upper trail is a set of trails/grated metal walkways above the falls and the lower trail was below the falls.

We walked on trails through the rainforest to get to the falls. This picture of the rain forest shows how dense the vegetation is.



There were lots of coati, a member of the raccoon family, and capuchin monkeys around. In fact there were warnings about how aggressive they can be to get food. We also saw lots of butterflies, several turtles, and an alligator.


The falls were simply amazing. The roar of the water was loud. You really felt the power of Mother Nature. Words cannot describe it so I will leave it to the pictures . . .

From the upper trail

From the lower trail

From Devil’s Throat

One interesting sign said that 40 years ago the water on the falls was clear but there has been so much logging that now the water looks reddish-brownish from all the soil run off. (The soil is very red here due to the fast decomposition of organic material.). Of course they are trying to remediate that.

After the falls, we returned to the room. We walked into town to get groceries and had our typical picnic for dinner. Off to the Brazilian side of the falls tomorrow.

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January 22, 2018

Not the most exciting day . . .

We spend the morning with Roberto. We went to see family graves and then he showed us a little more of the town. We went back to the house, picked up Ingrid, and went to a restaurant for lunch. They had a salad bar and bought trays of grilled meat to the table. It was very good.

After a sad goodbye (we plan to see Roberto when we go to Switzerland), we headed north to Puerto Iguazu. The drive took about 2 hours. We got checked into our hotel and then explored the property and the town. We bought our food for dinner at the local grocery store and had a picnic in the room.

I told you it wasn’t very exciting.

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January 21, 2018

We were up very early to catch a flight to Iguazu Falls.  We were a little nervous that the airline would have a problem with one of our suitcases which weighs slightly over 50 pounds but they didn’t say a word.  The flight was uneventful.

When we arrived in Iguazu, we rented a car and drove about 2 hours to Puerto Rico.  We went through two police checkpoints.  We didn’t have to stop at the first one and at the second one we told the police officer that we don’t speak any Spanish and she just waved us through.  We think they are looking for drugs coming from Brazil or Paraguay.

Once in Puerto Rico we couldn’t find the hotel and ended up driving up and down the Main Street several times.  Finally we found it and got checked in.   We had come to Puerto Rico because Rick’s cousin, Ingrid, lives there.  Rick’s great grandfather was Swiss and had seven sons.  Several of them including Rick’s grandfather went to Prussia and Ingrid’s father, Adolph, came to Argentina in 1937. Rick’s grandfather and Adolph were brothers and the two brothers married two sisters.  If you are following this, Rick’s  grandmother and Ingrid’s mother were sisters.  This cousin is Lily’s aunt.  For those of you that followed our Spain trip, you may remember we met Lily when we stayed at Irene’s (another cousin) condo in Denia, Spain.  Lily’s twin brother and Ingrid’s nephew, Roberto, who lives in Basel, Switzerland, was visiting Ingrid.  I guess we had met him in 2010 at the family reunion but I met a lot of people that day. Bottom line the Mansers are taking over the world.  😉

Ingrid and Roberto showed up at the hotel just as we were leaving to come to them. We tried to go to lunch but the restuarant was closed so we ended up at the local Shell station for empanadas.  Seemed a little weird but we went with it.  After lunch, Roberto showed us around the town.

Eventually we ended up at Ingrid’s house which was a small two bedroom house.  We reviewed the family genealogy and talked some more.  Actually Rick talked to Ingrid and Roberto in German and I tried to follow along.  My German is worse than my Spanish which is really bad.  Here’s a picture of the four of us.

We came back to our hotel to follow the Patriots game.  Go Pats!!

Then we met for dinner (at 8:30 and we were one of the first people at the restaurant, I told you they eat late).  We had a great dinner and great conversation (I think) with them.

 

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January 20, 2018

  • Happy Birthday Rick 🎂🎉🎊🎁🎈

This morning we took the subway to Plaza de Mayo.  This is the colonial section of the city.  Here are some pictures.

We walked along Calle Florida, which is a pedestrian retail street and over to Plaza de Mayo.   From here we had a great view of the Puerto Madero, with its modern buildings.

We saw the La Casa Rosada, the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. Eva Perron gave speeches to masses from the balcony of La Casa Rosada.  They give tours of the building but we didn’t do that.  You can see they are doing construction on the Plaza.

The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is also in the Plaza.  The Cathedral of Buenos Aires was rebuilt several times since its humble origins in the 16th century. The present building is a mix of architectural styles, with an 18th-century nave and dome and a severe, 19th-century Neoclassical façade without towers. The interior keeps precious 18th-century statues and altarpieces, as well as abundant Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque decoration.  Here are pictures of Cathedral.

By this time we were hungry for lunch so we walked back to     Puerto Madero and had a very nice lunch to celebrate Rick’s birthday.

On our way back to the subway we saw the Obelisco de Buenos Aires, which is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires, and 9 de Julio Avenue. The Obelisk is located in the Plaza de la República in the intersection of avenues Corrientes and 9 de Julio and was erected in 1936 to commemorate the quadricentennial of the first foundation of the city.  9 de Julio Avenue is the widest avenue in the world, with 8 lanes of traffic in each direction. Its name honors Argentina’s Independence Day, July 9, 1816.

We took took the subway back to our hotel and relaxed for awhile.  Later that evening we went out for birthday pizza.

The Argentines eat very late, similar to the Spanish.  People start showing up at restaurants at 9, even with little kids.

 

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January 19, 2018

After walking a ridiculous amount yesterday, we decided to take the subway. The subway is very easy and cheap, less than $0.50, one way. We went to the Puerto Madero section of the city. As we came out of the subway we were looking at the map, trying to figure out what direction to go when a older gentleman asked us if we needed help. It turned out that he had married an Argentinian woman 50 years earlier and now spends 6 months a year in the US and 6 months a year in Argentina. He told us that the government had invested a lot of money to build the port but it had many problems and was never successful. More recently the government had developed the area into a very nice residential and commercial area. He said it was a desirable place to live because it was run by the navy which is less corrupt than the police who are responsible for the rest of the city.

Based on his suggestion, we walked out towards the river and found the ecological reserve.  We walked through the old/revitalized port area.

This is the Puente de la Mujer or bridge of the lady which was opened in 2001.  A number of streets in the Puerto Madero district have women’s names, thus giving the bridge its name.

Finally we arrived at the reserve which is amazing.  This 360-hectare ecological reserve was created on top of the refuse of a former dump site.  We didn’t feel like we were in the city as we walked the dirt paths.  It was very hot.  Eventually we came to a break in the foliage and could see the river.  It is very muddy and expansive, we couldn’t see the other side.

Puerto Madero has many very modern buildings.  Here’s a picture of a couple of the big buildings as seen from the reserve.

I thought the reflection of the one building in the other building was cool.

We had lunch at a restaurant in one of the renovated dock buildings.  We watched this little boat clean up the water; essentially it was an aqua street cleaner.

We continued walking and were trying to get to Plaza de Mayo but once again got a little lost and ended up at the other end of Plaza San Martin.  Here’s a picture of the clock at the Plaza.

By this time we were very hot, sweaty, tired, and our feet hurt so we took a cab back to the hotel.

That evening we went to dinner and a tango show.  The food at the restaurant was ok.  We sat next to two ladies from Spain who spoke no English but we managed to have a conversation with them even so.  The tango show traced the history of the tango.  It was well done and enjoyable.   Below are a couple of blurry pictures from the show.