The South America Chronicles - Catorce
The last time I left you I think I was about to be jumping on a bus - Suite Premium again, of course - to San Martin in the Argentinean Lake District. The bus trip went pretty quickly, probably due to the fact that we didn't get any sleep the night before. There wasn't much to see out the bus, the countryside outside of Buenos Aires is incredibly flat, the only features on the landscape being that of a bovine characteristic - but I guess all that steak has to come from somewhere.
So after the 20 hour journey, we were very pleased to see a couple of familiar faces waiting for us at the bus terminal - James & Petra of Salta and Buenos Aires fame. This was of most use to Anna, as it meant she didn't have to carry her manhole-cover to the hostel by herself. San Martin is a quaint little town, seemingly more suited to the Swiss Alps than South American. All log cabins and A-frames, it was a big change from the environments we have been in up to now.
We only stayed at San Martin for two nights, but it felt much longer. The first night, the four of us teamed up with another Aussie couple at out hostel to cook our own BBQ, a nice change from going out all the time. Unfortunately, two Antipodeans and an Englishman were no match for an Argentinean woman as we had to take notes on our to prepare a traditional Parilla. Loss of masculinity aside, we still enjoyed some damn good steak and sausage, and of course the necessary red wine.
The next day we hired a car with James & Petra and went fro a drive out to one of the National Parks. It all started well, it being another stunningly sunny day, driving out into some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. Incredibly blue lakes surrounded by mountains capped with pure white snow - all so pristine. After a good picnic lakeside, we continued on towards an extinct volcano further along. Anna had been driving up to this point, but now passed the reins onto James. We all laughed when he said he hadn't driven for six months, and everything seemed to be going along fine until a large rock jumped out and bit the front-right tyre of the car - hard to believe I know. The result of this calamity saw us having to change the tyre as the wheel now had a significant dent in it. Nerves a little bit frayed, we enjoyed the rest of the day, though somewhat concerned about what this might add up to. Though fortunately, we needn't be so concerned as the rental guy was really good and the replacement wheel only cost US$50 - a good result considering. Of course, this was cause for much celebration, dining on some local specialities and some local ales.
After our two nights at San Martin, we all traveled down to Bariloche, much more touristy, but the hub of the Argentinean Lake District. Though the town doesn't have the charm of San Martin, it is stunningly set and literally took our breath away when we arrived. The next day was again clear and sunny, and after walking up a nearby hill for some great views, we hired some bikes to ride around the Llau Llau Peninsula. Again we were just amazed by the sheer beauty of the area. After enjoying another great picnic lakeside, we must have tempted fate too much by slapping on the heavy suncream, as no soon as we had set off that out of no where the clear blue sky had been replaced by thick cloud. Fortunately, by the time the worst had set in, we were able to shelter ourselves under the veranda of a roadside kiosk. After about an hour of should we - shouldn't we, we finally gave in and called the bike rental and they rescued us from the freezing rain that had now set in. A shame, but we had still enjoyed the day we were able to get in.
Anna and I had already decided to extend our stay in Bariloche by a couple more nights, so we were hoping that this turn of weather would be brief. Unfortunately, waking up the next morning the rain was heavier and the temperatures even cooler. But fortunately, I had a back up plan. The Lake District of Argentina is blessed with a plethora of craft breweries, and I had spied a couple right next to each other the previous day. So what better option for a rainy day than sit yourself in a couple of brewpubs sampling their wares? The rain persisted, and so did the drinking, and the four of us made the most of a pretty rotten day.
We had already decided that whatever the weather, the next day we would head out and try to accomplish something. We were hoping to do a day trek, but at the very least go for a drive. Unfortunately the weather didn't dawn any better today either. However, we had organised the hire car and drove off down towards another of the National Parks. Again we passed some beautifully set lakes, which we knew were surrounded by mountains, if we could just seem them! After stopping for a picnic lunch, forced inside the car, we had given up on the trek idea by still drove up to the 'Black Glacier' - called so because the top layer of ice is covered with rock and silt. It was very impressive, looking like the glacier was in fact rock rather than ice. Also while we were there, a huge boulder the size of a house decided to detach itself from the mountain side and rolled its way into the lake in front of the glacier. It started with a huge crack and moved with a roar, and must have been a one-in-a-million chance to see. The glacier itself actually made the day and let us forget about the weather, but then we were lucky enough for it to start clearing up, and all the mountains and volcanoes that we unwittingly drove through earlier in the morning were now exposed to us. As I said, just incredible scenery.
So tonight we had to say farewell to James & Petra tonight, great travelling companions over the past couple of weeks - though it isn't long until we will see them again in Auckland when they pass through. After careful consultation of the forecast for tomorrow, we have booked a very expensive tour which takes us through to Chile. It is a bus-boat-bus-boat-bus-boat-bus trip, taking us through some of the most spectacular and difficult to reach scenery in the whole of the Lake District. If the weather is good, it should be amazing. If the weather is bad, we will be very upset. I'm hoping I will have some positive news for you in my next update.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The South America Chronicles - Trece
When Gun'n'Roses wrote `Paradise City` I think they must have been referring to Buenos Aires. The grass is pretty green, but the girls sure are pretty. Stunning in fact! So guys, if you are single and know five and a half words of Spanish, get you arse over here now. And if you are not, well get over here anyway and pick up the most expensive pair of mirrored sunglasses money can buy. It is ridiculous here! But sorry, I`ll just wipe the dribble from my chin and get back to it....
What a great four days we have had back in Buenos Aires - we have now falen in love with the place. Staying around San Telmo was cool, but we have been in the suburb of Palermo this week and it is an awesome place. It is the trendy district, with tree-lined avenues and streets, cool bars, cafes and restaurants, and even cooler people. And the weather here has been brilliant, so we have just been lapping it up. Even having our plans to day-trip over to Uruguay scuppered didn´t concern us, as it meant that we had more time in BA.
We have had some pretty good meals. On our first night we went to a steak restaurant that we couldn´t get into another night because the wait for a table was over half an hour. We managed to sneak in this time and weren´t disappointed. The steak was the best we have had in BA - luckily we had been tipped-off that you only had to order one and share, as it was enormous. You could see plenty of over tables looking incredulously when the steaks they ordered each were delievered. Your steak also came with 14 side dishes, so you didn´t leave this place hungry. By chance, as we were leaving the restaurant, we bumped into Murray, and Aussie guy we have seemed to have followed since San Pedro. Murray and some people from his hostel were going out to a club, so we decided to tag along. Wednesday night is a big clubbing night in BA (go figure?), so we thought we better partake. It was a pretty cool small club and it was pretty busy. And despite it being a school night, the clubs still don`t kick off until after 2am.
Last night we also went clubbing, but this time to one of the big ones - called Crobar. It was a huge night, there was a big Chilean DJ laying and he was very good, and the place was rammed. We didn´t crawl home until around 7am, so today has been a little slow, and we are actually looking forward to getting on our 20 hour bus ride this afternoon.
We have also had a good look around this side of the city. Apart from just wandering the cool little streets of Palermo, we also walked a few of the parks and also went to Recoleta Cemetery, most famous for being the resting place of Eva Peron (Evita). But the whole cemetery is weird, full of huge and ostentatious mausoleums, some could even be the frontages of upmarket boutique shops. We also went to Bodies - The Exhibition, a truely bizarre exhibition showing the different parts of the body, from the veins to dissections of the body. But makes it really bizarre is that it uses real cadavers to do it, and on may of them you can still see hair, eyelashes, etc.
And of course, there has been the shopping. I (probably foolishly) left Anna to it yesteday afternoon when I went to watch the rugby. Luckily we can`t carry a whole lot of stuff or it could have been a lot worse. But we still now have a couple of bags that we are going to have to cart around for the next two and a bit weeks. Should be fun....
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Los Pumas
Just got back from watching the Pumas beat the Frogs in the Rugby World Cup 3rd/4th play-off. A great game and a grat win for the Pumas. Puts the sort of garbage that was written in this article in its place. It is that type of arrogance and ignorance that says what is wrong with NZ rugby at the moment - no wonder Steven Jones writes the type of things he does in response. Pumas rugby might not always get the girls wetting their seats in the stadium, but it is good rugby nevertheless. Forwards who commit themselves to the breakdown and winning the ball (radical stuff), and when there is space, backs who will run the ball (and that`s backs in the backline, not forwards or props - radial stuff again I know). In fact, it is play not all that dissimilar from the successful All Black rugby of the 80s and 90s. I hope that the Pumas do get into an expanded Tri-Nations competition, we might learn something.
Viva Los Pumas
Just got back from watching the Pumas beat the Frogs in the Rugby World Cup 3rd/4th play-off. A great game and a grat win for the Pumas. Puts the sort of garbage that was written in this article in its place. It is that type of arrogance and ignorance that says what is wrong with NZ rugby at the moment - no wonder Steven Jones writes the type of things he does in response. Pumas rugby might not always get the girls wetting their seats in the stadium, but it is good rugby nevertheless. Forwards who commit themselves to the breakdown and winning the ball (radical stuff), and when there is space, backs who will run the ball (and that`s backs in the backline, not forwards or props - radial stuff again I know). In fact, it is play not all that dissimilar from the successful All Black rugby of the 80s and 90s. I hope that the Pumas do get into an expanded Tri-Nations competition, we might learn something.
Viva Los Pumas
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The South America Chronicles - Doce
The highs and lows in the jungle continue for Anna and I, but more on that later....
First, our initial stint in Buenos Aires. Very different from the colonial Salta and definitely a proper cosmopolitan city. In fact, it feels like you could be in any big European city - Paris, Rome or Madrid. After our ´rain delay´when we first arrived on the Friday we were pretty happy that Saturday dawned nice and sunny, especially as we were going to the football later that day. But before that, we decided to walk down to the La Boca district, not far from where we were staying in San Telmo. La Boca, Buenos Aires´ old docks and home to the famous Boca Juniors is a pretty rough area and the walk wasn´t really very scenic. But down on the docks there are a few streets of old painted tin buildings that were the settlements that the original immigrants built. Walking down, we thought we might be the only tourists there, as there was hardly anyone around. So we were shocked when we finally arrived at these streets to see hoards of tourists. We weren´t sure how they got there - they certainly hadn´t walked the same way as us - and it felt a bit like walking into Disneyland. But the streets and colourful tin houses were worth the walk to come and see, despite all the crappy stalls, etc that attach themselves to these types of touristy spots. I did manage to pick myself up a replica (aka fake) Puma rugby jersey to wear for the weekend though. And we found out how all the tourists got there when we spotted a back street crammed with loads of tour buses. So lame....
Busing (local) it back into the city, we were meeting up with James and Petra for lunch and then to go to the football. We even managed to convince a bar to switch over from another football game so we could watch the first half of England´s rugby semi-final (at least we were with someone with an interest in the world cup) - no small feat in South America I would think. It was strange though, that in a bar only 15 minutes walk from the ground, there were few fellow game-goers having a drink. It was the same after the game, very different from what happens back home. Though we did see the buses of Chilean supporters go past to the ground, complete with police escort.
Arriving at River Plate Stadium, you couldn´t help but be impressed - an oval of two levels fitting 65000 people, of which it wouldn´t have been much short of that afternoon. When we arrived, about 45 minutes before the game, it was already nearly full and pumping with noise. Our seats ended up being in the section in front of the (cordened off) Chilean fans and there was much taunting - mostly good natured - back and forth during the game. It was truly a great atmosphere - and the football itself was superb. Where else in the world can you watch some of the greatest football players on the planet play some sublime football for only 30 pesos (US$10). The skills levels were amazing, especially those of the Argentinean team, who had all their top players (eg. Messi). Riquelme scored from two free kicks in the first half, both where the keeper never even moved. And fortunately for us, both of these were at our end. That was enough for Argentina, who took the game 2-0.
On Sunday we got up late (by account of a few drinks the night before and the late night highway that seemed to be the street outside our room) and went to the Sunday fair that San Telmo is famous for. Before this we had been a bit disappointed by San Telmo, which had a reputation as one of Buenos Aires most interesting superbs (it was one of the original settlements of Buenos Aires and has undergone a Bohemian revival), but this day gave us a real feel for why it has its reputation. Half the city seemed to be there, wandering around the pedestrian-only streets, with most of the shops are open, along with lots of stalls, music and acts. Anna even managed to buy herself a somewhat large and heavy platter-thing (yes, I´m a boy) I have no idea how she is going to cart around and then get home. I just enjoyed watching the Portenas (Buenos Aires locals - of the female variety). We later met up with James and Petra again to watch the Argentina´s rugby semi-final - which they unfortunately didn´t win.
On Monday we flew here to Iguazu, where we left the warm sunshine of Buenos Aires to be greeted by the wet. We have only had two days here though so we have had to brave the weather and still try to make the most of it. On Monday we travelled over to Brazil to visit their side of the falls. The Brazil side was good, but as we were to find out today, has nothing on the Argentinean side. And the fact that we had to walk around in the rain wasn´t much fun either. Also, frustratingly, the pathway for the best view on the Brazil side, right into the heart of the falls, was closed.
And then this morning, I was woken up by the noise of the thundering rain. This rain was on a torrential scale I am not sure I have witnessed before. After delaying getting out of bed, we finally tried to gear ourselves to heading out. This was still with much reluctance, however, as the rain was as heavy as ever and the peals of thunder were lasting for 20-30 seconds. The fact that Anna has developed a full blown cold and me a sore throat made us even less than enthusiastic about heading out in the rain. But eventually we did - this was our only chance to see the Argentinean side of the falls - though I looked an odd sight heading out in togs, singlet, jandals and poncho (reasoning that if I am going to get soaked, I may as well have as little to get soaked as possible).
But it ended up being very much worth it. By the time we had reached the falls and arrived to the first of the walkways, the rain had reduced to a point where we could remove the ponchos (as good as we looked as giant condoms). And the first viewing point, right above the heart of the Falls (Garganta del Diablo or ¨the Devil´s Throat¨), made it all worth while. The force and sheer volume of water going over the walls here was amazing, and at more than 50 metres above the base, we were still being shrouded in the mist created from the waterfall hitting the bottom. Within in the mist, there were also these crazy small birds (which we saw closer up later and that looked like tiny owls) flying around in the mist and then clinging onto the cliffs right next to the waterfalls.
The whole Iguazu Falls is huge, stretching along over 2 kilometres, and we got a much better feel for this on the Argentinean side, where you get to walk on top of and amidst the falls. It was pretty stunning - the camera got a real work out - and we very much enjoyed the afternoon. To finish it, we took a boat ride right into the falls. After getting a sprinkling in one of the smaller falls, you get taken right into the middle of one of the biggest. The force of the water coming down is amazing, it feels like you are getting hit by huge waves and you can´t even open your eyes. We got on the boat first so took the front seats and got a right soaking, but it was a lot of fun. It was wise that we had left this for last, as I wouldn´t have wanted to walk around as wet as we were. It also meant that we left on a real high, very happy now that we had made this side trip (earlier that morning I was wondering whether it was a very expensive mistake).
We head back to Buenos Aires tomorrow morning for another few days there. We may even fit in a day trip to Uruguay as well before we leave. The plan at the moment is to head down on the Saturday night to the Lake District, where at the moment the temperature is only getting as high as 9 degrees (eek) and then make our way up for our imminent departure back to NZ on the 5th (EEK).
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The South America Chronicles - Once
On Monday we picked up our little car - and as it was a VW Polo (called "Gol" over here), it sure was little - and drove off into the north-west Argentinean countryside. We saw some stunning scenery over the newxt three days, but as most of the roads were mostly gravel and/or sand, our little car sure took a beating.
Our first destination was the small town of Cachi, but not before a demanding drive through some stunning scenery. We had to climb nearly 2000m to get over a pass before descending again to Cachi. The drive took us up through a bizarre mountainous landscape, one that I couldn´t decide whether it was more Grand Canyon or more Scottish Glen. A valley of dark wood topped by evergreen leaves gave way to red rock and cacti, which then gave way to towering black rock and tussock-like grass. When we finally made it over the pass, we then had to drive through the "Devil´s Amphitheatre", a 12km dead straight road through a valley full of cacti (the closest thing I think you could ever get to a ´cacti forest´).
Arriving at Cachi, we were greeted by a cute little town with plastered houses and cobblestone streets. Though we got a bit of a shock when most of the accomodation appeared to be either full or had tripled in price since last year´s guidebook. We did eventually find ourselves a place to stay and spent a relaxing evening around the town. This included what must be the best pasta meal either of us have ever eaten (and that includes Italy). We wouldn´t have even found the small restaurant if we hadn´t stayed down the small street where we had finally found accomodation. Walking past it though, we were instantly attracted to the good smells coming from within and just had to investigate. It was just a one room establishment, including the kitchen on one side. It only had pasta and salad on the menu, and even then you only had four choices of different filled pasta and four different sauces ("salsas"), but we were in for a real treat. Upon ordering, from where we sat, we could watch the husband and wife team start from making the pasta, filling it, and then cooking the sauce to accompany it. Though that was reality cooking. And it was delicious! As I said, the best pasta meal I have ever had.
The next day we were driving down to the Cafayate region where we were treating ourselves to a couple of nights at a small winery - La Casa de la Bodega. The drive was again spectacular, following along a river valley, which was the only source of green all around us, with surrounding bare hills set in a deep red of brown against a clear blue sky. As we got closer to Cafayate we passed through some very perculiar rock formations. Huge slabs of pink-grey rock rising out of the sandy ground like missiles or spaceships about to take off. It was an eerie landscape and amazing that they had put a road through there at all. Arriving at our winery retreat, we took a `refreshing` dip in the pool (it was damn cold) before settling in for a relaxing night of drinks and dinner.
The next morning we had a tour of the winery along with tastings of their wine. Setting off with the other (5) guests around the vineyard it seemed that this was to be a Spanish-only tour. Too embaressed to admit our woeful lack of Spanish though, we hung at the back and tried to discern what we may. It was only on our way into the winery itself that we plucked up the courage to ask the Vinter if he had any English. He didn´t, but another of the guests, obviously having not been fooled by our stupid nods and grins over the past half an hour, said that she could translate for us. It was then that we found out quite a bit about the winery. It is very small (they put the labels on their bottles by hand), only producing about 60000 litres a year, and the unique climate of the area - the wind and altitude means that there is nearly zero humidity - means that it doesn´t have any problems with bacteria, etc and have allowed it to be organic (though it is still awaiting certified status - you have to wait five years). And their wines? Very nice. They only produce three - two reds, Malbec and Malbec Cabernet; and a Torrontes, a white wine only grown and made in this region, with a very fruity nose, but dry like a Sauvignon Blanc (and much to our liking). Armed with our new found (and hard fought) knowledge of the local wines, we drove about the rest of the region visiting some of the other wineries. Not finding any other wines that bettered those at our own little winery (though a couple had some fabulous views over the valley), we decided to stay-in for the night and enjoy some more of the Torrontes. It turned out to be a strange night, we being the only guests that night and having the run of the house. Ironically, and fortunately not prophetic, ´The Shining´was on TV that night - we managed to survive the night without any sign of mass murderers and departed the next morning to return to Salta.
It was a most welcome sealed road back to Salta to finish the loop and we made it back in good time. Brining the car back to the rental company, we had a small problem with a broken hub-cap, but it wasn´t expensive and can be forgiven for all we put that little car through (apparently, they often get lots more damage on that route). A quick return to the medical clinic and my last test result confirmed that there isn´t anything obviously wrong with me, and admittedly I am feeling OK again. Just as long as it stays that way now! We had just enough time to drop in to our favourite little empanada place - they´re are so good, just like little pastry pies - before we had to get on our bus to Buesnos Aires. It was a shame to leave Salta behind as we really liked the city. One of those manageable cities that you can imagine yourself living in.
Did I mention that we were travelling to Buenos Aires in style - the Suite Premium bus. This thing was the mac-daddy. In a huge two-story bus there must have been only 20 seats for passengers - you have this huge room to stretch out your seat to make a fold-out bed. We had a hostess that served us, we saw three new release movies, had a ´hot´ dinner (this is quite a treat, trust me) with bottled wine, and then had a night-cap choice of whiskey, tia maria or champagne (I´m quite thankful I went for the tia maria than the whiskey, as she was giving out half-pint sized pours). And the sleep? Well, it is not as good as a real bed, but it sure beats trying to sleep in a seat that only reclines a few degrees, and the few hours I did get were more than I would get in a normal bus trip (or flight for that matter). Now we are just hoping that the same service is available on our other long bus trips.
So arriving in Buenos Aires 18 hours later, not quite refreshed, but at least alive and kicking, we were somewhat disappointed to be greeted by rain. I think I could count on one hand the number of hours (let alone days) that it has rained so far on this trip, so rain always comes as a bit of a shock. Though I guess it is spring here and we should expect a bit more of it as we head south and keep to the coast. But it still feels like we are being a little cheated. So we haven´t got up to too much on our first day here, just wandering around and trying to get our bearings. The good news though is that we have managed to get tickets to the football tomorrow afternoon, a World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Chile. It is not a club game unfortunately (I really wanted to see either Boca Juniors or River Plate), but this should also be good and apparently their were huge queues yesterday for tickets (thanks to James & Petra, who we met in Salta, for picking us up some tickets!). So hopefully Argentina can make it a one-two with the football on Saturday and the rugby on Sunday, it should help to make a party atmosphere in the city on this long weekend (Monday is a South American public holiday celebrating Columbus discovering the Americas). I might be reporting on a few hangovers later in the week....
On Monday we picked up our little car - and as it was a VW Polo (called "Gol" over here), it sure was little - and drove off into the north-west Argentinean countryside. We saw some stunning scenery over the newxt three days, but as most of the roads were mostly gravel and/or sand, our little car sure took a beating.
Our first destination was the small town of Cachi, but not before a demanding drive through some stunning scenery. We had to climb nearly 2000m to get over a pass before descending again to Cachi. The drive took us up through a bizarre mountainous landscape, one that I couldn´t decide whether it was more Grand Canyon or more Scottish Glen. A valley of dark wood topped by evergreen leaves gave way to red rock and cacti, which then gave way to towering black rock and tussock-like grass. When we finally made it over the pass, we then had to drive through the "Devil´s Amphitheatre", a 12km dead straight road through a valley full of cacti (the closest thing I think you could ever get to a ´cacti forest´).
Arriving at Cachi, we were greeted by a cute little town with plastered houses and cobblestone streets. Though we got a bit of a shock when most of the accomodation appeared to be either full or had tripled in price since last year´s guidebook. We did eventually find ourselves a place to stay and spent a relaxing evening around the town. This included what must be the best pasta meal either of us have ever eaten (and that includes Italy). We wouldn´t have even found the small restaurant if we hadn´t stayed down the small street where we had finally found accomodation. Walking past it though, we were instantly attracted to the good smells coming from within and just had to investigate. It was just a one room establishment, including the kitchen on one side. It only had pasta and salad on the menu, and even then you only had four choices of different filled pasta and four different sauces ("salsas"), but we were in for a real treat. Upon ordering, from where we sat, we could watch the husband and wife team start from making the pasta, filling it, and then cooking the sauce to accompany it. Though that was reality cooking. And it was delicious! As I said, the best pasta meal I have ever had.
The next day we were driving down to the Cafayate region where we were treating ourselves to a couple of nights at a small winery - La Casa de la Bodega. The drive was again spectacular, following along a river valley, which was the only source of green all around us, with surrounding bare hills set in a deep red of brown against a clear blue sky. As we got closer to Cafayate we passed through some very perculiar rock formations. Huge slabs of pink-grey rock rising out of the sandy ground like missiles or spaceships about to take off. It was an eerie landscape and amazing that they had put a road through there at all. Arriving at our winery retreat, we took a `refreshing` dip in the pool (it was damn cold) before settling in for a relaxing night of drinks and dinner.
The next morning we had a tour of the winery along with tastings of their wine. Setting off with the other (5) guests around the vineyard it seemed that this was to be a Spanish-only tour. Too embaressed to admit our woeful lack of Spanish though, we hung at the back and tried to discern what we may. It was only on our way into the winery itself that we plucked up the courage to ask the Vinter if he had any English. He didn´t, but another of the guests, obviously having not been fooled by our stupid nods and grins over the past half an hour, said that she could translate for us. It was then that we found out quite a bit about the winery. It is very small (they put the labels on their bottles by hand), only producing about 60000 litres a year, and the unique climate of the area - the wind and altitude means that there is nearly zero humidity - means that it doesn´t have any problems with bacteria, etc and have allowed it to be organic (though it is still awaiting certified status - you have to wait five years). And their wines? Very nice. They only produce three - two reds, Malbec and Malbec Cabernet; and a Torrontes, a white wine only grown and made in this region, with a very fruity nose, but dry like a Sauvignon Blanc (and much to our liking). Armed with our new found (and hard fought) knowledge of the local wines, we drove about the rest of the region visiting some of the other wineries. Not finding any other wines that bettered those at our own little winery (though a couple had some fabulous views over the valley), we decided to stay-in for the night and enjoy some more of the Torrontes. It turned out to be a strange night, we being the only guests that night and having the run of the house. Ironically, and fortunately not prophetic, ´The Shining´was on TV that night - we managed to survive the night without any sign of mass murderers and departed the next morning to return to Salta.
It was a most welcome sealed road back to Salta to finish the loop and we made it back in good time. Brining the car back to the rental company, we had a small problem with a broken hub-cap, but it wasn´t expensive and can be forgiven for all we put that little car through (apparently, they often get lots more damage on that route). A quick return to the medical clinic and my last test result confirmed that there isn´t anything obviously wrong with me, and admittedly I am feeling OK again. Just as long as it stays that way now! We had just enough time to drop in to our favourite little empanada place - they´re are so good, just like little pastry pies - before we had to get on our bus to Buesnos Aires. It was a shame to leave Salta behind as we really liked the city. One of those manageable cities that you can imagine yourself living in.
Did I mention that we were travelling to Buenos Aires in style - the Suite Premium bus. This thing was the mac-daddy. In a huge two-story bus there must have been only 20 seats for passengers - you have this huge room to stretch out your seat to make a fold-out bed. We had a hostess that served us, we saw three new release movies, had a ´hot´ dinner (this is quite a treat, trust me) with bottled wine, and then had a night-cap choice of whiskey, tia maria or champagne (I´m quite thankful I went for the tia maria than the whiskey, as she was giving out half-pint sized pours). And the sleep? Well, it is not as good as a real bed, but it sure beats trying to sleep in a seat that only reclines a few degrees, and the few hours I did get were more than I would get in a normal bus trip (or flight for that matter). Now we are just hoping that the same service is available on our other long bus trips.
So arriving in Buenos Aires 18 hours later, not quite refreshed, but at least alive and kicking, we were somewhat disappointed to be greeted by rain. I think I could count on one hand the number of hours (let alone days) that it has rained so far on this trip, so rain always comes as a bit of a shock. Though I guess it is spring here and we should expect a bit more of it as we head south and keep to the coast. But it still feels like we are being a little cheated. So we haven´t got up to too much on our first day here, just wandering around and trying to get our bearings. The good news though is that we have managed to get tickets to the football tomorrow afternoon, a World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Chile. It is not a club game unfortunately (I really wanted to see either Boca Juniors or River Plate), but this should also be good and apparently their were huge queues yesterday for tickets (thanks to James & Petra, who we met in Salta, for picking us up some tickets!). So hopefully Argentina can make it a one-two with the football on Saturday and the rugby on Sunday, it should help to make a party atmosphere in the city on this long weekend (Monday is a South American public holiday celebrating Columbus discovering the Americas). I might be reporting on a few hangovers later in the week....
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Beer Scene - Bolivia
What a surprise this was, after the desert that Ecuador and Peru were of beer choice, Bolivia was like an oasis. OK, it wasn´t anything astounding, but at least the main brewer had more than two beers. In fact, I tasted ten new beers in Bolvia, after only tasting six in Ecuador and Peru combined. The highlight was most definitely the Saya Beers brewed at The Adventure Brew Hostal in La Paz. It was refreshing to drink some differnt style of beers, brewed well. Their English Ale even reminding of drinking back in London. And even the national brewer gets in on the act, with seven different varieties. Though some of them were variations on the same pilsener theme, there was better quality than from most mass-producers.
My faith in brewing has been restored again and my palate feels revitalised heading into Chile & Argentina.
What a surprise this was, after the desert that Ecuador and Peru were of beer choice, Bolivia was like an oasis. OK, it wasn´t anything astounding, but at least the main brewer had more than two beers. In fact, I tasted ten new beers in Bolvia, after only tasting six in Ecuador and Peru combined. The highlight was most definitely the Saya Beers brewed at The Adventure Brew Hostal in La Paz. It was refreshing to drink some differnt style of beers, brewed well. Their English Ale even reminding of drinking back in London. And even the national brewer gets in on the act, with seven different varieties. Though some of them were variations on the same pilsener theme, there was better quality than from most mass-producers.
My faith in brewing has been restored again and my palate feels revitalised heading into Chile & Argentina.
Monday, October 08, 2007
The South America Chronicles - Diez
Hola from a brand new world, we are in a bit of culture shock at the moment - but more on that later.
Our bus trip from San Pedro de Atacama to here in Salta was adventure enough. The bus was very nice, it must have been nearly brand new, but there was plenty of drama when we hit the Chile-Argentinean border. To begin with, when we arrived there was a huge queue at border control as two other buses had got their first - so we were kept waiting in the bus for about half an hour. Going through the actual control was simple enough, but afterwards we were strangely left waiting in the bus. Neither of the bus drivers bothered to tell us anything, but finally someone managed to get out of them that we were "waiting for documents" and we could be "some minutes". However, after about two hours at the border we were finally told "vamos" and to board the bus. And then we saw the "documents" we were waiting for, as two guys in uniform led a handcuffed guy onto the back of our bus (and we´re pretty sure that this guy got on at San Pedro de Atacama with us). Of course, we were given no explanation, though this only allowed us to dream up all fanciful reasons for what was happening. Though strangely, when we stopped at Jujuy, another city an hour out of Salta, the guy got off the bus with his escorts, but now with no handcuffs on and he even shook hands with the drivers as he left!?
The rest of the drive was comparatively uneventful, though we were obviously not going to make it to Salta by 9pm anymore (though the bus drivers went like maniacs to try and do so). The scenery over the Paso de Jama was pretty spectatacular, even though we had seen similar over the past few days on the Uyuni tour and around San Pedro.
We eventually arrived at a hot and sticky Salta just before 11pm and popped out for what we thought would be a late dinner. Not so though, as whole families were arriving for dinner as late as midnight. It doesn´t feel like we have come to a whole new country, it is like we are in a whole new continent. The whole place has a very Mediterranean feel, you could be anywhere in Spain or Italy, or sometimes even home in the UK or NZ. The people even look completely different and sometimes it is difficult to work out who is tourist and who is local. And it is so nice to receive customer service again and not feel like someone is trying to rip you off all the time. Though plastic surgeons must be making a killing around here, there are big boobs and shiny faces everywhere you turn.
It seemed we were heading home early at 1am, but I was feeling very unwell again and we had decided that we would need to track down a medical clinic the next day and get to the bottom of this, once and for all. After a very civilised (an apt term for this country) coffee around the main plaza that morning, we did get to medical clinic and spent the next couple of hours going back and forwards, providing samples (blood, urine, and the "other") and talking to a Doctor who was very helpful - he even jumped out of the gym to see us later that night when we got the blood and urine test results back. So far we still don´t know what is wrong with me and we have to wait for the "other" test results to come back. It´s silly, but when you are not feeling well you don´t want to be told that there is nothing wrong with you, you just want a diagnosis that can be treated somehow. However, the Doctor did give me a diet to follow, but as it has such blasphemies as "well done steak", I can´t see myself following it - come on, "well done steak", I´m in Argentina!
Later in the day it also started to rain in Salta - the Doctor told us it was the first rain here in six months. I´m not sure how we do it, but somehow we have this affect on places. But I guess such weather was appropriate for what happened later that afternoon, and despite the rain the day was obviously anything but "all black". To buoy the spirits, we headed out for our first steak in Argentina at a place I have read many recommendations for the best steak in Argentina - a heady claim. But it proved to be a very good recommendation. We were joined for dinner by an English couple we have met - James & Petra - and we ended up having a fairly big night. In our guidebook it mentions that the restaurant gives you a free glass of champagne when you arrive. We got this, but then a lot more. It seemed that we had an never-ending supply of champagne, and by the end of the night we (groggily) calculatedthat we probably had nearly two bottles of champagne each! I´m not sure whether our waiter was gunning for a good tip (which he most definitely got), but he just kept on leaving 3/4 full bottles of champagne on ourtable. This was even after we had finished ourmeal (which was absolutely delicious by the way), we were there for over two hours after our plates had been cleared away. To say the least, we were all very high from the champagne when we left, though there were some sore heads this morning.
Today has been fine again, and we took the gondala up to the hill that overlooks the city and then cleared the head by walking back down. This was just in time to catch two big sporting events this afternoon - first was the Buenos Aires football derby Boca Juniors vs River Plate, and then Argentina´s World Cup quarter-final against Scotland. The football game, the biggest of the year, had actually been moved to an earlier time so that it didn´t clash with the rugby, which locals told us was unheard of. We had been told that we should look to find a place to watch both the football early, as everywhere would be packed - and they weren´t wrong. We had also been told that the place to watch sport was in the cafeterias - which we were a bit sceptical about. But they weren´t wrong. All the cafeterias were packed, with big screens set up in front of tables - bizarrely, most bars were quiet, despite also having TVs. We managed to find ourselves a spot in a cafe after a bit of wandering around, and the football game didn´t disappoint, River Plate winning 2-0 in a fiery game. Strangely, with their national team about to begin a huge game in the Rugby World Cup, most of the people cleared out of the cafe after the football finished. This just shows the relative importance of football and rugby in this country - a football game between two teams from another city is of more interest than the national rugby team playing a historic match. The River Plate fans (from Salta remember) even paraded around the square as the rugby was on. Though the rugby didn´t disappoint for those who stayed to watch, and we are looking forward to watching the game next weekend in Buenos Aires (and after this weekend, who would be brave enough to say the Argentina can´t make the final).
Hola from a brand new world, we are in a bit of culture shock at the moment - but more on that later.
Our bus trip from San Pedro de Atacama to here in Salta was adventure enough. The bus was very nice, it must have been nearly brand new, but there was plenty of drama when we hit the Chile-Argentinean border. To begin with, when we arrived there was a huge queue at border control as two other buses had got their first - so we were kept waiting in the bus for about half an hour. Going through the actual control was simple enough, but afterwards we were strangely left waiting in the bus. Neither of the bus drivers bothered to tell us anything, but finally someone managed to get out of them that we were "waiting for documents" and we could be "some minutes". However, after about two hours at the border we were finally told "vamos" and to board the bus. And then we saw the "documents" we were waiting for, as two guys in uniform led a handcuffed guy onto the back of our bus (and we´re pretty sure that this guy got on at San Pedro de Atacama with us). Of course, we were given no explanation, though this only allowed us to dream up all fanciful reasons for what was happening. Though strangely, when we stopped at Jujuy, another city an hour out of Salta, the guy got off the bus with his escorts, but now with no handcuffs on and he even shook hands with the drivers as he left!?
The rest of the drive was comparatively uneventful, though we were obviously not going to make it to Salta by 9pm anymore (though the bus drivers went like maniacs to try and do so). The scenery over the Paso de Jama was pretty spectatacular, even though we had seen similar over the past few days on the Uyuni tour and around San Pedro.
We eventually arrived at a hot and sticky Salta just before 11pm and popped out for what we thought would be a late dinner. Not so though, as whole families were arriving for dinner as late as midnight. It doesn´t feel like we have come to a whole new country, it is like we are in a whole new continent. The whole place has a very Mediterranean feel, you could be anywhere in Spain or Italy, or sometimes even home in the UK or NZ. The people even look completely different and sometimes it is difficult to work out who is tourist and who is local. And it is so nice to receive customer service again and not feel like someone is trying to rip you off all the time. Though plastic surgeons must be making a killing around here, there are big boobs and shiny faces everywhere you turn.
It seemed we were heading home early at 1am, but I was feeling very unwell again and we had decided that we would need to track down a medical clinic the next day and get to the bottom of this, once and for all. After a very civilised (an apt term for this country) coffee around the main plaza that morning, we did get to medical clinic and spent the next couple of hours going back and forwards, providing samples (blood, urine, and the "other") and talking to a Doctor who was very helpful - he even jumped out of the gym to see us later that night when we got the blood and urine test results back. So far we still don´t know what is wrong with me and we have to wait for the "other" test results to come back. It´s silly, but when you are not feeling well you don´t want to be told that there is nothing wrong with you, you just want a diagnosis that can be treated somehow. However, the Doctor did give me a diet to follow, but as it has such blasphemies as "well done steak", I can´t see myself following it - come on, "well done steak", I´m in Argentina!
Later in the day it also started to rain in Salta - the Doctor told us it was the first rain here in six months. I´m not sure how we do it, but somehow we have this affect on places. But I guess such weather was appropriate for what happened later that afternoon, and despite the rain the day was obviously anything but "all black". To buoy the spirits, we headed out for our first steak in Argentina at a place I have read many recommendations for the best steak in Argentina - a heady claim. But it proved to be a very good recommendation. We were joined for dinner by an English couple we have met - James & Petra - and we ended up having a fairly big night. In our guidebook it mentions that the restaurant gives you a free glass of champagne when you arrive. We got this, but then a lot more. It seemed that we had an never-ending supply of champagne, and by the end of the night we (groggily) calculatedthat we probably had nearly two bottles of champagne each! I´m not sure whether our waiter was gunning for a good tip (which he most definitely got), but he just kept on leaving 3/4 full bottles of champagne on ourtable. This was even after we had finished ourmeal (which was absolutely delicious by the way), we were there for over two hours after our plates had been cleared away. To say the least, we were all very high from the champagne when we left, though there were some sore heads this morning.
Today has been fine again, and we took the gondala up to the hill that overlooks the city and then cleared the head by walking back down. This was just in time to catch two big sporting events this afternoon - first was the Buenos Aires football derby Boca Juniors vs River Plate, and then Argentina´s World Cup quarter-final against Scotland. The football game, the biggest of the year, had actually been moved to an earlier time so that it didn´t clash with the rugby, which locals told us was unheard of. We had been told that we should look to find a place to watch both the football early, as everywhere would be packed - and they weren´t wrong. We had also been told that the place to watch sport was in the cafeterias - which we were a bit sceptical about. But they weren´t wrong. All the cafeterias were packed, with big screens set up in front of tables - bizarrely, most bars were quiet, despite also having TVs. We managed to find ourselves a spot in a cafe after a bit of wandering around, and the football game didn´t disappoint, River Plate winning 2-0 in a fiery game. Strangely, with their national team about to begin a huge game in the Rugby World Cup, most of the people cleared out of the cafe after the football finished. This just shows the relative importance of football and rugby in this country - a football game between two teams from another city is of more interest than the national rugby team playing a historic match. The River Plate fans (from Salta remember) even paraded around the square as the rugby was on. Though the rugby didn´t disappoint for those who stayed to watch, and we are looking forward to watching the game next weekend in Buenos Aires (and after this weekend, who would be brave enough to say the Argentina can´t make the final).
Of course, not satiated enough last night, we headed out for more steak, this time at a place we were told the locals go for their red meat fix. And it didn´t disappoint, though we way over-ordered, getting a steak each, when each piece was enough to feed a small family. I think we both have iron coming our our ears at the moment.
Tomorrow we are picking up a car to drive a loop south of Salta, checking out the scenery of the Calchaqui Valleys and visiting out the local vineyards. We are both looking forward to the freedom of having a car for a few days. When we get back we are then catching the bus to Buenos Aires, going with the mac-daddy of buses, the Suite Premium - which has fully reclining seats and looks to put even airline first-class to shame. It is a little bit more expensive, but if we are going to have to spend 18 hours on a bus, we may as well do it in style. We are going to have the weekend in Buenos Aires, and then on Monday we have booked flights to the Iguazu Falls for a couple of days (we could have got the bus for less, but with plenty of bus hours in front of us, we thought we would take it easy on at least one leg of the trip). We will then come back to Buesnos Aires for a few more days before heading further south and filling out stomachs with more steak and red wine.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
The South America Chronicles - Nueve
Well, the start of our Salt Flats tour didn´t go well. Turning up outside the office of our tour company we were a bit dismayed to see that the jeep we were told was a "new jeep" wasn´t new at all. Anna let the woman who sold us the tour have it and they tried to sell us the line that the newer jeeps weren´t as good as these models - whatever. Though, as it turned out, there were only a couple of other tour groups with newer jeeps, most had a similar version to ours, and in fact it was one of the newer jeeps that we kept on seeing have engine problems. However, things didn´t look much better when 100 metres down the road we found out that our guide didn´t have any English - even though this was the main selling point that led us to choose this tour. At that stage, that woman sure was lucky we weren´t returning to Uyuni at the end of the trip, as Anna was ready to dissect her piece by piece.
But as things turned out, we had a very good guide. We had a Belgium couple who were able to translate for us, so the non-English thing wasn´t too much of a problem. And he was a very good conservative driver, whereas others we met said their driver was far too aggressive and sometimes dangerous. This also meant that we were often driving by ourselves through the expansive landscape, which felt awesome, and we weren´t choking on other jeeps´dust all the way. Many times we saw the other tour jeeps (of which there were many) driving in big convoys and racing each other to the next stop - which I think would have taken something away from the experience. And best of all, our guide wasn´t a drunk....On the last morning, the other tour group that was staying in the same wing of the hostal as we were had to wake up their guide, as he had been up drinking until 3am in the morning (and drinking their beer)! We overheard him saying it was "no problema", but it was "problema" as apparently he nearly flipped the jeep not that far out on the morning´s drive. An Australian guy in the group ended up having to drive for the rest of the day. So all in all, we probably did OK, but we are a bit sick and tired of being lied to when organising these trips.
And the three days themselves were very good. The first day didn´t entail a lot of driving as we toured around the Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats). This is a most bizarre landscape, the white salt being all you can see for miles around you. The salt itself is quite weird, sometimes feeling akin to ice when walking on it. You spend lunch at an "island" in the middle of the Salt Flats - a rocky outcrop with lots of giant cactus on it and some great views of the mountains that surround the Salt Flats in the far off distance. In fact, on the Salt Flats, distance becomes very distorted. What looks like just 5 minutes away is in fact a 30 minute drive. After lunch we had time to play with taking photos. Because of the whiteness of the salt, it removes all perspective when taking photos, and you can play with shots that look like you are standing on a beer can, snickers bar or someone´s hand. It isn´t easy to get right, but you can get some great pics.
That night we drove to the edge of the Salt Flats where we stayed in a Salt Hotel. Similar to the Ice Hotel concept, everything is made of salt bricks - the walls, chairs, tables and bed bases. Somewhat surprisingly, the salt bricks did a good job at insulation. Maybe this is the future for environemental-friendly housing - when you are done with your house, you can just hose it down or just add it to your dinner.
The next day was a big one in the jeep. We started at 6am and didn´t reach our destination for night until close to 5pm - though obviously with stops along the way. And just as well, as the knees and buttock sure felt the rough ride (nothing like the smoothness of driving on the Salt Flats the previous day). This day was spent driving through a plateau admist a volcanic landscape, continuously surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The highlights were stopping at various Lagunas - high altitude lakes made home by numerous Flamingoes. The most dramatic being Laguna Colorado - a biarre mix of black, red and white. It is weird to think that a month ago we saw Flamigoes in the salt lagoons of the Galapagos, and now we see them again 4000 metres higher in the middle of the Andes. The landscape around was also quite stunning, the surrounding mountains so many different shades of reds, browns, greys, black and white - all set against a deep blue sky.
On the third and last day, we had an even earlier start at 5am to drive (with our sober guide) to a thermal area for a walk around the geysers, mud pools and steam as dawn approach - quite surreal. And after that we stopped off for breakfast next to a hot pool you could swim in. It was damn cold (the previous night I had sleep with three layers, in a sleeping bag, and two blankets), so no invitation was need for the swim. It wasn´t "hot hot" (probably about 35 degrees), but it was glorious all the same. In fact, it was so good, Anna and I repeatedly ignored the calls for breakfast, much to the chagrin of our guide. After we finally dragged ourselves out of the pool, we headed down to the final stop of the tour - Laguna Verde. Supposedly, the Laguna is meant to be a deep green colour, but today it had only a tinge of green, only the second time the guide has ever seen it like that. But it was still pretty stunning, with a huge volcano towering above it.
From here, we were dropped off at the Bolivia-Chile border while the rest of our group made the 7 hour return trip to Uyuni in the jeep (happy we weren´t having to do that). From here, we were transported down to San Pedro de Atacama and into a different world. We really enjoyed our time in Bolivia, but we were admittedly looking forward to the greater Westernisation that Chile and Argentina are meant to offer (as lame as that sounds). And we haven´t been disappointed - bread that isn´t 10 days old, balsamic vinegar, paved roads, reliable hot water, tap water that isn´t lethal, toilet paper you can throw into the dunny....
But you have to pay for it all - the prices have been quite a shock. When we rocked up to the first hotel we baulked at the US$50 per night cost - we paid as low as US$8 a night in Bolivia, even only paying US$20 a night in La Paz. But after a tour of some other places, we found out that US$50 was actually quite reasonable and returned to that first hotel. And the cost of everything else is similar here in Chile, being about 3-times the cost of things in Bolivia. But San Pedro is a very nice town, though there isn´t much to it other than what is here for the tourists. And the food here is so good, we are happy to know that we probably won´t have to face chicken and rice ever again.
And this afternoon we thought we were taking a tour to just see the sunset at Luna Valley, but it ended up being so much more. We were taken to some awesome viewpoints, again the scenery here is quite stunning. The shape and colour of the rock formations are truely something out of this world. And finally we picked the right tour, as we seemed to go to locations that other tours didn´t, and we also got to run down this huge sand dune while other tours took a boring route down the road at the bottom (there were plenty of jealous looks). The only downer on the tour was hearing about all the other cool things there are to do around San Pedro. But we have already bought out bus ticket to Salta in Argentina tomorrow - but as I have been saying, "you can´t do everything". And tomorrow the steak and red wine feast will begin, so expect plenty of stories on that front to make you jealous.
Well, the start of our Salt Flats tour didn´t go well. Turning up outside the office of our tour company we were a bit dismayed to see that the jeep we were told was a "new jeep" wasn´t new at all. Anna let the woman who sold us the tour have it and they tried to sell us the line that the newer jeeps weren´t as good as these models - whatever. Though, as it turned out, there were only a couple of other tour groups with newer jeeps, most had a similar version to ours, and in fact it was one of the newer jeeps that we kept on seeing have engine problems. However, things didn´t look much better when 100 metres down the road we found out that our guide didn´t have any English - even though this was the main selling point that led us to choose this tour. At that stage, that woman sure was lucky we weren´t returning to Uyuni at the end of the trip, as Anna was ready to dissect her piece by piece.
But as things turned out, we had a very good guide. We had a Belgium couple who were able to translate for us, so the non-English thing wasn´t too much of a problem. And he was a very good conservative driver, whereas others we met said their driver was far too aggressive and sometimes dangerous. This also meant that we were often driving by ourselves through the expansive landscape, which felt awesome, and we weren´t choking on other jeeps´dust all the way. Many times we saw the other tour jeeps (of which there were many) driving in big convoys and racing each other to the next stop - which I think would have taken something away from the experience. And best of all, our guide wasn´t a drunk....On the last morning, the other tour group that was staying in the same wing of the hostal as we were had to wake up their guide, as he had been up drinking until 3am in the morning (and drinking their beer)! We overheard him saying it was "no problema", but it was "problema" as apparently he nearly flipped the jeep not that far out on the morning´s drive. An Australian guy in the group ended up having to drive for the rest of the day. So all in all, we probably did OK, but we are a bit sick and tired of being lied to when organising these trips.
And the three days themselves were very good. The first day didn´t entail a lot of driving as we toured around the Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats). This is a most bizarre landscape, the white salt being all you can see for miles around you. The salt itself is quite weird, sometimes feeling akin to ice when walking on it. You spend lunch at an "island" in the middle of the Salt Flats - a rocky outcrop with lots of giant cactus on it and some great views of the mountains that surround the Salt Flats in the far off distance. In fact, on the Salt Flats, distance becomes very distorted. What looks like just 5 minutes away is in fact a 30 minute drive. After lunch we had time to play with taking photos. Because of the whiteness of the salt, it removes all perspective when taking photos, and you can play with shots that look like you are standing on a beer can, snickers bar or someone´s hand. It isn´t easy to get right, but you can get some great pics.
That night we drove to the edge of the Salt Flats where we stayed in a Salt Hotel. Similar to the Ice Hotel concept, everything is made of salt bricks - the walls, chairs, tables and bed bases. Somewhat surprisingly, the salt bricks did a good job at insulation. Maybe this is the future for environemental-friendly housing - when you are done with your house, you can just hose it down or just add it to your dinner.
The next day was a big one in the jeep. We started at 6am and didn´t reach our destination for night until close to 5pm - though obviously with stops along the way. And just as well, as the knees and buttock sure felt the rough ride (nothing like the smoothness of driving on the Salt Flats the previous day). This day was spent driving through a plateau admist a volcanic landscape, continuously surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The highlights were stopping at various Lagunas - high altitude lakes made home by numerous Flamingoes. The most dramatic being Laguna Colorado - a biarre mix of black, red and white. It is weird to think that a month ago we saw Flamigoes in the salt lagoons of the Galapagos, and now we see them again 4000 metres higher in the middle of the Andes. The landscape around was also quite stunning, the surrounding mountains so many different shades of reds, browns, greys, black and white - all set against a deep blue sky.
On the third and last day, we had an even earlier start at 5am to drive (with our sober guide) to a thermal area for a walk around the geysers, mud pools and steam as dawn approach - quite surreal. And after that we stopped off for breakfast next to a hot pool you could swim in. It was damn cold (the previous night I had sleep with three layers, in a sleeping bag, and two blankets), so no invitation was need for the swim. It wasn´t "hot hot" (probably about 35 degrees), but it was glorious all the same. In fact, it was so good, Anna and I repeatedly ignored the calls for breakfast, much to the chagrin of our guide. After we finally dragged ourselves out of the pool, we headed down to the final stop of the tour - Laguna Verde. Supposedly, the Laguna is meant to be a deep green colour, but today it had only a tinge of green, only the second time the guide has ever seen it like that. But it was still pretty stunning, with a huge volcano towering above it.
From here, we were dropped off at the Bolivia-Chile border while the rest of our group made the 7 hour return trip to Uyuni in the jeep (happy we weren´t having to do that). From here, we were transported down to San Pedro de Atacama and into a different world. We really enjoyed our time in Bolivia, but we were admittedly looking forward to the greater Westernisation that Chile and Argentina are meant to offer (as lame as that sounds). And we haven´t been disappointed - bread that isn´t 10 days old, balsamic vinegar, paved roads, reliable hot water, tap water that isn´t lethal, toilet paper you can throw into the dunny....
But you have to pay for it all - the prices have been quite a shock. When we rocked up to the first hotel we baulked at the US$50 per night cost - we paid as low as US$8 a night in Bolivia, even only paying US$20 a night in La Paz. But after a tour of some other places, we found out that US$50 was actually quite reasonable and returned to that first hotel. And the cost of everything else is similar here in Chile, being about 3-times the cost of things in Bolivia. But San Pedro is a very nice town, though there isn´t much to it other than what is here for the tourists. And the food here is so good, we are happy to know that we probably won´t have to face chicken and rice ever again.
And this afternoon we thought we were taking a tour to just see the sunset at Luna Valley, but it ended up being so much more. We were taken to some awesome viewpoints, again the scenery here is quite stunning. The shape and colour of the rock formations are truely something out of this world. And finally we picked the right tour, as we seemed to go to locations that other tours didn´t, and we also got to run down this huge sand dune while other tours took a boring route down the road at the bottom (there were plenty of jealous looks). The only downer on the tour was hearing about all the other cool things there are to do around San Pedro. But we have already bought out bus ticket to Salta in Argentina tomorrow - but as I have been saying, "you can´t do everything". And tomorrow the steak and red wine feast will begin, so expect plenty of stories on that front to make you jealous.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The South America Chronicles - Oche
We finally managed to escape Rurrenabaque! We were prepared to sit it out, but then we were hearing predictions of 6 more days of smoke and after another night of being plague by the mozzies, enough was enough. But we still weren´t so keen on the 20 hour bus ride, so instead joined a hired jeep all the way back. It was a fair bit more expensive, but it meant that the trip was only 12 hours and we didn´t have to spend the night on the bus. Not that the jeep ride was any fun, it was cramped, bumpy, dusty, and we had to travel back along those ´dangerous roads´again - though this time in the dark! But it is good to be out of the jungle and back on our way again. Though I will miss the spectacular red moons at night (another affect of the smoke I think).
We just had a brief stop over in La Paz yesterday, we weren´t feeling up to much sight-seeing, so we just watched Argentina beat the Irish in the rugby (go the Argies) and if we are lucky, we might even be in Argentina if the Pumas make the semis (they must be favourites to beat Scotland). The All Blacks picking up the Frogs for the quarter isn´t very fair, but if you are going to play them anywhere, I guess Cardiff is the place to do it. My friendly parasite seems to have returned, and now Anna has got it too. I suspect this time we´ve got Giardia from the river in which we swam with the dolphins. But we´ve picked up ourselves some anti-biotics and hopefully we will have the little buggers flushed out soon (or the Salt Flats tour won´t be much fun).
So last night we made our way down to Uyuni on another bus last night, though this bus was pretty good - hot meal, movie ("this is Sparta" anyone), reclining chairs, and a bar of chocolate I forgot about and melted all through my pocket! Though the bus trip still wasn´t the most comfortable, they put the movie on during the only bit of the road that was smooth and that you had a chance of some good sleep, and the rest of the trip was very bumpy, so sleep was pretty difficult. Arriving in Uyuni this morning we have organised ourselves to get on a Salt Flats tour today as there isn´t much to do around here and we are looking to make up those couple of days we lost in Rurrenabaque. We´ve also changed our plans slightly now and will head straight to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile from our Salt Flats tour and instead of going down the length Chile, we will cross back into Argentina and go Salta-Buenos Aires-Iguazu Falls-Lake District....we think. Has been a lot of umming and arring the last 48 hours about what our best route is from now on.
We also had to say farewell to Rogan yesterday as he headed off in a different direction from La Paz. Apart from losing a great travelling companion, it will also mean that we will be reduced to our limited Spanglish again (and that´s with a silent ´sp´). Rogan will go down in memory as someone who has even a more bottomless pit than I do. So, for us, it will be lots of book reading and euchre once again.
We finally managed to escape Rurrenabaque! We were prepared to sit it out, but then we were hearing predictions of 6 more days of smoke and after another night of being plague by the mozzies, enough was enough. But we still weren´t so keen on the 20 hour bus ride, so instead joined a hired jeep all the way back. It was a fair bit more expensive, but it meant that the trip was only 12 hours and we didn´t have to spend the night on the bus. Not that the jeep ride was any fun, it was cramped, bumpy, dusty, and we had to travel back along those ´dangerous roads´again - though this time in the dark! But it is good to be out of the jungle and back on our way again. Though I will miss the spectacular red moons at night (another affect of the smoke I think).
We just had a brief stop over in La Paz yesterday, we weren´t feeling up to much sight-seeing, so we just watched Argentina beat the Irish in the rugby (go the Argies) and if we are lucky, we might even be in Argentina if the Pumas make the semis (they must be favourites to beat Scotland). The All Blacks picking up the Frogs for the quarter isn´t very fair, but if you are going to play them anywhere, I guess Cardiff is the place to do it. My friendly parasite seems to have returned, and now Anna has got it too. I suspect this time we´ve got Giardia from the river in which we swam with the dolphins. But we´ve picked up ourselves some anti-biotics and hopefully we will have the little buggers flushed out soon (or the Salt Flats tour won´t be much fun).
So last night we made our way down to Uyuni on another bus last night, though this bus was pretty good - hot meal, movie ("this is Sparta" anyone), reclining chairs, and a bar of chocolate I forgot about and melted all through my pocket! Though the bus trip still wasn´t the most comfortable, they put the movie on during the only bit of the road that was smooth and that you had a chance of some good sleep, and the rest of the trip was very bumpy, so sleep was pretty difficult. Arriving in Uyuni this morning we have organised ourselves to get on a Salt Flats tour today as there isn´t much to do around here and we are looking to make up those couple of days we lost in Rurrenabaque. We´ve also changed our plans slightly now and will head straight to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile from our Salt Flats tour and instead of going down the length Chile, we will cross back into Argentina and go Salta-Buenos Aires-Iguazu Falls-Lake District....we think. Has been a lot of umming and arring the last 48 hours about what our best route is from now on.
We also had to say farewell to Rogan yesterday as he headed off in a different direction from La Paz. Apart from losing a great travelling companion, it will also mean that we will be reduced to our limited Spanglish again (and that´s with a silent ´sp´). Rogan will go down in memory as someone who has even a more bottomless pit than I do. So, for us, it will be lots of book reading and euchre once again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
