Patagonia - Buenos Aires 2
Buenos
Aires is known for its unique neighbourhoods and the most colourful of
all (in more ways than one) is La Boca. Tour books had warned tourists
about violence and robberies in La Boca so we were a little leery about
visiting on our own. Our tour drove us through the neighbourhood then
dropped us in the touristy centre, where we were allowed to wander
around unescorted but warned that
we should stay in the "triangle" - "make a right and then a right and
another right to get you back to the meeting point". We
would be "safe" if we don't wander out of those lines. For once, I
followed instructions. But I find it ironic that we were willing to
play tourist in an area that obviously was not what it appeared to be -
but we pretended it was and played along with the "fake" setup - like
Disneyland but not...
We walked the afternoon away in the cobbled streets of San Telmo and wandered fortuitously into a historic literary café, La Poésia,
where we had a nice dessert break. A staircase led up to a loft with a
photo gallery of literary figures who had met in the café located in a turn of the 19th century building. It
was a long but interesting walk back to our Recoleta hotel through the
pedestrian thoroughfare
Florida Street - a back to reality walk, with the street full of hawkers
and solicitations. We were offered "cambio" by street money-exchangers
non-stop throughout the walk down the crosstown street.
The highlight of our Buenos Aires visit was a wonderful evening at the historic Los Laureles (established 1893) tango bar, attending a "milonga" where locals danced the tango. What a fun way to end the trip!
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Colourful tenements in La Boca - only the tenants would know if life is really that colourful... |
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Tango and singing on the street to entice customers |
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Street mural in San Telmo by famous Argentinian cartoonist Juan Carlos Colombres (Landrú)
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La Poesia, an historic literary café in San Telmo that we just happened to wander into |
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Cobbled streets of San Telmo |
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Pedestrian thoroughfare in Centro |
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Flordia Street famous for shopping and "cambio" |
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Historic milonga bar, Los Laureles, established in 1893 |
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Instructor at tango lesson |
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Tango demo |
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Live music for locals dancing the tango at the milonga |
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Good night and goodbye, Buenos Aires! |
This
wraps up my posts on Patagonia. It was one of the most spectacular
trips we have been on. Looking forward to the next one - Munich,
Salzburg and the Alps. Stay tuned!
Patagonia - Buenos Aires 1
We
started and ended our Patagonian trip in Buenos Aires. It was a return
to the big city after more than a week in the wild Patagonian landscape
- quite a mental adjustment. And while I enjoyed cities and their
cultures very much, it didn't offer the same awe-inspiring spectacles of
nature that took our breaths away time and again.
I
looked at the buildings in Buenos Aires - from the colourful La Boca to
the majestic classical structures of Centro or the old town ambiance of
San Telmo to the chic elegance of Recoleta - they are all remarkable
manifestations of the human spirit and awe-inspiring in their own way.
But it was hard to compete with the splendours of nature that we just
witnessed. I almost felt the cities were a compromise. I finally
understood a dear friend who is no longer with us. She was a devout
lover of mountains and nature and went from one wilderness trip to
another, and I had found it difficult to understand at the time why she
could not rev up a similar enthusiasm for cities, these glorious centres
of culture. Now I understand and I empathize, a bit late.
Buenos
Aires certainly had its charms and I had hoped to have captured some of
that in the photos below and in the next post. We had explored
Recoleta on our own on our first day of arrival and upon our return from
Patagonia. The tour also took us to the famous cemetery in Recoleta
where the rich and famous were buried. We had a quick visit of the Plaza
de Mayo in Centro before we went on to the colourful La Boca district.
We
had a very enjoyable lunch "with the locals" by the waterfront and I
was pleasantly surprised that we were actually sitting right in front of a
nature sanctuary. What a treat to have this so close to the centre of the city.
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Buenos Aires from the plane - I am amazed at the vast green recreational areas just outside of town |
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One of the first things that hit our eyes near the Museum of FIne Art |
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We
took advantage of the free entry on Sunday - nice collection. I was
struck by the iconic painting of social protest below "Sin pan y sin
trabajo" (Without bread or Work) in a special exhibit of works by
Argentinian painter Ernesto de la Cárcova.
Having seen the slums in Buenos Aires, in stark contrast to the wealthy
part of the city, I can better understand the sentiments behind the
painting. |
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The colourful Sunday street market in Recoleta |
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An unusual clock set over the belfry of a historic church |
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"El Gran Gomero" a giant rubber tree in Recoleta is over 200 years old |
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The roots! |
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Colourful chairs on a sidewalk patio |
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Historic
cafe La Biela, popular meeting place for politicians, writers, artists,
actors and media celebrities - and you can just have a coffee and ice
cream here |
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A Rufuos hornero (national bird of Argentina) right in the middle of the city |
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Floralis Generica by architect Eduardo Catalano in the United Nations Plaza |
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The famous Recoleta cemetery where the rich and famous were buried (also a standard tourist stop) |
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Mix of wide and narrow streets inside the cemetery |
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Tomb of Eva Peron |
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The National Theatre |
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Intricate iron work at the Opera House - there were long lineups for the tours |
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This
tower is the only part remaining of the Mirador Massue, an art nouveau
building from 1903 by French architect Alfred Massue, replaced by
postmodern glass |
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Casa Rosada - the presidential mansion right downtown in Plaza de Mayo, El Centro |
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The cathedral at the other end of Plaza de Mayo |
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Lunch with the locals - street food by the waterfront |
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Wildlife right across the lagoon |
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An unusual wattled jacanda foraging in the lagoon |
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Bar-winged cinclodes near the bridge |
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A
stroke of luck to come across this stunning swing bridge by architect
Santiago Calatrava in Puerto Madero - Puente de la Mujer (Woman's
bridge); for people in Toronto, Calatrava is also the architect of the
Galleria atrium in Brookfield Place, downtown Toronto. |
Next post: Buenos Aires 2 - La Boca and San Telmo
Patagonia - Ushuaia, "el fin del mundo"
After
an exhilarating few days having our breaths taken away by the
magnificent landscapes in Patagonia, we were ready for the last stop on
our Patagonian journey - Ushuaia, "el fin del mundo" as the
Argentinians called it (the end of the world). After a short 1.5 hr
flight from El Calafate, we arrived in Ushuaia - a
bustling town, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, a busy port for cruise
ships and also hopping off point for adventure trips to Antartica. There
were any number of excellent restaurants and our first night we headed
straight for the fisherman's restaurant to try the king crab. We picked
our own live crab and it was quite an experience. More later on Foodsparks, the food blog.
The
main reason for our visit to Ushuaia was to see the penguins on
Martillo Island and a zoologist had delivered an interesting lecture on
penguins the evening of our arrival to prepare us for the trip. In the
morning we boarded a catamaran that took us down the Beagle channel.
Along the way we saw king cormorants and other birds in flight - there
were islands full of sea lions and cormorants. There was a slight wind
and the sea was just slightly choppy, enough to make a few people
sea-sick, but not too badly.
The
catamaran took us to the Estancia Harberton, a historic farm founded in
1886, the oldest in Tierra del Fuego. From there, we boarded a zodiac
which took us to Martillo Island. All through the trip, we were
entertained by a charming naturalist (his name is Valentin!) who gave us
interesting details delivered in inimitable style - this guy is a
natural showman, which certainly enhanced our enjoyment of the trip.
We
were lucky that one lone King Penguin was sitting on the beach as we
landed. The rest were Magellanic and Gentoo penguins. We were warned to
keep at least 2 or 3 metres from the penguins in order not to disturb
them. The guide took us through to the rookery where the penguins were
mottling. The young penguins had already left the nest at this time of
the year, in fact, in a few weeks (in April), these penguins would all
be gone. The penguin pairs were fascinating to watch and we had to be
dragged away when our hour on the island was up.There were not only
penguins on the island, we saw at least 10 different kinds of birds and
you can see some of them below.
We
had lunch at the Estancia and a guided tour of the museum which had a
huge collection of whale bones. The trip back to Ushuaia was on a 4x4
bus! It was quite a day! It was topped off at dinner by a treat of
merluza negra (Patagonian toothfish), the sweetest fish I have ever
tasted in my life (no exaggeration), a far cry from the frozen Chilean
sea bass, the closest thing to this we could sink our teeth into at
home.
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I was lucky to capture some cormorants in flight - no wonder, there were several islands full of them in the Beagle Channel |
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And islands full of sea lions AND cormorants |
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A Southern Giant Petrel - note the tube beak |
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This looked like a Chilean Skua |
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Sandpiper in flight |
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The lone King Penguin on Martillo Island - the Gentoo penguins were keeping it company |
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This photo gives a better idea of the rookery
An informative chart showing the annual cycle of the Magellanic Penguins
- note how they will be migrating from mid-April to mid-September so
they won't be on the island.
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It was molting season for the Magellanic penguins, there were feathers everywhere! And they were helping each other clean up... |
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Peaceful coexistence of the different kinds of birds on the island... |
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Upland Geese |
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Sooty Shearwater |
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Skua |
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Caracara |
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Upland sandpiper |
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Gentoo penguin drinking |
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Social gathering |
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Waiting? |
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Taking a stroll along the beach (King cormorants) |
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The zodiac that took us back to the Estancia
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Local guide Valentin hamming it up for the paparazzi... |
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The historic Estancia Haberton |
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The 4x4 that took us back to Ushuaia |
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We stopped by this lookout of the river between the windblown flag trees |
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Back to Ushuaia, at the foot of the Martial Range |
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Goodbye, beautiful Patagonia! |
We flew back to Buenos Aires the following day...
Patagonia - Perito Moreno Glacier, El Calafate
After
a long 6 hour drive (with stops) across the Patagonian steppes, we
arrived back in Argentina in El Calafate, itself a tourist town catering
to visitors to the nearby Perito Moreno Glacier, one of 47 glaciers in
Los Glaciares National Park. The glacier was our main destination and as
part of the affiliation with National Geographic, we got a glacier
specialist to give us a talk on glaciers and also act as our guide at
the glacier the following morning.
The
glacier was stunning as you can see below. According to the local
guide, this was the only non-retreating glacier in the world because it
has somehow maintained a perfect balance in spite of climate change.
That, in itself was a phenomenon.
Travel
inside the park was by park shuttle only and just as we arrived at the
glacier, we heard a thunderous clap - we turned around and saw a huge
chunk of the glacier calving and a huge wave when the ice hit the
water. That was a spectacular sight that we could only recall in our
mind's eye as no one was quick enough to capture it. There were going to
be quite a few more such occurrences during the day. It seemed that by
the time we heard the sound, it would already be too late or the
calving was not in the direction our cameras were pointing. I was able
to catch the last half of a calving while we were on the boat tour which
took us just slightly closer to the glacier although not really that
much because of safety concerns over calving.
We had two excellent dinners while we were in El Calafate, including an asado which I will write up later on Foodsparks, the food blog.
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Perito Moreno glacier |
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The glacier looked very small from the highway with the surrounding mountains |
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The person provided a sense of scale |
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Our
first sighting of a condor that was close enough to capture on camera
on this trip. It was flying over the glacier and I was thinking it's too
late but pulled out my camera anyway. Good thing I did as it took a
turn and flew up our way! |
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A piece at the foot of the glacier that had an ice cave |
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This
was the large chunk that fell off just as we arrived and caused a huge
wave. That was the reason why boats were not allowed to get close to the
glacier. |
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The amazing surface of the glaicer |
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The "tongue" |
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The "teeth" |
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An ice cave in the glacier |
Calving...
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After the calving, the fresh exposed surface was bluer than the rest |
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"Symmetry" |
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A small "iceberg" |
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The view of the plains on the road to El Calafate |
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Next stop: Ushuaia - the southern most town in the world, according to Argentina...
Patagonia - Torres del Paine National Park
Torres
del Paine was for me the high point of our tour - a place that I had
wanted to go to for years. And now the wish came true and triple
blessed with a warm, sunny, windless day - an unusual phenomenon for the
Patagonian park famous for its wind! When we first arrived near sunset
the day before, we were not sure if we would actually see the famous
towers after being told by the local guide that it had been raining
before we got there and no one had seen the towers for a week! Having
gone through the disappointment of not seeing the volcano in Puerto
Varas, we were not optimistic. When one of the towers peeked through the
clouds, every body scrambled for pictures as we may not see it again!
As
it turned out, it was a magical evening with one of the towers being
caught by the setting sun. The following morning, it was even more
magical when we stopped at the lookout to see the massif above the
village with a thin layer of mist in between - it was Lord of the Rings
country in Patagonia! The rest of the day continued to be one "wow"
after another - awe-inspiring through and through. We ran out of words
to describe the wonderment. You can see for yourselves the photos
below.
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This image of the Paine Massif was the reason for our trip to Patagonia - and I was overjoyed that I was able to capture it! |
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This was all we saw when we first arrived in Torres del Paine the evening before! Why wouldn't we be worried? |
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And then it got better as the evening progressed - but still no one could predict what it would be like in the morning |
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Morning came - our hopes were up! |
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This
has got to be the most magical landscape I have ever came across - not
even in New Zealand, the original Lord of the Rings country... |
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And
then we saw this view from the bus - the local guide told us we would not be
stopping for 2 hours. I begged her to stop and let us take a photo
before the reflection disappeared. She changed her itinerary and we s
made photo stops all the way to the waterfalls! A terrific example of
listening to customer input! Good for you, GAdventures staff! (at Lake Pehoe) |
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Salto Grande Waterfall |
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This was the high point of the day - what an awe-inspiring panorama! |
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Lunch time! We saw this Andean deer and many birds as we ate lunch by the river. |
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Austral Thrush |
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Austral Blackbird |
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Rufuos Collared Sparrow - it must know that it's on camera! |
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Patagonian Sierra-FInch |
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After
lunch we did a "short" hike to Grey Beach and up to the lookout to see
the Grey glacier flowing from the Southern Patagonian Icefield. That
was hardly a "stroll" on the beach because we were walking in 100 km
wind. The pebble beach was a wind tunnel! But we got to experience at
least a little of what Patagonian wind felt like. There was another
"short" climb up to the glacier lookout but it was the end of the day
and we were all tired. And the glacier was far away so we took a few
pictures and left. That was a two hour roundtrip even though it felt
much longer. |
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View of the massif from the beach |
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The Grey Glacier |
We saw a lot of wildlife in and near the park.
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A rhea near the road to Torres del Paine |
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A Gray Flanked Cinclodes |
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A king cormorant at the waterfront in Puerto Nattales |
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Guanaco in the Park |
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Upland Geese near the hotel |
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We
were extremely lucky - as we were leaving the park the following
morning, it was cloudy and windy. 100mph winds were in the forecast!
Next post: El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier
Patagonia - Puerto Varas, Chile
Puerto
Varas was our first visit to Chile and we decided to take it easy and
enjoy the town instead of going on more sightseeing excursions. We had
traveled 11 hours the day before and will have another extended travel
day following so it was great to relax in the quiet town. It was again
intermittent sun and drizzle; we took advantage of the sunny periods to
explore and took shelter in stores and cafés when it's raining. It was
great to catch up on some people watching and food tasting.
We
found a chocolate store in the morning - the brand store of Chilean
choclatier Varsovienne. The 85% dark was exceptionally good as was the
dark chocolate ginger. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw on the box
the warning label "Alto en calorias - Ministerio de Salud" (high in
calories - Ministry of Health) when I got home. The Chileans must be
very health conscious people!
The
most visible landmark in Puerto Varas was the Church of the Sacred
Heart at the top of the hill. A wooden church clad with iron on the
outside, a design based on German churches, it was declared a National
Monument in Chile.
At lunch we ate at Café
Mamusia, where we saw lots of locals. It served Chilean specialties
including the famous corn casserole "pastel de choclo". It was
delicious but very rich, with minced meat, chicken and egg besides corn -
the corn was almost an afterthought! The place also had a bakery with
all varieties of cakes and pastries. This being a town with a strong
German presence, I knew we wouldn't be disappointed by the desserts and
we were not.
We
checked out some of the interesting houses in town with their scalloped
sidings and managed to return to the hotel without having to open our
umbrellas. Dinner with the group at a restaurant near the hotel
confirmed our guess that the Chileans enjoy food and are particular
about their quality. It had been a good, relaxing visit.
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Puerto Varas waterfront |
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You can tell from the pavement we were in Puerto Varas! |
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Note the warning label! |
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Interesting buildings at the waterfront - note the thick carved pillars |
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Neat café truck |
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The Church of the Sacred Heart - we were surprised at the metal on the outside |
Pastel de choclo (corn casserole)
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Charming little girl playing with toy trucks - she entertained herself for more than an hour while her mom was on her phone |
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Some interesting buildings in town... |
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Note the scalloped sidings on these houses |
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The old style Hotel Cabana del Lago where we stayed |
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We were surprised to find quite a few birds around town! |
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A Southern Lapwing on the roof |
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A caracara lolling on the hotel fence |
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View of the town from the hotel |
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Good night, Puerto Varas! |
Next post: Torres del Paine National Park
Patagonia - Hike to Mt. Tronador Glacial waterfalls
With
a free day in Bariloche, we decided to do a hike to see the glacial
waterfalls of Mt. Tronador, an extinct composite volcano straddling the
border of Argentina and Chile. We had the opportunity to look at the
mountain on both sides and it was quite interesting to note that the two
faces were completely different - we would never know we were looking
at the same mountain if the guide in Chile had not pointed it out to
us. Even when she did, we thought she was kidding! The mountain hosts 8
glaciers, all receding, and we saw three of them from our viewpoint.
At 3,470 metres, Mt. Tronador stood more than 1,000 metres above the
rest of the Andean massif in the area and it got its name from the
thundering sound of falling ice columns. We heard quite a few
thunderclaps when we were there.
The
guide took us to see the black glacier at the foot of Mt. Tronador.
Its unusual dark brown colour came from dirt and sediment picked up
higher up the mountain. Brown icebergs calve from the glacier into a
small lake at its foot. But where they broke up, we could see that the
insides were white.
Our
hike to the glacial waterfalls started on a pretty trail with bamboo on
both sides and then it
transitioned to tall trees with bamboo at their feet as we climbed
higher. We were told the day before that it was a 7 km trail roundtrip,
which sounded too good to be true, and it wasn't. As expected, it was
more like 14 km round trip. It was described as mostly flat - we found
out that it was "Andean flat". There was a climb of about 600 metres in
one part of the trail, probably nothing to younger hikers but it took
us a while to make it to the top. Of course, when we made it up there,
the sight of the multitude of glacial waterfalls from the Glacier Castaño
Overo hanging off the rock face was so spectacular it was worth it. We
had our lunch break here before we headed back. The entire hike took
us 6 hours at a steady pace. We didn't want to keep the rest of the
group waiting for too long!
At
the end, it was a long two hour drive back to Bariloche the first hour
on very bumpy roads in the Nahuel Huapi National Park. This was where a
4x4 would have made the journey more enjoyable. But it was a beautiful
day and we enjoyed the hike even though it was quite strenuous.
Mt.
Tronador viewed from Pampa Linda. Our guide took us to this viewpoint
to see the mountain because while we will be hiking to the waterfalls at
the foot of the mountain, by the time we get there, we won't be able to
see the mountain.
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Closeup of the three glaciers from left to right |
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This looked like the one with the waterfalls at the end of our hike - Castaño Overo |
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Ventisquero Negro (Black Glacier) |
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Closeup cross-section of the Black Glacier |
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Morraine on the glacial lake in front of the Black Glacier |
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Start of hiking trail |
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Beautiful bamboo along the trail |
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Bridge built on fallen trunk |
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The trail near the top with tall trees above the bamboo |
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Another fallen trunk used as a bridge |
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Our destination - the waterfalls from the Cirque Glacier “Castaño Overo” |
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Modisa lily |
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Chaura - white berry unique to the region |
Next post: Andean Lakes Crossing
Patagonia - Northern Lake District
Iguaçu Falls - Brazil
We visited the Brazilian side of the Iguassu Falls on our second day
in the area. After stopping on the Argentinian border station, our guide took us
across the border without even stopping at the Brazilian checkpoint.
So much for paying a hefty amount for the Brazilian visa. He
suggested we could stop if we really wanted a stamp on our passport but
we turned down the offer.
The questions that came up
with everyone planning a trip to the falls were: which side was better,
was it worth a trip to cross the border (and pay the exorbitant
Brazilian visa fee!), how did it compare to Niagara Falls? We were
asked that very question by a couple of German tourists at the Devil's
Throat. Those were difficult questions to answer as values differ and
everyone's experiences were different.
When
we first arrived at the park on the Brazilian side, I was a little
disappointed as the falls were farther away, literally "on the other
side of the river" - it was distant, compared to the immediacy of the
experience the day before on the Argentinian side. But as we moved
closer towards the Devil's Throat, we saw that it was a different
experience but still valuable - we could see the panoramic view of the
entire waterfalls system on the Brazilian side that we could not see on
the Argentinian side. And of course, when we got to the Devils' Throat,
the experience was very immediate and exciting.
In my opinion,
visitors need to see both sides for a complete experience. We were
right above the falls at the Devil's Throat on the Argentinian side and
right below it on the Brazilian side - both equally immediate
experiences. And for those who want to get wet, one can get very wet on
the Brazilian side too by walking out to the viewing platform which
extended all the way out into the middle of the gorge. On the other hand, it's not
something one could not do without and if for whatever reason you could
not make it to the other side, it will not be a huge loss.
Have
a look at the photos below and decide for yourself. For me, an extra
bonus was the bird park just outside the park entrance. It was very
well-stocked and there were lots of exotic tropical birds for viewing.
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Right beside the Devil's Throat on the Brazilian side |
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Falls thundering down right beside the viewing platform - good thing at this angle, the camera didn't get any spray. |
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The multi-levelled falls |
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The viewing platform extended right into the middle of the gorge, making for a very wet experience |
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Underwater camera shot at the foot of the Devil's Throat falls on the viewing platform in the middle of the gorge |
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Pair of black vultures enjoying the scenery |
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Caracara near the entrance to the park |
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Toucans in closeup at the bird park |
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You
call this a bird? It looked like it's dressed up to go on stage! It's
called a "Grou coroado africano". These flamingos look "normal" in
comparison. |
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This is a red-legged seriema |
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A
female mutum de penacho - unusual in that the male is less bedecked
than the female for a change, black curly crown but no striated plumage. |
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A Roseate spoonbill |
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Jandaya parakeet |
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Blue and gold macaw |
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Scarlet macaw |
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Cute parrot! |
Iguassu Falls - Argentina
Iguassu
Falls - the largest waterfalls system in the world - was one of the
most powerful spectacles I've experienced in my travels! It was worth
the special trip we made from Buenos Aires before the start of our
Patagonia Tour. We spent two days at the falls, one on the Argentinian
side and a good part of the second day on the Brazilian side of the
falls.
We
started on the Argentinian side in Iguazu National Park. Our driver
advised us to go to the Devil's Throat first as the trail has no shade
and there was always a lineup for the train shuttle. That was good
advice. We waited 45 minutes for the train which ran every half hour.
For anyone planning a trip and are only spending one day in the park on
the Argentinian side - make sure enough time is allotted for the 3 main
trails. The best strategy is to take the train shuttle to the Devil's
Throat first thing in the morning when there are fewer people (there are
always crowds!) and therefore less of a lineup for the train. This is
the longest trail and the only one with transport. The viewing area is a
limited area on a platform over the falls, so it would be an advantage
to make it there early and beat the crowds. The Upper and Lower trails
wind through the forest to the falls and it is best to do these when the
sun is hot (or if it's raining).
Spray
is a problem at the Devil's Throat depending on the wind direction. It
was a sunny relatively windless day so I was able to get by with just a
shower cap over my camera. The upper trail was far enough from the
falls that spray did not pose a problem but the waterfall at the end of
the lower trail was right above the platform and no rain sleeve or
shower cap could keep the camera dry. I used my underwater camera at
that point but even then, shots have a water film on them.
Lineups
and sprays aside, the waterfalls were spectacular and we had a very
enjoyable day viewing the falls from different angles, starting above
the falls at the Devil's Throat, then at mid-levels on the upper trail
and finally below the falls at the lower trail. There were also lots of
wild life in the Park, butterflies, coatis (whole families), birds,
turtles, monkeys, even a cayman!
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The "Devil'ls Throat" |
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Closeup of the vortex |
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The walkway to the falls from the train station |
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Looking at the Brazilian side of the Devil's Throat |
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The view from the Upper trail |
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The falls are in so many layers and levels - here we are still above some sections of the falls |
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Platforms built over the falls allow visitors to stand almost right over it...and under! |
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Looking at the Lower trail from the Upper trail |
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Walking by a waterfall on the lower trail |
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On
the platform at the end of the lower trail - you get very wet as you
are right below - these were taken with my underwater camera... |
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Of
course, if you want to get very wet, you could hop on the boat tour
which would take you right to the bottom of the falls! (best done in
swim suits) |
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Cayman in the water near a pedestrian bridge |
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Coatis own the park - they will appear the moment you have food in your hands... |