Road Trip (Pt 1)

We decided to have a lazy day last Sunday. Idle minds accordingly went out to lunch and ate too much. Here is a picture of dessert.

The restaurant door had a very interesting counter weight. Finally evidence that pumpkins can be useful.

We thought we'd better walk off lunch so we drove around to Llao Llao Park
and walked along yet another arm of Lake Nahuel Huapi with yet more beautiful views.

On Monday we headed off on a road trip for 3 days. First stop was the delightful town of Villa La Angostura on the opposite side of the lake. It took us 2 hours to drive there and at one point along the way the temperature dropped to minus 7 degrees. The aim of visiting Villa La Angostura was to walk the Quetrihue Peninsula, which juts into the lake. It is a national park and the walk out and back was 24kms. When we started at 11 am it was cold and grey but the sun came out eventually and it warmed up a little. Not only did we get some more good views of Lake Nahuel Huapi but there was a large internal lake on the peninsula that was very beautiful.

When we reached the end of the peninsula we stopped to have a cafe con leche and chocolate caliente and the little restaurant had a fascinating floor.

A boat coming into the jetty at the end of the peninsula. You can get a boat out and back. We think that's what the time poor people do.

On the way back we clambered up to a couple of lookouts that we hadn't seen on the way out. It was difficult after having walked over 20 kms but well worth it.

A little bit of motoring trivia.  Australia and Argentina have shared some notable similarities at times in their history eg both countries were amazingly wealthy at the end of the 19th century as a result of farming.  In a similar vein the first model Ford Falcon was produced in both countries.  The difference is that whilst in Australia the first generation models were made between 1960 and1966 and then were replaced by a new generation (in fact 6 subsequent generations and counting), Argentina stuck with this first generation from 1962 until 1991 when it was finally put out of its misery.  I think this succinctly demonstrates the ways in which Australia and Argentina ended up in very different places by the end of the 20^th century.

That evening we did quite a bit of shopping before enjoying a wonderful meal at a snazzy parilla. I had the most wonderful piece of tenderloin and we enjoyed a lovely shiraz from the San Juan region. The next day we drove the Route of the Seven Lakes from Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes. This is a must do if you are in the area and have the time.

Riding the Rapids of the Rio Manso

We decided to go white water rafting. We did it on the Rio Manso in the section very close to the Chilean border. We actually finished right on the border and had to come back on the bus past an Argentinian border post.

It was an all day affair. We were picked up at 8.30 am and arrived back at 7.15 pm. It was a 2 hour drive to where we started rafting. Once there we were given breakfast and tea and coffee. It was predictably freezing so we all whined about having to get undressed and into our wetsuits. There was jostling to get closest to the heater.  Here is a picture of our team. One Argentinian, 2 British boys a Mexican couple and Dale and I.

Not in the photo are: our leader Romero, his assitant - the guy who was the bus driver - we can't remember his name, and Santiago who paddled along in the safety kayak ahead of us in case we got into any trouble. The pictures are all brought to you by Jorge who raced along the route taking photos and even a video.  We'd like to post the video but are encountering technical difficulties at this time.

Cute British boys wanted to sit in the front. It is where the most excitement is but we were all more than happy to oblige them. I'm sitting second left as you look at the photos and Dale is behind me. Here is a series of 4 photos as we encounter the toughest rapid called ''the hole''. At this stage all is going well and we are all working hard - other than some people on the other side of the raft who don't appear to be paddling!!

Now we are going into the hole. Have a look at the faces. Some are exilerated, some are working hard. I'm wondering how long I'll spend under water.

I was right - we're all under water. We were drenched and the water was freezing.

And now we are coming out of hole. Dale has just had the time of his life, the British boys are having second thoughts about having chosen to sit at the front and I'm wondering where I am and when I get to have a warm shower.

Ah but the surroundings were magnificent. Towards the end of our 2 hours on the river Santiago yelled out that we were in a great spot to swim and stupidly I couldn't resist. Dale and one of the British boys jumped in as well. This is when I worked out that I hadn't really been that cold up until now - but we all actually enjoyed floating along the river, being turned around in the eddies and even floating through some little rapids. I could not stop shivering when I was hauled back into the boat.

We finshed in a magical spot where we got changed - no hot shower - that would have to wait until later. We drove back to the starting point to have lunch, enjoy the scenery and laugh at the photos before driving back to Bariloche. It was a great day.

On the way to Frey

Last Friday we spent the day hiking from Cerro Catedral (a ski resort claiming to be the largest in the southern hemisphere) to a refuge called Rifugio Frey. All up the return trip took 8.5 hours. The ski resort is about half an hour's drive from our house and we were on the track at 8.30 am. The sun had only just risen and the temperature guage on the car said it was zero degrees. For the first half an hour we were walking in grey early morning light and everything was covered in frost. It was other wordly.

Frosticles on a log.

Frosticles on a plant.

Even once the sun was truly up we continued to walk above clouds completing covering the lakes below. The experience of walking above clouds was just as good (if not better) than the lake views.

We had to use this rickety bridge around a portion of the path on a steep slope that was evidently degrading. Only one person at a time the signed warned us.

Leaving the lake, we turned at a right angle and walked up a mountain valley that was largely forrested. Away from the sunlight it was freezing again but we were rewarded with views of a lovely stream running through the valley into the lake below.

Once through the valley we started to ascend very steeply towards the rifugio. Along the way we had great views of the surrounding mountains, other valleys, as well as of the beautifully coloured leaves on the trees above us and on the surrounding slopes.

The rifugio was striking. It is next to a lake that was part frozen and is surrounded by snow capped mountains. You can stay at the rifugio and use it as a base for other day walks.

While having our lunch at the rifugio we started talking to an American lady who turned out to be the Chief Investment Officer at Pennsylvania University. Needless to say she knew all about Vanguard. The world really is too small. Anyway, one should always take advantage of a networking opportunity so I offered her one of our delicious alfajore biscuits (along with my business card), which she accepted, and she took the following wonderful photo of Dale and I.

While away the day in Bariloche

We arrived in Bariloche on Saturday evening (23rd). Manuela and Martin followed the next night and left last Thursday (28th). We are staying in a wonderful house with the most amazing view. The house is perched on a cliff overlooking Lago Nahuel Huapi, 21kms north of Bariloche town centre. The floor to ceiling windows in the lounge/dining room look out on the view pictured below. Kathie and Jack thanks for recommending Bariloche and El Calafate - both are wonderful.

We all wanted to relax a little during our remaining few days together. We went for a little walk in Parque Llao-Llao a few kilometres away. It was about an hours walk but when we arrived at the destination (a delightful little beach with pretty views), we couldn't resist the temptation to lie down in the sun.

We then completed a well known scenic drive around Parque Llao-Llao, called Circuito Chico. Here is a picture from Punto Panoramico. Awesome!!

Manuela and Martin made us a lovely dinner that night. Manuela even had Dale and I eating bruschetta type nibblies with eggplant. Neither of us particularly like eggplant but these were really nice. We are actually finding it impossible to buy fresh mushrooms here and the quality of the fruit and vegetables is not that great (we are being kind). Anyway dinner was great and was accompanied by Argentinian wine. We'll do the full wine wank about Mendoza malbecs and San Juan shiraz's when we return. Here we are pictured below enjoying our repast.

On Tuesday we climbed up to a lookout called Cerro Campanario that is just a few kilometres away. The time-poor people go up in the chair lift. More stunning views. Our landlords here claim that National Geographic rate this view as one of the best in the world. We certainly liked it!

On our last day with Manuela and Martin we went to see some caves that the indigenous people had apparently lived in. They were truly underwhelming and we've decided to strike cave viewings from future 'to do' lists. We've seen 3 really good ones in France but everywhere else they have been disappointing (sometimes even obvious fakes). So to cheer ourselves up we hit the chocolate shops in Bariloche, which is the chocolate capital of Argentina. Here's a picture of us in Mamushka - supposedly the best of the best.

Whilst chocoshopping Dale finally found a beer he approves of:

In additions to chocolate beer we've also tasted raspberry and cassis. They go down quite nicely thankyou.

After dropping Manuela and Martin at the airport last Thursday and the adios's and hasta lluegos - Dale and I walked to the top of Cerro Otto, another nearby mountain (closer in to the town centre). As with Cerro Campanario the time poor people go up in a gondola. The walk was charming with great views all along the way. Here's a picture looking away from Bariloche towards the Chilean border and the mountains of the Andes.

It is by the way quite cold here and quite dark in the morning, we think because Bariloche is on the western edge of its time zone. However the compensation is that the sunsets are between 7 and 8 so we are usually home to see them. Here's a superb photo Dale took at sunset.

The other benefit to being here in autumn is the amazing colours the forests are turning. It is like autumn in Canada, but the species of trees are quite different here so it's a new experience to see them. Plenty of photos show this off in the next instalment.

El Calafate

Well here we are in Argentina, the home of Eva Peron and Marge and Tina. Our itinerary is:

• 3 days in El Calafate in the deep south of Patagonia
• 2 weeks in Bariloche in Argentina's Lakes District which borders Chile and the Andes and is in northern Patagonia
• 2 days at the Iguazu Falls
• 9 days at the end in Buenos Aires.

For the first week we were joined by our friend Manuela and her friend Martin - both Swiss. We loved the time we spent with Manuela in 2009 and now we have added another Swiss friend in Martin - and not just because he speaks wonderful spanish. But let's get started with the first few days in El Calafate. The first day we hired a car and went for a drive to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares with the aim of doing some hiking. As it turned out the park doesn't really have hiking trails but the drive to, and around, the Park was beautiful. A mix of striking mountains, lakes and steeps (like prairies). We had lunch at a magnificent view point, and as it was a clear day, we all enjoyed some time in the sun.


The following day we went back to another part of the Park on an organised tour to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier. It was stunning. The size of the thing is breathtaking. The edge of it that fronts the lake is 5km wide, and it runs back up the valley for 25 km (its 257 square km in total surface area').


They have an elaborate walkway system opposite the end of the glacier and we spent 2 hours there looking at the glacier from various view points. The weather was a cold and foul at that point, but we got to witness a large piece of the glacier "calving off", meaning it broke off and fell into the water. Dale caught it in a series of photos which he's very happy about. The photo below is one in the sequence.


After lunch we took a boat trip across the lake and after a short hike through the forest, we set out for 90 minutes walking on the glacier itself. It was fairly rudimentary, but to see the different colours of the ice as you looked into melting pools and crevices was something to see. Dale got to play with his relatively new macro lens for the shot below of a tiny leaf floating in a melting pool.


David particularly liked how the trek ended, with a glass of Famous Grousse and glacier ice. So this was another long day, with the tour returning us 10 hours after we'd set off. By the time we had dinner we were very tired. Here's a picture of David going back for his second whiskey.



On our final day in El Calafate we took a boat trip on Lago Argentino to look at some other glaciers, and also the Perito Moreno from a different angle. It was pretty cold but some of the sights were impressive. Yes Dale is listening to Evita on the ipod. For the afficianados he was listening to the original concept album.

High jinx from Martin and Manuela in the warmth inside the boat. Those Swiss people aren't silly.

About half way through the trip Dale and I realised that our flight to Bariloche that evening had been rescheduled an hour and a half ahead of the original time - it was going to be tight. Manuela and Martin stayed on in El Calafate for an extra day. There was no point panicking while on the boat but there was a run from the bus to the hotel and 'rapido rapido' in the taxi. We made it to the airport about 10 minutes before the new departure time and fortunately Aerolineas Argentinas lived up to their reputation of not being very punctual by running 45 minutes late. Punctuality is over estimated anyway.

More from Bariloche next time.