February 2011 Argentina

Travellers HC, JC, MC

07/08 Overnight to Corrientes by El Practico who provided a pillow but no blanket (Semi Cama). Subtropical, red earth and very wide and brown Rio Parana, the second longest river in S. America at 4000 kms. We wandered along the river and went to the zoo for distressed animals and birds. The town square has some very nice buildings and we also visited the River museum followed by dinner at the Regatta Club. Only one night here in this laid back and poor area before taking the 15.30 bus to San Ignacio in Misiones Province, the smallest and poorest in the whole of Argentina.
http://www.google.com.br/images?hl=pt-BR&q=corrientes+argentina&wrapid=tlif129926997257811&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=QU1xTY09j8-AB_6H3fMD&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1003&bih=592

We were upgraded to a cabana at the hostel for free and there were two nice doggies, a beagle and a terrier who wanted strokings all the time. We had a sub trpical garden, all heat and humidity with banana, sponge, lime, lemon and grapefruit trees. We visited the Jesuit ruins and saw the Son et Lumiere there in the evening. You just have to read up the story of the Jesuits and the Guarani Indians ( on the web) and what was achieved. A truly incredible story.We went to the Nacional Parque overlooking the Rio Parana, hot and humid and I went to the ruins of the Martin Borman House. This war criminal died in more places than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , but as the book says..If it wasn´t Martin Borman then who the hell was it who lived there! Misiones Province with Paraguay on one side and Brasil on the other. We loved it!
http://www.google.com.br/images?um=1&hl=pt-BR&biw=1003&bih=592&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=San+Ignacio+argentina&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=

12-16 Puerto de Iguazu was visited with a new bus company M. Horianski and the bus was brand new too! Only 1 hour late due to the number of unscheduled stops along the way. Rainforest on either side of the road and a ´Frontier´ feeling about the place. Our hostel was The Garden Stone and  again the garden was beautiful and we even had a pool. On Sunday we took the bus to the falls. Just un Boliviable..Incredible and fantastic. It has been nominated for one of the 7 wonders of the world and if there are 7 better then they must be truly wonderful. Now there is the most water for 10 years, so much so that the boat trips were cancelled due to the boarding ramps being 3 metres under water. We did the high section. Awesome! At 16.00 when a picnic lunch was being enjoyed, the heavens opened and the trip had to be abandoned. We went back the next day for only a 50% entrance fee payable and did the Macucu trail and the lower falls, about 7 km in total and again fantastic. Capuchin monkeys were spotted or was it hyenas? (joke) Back at the Hostel we had a BBQ with all the residents. Very nice.
http://www.google.com.br/images?um=1&hl=pt-BR&biw=1003&bih=592&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=Puerto+de+Iguazu+falls+argentina&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

The Garden Stone Garden


The next day HC had to go back to Cordoba, only 22 hours on the bus. She went Plus Ultra Mercobus, semi cama. No blanket, no pillow and a chow stop at 23.00. Nothing on board. Piss poor! This bus company is now on the black list.

Coming up next...Brasil...

Cordoba ( Third Visit )

Monday 31st January 2011 for 1 week

We spent the week resting up and planning for the foray to North West Argentina and Brazil. Marianne had her hair cut and we went on the old open top London Bus round Cordoba for the sightseeing tour.

Coby said "Mormor" to Marianne on Skype which made her very happy. 

Hanne is coming with us for about a week and the itinerary says Corrientes, Misiones (San Ignacio), Puerto Iguazu then into Brazil for Foz de Iguacu and then many places Brazilian after that including both Sao Paolo and Rio. Staying in Rio at Carnival time is only for millionaires so we will be staying outside and hopefully going in for a couple of days during the Carnival.

Mendoza

We went overnight to Mendoza on 27th January and the journey passed without incident. For the record, Andesmar always seem to provide blankets and a pillow. On Friday 28th we took a taxi to our Hostel Lagares probably 15 blocks from the bus station and the same from the centre. The hostel was fine and full of TV watchers and a majority of Brit guests. First time on tour this has happened. Xavier the owner has a library of some 500+ DVD´s (hooky) which are in English with Spanish sub titles. You name it, Rambo, Rocky, ET and lots more. Coupled with comfortable sofas and bean bags and a refrigerator full of drinks for sale at reasonable prices means people could chill comfortably. It is hot in Mendoza!

No TV for us travellers! We walked to the main square and the 4 equidistant other squares all of which are splendid. Mendoza is full of trees which makes it lovely. After a 2 hour siesta we caught the 19.30 tourist bus to the park area of the city, which is just wonderful and provides for runners, joggers, picnickers etc.

On Saturday we took the Alta Montaña trip on the bus to the Chile border, largely following the brown river Mendoza ( of white(brown) water rafting fame). We went up and up and just short of the Chile Border we took the 800 metre zig zag road to the summit and the statue of Christo Redentor at 4200 metres. It was very windy and cold at the top but the views were brilliant. Down the hill again for late lunch and we were hoping to get the view of Aconcagua on the way back but the summit was obscured by cloud. This trip comes highly recommended.

On the Sunday we took the "Wine tasting" 1/2 day tour . Firstly to a modern winery called Vistandes and then to a traditional one called Don Arturo. Both visits were very nice and I still don´t like Malbec. Then to an olive oil producer called PASRAI . Fascinating stuff all round. Produce was purchased at each place. A little Torrontes 2008 and a 2006 oak aged Cabernet Sauvignon which I will save for some good beef at Hanne´s. · different olive oils ( all extra virgen) one traditional, one with basil and one with oregano. (We tried the oregano one on salad last night, mmmmmm. The Torrontes was also very nice)

After lunch out and in temperatures of 32/33 we took refuge at the hostel to wait for the 22.30 bus to Cordoba. Rocky 2 was enjoyed by most of the hostel then it was time for the taxi to the bus station.

Summary of Mendoza

It was hot and sunny, we liked it and made the most of the 3 days there. The tree lined streets make it lovely and the prices are probably 20% less than Patagonia. No real architecture of note but fewer dogs. One down side is the number of beggars both adult and children. With all of the activities possible from Mendoza it would be easy to spend a week there. The tourist office is very good.

Coming next..a week in Cordoba resting before the trip North West.

Bariloche

On Friday 21st January we caught the 15.00 bus and stayed at the Bariloche Hostel for 250pesos per night, en suite. Expensive but Bariloche is full! Walking around town that evening it was obvious that Bariloche is quite a sophisticated place with millions of people and Saint Bernard dogs and puppies on the main square for visitors to take photos of. The tourist office is first class.

On Saturday, in the heat, we walked the 6km along the beautiful blue lake Nahuel Huapi to the chair lift to take us up to Cerro Otto. Bariloche is 800 metres asl and the summit is 1500. Fantastic views from the top over the lakes and mountains. A little picnic was taken at the top. Then we walked the 10km back down the mountain to the hostel. In retrospect it might have been sensible to take the cable car back down, especially as we had bought return tickets. But being intrepid ( does that mean stupid, old or both, do I hear someone say?) we managed it but were really glad to get back. Dinners and lunches are taken at the hostel in an endeavour to keep costs down.

On the Sunday we booked for the coach, then boat trip to Isla Victoria and Bosque de Arrayanes. We eventually got to the port, on the lake, at 10.15 and two huge boats, both full with maybe 500 people set off to the Bosque de Arrayanes across the beautiful blue lake with steeply wooded shores. The tree sanctuary was fine and with the wooden board walks , it meant that people and nature were kept apart but the number of people made it like a cattle show.

Over to Isla Victoria which was wonderful with many species of huge trees mainly firs and Sequoias. The island could lose all the people and so we took a little picnic and had a half hour siesta under a shady tree. It was warm. We walked further through shady woods with a vivero ( nursery) and really enjoyed our four hours on the Island. Back to the hostel on the coach via a small fender bender when an old blue car did not quite realise how much room a coach needs to turn. The coach lost a tail light and the blue car would not start again!

Monday was chill out day . We did not do a lot but wandered around town and explored the largest chocolate shop.

On Tuesday we hired a car. It was a brand new GM , two door with air con but no power steering and a good engine and gear box. We went along the coast road west on the circuito Chico and stopped to examine the small port from where we had taken the boat previously. As recommended we went to the Hotel Llao Llao car park to take in the view . We drove round the headland and did two short walks to the hidden lake and the Roman bridge and then came across a fantastic mirador (viewpoint) looking northwest. Incredibly there was a "tame" bird of prey by the side of the road. Photos were taken and Malcolm will have to tell me what it was a bit later. We still had lots of time left so we went to Cerro Catedral , a ski centre in winter but a mountain bike and hill skate board and walking centre in summer. The 3 chair lefts took 50 minutes to ascend and we got better at getting on and off on each occasion. The summit at 2300 metres produced excellent views and I got an outstanding hot dog with home made chili pickle at one of the stop points. We had to fill the car with NAFTA ( no idea) and needed three garages before we found it. I suppose we got back to the hostel at 8pm.

We are of the opinion that the majority of Israeli Youths travelling ( especially the young female ones) are doing a much better job of promoting Palestine than the Palestinians could ever do. 95% of these youngsters are arrogant, self opinionated, disrespectful and obnoxious. We met a couple of older Israelis ( 30 something) and they said that they did not like to admit to being Israeli due to the behaviour of the younger people.

On the Wednesday we went on the bus trip to Monte Tronadur (3400 metres) which is perpetually snow covered at the top, It was a long trip in a minibus on largely dirt roads. Close up to the mountain the views were fabulous and we scrambled 200 metres or so up to the Gargantua del Diablo for a closer view. No further because of risk of rock slides. Because it was our last night and we had been good with lunches and dinners we had dinner at the Italian restaurant down the hill. I has Bife Chorizo with papa fritas and Ianne had tagliatelle with bechamel, wild mushroom, chicken and ham sauce. Delicious. An Irish Coffee was taken and the cuenta showed 6 pesos for the coffee and 4 pesos for the whisky (6.30 pesos =1 GBP) . Funny old game! Tomorrow it is the 16 1/2 hour bus ride to Mendoza.

El Bolson

On the Wednesday 19th morning the hotel still had no connection to Visa so I scooted round to the ATM and took out the maximum daily permitted 1000 pesos, per card ( we still only have the 1) to pay the hotel. Our ViaBariloche bus was Cama ( fully reclining seats) , and fantastically comfortable and they gave us breakfast. It is only a two hour journey. It was quite warm with sun and clouds. Maybe 23C. Our first impression of El Bolson was wall to wall people ( mainly Argentinian) and cars. The hostel was fine but the town was packed to capacity. Some of the Argentine guests at the hostel asked me if I was Sean Connery, but they had been drinking Fernet Brancas and cokes.

The owner had asked us what we thought of El Bolson (Lise had told us that this place has a "feel good" factor) and we had to explain to him what we thought, politely, of course. So the next day he took us in his car around El Boslson and showed us the sights. Beautiful valleys and lakes and a visit to a home made chocolate factory. Wonderful tasting! The feel good factor had returned in style. Apparently Sylvester Stallone has a place there.

The following day we walked up to a local hill top with a superb panorama over the town, maybe a 10 km trip.

Summary of El Bolson

The town itself is unremarkable and exhibits all the signs of unplanned growth. The countryside around is very beautiful and it would be worth staying outside El Bolson in a cabaña and hiring a car. There are many wild fruit trees growing everywhere and the town is also famous for its micro breweries. Does anybody actually like chili beer at 6.9% alcohol? The draught stout was particularly nice but at 5.8% care needed to be taken. As a young German lad said when we were in Budapest, "Ein bier ja, keine session". One beer yes, no session!

Esquel

Friday 14th January 2011

We caught the bus, 1 hour late, from Bariloche to Esquel via El Boslson. Beautiful mountains to El Bolson then flatter but nice to Esquel. On arrival at the Hotel Esquel the owner tried to tell us that we had no booking ( despite him agreeing that he had spoken to Ianne on the phone the day before ). Strange bastard. Then the missus arrived and common sense prevailed and we got our room. Esquel is located in a valley and has a superb location and a population of 40,000. We went to the station and then the bus station and booked tickets for "La Trochita", The Old Patagonian Express for 14.00 the next day.

On Saturday we went to the bus station and booked lots of bus tickets for the future and ended up having lunch, ham and cheese sarnies with 7 Up Free ( no calories or sugar).

La Trochita was wonderful. We went 18 km to Nahuel Pan and had a stop for 50 mins. This is a Mapuche-Tehuelche village ( or quite indigenous for thickies). As we were really doing this trip for Uncle Michael who had booked us for the full tour, we took lemon meringue pie and coffees in the dining car on the way back (How much!!!!!!). Weather cloudy with some sun. The trip was sold out and was one of three that day. I tried to buy a La Trochita hat and badge for Michael but these were not available even for large denominations of local currency. Bummer!

On Sunday 16th  we walked about 16km up and out of the valley to Laguna La Zeta on a dirt road and it was very breezy. We took a picnic and saw a hare and two large unidentified birds. The lake had various routes but the signs were not exactly convincing so we went back the way we had come. The picnic was enjoyed on a hill overlooking the town and a little zzzzz followed in the sunshine out of the wind. Marvellous.
 As is normal on a Sunday not much is open but we found a restaurant open for dinner. We can bring food into the hotel and eat it in the dining room ( they only do breakfast there) so this could be the plan for the next two nights. Barca won and Madrid only drew. Barca 4 points clear.

On the Monday we went on the bus down to Trelewin, another Welsh settlement and the 30 minute journey was not the spectacular event that Bradt Guide had led us to believe. More and more inaccuracies are being found with Bradt ( not pricing because everything in Argentina is now exactly double what it was 4 years ago). Trelewin ( town of the mill in Welsh) has a good tourist office and we got full details. A picnic coffee was taken in the main square , green and leafy, then we walked down to the mill museum. The museum gave a good insight into the early days, about 100 years ago, and most of the exhibits had English translations. There was a TV program, political we think, being broadcast from a large conference room in the museum. A walk along the river was then taken and off we went to have lunch at one of the two famous Casa de Te (Tea houses). Naturally it was lunch time, not tea time, so they were closed and we took a parilla lunch (our first) at the 1 restaurant that was open. After waiting 40 minutes to place our order we got greasy and poor quality meat. So much for the world famous parilla! Next time we will only go on personal recommendation.

An open air museum celebrating a famous horse was visited and the gardens were so manicured we could have been in northern Europe. Quite nostalgic really! Trevelin is probably worth the visit but it plays much on its Welsh Heritage, not just in road names.

On Tuesday 18th it was raining in the morning so we took the bus after lunch to Parque Nacional de las Alerces, a 50km ride. At the entrance to the Parque I told the man we were Jubilados (pensioners) so no pay! 100 pesos saved. We walked along a tree rooted, forest path along the lake for 5 km in the pouring rain. It took 90 minutes. After a coffee and hot chocolate at Puerto Limona, we walked back along the road and it only took 50 minutes including steep hills! We changed our sodden (correct spelling) trousers for plastic waterproofs and caught the last bus, 19.00, back to Esquel. As it was our last night we treated ourselves to an Irish Coffee which was the best I have had since leaving the UK 5 years ago.

As we were staying at a hotel they took Visa ( hostels. hospedajes, residenciales etc only take cash) so we offered the card. The hotel could not get a connection to Visa!!!!!! As ever Argentina deceives to flatter.

Summary of Esquel

We liked it. There was enough to do and the Nacional Park and La Hoya Ski Resort( not visited) would be worth more time if you hired a car. All accommodation in the town was fully booked. For the future the town needs more restaurants and coffee shops and the Museum needs to be moved into town from the 5 km outside town. All ATMS always had money.

Puerto Varas to Bariloche

Thursday 13th January 2011.

It was absolutely peeing down overnight and the hostel and surrounding streets had no power but I managed to make some coffee and tea: Chile is no exception to the norm when it comes to wanting a taxi in the rain and a twenty minute wait was forecast, so the dynamic duo donned full waterproofs (first time on tour except Potosi, but that was for the cold) and walked 15 minutes up hill to the bus station in the pouring rain. On reaching the destination , heroes medals were awarded. A new bus company Tas-Choapa (Chilean) had been booked. Estimated time of arrival Bariloche 14.15. At 30km from Bariloche, 15.05 the bus broke down and we were told that another bus would be with us in 30 minutes. Yeh! Right. Bloody shades of Bolivia here, matey, but being intrepid we just stayed put and after 65 minutes the replacement bus arrived. The border crossing here is stunning with beautiful mountains, lakes and valleys and the largest no mans land you could ever imagine. We arrived at "The House" hostel in Bariloche at 18.00. What a dump. Everything has been done on the cheap. Toilet seats broken, wood not treated, dirty, no locks on some shower doors, carpets badly needed cleaning etc etc. The people however were very welcoming as was the house dog, a huge St. Bernard called "Shack" who was a very big softy.


On Linda and Mal´s recommendation, by email, we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was very nice especially as the Cuenta did not include ARS24 for a large bottle of Heineken. Fist impressions of Bariloche, in the warm sunshine, are; millions of tourists, restaurants and hotels, hostels and a stunning location on a very blue lake with mountains in the distance.

Coming next ...Esquel..