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Now this is a beautiful area. Who would have thought, that just beneath snow covered mountains would be the most amazing lakes around. And, good chocolate too!

From El Calafate I buzzed off to Bariloche. Again, taking the rich-man's option and flying. A last minute decision, having booked my ticket at midnight the night before the flight. The plane was better this time - a boeing, but flying over the Andes is still quite a hair-raising experience.

Baricloche seemed like nothing from the airport, because it was like 20-30 minutes from the city. But, upon arrival in the city, what a pleasant surprise. On the side of the mountain is a city that looks like it could be somewhere in the Swiss Alps. From the mountain views of lake Nahuel Huapi are spectacular and it's hard to conceive what a massive body of water this is. If there weren't snow-covered Andean peaks within 2 kilometres of it's shores, one would think you're in Thailand. Heavily forested islands find themselves slap-bang in the middle of the lake, and it's quite a sight.

Bariloche is a great city. Again very touristy, but this time aimed more at Argentinian tourists than gringos. Huge groups of school kids in matching tracksuits roam the streets. And, like I said, there is lots of chocolate too. Bariloche regards itself as the chocolate capital of Argentina, and rightly so. The chocolate is good, but by Argentinian standards, pretty expensive. Millions of different flavours, and quite different to chocolate elsewhere in the world.

The city is very Alpine looking and most buildings and houses have log-cabin-type facades and the Centro Civico is quite impressive. In the main square Saint Bernards and their owners wait to make some money from taking a photo with you. As usual, the food is good, and the trout is a reccommendation which I didn't manage to take up unfortunately. I stayed at Hostel 1004. It's a great hostel with a very homely feel. Located in the tallest building in Bariloche, which looks more like it should be on Sea Point main road, it's rather large and has probably the best views you'll find, and, it's cheap as well.

I was there for one night alone, but the second day met the coolest girls from Colombia. Carolina and Carolina (serious) from Bogota. My first day of sightseeing after waiting out some seriously bad weather was spent on a cruise to Isla Victoria and Bosque de Arrayanes (Arrayane Forest). It was amazing and of course, there are photos. The cruise was a bit slow and took close on five hours, but was worthwhile nonetheless.

The next day, the girls and I and two of their friends from Argentina, Eber and Cristian, headed off to Cerro Catedral. It is the premier ski resort in South America and luckily there was still some snow, but unfortunately not enough to ski or snowboard! We took three ski-lifts (man, I hate those things!) to the top and the view was again, perfect. Distant islands and snow-capped mountains as far as the eye could see! Really impressive, and luckily we made it down before the whole of Argentina's youth ascended for a day in the snow! One tip - use sun-tan lotion. Yes, I forgot, but now I have a tan! :-)

The next day was a spontaneous decision on my part to join the Carolinas and Eber and Cris to go on a bit of a road trip around the seven-lakes area. We first headed to the quaintest little town ever, Villa la Angostura (1h:15m from Bariloche)! More chocolate and more wood, with an amazing atmosphere. Spent a night there in a cosy hostel called Italian Hostel. Pedro and his wife run it and it has a lot of character. The weather that day was shocking - loads of rain, but one can't really expect more in the heart of probably one of the wettest parts of the world.

The next day we hired a car and were off to San Martin de los Andes. A long ride over mostly gravel roads, but although it was still pouring, the sights were something not to be missed. I'm sure we saw all seven lakes, but to be honest, they are so big, I don't really know.

San Martin is is another breathtaking location and is only 30km from Chile, so we attempted to make a run for it across the border. Unfortunately the girls needed their passports and only had their ID, so we were turned back by the friendliest border-gaurd. We spent two nights there at the Puma hostel. It was ok, but being part of the Hostelling International group has so many rules and regulations. On several occasions we were told to be quiet for making a noise after 11pm. That's when you really miss BA. Also, the shower was a nightmare, and for the first time in my life, there was more pressure from the hot water than the cold. Cris reckons this is to save water - good point! We had a good last night, taking in much Vodka and Speed unlimited (like red-bull, but cheaper) and then off to the casino, where i took in a few games of roulette and blackjack. Was good fun, but no success.

Then we left the next day and after a dodgy 6 hour ride on a rickety old bus we arrived in Neuqen. It was a connection for onward travels. It was a fond goodbye to the girls who go back to BA and then to Bogota and I made my way to Mendoza. I'm here now and more to come soon...

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From the end of the world I moved on to a place that seemed like it was at the end of the world. El Calafate is in the middle of nowhere, but beyond the town are scenes that are unbelievable.

From Ushuaia, after waiting for too long for a flight to avoid a massive bus-driven detour, I got a flight with LADE. They're cheap! But, with the low price seems come a lack of advanced flying machinery. The plane we flew on somehow made me feel that the Wright brothers would've been better pilots than the ex-airforce flyman we had at the stick. It was a Fokker F-28, well at least that's what it said on the window!

After spotting the plane on the runway from the departure lounge and listening to announcements I realised that this plane was flying to 3 destinations. Quite aptly (from travellers' tales) a fellow Dutch traveller described LADE as a Bolivian bus service in the sky. The poor people flying to Buenos Aires had to fly from Ushuaia via El Calafate and Comodoro Rivadavia before making their way to BA. Shame! Well, the flight was another story altogether. Flying with them made me want to take a nice long bus ride. I felt like a LEGO man in a model aircraft at some Sunday fair. And, looking out the window, I was absolutely positive that the engine on the right was not working! Again, a comforting remark from another traveller was: "At least it doesn't have propellers like the last one I flew on!" But, we landed safely and with a few other travellers it was off to find a taxi to the much recommended America del Sur hostel.

When we arrived we were greeted by the friendliest staff, and a million shoes at the door. This is to keep the hostel free from the dust that flies around in the middle of nowhere. A very nice hostel indeed. Floors were heated and each room (4 bed dorms) had a private bathroom. There was, like most other hostels, a kitchen, etc. But the friendliness of the staff made it quite pleasant. They organised everything, and after a very convincing talk from Dolo, it was decided to do a mini Trek on the Moreno glacier the next day.

After asking around it seemed the other travellers didn't share the same affinity for gastronomic tourism that I have! So, I decided after much umming and aaahing in my mind to eat alone. After a reccommendation from the staff it was off to my favourite kind of restaurant, the tenedor libre. Yes you guessed it - all-you-can-eat! Rick's Cafe was the place and Cordero (lamb) was the order of the day! Lots and lots of lamb. I think they thought I was mad after practically devouring a poor innocent Patagonian lamb on my own! But, man, the lamb was good. A French couple came and sat at the table next to me and I ended up actually translating their order for them, that's how bad their Spanish was. Or, maybe that's how good mine was... After supper, back to the hostel and a pretty early night.

An organised bus came to fetch us in the morning and off to the glacier it was - all in a very full bus were very excited. We got the the first viewpoint and the sight was amazing, never in my life have I seen anything like it! Just a mass of ice, so big, there seemed to be no end! Then we drove on and got to a jetty to get onto the boat. We took a trip right across the face of the glacier to the other side of a part of Lago Argentino. We reached the other side and met the guides waiting for us. It was then up to the glacier to get crampons (The spikes for your shoes) to walk on the ice. Then we started the most amazing walk - not too tough, but so amazing. Passed mountain sized hills of ice and glacial waters that taste good, better than any boiled water. The formations are amazing and every pebble and bit of sand that has blown onto the glacier forms a small sinkhole that gets bigger and bigger with time and creates little streams of water from the melting ice.

The Moreno glacier is apparently the most impressive in the area, but is not even the biggest, which I still cannot believe cosidering the sheer size of it. The face of the glacier is 55m-60m high, about 2/3km across and stretches for over 60km backwards if I remember corectly! As explained by the guide, glaciers are not formed from frozen water, but are compacted snow that stays frozen through the summer and allows more and more snow to fall and compact. If it forms on a mountain it then sldes down the mountain and moves slowly due to gravity. The Moreno glacier is stable - it gains 2m and loses 2m every day - and is one of only a few in the world. Pieces fall off the front al the time and it makes an amzing sound - like gunshots. Some pieces look like pebbles, but taking into account they are falling down the face of a massive glacier, they could be as big as 1m-5m!

This thing really is worth a visit and I recommend it highly along with all my other recommendations to travel to this great country.

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 05:55 PM | Permalink

Ushuaia, The End of the World. It's crazy to think that I'm even here, so far from everything, but at the same time, still among those friendly Argentinians I'm met along the way.

Ushuaia is the world's southermost city and is in the province of Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) in southern Argentina. Tierra del Fuego is split in two with Chile to the west and Argentina to the East. Antarctica is just a couple of thousand kilometres away.

Ushuaia itself is surrounded by snow-capped peaks at this time of year and to the south is the Beagle Channel. The flight in to the airport is breathtaking. If you've ever flown to Nice, it's pretty similar, but added to the fact that you're landing right next to the water is the fact that just 5 kilometres away rugged mountains rise up to make the landing that much more exciting!

The town is a welcome surprise to any strange expectations one may have for a city so far removed from everything. The people are friendly and there seems to be quite a booming economy with exclusive duty-free shops and the regular argentinian kiosks.

I checked into the hostel, Torre al Sur, striaght from the airport on the first night. It's cozy and the staff are very friendly.

On my first full day, I went snowboarding at Cerro Castor. It was a great experience and the slope is actually really good for snowboarding. It is so wide and there are few hazards along the way - basically you can go wherever you want. I was very lucky to get here in time because the slopes closed today. Granted, there was quite a bit of ice and no powder, but what can you expect a week into spring. I imagine at the height of snow-season it must be awesome! I also seem to have made history, according to the photographer on the slopes I'm the first South African he's met!

The next couple of days were spent relaxing during the day and living it up at night. I met five Irish guys in the hostel and they were always up for a party which suited me fine. The nightlife is actually really good and the parties went on till well after sunrise! A good bar to visit is Lennon's were the place is a tribute to John Lennon. They have live music and the atmoshpere is really good. Just don't tip the barstaff with fake $100 bills, they don't really appreciate it! :-) One good night was spent there and afterwards Dave did the customary thing and dropped his pants on the pavement. Somehow the police spotted us and an arrest was imminent. Luckily in some broken Spanish Barry managed to apologise after the policeman said: "I don't know what you do in your country, but that's not allowed in Argentina!".

Later we went to a club called Nautico on the seafront which was quite good - very busy! Brendan managed to lose his camera and to console him there was the customary: "Don't worry it's not the end of the world! Oh, wait, it is!" It's always funny!

For supper te next two nights we managed to find a good old Tenedor Libre (All-you-can-eat) place that served lamb from the spit! It was delicious and I highly recommend it! Man it's good!

The Irish guys have left and today is Ushuaia's 120th anniversary. I went down to the seafront to get some pictures of the parade. Their armed forces are pretty hectic and are armed to the teeth!

Soon I will leave for El Calafate I think, a bit further north and home to one of the world's only advancing glaciers!

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 05:57 PM | Permalink

Even though the bus ride can be gruelling, a visit to this part of Argentina is a must. The things to see are amazing and the relaxed atmosphere in the towns is really impressive.

From Buenos Aires I took a bus to Puerto Madryn. What I thought would be a pleasant bus trip was in fact really mind-numbing and was a struggle to get through. The landscape outside the window was really barren and there was nothing in the way of natural interest. Just vast grassland very similar to the Karoo. The bus was pretty good. I went with Andesmar from Buenos Aires and had a very luxurious seat, like business class on a plane. The trip was 19 hours, but was not nearly as easy as the one to Iguazu. The toilet was dodgy and there was no soap or toilet paper. Goodness knows if this is common this side of Buenos Aires, but none of the rest-stops had either. A tip for life - bring your own!

After the trip we arrived at Puerto Madryn in the evening. The nice thing about Argentina is that most businesses and offices are open quite late, so getting organised at the bus terminal was easy. Went to stay at a hostel called El Gualicho after a reccommendation by a guy in Buenos Aires. It's pretty good, but is a very quiet, strict hostel. Still, nothing seems to top the Hostel-Inn. They have a kitchen, but it closes at midnight, people go to bed early to get up early for tours and the internet is not free, but otherwise, it's clean and pleasant.

I booked a tour to go to Peninsula Valdez the next day. The bus came fashionably late at 08:00 on the morning as opposed to 07:15 as advertised. The trip was over 400Km and cost 140pesos, around US$45, and there is also a national park entrance fee of 35pesos for foreigners.

Because the weather was good the first stop was Puerto Piramide to see the whales. They are southern right wales (the same as in South Africa) and it is now their breeding season (around October I think). They come to the bay here because it is well protected and sheltered (similar to Hermanus). We took a boat trip out to see and were literally between 1m and 5m from the whales swimming and playing in the bay. It was really amazing. They are however very difficult to photograph and when the boat is bouncing up and down it makes it much harder. The boat ride was also great and it was good to be in the sea again.

After that it was off to see an elephant seal colony in Punta Norte. These animals are huge and the males can weigh tons! They stay in groups and the male is in charge and fights off other males to defend his group of females.

We went to another colony of elephant seals and also managed to spot an armadillo. Such a curios creature and quite funny to watch. En route there were gaunacas (camel family, slightly bigger than llamas) and road-runners in the road (surprise)! Also millions and millions of sheep from the days of the Welsh settlers. There is also a small colony of magellanic penguins along the way. They seem to be similar in size to jackass penguins and act quite the same. There is another tour to Punto Tombo where there is a massive colony of over 1 million where you can walk among them, but that tour I will give a miss and instead head off to Ushuaia.

To the end of the world then...

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)