After five hours in Miami Airport and almost nine hours on a plane, we hit the ground running in Buenos Aires as we embarked with our group of 16 on a sightseeing tour of the city.
First stop was one of the most bizarre places I have ever been, a cemetery where the deceased rich and famous of Buenos Aires are entombed in large elaborate mausoleums all arranged side-by-side for blocks. Some of these tombs have doors and windows through which you can look and see the coffins. Eva Peron is the most notable of the honorees here, though her mausoleum is no more noticeable or special than the others occupied by wealthy businesspeople, mayors, generals and other Argentine celebrities.
Buenos Aires is a huge, sprawling city of more than 13.5 million people, and there is no way to tour the place well in a few hours. But we did get a chance to drive by or walk around some of the historic areas of the city core. The Caminito section, one of the oldest parts of the city and the place where the tango reportedly was born, is quite touristy, but still worth seeing. The buildings there are brightly painted with rainbow colors, and music filled the streets. A few cafes had tango dancers performing as a way to draw crowds.
We finally got back to our hotel for a much-wanted nap around 2:30 p.m. We had the rest of the day open to do whatever we pleased.
Sharon and I had heard about a restaurant and tango place called Confiteria Ideal, an 80-something year-old eatery with an elaborate ballroom on the second floor. We went there around 6, and there was little happening beyond some couples practicing and taking lessons. So we tried dancing the few Argentine tango steps that we know and then headed down the street for dinner. (We were proud that we held our own on the tango floor, by the way.)
What was John Belushi's famous line in Animal House when he was thrown out of the university? "Seven years of college down the drain?" Though I finished college in four, I felt that way about my Spanish education today. Six years down the drain. It should be noted that very, very few people in Buenos Aires, outside of people in tourist-related places, speak English. And very few printed materials, such as menus, have translations. So we really struggled with the menu, something I could have handled several years ago after high school and college Spanish. We managed to finally order two steaks and some potatoes. Dinner was okay, not great. Entertainment by an older gentleman accordian player was quite good during dinner.
Then it was back to Confiteria Ideal, where the crowd had picked up and classes/dance practice were in full swing. We tried getting out there again to dance for a while, but mostly watched the others. Though the place had promised a show beginning around 9 p.m., we left an hour later having seen little of note beyond a tango singer performing, a milonga (tango dance party) and a couple of the teachers getting out to perform. But it was still interesting to see a milonga firsthand and to observe serious Argentine tango students in action.
To say we got lost tonight trying to walk back to the hotel would be an understatement. We walked about two hours trying to find the place. No one we stopped spoke English or had ever heard of our hotel. But we finally pieced together enough information and memory to make it back around midnight.
Hotel link:
http://www.dazzlertowersanmartin.com/site/home/en/the_hotel/
Feb. 17, 2010: International travel is at its best when you can have a great time and learn a lot about another culture at the same time. Today was one of those days.
First, let me mention the weather. Perfect, sunny and a high of about 75. Nice day to be outdoors.
Our tour group boarded a tour van and drove about two hours north of Buenos Aires to an old Estancia, or ranch, which was put there about a century ago by an Irish immigrant to Argentina. Our tour guide, Monica, gave a running commentary on the way there, telling us about the history and culture of the area. She has been a good guide this week (except when she steered us to tourist traps.) We noticed that the disdain that Chile and Argentina have for one another would creep into her comments from time to time, especially when she discussed wines. She finally admitted that Chile also makes that product, as does Mendoza, Nashville's sister city in Argentina.
The estancia is in a beautiful setting, and serves as a demonstration of what an estancia is like rather than as a functioning ranch.
I was irrittated at first when I saw a lot of other tourists arriving at the estancia. I always like tours that take you to where the other tourists aren't, rather than to where they are. But this place was large enough that it didn't seem crowded once everyone spread out and started exploring. Beef tenderloins, sausage and chicken were grilling on a huge open fire pit when we arrived. We were encouraged to explore while our lunch was grilled.
I opted not to go riding the horses and wagons as some of the others did, but rather enjoyed walking around to shoot pictures and enjoy the sun.
The horses at the place were beautiful, and appeared to be well cared-for. The ranch is located in a section of Argentina called The Pampas, which is a flat area of the country that is well-suited for farming. The area was barren before conquerors, settlers and others brought trees to the scenery. The terrain was similar to Middle Tennessee's.
Part of the ranch is an old attractive home, which is now open to the public. It gave a good glimpse of what life was like decades ago on the pampas. One oddity here was a collection of furniture made out of cattle bones which had been wired together.
The lunch was great and a show featuring local music and dance topped off the meal.
We got back to our hotel around 5:15, and took a short nap before heading out for an 8 p.m. dinner and tango show.
The venue for the dinner show was a very elegant 1930s era theater called the Piazolla, named after a famous tango composer. The theater has been the site of many famous performances, including some led by Carlos Gardel, considered the godfather of tango music here.
The show was terrific. Eight great tango dancers performed to music by a six-piece orchestra. Two tango singers performed as well. Dancers and non-dancers in our group were very impressed by what they saw.
We were served a great dinner along with the show. Steak, ravioli and chicken were featured entrees, along with all sorts of other South American delights such as empanadas. I think I could have won an empanada eating contest today. They were excellent everywhere we went.
The day was long, but very enjoyable.
Feb. 18, 2010: Woke about 9 after staying up until 1:30. We had a mediocre buffet breakfast, which was included with our hotel room. Then we were off to explore Buenos Aires on a day when we were entirely on our own.
There are some streets downtown near our hotel that are closed to vehicle traffic and which are crowded with pedestrians from morning until midnight. It was enjoyable to be in a place where there was true downtown shopping – markets, department stores, lots of options. The busiest of the pedestrian streets is Florida Street, which goes on for blocks and blocks. Lavalle Street is another such road, and it gets a lot of traffic, too, because it heads toward the river and a nice restaurant district called Puerto Madero.
We walked around and eventually found California Burrito, Sharon’s nephew Sam Nadler’s restaurant on Lavalle. Sam is a partner with some other adventurous young American entrepreneurs and a local investor in several of these Mexican restaurants. The Lavalle store was his first, and he added restaurants and investors in recent years since. We split a burrito and chips, visited for a few minutes with his partner Alex, and then headed back out for more exploring. (Sam was on vacation during our visit.)
We walked to the impressive Puerto Madero development along the river, where 16 huge warehouse-style brick buildings house restaurants on the first level and residences above. Some of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires are side-by-side in this district. We also visited the Galleria Pacifico, a very swanky mall in the downtown area. The architecture there is reminiscent of a church or fine museum, and the shops are high-end.
We napped from around 2:30 to 5, and then went back to our walking tour. We ended up having dinner at a place called Palacio de los Papas Fritas (Palace of the Fried Potatoes.) The name sounds much more elegant in Spanish, doesn’t it? The name, however, doesn’t do the place justice. The servers are all dressed in white coats and black bow ties, and fresh linen is on every table. I had a Diet Coke, cold pork appetizer, a humongous steak, puffy fried potatoes and a dessert for a total of $15. Sharon enjoyed a local chicken dish that featured a good sauce and plenty of green onions.
We hiked back to the hotel and went to sleep early because we were departing at 4 a.m. for the airport and our morning flight to the southern tip of South America.
Observations about Buenos Aires:
- Very nice and friendly overall, enjoyable to see a city where downtown shopping is so viable. It was also great to see so many people enjoying downtown at all hours.
- The people were very helpful, but as mentioned earlier, very few speak fluent English. My Spanish training was a bit helpful, but I wish now that I had reviewed better before the trip.
- Places we visited to eat and shop were clean, and restrooms were accessible, free and spotless.
- The city has a major litter problem, and not for lack of trying to keep it clean. The problem stems from the fact that rubbish bags are placed on the curb in the evening for overnight pickup. But throngs of jobless people swarm to them at from dusk until their pickup time, ripping the bags open and searching for recyclables they can sell. We were told that paper was an especially coveted commodity. The non-recyclables are just discarded wherever, leaving the streets strewn with trash. So while the city has a vibrant unofficial recycling program, it has an accompanying street trash problem.
- Highways around Buenos Aires are good. Our trip to the Pampas was on a quality multi-laned interstate-style highway paid for with tolls. City streets are pretty good, too. As would be expected with a city with more than 10 million people, traffic can get sticky at rush hour.
- This is definitely a great time to be here weather-wise. The daytime temperatures were in the 70s, and there was a pleasant breeze. Lows were in the 60s. It got a bit humid today, but the rest of the week has been great.
- About the technology: WiFi is everywhere and many restaurants tout their free access. I had trouble getting coverage on my Verizon Blackberry, except at the airport. Luckily, I also brought my laptop.
Feb. 19, 2010: We had a long flight to Patagonia ahead, and had to be in the hotel lobby for departure at 4 a.m. I did not sleep well after about 1:30, so I was a bit tired by the time we got on the plane. Sharon woke up at 3 to finish her packing and getting ready.
Our flight was an absolutely full Airbus (big jet) that first landed in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, to drop off the first bunch of passengers. Ten people from our Buenos Aires tour group got off here because they had opted to do a cruise around the tip of Cape Horn and some sea excursions. Six of us had chosen an option that allowed you to see Patagonia by land.
The flight took five and a half hours, if you include the ground time in Ushuaia. Luckily, our Buenos Aires tour guide helped me get a seat on an exit row where I had good leg room.
We arrived in El Calafate around noon, and our hotel here is beautiful. The Esplender is atop a hill overlooking the nearby lakes and mountains. It is walking distance from the quaint town of El Calafate. We were very pleased. I gave the bed a test with a short nap, while Sharon went to lunch with some of the other tour group members, Bob, Diane, Jacque and Ernie.
After about an hour’s rest, I decided to go exploring. I attempted to walk from the hotel to the lake, which glistens with a bright teal color in the sun. The color apparently comes from a high copper level it gets from deposits left by a nearby glacier. But I underestimated how far the lake was from the hotel. I still wasn’t there after an hour of walking. When I did get there, I realized that it didn’t have a normal shore, but rather a surrounding field of deposits topped by plants and flowers. I shot pictures and started back.
Meanwhile, Sharon had arranged a 4X4 ride up the mountain in a Range Rover along with Jacque and Ernie, another couple from our tour group. They are from the Los Angeles area, and are both very fine people. Our guide was a personable local guy named Luis. He took us up and down some very rough terrain, sometimes having to climb up or down at steep angles. But the sights from on top of the mountain were remarkable. Though we are in Argentina, we could see all the way into Chile.
The land where we visited was private, and the tour service that employed Luis was owned by the landowner. It was once used for raising sheep, but wool prices have dropped and the owner divested himself of the sheep. Luis told us that it takes four to five times the acreage to raise sheep in Patagonia than it does to raise cattle in the Pampas because the foliage they can eat in Patagonia is so sparse.
There are no trees in Patagonia and only the most hearty of plants can grow on the volcanic rock surface here. It is really remarkable and beautiful landscape, probably comparable in some ways to the rustic areas of Utah.
Sharon and I napped for a short while after the three-hour tour and then enjoyed a dinner of rack of lamb at the hotel dining room before bedtime.
This place has everything: lakes, glaciers, mountains and WiFi in the rooms!
http://www.esplendorelcalafate.com/site/home/es/el_hotel/
Feb. 20, 2010: Glaciers National Park: Weather down here can be very rough and cold, and we prepared for the worst when we packed in Nashville. Hats, gloves, electric socks, wool sweaters, hand-warmers, rain pants, foot-warmers, thermal boots, you name it. I left Nashville under consideration as Man of the Year at Friedman's Army Surplus on 21st. As it turned out, it was in the 60s and sunny for our trip to the glacier.
Our destination, the Perito Moreno Glacier, was in a very, very nice national park that is about 90 minutes drive from our hotel. We stopped a few times along the scenic road to catch views of the mountains and lakes.
Once there, we found a very elaborate and large series of metal walkways that take you to a variety of vantage points for viewing the enormous glacier.
Unlike most other glaciers around the world, this one is staying the same size over a long period of time. Others are shrinking and melting. This was the third glacier we have seen. Our daughters and we had earlier visited them in New Zealand and Alaska. This one ranks at the top.
Our guide, Karina, led the six people in our party through the park and did a great job of explaining the dynamics of glaciers. Sharon is at her happiest when she is studying something like this, and the combination of informations, sights and weather kept her very happy.
I spent a lot of time climbing a descending on the walkways, as fascinated by the walkways themselves as I was by the glacier. I shot plenty of photos, which you can view above.
Before lunch at a park restaurant, we were given the choice of walking there down another series of the walkways, or riding in the van. Bob, a businessman from Colorado in our tour group and I chose the walk, which took about a half hour, while the others rode there. We were glad we walked, because the views were terrific.
Lunch was tasty - a nice steak, a potato dish, salad and a cheesecake dessert. Then we drove to a boat dock to board a large ship for an up-close view of the glacier from the water. The boat ride did provide some great views, but I had troublke getting comfortable on the ship. It was too hot inside, and too windy on the deck.
The trip on the ship took about and hour, and then we headed back to El Calafate and the hotel in our van. We opted for a chicken dinner at the hotel instead of going out to eat, and it was very good. Great day. Sharon is still raving about it.
Feb. 21, 2010: El Calafate & Torres del Paine. We left El Calafate early after a good breakfast. The friendly and not-so-friendly tensions between border neighbors Chile and Arengtina would manifest themselves today as we had to make the crossing from one to the other, When you do this, customs checks are pretty rigid, and everything changes - including our van, driver and guide.
First, though, we had a long drive - about three hours - to get from El Calafate to the Chilean border. Good luck if you have car trouble on the road between the two, because there is practically nothing there. We stopped at the only available gas station/coffee shop about two hours into the drive. We saw another vanload of people, as well as a bus full of tourists, arrive at the coffee shop when we did, and we wanted to use our small size to our advantage. We rushed to get coffee and use the restroom and were back in the van in five minutes.
That rush to get out of the coffee shop ahead of the others probably saved us an hour or more later, because lines at the border security check are long and slow. We avoided being behind all those folks. The road turns from pavement to gravel as you approach the border. Both sides of the Argentinian-Chilean border have warning signs that landmines are buried nearby. These date back decades to when tension between the two countries bordered on war.
Once we were in the customs and immigration shed, they went through all of our luggage and examined papers meticulously. We said goodbye to our fine guide Karina and her driver, and met our new guide, Francesca and driver, Jorge. We had lunch at a pretty nice restaurant-souvenir shop at the border. My lunch was chicken and avacado on typical Chilean flatbread.
We have gotten to know our four traveling companions, Bob/Diane and Ernie/Jacque better through the travel experiences we shared, and they are very nice people. It really helps to have fun companions on these tours. (Bob has developed some large commercial projects over the years, and we have compared notes on the economy and the state of such projects today. We're both cautiously optimistic about the eventual turnaround.) Ernie is a doctor who treats cancer patients in California, and Diane is a businesswoman and counselor who has traveled all over the world. Jacque has an impressive list of duties, both at church and home. She raises all sorts of fruits, herbs and other plants.
We arrived at Torres Del Paine National Park around 3 p.m., and were amazed by its imposing beauty. The mountains there have a variety of interesting features, but its three huge granite towers are the most spectacular. We drove all around the park and every sight was as magnificent as the previous one - waterfalls, glaciers, lakes, mounatins, vistas of all kinds.Our only complaint was that the weather was drizzly and grey, rather than the nice sun we had the days before. But that's Patagonia.
Our hotel, Hosteria Lago Grey, is in the park, and is very comfortable. Though simpler and smaller than some of the other places we have stayed, it had great food and the rooms had some nice touches, like a heated bathroom floor and WiFi.
Sharon and I had a late dinner with the other members of our group, (I had fish), and got to sleep around 11.
Hotel link:
http://www.turismolagogrey.com/hosteria-lago-grey-en.php
Feb. 22, 2010: Puerto Natales & Serrano River: This was one of the craziest days ever. Up early and into our tiny van for a ride to the Serrano River, which connects some of the myriad on fiords, sounds and waterways. This is a day when all my Friedman's and REI purchases paid off - we had to ride the Serrano in tube-like Zodiac boats in pouring rain (at times), 40-degree weather and winds of up to about 50 mph.
Our river tour took as to several glaciers and was really very fun. In addition to all of the waterproof gear we all wore, the boat company provided us with bulky orange raincoats which were both warm and clunky. They also gave us life preservers, which made me feel like the Michelin tire man when I put it all on. But I was warm.
Our rides in the zodiac boat took about two and a half hours, and then we boarded a catamaran for about a five hour ride the rest of the way up the river to Puerto Natales, our overnight stop. The river ride took much longer than expected because the gusty winds slowed us down. Our six people plus Francesca were assigned a table on the boat, and we were reasonably comfortable. I wished I had brought a book or something else to do. We stopped twice during the day at farms along the river, and the lunch stop featured a very nice lunch of sausage, lamb and steak, along with salad.
Our hotel in Puerto Natales is very, very nice. A fire here a couple of years ago led to a total re-do of the place, which overlooks a harbor on the Pacific. We we enjoyed a good lamb dinner before getting to sleep around midnight.
Feb. 23, 2010: Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas & Santiago: Our go-getter guide Francesca heard us talking about the penguins of Chile when we arrived, but that stop was not on our iinerary. So she figured out a way to make it happen today.
We had breakfast, checked out of our hotel and were on the road by 8:30. The road between the southern Chile cities of Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas is barren and flat during the first 150 miles, and then more lush and green toward the end. Little lives on the rocky soil and in the high, cold winds around Puerto Natales. Punta Arenas, though, is on the Pacific Ocean at the Straits of Magellan, and there is more moisture and vegetation.
We stopped about two hours into the drive at a roadside restaurant, one of the few between the two cities. We were greeted by the owners and their family, and they appeared quite proud of their clean little business. The female head of the household fried empanadas in a pan over an open wood fire in the kitchen, while her husband made us coffee and tended the cash register in the front. Very warm feeling here.
After the coffee stop, we drove another hour and a half until we reached the turn-off for the penguin colony. That road was mostly gravel and involved about 30 more minutes of driving. The penguins are on private land, and the owner made it possible for visitors to go there to enjoy the exotic birds, which grow in 15 different places in Chile. There is a $10 charge to take the tour, but the facility is very nice. There are wood walkways, maps and viewing stands for those on the tour.
There is no certainty that you will see penguins when visiting here. There are throngs of penguins on Magdelena Island, which is not far away, but a smaller number here. We were not disappointed, however, as our very first viewing station yielded a flock of penguins lined up on the shore. This type of penguin is much smaller than some found elsewhere, and you almost feel like you are viewing flocks of baby penguins when you first see the the full-grown adults. They were very cute, huddling together to guard one another against the stiff winds that were blowing there today.
After that, our walking tour produced a couple of other penguin sightings, but none like the first. The birds live in holes in the ground, and many were either hidden in those, or out in the sea. We saw a couple of them walking in the grass, and one sleeping at the entrance to his nest hole. It is hard to describe how biting and fierce the wind and cold is at places like this. And this is their summer!
We left happy, having seen some penguins.
Our driver then took us to Punta Arenas, a quaint city with very pretty streets and buildings. Because it sits on a strait discovered by explorer Ferdinand Magellan around 1520, it was once an important sailing port prior to the Panama Canal's completion. Shipping between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean could avoid circling Cape Horn at the tip of South America by going through what is now called the Straits of Megellan. Punta Arenas is still a key port on the strait.
We had a good lunch at a pricey local restaurant, and then did a short tour of the city with Francesca, a native of Punta Arenas. We saw a panaramic view of the city, visited a square where Megallan's statue is featured, shopped a bit and visited an old cemetery where city fathers and mothers were buried in elaborate mausoleums similar to the ones we saw in Buenos Aires.
We were dropped at the airport, where we said our goodbyes to Francesca. We'll miss her. She was a great guide and a great person. The 10 people who were in our original tour group, but who opted for a sea tour the last few days, were there waiting for us at the gate.
We had a two-hour flight to Puerto Montt, stayed on the plane while more passengers boarded, and then had another hour and a half flight up to Santiago, the capital of Chile. We arrived at the hotel around midnight. Sleep was welcome.
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/sclco
Feb. 24, 2010: Santiago, Chile: Our last full day in South America. Our morning was spent doing a city tour with our tour guide, Maria. We saw some impressive city parks, government buildings, the natural history museum, the downtown Cathedral and we took our bus to the top of a mountain (St. Lucia) in the middle of the city from which you can view Santiago in every direction.
We were impressed by the cleanliness of the city, except for some bad graffiti problems in some sections. There is hardly any litter and the city seems much cleaner in general than Buenos Aires was.
There is a very interesting and pretty part of downtown that has a variety of shops and restaurants. I think it is called Bellavista. We saw a good mix of locals and tourists there - always a good sign. Sharon and I ate lunch at a Spanish restaurant in that section of town with some other members of our tour group. I had a very good poached fish filet and sauteed vegetables. Sharon had chicken stuffed with tomatoes and goat cheese. We ate outside and enjoyed a 75 degree sunny day.
I rested for a couple of hours in the evening, and then we went to a lively nightclub/dinner club called Los Buenos Muchachos for supper. Everyone had steak. There was a five-piece band and a six member dance troupe who performed a medley of Chilean songs and dances. Sharon and our tour group friend Ernie were among the brave folks who got up and danced Chilean dances with the professionals. Many of us also went out and danced during an open dancing portion of the evening. Very fun place, and very large facility.
Santiago doesn't get the publicity that some other South American cities get back home, but I highly recommend the city for a great vacation experience.
Feb. 25, 2010: Valparaiso: Last day of our South American visit. We checked out of the hotel and boarded our tour bus at 9:30 a.m. Our destination is Valparaiso, a nearly 500-year-old city built on steep hills on the Pacific Ocean. It is about three hours drive from Santiago. We saw many of Chile's world renown wineries along the way.
Frankly, Valparaiso needs a huge facelift. But is also has tremendous potential as a very attractive destination. Its problem is that its once vibrant economy took a big hit in 1906, when the Panama Canal opened and its ship traffic was cut. It has never fully recovered.
The city has some gorgeous old homes and public buildings - many of them centuries old. But peeling paint, dirt, disrepair and lack of care are the norm rather than the exception. There just isn't the money available to bring this fine city back. Its unemployment rate is above the national rate of 10 percent, and there aren't any great opportunities on the horizon. But I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Valparaiso and imagining what it must have been like 100 years ago. There is a side of me that likes it the way it is, and glad that its historic buidlings weren't torn down in the name of progress. But stopping the bleeding will be difficult, because infrastructure is starting to crumble.
Striking about the city are the many, many buildings - most of them homes, that are perched precariously on the edge of cliffs. You wonder what would happen to them if even a slight earthquake hit this area. They are eye-catching, too, because many of the old homes are painted in bright and varied colors. We rode a 140-year old tramcar called a vernicular to the top of one of the mountains and back down - an interesting ride as much because of the aged equipment than because of the sights that awaited us at the top.
The woes of Valparaiso don't appear to be present in nearby trendy Vina del Mar. Attractive high-rise condos occupied by celebrities, beach volleyball courts, blaring pop music and the presence of hundreds of young people shout that this is a vibrant and cool place to be if you are young and wealthy. We ate lunch in this area, and Sharon proclaimed our delicious fried Chilean sea bass meal the best one we have had on the trip. I ate so much that I felt like I was waddling when I left.
Our tour bus did a quick shopping stop at a jammed Vina Del Mar street, and then our bus took us to the airport, where we await our overnoight flight to Miami right now.
While we really enjoyed our Argentina visit, Chile was a very pleasant surprise for me. It has so many natural treasures and such a great city in Santiago. Valparaiso should not be missed, either, although you shouldn't expect a pristine environment. I would recommend Chile enthusiastically to anyone who is looking for a vacation destination with lots of unique features.
I think that overall, Friendly Planet put together a good tour for a price that was better than the competing tour companies we (as in Sharon mostly) explored. We had a very good vacation experience. We have made many new friends in our tour group, and hopefully will see them again sometime soon. Bob, Diane, Jacque, Ernie, Sharon and I have been together for almost 10 days and have gotten to be good friends. The people who were with us in Buenos Aires and Santiago were also very fun, and the dynamic turned very lively when all 16 of us were together. What a great group of folks! We'll miss joking around with Paul and Jean, dancing with Joe and Ann, chatting/laughing with Boushaib and Emma, recalling Nashville stories with Vandy grad Ed and his personable wife Michelle, and hearing all sorts of stories from Novis and Anna. Our two-week-old family has to split up. But the photos and memories will always be there. Farewell, guys.
