Heading home

We're sad to be leaving Argentina, as we've had such a fantastic time here.
Late this afternoon we start the long trek home: we fly from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile, get off the plane for one hour, then fly the longest leg, from there to Toronto. A few hours later, if all goes well, we'll be on a plane home, arriving tomorrow.
Update: Had a good trip home; it's really Fall here now, and cold! Yesterday it was shorts, sandals and t-shirts in Spring weather, and today we're bundled up - it's Autumn.
Thanks for following along loyal readers; until next time!
m and b
Photo by caribb (flickr creative commons)

San Isidro

Yesterday we walked to San Isidro, a little town up the road; it has cobblestone streets, a neo-gothic cathedral built in 1898, a flower clock, and an outdoor artisan market.
Today we walked down the hill to Peru beach, on the river (the extremely wide Rio de la Plata - so wide you can't see across to Uruguay on the other side) and watched people windsurfing and paragliding. We also packed, as we leave tomorrow.
Photo by Tulio Borges (Flickr Creative Commons)

Train to Tigre

We took the local train north to the town of Tigre, on the river delta, a popular spot to spend a Sunday. We browsed the craft market stalls, walked past the rides (ferris wheel, roller coaster and pirate ship), past the many rowing clubs, and found the place to catch the boats. People who have cottages on the delta islands take these wooden boats to get back and forth.
We enjoyed the ride up the river, past resorts and small and large cottages, most on stilts. We got off at Tres Bocas, and followed a path to a patio restaurant on a side channel of the river. From there we watched the passing parade of walkers and their dogs on the path, and in the river: rowing skulls, jet boats, kayaks, and other various boats going by.
Photo by lep (Flickr Creative Commons)

Tango show

We went out for a lovely dinner and then to watch tango. It was incredible and fun: both younger and older people dancing - most women in dresses, but some in pants too - all wearing high heels - how do they walk in them, let alone dance?
Later there was live music and tango demonstrations by an amazing couple, who were really excellent.
Photo by Armando (Flickr Creative Commons)

Back to BA

Today we fly from Salta back to Buenas Aires. The photo is of the Convent door just a block down the street from where we´re staying: Hotel de Antigua Convento. A lot of things on the street are named after the convent, like the Convent pharmacy and so on.
Built as the first hospital in Salta, it´s now the home of Carmelite nuns. The massive wooden door was hand carved.
Photo by Sonik (Flickr Creative Commons)

Staying cool

Whitewater rafting is sure a good way to stay cool on a hot day. There were 8 of us in the boat: me and 7 men - B, Frank our guide, and the others from Holland, Australia, England and Barcelona. Oh and one black lab came along too.
Once in our helmets and lifejackets, and after instructions, we set off, Gustavo in a small kayak that was our safety boat. The rapids were level III and after a few sets we were really working as a team, and listening to Frank bark out orders to paddle forward, backward, and harder.
In between rapids we admired the birds: white egrets, black cormorants, and small green parrots, and we noticed the goats and horses. Not once did we see people or dwellings during the two hours on the river. We also looked at the rock formations and colours, and the ceibo trees with their red flowers.
Gustavo, in the kayak, was always close by, but sometimes was playing in the back eddies, or going downstream backwards. We were in a particularly tricky stretch, with Gustavo just ahead of us, when he went over a big rock and flipped upside down. We were right behind, and could see that he hadn´t righted himself. For a minute it looked like we might go right over his upside down kayak, but Frank steered us to the side and was just reaching for the kayak when Gustavo appeared.
Then we had a situation, with Gustavo in the water, us paddling for shore as instructed, the kayak downstream from us, and the kayak paddle upstream.
We managed to catch up to the kayak, and Brad caught the paddle as it came by. Gustavo swam across the river, ending up downstream from us, and we went to pick him up, after Frank emptied the kayak of water and tied it onto the back of the raft. It was a bit of excitment we hadn´t expected, having to rescue our safety boat! Gustavo was a bit battered and lost a shoe, but was ok we think.
Back in Salta it had rained, so it´s a more pleasant temperature now.
Photo by maartenzam (Flickr Creative Commons)

Back in Salta

This is an Algarrobo tree; the leaves are eaten by animals like sheep and horses, the wood is used for making furniture, and the pods are edible: we saw a big pile of them drying in the sun, on a high platform, when we were riding yesterday.
Today we drove back up the Quebrada de las Conches canyon, stopping to have a picnic beside the river. We´re back in the city of Salta now.
Photo by joseflickrsf (Flickr Creative Commons)

Desert ride

Left the hotel at 0700 and half an hour later we were in a field helping to catch our horses. Brad rode a half Criolo half Peruvian Paso, and I was on a Peruvian Paso - both had very smooth gaits. We were on roads at first, but soon we were winding our way up a sandy dry creekbed between narrow canyons.
We stopped to see a wild behive in a hole in the canyon wall and could see the honey combs. Later we stopped for a break in the shade; parrots were screaming at us overhead as we were right beside their homes - holes in the cliff above. They´re called river bank parrots here.
Once we turned back we had a vista of the valley below, the green vineyards and the mountains in the distance. We were glad to have ridden early as it was getting hot.
So hot that we spent the afternoon by the hotel pool (it was at least 38 degrees), reading in the shade and swimming; also watching the doves come down to drink from the pool, and a bird that looked a bit like a kingfisher fly over the pool and scoop up bugs floating on the water.
We will hold the memory of the hot sun, cool pool, beautiful flowers and garden in our memories when we return to the cold and wet weather at home. It will be hard to leave tomorrow, to drive back to the city of Salta.
Photo by pilarchevallier (Flickr Creative Commons)

Vineyards in Cafayate

This area is famous for Torrontes wine though other varieties are grown as well. The high altitude, sandy mineral rich soil, and differences in temperature (sometimes there can be a 20 degree difference between the high in the day, and the low at night) combine to produce the high quality grapes.
We went on a wine tour today, a tasting, then lunch on the patio overlooking the vineyards, the town and the mountains in the distance.
Photo by amarello (Flickr Creative Commons)

South from Tilcara to Cafayate

It was a hot dry day (38C) for our drive south. After Salta we were in new territory that we hadn´t seen before. At first we went through tiny towns and had to watch out for chickens close to the road. Then we were out in the country, in a wide valley with mountains on either side. We saw tobacco growing, and fields with horses and cows. Gradually there was less and less vegetation...
Then we were in a narrow canyon, with signs warning the road was sinuoso, and it was... twisting and winding; around corners there could be rocks on the road, or cows, or goats! The sides of the canyon became more and more colourful - red, brown, orange, ochre, and terracotta. Then we started to see shapes - some of them were named, with signage, and we stopped to take pictures at the amphitheatre, the frog, and the monk. Others we saw as we drove by: the castle and the obelisk. The late afternoon sun on the rocks was beautiful; the canyon bottom with the river flowing through became wider and wider... soon we saw vineyards and knew we were close to the town of Cafayate.
After settling into our hotel, a lovely low building with white walls, tile roofs, lots of stone and wood, meandering courtyards full of plants, and a pool, we set out for the plaza a block away. Around 8 p.m. we were sitting on the patio of a restaurant thinking how amazing it was to be eating outside in the middle of November... when we felt a drop of rain, then a few more, and then it really started to rain and it was a comical scene of diners picking up their plates and running into the restaurant, and waiters racing back and forth to move everything indoors.
We wandered in and out of a few stores, heading towards the internet cafe, which was in the direction of our hotel. We were in a candy store when the heavens really opened up and there was torrential rain, thunder and lightening, and then the power went out! It was pitch black - not one street lamp... we waited, but the storm wasn´t letting up, so we decided to make a dash for it - we had to wait for a car to come down the street, walk quickly until the light disappeared, then shelter in a doorway until another car came along! Crossing the street was like stepping into a river, but eventually we reached the hotel - pretty wet, and glad that we each had a little flashlight in our room!
Photo by Juan Ignacio (Flickr Creative Commons)

Tilcara to Salinas Grandes and back

We set out in our little VW headed west on a day trip, and were soon climbing into the mountains on seemingly endless switchbacks. At the summit, which was over 4000 meters above sea level, we stopped to take pictures of the signs, the road we´d just been on, and the tiny wizened woman chewing coca leaves and carving pictures onto rocks (and selling them). Where she had come from was a mystery, as we seemed to be far from an dwellings.
The road went down and then back up, but finally we were on the puna, or plateau, and could see the Andes in the distance, and the Salinas Grandes, or salt flats, which was our destination. Before we got there though, we had to stop to take photos of the vicuñas, the wild cousins of the llamas. Out on the salt flats (the road goes right across) we pulled over at the salt building - it´s made out of salt blocks. They actually mine the salt, put it in bags and truck it away to be sold. It was really hot as we walked out on the crinkled cracked flats, and blindingly bright, even with our hats and sunglasses on.
The ride back was faster, as it was mainly downhill; it was a good two lane highway, but we had to share it with slow heavy freight trucks on their way to or coming back from Chile.
Tonight we´re exploring Tilcara, and staying at a Posada up on the hill above town, with a view of the valley and colourful hills.
Photo by juan_m (Flickr Creative Commons)

Hill of seven colours

Today we left Salta and headed north up a twisty narrow road beside a river; everything was very lush and green. Luckily it was a quiet road; we had to dodge cattle, the occasional horse, and even geese. Tobacco was growing in the fields - we soon left them behind and headed up a narrow gorge with a tropical feel - there were vines hanging from the huge trees.
At last the tiny road met the highway and we started making better time. Before long we were on the road up the Quebrada (canyon) de Humahuaca, where there were mountains on either side of a wide riverbed - green at first, then browner, until we literally turned a corner and saw a rockier landscape dotted with cardon cactus. Infrequent intense storms eroded the mountains, exposing the sedimentary layers, to create the fantastic and colourful formations we saw.
We turned up a narrow road to visit the tiny village of Purmamarca, which lies at the foot of the hill of seven colours. We had fun walking the dusty streets looking at crafts, kids playing with lambs, and of course the hills.
At 3 p.m. we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, and had to stop to take a picture, and watch people in the distance herding sheep and tilling a field of onions by hand.
We´re staying in the small town of Humahuaca, where roads are made of cobblestones. The church was built in 1641.
Photo by Emi (Flickr Creative Commons)

MAAM: Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montaña

Today we explored the MAAM here in Salta. In 1999 a National Geographic mission went up to the top of a mountain 200 miles west of here, to recover three frozen mummified children, and the artifacts left with them. They were placed on the extinct volcano (over 6000 feet above sea level) over 500 years ago, as Incan offerings to the gods. In a cool, dimly lit room, designed to preserve them, we saw some of the items left with the children: sandals, textiles, pottery vessels, food, and small figures made of gold, silver and seashells. Only one child is on exhibit at one time, in a special -20 degree case within a case, and today it was the six year old girl. It was a pretty incredible experience.
Photo of the Cabildo (town hall) in Salta by vtveen (Flickr Creative Commons)

Dia de la Tradicion en Salta

We were in a side-street looking for a particular restaurant for dinner, when two gauchos dressed in finery rode down a one way cross-street. We quickly walked after them, and when they stopped to check their cellphones, we asked where they were headed. This is how we found out about the Tradition Day happenings at the Plaza 9 de Julio, the main square.
The road on one side of the square had been blocked to traffic, and about 15 gauchos with their horses, and one mule, were there to be admired. A band played, and women, men and children in traditional dress milled about.
After the gauchos left, horses prancing, there was music and folklorico, or traditional dancing. There were various dances, some with scarves, and all ages participated. The men and boys wore hats, scarves, shirts and/or jackets, often a blanket folded over one shoulder, bombachas (baggy pants), wide belts, and boots. They really liked to stomp those boots on the cobblestones. The women and girls had colourful dresses with full skirts. They were enjoying themselves and it was fun to watch.
Photo of Iglesia San Francisco in Salta by juan_m (Flickr Creative Commons)

To Salta on Andes Air

Today we head to Salta, in the northwestern region of Argentina. We leave behind the hot steamy jungle (today´s high is predicted to be 31 degress with 93% humidity), and move to higher ground, in the drier foothills of the Andes.
Update: On the way to the airport we drove through clouds of yellow butterflies, their wings glinting in the sun.
At first we were flying over wetlands; on the approach to Salta we could see brown hills, then a patchwork of tidy fields in the valley below. On the drive into town we noticed how brown the grass was; it´s extremely dry here - we were told that the smoke behind one hill was from a wildfire.
Photo by Angela (Flickr Creative Commons)

Güiraoga Centre

We caught the local bus, called El Practico, out to the Guiraoga Centre. The words Guira oga mean bird house in the Guarani (local native) language. The centre rescues injured, abandoned and confiscated birds and animals, treats and rehabilitates them, and if possible, releases them back into the wild. The ones that can´t be released, or were former pets, live there, and are part of the education program.
After paying our admission, we waited with a few others for the tour to start; hearing an engine, we all turned expectantly and saw an old green tractor round the corner, pulling a flat bed wagon with bench seats on top. Up we climbed, and were towed along a winding dirt track deep into the jungle, to the start of the trail.
Our guide was very good, and gave every explanation in both Spanish and English. We saw tons of birds, including parrots, macaws and toucans, as well as various kinds of eagles, plus falcons and hawks. They also had capybaras, small deer, coatimundi, turtles and monkeys. All of them had interesting stories of how they came to be there. B´s favourite was the orange billed toucan, who obligingly sat on a branch about two feet from the side of the enclosure; my favourite was the young brown monkey, who entertained us by scampering up trees and hanging by his tail.

Photo by leaneske (Flickr Creative Commons)

Tres Fronteras

Today we walked to the Hummingbird garden in the rain, but it was closed. So we walked about a km west of town, Puerto Iguazu, to a lookout point. From there you can see the lower Iguazu river join the Parana river. Across the Iguazu river is Brazil; on their point of land is a green and yellow marker. Looking west across the Parana river we saw the marker with the colours of Paraguay, red, white and dark blue. Behind us was of course the light blue and white Argentine one. We realized that what we´d been looking at on the horizon, from our hotel room was Paraguay.

Photo by Moniketa (Flickr Creative Commons)

Iguazu National Park

We were at the park just after it opened at 0800, ready for a day of adventure... in BA we´d arranged a Green Passport, which gave us an English speaking guide, Carla, who knew where to go when, made reservations for the boats, and gave us commentary. Right away we saw a coatimundi on the path, and a toucan in a tree. Soon we were walking on steel walkways over some of the smaller waterfalls, with views of the larger ones ahead. The coatis are very cute, they walk along the handrails, and have lost their fear of people, so they look for handouts; we saw school kids giving them cookies, right near a sign saying feeding wildlife was prohibited!
Next we took a little train through jungle, and then were on walkways over the upper Iguazu river going out to the Devil´s Throat - a huge thundering waterfall, where there was so much spray it felt like it was raining - luckily we had donned our thin plastic raincoats so didn´t get too wet.
Then we got in a rubber raft powered by an oarsman, a smallish fellow, and headed downriver towards the falls... hmm we wondered, is he really strong enough to get us over to that bank? Luckily Juan was indeed strong and knew what he was doing, plus he knew where to find the Anis, black birds with long tails that come here for the Spring and Summer, and then will migrate north to Mexico when winter approaches here. We drifted down a side channel and saw lots of other birds and various sized caimans.
After a lunch break Carla got us to the right place to catch the truck that would take us to the boat on the lower river, promising to meet us at the landing place where we´d disembark. The boat was a dual engine high speed outboard, seating about 40 people. We put on our raincoats, then life jackets, and set off up the river through rapids and standing waves, towards the falls. First we got close enough to take photos, then the pilot told us to put the cameras in the drybags as we were going in... we went right up to the falls, praying the captain knew how to avoid tipping the boat and where all the rocks were. B says it was like getting under the most powerful cool water shower you can imagine. It was so loud - the Devil´s Throat - we had stood at the top in the morning and now were practically under it.
True to her word, Carla was waiting for us, and led us along the lower trail; we stopped to look at the lush green plants, the flowers and a hummingbird. It was an incredible day and we really saw the falls from every angle.

Photo by vtveen (Flickr Creative Commons)

Travel day

Today we fly from Trelew, in Patagonia, to Buenos Aires, change planes, and fly up to Iguazu, in the north.
Update: it´s hot and humid here - 33 degrees C. when we arrived - we´re in the sub-tropical jungle now - the opposite of dry and cool Patagonia. There was a butterfly inside the terminal at the airport when we arrived.
Outside, one of the first things we noticed was the moist warm air, and on the trip into town, the red earth - red because of the iron oxide content. The kind that turns to slippery mud when it rains. In town, the roads that aren´t paved have rocks, so a bumpy ride, sort of like cobblestones. Tomorrow we have a full day at the Iguazu Falls.

Photo by Zvonimir (Flickr Creative Commons)

Too windy for a boat ride...

Today we were to go out in a boat to see dolphins - they have an especially athletic kind here - but it was way too windy, so luckily we had our own guide, we weren´t in a bus, just ourselves, and our guide was a local, so he toured us around to see whatever we were interested in. This was an hour south of Puerto Madryn, in Trelew and surrounding area.
First stop was the Museum of Paleontology in Trelew, a modern building opened in 1999; the exhibits started out with scenes of the indigeous people, the Teheulches, and went backwards in time, so we saw puma, horse and dinosaur skeletons, then back to trilobites...
South of town we went up a sandy road to see fossilized oyster shells, - some were enormous - we climbed up a bit to see if we could find any shark teeth, but the wind was getting stronger so we left.
Trelew is on the Chubut river, the only river in the province, and the Welsh developed extensive irrigation systems... now people grow onions, lettuce, pears, plums, apples and cherries. All, except the cherries, are sold locally, - the cherries are exported to Spain.

Photo by itsjustanali (Flickr Creative Commons)

Day in town

Today we spent time at a museum in an old mansion in town; the building itself was interesting - built by a Spaniard and his Welsh wife - 3 floors with a tower - the view from there was of the ocean and the town. A spiral staircase made of local stone took you from floor to floor. It was called the Provincial Museum of Man and the Sea, and was quite fascinating. Highlights included a preserved giant squid that had to be 14 feet long, and a room dedicated to the resident Orcas in the area, and their intentional beaching behaviour - they do this to snatch unsuspecting seal pups right off the beach, then wiggle back into the water.
Random facts: restaurants don´t open for dinner here until 8:00 p.m.; regular stores usually open around 9:30 a.m., close at 1:00, then reopen from 5:00 until 9:00 p.m., or some variation of those hours. We went to a Parilla for dinner - this is a restaurant with a brick fireplace and grill over a wood fire, and your meat comes on a brazier with hot coals inside.

Photo by bucaorg (Flickr Creative Commons)

In search of Southern right whales

Today we were on a day long tour to Peninsula Valdes, a protected area and Unesco world heritage site. We´ve never seen so many whales, surfacing to breathe, with calves, tails coming out of the water, and some breaching too. It was incredible. Some were right beside the boat.
After lunch we went up the coast to see elephant seals, and Magellanic penguins on their eggs - some only about 4 feet from the fence; along the way we also saw sheep, wild ostrich, and guanoco. See the new websites added at the bottom of the page for more detail.
Photo by otomir (Flickr Creative Commons)

South to chilly Patagonia

We left rainy Buenos Aires behind and flew two hours south to Trelew, in the northeast corner of Patagonia. We´ve come primarily in search of whales, as they soon leave the breeding grounds to head back to Antarctica. We´re an hour north of Trelew in a small town called Puerto Madryn; the primary industry here is aluminum - they make it with boxite from Brazil - and produce it as a powder as well as in blocks and ship it away. Fishing and tourism are the other two main sources of employment.
We hear the two types of weather here are windy and windier... it certainly is rather chilly and we´re wearing many layers, but enjoying the sunshine. It´s very dry here and flat - a steppe, which was settled by Welsh immigrants; we´ve seen Welsh cake in tins for sale in gift shops.
Today we walked all along the seawall, which was full of people strolling, having picnics, rollerblading, cycling, skateboarding, and in the water (with wet suits), kitesurfing. Our destination was the Ecocentro, which had full whale skeleton, and many fine exhibits of the marine life here.

Guanoco photo by bucaorg (Flickr Creative Commons)