Couldn't resist writing one more entry sitting in my computer room here at home. Such a shock to leave the land of a bidet in every bathroom ( including some restaurants...couldn't quite figure that one out) to the land of " what's a bidet?" , from almost 40 deg in the Argentine heat wave where any clothes are too much to the soft falling snow and "long johns under jeans" attire of Guelph.
Our taxi driver who took us to the airport was a young man who wanted to learn some English. He pulled odd words out about the good things in Argentina and pointed to some of the sites we passed on the drive. We understood where the slums were when he equated them to the Flavellas of Brasil, we comprehended the references of "caliente" when we talked about the weather...but one word we couldn't get..he referred to Bariloche and cena ( that means dinner) and kept trying other Spanish references...felt like charades. It wasn't until he hit on "Forest Gump" that we realized he meant had we tried "chocolates"...Movies are so international!
The flight home was comfortable..Lan Chile is a good airline and even served a hot breakfast. We hung around the Santiago airport for 7 hours..it has lots of floor to ceiling windows with a view to the foothills around the city. We even found a great restaurant..Ruby Tuesday's..that had a salad bar- I gorged my self on vegetables. We finally reached JFK airport in NYC early Friday morning. This was a transit stop before we reboarded the plane for Toronto. At least we thought that's what it should be; the Americans see it as a chance to create jobs, ferret out terrorists and make sure tourists don't ever want to take a plane that transits through the US.
We had to go through immigration ..which meant standing in a line for an hour, getting our finger prints and pictures taken ( when we objected, the immigration officer said he couldn't remember whether he was supposed to do that for Canadians or not as they were always changing the rules), re-enter through security where we had to take off our shoes and send everything thru x-rays and metal detection ( surely shoes could be sniffed by a dog). I had wondered why they had allotted over 2 hours for the landing. Even the shopping in the transit area sucked.
So now we are at home and back to a comfortable routine, mostly. Our car wouldn't start yesterday..CAA came and replaced the battery right in the driveway. We went to the market this morning, met good friends and headed off to Diana's for breakfast. We have shovelled snow ( or at least Jurg has) and I had a flu shot. We picked up our skis and found out Blue Mountain opened yesterday. According to the papers, people are mad at the politicians, just like in Argentina. But I thought we really have no idea how good our lousy politicians really are. Our trip has changed us at least in that.
We both said how much we love Guelph and are glad to live here. And Jurg is talking already about the next trip to Switzerland!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Chau Argentina!
First the shopping trip...a very crowded subway ride, ´the recommended Lonely Planet stores seemed to have moved, the frustration of the heat. Jurg didn´t last..after finding a cafe for a coffee on Florida street, he headed for the subway and home. I persisted, hitting all the tourist stores and found a few things. Not bargains though, those days are over here. Leather purses are hundreds of pesos...close to $100. One must thread the way around mothers with babies begging for pesos, not something we see at home. I was surprised how quickly I adapted to the jolt of seeing this...my pesos were for purses it seemed.
Finally the subway ride home and Jurg was not there. He had indulged his passion for subways and ridden to the end..then headed for the Evita museum. One last look at his secret love.
So, for me one more tour around trendy Palermo and the fashion stores...gazing at pricey things for skinny women.
And then dinner with Steven. A final Parilla meal and a bottle of malbec starting at 9:30 pm. Dinner was over at 12:30..truly we are Argentine! Great stories of the travels, promises to stay in touch, a relaxed evening as our last night. Steven is great fun and we have enjoyed meeting him...we gave him our unused subway tickets, he gave us a beautiful little photo book of Patagonia...inspiration for our next trip here for sure! He was kind enough to save the stories of the bus accidents that take place here on the overnight buses until this last evening when our bus rides were over.
The taxi awaits, over 24 hours to the ice and snow. It is over 30 deg again. Goodbye Argentina! Don´t cry for us!
Finally the subway ride home and Jurg was not there. He had indulged his passion for subways and ridden to the end..then headed for the Evita museum. One last look at his secret love.
So, for me one more tour around trendy Palermo and the fashion stores...gazing at pricey things for skinny women.
And then dinner with Steven. A final Parilla meal and a bottle of malbec starting at 9:30 pm. Dinner was over at 12:30..truly we are Argentine! Great stories of the travels, promises to stay in touch, a relaxed evening as our last night. Steven is great fun and we have enjoyed meeting him...we gave him our unused subway tickets, he gave us a beautiful little photo book of Patagonia...inspiration for our next trip here for sure! He was kind enough to save the stories of the bus accidents that take place here on the overnight buses until this last evening when our bus rides were over.
The taxi awaits, over 24 hours to the ice and snow. It is over 30 deg again. Goodbye Argentina! Don´t cry for us!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Buenos Aires- revisited
We are back to where our journey began and we first fell in love. We arrived early Monday morning at the bus station Retiro...a huge monster of a place where most people arrive if they aren´t flying in. Our bus journey took us past some of the slums where people put together homes made of cast off items, quite a dramatic look at some of the poverty that plagues Argentina. Yet, these poor seem to find a way to work rather than beg. More on that later.
We weren´t sure how we would feel about the city after all the other places we had come to know. But, when we got back to our familiar little apartment hotel, the friendly staff made us feel right at home. By 10 am we were in our little studio apartment and ready to explore.The streets are now familiar...we checked out some of the places we remembered. We cultured ourselves...the MALBA ...modern Latin American Artists. We bought fruit at the neighbourhood green grocer, we drank coffee in cafe´s- didn´t take long to start feeling part of BsAs once again. The power of this place!
Today we took the 3 hour ferry across the Rio de la Plata to Uruguay to explore the historic town of Colonia a UNESCO World heritage site- a beautiful, but expensive place and very hot. It must have been about 40 deg. We hopped from shadow to shadow. We have started to talk about how skiing would feel good... We came home on the fast catamarran...a 1 hr journey ..in first class with a glass of champagne.
Tomorrow I have to shop..and we will have dinner once again with Steven. It seemed fitting to have our last dinner with the one who introduced us to BsAs. Jurg has volunteered to shop with me..not sure that is a good idea, but we will see.
I mentioned the poor. There is no more begging here than in TO..maybe even less. Many of those who approach us are physically disabled. Other of the young perform tricks and juggling at the intersections or squeezee the car windows. Young men stake out a parking claim. You pay parking twice..once to the machine, once to the man. Then he watches your car, sometimes will wash it, and moves the cars around ( all are left out of gear with parking brake off) pushing them back or forward to let cars in and out. Another whole vanguard ( around 20,000) push carts around the city to recycle things from the garbage. They pick out things of value and gather cardboard and plastic. I read one of the commuter trains has been modified to accommodate their 4 wheel carts for travel. People set up impromptu stands on the sidewalks with socks and underwear for sale..often mothers have their young children with them. Quite an underground economy.
The jackaranda trees are still covered with their purple blooms that fall and cover the sidewalks below. The shopkeepers are out early in the morning hosing down the sidewalks in front of the stores. The dogwalkers don´t break their pace as the stride purposefully along with their 10 panting charges. I don´t think BsAs will even notice when we leave.
And tomorrow the long journey home...
We weren´t sure how we would feel about the city after all the other places we had come to know. But, when we got back to our familiar little apartment hotel, the friendly staff made us feel right at home. By 10 am we were in our little studio apartment and ready to explore.The streets are now familiar...we checked out some of the places we remembered. We cultured ourselves...the MALBA ...modern Latin American Artists. We bought fruit at the neighbourhood green grocer, we drank coffee in cafe´s- didn´t take long to start feeling part of BsAs once again. The power of this place!
Today we took the 3 hour ferry across the Rio de la Plata to Uruguay to explore the historic town of Colonia a UNESCO World heritage site- a beautiful, but expensive place and very hot. It must have been about 40 deg. We hopped from shadow to shadow. We have started to talk about how skiing would feel good... We came home on the fast catamarran...a 1 hr journey ..in first class with a glass of champagne.
Tomorrow I have to shop..and we will have dinner once again with Steven. It seemed fitting to have our last dinner with the one who introduced us to BsAs. Jurg has volunteered to shop with me..not sure that is a good idea, but we will see.
I mentioned the poor. There is no more begging here than in TO..maybe even less. Many of those who approach us are physically disabled. Other of the young perform tricks and juggling at the intersections or squeezee the car windows. Young men stake out a parking claim. You pay parking twice..once to the machine, once to the man. Then he watches your car, sometimes will wash it, and moves the cars around ( all are left out of gear with parking brake off) pushing them back or forward to let cars in and out. Another whole vanguard ( around 20,000) push carts around the city to recycle things from the garbage. They pick out things of value and gather cardboard and plastic. I read one of the commuter trains has been modified to accommodate their 4 wheel carts for travel. People set up impromptu stands on the sidewalks with socks and underwear for sale..often mothers have their young children with them. Quite an underground economy.
The jackaranda trees are still covered with their purple blooms that fall and cover the sidewalks below. The shopkeepers are out early in the morning hosing down the sidewalks in front of the stores. The dogwalkers don´t break their pace as the stride purposefully along with their 10 panting charges. I don´t think BsAs will even notice when we leave.
And tomorrow the long journey home...
Wonderful weekend in Firmat
We left the mountains behind and fell asleep as the miles of semi arid desert rolled by and woke up to the Pampas. For many, the Pampas are the heart of Argentina...the economic greenspace with its fertile soil and sunshine. Big machines rolled past our bus, heading out to work the fields as we neared Firmat. The sunshine, this year, has become a bit of an enemy...drought is stalking the area and farmers are hoping for rain before they plant their last crop of soy. In Argentina, troubles never come one at a time.
The bus pulled over at the side of the highway in Firmat and we disembarked and watched as Matias strode up to meet us. We felt like we were coming home again. We walked to the office of the family business just down the block and met up with the family. We were welcomed once again as if we were family and we stepped right back into the rhythm of the Argentine life.
Lunch at home, a siesta in the afternoon, a swim in the pool, a quiet dinner late in the evening - such a welcome respite in our travelling busyness. We talked and laughed and got to know each other. We were introduced to the lovely Laura..Matias girlfriend. We felt so lucky that Rossana and Matias have learned English...Jorge works away at his rudimentary Spanish with their patient help. Such a gift this weekend was..wrapped up with the generosity of this family who opened their hearts to us. We shopped with Rossana´s help on Saturday and Jurg watched Matias play a game of soccer with friends. We ate food prepared by Rossana and some great crepes saved from Horacio´s birthday in order to share with us. Rossana continued with the lesson in how to drink yerba mate...the great Argentinian tea that has much ritual associated with it. It is made with warm water stored in a thermos and is a shared drink. The bombilla (straw) filters out the leaves of the plant and after a turn, more water is added and it is passed on to someone else. I think I could master this at home now.
Sunday was the day for the whole family to gather at Grandparents house...Oscar and Nedia Pelligrini...for the lunchtime assado (BBQ). Rossana and her sister and their families...all the grandchildren are young adults, some with partners and one great grandchild. The only one missing is Paula, Matias sister, who is married and is in Mexico. We shared salads, BBQ´d sausage, different cuts of beef and desserts brought by Venyss (Rossana´s sister) that she had made for her own birthday on Friday. We were so warmly welcomed and I had great fun talking with the young women about their lives...they all wanted to practice their english- thankfully!
We talked about so many things through the weekends we spent with this marvellous family. Political troubles, money issues, parenting, sports, our challenges in our lives..it was absolutely marvellous to feel so close and compatible. It was heartbreaking to hear how in this young democracy ( only 25 years), the government seems to make decisions that have such profound impacts on all. Only last Friday they grabbed all the private pension funds that had been saved and moved them all into the public plan. All the financial advisors running the private plans will now be out of work and no one knows what return they will receive. Argentines are getting accustomed to handling these setbacks.
Sunday night it was time to leave. Rossana, Horatio and Matias gave us special gifts- a beautiful mate cup, a bag of yerba mate, an Argentine picture frame for one of my photos- all so thoughtfully chosen. ...and for Jurg..the most special shirt..from the Atlante football team that Javier their son (brother) in law plays for in Mexico. Jurg will wear it at home when he morphs into "Jorge" and watches the Atlante games and cheers for #2 Javier. The gift of their friendship is beyond measure.
Our bus to Buenos Aires left at 2:30 am and Laura, Matias, Rossana and Horacio stayed up with us in spite of the fact the work loomed for them later in the morning. Matias drove us to the bus and made sure we got our luggage on and waved goodbye as we pulled away...the picture is etched in my mind. What a beautiful young man he is! so good at taking care of others. We can only hope that the family can come to Canada so we can extend the same hospitality to them. Hasta luego!
The bus pulled over at the side of the highway in Firmat and we disembarked and watched as Matias strode up to meet us. We felt like we were coming home again. We walked to the office of the family business just down the block and met up with the family. We were welcomed once again as if we were family and we stepped right back into the rhythm of the Argentine life.
Lunch at home, a siesta in the afternoon, a swim in the pool, a quiet dinner late in the evening - such a welcome respite in our travelling busyness. We talked and laughed and got to know each other. We were introduced to the lovely Laura..Matias girlfriend. We felt so lucky that Rossana and Matias have learned English...Jorge works away at his rudimentary Spanish with their patient help. Such a gift this weekend was..wrapped up with the generosity of this family who opened their hearts to us. We shopped with Rossana´s help on Saturday and Jurg watched Matias play a game of soccer with friends. We ate food prepared by Rossana and some great crepes saved from Horacio´s birthday in order to share with us. Rossana continued with the lesson in how to drink yerba mate...the great Argentinian tea that has much ritual associated with it. It is made with warm water stored in a thermos and is a shared drink. The bombilla (straw) filters out the leaves of the plant and after a turn, more water is added and it is passed on to someone else. I think I could master this at home now.
Sunday was the day for the whole family to gather at Grandparents house...Oscar and Nedia Pelligrini...for the lunchtime assado (BBQ). Rossana and her sister and their families...all the grandchildren are young adults, some with partners and one great grandchild. The only one missing is Paula, Matias sister, who is married and is in Mexico. We shared salads, BBQ´d sausage, different cuts of beef and desserts brought by Venyss (Rossana´s sister) that she had made for her own birthday on Friday. We were so warmly welcomed and I had great fun talking with the young women about their lives...they all wanted to practice their english- thankfully!
We talked about so many things through the weekends we spent with this marvellous family. Political troubles, money issues, parenting, sports, our challenges in our lives..it was absolutely marvellous to feel so close and compatible. It was heartbreaking to hear how in this young democracy ( only 25 years), the government seems to make decisions that have such profound impacts on all. Only last Friday they grabbed all the private pension funds that had been saved and moved them all into the public plan. All the financial advisors running the private plans will now be out of work and no one knows what return they will receive. Argentines are getting accustomed to handling these setbacks.
Sunday night it was time to leave. Rossana, Horatio and Matias gave us special gifts- a beautiful mate cup, a bag of yerba mate, an Argentine picture frame for one of my photos- all so thoughtfully chosen. ...and for Jurg..the most special shirt..from the Atlante football team that Javier their son (brother) in law plays for in Mexico. Jurg will wear it at home when he morphs into "Jorge" and watches the Atlante games and cheers for #2 Javier. The gift of their friendship is beyond measure.
Our bus to Buenos Aires left at 2:30 am and Laura, Matias, Rossana and Horacio stayed up with us in spite of the fact the work loomed for them later in the morning. Matias drove us to the bus and made sure we got our luggage on and waved goodbye as we pulled away...the picture is etched in my mind. What a beautiful young man he is! so good at taking care of others. We can only hope that the family can come to Canada so we can extend the same hospitality to them. Hasta luego!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bariloche and environs
The freedom of the car! wow...what we have seen around here over the last few days through the dusty windows of a little Fiat..little but powerful. It zoomed up the mountains in 5th gear - wonder if GM knows what these little European type cars can do. And we sure had the chance to zoom. First we headed up north toward San Martin de los Andes via the seven lakes road. We followed the shores of blue green lakes with green hills reaching up to 600 metres dipping down to the water and views of snow capped mountains. There was a dusty gravel section..under construction as well..but it was still magnificent. The yellow gorse is in bloom, probably an invasive curse but still beautiful. As well, Jorge in his typical fashion, spoke to some young women who turned out to be from both Argentina and Israel. We ended up with a bunch of pictures with all of us apeing for the camera. Lots of laughs!
San Martin de los Andes is a small, delightful ski town where we stayed at a hosteria on one of the main streets. The guy in reception we affectionately called the Spanish nazi..(think Seinfeld). Everytime I uttered an English word he said "Ëspagnol solo" and forced me to search through my now 50 word vocabulary to say what I wanted. He certainly would patiently wait as I struggled...but would not back down. added to the experience.
In this area there are 2 National Parks...Nahuel Huapi and Lanin....so there are thousands of protected hectars. The area is filled with lakes and rivers and right now it is fly fishing season, a big occupation here. We haven´t seen much wildlife but the scenery is spectacular with the mountains reflected in the lakes. On the way back from San Martin to Bariloche, we took another gravel road that is sometimes closed. It went through a marvellous valley following a rushing river with rock hillsides topped with the most intriguing of hoodoo type formations. We did discover why it is sometimes closed...had to ford a couple of streams and go around a few washed out sections..made for interesting driving. The dust was overpowering when someone came the other way..which was seldom. Saw a few fishermen in the river but other than that we were mostly allone for the 60 km.
Back in Bariloche, we decided we would try to go up one of the lookout peaks in the area. Of course, being off season one, Cerro Otto, was closed so we headed for Cerro Catedral...the famous ski area. Disappointment there as the wait behind all the people on tour buses to get on the cable car would be 2 hrs. So we climbed back into our dusty car to do the Circuito Chico..a loop around part of Lake Nahuel Huapi with views and a look at the famous Llau Llau hotel. We tried to get in there for tea...guard told us we needed a reservation. Snotty crowd!
There is a small area called Colonia Suiza that is an historic town started by Swiss imigrants in the 1800´s. Jorge, now once again Jurg, had visions of Rahmschnitzil with Spaetzli dancing in his head. Disappointment again...there was no way there could be schnitzil at the end of the gravel road...there was barely coffee and a poor excuse for a torte. Seems they only have activities on Sundays and Wednesdays...hardly deserves to have Swiss in the name.
We stayed in a lovely place Tuesday night and were the only folks there on the outskirts of Bariloche. In consultation with out host and much mathematics as to whether we could squeeze the kms out of our maximum allowance we decided to head back to Catedral and then go on to El Bolson. Turned out to be a great decision. The view from the summit of the mountain after a ride on a cable car and chair lift, was spectacular! Miles of lakes and mountains reaching to the distance. And then one more gravel road around Lake Guiterrez. This was the most challenging my Swiss Chauffer had faced with this car. Really should have been a 4X4 drive...deep gullies, big rocks and lots of holes. But a wonderful reward of a view.
El Bolson at about 130 kms from Bariloche was a terrific little hippy town. It is a nuclear free zone ( not sure if that made a difference to us) and grows a lot of organic vegetables and has lots of artist coops. The drive down on the fully paved hwy was wonderful...certainly worth the effort. And gas is much cheaper down there...this is the northernmost town where the Argentinian Patagonian gas subsidy is in effect.
So here it is Thursday morning and we await our next bus ride...off to Firmat once again with gifts of chocolate in hand. Hope the bus isn´t too hot for the 20 hr journey. We do have the 2 seats up front again.
Haste luego
Sue
San Martin de los Andes is a small, delightful ski town where we stayed at a hosteria on one of the main streets. The guy in reception we affectionately called the Spanish nazi..(think Seinfeld). Everytime I uttered an English word he said "Ëspagnol solo" and forced me to search through my now 50 word vocabulary to say what I wanted. He certainly would patiently wait as I struggled...but would not back down. added to the experience.
In this area there are 2 National Parks...Nahuel Huapi and Lanin....so there are thousands of protected hectars. The area is filled with lakes and rivers and right now it is fly fishing season, a big occupation here. We haven´t seen much wildlife but the scenery is spectacular with the mountains reflected in the lakes. On the way back from San Martin to Bariloche, we took another gravel road that is sometimes closed. It went through a marvellous valley following a rushing river with rock hillsides topped with the most intriguing of hoodoo type formations. We did discover why it is sometimes closed...had to ford a couple of streams and go around a few washed out sections..made for interesting driving. The dust was overpowering when someone came the other way..which was seldom. Saw a few fishermen in the river but other than that we were mostly allone for the 60 km.
Back in Bariloche, we decided we would try to go up one of the lookout peaks in the area. Of course, being off season one, Cerro Otto, was closed so we headed for Cerro Catedral...the famous ski area. Disappointment there as the wait behind all the people on tour buses to get on the cable car would be 2 hrs. So we climbed back into our dusty car to do the Circuito Chico..a loop around part of Lake Nahuel Huapi with views and a look at the famous Llau Llau hotel. We tried to get in there for tea...guard told us we needed a reservation. Snotty crowd!
There is a small area called Colonia Suiza that is an historic town started by Swiss imigrants in the 1800´s. Jorge, now once again Jurg, had visions of Rahmschnitzil with Spaetzli dancing in his head. Disappointment again...there was no way there could be schnitzil at the end of the gravel road...there was barely coffee and a poor excuse for a torte. Seems they only have activities on Sundays and Wednesdays...hardly deserves to have Swiss in the name.
We stayed in a lovely place Tuesday night and were the only folks there on the outskirts of Bariloche. In consultation with out host and much mathematics as to whether we could squeeze the kms out of our maximum allowance we decided to head back to Catedral and then go on to El Bolson. Turned out to be a great decision. The view from the summit of the mountain after a ride on a cable car and chair lift, was spectacular! Miles of lakes and mountains reaching to the distance. And then one more gravel road around Lake Guiterrez. This was the most challenging my Swiss Chauffer had faced with this car. Really should have been a 4X4 drive...deep gullies, big rocks and lots of holes. But a wonderful reward of a view.
El Bolson at about 130 kms from Bariloche was a terrific little hippy town. It is a nuclear free zone ( not sure if that made a difference to us) and grows a lot of organic vegetables and has lots of artist coops. The drive down on the fully paved hwy was wonderful...certainly worth the effort. And gas is much cheaper down there...this is the northernmost town where the Argentinian Patagonian gas subsidy is in effect.
So here it is Thursday morning and we await our next bus ride...off to Firmat once again with gifts of chocolate in hand. Hope the bus isn´t too hot for the 20 hr journey. We do have the 2 seats up front again.
Haste luego
Sue
Monday, November 17, 2008
On to Bariloche
We left Mendoza on a warm lovely Saturday night at 8 pm. The squares were filled with people...lovers, soccer players, break dancers, families and adolescents cruising with glazed eyes dressed up in newest fashion clothes with their radars out for the opposite sex. The bus that was to take us to Barriloche would take 17 and 1/2 hrs...in semi cama class. We had wanted Cama..that´s the one with the lazy boy chairs...semi cama is more like a greyhound with a little more leg room. Also we could only get one seat in the front and one in the second row. This was to be to Jorge´s (Jurg´s new Spànish alter ego) advantage. The seat beside him was occupied by lovely Julieta, a young, single veterinarian who was eager to help him advance his knowledge of Spanish. So the fact that there was no where to put his size 12 feet, seemed to fade in importance. He struggled in Spanish to explain that if he were 40 years younger, and his wife wasn´t in the seat behind him, then he would make a pass. It must have sort of impressed her, as she gave us (make that me) her phone number to call if we ran into any trouble.
Beside me was another interesting young woman, a recent graduate from high school in California named May. She had spent a term on exchange with a family in Santa Fe province of Argentina and was now travelling mostly on her own for 6 months throughout South America. How brave! And I thought, how brave of her parents to just say that she would be missed. She was staying in hostels and camping and hoped the adventure would help her decide her college major...either international relations or environmental engineering. So our companions seemed to suit us..a change from being elbow to elbow with each other.
The sun set soon after we started, which was great as most of the ride was through desert areas populated by horses and cattle..and a few small towns. Dinner was served with a choice of Sprite or Sprite, sleep was difficult with the confined quarters. Breakfast was instant coffee and one small aljoras ( not sure how you spell it) an ubiquitous cookie covered in chocolate and filled with dulce de leche. And then finally the scenery started to change late in the morning ..the mountains appeared on the horizon and the most magnificent drive through the foothills began beside an azure blue river lined with light green willows and Argentines with fishing poles, camping equipment and vehiciles in little hollows enjoying the magnificent sunshine. Snow mountains capped the horizon in the distance. So all the beauty was concentrated in the last hour of the trip!
Bariloche sits on Lake Nahuel Huapi and is similar to many ski resorts you see throughout Europe...except more open to the skies and the vistas. The mountains ring the lake but don´t overpower it. There are all sorts of upscale shops with ski equipment, trekking stuff, purses and leather goods...and tons of chocolate shops, the legacy of the Swiss immigrants who came here in the early 1900´s. The hotel we stayed in was called the Tirol and looked similar to those we saw in Switzerland. The telephone exchange at the front desk reminded me of the one we had at residence in university in the 60´s! But we had a wonderful view over the lake and across to snowcapped mountains. We had a great dinner at a restaurant called Familia Weiss.
We have rented a car for 3 days...discovered that the best deals are not with the big names but with the plethora of little companies such as A1 rentals, Da car, or the one we picked Uglu rentals. At least 50% less than Thrifty or Avis. We hope it is not 50% less car....we pick it up in an hour. We will head for San Martin de los Andes via the 7 lake route and we hope we have some magnificent vistas.
We have already booked our bus back to Firmat...cama class...we were not willing to count on interesting companions that could divert us for the over 20 hours it will take. I think the class names come from the level of sleeping that is possible...coma vs semi coma...and after 3 days here a coma will be nice. We leave on Thursday at 1 to return to Firmat and our friends there.
Beside me was another interesting young woman, a recent graduate from high school in California named May. She had spent a term on exchange with a family in Santa Fe province of Argentina and was now travelling mostly on her own for 6 months throughout South America. How brave! And I thought, how brave of her parents to just say that she would be missed. She was staying in hostels and camping and hoped the adventure would help her decide her college major...either international relations or environmental engineering. So our companions seemed to suit us..a change from being elbow to elbow with each other.
The sun set soon after we started, which was great as most of the ride was through desert areas populated by horses and cattle..and a few small towns. Dinner was served with a choice of Sprite or Sprite, sleep was difficult with the confined quarters. Breakfast was instant coffee and one small aljoras ( not sure how you spell it) an ubiquitous cookie covered in chocolate and filled with dulce de leche. And then finally the scenery started to change late in the morning ..the mountains appeared on the horizon and the most magnificent drive through the foothills began beside an azure blue river lined with light green willows and Argentines with fishing poles, camping equipment and vehiciles in little hollows enjoying the magnificent sunshine. Snow mountains capped the horizon in the distance. So all the beauty was concentrated in the last hour of the trip!
Bariloche sits on Lake Nahuel Huapi and is similar to many ski resorts you see throughout Europe...except more open to the skies and the vistas. The mountains ring the lake but don´t overpower it. There are all sorts of upscale shops with ski equipment, trekking stuff, purses and leather goods...and tons of chocolate shops, the legacy of the Swiss immigrants who came here in the early 1900´s. The hotel we stayed in was called the Tirol and looked similar to those we saw in Switzerland. The telephone exchange at the front desk reminded me of the one we had at residence in university in the 60´s! But we had a wonderful view over the lake and across to snowcapped mountains. We had a great dinner at a restaurant called Familia Weiss.
We have rented a car for 3 days...discovered that the best deals are not with the big names but with the plethora of little companies such as A1 rentals, Da car, or the one we picked Uglu rentals. At least 50% less than Thrifty or Avis. We hope it is not 50% less car....we pick it up in an hour. We will head for San Martin de los Andes via the 7 lake route and we hope we have some magnificent vistas.
We have already booked our bus back to Firmat...cama class...we were not willing to count on interesting companions that could divert us for the over 20 hours it will take. I think the class names come from the level of sleeping that is possible...coma vs semi coma...and after 3 days here a coma will be nice. We leave on Thursday at 1 to return to Firmat and our friends there.
Friday, November 14, 2008
A romantic wine tour
or at least that was what I had in mind when we decided that we would really be like locals, take the public bus to the area where there were lots of wineries and rent bikes to ride around, tasting wines and wobbling back to catch the bus home. The bus ride went well...most Argentines travel by bus as gas is too expensive to own a car. We saw lots of the city and surrounding urban areas. The tourist info place had assured us we didnt need to reserve bikes..there would be lots. So arriving in Maipu, we went to the recommended bike place "wineandbikes"and were told there werent any bikes left. But, the little guy hanging around the bus stop had some bikes for us from his place. Coco bikes it had to be... they showed us the brakes worked, the tires were good and the seats were adjusted. Even a number to call if you had problems. But, no helmets, no baskets and only 1 bottle of water to share for two.
When I first rode off, I realized that the 12 kilometre planned trip would work very well it I didnt have to stop..the guy demonstrating the brakes must have been able to squeeze about 10 pounds in each hand. Luckily, the land is flat and braking and gear changing are seen as added extras.
We had planned a visit to the museum, then tasting, a visit to the choclate place, then tasting, a trip to the olive grove, then tasting and then lunch at Familia Tomassos place with tasting. We made the museum and the first tasting (which was about 400 metres from the bike rental) and then started off down the major road. It had a nice bike path beside it...which in typical Argentine fashion doubled as parking in spots, and then gradually the path petered out as we got further along and more committed to our journey. Then there was the part they were paving, and then there were the huge trucks and busses that pass you with a foot to spare...and then there was the heat..probably 30 degrees or so. A few of these things we hadnt figured on. The bottle of water was long gone when we decided to forget the chocolate place, cross off the olive oil, and just head for lunch. My bottom was remembering my nice soft seat on my bike at home, my hands were appreciating how squishy the rubber grips were on my bike at home, and my wrists and elbows were complaining that my higher handle bars at home were much better.
By the time we got to the lunch place, Jurg was so hot he wasnt hungry and another glass of wine didnt seem inviting. Luckily, I could still manage a glass of Malbec with a salad as he endured ice cream with fruit. And luckier still, these great clouds came that covered up the hot sun.
We rode back to Coco bikes in record time, hopped on the bus and got back to our hotel by 6 pm. before a slight spattering of rain arrived. On the bus ride home we came up to the Mendoza terminal along Jorge Obrien Street...we guess he must be a relative of the great Chilean hero, Bernardo Ohiggins. Lets drink to those Irish!
Maybe, sometimes, the tourist bus wine tours could be a good idea.
When I first rode off, I realized that the 12 kilometre planned trip would work very well it I didnt have to stop..the guy demonstrating the brakes must have been able to squeeze about 10 pounds in each hand. Luckily, the land is flat and braking and gear changing are seen as added extras.
We had planned a visit to the museum, then tasting, a visit to the choclate place, then tasting, a trip to the olive grove, then tasting and then lunch at Familia Tomassos place with tasting. We made the museum and the first tasting (which was about 400 metres from the bike rental) and then started off down the major road. It had a nice bike path beside it...which in typical Argentine fashion doubled as parking in spots, and then gradually the path petered out as we got further along and more committed to our journey. Then there was the part they were paving, and then there were the huge trucks and busses that pass you with a foot to spare...and then there was the heat..probably 30 degrees or so. A few of these things we hadnt figured on. The bottle of water was long gone when we decided to forget the chocolate place, cross off the olive oil, and just head for lunch. My bottom was remembering my nice soft seat on my bike at home, my hands were appreciating how squishy the rubber grips were on my bike at home, and my wrists and elbows were complaining that my higher handle bars at home were much better.
By the time we got to the lunch place, Jurg was so hot he wasnt hungry and another glass of wine didnt seem inviting. Luckily, I could still manage a glass of Malbec with a salad as he endured ice cream with fruit. And luckier still, these great clouds came that covered up the hot sun.
We rode back to Coco bikes in record time, hopped on the bus and got back to our hotel by 6 pm. before a slight spattering of rain arrived. On the bus ride home we came up to the Mendoza terminal along Jorge Obrien Street...we guess he must be a relative of the great Chilean hero, Bernardo Ohiggins. Lets drink to those Irish!
Maybe, sometimes, the tourist bus wine tours could be a good idea.
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