Day 15 - Return to Buenos Aires (2/24/13)

Today is a day with mixed feelings.  We are tired and are ready to decompress in Buenos Aires and yet it is sad that this great experience is coming to an end.

We leave early this morning and fly from El Califate to Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego -- the southermost city before Antarctica.  The mountains from the air are spectacular.

Now we go from pristine natural wonders to the hustling and bustling of Buenos Aires -- what a shock to the senses.

Sharon and Arno were waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel.  We went to their room and shared a bottle of wine.

We then had our farewell dinner with the group.  Everyone but us and two others are going on the post trip to Iguasu Falls, Brazil.  It sounds like a great addition to the adventure -- they will be staying in an eco-lodge in the rainforest.  Santi had wine waiting for us in the lobby.  He gave a nice little speech about the things he enjoyed on the trip and we all shared some of our most memorable moments.  He had been taking photos all along the trip and he showed us a 15-minute slide show that he created.  It was so nice and very touching that he was taking the time to capture these moments for us.  He is going to email us all the slideshow.  He also made up a few fact sheets listing all the birds we saw, the foods we ate, the "learnings and discoveries" we experienced, the controversial topics we discussed and gave us a list of movies that we can watch that pertain to Argentina, Chile and Patagonia.

We had a nice steak dinner and sat with Dennis (from CA) and Joanna (from WA).  It was a very sad goodbye in the lobby as we bid farewell to some folks that we have become very close to and hope to stay in touch with.

Sharon and Arno have found some interesting things for us to do here in Buenos Aires.  We are all looking forward to some laid-back time in the San Telmo district.  We'll keep you posted.

Day 14 - El Calafate (2/23/13)

Today we go to see the Glacier Perito Moreno. The glacier was named after the discoverer Francisco Moreno (perito is an honorary term for "expert"). Unfortunately our luck has run out on good weather and we have to layer our clothing and get the rain gear out. Rainy weather in El Calafate is unusual as they get only 8-10 inches per year. I think they are getting most of it today. The mountains are covered in clouds and it will be a slippery walk to the glacier.

What a gorgeous sight. I only wish the photographs would convey the breathtaking beauty and size of this glacier. We are only a few minutes into our walk and we hear a loud CRACK. We are assured we will hear this sound throughout our stay in the park. There are metal walkways all the way down to the glacier. You can take many routes to see it from different angles. The glacier itself it 20+ stories high and covers more than 20 miles in area. We hear the cracks of the glacier calving and do manage to catch sight of some of the ice falling. This is one of the few glaciers that is stable. It recedes in summer, but is gaining the same amount of snow and ice during winter. This was truly one of nature's most awesome wonders.

Back to the hotel to take a hot shower, put our clothes up to dry and take a short siesta.

We met Santi for a talk on the Argentinian drink -- Mate. This is what I love about this trip. If you express an interest in something, Santi will do his best to educate you to the fullest of his ability. He is doing this on his free time. We had seen him drinking his mate and asked about making it. He gave us an hour-long lecture (which was really more like story-telling). Mate is not just a drink like having a cup of tea or coffee. It is a ritual. There is mate etiquette. It has a history. Again, like a lot of things in Argentina and Chile, it is almost a living thing. Mate refers to the herb, and also the cup you drink from, and also the act of drinking and sharing it. It is not a solitary experience. You don't ususally get up and make a cup of mate for yourself. It is to be shared with your friends and companions. It is not something you do in a hurry. One person is the servidor. He/she makes the mate and gives it to each person. You drink from the same cup and sipping straw. This was a great education and gave me a good insight into the "sense of mate."

Ron, Renate, Jim and I decided to walk toward the bay to the bird sanctuary, but it was raining so much that we gave up and went to visit some of the shops. Renate bought herself a nice mate cup. I think we will have to do the same thing. And, then you can come over for a mate experience with us.

We met Christy and Beth for dinner at a local restaurant, Pura Vida. We had a great dinner (all casserole type dishes) and really good wine.

Back to pack for our final flight. Fell sound asleep and did not hear the fireworks at 2:00 a.m. Evidently, they sounded like cannons.

Day 13 - Torres del Paine and El Califate (2/22/13)

Last day in Torres del Paine. We did a scenic drive around quite a few of the lakes. It is interesting that each lake's water is a different color. We were so fortunate yesterday to have a clear and sunny day, because today it is very overcast and the cloud cover is low. The mountains are only half visible and it looks like a window shade has been pulled down. Yerko talked about the forest fire that occurred in 2009. Most of the beech trees were destroyed. It is a shame, to lose these trees, but it also gives the area a very distinct look with the burned out tree trunks. The fire was started by careless campers. There is no evidence of a fire ever starting with lightening here. The camper who started the fire, even though it was an accident, was fined and had to lead a campaign back in his home to raise funds to buy and replace a huge number of trees (I think it was 50,000). We saw some areas that have been reforested, but it will take over a hundred years for them to get to full growth. Because of this accident, campers are no longer permitted to camp anywhere but in park-sanctioned campgrounds. They must be in the campground by 6:30 p.m. The park is patrolled by helicopter and if a camper is found out of the camping area, they are arrested and expelled from the park. They take this very seriously.

There is a very exclusive hotel in the park and it is another controversy. The hotel is on an island in the middle of a lake. The minimum stay is 4 nights; the cost is $4,000 for those four nights. If you want to stay longer, you must commit to another 4 nights. The controversy is that there is a beautiful waterfall on this property, which used to be open to the public, but when they built the hotel, the waterfall rights belong to the hotel and no one other than guests can visit it.

Chile and Argentina share the border at this point in Patagonia. Park rangers not only act as rangers for the park, but also as border patrol.

The roads throughout the park are gravel and not quite 2-lane. Our bus must stop if a car is coming from the opposite direction. The winds are so strong here that a few months ago, two tour busses overturned.

We finally have seen our first guanaco. There was one lonely guanaco on a hill. Yerko told us that this was a dominant male, looking after his territory. A dominant male will have a harem of 20-25 females. Young males are kicked out of the group at around 2 years of age. There are about 8,000 guanaco in the park. They let us get fairly close to photograph.

Next we spotted some Andean Condor. They need wind to fly because they are so big; which is why you usually find them in mountainous areas over a river, to catch the wind currents. They look like airplanes flying! We were lucky to see quite a few on ridges and did see a couple of them flying. Hard to get a close photograph though.

We stopped to see another beautiful waterfall called Cascade Paine.

Then we pulled over at a gorgeous lake with a perfect reflection of the mountain behind. The lake was absolutely still and the sight was breathtaking. We were told that this can be seen only 20-25 days out of the year. We have been so fortunate to be able to see this.



We spotted two gray fox hunting in the brush. One of them saw something good to eat and took off -- they are really fast.

We came across an overturned truck on the side of the road. We stopped and Yerko got out to check to see if anyone was in the truck. These roads are so desolate and untraveled, that you cannot assume someone else has taken care of a rescue. Thankfully, the truck was empty. It was a very sobering sight.
The terrain is so different here from Torres del Paine -- there are rolling hills here and the terrain looks like the velvet on a deer's antlers.

Now we have reached the Chile/Argentina border and must leave Yerko and Roberto behind. We have lunch in one building and then walk to the customs office, which is next door. Climb back on the bus and travel in no-man's land again for a few miles and see our next bus waiting for us in an open field.
We meet Alisa and Juan, our El Calafate guide and driver.

Now for a five-hour ride to El Calafate. This is probably the most desolate land we have traveled yet. We stop for a banos break and a coffee at another oasis. It is two hours away -- and then it will be another two hours before we come to civilization again. Only 0.5% of Argentinans live in Patagonia. There are 23 provinces (states) in Argentina. El Califate is a city in the Province of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is the 2nd largest and only has 230,000 inhabitants. There is 3 sq. miles per person.

The ranches here support cattle and sheep. The smallest ranch is 25,000 acres; average ranch is 40-50,000 acres. Gauchos still move cattle and sheep from field to field and mend fences, etc. The sheep form circles in winter, but unlike penguins, those on the outside do not rotate to the middle, so the gauchos have to move them or they will freeze. The life of a gaucho is not easy.

We stop at a roadside shrine. It is covered in red flags and the shrine is painted red. It is a shrine to Gaucho Antonio Gil. This is a rather long story and so you will have to come to our house to hear the story over a Pisco Sour.

This week is a festival week in El Califate. How fortunate for us that we have hit many festivals in Chile and Argentina. This is the "Week of the Lake." Because of the festival our hotel has been sold out and we are being upgraded to another hotel. We are met with a glass of wine and small bouquets of fresh flowers.
There are music concerts in the evening, food and handicraft booths. Santi offered to accompany those who were interested to go to the festival. He helped us to order the local treat called a lomito. It is a steak sandwich, grilled on an open fire and then covered with onions. We then headed to the gelato shop for some califate gelato. They say if you eat califate (which is a berry from the califate bush), you will return to El Califate some day.

The concert started in earnest at about 11:00 p.m. Not much sleep tonight.

Day 12 - Torres del Paine National Park (2/21/13)

Another perfect day!

Early breakfast and meeting at 7:30 a.m. to embark on our boat trip to the glacier. It is about a one-mile walk to the dock and it is very cold this morning. I have five layers of clothing on, gloves and earmuffs. Jim is even bundled up, so it must be cold. We are fitted up with life vests and tendered to the boat. It was like a Chinese fire-drill getting about 75 people fitted up for vests and loaded. Jim was so hurried that he zipped one side of his jacket to one side of his windbreaker and then buttoned his shirt to his Henley and then couldn’t get undressed when we got back. He actually had to break his zipper to get his clothes off. As soon as the captain gave the OK we were up on the top deck to get the best views of the icebergs we were passing on the way to the glacier. The icebergs were as blue as blue could be. And we found out why. Come on over for a drink and we’ll tell you the answer.

You could feel the temperature dropping the closer we got to the glacier. It is hard to describe the immense size of the glacier and the icebergs. Our photos will never do them justice and I can only say it was an unforgettable experience being among these living pieces of ice. Our journey to this wonderful experience was 3 hours. One hour to get to the glacier, one hour sailing in and around them, and an hour to return. AND, at about 9:00 a.m. we were served Pisco Sours with glacier ice in them. Our guides told us when we returned that our weather today was most unusual. They almost never get to approach so closely to the glacier and the water is never as calm as it was today. We think the gods are looking after us.

Now we are off to see more of this wonderful national park. While we drive to see the glacial lakes and mountains, Yerko gives us more information about flora, fauna and geological history. We stop for a picnic lunch on the rocky beach of Lake Pehoe with the mountain in front of us. The finest restaurant in the world would not have this view!

On to a hike to see a waterfall, Salto Grande, and more of the scenes of the mountains of Torres del Paine. It was quite a long walk and it was also quite warm. We are seeing a lot of beautiful wildflowers and rock garden plants. And, to top it off, an avalanche occurred on the mountain in the distance while we were walking – we heard the roar and some saw the remnants of the snow cloud. Unfortunately, by the time you hear the sound, the avalanche is pretty much over. We heard the thunder of at least three avalanches.

More scenic driving on the way back to the hotel. Two condors were spotted flying above us. Our driver pulled over so we could watch. These birds are so huge – they have a ten-foot wingspan. We were hoping we would be lucky enough to see these beautiful creatures.

Back to the hotel at 5:30 p.m.; a shower; change clothes and to the bar for more Pisco Sours and dinner. What a great group of people we have as travel companions. Everyone is really so enjoyable and friendly – I believe we may have made some long-time friends here.

Day 11 - Torres del Paine National Park (2/20/13)

We have reached one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Thank goodness I woke up and felt 90% better – Jim, unfortunately, has his cold full force. We board the bus and Jim sleeps a bit. Hopefully, he’ll feel better when we arrive at the Park as this is the part we’ve all been waiting for. We have a six-hour bus ride to get to our destination. The road we are taking is not very heavily traveled. We make one stop at a coffee shop which appears like an oasis. It is $3,000 pesos to use the bathroom , but it’s free if you buy a cup of coffee or cocoa.

The entire trip from Punta Arenas to the Park was all scrub-grass, dry plains with mountains in the background. Very desolate. Every so often you would see a ranch house, but it is a very remote area. You can fly to this area, but if you took the ferry, it would take 3 ½ days to get here.

Saw sheep and cattle ranches – the land is so dry and barren of a good food source, that you can only have one sheep per 2.5 acres.

We saw a family of rheas, the papa and 13 chicks. The rhea is an ostrich-like bird. The father raises the chicks after they hatch, while the mother goes off to mate with another male.

Argentina can be seen in the distance to the right; it is only 2 miles away at this southern point. Chile and Argentina have had their differences, but because of close proximity of the two countries in the south, there is a lot of crossing over the borders and relations are better here.

We stopped at a shrine that was very interesting. Senora Correa was on a mission to help someone in the area; she became lost, did not have enough water with her. She had a baby with her. She was lost for so long that she died of dehydration. Gauchos came along and found her dead body, but the child had nursed from her and was still alive. The gauchos still honor this miracle by leaving bottles of water at her shrine.  They appear all over Argentina.

We also "trespassed" on some fenced off land. We crawled over wire fence to get to some concrete bunkers used during one of the wars. We saw wild flamingos at a pond over the hill from the bunkers. The flamingos have no shrimp to feed on here, but keep their beautiful color by eating a red algae.
All along we can see the Andes Mountains off to the left. And, then we see the Torres del Paine (meaning Towers of Blue.) These are not part of the Andes; they are a separate mountain range – the Andes are 45 million years old and these are only 12 million years old. And, oh my, are they beautiful!!!! Every turn of the road gives you a breathtaking sight.

We get to the hotel in the middle of the park, drop our bags, and head out for a three-mile hike. We go to Lago Grey (Lake Grey) where you can see the glacier in the background, the lake and iceflows that have broken from the glacier. They are a beautiful blue color. What an awesome sight this all is.





Back to the hotel for Pisco Sours and dinner.

We came out after dinner to a beautiful Southern sky and we were trying to pick out constellations and Santiago helped us identify them.

BED…..we are very tired again……and up and out the door by 7:30 tomorrow.

Day 10 - Punta Arenas (2/19/13)

Today we fly to Punta Arenas which is a port town on the southwestern end of the continent. The city was named by early sailors and it means Sandy Point. Here we stood looking at the Strait of Magellan which is at the foot of the Chilean Andes. We met Yerko (pronounced Jerko) who will be our local guide throughout southern Patagonia. First stop was a replica of the ship that Magellan sailed. We are in the Province of Magellan and the people from this province are very proud – they are the only province with their own flag. We carried it everywhere and had our photos taken with it at each stop. It was interesting to see how sailors of old suffered at sea for up to three years. These vessels are not as big as you think. The guide at the museum was very knowledgeable about the history of Magellan and the discovery voyages.

 

The wind here is UNBELIEVABLE. It does get to hurricane force winds. No sense in worrying about fixing your hair – it’s going to be a bad hair day no matter what you do. The winds get so strong that in the town they have ropes tied to stanchions along the sidewalks to grab onto if you get swept off balance. We did a walking tour of the town and Yerko explained the unusual home construction. Most of the homes are made of rectangular sheets of metal. The people here drink a lot of tea and in earlier times, the tea was shipped in metal boxes. They used the sides of these tea boxes to "side" their houses and then painted over them.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the town square. Judy did not feel well (those darned fish raviolis) – called room service and went to bed. Jim went with the group and had a seafood dinner. I heard later from one of the fellows that Jim had a great time and went right along with the belly-dancer.

I slept about 10 hours. Jim didn’t get back from dinner until 11:00 (which is pretty standard here). And, he returned with a cold. Not good for the day ahead of us.
　

Day 9 - Chiloe Island (2/18/13)

We met Carolina, our local guide, today.  She and her husband, Gustavo, and her two sons Alonso and Alvares joined us.  They are all Mapuche.  Carolina has made sure her boys know of their indigenous background and wants them to be proud of it.  They are a very nice family.

We started our day with a walk through the city of Ancud, where we are staying.  Carolina explained about the mythological characters that are specific to the Island of Chiloe and the importance they play in everything that happens here.  The people are serious about these myths and become insulted if you laugh about them.  For instance, she told of how if Picoya, the goddess of the ocean and shore is facing toward the sea, it will be a good day for fishing; if she is facing land – stay home.

We met our bus and started out for Castro, the capitol city of Chiloe.

One of the local guides found a boat builder in the area and we went to visit Don Ambrosia, who was working on his boat as we arrived.  It is unbelievable what our guides expose us to.  Fernando is backing our tour bus down a one-lane dirt road in a residential section and we stop in front of Don Ambrosia’s garage and all get out and have about a 20-minute visit.  You cannot believe the beautiful wooden boats that this man creates with minimal tools. 

We find a gas station to make a “technical stop” – that would be the bathroom. 

Arrived at Castro, which is in the middle of the island.  The houses in some parts of Castro are built on stilts because of the tides.  We get out to take photos and all of a sudden Santi is calling to us to come.  He was talking with a woman who was walking down the street and he explained to her that we were an American tour group who was interested in learning and discovery.  She invited all of us into her house on stilts so that we could see the view from her back porch.  Can you even imagine seeing a tour bus and inviting 16 strangers into your home?  What wonderful, warm people.

Carolina and Santi decided we needed to experience the local bus once again.  By the time we had arrived at our destination, the local people were showing us the oysters and mussels they had purchased at the market and we were old friends by the time we got off the bus.

We visited another of the wooden churches that are UNESCO heritage sites.  Carolina explained that all of the churches are made of wood, as that was the only building product.  The builders were not architects, but native people who built the churches based on their knowledge of home and boat building – hence, the curved wooden naves.  The woodwork was as beautiful as any marble or gilt churches could be.

Next we visit with Berta Newen, a Mapuche medicine woman.  There is an aura about Berta.  She speaks Spanish and Mapuche and everything was done through our guides as interpreters.  Berta explained about the native medicines, which she said are mainly used as preventative medicine.  We all sat in her house around a fire pit and she then asked us to stand as she was going to perform a blessing ceremony – wishing us a safe and happy journey, a healthy life, that we find our families all well when we return home – all the while throwing herbs on the fire.

Now, we are faced with a mission.  Santi and Carolina have developed a scavenger hunt so that we can all practice our Spanish.  We are each given $2.00 to go to the market.  We are given a slip of paper with some words written on it and they tell us how to pronounce it (once).  We do not know what this item is, but we are to go into the market and buy it for the $2.00, or less if we can.  It will be part of our dinner this evening.  We do this in pairs.  The word for Jim and I was AJO CHILOTE.  We are not permitted to show any of the vendors our slips of paper –we must ask them for the item and bargain, get the right amount of money and change.  This market had yarn, hand crafted items, fish, mussels, vegetables, honey, etc.  Jim and I lucked out.  The first booth we stopped at had our item and evidently we pronounced it correctly enough for her to understand.  Of course, she wanted to sell us way too much and we were somehow able to get her to give us $2.00 worth.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Santi watching us to make sure we were not cheating.  Our item was garlic.  This was great fun.  The other items that people had to buy were chili powder, dried kelp, seaweed, dried oysters and a liquor.

On to Maria and Harvey (Harry maybe-- hard to understand).  This is a couple who home-host dinners for OAT.  We watch (and help) them prepare our dinner.  There is a smoke house adjacent to their home with a fire pit.  The coals have been burning since before we arrived.  When we get there, they throw a couple of hundred mussels in the shells onto the coals,  then potatoes, chorizo sausage, chicken, pork, a potato dumpling and all is covered with leaves and ferns, then tarps and slabs of sod to insulate.  This all cooks for about an hour while we go into the house and Maria and one of our group makes potato cakes to be fried.  We are served a Pisco Sour and eat the potato cakes with honey.  Then dinner is served.  What a feast!  All that delicious smoked food (wine of course), a caramel flan and the liquor that was purchased at the market.  We finished with dancing on the lawn to some Chilean music. 

A little aside for the book nuts – Maria just happens to be very good friends with the author Isabel Allende who visits her house often!

It’s going to be an early night tonight………

Having some internet problems and cannot download photos.  I'll add them later.

Day 8 - Chiloe Island (2/17/13)

We left Puerto Varas in the sunshine, which was not predicted.  Off to Chiloe Island.  We drove around Lake Llanquihue to the north and then west to board a ferry.  There is no bridge to the island.  After a 20-minute ferry ride, we arrived at Chiloe and went back in time.  Life here is a contradiction – it is a very simple life and yet, by our standards, it can appear to be a very hard life.  Using a credit card is pretty unheard of and yet we do have a television in our hotel room and there is Wi-fi (although I’ve not been able to get it to work yet). 

Chiloe is a Mapuche word meaning “land of the seagulls.”  The island is part of an archipelago located west of the coast of Chile between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains.  It’s main industry is seaweed and they are still making wooden boats here.  We are supposed to see how these wooden fishing boats are constructed tomorrow.

Santi is still acting as our local guide.  However, they did find a local guide who is flying in today to join us tomorrow.  I am so impressed with this tour company.  Since we lost our original local guide to a family emergency and there was no one available, they asked Carolina to pinch-hit.  She has just returned home after 21 days and has not seen her husband and two children for a while.  The tour company, in order to accommodate our group, flew her and her entire family here so that she can be with us tomorrow.  They will all travel with us tomorrow.  How nice to see this kind of consideration and respect between a corporation and their employees.

So, Santi is still telling us fibs with his sunglasses on – but not often.  He fills us in on the political and economic history of Chile and Chiloe.  The average salary here is the equivalent of $400US/month.  This does not seem like much, but the Chiloeans are fairly self-sufficient and utilize the barter system to a great degree.  The one area that the low income affects is higher education as university tuition is approximately $1,000 US a month.

We ride through beautiful landscapes of the glacial moraine.  We see lots of cattle and sheep farms and the island is pretty sparsely populated. 

Santi finds out that this is the time of festivals on the island.  By festival, I think it is what we know as a type of county fair.  He is going to try to find out how we can get to visit one.

We head to the coast to have lunch.  Our appetizer is an abalone empanata, followed by grilled hake (a white fish) and salad; and once again, good conversation with our fellow travelers.

After lunch we get life preservers on and are taken to a boat.  We are about to enter the “national geographic moment” of the day.  We’re off to see the Humboldt and Magelland penguins in their natural habitat!  What a thrill it was to see hundreds of penguins just hanging out on these huge rock outcroppings in the ocean.  Our captain maneuvered the boat so all could see and photograph this natural wonder.   We are really hoping our photos come out as these guys really blend into the rock.  We also saw so many different birds – flightless ducks, flying ducks, red-legged cormorants and about four other type of cormorants.  Then to top it off a few sea otters appeared.  The penguins are a sure thing, but seeing an otter is not.  Truly a thrill to be able to see all of this so closely.

We left the world of nature to then go find the festival.  And, find it we did; or rather, Santi and

Fernando did.  The festival was in a rural area.  The first thing we did was see a gaucho rodeo.  There were about 20 gauchos on horseback, demonstrating in teams of how they herd cows.  This was done in a ring with only one cow, but you got the idea.  It was a a bit hard to see the cow being under stress while being herded, but they did have the ring padded and I think tried to be humane. 

We then went to the “fair” part and what fun that was.   Came upon some men roasting something with long poles (about 8 feet long) over a fire pit.  They make a potato mash with lard and cover the pole; turning it until it is cooked and browned.  The potato is cut off in sections, laid flat, spread with cooked pork, rolled and cut into smaller portions.  None of us tried it – looked too much like a heart attack waiting to happen.  The gentlemen cooking this dish talked some of our group into turning the poles – they really seemed to get a kick out of getting us involved.  Even to the point of sharing their drinks with some of the men!

There is a popular apple cider drink that they prepared here.  A bag is filled with apples.  The bag is put on a wooden trough with another wood plank on top.   Two people turn wooden screws on either end to press the apples and the juice runs down the trough into a container.  This juice is then put into empty wine bottles.  It is then fermented for about 10 days.  Yes, we did drink it.  We’ll know tomorrow if this was a good idea.

There was a livestock show, crafts, homemade honey and food vendors.  Probably the funniest thing to watch was us being watched.  As Santi said “you were the only gringos there.”   As we were watching the cider demo, I saw everyone around us staring and pointing and getting a big kick out of us.

On to our next hotel of the trip.  It is an all-log building and appears to be fairly old.  Not fancy by any means, but adequate.  No internet again though, so this will be posted – whenever.

Had pisco sours out on the deck while watching the sun come down.  Dinner was salmon and of course, wine.  Great conversation with our fellow travelers.  It is amazing how easy it is to talk with this group of people.   Everyone is so interesting and the conversation comes so easily. 

Day 7 - Puerto Varas (2/16/13)

The adventure just keeps getting better!  Woke up to the most beautiful scene of Lake Llanquihue outside our bedroom window.  Santi met nine of us to take the local bus (he promised no chickens aboard) to Puerto Montt, another port town about 15 miles away.  Bus fare was $800 pesos (about $1.50 US).  Along the way, a man got on with his guitar.  He played some songs for us; got up and explained that he lost his job and this is how he is able to support his family; so he makes a few dollars from the passengers and we are entertained. It takes us about a half-hour to get to the port.  Puerto Varas,  where we are staying, is mostly a tourist town in what is known as the lake district; Puerto Montt is a working port.  We walked through a handicraft market to the fish and fruit/vegetable market.  OH MY.  There were ducks, geese, chickens, fish, sea urchins, and things we could not identify.  Santi said he had never eaten sea urchin but would try one if Jim would eat it with him.  They did; we got the photos and they even talked a few brave others into trying it.  Santi also stopped by some man selling cheese out of the back of his car – he bought some and cut it up for all of us to try – it was great.  This is the kind of experience we were hoping for in mixing with the authentic Chilean people. 

Took the local bus home again – alone – Santi had an errand to run and put us on the bus with instructions to the driver to get us back to town.   We knew the bus stop was at the corner a block away from the hotel – this driver didn’t stop there – he took us right to the front of our hotel.   Can you imagine getting that kind of service from Port Authority?

I had spied a yarn shop on the way to dinner  last night and decided to see if I could get some local yarn.  The shop was closed, but I walked to where I had heard there was a market.  Found some hand-dyed Chilean wool .  Don’t know what I’ll make, but it will have to be something special.

Got back to the hotel in time to meet the rest of the group and get on our tour bus to head to another national park.  Our local guide had a family emergency, so Santi had to double as the local guide.  This is just a perfect example of how talented and flexible these guides are, to say nothing about their knowledge.  He took over giving us information and made impromptu stops along our way like he has done this forever.  Although he did say that when he was telling us something he was sure about he would do it without his sunglasses– when he was unsure and was probably fibbing, he would put his sunglasses on, so we could not see his eyes.  What a sense of humor.

We are traveling down the road and he suddenly tells our driver to pull off the road.   We head up a hill and he explains that this is a llama farm (llamas are not native to Chile); he wants us to see the llamas.  So, we meet the man who owns this farm, see the llamas and prepare to go on.  Well, the owner of this place has a little white dog named Blanchito.  Seems that Blanchito likes to sightsee – as the last few people were boarding the bus, Blanchito boarded too and did not want to get off.  Our driver had to pick him up and take him back to the owner.  Seems Blanchito has a history of this behavior.  Some people came to visit in an open Jeep.  They left, got a few miles away and realized that Blanchito had stowed away in the back of the Jeep!

On to our next destination, Vicente Perez Rosales Nacional Parc.  We walked through a rainforest to the Petrohue waterfall that was created by the nearby Osorno Volcano.  The park was crowded with local Chilean people on their summer holiday.  We left at 5:00 p.m. and the line to get into the park was very long.  Things get started here in Chile very late in the day.  Our parks are closing at this time!

On to our next home-hosted dinner.  We traveled down a very bumpy dirt road directly from the rainforest.  This road had recently been washed out by rains and repaired (kind of).  We traveled about 4-5 miles on this road, which seemed to be going nowhere and find ourselves ending at the most beautiful view of the Osorno Volcano and the most gorgeous bay.  We met Alex, our host, who took us in his boat to his home.  We were met by his dog and walked up to his house on the hill.  We met his wife, Rosita who had prepared a wonderful meal for us.  Grilled salmon trout with a kelp salsa, rice, potato, spinach casserole and salad, and of course, many pitchers of wine.  After our dinner, Santi introduced Alex and Rosita to tell their story – it was all done through interpretation as they spoke no English.   Alex was from a family of fishermen who came to own this property in 1909.   The property was on part of what was to become the national park.  Because they owned it prior to the park’s existence, they were permitted to keep the land.  Alex makes his living fishing and now hosts these dinners every three days for the travel agency.  He told a sweet story about how he met this beautiful girl, Rosita, who worked at the market over on the mainland.  He kept making trips to that market with the excuse that he needed to buy “things.”  He said he really liked Rosita, but had nothing to offer her but a dog, a rooster and a mountain view.  Rosita said she would take the view!  And what a view she has.   They may be poor, but they live in paradise.  They have been married for over twenty years and have happily raised their family here.

Alex took us by boat back to the mainland and off we went back to Puerto Varas.   Once again, Santi, the Good Samaritan, has come to the aid of someone in need.  One of the cooks at Alex and Rosita’s was in need of a ride home, so she came on our bus and we dropped her off close to her home.  Her brother was taken to the hospital and she was very upset.   Giving her a ride on our bus would allow her to get home earlier than usual and she would be able to get to the hospital to see him.

Along the way we saw a beautiful double rainbow.  The most intense colors I have ever seen.  The bus driver, Fernando, thinks absolutely nothing of pulling off the road to let the crazy Americans get out to look and photograph this gorgeous sight.  I think there is hope for us all when we can still find such joy in a rainbow.

We arrive at the hotel by 8:30 p.m.  Jim and I run out to see if we can pick up some of the local honey that Santi told us about because this is the only area where it can be purchased.  Came back to the hotel and some of our group was at the bar, so we joined them all for more stories and another chance to have a Pisco Sour. 

What a great day!

Day 6 - Puerto Varas, Chile (2/15/13)

Adios Argentina!  Embarking on a six-hour bus ride across the Andes into Chile.  This will be the lowest elevation of the mountain range.  Marta, our city guide for the last two days will accompany us into Chile and then leave us to another guide (Mauricio).  She shared many stories of her life as a young girl growing up in Argentina.  She is of Hungarian/Slovak descent, but was born in Bariloche.  We learned about the German Nazi's who came to Argentina for exile and the affect on the people here (including her).  It was a whole history lesson in a few hours.  Crossing the border was interesting.  First went through Argentina's immigration and it was pretty non-eventful.  You are in a no-man's land for a few miles before getting to Chile's immigration check-in.  On this part of the ride, you are eating any nuts, seeds, or fruit before getting to the check-in.  Everyone had to take all carry-ons into the immigration building and leave it all on the floor.  You checked in with the immigration officer while a dog sniffed all the carry-ons.  Our bus driver had to unload all of our luggage while the dogs sniffted that and one woman had to open her luggage to be inspected.

There was a volcano eruption in the Andes in October 2011 and it affected both Chile and Argentina.  We were told that the Argentina airport had over a foot of ash on the runways.  The town of Bariloche was covered in ash and they were afraid to drink the water.  Animals died from the ash, people had lung problems from it and there is still lots of ash visible.  This is the sign entering Chile and all of the light brown soil is actually volcanic ash that is really like cinder-type rocks.  I'm bringing some home -- if it survives.

Had a lunch of salad, chicken and potatoes as we entered Chile. Next to the restaurant was an automobile museum.  It is privately owned and the owner has 49 antique cars/trucks that he has restored.  Most of them are Studebakers.  Jim asked our guide, why Studebakers here in Chile. He told us that Chile does not manufacture any cars.  Studebakers were affordable cars and could be brought into the country with low import taxes, and so became the common car in Chile.

Then on to the town of Puerto Varas.  We are in a lovely little hotel on the water.  Here is the view from our room.

It is raining now and is predicted rain for the rest of the time we are spending here.  Oh well.  Dropped the suitcases in the room, took this quick photo and headed out for a walk around town with Santi.  The architecture here also has a German influence.  Santiago took us to get some Chilean pesos.  The exchange rate here is $500 pesos to $1.  Went to the ATM and got so confused with all the 0's that I ended up with more money than I needed.  I'll sort that out tomorrow.

Met at the bar to experience the Chilean drink called a Pisco Sour.  I think this will be added to the "drink of the day" list. 

Santiago (our guide) is in the blue shirt.

Then off to a local seafood restaurant where we had a wonderful fish which was a type of Chilean sea bass called Congrio, fresh grilled veggies and a German beer.  This money situation is hysterical.  Found a yarn shop and a skein of yarn is $1800 pesos, which is about $3.50.  Jim almost passed out when our dinner bill was $20,200 pesos.

Good night all.

Day 5 - Bariloche (2/14/13)

Happy Valentine's Day.  Started the day with a talk by a Mapuche native indian woman.  She was explaining the situation of the native tribal people being displaced because their land is being sold and they have nowhere to go.  She explained how these tribal people have also had their schools taken away and their children are being forced to attend schools 60 miles away.  She is a teacher and is studying law; she makes silver jewelry; has four children and a husband and makes time for fighting to get lands back for the native people.

After the talk, Christina got us all loaded onto a local bus and we headed into town to explore.  Bariloche is a tourist area, with the lake as the draw in the summer months and ski slopes in the winter.  Definitely a tourist town -- t-shirt shops, chocolates and souvenir shops. 

This afternoon we headed out to a local ranch to do some horseback riding or hiking and be treated to a traditional lamb, sausage and beef barbeque.

What a delightful family we visited.  They live out in the steppe area, which is very dry and flat, but surrounded by mountains.  They have about 350 acres which has been in their family since 1875.  The family Chango (the father), Monica (the mother), Suzanna (the daughter) and Poncho (the son) run the ranch as a tourist destination.  They are under contract with our travel agency and they built a building specifically to host these rides/dinners.  Jim now will add "gaucho" to his list of abilities. 

Nine folks rode horses and five of us did a walk across the land with a guide.  Think I had some bad fish the day before and my stomach was a bit queasy -- didn't think a horseback ride would be a good thing to do.  It was so nice seeing all the horses heading out over the landscape..  It was so quiet out there -- you could hear the birds, but they were so far away you could not see them. 

After the ride and walk, everyone returned to quite a meal.  They have no utilities at the ranch.  They light by solar power.  All of the cooking was done by wood fire.  Suzanna baked rolls and bread sticks in a galvalanized box oven which was balanced over a large drum with a wood fire in it.  Wonderful!  Monica came up with salads that were unbelievable.  The wine flowed very freely (poured out of penguin pitchers, which we were told was an Argentina tradition).  Then came the chorizo sausage, lamb and beef.  And the dessert was unbelievable.  A beautiful flan, with creme de la dulce (a caramel cream) and a spun sugar heart.  Once again a wonderful experience.

Day 4 - Bariloche (Wed. 2/13/13)

Started the day off at 7:00 a..m. by having breakfast with Sharon and Arno and meeting the group they are traveling with.  Gave them a big send off as they travel to Chile.

At 8:30 our group left for our first real view of Bariloche.  We met our city guide, Marta, who will be with us for three days.

First stop was the ski lift to get an overview of the Lake Nahuel Huapui. 

It is summer here and it is COLD and very windy!  Can't even image winter here.  Marta told us that where we took this photo, there is ususally 9 feet of snow in winter.

You are seeing the Argentina side of the Andes Mountains.  Never thought I'd be standing here.

Then on to the Nacional Parque for a lovely walk in the woods.   The guides are so knowledgeable about everything -- geography, history, archeology, geology and botany.  They seem to know it all.  And, how about this -- Marta passed around a mushroom that is a parasite to one of the trees here.  It kills the tree, but then as the tree rots, it provides good soil for more trees to grow.  As there is not a good source of soil here, seems Mother Nature is taking care of it.  Mushrooming in Argentina!!

Much easier walk today -- someone with a pedometer told us it was 4 miles -- but all level.

Then to a family-owned brewery for lunch.  How many people have had beer that was brewed in a former horse stable?  This place was in the middle of a residential neighborhood on a dirt road.  Crazy.

Back to the hotel for a 45-minute break and then on to rafting on the Limay River.  I've never seen such clear river water -- ever.  There is volcanic rock bordering the river sides.  We only drove about 1/2 hour from Bariloche where we were wearing heavy jackets and gloves and now we are in sun and warm weather.  Spectacular views and a very relaxing raft ride.  Again, our guides were very knowledgeable about all aspects of this area.  At the end of the trip we were invited to a community room to share fried bread and mate (a hot herbal drink) and then back to the hotel.

Quick change from hiking boots to shoes and off to dinner.  Santi arranged for us to have dinner at a friend's house.  She was a teacher, went through a bad divorce and decided to reinvent herself and do something she loved.  She opened her house as a restaurant.  She added a small room-addition which will seat maybe 15 people and offers a small menu and limited wines and desserts.  What a great evening we had.  There were only six of us.  We relaxed in her living room while she prepared a wonderful dinner for us -- river salmon with scalloped potatoes, a pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil, eggplant and onion streudel with fresh salad and apple streudel and ice cream for dessert.  It was a wonderful experience.

Now we need some sleep.

Day 3 - Bariloche (Tues. 2/12/13)

Leaving Buenos Aires behind and flying two hours to the western coast of Argentina to a town called Bariloche.  We can see the Andes mountains and Chile in the distance.  All of the buildings are built on the hillsides and slope down to Lake Nahuel Huapi.  There is an almost constant wind the locals call "The Patagonia Breeze."  Breeze is not the term I would use -- hurricane-force winds is more like it.  Bariloche architecture is heavily influenced by Swiss and German immigrants who arrived at the turn of the century.  We hear there is great chocolate here.  We'll let you know tomorrow.

Dropped our bags (literally) in our room, changed into hiking gear and took off for Mt. Otto.  Mt. Otto dominates the nestled town below.  We had quite an initiation for our first hike -- five miles of uphill/downhill climbing, which just about put Jim on crutches.  We hiked from 4:00 until almost 8:00 p.m.

When we got back to the hotel, Sharon and Arno were there at the door to greet us.  We are overlapping for one night here.  They were pooped and were ready to turn in -- and we had not eaten all day and were going to go for dinner.  We agreed to meet for breakfast before they take off for Chile tomorrow.

Went to dinner with 9 of our group to an Italian restaurant.  This place had a remarkable wine cellar which they took us into and gave us a short talk on Argentinian wines.  The folks in our group are very nice.  Very agreeable and compatible -- we were sharing bottles of wine and steaks without giving it a second thought.  Jim has found a fellow Navy-man and boy do they have a lot in common.  They were in the navy at the same time; in similar jobs; marriages are similar and they both keep tropical fish. 

Back to the hotel by 11:00.  Got to get some rest for tomorrow as it is jammed full of activity.

Day 2 - Buenos Aires (Monday, 2/11/13)

Today is a holiday here in BA -- Carnival.  So, no traffic, but also very little is open to the public.  We took a walking tour this a.m. to Recoleta, the cemetary where Evita Peron is buried.  She is still both revered and despised by the people here.  It is interesting to hear our guide's perspective on her and the other political issues here in Argentina.  Santiago is very open about discussing subjects that are controversial and he is giving us a good history of Argentina.  Walked through embassy row and saw where the Israeli embassy was bombed a few years ago in which people did die.  They did not rebuild the embassy, but left a few walls and foundation of the building as a memorial.  Saw the 150 year old fig tree, the cafe where Robert Duvall has coffee, the government building which is pink.  Why pink -- it is adobe and they made a protective paint from limestone and bull's blood.  This is where evidently there is a protest of some kind virtually every day -- the Argentinian's have protesting in their blood.  Visited La Boca, which is the old port area where the immigrants lived.  Tango originated here.  Very colorful area.  Some people then went back to the hotel, and a few of us went with our guide to have Buenos Aires pizza and beer.  Our bus driver had never had BA pizza, so he joined us too (but didn't drink the beer).  It was very thick pizza with LOTS of cheese and onion, no sauce.  Then a few of us adventurous went to the famous Cafe Tortoni for a coffee.  The cafe originated in 1858 and is a grand old dame.  The inside looks just as it did from photos in 1858.  Coffee was wonderful and it felt like we had truly gone back in time.  All the waiters are in tuxedo's and the line outside was about 30-deep.  Worth the wait.  Cab ride back to the hotel was .... interesting.  There were six of us, so we split up into two cabs -- same distance -- one cab was $30 pesos, the other 20.  Hmmmmm.  Still only a difference of about $2.00US.

Santiago gave us a lecture on The Gaucho (cowboys of Argentina) this evening.  Also on the history about the origins of Argentina, the Pampas area, which is the flat grassy areas which encompasses about 1/2 of the country.  Also saw a slide show on the birds we will be seeing in Patagonia.  After the lecture everyone went to a tango show, except Jim and me.  We've already seen a tango show here and besides, after our lesson last night, what could we see that is better than us!! We did ride with the group to see part of the Carnival festivities.  What energy!  Each neighborhood is a group.  They have unique costumes, their own band and perform very exuberant dance routines.  Great to experience.  On our way out, one of the performers was lying in the street --probably a broken ankle.  Santiago immediately took charge and called 911 and helped out -- making his group late for their tango show.  He is really a very kind person.  Last night he also helped a blind man who was at the dance hall.  It was raining so hard and the man needed to get to a bus.  So Santiago asked us if it was OK to ride the man to his apartment.  Very nice man, that Santiago.

So, again Santiago helps Jim and me to get into a taxi, while the rest of the group went to the tango show; he gave the cab driver isntructions on where to take us to a restaurant near our hotel.  We had a wonderful pasta dinner at a restaurant called La Stampa. We had a nice wine (La Linda Malbec -- wine named after you Linda!).  Jim had spaghetti fruitti de mare (all seafood) and I had spaghettu puttanesca (olives, capers); and pannacotta for dessert.  Yum.  We got to the restaurant around 9:00 p.m. and there were a few people here, but when we left at 11:00 it was packed. 

A nice walk back to the hotel and bed (with a full stomach)!

I'm going into a lot of detail here so that I have all these notes for when we get back and I try to do the photos.  I'm also sure that as the trip goes on, I'll run out of steam.

Day 1 - Buenos Aires (Sunday 2/10/13)

Arrived safely at 6:45 a.m. (4:45 a.m. Pittsburgh time).  Good flight, decent food and fairly comfortable seats.  We were glancing around the plane and picking out the folks that we thought would be on our trip, figuring the Americans would be with the OAT group.  Two people on our flight had luggage issues (one damaged suitcase and one lost).  Some of the group went out to walk and get their bearings here, but Jim and I opted for a nap.  Since we have seen what they are walking to, we decided to rest and save our strength for our tango lesson tonight.

And, tango, we did.  We both had a good time learning the basics of tango.  Went to an old dance hall, called a milonga (The Ideal) which dates to 1915.  Zoraida and Deigo were our instructors.  They made it fun and unstressful.  They had refreshments for us, gave us the history of the dance hall and of tango and then walked us through basic tango.  We each got to dance with the instructor, which was surprisingly fun.  We went upstairs to the real dance hall and watched the locals dancing.

Got a real downpour of rain here and it flooded the first floor where we had just been dancing -- about two to three inches of water.  The streets were also quite high with water.  Santiago asked if we would mind giving one of the patrons of The Ideal a ride home.  His name is Charlie and he is blind.  He is a regular tango dancer at The Ideal.  Charlie would have had to have taken two buses to get home and with the rain, it would not have been pleasant.  So, Charlie (a native of New Zealand), rode with us.

Then on to our first steak dinner in San Telmo, the oldest section of Buenos Aires.  It used to be the "high rent district" until the yellow fever went through and the district fell into disrepair.  It is now the antique area and is coming back with many fine restaurants.  We had dinner at Restaurante Parrilla.  It dates to the early 1700's and was formerly a brick-making oven.  Maria and Miguel hosted us for a wonderful dinner and told (through our guide as interpreter) the story of poor Margarita.  She was the daughter of the brick maker, who had been promised in marriage to the much older policeman.  Margarita was in love with the guitar player and you can probably figure out how the story ended.  Yes, Margarita escaped with the guitar player through the underground tunnel in the ladies bathroom, which we all visited.  As our van was pulling away, Maria and Miguel were standing together in their doorway, waving goodbye.

Very tired and full.  On to a good night's sleep.

SA Trip -- Departure

Hi all -- I'm testing out this blog and hoping it works.  Not sure how much we'll be able to post along the way -- or if you'll care -- but, I'm giving it a go.  I'll send you a separate email to give you the blog address.  Love, Jim and Judy