Picked up a huge amount of laundry after a good breakfast (yes!!, got soft boiled eggs using Google translate). A very late start, but we knew it was a local visit of no more than 20km. A short drive took us along tarmac roads, then the expected gravel road to a Punta Lomo, where a ranger told us no charge and encouraged us to enjoy watching the sea lions. Yesterday we saw elephant seals. There was a large type of binoculars to hand but required 2 pesos, fortunately I had some buried deep in my bag. We have one small pair with us but it would certainly be worth investing in really good binoculars for this trip.
‘Seals have short, stubby front feet and generally scoot along land on their bellies. Sea lions, on the other hand, have elongated front flippers that help propel them through the water and allow them to “walk” on land’
We enjoyed watching them and the Rock Shags nesting on the face of the cliff, for some time before moving on. The wind was howling. We were covered in dusty sand. Yesterday, said to be unusual, as no wind. We had been incredibly lucky, as today I doubt the whale spotting boats would be operating. We drove further down the coast and took a long stroll. Once protected by the cliffs, the warmth of the sun made us strip off our layers.
Enjoyed a late lunch with a bowl of mussels with garlic and chips. By 4pm we were really tired and decided the last few days were catching up with us, so headed back to the hotel for a rest and general catch up on emails etc. In the evening we dinned at a brilliant restaurant called En Mis Fuegos, about 4 km from our hotel. Thursday we leave to return to Buenos Aires, a one hour, fifty minute flight.
Tuesday, bit of a late start. Dropped laundry at a local launderette and set off to find the wild life. It’s quite a drive of just flat sandy scrub nothingness in every direction! About an hour and fifteen minutes on good roads to the main park entrance, paid $850 pesos each and $120 pesos for the car – currently around US$30 total. Fifteen minutes later we stopped at the excellent park visitors centre. Well worth the stop, interesting local history and great advice from one of the rangers about where to go and what to do.
Another thirty minutes and we arrived at Puerto Pyramidies. A small town in the middle of nowhere that originally was founded by salt miners and whale hunters. These days primarily appears to thrive on the tourist industry, taking people out on small vessels to watch whales in what is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
After a brief snack we headed of out in the Bay to find the Southern right Whales that migrate each year between July & December to this area to breed and then head South again to Antarctica. We were fortunate to spot 3 sets of Mother & Calf and managed a few photos, but it was really the spectacle of being within a few metres of these magnificent creatures that kept us enthralled. A school of dusky dolphins Mesmerised us for five minutes darting around the boat, we were told this was rare. We returned to shore after about 90 mins.
Having befriended two young European ladies on their travels, we agreed they could join us for the 2 hour ride to see Penguins, Elephant Seals and hopefully Orcas on the far east side of the Peninsular. So having been told the best time to see these Orcas would be at high tide (7pm that evening), we set off. It was 100 km of hard driving on gravel roads but the reward at the end was worth it. More Magellanic Penguins and a very large colony of Elephant Seals from large Alpha males to many small pups. It was a long and dusty ride, alert to the odd Guanaco crossing our path, we started spotting them and other wildlife as we trundled on across the massive flat land mass of desert scrub and big skies.
At one main visitor area close to a huge population of elephant seals, we stopped for a loo break, hot chocolate and snacks. We were down to our last pesos but the cafe owner said he was happy to take dollars. Offered us a terrible rate but when he eyed my 100 dollar note, said he would be happy to change all of it at 60 pesos a dollar – a fair rate. I mentioned that I had another hundred if he was interested, beaming he agreed and rushed off to find the cash. As mentioned it’s super tough for the Argentines as their currency is so weak and unstable. Through the banks they can only buy US$200 a month.
One of the girls with us, Ronja, from Germany had an amazing camera, she very kindly sent us a few pictures from our day trip, you can probably guess which are hers 😦 Her real job is in film production. Ronja was staying in Peninsula Valdes so we dropped her there on the way backbone Puerto Madryn. Laila, from Switzerland (a social worker, working with disabled children) was staying in town, so we dropped her back at her hostel. An interesting young lady who loves traveling and had a host of interesting info to share. We finally made it back to our hotel at around 22.00. We were exhausted and slept like logs but not before the obligatory glass of Malbec at the bar!
Left Ushuaia on a spectacular takeoff Monday morning to Trelew, which is about an hours drive from Puerto Madryn. First time we have been on a commercial flight where they boarded everyone by 10.10 and whilst the scheduled time of departure was 10.55 and we left at 10.30. Got an upgrade again too!
Arriving early at 12.30, picked up a hire car and with some advice from the AVIS guy we decided, rather than head to the hotel where check in was at 3pm, we would go to Punta Tombo, a Magellanic penguin colony, about 2 hours drive south from the airport.
Utterly totally amazing! After a 100 km drive ( 22km on gravel) we arrived at the Punta Tombo Penguin colony. A structured path of about 3km stretched before us with little penguins everywhere, approximately 1.2 million of them. Nesting season. Mixed in with these little guys, who seemed totally unfazed by human visitors were Guanacoes, members of the Lama family, armadillos and various bird life.. Apparently the penguins can move as fast as 50km an hour on the ground, but saw no evidence of that. They also swim up to 600km in search of food. Once the eggs are laid, dad sits on them for 42 days, whilst mum is tasked with providing the food. We witness fornicating penguins, those sitting on eggs and indeed some newly hatched chicks. These national Parks are so well organised, maintained and ensure that wildlife comes first, it’s very impressive.
After we had seen Penguins from just about every angle, we headed to Puerto Madryn probably somewhat faster than we should have done, getting to the hotel at around 7pm in 2 hours, a journey that should take a good while longer. The last 22 kilometres to/from the penguins, is a good dirt track road and the rest is tarmac, better in some areas than others. Checked into the very acceptable Hotel Territorio on the seafront with lovely views of the Bay. We followed the lonely planet advice and booked a beachside restaurant for dinner. Nothing special but we were hungry and so we endured some overcooked fish, ok Chicken Milanese but very nice wines. Long day ended with us crashing at 1030 exhausted!
Weather forecast was sadly correct as we awoke to rain and a low grey cloud base and 9C. With only one full day in Ushuaia, the plan was always to explore the National Park of Tierra del Fuego, sadly not as much walking as we would have liked, but thankfully we had hired a car. Even with full wet kit, the few walking looked pretty miserable.
After a very enjoyable breakfast we set off in the car. Entrance to the park is only a 30 minute car ride. Two tickets 1120 peso around US$20. There are a number of walks that had it been dry would have been very rewarding. Whilst the forest around us was lapping up the water, glowing an ever more vibrant green, the snow clad mountains were shrouded in clouds, though we had an occasional glimpse of slate grey rock and snow towering above us.
A brief wander on a board walk to the furthest point on the South American mainland, Puerto Arias, also called Fin del Mundo – end of the world, in what was now drizzle. Our water resistant coats and an umbrella worked reasonably well!
At 3pm we collected 2 tickets for a brief two and a half hour catamaran cruise within the Beagle Channel to view some of the local wild life. Good news the sun had made an appearance, things were looking up, as the weather forecasters had predicted. This however means the threat of heavy snow from around 02.00 is looking very likely. A tad bit of a concern, as our AVIS, very basic Chevrolet Joy, doesn’t look like it will perform too well in snowy conditions, plus you should see the steep meandering road we need to exit the hotel that is perched on a precipice overlooking Ushuaia. Had a quick burger at a Lonely Planet recommended cafe. Back to the catamaran, thankfully about 60 pax in what otherwise holds 150 people.
As we departed the port, the sun shone, the sky became blue and there was no wind. The Beagle Channel was completely flat, only irritated by the various boats that transversed its waters.. Everywhere we looked there were birds of all different shades and sizes, perhaps with the Cormorants dominating the scene. Apparently part of the pelican species and not as you may imagine of the penguin family, despite looking like small Penguins when grounded, they fly! We also saw a nesting Chilean Skue and all manner of others.
Fully recommend our hotel – Arakur is fabulous, can get good deals through Expedia, amazing views, great rooms with outstanding views. Can’t be doing with going down to town tonight so eating here again!
Late addition 22.51 and a shot looking out over the city from our room, magic, mountains silhouetted in the background and the sun setting!
Arrived at the small port of Puerto Bandera by 08.00. We were the first there, just. A guide, who became our personal guide, Marchello, placed us at the front of the queue and excitedly informed us as Captains Club ticket holders we were going to get very special treatment. Front of the boat extra special seats (24 in all) he told us the very best seats are the 4 in the middle. There are 2 sets of 6 seats on either side of the middle 4. He was right, best views and easy access to the two private outside balconies. The boats full capacity if 300, today was only 151. It’s easy to see how miserable the trip would be with 276 pax in the cheaper seats. Today it was fine for all. If you do one of these trips I would recommend the VIP tickets. Free flow booze, soft drinks, tea, coffee etc. We were fed too. On the boat, a. cheese and meat selection. Later on the new platform with restaurant close to Spegazzini Glacier, a stew, don’t go for the meat option, go for the lentil one! The lamb stew was more like mutton, touch as old boots and strong!
We set sail on the large catamaran At 09.00 towards the Upsala Glacier. This took over an hour with stunning views of the lake and National Park along the way. We were rewarded with hundreds of small and larger icebergs broken away from the glacier. Upsala Glacia was still 11km away from the main glacier, but too dangerous to go closer as unstable, however the spectacle was quite magnificent.
Arrived back to the hotel at around 17.00. After a short rest we headed to town and found a great restaurant for a simple supper with a strange iceberg desert, that also included a touch of Flamenco dancing.
Only one road to the glacier and when faced with a fork in the road it’s left. Really do book a hire car, don’t bother with a tour (expensive and not worth it according to other travellers we met in Mendoza) to this area, so much more fun to be independent. It’s about an hours drive on a very good road with the occasional pot hole. The scenery is huge, bleak in some ways but stunningly beautiful, with the changing light and lakes of light blue hues, not forgetting the enormous snow capped mountains, that form the Andes as the backdrop, separating Argentina and Chile.
Entering the National Park, there is an entrance fee to be paid, around US$12 for one day or $20 for 2 days. Payment can be made by credit card or cash. If you do opt for a tour this will be paid on top of your tour cost. The entrance fee is great value as the park has been well cared for, plus has the addition of amazing purpose built walk ways in order to best view the glaciers. Yet again the bird life is very evident, we saw a number of condors and many other bird species.
The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in southwest Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. We have never seen anything like this before and we were mesmerised by the glacier, it’s constant noises of ice dropping or cracking. We walked on a built raised metal pathway to view the glacier up close. There are various trails and you can spend hours there. Thankfully there was a good place for refreshments and toilet breaks prior to entering the trails.
‘Despite that most of the innumerable glaciers worldwide are retreating as a result of global warming and climate change, one of the few unusual glaciers that maintains a state of equilibrium is the Perito Moreno glacier because it continues to accumulate mass at a rate similar to that of its loss. The reason remains debated by glaciologists.’ Wikipedia
Sorry can’t resist more from Hesky’s pictures and of some wildlife that we spotted.
On our way to dinner, we will collect our bag of laundry which we dropped off this morning. Cost by weight again and plenty of laundry places to choose from. Today’s bag US$3! This hotel does laundry but takes 2 days and costs considerably more and will come back folded not ironed (but seriously that is sooo not needed) Forgot to mention parking procedures in Argentina. Park and expect a person with a parking jacket to add a ticket to your windscreen, on your return, the parking attendant will mark your return time and charge you accordingly. Seems to be the same system country wide.
Ate at a Lonely Planet, recommended restaurant for dinner called Buenos Cruces, really good! Great atmosphere and varied menu.
Arrived Wednesday at around 3pm, an hour late and no mention of Aerolineas Argentinas tardiness by any of the crew. This time no upgrade, didn’t win the bid and the check in guy talked about charging for excess baggage. He said he wouldn’t and I did thank him and pointed out that out of BA the Aerolineas people had told us there would be no charge for excess if on this same booked trip we had started with business class and 23 kilos. Anyway will see what happens next sector!. Collected our AVIS car hire, which took a while due to the paperwork process. Definitely book ahead as many people were looking to hire a car and none appeared to be available. Pictures below departing Bariloche and arriving El Calafate.
Almost a Luna landscape, real tundra scenery, with stark mountainous silhouettes and the most stunning light aqua blue almost turquoise lake. A stunning stark scenery. Apparently quite shallow and full of minerals hence the colour. A feeling descends that you are furthest from anywhere else here and most especially home.
As we have two full days here we decided to book one day with a 6-7 hour boat trip covering many areas of the best known ice areas. Big tip, huge, only book the VIP tickets, or so we have been advised. Also the main organiser appears to be Solo Patagonia, so booking through any other agent you will find that you pay more. The VIP tickets do cost more but you are segregated from the masses and get treated well, or so we have read. You are only likely to do this once so go for it. Our tickets were US$150 each for VIP . Other agents were looking for $200 plus for the same trip. Ours did not include transport as we will make our own way there. We booked when we arrived. It seems few of the overseas travel agents who arrange tours for their clients, book the VIP tours so they seem to be more available but cost 50% more.
Checked out a bar it two in town and had dinner at the hotel
Tuesday. A slower start, basic breakfast at 10am. Today’s plan, another attempt at a different part of the extensive National Park for a hike – Parque municipal Llao Llao. However we were also advised to take a ride on a chair lift for a panoramic view of the spectacular lakes Cerro Campanario chairlift.
The car journey to the chairlift was around 20 minutes and well worth the detour. The weather on our side today meant we were presented with incredible views that spanned to the Chilean border Mountain range. There is a good coffee and snack restaurant at the top. It was very enjoyable and more so on the way down when we saw an enormous group of school children ascending the chairlifts! Phew close shave.
Another 15 minutes drive brought us to the area we wanted to walk. Shock horror though, notices told us the trail was closed because of forecast winds. We were sure we had seen others entering earlier. Another couple arrived just after us and decided what the heck, they were going, so we followed. We had seen that the weather forecast was predicting high winds a bit later, which was the worry. However, striding onwards we were rewarded with a real forest in every aspect, except for the well cleared path. Trees of all shapes and sizes, many felled by the elements and others growing in their place. Insects buzzing busily in all directions, birds high above with the camouflage of the forest making them hard to spot. Wild flowers, and bright green grass in various coppice where the sunlight had the chance to break through. Every now and again glimpses of a lake, sometimes with side paths to get to the waters edge. The wind was starting to rustle the trees, sounding like flowing water, so felt we needed to limit the distance, so only managed around 8km. For the hardened trekkers there are many trails with varying difficulty and plenty to see.
Returning to the car park we saw that the ranger was back in his hut and had now added a large red tape to the entrance to the car parking area. Before it was just across the entrance to the path. We slipped away up the bank between two trees! Only one other car remained in the parking area. Our lonely planet guide mentions a Swiss colony established in the early 1900’s – Colonia Suiza – we gave it a cursory visit and from what we saw not really worth the bother. Go if you have the time but otherwise skip it!
Back to the hotel, having collected laundry, good cup of tea, well as good as we have found thus far….bring your own tea bags! Packed up ready for tomorrows departure at 09.00 to El Calafate. Now resting, listening to our Bose micro speaker playing Smooth Radio from the UK, great sound, looking out at the changing colours of the lake and mountains.
Thinking an Alpine Fondue tonight, waistline not suffering too badly but missing my Pilates…. it’s no good I don’t have the discipline to do it solo. The alpine style restaurant (La Marmite – Pot in Spanish in case you were wondering) was perfect and the Fondue more than adequate, washed down with the usual glass or two of Malbec preceded by David’s mandatory bottle of cold Stella!
Another tip, found out it is the law to have your car headlights on at all times whilst driving!
After another average breakfast, we were picked up at 09.15 and set off to the Estancia some 30 km out of Bariloche into the foothills of the Andes mountains. Unfortunately whilst collecting the last of our party in the town the mini bus conked out! 40 minutes later, having got to know everyone a little better, a new bus having scooped us up and driving at some speed along some very rough unpaved roads, we arrived at the Estancia (ranch).
On arrival we were welcomed with tea, coffee, Mate (a peculiar drink made from leaves of a bush growing all over Argentina – said to have properties to stave off hunger) and Patagonian bread snacks. Our gaucho guide gave an overview of the wildlife in the area. The red deer, not native but becoming such a problem that they are now culling the females, Pumas that live in caves in the surrounding mountainous area and the magnificent condors with wing spans of 2 to 3 meters.
‘A gaucho or gaúcho is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The gauchois is a national symbol in Argentina and Uruguay, but is also a strong culture in the far south region of Brazil. Gauchos became greatly admired and renowned in legend, folklore and literature and became an important part of their regional cultural tradition. Beginning late in the 19th century, after the heyday of the gauchos, they were much celebrated by South American writers.’ – Wikipedia
Back to the ranch, our horses were in excellent condition, obviously very well cared for and I discovered during the day, much loved by their gauchos. David with some trepidation mounted his horse, ‘Italco’ a fairy big beast. We weren’t offered any riding hats, so Hesk looked even more the part with his Aussie ‘Jacaru’ hat. I leapt on my horse (ed. Well the Gaúcho gave Lynn a good lift up) Cressida. We were given brief instructions, hold the reins in one hand, gently pull to stop, move the reins left to go left etc. I was near the front of 12 riders and Hesk was right at the back. I tried a bit of a sitting trot and my right thigh started to cramp so stuck with a gentle walk. After about 30 minutes I managed to persuade my mare to go to the back, she wasn’t too pleased. Realised the dust from the 11 horses and the 2 gaucho minders, mostly came backwards! However I stuck it out as felt I needed to keep an eye on Hesky as he was a very reluctant participant! However, it seemed he was managing very well.
The scenery was breathtaking. The main gaucho had explained to us where the condors lived and pointed out the white areas staining the rocks, evidence of their droppings, and location of their nests in the mountains. I was lucky enough to watch 2 condors soaring above the mountainous terrain, but couldn’t get a good photo. He showed us the small cave where Pumas lived but we didn’t see any. David said he half expected to see “Injuns” on the crest of the rocks as we rode thru the valleys such was the nature of the ride. Very exhilarating and definitely must form part of any itinerary in Argentina.
We ended the two hour ride back at the ranch where a traditional Parillas, Argentinian BBQ, awaited us. An excellent meal of Chorizo sausages and steak, with salad, plenty of Malbec and lots of stories shared with our new found riding friends. A good mix of Argentines, German, Swiss and of course us Brits.
On our return in the mini van we asked the driver to stop at a nearby shallow lake where dozens of flame pink flamingos, mostly with their heads submerged, had recently arrived. They had migrated from the Amazon ( 3000 miles to the North) apparently for the first time in 10 years as previous Seasons the lake had been dry. An amazing sight! Not the best photo but zoom in!
Highly recommend one of these half day horse riding tours with lunch, inexpensive at around US$53 dollars a head, a lot of fun with breathtaking views. We only booked it the day before.
Back at the Hotel after a shower to wash the dust away, we took our laundry into town to be collected tomorrow afternoon. Having heard leather jackets are the thing to buy in Argentina we have been on the look out, but so far hadn’t found anything to buy, until today. We both bought one each as a souvenir of our visit. The softest lamb skin leather and very light weight.
Tomorrow we plan to do a little hiking in the Huapi National Park in Llao Llao about 35 km west of here; the forecast weather looks good until the afternoon at least.
After an excellent sleep in our huge suite, opened the shutters to a glorious day overlooking the lake and snow topped mountains in the distance. The whole hotel is styled on a Tuscan villa, it certainly feels like we are in an Italian corner of Argentina. Ate a big breakfast in anticipation of our 12km walk that would take about 3 hours – of medium difficulty. See below a helpful map of all the trails in the ‘Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi’ It should be possible to open up and make bigger. Basically you register with the park people, pay a small fee and off you go. It also shows times that you must set off by. The animals on the poster denote those one might spy on your walk.
Drove to the ferry by the lake, plan was to take the ferry to the end of the pinnacle (see walk 19, 6-8 hours there and back) and walk one way, back to the car.
We went to buy our one way boat ticket, only to be told the whole park was closed due to high winds – apparently very common for trees to fall in such conditions. We decided to return to the village and collect our laundry. This hotel did not take laundry which is quite common in Patagonia. The solution is simple, go to one of the many laundry places found in any town. Put your dirties in during the morning and they are ready in the evening. Cost around $250 (US$5.50) pesos a load. It’s returned all dried and folded. Anything that can’t go in the drier they hang to dry. Works well. I speak no Spanish and nor did the ladies in the launderette, but we seemed to manage. Nothing requires ironing in Patagonia and if it did it’s the wrong clothing to wear here! An added bonus, we stumbled across in the centre of town, was the World Mountain Running Championships, quite a big deal too.
Next up, decided to retrace some of the journey yesterday as now blue skies with raging winds. This time rewarded with wonderful views. Vast picturesque scenery that takes your breath away. This is where the condors soar, think I have spotted some but they were too far away to be sure. Also took ourselves to another Chile border post.
Enjoying a lovely cup of Ceylon tea (big tip bring tea bags, most of the tea we have experienced has not been to our taste, as most hotels have anything but English breakfast tea and Earl Grey). Wishing we had had that walk today, it would have been amazing, hopefully in Bariloche we can find another one assuming the winds die down. Internet being very slow today – driving me nuts trying to get this finished!
Sunday morning now but internet seems faster! Ate at Nicoletta last night, a surprisingly good inexpensive Italian, the pasta, made fresh on the premises was light and delicious. David still asleep, so no editing, perhaps he will look at it and update later!
Argentina Travel Log 2019 