Argentina part II

The "Good Air" capital would only be Raul's host for a number of hours. He claimed he had to get back to Bolivia to see his girlfriend Paola and get a job, but the truth was, Mireya was landing in Buenos Aires the next day and he was too scared to confront her after we ditched her.

At least he got to catch up with Gina who'd just flown in from Colombia and we all had a farewell steak. Steaks here are famous the world over for being the best. I can report this is no Myth.

The short time Raul was is in Buenos Aires (notorious the Americas over for being full of snotty, uptight, vein peoples), was long enough for him, and Gina, to quash this miscast. The people were the friendliest we'd come across. In trying to relay this back around Latin America people would only say that it's their recent economic crisis which has humbled them. These people of course have never been to Argentina.

With Raul gone, we copied 3 million people and relaxed in a cafe to catch up and see who had been cheating on who etc.

Ever demanding and wanting the control, I decide for once to let Gina do the reading and figure out a sightseeing plan. Though I did have one stipulation (of course) and that was Evita's grave.
She took me to El Caminito, birthplace of Tango, where aspiring young Tango artists "busk" their dance on the streets. In one restaurant where I thought I was heckling the accordian player who made jokes between dances, I was made to get up and do some moves with the resident dancer.

Mireya flies in so we go looking for steaks and Tango shows. The norm in Bs As.

All of us big fans of Argentine rock legend Fito Paez, we make a day trip to his birthplace Rosario. This town is also famous for being the birthplace of revolutionist Ernesto "Che" Guevarra. We visited his house when it ocurred to me that it would be nice to buy a t-shirt of the hero here, rather than in Cuba. The little known fact of his upbringing in Rosario meant having to hunt for shop which actually sold one.

Easily recognized as one of Earth's top ten natural wonders: IGUASSU; lay await at the end of an18 hour bus journey. It had surprised me back in the capital how few people I had met in hostels who were including this stop off in their travel plans. I guess cooped up for 18 hours on a bus is not everyone's thing.

On the border of Argentina and Brazil (and very close to Paraguay) Iguassu is a set of spectacular waterfalls with "The devils throat" a gigantic thundering waterfall as the centre attraction. It can be best summed by a comment made by U.S. President Roosevelt's wife "Poor Niagra".

Another friend Fernanda had taken a 15 hour bus ride from her town in Brazil to meet up with us. Together we walked around the national park which aside the water thrills was teeming with wildlife. We saw many exotic birds like toucans and hummingbirds. There are panthers but sadly we didn't see any.

Argentina

ARGENTINA FLAG

Fresh out of Chile and fresh out of a travelling companion, Raul and I skirt some lakes, pass some volcanoes and alight in Bariloche. Mireya was somewhere filing reports in a police station back in that ridiculously long and thin country.

At passport control there was a big Argentinian flag behind the immigration desk. It had the regular blue and white stripes, only the picture of the sun had been replaced with a map of the Falkland Islands. On it was written,: "Fueran y Serían: ARGENTINA". Once were and will be again!!!
I kept my head low and coyly offered my British passport up for inspection.

San Carlos de Bariloche is known as the Switzerland of Argentina. It makes its own world famous chocolate, most of the houses are made out of wood and it's on a lake surrounded by snow capped mountains at least 4km high.

SIPPING ON MATE WITH LOCALS

There are three ways to get from this "Swiss" town to the tip of the continent.

A ferry:

Five or so days going in and out of Fjords, Volcanic Glaciers; past islands, rivers and mountains which are 23 times higher than the Eiffel tower.
It costs 300 dollars at a budget, and oh, something you might want to consider doing for your honeymoon. Though a nicer room for newlyweds might crank it up to a 500 dollars each.

Route 40:

An elite highway for the backpacker who also carries a briefcase (if you know what I mean) at a whopping 130 dollars.

The alternative:

The public transport route which on a map would look something like driving from Brussels to Paris via Moscow. That's right, another buddying up with Raul on a 40 hour bus journey.

National Glacier Park

7am we arrive in an enchanting retreat. El Chalten, set aside the spectacular Parque Nacional los Glaciares (do I need to translate) with its famous peak Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick Peaks

The next town along is host to the thing which has impressed me the most over my short career.

APPROACHING THE GLACIER

Perito Moreno: I'ts a massive profound blue ice coloured glacier wedged in between two mountains on the shore of a lake. We got there in the afternoon, which meant it had spent the whole day heating up. Sporadic pieces would break off and come crashing down into the lake making a thundrous splash. Then you would watch these mini iceberg, some bigger than houses, float off into the lake.

PERITO MORENO

Being in South America, specifically in Argentina, and with Raul, did not happen by chance. Many a night 3 years previous was spent talking about doing a very special trip. A trip to the end of the Earth. To the island at the Sothern most tip of the Southern most continent: Tierrra del Fuego........the land of FIRE.

To get there you have to take a ferry across the Magellan Strait, where ironically we saw a Cargo ship with PANAMA written on the back. Maybe they couldn't afford the 400,000 dollar cash charge to cross their local canal.

Magellan Strait

Because Fireland is half Argentinian half Chilean, the bus journey takes you from out of Argentina into Chile, then back out of Chile into Argentina. Before the journey we had bought two humongous beef sanwiches and to our dread we saw that big sign BANNING foods to be taken across the border. I stashed them in the back of the bus. I didn't care about the risk of deportation or the 1000 dollar fine. I wasn't going to abandon my sandwich.

When the border patrol officer came on the bus I saw what looked like a whisper going on between him and the driver. They were looknig at me. Or was I just being paranoid. Luckily nothing happened, except further on down the road I had to sneak them back into Argentina and go through the whole thing again.

Ushuaia

After checking into our hostel in Ushaia, we managed to catch a glimpse of the last ferry of the season which had just come back from Antartica. Maybe one day I will come back to conquer this ice continent when I'm through with all the others. Though at a cost of 5000 dollars, no time soon.

Prices to Antarctica

Antarctic Ferries

I surprised Raul with a bottle of Champagne to mark this landmark success. We hugged and celebrated the accomplishment of what most drunken plans never materialise to. We had reached the end of the Earth.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

Actually we reached the end the next day when we took the bus to the national park, and where it dropped us of was in front of metal bolards, which officially marked: YOU CANNOT DRIVE FURTHER SOUTH ON THIS SACRED PLANET OF OURS. I felt like I'd just reached the south pole.

The furthest road south

Next: Argentina part II - Buenos Aires and Iguassu (including a reunion with Mireya and her reactions about the whole Chile thing)

Argentina Plate

Chile

(Trucks waiting to cross the border from Bolivia into Chile)

So we had just escaped from Bolivia and were now on our way to Chile. Raul had been to this border crossing before. Ten or so years ago, he and his mum had queued like everyone else, waiting for their exit stamps and to pay the exit tax. When it was their turn, they gave a warm hello, which caused the immigration officer to stir from the monotony of his duties. He looked up with a face as much with delight as surprise, and declared: "You two don’t have to pay anything". Just shows what a smile is worth.

(Mount Sajama, at 6530m Bolivia's highest Mountain)

"BUENAS DIAS AMIGO", we announced as jovially as our hearts could muster, our faces grinning from ear to ear. We were dutyfully queing up to pay our exit taxes. This time the guy didn’t even look up. "That’s 15 bolivianos". Not even a please. Ah well. Worth a try.

(Llamas on the Altiplano)

I dozed away whilst driving past flamingo filled lakes, over-shadowed by 6 and half thousand meter mountains and llama filled plains. I awoke to a nudge from Raul, "Jerry look". My eyes were only open for a couple of seconds when I was looking for my bottle of water. We were driving through the Atacama desert, the driest part of Planet Earth, and just looking at it made me thirsty.

(Atacama Desert)

Because of all the time we’d lost in Bolivia, we were skipping half the country and meeting Mireya in Santiago. Passing through this desert, which makes the Sahara look like a swamp, was my only touristic consolation of the north.

Our 40 hour bus journey was concluded with a visit to Bohemian neighbourhood "Barrio Brasil", where we marveled at how beer could be poured vertically from a bottle into a glass, never spilling out the side.

The next day, Mireya emerged, late, and we explored the sights of Santiago. The common consensus was that we were in a European city. Other than the nearby Andes, which were slightly hazed over, there was no indication that we were in fact in South America. Not even from the faces or clothing of the people. Climbing the inner-city Cerro Santa Lucia, we were allowed a full view of this 5 million metropolis. We met an architect who pointed out the "Estadio Olympico". Or was that me and Raul re-enacting a scene from "Something about Mary"?

(Estadio Olympico)

From Constitution square we entered the Palacio de la Moneda, the president’s palace, which was guarded by a giant. No wonder Chile’s so safe. In the square they were hosting an event to commemorate "International Woman’s Day", so we had to nice to Mireya for the rest of the day.

(Presidential palace, you can just make out the Giant guard's head above Mireya's)

My fondest memory of Santiago was the "Completo’s". Basically a hot-dog, but stuffed with avocado. Yummy. Try it.

Even though I am spending 365 days in Latin America, there are times when even the measliest unit of a single day cannot be spared. Forfeiting a Lenny Kravitz concert in Santiago was one such situation, much to Mireya's dismay. The simple fact is, you cannot be flexible when you have people flying in to meet you. In 13 days I had to in Buenos Aires to meet Gina.

Bypassing the world renowned wine regions, we aren't even afforded a drop. Nope, if I want to try Chilean wine it will have to be back in Ramsgate I'm afraid. Though I do blame Raul and Mireya, as one day I had suggested we drink some supermarket wine in the street just so we could say we'd tried it; but no....they are too refined for that!

Around the same time as someone is blaring out "Are you gonna go my way", a few blocks away (Lenny Kravitz), we board the night bus to Valdivia. 12 hours south and along the Pacific, we had heard from somewhere that you can get a tower of beer from this pleasant student town.

We are greeted by a nice lady at the bus station offering lodgings in her house. But as soon as we got there she turned into crazy-nazy lady, among other things, regimentally monitoring that in the 24 hours we were to be in Valdivia, we were only allowed 1 shower each. If one of us went to the toilet she would stand outside and listen to determine if we were trying to sneak a shower.
These are always the risks you take when you opt for homestays over hostels. Ah well!

After spending the day exporing the nearby beach resort and fortress, we were served lunch by a man who had been a waiter for over 50 years. Remarkably he still had a smile on his face.

(Pacific coast off Valdivia)

The university ground had a botanical garden with trees from all over the world offering us a pleasant afternoon stroll and nap. We didn't afterall, want to nap back at crazy-nazi ladies house.

Next, we were perfumed up and ready to exploit the real resaon we were here. We had located the tower. It was in a bar called Chopp and the tower was actually called "The Rocket". You could say we demolished the twin towers (we drank two Rockets), and readying to order our third we discover the bar was now closing. We also discover that the table across the way has only two guys, but enough beer to feed us all. We look over at them all puppy-eyed for a few moments before they kindly invite us over to join them. Ten minutes later we are walking to their house with a quick stop off to buy some Pisco Sour. One day you may have the misfortune to sample this lethal concoction for yourselves.

(The famous "Rocket")

It rendered both me and Raul crazy. After falling out of our new friends house some hour or so later, Raul was running away from us, and I was hiding from them. Magically we all got back to the homestay.

Something dreadful happened the following morning. And nothing to do with our hostess breaking our feet or tying us up like Kathy Bates in "Misery". Mireya lost her passport.

As you can imagine, the early morning 2 hour bus journey, was spent snoring on all parts, when we woke up to find Mireya's bag had been stolen. A bit of cash, a book, a digital camera and the passport. The timing was impeccable on the nuisance's part, as were just about to leave the country. Argentina was calling. But not for Mireya. Me and Raul dumped her there and continued on without her to Argentinian chocloate town Bariloche.

Next: What happened to Mireya and what was her reaction to me and Raul ditching on her like that in......Adventures of Argentina