That was a long bus journey ! We decided to go for it and head to the Moreno Glacier so from Puerto Madryn we hopped a bus heading for El Calafate.
Sixteen hours later we had to change buses in Rio Gallegos. The bus wasn´t as bad as it sounds, but also wasn´t the first class trip we had from BA.
Patagonia is pretty barren,not much to see for the first few hours but endless scrub grassand grazing lands. Then we got to some hills and the scenery was a little more interesting for a bit anyways. After a strange dinner (ham just doesn´t belong in a jelly roll...) and movie, I slept til Rio Gallegos.
At Rio Gallegos we had to change buses and had some time to kill so we went into town, not much there.....
Another 4 hour bus ride though some much more interesting scenery we arrived in El Calafate. This place is gorgeous ! The hostel overlooks Lagos Argentina, which is the 2nd largest lake in South America. It is a glacier lake and you can see the mountains off in the distance.
Tomorrow is the tour to the Moreno Glacier. Very excited !
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Peninsula Valdes
One of the best things about aking a tourm as opposed to doing it yourslef is all the extra information you get from the guides..... So we took a tour of the Peninsula Valdes
First off a little about Puerto Madryn. In the 70s this was a sleepy little beach and fishing town on Golfo Nuevo of about 6000 people, then the Aluminum plant was built. By the 1990s the town had grown to over 60 000 people. Then in 2001, when the economic collapse in Argentina happened, this place still propsered due to the aluminum plant as it was exporting abouit 85 % of its output. So more people arrived daily, and whil ethere has not been a census the estimate is that there is now over 100 000 people here. I can´t even imagine how the infacstructure kept up with that growth
The main industries here are Aluminum, fishing and tourism
The Valdes peninsula is about 90 kms outside of town, and is an ecological reserve home to the protcted species of the Patagonia Penguin, Sea LIons and the only Elephant seal colony is South America.
First stop was the information centre whoch probably has the cleanest public wasrooms I have ever been in. Then we headed to Punta Norte to see the Sea Lion colony. We had hopes of also seeing Orcam as they come in to feed on the seas lions, but no luck with the Orcas. The Sea Lions were interesting, very noisy creatures lying in packs along the beach. At this time of year the pups are just startingto swim. The pups reminded me of little puppies running around on the beach.
Apparently the moms head to sea to feed for about 3 days and then come back to feed the pups, whi hang on the beach in their absence. They were pretty noisy creatures, but you could watch them for a ages, probably my fav of the day.
Next up the Patagonia penguins. This is a large colony of penguins who arrive here around August, lay their eggs, and hang around until they hatch in Dec. By March the babies will be ready to fly, the adults will molt and then at the end of March they head to Brazil where they spend the rest of the year. The penguins were hanging around pretty close to where we were (I think some were posing for us) they were prety neat.
Next on to Punta Cantor to see the elephant seals. There were not a lot around, mainly young ones lying soaking up the sun. These are massive creatures, once they are full grown, they get to 4.5 m long and 3000 kgsm This happens at at the age of 25 o 30 years of age. They looked very awkward moving around, kind like the old worm dance, maybe that is why they did not move very much......
We also had a chance to try the Mate ritual with Hugo, the guide. Mate is a hot drink, basicaly a strong tea they drink out of gourd like cups. There is a whole ritual about making the Mate and then sharing it. What was toughest for us to get oyr heads around is that everyone drinks from the same cup through the same straw. (Cabbie we were laughing picturing your face at this.....)
Next up a long bus ride further south today
First off a little about Puerto Madryn. In the 70s this was a sleepy little beach and fishing town on Golfo Nuevo of about 6000 people, then the Aluminum plant was built. By the 1990s the town had grown to over 60 000 people. Then in 2001, when the economic collapse in Argentina happened, this place still propsered due to the aluminum plant as it was exporting abouit 85 % of its output. So more people arrived daily, and whil ethere has not been a census the estimate is that there is now over 100 000 people here. I can´t even imagine how the infacstructure kept up with that growth
The main industries here are Aluminum, fishing and tourism
The Valdes peninsula is about 90 kms outside of town, and is an ecological reserve home to the protcted species of the Patagonia Penguin, Sea LIons and the only Elephant seal colony is South America.
First stop was the information centre whoch probably has the cleanest public wasrooms I have ever been in. Then we headed to Punta Norte to see the Sea Lion colony. We had hopes of also seeing Orcam as they come in to feed on the seas lions, but no luck with the Orcas. The Sea Lions were interesting, very noisy creatures lying in packs along the beach. At this time of year the pups are just startingto swim. The pups reminded me of little puppies running around on the beach.
Apparently the moms head to sea to feed for about 3 days and then come back to feed the pups, whi hang on the beach in their absence. They were pretty noisy creatures, but you could watch them for a ages, probably my fav of the day.
Next up the Patagonia penguins. This is a large colony of penguins who arrive here around August, lay their eggs, and hang around until they hatch in Dec. By March the babies will be ready to fly, the adults will molt and then at the end of March they head to Brazil where they spend the rest of the year. The penguins were hanging around pretty close to where we were (I think some were posing for us) they were prety neat.
Next on to Punta Cantor to see the elephant seals. There were not a lot around, mainly young ones lying soaking up the sun. These are massive creatures, once they are full grown, they get to 4.5 m long and 3000 kgsm This happens at at the age of 25 o 30 years of age. They looked very awkward moving around, kind like the old worm dance, maybe that is why they did not move very much......
We also had a chance to try the Mate ritual with Hugo, the guide. Mate is a hot drink, basicaly a strong tea they drink out of gourd like cups. There is a whole ritual about making the Mate and then sharing it. What was toughest for us to get oyr heads around is that everyone drinks from the same cup through the same straw. (Cabbie we were laughing picturing your face at this.....)
Next up a long bus ride further south today
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Getting to Puerto Madryn
We decied to head south, and hopped an aovernight bus to Puerto Madryn.
THis was not just any bus....... With the Super Cama option we were on a first class sleeper bus. The bed was probably more comfortable that the hostel bed. After they fed us dinner and we saw a movie, I slept and woke up about 9 am afer a good sleep. BY non we were in PM.
Puero Madryn was a total surprise, it´s a hopping beach town and the weather was amazing so we headed to the beach for the afternoon. It´s a long walk along the heach to see the view of the but worth it.
I won´t lie, I am sightly burnt and it´s probably good we are on a bus trip to the Valdes Peninsula today.....
THis was not just any bus....... With the Super Cama option we were on a first class sleeper bus. The bed was probably more comfortable that the hostel bed. After they fed us dinner and we saw a movie, I slept and woke up about 9 am afer a good sleep. BY non we were in PM.
Puero Madryn was a total surprise, it´s a hopping beach town and the weather was amazing so we headed to the beach for the afternoon. It´s a long walk along the heach to see the view of the but worth it.
I won´t lie, I am sightly burnt and it´s probably good we are on a bus trip to the Valdes Peninsula today.....
Buenos Aires Day 2
Wow, we covered a lot of the city in two days....
First stop today (after some empinadas for breakkie) was La Boca, home of the La Boca juniors Futbohl club. Maradona´s, club. It was pretty neat to see. The blue and yellow stadium in a focal point in the neighbourhood. We opted to go inside, and see the place. YOu could easily see it being crazy on big game day.
Then we headed to Caminito street ' pretty cool colourful street, with a street market and colourful buildings. We stopped had a servaces and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Leaving here was interesting....... La Boca is a slightly more dangerous part of town. We had decided to walk along the water, but as we were heading dow a street a policeman stopped us and told us not to go that way. So after a confusing conversation in spansih with the cop, we headed for a bus (he walked us to the bus stop and made sure we got on the right bus). After a short bus ride were we back at PLaza de Mayo.
It was a busy two days with ots of walking, but I really enjoyed Buenos Aires
First stop today (after some empinadas for breakkie) was La Boca, home of the La Boca juniors Futbohl club. Maradona´s, club. It was pretty neat to see. The blue and yellow stadium in a focal point in the neighbourhood. We opted to go inside, and see the place. YOu could easily see it being crazy on big game day.
Then we headed to Caminito street ' pretty cool colourful street, with a street market and colourful buildings. We stopped had a servaces and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Leaving here was interesting....... La Boca is a slightly more dangerous part of town. We had decided to walk along the water, but as we were heading dow a street a policeman stopped us and told us not to go that way. So after a confusing conversation in spansih with the cop, we headed for a bus (he walked us to the bus stop and made sure we got on the right bus). After a short bus ride were we back at PLaza de Mayo.
It was a busy two days with ots of walking, but I really enjoyed Buenos Aires
Monday, February 23, 2009
Buenos Aires
When we first arrived (was it only yesterday ????) it was rainy and cloudy yet Buenos Aires still looked pretty interesting. Today with not a cloud in the sky, 32 degree temps (no humidity, though, so absolutely gorgeous day) it looked wonderful. This city is a great place to wander around, or find a patio and chill. It is fairly easy to figure out on the map (Domi is much better at reading maps than I am, whew...) and there is plenty to see.
BA is one of the cleanest cities I have been in. Sure you can see signs of neglect in the broken cobblestones and such, but the streets are so clean, except for when you trip on one they are quickly forgotten.
Plaza De Mayo, Plza San Martin, Florida street´s pedestrian mall are all interesting and very pretty - Plenty of statues, stores, fountains and pigeons. Then we hit for LaRecoletta cemetary. This was absolutely amazing, totally not what I expected. No wonder it is listed as a must see for BA !!!!.
Not a blade of grass in sight, but plenty of crypts, masoleums, and statues. We found the burial place of Eva Peron which was pretty cool to see. Apparently they do still bury people here, as we found one as recent as 2007....
After the cemetary and some ice cream (which is really good here) we headed to the Palermo district. We decided to try the public bus system, which turned out to be pretty easy and cheap. After some more wandering, a roof top patio beckoned. It was a comfortable place, so we stayed for a few servecas and some tapas before heading to the subte (subway) and back to the hostel.
Tomorrow after another day if sights in BA we are headed on an over night bus to Puerto Madryn. Apparently it´s about a 16 hour bus ride, so we bought tickets for sleeper seast but this should be interetsing.
BA is one of the cleanest cities I have been in. Sure you can see signs of neglect in the broken cobblestones and such, but the streets are so clean, except for when you trip on one they are quickly forgotten.
Plaza De Mayo, Plza San Martin, Florida street´s pedestrian mall are all interesting and very pretty - Plenty of statues, stores, fountains and pigeons. Then we hit for LaRecoletta cemetary. This was absolutely amazing, totally not what I expected. No wonder it is listed as a must see for BA !!!!.
Not a blade of grass in sight, but plenty of crypts, masoleums, and statues. We found the burial place of Eva Peron which was pretty cool to see. Apparently they do still bury people here, as we found one as recent as 2007....
After the cemetary and some ice cream (which is really good here) we headed to the Palermo district. We decided to try the public bus system, which turned out to be pretty easy and cheap. After some more wandering, a roof top patio beckoned. It was a comfortable place, so we stayed for a few servecas and some tapas before heading to the subte (subway) and back to the hostel.
Tomorrow after another day if sights in BA we are headed on an over night bus to Puerto Madryn. Apparently it´s about a 16 hour bus ride, so we bought tickets for sleeper seast but this should be interetsing.
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