Around the world in....

we crossed the border of argentina into chile via bus, to get a glimpse of the inner areas of patagonia and the lake district. there was so much to do but as usual too little time. we stayed in a central located hotel, right across from the water, and basically in the center of town. Puerto varas is like a small mountain village with cute little stores and restaurants and lots of outdoorsy gear stores. we decided to spend the evening checking out the town and grabbing a meal. moving from argentina to chile, the menu shifted from a focus of beef to fish which was a bit refreshing. we tried out lots of fresh seafood and ended the evening early.

the next morning we took a boat ride to a beautiful island called chiloe, known specifically for being a great spot to see penguins. we took a long drive through the island to a spectular little beach area where 10 of us packed into a small little boat for penguin sitings. it happens to the right time of the year as we saw upwards of 75. there were 2 main species, humbodlt and magellan, one of which is exstinct i believe. we learned a lot about these small little creatures-they are rather hardy animals, we saw them climbing up rocks, swimming in the ocean, etc. we were both reminded of a very special card ´courage is an accumulation of small steps.´ it was my first exposure to penguins (outside of the zoo!) and well worth the trip.

we then had a traditional chilean meal which entailed mounds of shellfish, chicken, pork and meat. oh and potato bread made with lard! the meal is cooked in the ground and covered with layers of leaves and moss and cooks in its own steam for exactly 1 hour. it all comes out tasting the equivalent of barbeque with simple flavors. after all of the eating, it was time to head back and catch the ferry. everything in south america seems to run behind schedule, so we have become used to this way of life. we returned 2 hours later than expected but in time for a new friend´s birthday celebration.

the other main attractions in puerto varas are the osorno volcano, the lagoons, and the waterfalls. its about a 45 minute journey from the center of town through picturesque windy roads but quite a spectacular site. the waterfalls are a bit different after seeing iguazu falls but still worth a quick visit.

next stop (where i am writing from- a bit behind on the blog) is santiago. more tomorrow and a happy new year to all our of friends a family.

travel within south america has been quite an interesting experience. it turns out our flights were cancelled as the airport tarmack in bariloche was being redone so the entire airport was shut down! we managed to make it with a 2 hour flight part way and a 6 hour slow bus ride up the mountain, arriving into bariloche at 1am! it was a beautiful ride but i think we went at about 30mph!

bariloche is a popular destination for south americans for its natural beauty, trails, beaches, etc. we took a early morning boat ride to explore victoria island and got our first glimpse of the impact of the recent volcanic activity. we were planning on doing a beautiful hike through the island but it landed up in a treck through volcanic ash, similar to an experience of hiking through sand. we landed up at beautiful beach for the end of the day and saw some of the bluest water we have seen in a while. i would take it as far as saying it resembled the water in capri!

we enjoyed the quaint town of bariloche but definately would recommend spending the better part of the time exploring the trails and the islands. we did devour one of the best steaks thus far in town after a long day.

next stop, puerto varas= the chilean lake district and the real exposure to patagonia!

Buenos aires is most definately more of a European city relative to rio. The architecture is muc more ornate and city itself feels very much like new york. We manage to see the famous cemetery where the controversial Eva Peron was buried, this was the only person wee were familiar with but the cemetery itself felt like a museum. We also visited the famous pink palace in the center of the city, spent some time I'm la bocca (best to only go there during the day) home of the bocca juniors argentinian football team, the old opera house, etc.

The best way to really get a sense of the city is to walk it. Whilst its supposed to have a great metro system, we wanted to check out each and every corner possible! Dining in b.a is extremely reasonable so we enjoyed some nice meals. We went to the oldest empanadas place in an area called ricoletta which was mostly filled with locals. Steak was also on the list along the way, keeping in mind- medium here means medium rare! We are not big meat eater but I have to say its one of the (few) best steaks I have had next to my dad's. The malbec also made a good accompaniment to the meal.
In the interest in learning more about tango we decided to take a dance lesson! As the resident skeptic I was a bit unsure, but it ended up being a hysterical experience. We learned how complex of a dance it is firstly, and that coordination is an important thing, but we still managed to come home with 10 toes each! We watched a small tango show (fortunately it was a small stage with 50 people in the audience as opposed to 500 tourists) which was amazing. It reminded me a bit of the opera as they told a story along the way. It was a fun evening and good exposure to a big part of the culture.

Lastly, we spent a lot of time in an area called Palermo which had great shops, cafes, and restaurants. It was a younger part of the city that was a great place to spend the day.

We now treck to bariloche to check out the outdoorsy scene in Argentina.

After three wonderful days in buenos aires, we managed to cover lots of ground. A few quick tips/highlights of an amazing city:

1.flights are never on time- 12pm means 4pm Argentina standard time
2. Carry small change- fake notes are in abundance here!!
3. Catching a cab takes an average of 45 minutes in the evening- its like NYC on new years eve
4. Wine (malbec) is consumed like water and soo reasonably priced
5. No one is in any sort of rush here! Dinner starts at 10pm
6. Steak
7. Palermo soho is the best place to hang
8. Empanadas are out of this world!
9. Tango!!! It's a big part of their cultural
10. There are more restaurants and bars here than NYC!

More to come and merry Xmas eve....

We left paraty early the next day with a 5 hour bumpy drive to Sao paulo to catch our flight to iguazu. The goal was to experience the falls from both sides- brazil for the breadth and panoramic views and Argentina for the up close and personal. It took an entire day of traveling but we made it in time to catch the panoramic views. The falls are located in a national park which is well equipped for all of the tourists they seem to get. We spent most of the afternoon walking through the different view points and were just blown away by all the natural beauty. It sort of knocks niagara falls out of the park! The intensity of the water and the sheer number of falls is incredible and greater than we both had expected. We took a hundred pictures and thought we had seen enough for one day.

We are staying on the brazil side about 25 minutes from the park in foz do iguazu. It's a tiny town with a main strip of 5 shops but seriously decorated for Xmas with a giant fake tree and a daily visit from Santa. We enjoyed some pizza and retired early as the next day was meant to be an intensive study of the Argentina side of the falls.

We had to bring our passports along to pass immigration to enter the park from the other side which took over an hour of wait time. The Argentina side is well adorned with their national flag making it quite clear that you are no longer in brazil!! The first expedition of the day was a high speed boat ride through the falls! It was amazing how close we got to some of the main falls and how absolutely drenched we were afterwards. The boat ride was so far one of the more memorable experiences. I was a bit scared but didn't let my fear overcome me (along with a gentle nudge from my other half not to miss out on it!). The remainder of the day was spent eating lunch at a cafe within the park, a long and extremely hot walk through the park to see other close ups, a train ride through the forest to the devils throat- the most intense portion of the falls, and a series of beautiful rainbows along the way within the mist of the falls.

It was total immersion into nature for 1 day and definately felt very therapeutic for the both of us. We are 'falled out' now and a few shades darker from the sun. Tomorrow we catch a flight to buenos aires where we will be spending the next three nights.