Patagonia Part III : Puerto Madryn y Península Valdés

The final leg of our journey was Puerto Madryn. After a fairly gloomy day, morale was low because the city seemed rather...lame. We ate at a delicious seafood restaurant in the evening, which substantially improved our mood. But we were still bummed because we were told that there were neither penguins nor whales in the area at that particular time - the reason we were visiting the area. Regardless, we planned an all-day excursion onto Peninsula Valdés for the next day. This is what we saw:



And not just one whale, but many, many, many whales!



Here is a better look:


It was incredible to see! We were so surprised that they were there even though it wasn't "whale season." They were also very close to shore!

We proceeded on our tour of the peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it's hard to top a whale sighting...

Here is a typical scene of Patagonia - lots of sheep!


A fox!


A bird on a parking sign!


As close to seeing a penguin as we got...! :(


And back in Puerto Madryn, two wonderful, positive messages:




(This one corrected for el voseo!)

And, to honor the World Cup, which I have been watching obsessively...

Patagonia Part II : El Calafate and the Glaciers

Our last night/morning in Ushuaia was very interesting. Our bus was to leave Ushuaia at 5 AM, and naturally, Abby and I didn't want to waste money by sleeping at the hostel for one more night. Instead, we locked up our bags, and hit the town. We found a restaurant that had the most delicious burgers I have had in Argentina, had a few drinks, and retrieved our bags around 4 AM. This begins the most awful bus ride I have ever been on.
Because Ushuaia is so far south, we had to go through Chile to get to our midway point - Rio Gallegos (in Argentina). Going through Chile sounds like it would be pleasant, but customs is a HUGE PAIN. Imagine: bus stops, everyone gets off, passports stamped for exiting Argentina, back on bus, 10 minute ride, bus stops, everyone gets off with all luggage, passports stamped for entrance into Chile, a couple hours on bus...ferry over the Straight of Magellan, a couple hours on bus, bus stops, passport stamped for exiting Chile, 10 minutes, bus stops, everyone gets off with all luggage, passports stamped for entrance into Argentina. I can understand why maybe this is necessary, but it was kind of awful regardless.
After a day on the bus, we arrived in El Calafate to our Che Lagarto Hostel. Che Lagarto is a South American hostel chain, and it is cheap, clean, and always has a very friendly staff. From there, we planned our stay.
We woke up early the next day to explore the small tourist town of El Calafate. About ten minutes into our walk, we met a friendly stray dog, who proceeded to guide us for about 3 hours.
Our first stop was a lagoon connected to Lago Argentino - one of many glacial lakes in the area.

The lagoon was beautiful, but it wasn't very well preserved, which saddens the environmentalist in me. They were in the process of paving a road within feet of the protected area.

Abby and our guide.



Extremely clear water, typical of the area.



Flamingos!


We continued to wander around the area with our dog; a steep hike up a nearby hill really wore her out.



Day 2: Minitrekking in Parque Nacional los Glaciares

We woke up early, caught a bus to the national park, paid the local student discounted park entrance fee (courtesy of our student visas), and wandered around the forest surrounding Perito Moreno Glacier.





We took our bus to a boat, which took us closer to the glacier. We walked briefly through a forest, strapped on our crampons, were instructed about how to walk on a glacier, and set off!



It's hard to describe an experience like this. It was beautiful and incredibly fun. Also, cold and wet.





The excursion ended with alfajores and whiskey with glacier ice!



We celebrated Argentina's bicentennial very quietly in El Calafate with our roommate - she works in Buenos Aires for Johnson & Johnson, but is originally from Brazil! We went to a restaurant to try the famous "Cordero Patagónico" - Patagonian Lamb. Delicious.

Patagonia Part I : Ushuaia, El Fin del Mundo

After much anticipation, my travel buddy Abby and I set off on a two-week adventure.

Mendoza -> Buenos Aires = 17 hours in bus

We had just enough time in Buenos Aires to enjoy some delicious churrascos (street food - basically steak sandwiches) before our flight.

Buenos Aires -> Ushuaia = 4 hours in plane

For those of you who don't know, Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and the #1 place I have wanted to visit ever since I decided to study in Argentina. It was simply incredible. I will refrain from writing much and let the photos speak for themselves.

The view from the hostel:


After exploring the city, we spontaneously took a taxi into the mountains so that we could climb around for a bit (without equipment or a guide - as a sign suggested). The draw for hiking in this area...glaciers! However, because it was so snowy, the glaciers were not nearly as impressive as the view from the top:


The next morning, we got up early to take a boat tour of the Beagle Channel. We met an elderly couple originally from the Czech Republic who live in Panama and are on their way to Brazil to meet their son's fiance! Insane!



The first attraction was the Isla de los Pajaros (Island of the Birds). Unfortunately, we were too late for penguin season, but these birds are almost as cool as penguins:


Next, Isla de los Lobos (sea lions) - note the lighthouse in the background - Faro Les Eclaireurs.



Now, we were on a very small boat, so we got pretty close to these islands, and let me tell you, sea lions STINK and they are INCREDIBLY LOUD. However, the cuteness of the babies made up for it.


We stopped at bigger island to walk around for a bit and learn about the indigenous population that used to inhabit the area. Can you believe that these people were nudists?! They kept warm by the fires, which is how the province got it's name: Tierra del Fuego.



We dedicated our next day to exploring Tierra del Fuego National Park. It is famous for having many distinct ecosystems including freshwater, saltwater, mountain, and forest, but more importantly, it was beautiful and remote.

La Cocina Argentina

We went on our final official excursion provided by the program -- it was a cooking class!! It is finally otoño here, so the leaves are starting to change colors.


After chopping up a lot of vegetables, here is our food cooking:


Here is the final product:

Humita:

Delicious Lamb Stew:

We also made empanadas and bread, and we had some flan for desert. Let me know if you want recipes!! They are all in metric...

Also, I met a friendly kitty...as usual!

CHILE!

After a week of classes and studying for my first two tests, we decided (very spontaneously) to take a trip to Chile! The bus ride was an experience in itself. About 30 minutes outside of Mendoza, our bus stopped on the side of the road, apparently broken, and stayed there for about two hours. We bonded with a very kind elderly woman, Rosa, who has split her life between Chile and Argentina, and travels between the two frequently. We also met an Australian couple that plans to backpack the entire Pacific coast - Chile to Canada! Anyway, a new bus arrived, and in my efforts to be a good person and help Rosa with her bags, I forgot my folder containing my return bus ticket and reading assignments on the broken bus. Whoops! Commence treacherous six-hour bus ride through the mountains...

Thursday night: Arrival in Viña del Mar.
We hit up the ATM (500 pesos to one US dollar!), checked out our hostel, and made the economical decision to stay in and cook. Of course, I met a stray kitten at the hostel.


Friday: Viña del Mar is known for its beautiful beaches, so naturally, we had to check them out.
We proceeded to wander around the city for the rest of the day.
Here is a typical street - very steep!!

And some Chilean graffiti!


Saturday: There was a restaurant in Con-Con that we heard has amazing seafood. To get to Con-Con, you must take a bus, but the public transportation system in Chile is rather weird. We were instructed to stand at a corner and wait for any bus that read "Con-Con." We ended up waiting for approximately 10 seconds before a bus appeared. Upon arrival at Con-Con, we gave up trying to find the restaurant and went to a different one that a kiosk-worker had recommended. It turned out to be FANTASTIC. It was the best restaurant I have been to on this continent - Perla del Pacifico. We needed a lot of help with the menu, considering the fact that none of has a particularly advanced Spanish seafood vocabulary. I had something called reineta - a type of delicious fish.

After some time on the beach, we decided to take another bus to Valparaíso. We didn't arrive there until evening, but we took an acensor to the top of a hill and witnessed an incredible view. Now, I don't want to slander Valaparaíso, but the experience we had - granted, it was evening - was what I would describe to be shady. There was a guy who asked us for money, which is to be expected, but it was in a rather creepy way. There were stores full slot machines and some questionable looking people. There were ladies of the night. In hindsight, we really should have gone during the day. Needless to say, we hastily bought some pastries from various bakeries and left Valpo in a hurry. The bus we took back to Viña del Mar was perhaps the most dangerous (and most fun) bus ride I have ever been on because the driver was experiencing severe road rage.

Sunday: We woke up early, grabbed a taxi, and headed to the bus station. So, I hand my ticket and passport to the bus driver, he looks at me for a second, then tells me to "Espera" - "Wait." At this point, it was really time to go, and I was completely worried that he was going to make me jump through some sort of hoop to get on that bus. But no! Instead, the driver returned carrying MY FOLDER! I couldn't believe it. I left my folder on a broken bus in Argentina, and there it was - on a fixed bus in Chile. My luck surprises me!