I have said I wouldn’t do one this year ....then realised I would miss it and miss your messages too.
Having said that, wi fi can be problematic in some places and as a consequence for a period I may only be in touch ‘now and again’.
So the plan....19th we catch the train to London to spend the weekend at Laura’s seeing the kids before we leave.
Tuesday 23rd we leave from Heathrow for Buenos Aires via Frankfurt. Our carrier is Lufthansa, not used them before so it will be interesting to compare. Flying east to then go west !! Much more reasonable than flying direct.
Let’s hope we don’t encounter fog this year ! Or snow !
xx
This year’s trip begins and ends with two of the big names as far as cities go, Buenos Aires and later Rio de Janeiro.
We begin with the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires and with over 200 museums and galleries on offer that should keep us going for a start.
Called the Paris of South America and with such wonderful buildings you can see why. Stunning, elegant architecture from a bygone age when the export of agriculture and livestock soared bringing in great wealth.
Since then there have been times of extreme governments and a roller-coaster economy from which the country fortunately keeps bouncing back.
I love the wide avenues that grace this city, many 6 lanes deep and some 12 with central verges of trees or in some places run efficient bus lanes.
We have found old world cafes with bow-tied waiters in black, armed with starched white napkins serving the best coffee and cakes too tempting to resist. Quite European ...we could be in Madrid or Barcelona maybe.
What makes it distinct, Tango. This is its birthplace and for me you can feel it in the air. I cannot wait to see a show we caught a glimpse of it today at the La Boca district. I was mesmerised, even the way the lady took hold of her partners hand or rested her hand on his shoulder it was full of slow, deliberate expression. I think Chris was intoxicated too, something to do with gorgeous figures and skin tight dresses !!
We are exploring our way through the various districts. Today we spent most of the day in historical La Boca a major port entry and harbour for the export of agriculture and beef. Here the late 19th century saw a flood of immigration with 60 percent coming from Italy.
These Europeans, Russians and middle eastern immigrants came with their art and music and cuisine making Argentina what it is today.
We Brits played our part too with a legacy of railways, harbours and sports....football, rugby, polo and horse racing.
Another day another district, Palermo.
We headed out early on our carb heavy breakfast. Reviews had warned us that most hotels offer little in the way of eggs or other protein/healthy options.
Very tasty but rich, solid and sweet pastries seems to be the norm. Luckily fresh fruit is available too at ours.
Anyway we were grateful indeed as we spent an exhausting day burning off those necessary calories.
First venture on the Subte, the underground transport put another legacy of the Brits, well done and a cheap way of travelling compared to our own London metro.
We love botanical gardens so off we went, peaceful, exotic and WARM just the way to start a day recognising amazing trees from across the world.
From there we walked to a museum featuring the life of Eva Peron. Extremely interesting with a number of her clothes showcased and memorabilia, films of her speeches and lots about the impact she had on women’s rights, the poor and homeless children and how she gave a voice to the people. She travelled to Europe and brought international trade agreements back to Argentina and much more. Quite an achievement when you consider the role of women at that time.
Time for lunch and quite a long walk to find the Lebanese restaurant recommended in our Lonely Planet bible. Rather than eating out in the evening we sometimes have a main meal early afternoon then bits of fruit/snack later, too tired to venture out.
It didn’t look promising in a very quiet area and chairs piled up outside but once inside we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed , the place was heaving, full of locals and plates of delicious skewered meats coming from a bustling kitchen.
A long leisurely lunch followed, with some people watching for good measure, working up to our planned guided walk at 3:00pm. A Graffiti tour, loved it in Colombia so wanted to do another.
It turned out to be a very exhausting 2 hours plus walk in the sun, even the younger ones were dragging their feet and looking longingly at bars serving long cool beers.
It was interesting but Chris enjoyed the one in Bogotá more.
By the time we walked further to the underground and got back across town to our hotel we were shattered.
A lie in and steady day tomorrow !
Our Aussie friend Ida said we mustn’t come to Buenos Aires without going to a tango show so we splashed out and booked a dinner and show for Saturday night.
We booked it through the hotel with pick up included. All went well until we arrived. Through a misunderstanding we thought the payment was to go on our hotel bill but in fact the hote had actually only made the reservation. As a consequence we were asked to pay on arrival. Unfortunately we hadn’t enough money and cards were in the hotel safe ! We weren’t happy but when they phoned our hotel the matter was resolved. It actually turned out rather well as we were upgraded to the VIP seats with table right at the front next to the stage, up close and personal you might say. It was a small and intimate theatre setting 1920’s style.
We sat next to a French couple and enjoyed a three course meal with some good free-flowing Argentinian wine to accompany the beef.
The show started, wow, I felt a bit breathless to be honest. There were musicians on piano, violins, ‘accordian’ banjo like guitar and double base playing traditional music. There were only seven dancers and two singers, not a show full of razzmatazz but so professional and quite exhilarating. Wonderful, didn’t want it to end. Chris thoroughly enjoyed it too, his review of it, ‘brilliant’.
Everyone left the theatre on a high looking for transport back to hotels. Our minibus couldn’t set off as there were two people more than there should have been, obviously on the wrong bus. No one owned up, names were checked on lists and still not resolved. It was all very amusing so they had to offload two, who did they choose....US !!! Well that caused more amusement because folk recognised us as being on the original bus and protested on our behalf. We just went with the flow and got off ....anyway not knowing what was going to happen next a chap took us across the street and ushered us into a large TAXI, just for the two of us....yeah, we were back at the hotel in 5 minutes, you know how long drop offs at hotels take and it was already after midnight. Another bit of luck to end a fabulous VIP evening.
Thanks for the recommendation Ida.
Skip this if you don’t want to read about the history of Tango:
It began in the 1880’s in the port of La Boca, you saw the photos, district where working class immigrants entertained themselves with shared music and dance around the brothels. Women were few so the men would dance with other men to attract them through their prowess on the dance floor. It is said that the leg flicking comes from the men trying to trip each other up in their dance/fight. It was frowned upon in the wealthy parts of town until it found its way to Paris in the early 1900’s. It suited the risqué, Moulin Rouge era and quickly became a sensation across Europe. Of course it then became respectable throughout Argentina where it has developed along with the music and singing of tango.
P and P have a super trip. Cannot wait to hear what Brooke thinks of Colombia
Susan hope Jonny has a fabulous birthday . Love to mum xx
Next stop Patagonia a three hour flight and a world away from Buenos Aires.
Here we are spending over a week in the Los Glaciers National Park then over a week in the Lake District.
Sent from my iPhone
On the move again for 4 days.
We travelled from El Calafate in the southern end of the National Park to El Chalten in the north.
No nodding off on this 3 hour plus bus journey, beautiful scenery with no habitation in sight the whole way and only one stop where everyone calls for toilet and coffee. The ‘cafe’ is a bit of an ‘outpost’ miles from nowhere, the ideal place if you want to hide from the law. Exactly what Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid did, well like us they called in for coffee on their way to some hideout with a bit more in their pockets than us ...equivalent of two and a half million dollars.
We arrived at our frontier town (smaller than the last one )where the wind whistles down the high street. Nice homely hostel with homemade breads and cakes ( love cake but for breakfast ???) AND scrambled eggs yahooo.
The jam isn’t great but they have dulce de leche a thick caramel spread, very naughty and quite delicious. It is everywhere in shops where you can taste different varieties. It’s eaten on waffles, toast, sandwiched in biscuits, on deserts, insides chocolates.....
We have a lovely room with view of Mount Fitz Roy. Cosy lounge/dining area where folk sit after long treks all fixed on their mobiles, kills conversation !
Lots of French here, they are the number one European tourist then German, American, Dutch, very few Brits. Others are from Chile, Brazil and of course Argentina.
Folk come here to climb Mount Fitz Roy often on 3/4 day camping trips. They all stop off at the early morning bakeries or those on a budget have a hostel with kitchen where they boil eggs and pack sandwiches.
You need to be on a budget here, hostels cost more than our hotel in Buenos Aires....we should have a butler for what we are paying.
You set off on the trails with folk carrying huge packs, back and front, togged up in big boots, some with ropes. Youngsters mainly striding out lean and agile then there’s us, ha ha. We stand by to let them pass and they’re gone. Everyone says Buenos Dias whatever the nationality.
The trails have been fabulous and we have been so lucky to see Mt Fitz Roy and neighbouring giants on sunny days with not too much cloud over the jagged tops. It is very changeable and some folk have spent the day not seeing them at all.
One evening it rained so the next day we headed for the waterfall walk knowing it would have a decent amount of water.
Today was the hardest, a six hour walk for great mountain views and lake. It was lovely through forest, up steep tracks, hillsides overlooking the river all on well trodden routes. The constant wind keeps you cool so it is perfect walking weather.
Chris is now having a snooze then I think we might just have a beer he’ll have the binoculars out watching for condors, seen some each day riding high in the thermals.
He spotted a condors nest high on the rocks, that was exciting.
From where I am sitting I can see some rock climbers in the distance tiny orange and green jacket dots. The binoculars show them stood precariously on a ledge......why would you? Especially with the winds we have here.
It stays light until late so feels like we are getting a lot from each day.
Mum....just finished our bag of Thornton’s toffee, thanks, just the thing after a long hike xx
Donna...you are not the only one having problems sending a message. Someone may help out with suggestions of how to do it
Iris....Susan said you have something for Victoria and jig saws for Chris’s return, thanks very much. No news on visas yet but the staircase has gone into the loft in their flat and they are freezing ! Love to all and give Aunty Lucy a hug from me please.
The Lake District
We are now a one and a half hour flight further north in the Lake District.
As you’d expect with lakes and the Andes we are in for more lovely scenery.
We landed in Bariloche on a busy holiday weekend so we can see how Argentines enjoy a holiday by the lakes. If you like chocolate this is the place to come, shop after shop with all manner of fancy chocolates.
We took a boat trip to a large inlet for various trails, we found one through a forest as old as time, not sure where everyone else went but we were virtually on our own. It was quite special despite it being an overcast day.
Another highlight was a chair lift to one of the best views we have seen in a while.
Better still though another day we hired a car and drove the Route 40, seven lakes route, famous in these parts, to spend two nights in a town called San Martin.
This journey was wonderful. We took a diversion down a dirt track, turned out to take two hours extra but well worth it for the trout lunch alone. Chris loves fish and this was the best trout he’s ever tasted.
Our little car took a battering ie covered in talcum powder sand and some rough ground to negotiate but it brought back long ago memories of days in Tanzania in the rainy season when you could lose a car down some of the potholes if it was filled with water and you didn’t know the road.
I must say as picturesque as it was I was relieved to get our hire car back on the main road, it was a bumpy, dusty affair. We saw families enjoying some super lakeside camping spots, cooking slices of beef on grills over fire pits, surprised they are allowed with all this forestry around.
Anyway we landed another five hours later in what feels like a lovely family resort staying in an old Swiss style chalet. All wood beams and old biddies ! No one younger than 60. Certainly no young travellers this is for families.
All those hours of lakes and mountains and only two towns however there are no end of camping grounds, bring your own tents, some camper vans and oldies on motorbikes. Excellent facilities we were told.
Did the journey live up to its reputation.....oh yes and more. A real highlight and our photos do not do it justice.
We did the whole drive again to get back to Bariloche, great. Time left when we got there to use our car, gotta get value for money !
On local advice we drove to a local beauty spot to take a trail to a waterfall.....well that didn’t take much walking, looked at a park notice board, can’t read any of it but let’s try this one next. Doesn’t look far and we’ll be rewarded with a good view.
Over two hours later we get back to the car....argh, hot, steep, rocky, dusty, lost our way.....you are absolutely right Iris , exercise is not good for you. Bearing in mind Chris had already driven five hours that day we did sleep well.
Actually it was our last night in the Lake District so we booked a nice restaurant and enjoyed some very tasty beef, again and red wine of course. They may be good with meat but vegetables get a poor deal and what we have seen in shops for sale look poor quality.
Iris....how did Archie get on ? Very exciting . Have heard a lot about Katie’s house must see it when we get back.
Susan....hope you enjoyed your day with mum, aunt loo and Eileen. Love to everyone
Pamela...have seen lots of hitch hikers in Patagonia, can only think the distances are long and buses get filled up in advance people get caught out
Back to the city life for 4 nights, Cordoba, second largest city in Argentina.
Have enjoyed interesting days here but this city is not our favourite stop.
Cordoba is a real mix of old and new with a high percentage of students. University is free for all in Argentina and other perks for students include free transport.
Our hotel is right in the heart of the city in fact hard to find being up stairs off a shopping street just behind the main plaza with super buildings, cathedral and tree shaded benches to watch the world go by.
No frills hotel with clean large room, hot shower and that’s it but perfect for getting around all we want to do. Breakfast is in a cute cafe from the 40’s around the corner ...more croissants. Am yearning for muesli and poached egg ! Although I have to confess to an addiction to this caramel spread, dulce de leche.
Viewed lots of churches and museums. Went on a day out to a small mountain town Alta Garcia to visit a Jesuit church and estancia.
The Jesuits along with their religion brought education, social reform and agricultural development. The amazing university here in Cordoba with its wealth of books from 16th century is a legacy of the Jesuits. It was their most influential establishment for the whole of South America. There are a number of estancias in this region to visit or what remains of them. The Jesuits were expelled in the 1767 from all the americas by the King of Spain, reminiscent of what Henry V111 did to the monasteries.
Also there we enjoyed the Che Guevara museum. The house where he grew up, some great photos of family life and history of his life, very interesting.
It does help though if you speak the lingo which we don’t, otherwise do what we do and rely on charades and good luck.
We bought the return ticket ok no problem and managed to get the correct bus back except the bus back comes into a different bus terminal to the one you left from.... why ??
Another day we set out, very early breakfast and at the bus station for 8:00 am bus to a beauty spot recommended to us. Long way but worth it.
Again it does help if you speak the lingo and don’t believe everything the tourist information centre tell you.
Luck came our way in the form of a young American guiding us to the correct ticket booth, one of too many and getting us on the right bus by the skin of our teeth, next one was in 2 hours !
Fine, after 1 and half hours we have to change buses getting another ticket. OK. We knew that but was told no tickets left , next bus 2 hours arghhh. Where is the nice American called Hogan when you want him.
Anyway Chris did his ‘I am not very happy with this’ face and gesticulation, we have come all the way from Cordoba why didn’t they book us a ticket all the way through...dah di dah. Well that worked wonders, they found seats ... to get rid of us.
I must say the people here are very friendly, polite and most helpful. They were more than happy to get us up and over some of the boulders on our hike the other day. We keep battling on Iris !
Jane D .. Seville will be fabulous, not been but sounds like you will have a good itinerary planned. Looking forward to meeting up with Anne S again thanks for arranging it for dates I am back. Yes very different scenery this time in Patagonia going up northwest will be different again apparently. if we can stand the (Dubai) heat !
Enjoy Jack cuddles.
Susan... can’t wait to hear about Rome
We are now much further northwest in the Andean region of Salta. Arrived by a very good overnight 12 hour bus journey, seats reclined into a bed , perfect, even served a hot meal...not so perfect !
Off the beaten track we knew, fabulous road trips we’d read. So, based ourselves in Salta for a couple of nights then hired a car for 10 days to explore.
Salta is a town much nicer than Cordoba, lovely atmosphere with again tree shaded, statue in middle, cafe lined square and beautiful colonial buildings.
Most fascinating here though for us is the Museum Of High Altitude Archaeology. AMAZING. Apparently sites of archaeological interest have been found by mountain climbers since the 1950’s on over 200 mountains, 40 of them in this province, we are well into the Andes here. Mountains were sacred places for the indigenous centuries maybe thousands of years ago and at their peaks small buildings were erected for religious ritual. ‘Roads’were even built leading upwards, such was their importance.
There are indigenous people here including those of Bolivia and Inca decent. I hadn’t realised that the Inca empire stretched as far as Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
This museum is purely for the preservation and display of three Inca children found in one of these sites and finally brought out of their mountain top tomb in 1999.
What a museum. The children were 6, 7, and 15 years entombed at the top of Mount Llullaillaco west of Salta at an altitude of 6739 metres (22,110 ft.). Ben Nevis 4,413 ft , Machu Pichu is 7,970 ft and Everest is 29,029 ft
I have mentioned those statistics because this mountain being so high was the most important place of worship in the Inca time.
Also those poor children, to be sacrificed, walked the pilgrimage all the way from Cusco in Peru (Inca cosmos) just under a thousand miles to get here and climb up this mountain which would be freezing cold at such an altitude.
They are in almost perfect condition because of the freezing temperatures at the top of that mountain and also the experts at the museum with knowledge from others in the states and neighbouring countries are leading the world in this kind of future preservation. The bodies are obviously kept in special conditions and only one on show at any one time.
They are 500 years old in sitting positions with objects that they will need in the ‘afterlife’ . They look as if they are asleep.
Poor souls they were given a alcoholic maize drink then placed in their tombs alive probably suffocating whilst under the influence ?
It wasn’t classed as a sacrifice according to Inca beliefs the children did not die but were reunited with their ancestors to watch over their towns from the highest mountains.
(Watching a video at the museum featuring interviews with the local indigenous their attitude today is the same as was in Inca times and were happy to have the children at the museum of Salta watching over them)
The children chosen for these rituals were often from chieftains families and chosen for their beauty and physical perfection.
This ritual called Capacocha was held at harvest time to worship the gods but because the children came from different parts of the empire to Cusco it strengthened bonds between the centre of the state and the most remote places of the territory.
The objects found alongside the children are in remarkable condition too even the colours of tiny feathers of birds used on miniature models are vivid. Extraordinary, fascinating, but very sad seen from our time and world.
No photography allowed in the museum but I bought a fabulous book (kids....of course I hear you say !) so the shots here are from the book
More about our road trip next time....it is proving to be quite SPECTACULAR, scary, long, dusty at times, adventurous and the most wonderful scenery we have ever enjoyed.
Malcolm...you were right !
Mum....your sweets have been so welcome on our long drives x
Iris....well done Archie a very good achievement, stiff competition too. Say hello to Aunty Lucy from us x
Have put these photographs on a separate entry in case you don’t want to look at them
When planning this trip last October we looked at all the recommendations online and books. I found a chap who said, do not miss northwest Argentina for unforgettable journeys. The least visited and yet to be discovered.
Well thankyou whoever you are, this has been a HIGHLIGHT we shall certainly not forget, even surpassing the glaciers
Nature speaks powerfully here, lending the region a certain mystery. The magnificent Andes mountains are on such a scale they overwhelm you. We have travelled mile upon mile and feasted on glorious scenes around every bend.
Less of the Hispanic influence here for, once outside the towns you are into Andean culture from early man to pre-Colombian 1492 days. The past is still alive in the adobe houses, in the crafts of the artisans, in the music and the faces of the people.
Undiscovered, allowing you to soak it up undisturbed much of the time on the more off- the- beaten tracks.....and we did a few. The air is fresh and silence intoxicating.
The area is diverse, we drove through valleys lush and fertile, then as we climbed cacti reigned and higher still sat scrubby bushes for goats and llama to get their tough teeth into. And way up in the dizzy heights the snow gleamed.
The wind and rain have gouged huge channels and carved strange shapes into the rocks. Before that though unbelievable power below the earth’s crust has pushed up these jagged, peaked mountains and our car’s been covered in a layer of fine sand that was once a sea bed.
Above all though it is the colours that are the most spectacular, that make you gasp and wonder.
So off we go 10 fantastic days ahead of us where the journey has been the event rather than the destination. I won’t put it all in one post instead will will blog it in parts.
Day 1
First stop after four hours northwest was a two night stay in Purmamarca, a small village with the most wonderful 3km walk from behind our lovely accomodation.
I shall put up some photos but believe me they cannot possibly capture the true beauty and feeling you get from seeing such raw nature.
Tourist information here has been on the whole useless apart from handing out maps which to be fair have been invaluable.
The best information has come from reception at our hotels and guest houses with their varying degrees of English and our brilliant Spanish !!!
This information however is not always accurate or detailed enough and often you
set out not really knowing what to expect.
We set off for the day on one of these ventures looking for the mirador (view) of fourteen colours. Starts off well different scenery again then comes the dirt road, have we taken the right road, keep going we’ll find out.
Dirt road means very dusty indeed and if you do meet another vehicle do not travel close behind as you can’t see a thing and dust comes through the air conditioning which is on full belt. Dirt road also means bumpy, rocky and corrugated.
So we start to climb and climb and climb. We climb for 8 kilometres and it’s getting steeper, one in four Chris tells me....thank you very much. I am now trying not to look at these bends and have both feet rammed into the footwell. Buses are not allowed on the road the bends being too sharp. Thank goodness. Most of the time we have the road to just us.
Scenery is changing again as less wants to grow up here at this altitude though we do spot a few hardy llamas. Not sure they are actually llamas there are at least four that are a variety of llama (camelids) I have a chart somewhere to identify them.
I get out lots of times to take photographs just loving the sights we are seeing.
Anyway we eventually reach the viewpoint and find a few bikers up there though where they came from I don’t know because they didn’t pass us. Clouds are closing in but we are lucky it clears for a while for us to enjoy the vista.
The best spot was from down a pathway looking over the edge. The altitude hit Chris so I set off alone, there were others about so felt ok. Coming back up the slope was hard though even the youngsters were struggling. I did at one point feel a bit panicky not getting enough air so rested, concentrated on the view then set off again slowly. Even a few steps are exhausting, quite strange. Just over 14,000 feet the highest we have been. It was worth it a great day out.
Back to our lovely Purmamarca village for a meal in cute restaurant with live music and friendly French couple.
Our most fantastic drive and highlight of the holiday was to be the next day.........in my next blog
The French couple say we must visit the salt lake a round trip of three hours , always more for us but we have also to drive three hours (plus photo stops) south to our base in Salta for the night.
Up to Chris he is the driver....he’s game so off we go.
The frenchies said ‘ zee journey a little windy but you ok’
Actually they should have said this will be your favourite drive ever Pam, it will fill you with some heart stopping moments, make you cry and feel utterly lucky to be here.
If the scenery had not been so wonderful I would have closed my eyes most of the time and prayed.
No dirt road this time, yeah no problem. EXCEPT this is one of the main routes to Chile (cannot believe it ) buses and BIG trucks don’t give two hoots about hairpins. And if you are a big something you are king of the road....even our side of the road .
All that aside the salt lake was worth it alone but the journey there and back was for us just magnificent.
The sunlight reflects back up from the white salt and it is blinding, it is hot too, how does anyone manage to harvest the salt under these conditions. We bought some little bits and bobs at stalls there, the shelters were made from blocks of salt a bit like igloos but rectangular.
A great day....back to Salta and out for a meal with cold beer for Chris. Restaurants don’t open usually until 8:00pm and they start to fill up around 9:30/10:00 pm. We want to be in bed by then...knackered. Everything is dead mid day except in the large cities, all having a siesta.
Mum...thanks for your lovely message, pleased you stayed in warm and kept safe from the the snow. You’ll be at Lynsey and Alex’s for Mother’s Day so will hopefully call you early evening. See you soon xx
Jane....look forward to hearing about Seville and Jack of course, we’ll have lots to catch up on, we have a ‘walk date’ in diary
Maggie...got your message thanks
Rested and ready to go again....four hour drive to Cachi, good road ahead........NO, the four hours ends up being nine hours to Cachi.
At the turn off to Cachi police are stopping cars, the road that way has collapsed due to heavy rain way up in the mountains.
Never mind, plan B .......we will head down to Cafayate stay overnight then go to Cachi the back way. Trip advisor bloggers say the back way is a ‘no go dirt road’ the locals say ‘it’s ok ok ‘ . Go with the locals, ha ha the sun gets to you and you go a bit loco.
Arrive in Cafayate along the fabulous route called Valles Calchaqués again more fabulous scenery for 60% of the journey
However there is festival in full swing, noisy, busy, heaving looked riotous, not for us says Chris and he is happy to keep on driving up the back way to Cachi. ‘Ci ci road ok only 2 hours’ . You must be joking, who the heck could travel that road in 2 hours, even 4x4 ‘s would laugh at that !
Definitely off the beaten track, rough and remote with the odd village but stunning ( sorry you will be tired of all this fabulous scenery talk but it is the highlight of our trip) . We didn’t take it all in after being on the road so long and not knowing what the road would bring. However never fear we will repeat this trip to come back to Cafayate and see it all again keeping up with Plan A and hotels booked.
The local indigenous lived along this valley hundreds of years ago and being the imaginative creature I am, I saw them here with their sheep, weaving and hunting and holding their arms up to the stars. Wonderful.
Actually driving along we spotted a rock just like ones in museums here, see photo. Used for grinding grain. There must be lots to be found in this area, the lived here happily before the Inca and Spanish
My little reverie is rudely interrupted looking at the two way road we are on become a single track where the huge rock juts into the road and you cannot see around the bend. Fortunately there was little on the road when we encountered such things. No fear of Chris falling asleep at the wheel, high alert needed.
At last we arrive hurray, everything covered in dust, even up our noses. What foresight to have booked a bit of luxury. It turns out to be extra quiet as guests have cancelled due to the blocked road. They have no Yorkshire grit like Chris !!!
More like...I’ve paid for this hotel so we’ll jolly well get there.
A gentler pace for three days enjoying this very rich fertile region where beautiful wine fincas abound. We did enjoy some very good red wine here and lazy days swimming, strolling along the streets looking at the shops and sitting in the cafes.
Met Pattie here from New York, very interesting lady. We went out one evening for drinks then to a local Parilla, bbq, away from the tourist restaurants.....very basic but very delicious AND much cheaper !
We visited a fascinating archeological site with museum showing excellent re enactment films of a simple life as it would have been lived before the Spanish destroyed it.
Get Jealous has been ‘acting up’ so haven’t been able to update the blog in a while.
We fly back to the UK tomorrow where we’ll spend a few days with Laura and Victoria then onto Canterbury to stay with Craig and Sophie.
But I must just add photos of the last of our trip.....ten fantastic days at Iguazu Falls then Rio de Janeiro.
We flew from Salta to Puerto Iguazu and the magnificent falls that are on both the Argentinian side and Brazilian WOW .
Skip this paragraph if you aren’t interested in statistics: Largest waterfall system in the world, being 200 to 270 feet high they are not as high as Vic Falls but they cover 1.7 miles wide and have 275 drops. Water gushes down at 62,000 cubic feet per second.
Started on the Argentinian side in a hotel 5 minutes walk to the local bus station to catch a bus that takes you right into the National Park. We’d arrived the night before into a thunder storm and were greeted by a fabulous manager full of humour, called me Pamela Anderson !! As I say , full of humour. It was indeed a tropical storm so he kindly drove us to the restaurant we’d chosen. Great hotel with a pool again, useful after a full day at the falls.
Chris and I saw Victoria Falls when we lived in Africa and I saw Niagra in the 1970’s but I have to say I think these are definitely the most spectacular.
We spent the whole day walking the trails, mostly in rainforest, at different levels to the many viewpoints. We spotted quite a bit of wildlife including exquisite brightly coloured butterflies. Families of raccoon like quatis , we’ve not seen before, try to pinch food and will bite and scratch to do so.
As the photos show the water is chocolate coloured with all the sediment washed down from early on in its course.
Here we go again with that word I don’t like but it says it all.....awesome. At one point you get chance to stand out on a ledge and look up at this huge overflow that feels so high above you and is coming down with such ferocity....the noise is deafening and the fine spray is drenching.....I cannot describe the feeling, warm tears just flowed down my face and wouldn’t stop, it just felt so amazing and powerful. No photographs at this point, too much water everywhere. We wore plastic ponchos, some folk took their tops off and others got soaked to the skin. It is hot and humid so no matter.
We said our fond goodbyes to the friendly manager and Argentina and took a taxi across the border into Brazil and to our next hotel, took less than an hour. Again we chose a hotel 5 mins from the local bus station to get to the falls easily. The town Foz de Iguaçu is only worth staying in for a falls visit.
From the Brazilian side you get a more panoramic view of the falls and we spotted some of where we’d walked the previous day. Another fabulous day and I couldn’t help but think how lucky we are to see such sights.
Last but not least, six nights in Rio de Janeiro and it doesn’t disappoint.
It is indeed nestled in a fabulous location with numerous sweeping bays, long clean fine-sandy beaches with promenades and cycle lanes.
Most striking has to be the backdrop of green mountains (Rio having the largest URBAN rainforest in the world ) and the fabulous monolithic granite and quartz mountains that rise straight out of the waters edge.
Of course you cannot miss and have to visit Christ the Redeemer and take the cable cars in two stages up Sugar Loaf mountain. Looking up at them you wonder that anyone can actually get up there.
The name ‘sugarloaf’was coined in the 16th century by the Portuguese during the heyday of sugar cane trade in Brazil. According to historian Vieira Fazenda, blocks of sugar were placed in conical mounds made of clay to be transported on ships. The shape given by these molds was similar to the peak.
Christ the Redeemer stands 30m/98ft tall, 125ft with pedestal and the arm span is 92 ft. Designed by a French sculpture and completed in 1931.
Sugar Loaf mountain is a mere 560 million years old sitting on a peninsula at the mouth of Guanabara Bay, rising up 1299 ft. You take two cable cars to reach the summit.
The 360 degree views from both are splendid. The day we chose was very hot and sunny reaching 33 degrees at one point, the rest of the time it averaged 27 but didn’t feel that hot. We did have one day of rain, warm it was.
We were very lucky throughout this trip weather wise as we hit the rainy season in many places and yet managed to miss most of it. When we needed a clear sky we got it for the views.
We were apprehensive about Rio with its crime reputation and we’d had enough warnings. Ventured out the first day, no watch on, no jewellery, little money and card hidden in zipped areas, me clutching my camera. Body belts have been known to be snatched on armed demand.
After that we took care but weren’t paranoid, in fact we felt very safe and relaxed.
Our hotel was two blocks back from Ipanema Beach close to metro, buses and of course plenty of cafes and restaurants, our favourite was a Mexican. We took the bus to Copacabana Beach which is bigger and livelier but again a safe beach to spend the day. It was closer than we realised so enjoyed walking from one back to the other.
It was a change to enjoy time just sat on the beach people and wave watching. There was a constant stream of vendors with drinks and sunglasses and bikinis even portable bbq’s to cook up some prawns. I have to say they were not one bit persistent or a nuisance and took a ‘no thanks’ or wave of the hand very politely often with a smile, moving on quickly.
It has lots of high rise buildings but we saw little in the way of old interesting colonial places. Maybe we missed the cultural bit but I think Rio is more about its natural beauty and perhaps nightlife. We gave that a miss. We enjoyed lovely evening stroll along Ipanema prom still lovely and warm late into the night. The whole stretch of beach is floodlit allowing volleyball, keep-fit groups etc doing their thing.
So our trip is over, we have really LOVED it and felt extremely lucky to have seen such wonders.
Thanks for our messages, sorry some of you have had trouble posting messages but this blog site has become quite temperamental.
See you soon xx
Finally the cases are down and we are packing ready for our trip to Sydney
We drop in on Laura for a few days then fly out from Heathrow via UAE arriving 30/1/19
Getting quite excited now