Oct 2008

The border crossing into Chile was rather uneventful. All they did was throw away the sandwiches we brought which steve claims tasted dodgy anyway. The bus attendant guy did try and play with my head by pretending my bag went missing when he was really wearing it. We had a stop over in Osorno for about 5 hours. It was a very long 5 hours. Then we headed onto Santiago. Santiago is apparently the most modern and developed capital city in South America. I can believe that. There´s a number of high rises and loads of malls and people wearing suits. We stayed in a hostel in Bellavista - the Bohemian arty center of the city. Nice vibe about it. We explored the downtown area and found Japanese restaurants. This made me very happy - and the fact it was quite warm in Santiago and sunny. We mainly just mulled around but it was good. Empanadas, beef filled pastry in Argentina, are still around but instead are cheese filled. Most travellers said they didn´t like Santiago but I found it refreshing and lively after being in small towns for so long. The next day we went to Valpariso. Now everyone, including guide books, rave about Valpariso; having been there I have no idea why. It was overcast and freezing cold when we went. Outside of the hills with the fair views there wasn't much to commend it in my opinion. It's a port town but offers no good area to enjoy the water, it´s all big containers and docking equipment - quite unsightly. So glad we didn't stay there. Anyway I was quite glad to be back in Santiago which was sunny and warm again. The next day we went to the big park in the center of Santiago, it´s on a hill. Easy and cheap to get up but not so much to go down. We got up there and found a Virgin Mary statue and various scenic points allowing for views of the city and mountains - if they weren't obstructed by smog. We had "breakfast" up at the restaurant and man was it expensive. Ridiculously so and to rub salt in the wound they even have this "table charge". I have no idea what it´s about but it´s 10% and apparently not the same as tipping. Steve was raving mad and it bittered our experience up there. We went down on what appeared to be a kind of ski lifts and wandered most of the day looking for english books. We did manage to find an english bookstore and it was glorious.

I liked Santiago but I think I´m finding I like big cities more than the countryside. Chile is actually cheaper than I thought. People were saying it was more expensive than Argentina but I don´t think that´s true at all. Next stop is San Pedro de Atacama - a 24 hour bus journey away. Happily this is the last long bus journey we have. The rest can be down in 12 hours or less I think.

For pics of Santiago and Valpariso go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78295&l=15c36&id=684816071

What to say about Bariloche. I´m not sure why but I seemed to be set against this place before I even came there. It´s kind of like a ski resort town. Cold, very touristy, lots of chocolate, lots of outdoor kind of activities like horseriding, skiing, rafting etc. We didn´t do any of that. Mainly because I just wanted to sit around and relax. We´re planning to do a lot of that in Cusco anyway. The views from the town are very scenic and there are a few walks that are worth some time. We mainly did those walks and ate chocolate. The main walk to Cerro Campanario was the best. Supposedly in the top ten views suggested by national geographic (I´m not sure if I believe that rumour though), it is quite a site. The hostel we stayed in Pudu, was tolerable but crumbly at the edges. I had a large bone to pick with the fact the curtain didn´t go fully across the panoramic window and allowed those below in the smoking area to easily look up into the room. The shower also tended to spray all over the bathroom and leave everything in that vicinity soaked.I was glad to go. The chocolate was good though and the last restaurant we went to was like a little hobbit house with a tree growing in the middle. We had parilla there, Argentian bbq, which was good but expensive. It´s across the border to Chile next. Santiago.

For more pictures of Bariloche check out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78262&l=82d9f&id=684816071

Hmm it´s been a while...mainly I´m lazy. From El Calafate to Puerto Madryn is pretty much a 29 hour bus journey with a changeover at Rio Gallagos. The break made it bareable and because we were in semi-cama the seats went back quite a bit facilitating sleeping. The only point I was annoyed about was the fact they decided to play a horror movie at 10am in the morning. I can´t tolerate horror movies at any time let alone while you`re mulling over breakfast. It wasn`t a good horror movie but mind you there were kids on board and stuff.

Puerto Madryn is on the eastern coast of Argentina and known mainly for it´s proximity to two animal reserves; Punto Tumbo penguin colony and Valdes Penninsula for sea lions and whales. The tours are expensive in my opinion. We did the one to the Valdres Penninsula because we would see more animals and we did see Patagonian hares, Guanicos (cousins of the llama), whales, penguins, sea elephants and even a hairy armadillo. The scenery itself was a bit desolate but it was a decent day even at the molopoly prices. Also the whale seeing boat trip we could have done without on the basis that you could see whales just as closely and free from the docks in Puerto Madryn. You´re aren`t actually allowed on the beaches with the animals, which I suppose is fair though I would have loved to get a closeup of the elephant seals. They actually look quite dead when you see them at first - they only appear to muster energy to throw stones on themselves and occasionally wail like some sort of half-dog/half possessed demon child. The penguins were actually quite close to the fence so we got to see them closeup. Very cute and small - these are megellanic penguins. The guide told us a story of how an emperor penguin got lost and ended up down by the penninsula. Apparently one of the park rangers took it in as it were, the penguin actually followed him around. Apparently they´re like a meter high so it looked like a kid or small person beside him waddling along. About a month later apparently they put the penguin on the boat heading to the antarctic. The guide was in tears because they were like friends. I thought it was a cute story.

We stayed at Hi Patagonia which was a very nice hostel with a minifridge and a TV in the room. I have to say it was quite enjoyable having a TV in the room. Was able to watch some shows in english with Spanish subtitles including the titillating Legally Blond and Two and a Half men...better than nothing I say. The owner of the hostel, Gaston, was quite the accomedating , nice chatty fellow. We´ve been finding the higher rated the hostel the more they´re willing to bend backwards to make you happy and keep that high rating on hostelworld. The restaurant we went to on the first day, El Nautico I think had a fabulous set menu that I feel necessary to menu on the basis that it was one of the most memorable parts of Puerto Madryn. Anyway we left with no regrets onto Bariloche.

For more pics go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76183&l=dafd5&id=684816071