The Blithe Traveler

Buenos Aires - NSFV (Not Safe For Vegans)

Ah, city life. I am so a country mouse. The city just puts me right on edge. I know, I know, I live in a city, and have spent three of the past four years living in humongous cities. But at the heart of it, I yearn for space and peace. These are not the sort of things one is going to easily find in Buenos Aires.

What you might find in Buenos Aires are a bunch of dudes sitting around a fire. Out in the street. Gearing up for ... who knows?

Drums ...

And a flashy sort of attire. With more drums ...

No idea.

But, we came to Argentina for meat, not fires, drums or flashy sorts of attire. 

It had been a longish sort of day: we left for the Vienna airport at 4pm on Friday, flew to Frankfort, transferred there to a 13 hour flight to Buenos Aires and arrived at our apartment just before lunch.

We grabbed some cheese and yogurt from a local shop and headed off to find some wing-ed friends for Hope. Really, all we were doing was passing time until dinner. Dinner begins around 8 (at the family sort of restaurants; later for the more serious diner) and lasts until 4 or 5 in the morning, so we had a bit of time to kill.

We sat around salivating. Waiting something south of "patiently" for the appointed hour.While I am generally not the sort to prowl about a closed restaurant waiting for it to open, that is exactly what we did our first night in Buenos Aires. It was totally worth it.

Alas, my photography skills are simply not up to doing this piece of meat justice.

And, there are those of you thinking, for the love of all that is holy, woman, don't you prefer your meat cooked?

No, thank you. 

The lateness of the hour began to wear on the wee ones. Conscientious parents that we are, we gently bundled poor Hope up ...

...and propped her up against the wall. So she wouldn't fall on the sidewalk.

Finally, sated, we headed for home. And discovered what the costumed folk had been up to. A Party Parade. I had never seen one of these before, but, I confess, it was worth spending a few days in the city to witness. The beat was astonishing; it was the sort of music that is a feeling, vibrating your soul.

About as astonishing as the tatas displayed in the photo below (front and center, as it were). 

I still really don't know what was going on, but it seemed to be teams of drummers/dancers passing through in a parade formation. We were witnessing the tail end (which was just as well because it was way past bedtime and these folks were under our bedroom window), but it was kewl. Really kewl.

Tomorrow: In Which We Have Our Best Day in Buenos Aires - We Go To Uruguay

Patagonia: The Planning Phase

You might wonder why people based in Europe would chose to go to South America for a Christmas holiday. It's a longish sort of a trip, there is a time zone shift and, if one assumes that one day we will be based in the US again, South American is a much easier jaunt from there then from here.

Reality check: "easier" isn't on the list of criteria when we're throwing darts at the map. Hey, the wee ones have no problem with 13 hour plane trips, so it's just not a factor. Basically, most places on the planet are open for consideration. Although, cost is a factor, so you won't see us booking a trip to the South Pole any time soon.

Back to South America: not long after we got back from Thailand last Christmas, Jeff mentioned that the the one thing he really missed living in Europe were great steaks.

Yep. That's why we went. Oh, you can wrap it in all kinds of padding: summer versus winter! New continent! Interesting sights! But what it really came down to were that both Jeff and I love a great steak with a bottle of red wine. Hey, if you really love lamb, go to New Zealand. For the serious carnivore, Argentina is Mecca. 

For planning purposes, that was about the extent of Jeff's involvement.

He said, "Argentina."

I said, "Hey! Big country! Any other notions??"

He said, "No. Surprise me."

I spent the next six months panicking. Really, I am not cut out to be a travel planner. I am not what you might call "detail oriented," have a terrible work ethic and don't enjoy being the responsible party when things go south. But Jeff is busy and while I work hard at the pretense of busyness, frankly, my day consists of (a) caring for children who spend seven hours a day in school and (b) plotting my next knitting project. I do clean the bathrooms but not with the sort of frequency that really constitutes elevating it to (c) level.

I downloaded Lonely Planet's Patagonia guide, set my Google-fu to "HI" and commenced reading. I am also quite fortunate in having an Aunt who is not only a travel agent, but who had been to Patagonia this past spring, so I had a sounding board for my notions.

For the Tourist, Argentina has a few Key Locations: Buenos Aires, Peninsula Valdes (wildlife!), Tierra del Fuego (wildlife! jumping off point for South Pole trips! rugged!), El Calafate and the Glacier National Park (beautiful! glaciers!), Mendoza (wine country!), the Lake District (really Chile! but since we ended up going there, I include it on the list!), and Iguazu Falls (really! big! water! fall!). There are other sights to see, of course, and road trips up and down Ruta 40 are quite popular. But, this about covers the sorts of things the average traveling family is going to chose from for their first Argentine Adventure.

I began by plotting out trips to see Everything. Which was clearly insane. As previously mentioned, Argentina is a Big Country. And internal travel is not as cheap as you might think. There are two levels of pricing for the domestic airlines: (a) For Argentinians and (b) For Tourists. This will shock you, but the tourists do not get a Welcome To Our Country Discount.

I had originally had my heart set on staying at a remote estancia (ranch or farm) in the Valdes Peninsula area that included fantastic wildlife tours. "Unfortunately," they were booked already for the Christmas holiday. Actually, it is quite fortunate that they were booked because further research suggested that they would probably have charged $1k US per night per person, so I did not have to deal with the awkwardness of canceling the reservation when I found out how expensive it was going to be.

Of course one can travel in South America on a tiny budget, but not when one wants to stay at a place that received a glowing review by the New York Times. To be fair, that price included everything. But, still food, wine, lodging and day trips just don't cost that much when we're doing it on our own. Especially since we are the sort to hit the supermarket for ham, cheese and a loaf of bread for sustenance.

Gratuitous horse photo in a desperate attempt to keep your interest through these long blocks of text

Further research suggested that if we were going to the tourist hotspots during the Christmas season, we would find multitudes of others of our ilk. The Valdes Peninsula, while it had a really lovely sound to it when you are staying on a windswept estancia 200 kilometers from the nearest town, when you are joining the hordes of Bus Tourists, well, it wasn't going to be quite as charming. 

My next step was to make a list of the key sights and activities and poll the rest of the family on what sorts of things they might enjoy. Glaciers fell of the list, which was good, because next to Valdes and the Falls, that was going to be the most crowded spot in the country. Jeff wanted to hit Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, and he loves a driving tour. I wanted nothing to do with any of the cities and really dislike driving, but wanted time on an estancia. The children were most keen on Tierra del Fuego and an estancia, but requested limited driving.

Hey, we had three weeks, so I figured I could keep everybody happy:

A. Fly into Buenos Aires, stay for two nights

B.  Fly to Tierra del Fuego (which is so far south on the map, you can't see it. Click on "view larger map if you're really interested.), stay for four nights in a small cabin

D. Fly to Bariloche, pick up rental car, drive three hours to estancia, stay for four nights including Christmas (no, I don't know where "C" went on the map)

Drive over the Andes, into Chile and through the lake district, slowly:

E. Pucon, Chile, two nights, three hour drive from the ranch

F. Drive three hours to Valdiva, on the Chilean coast, one night

G. Drive three hours to Puyehue, near the Andes border crossing, two nights,

D. Back to Bariloche, drop off rental car, fly to Iguazu

H. Iguazu, two nights enjoying the Falls

I. Fly to Rio (so far north on the map, you can't see it, unless you have clicked on "view larger map"), two nights in the Big city, head for home.

 

View Larger Map

Point of interest: I pushed back hard on the city stays. Neither Buenos Aires nor Rio de Janario held the slightest interest for me. But Jeff was insistent, and considering that he has suggested more than a few times that South America might be a nice place to settle next, I booked time in the cities.

In total, we were looking at ten flights, nine different places to stay, three countries and two rental cars. All of which were booked by the end of the fall. For me, this constitutes a nomination for the LIfetime Planning Award, and while I was pretty sure there were errors somewhere on the map, I figured no matter what went wrong, it would be a trip to remember.

Of course, you already know that my BFF (hey, the yarn came back, I'm entitled to change my opinion) Aerolines Airlines threw a wrench into the whole mess. But why don't we detail the repercutions as we go through the trip?

If it had all worked out as planned, it would have been a much easier trip. The good news is that since we usually plan our trips in a much more slapdash fashion, we were pretty prepared to roll with what really happened.

Tomorrow: Buenos Aires

 

There's No Place Like Home

We are all wishing for a pair of ruby slippers right about now.

 

Postcard from Rio

We made it to Brazil.

But in a move that would make Dumb and Dumber look like Watson and Crick, we managed to miss our flight from Iguazu . By twelve minutes. In our minds, it was two hours and twelve minutes. In real time. twelve minutes. There was a greatness to our lateness.

In our combined histories, Jeff and I have both missed flights. Once each. In the early 1990s.

Net, net, we made it to Rio. A mere two days late. And in time to catch our flight home. So, no harm, no foul.

Fair Warning

While there has been a lot of kvetching on this trip about certain airlines that were about as useful as a chocolate teapot, there are times when those of us who have been known to be blithe about certain travel details can still manage to derail a trip without any outside intervention.

Did you know, Brazil requires a visa for entry? We didn't. And not just any visa, not just one of those Tourist Tax visas where you slip them your credit card, and everyone smiles. Brazil requires bank statements, photographs, an original copy of your high school diploma, and a letter from your mother promising that she will donate a kidney if you fail to leave the country as promised.

The sign below was posted at the desk at the Brazlian consulate in Iguazu. No truer words were ever spoken: "IF YOU ARE IN A HURRY, YOU SHOULD HAVE PLANNED YOUR TRIP BETTER."

You might wonder how people who travel as much as we do could possibly have been so stupid as to assume that they could blithely skip into Brazil without visas.

Me too.

Anyway, the good news is that we like Argentina. Which is good, because we are going to be here a bit longer than we expected.

Postcard from Iguazu Falls

Holy guacamole, that's a lot of water.

‘Big Water’ in the Guarani language, the Iguazu Falls in Brazil is not so much about height, width or volume but rather the fact that the entire waterfall system is made up of no fewer than 270 individual cascades that extend for well over two and a half kilometers.

We had a grand adventure, involving boats that was a bit wilder than anything you might find at Niagara. The children rate it about the Number 1 Thing They Have Ever Done, which is saying a lot. I would rate it pretty high on the Mom Terror scale, myself.

Tom said of the falls, "You just can't take a bad picture!" He took this one and is quite proud of it. Justifiably I would say. Clearly, he did not get his photography skills from me.

And, in Excellent News of the Day, my missing suitcase was returned!! My wool and I have been reunited and all is right with the world.

MISSING

600 grams of grey alpaca. Last seen in Neuguen, Argentina.

    

Photo: December 30, 2011         Computer Aged Photo (est, six months)

Description: Approximately 600 grams of grey alpaca, in the company of 800 grams of brown alpaca and 700 grams of navy blue alpaca. Enclosed in a large suitcase filled with dirty laundry, also missing.

Suspects: Aerolineas Argentinas, alias, Those Rat Bastards

A knitted scarf is being offered as a reward for the return of the missing wool, no questions asked.

 

 

 

 

Another Postcard from Puyehue

The hydrangeas were in bloom all along our Chilean lakes drive. 

Hydrangeas make me weak with joy. Especially the blue ones.

In real time, however, we have left Chile and are have spent another day on the River Styx, brought to you by those rat bastards at Aerolineas Airlines.

All in all, the weak with joy outweighs the bitter with rage, so while it's not all good, it's still mostly good.

 

Postcard from Puyehue

The volcano in question. That 'cloud' in the distance is smoke meandering east, toward San Martin de los Andes. 

We can see the volcano from our cabin. It is an interesting view, although if one is on the other side of the Andes "interesting" is probably not the word you would use. There might, in fact, be language not appropriate for the younger set involved in your description.

The lake you see, on which our cabin is situated, is on Puyehue lake. Once there is adequate bandwidth, I will elucidate you on the rather astonishing insect life that thrives along the lake shore.

I know, you're on the edge of your seat.