The trip from Bariloche in Argentina to Puerto Varas in Chile by boat is one of the most popular tourist activities in Patagonia. And so we decided that Jo and Viv would embark on this excursion while yours truly volunteered to drive the rental car round. The term boat trip is bit of misnomer, the travel actually involving 3 boat and 4 bus hops, essentially taking the most direct route across the lake region, altogether about 11 hours and covering just over 100km. My car trip, by comparison, took about 5 hours to cover 300kms as I wound my way around the lakes. Both trips were stunning in terms of the scenery – snow capped mountains, forests and lake vistas each seemingly more photgenic than the last. Just one of the world’s great journeys. The only slight blemish on our respect travel routes was our experience with the Argentinian and Chilean border controls. Leaving Argentina involves arriving at the border station, parking and entering a long building with many signs (none of them in English of course). Helpfully you are handed a form indicating two steps, the first being simply to hand over your passport upon which I received my first stamp indicating step one had been successfully completed. Step two was more confusing – I wandered over to another section and was called to a counter where I presented my passport again, along with various forms from the rental car company “allowing” me to take their cheap piece of junk across the border. I was greeted with a fast stream of Spanish until the official looked at my passport. “ALL BLACKS” he boomed. “PUMAS” I barked back, entering into the spirit of things. From then on things went very smoothly with lots of furious stamping and (helpfully) no further correspondence in Spanish until all was seemingly complete upon which I received a “GOOD MORNING” which fair shook the rafters and caused a number of curious looks from others in the queue. I drove off feeling quite pleased with myself only to discover, about 20km further down the road, an identical Chilean border control where the whole process was repeated . . . Well I am pleased to report our time in Chile made it all worthwhile. The town of Puerto Varas, also known as "La ciudad de las rosas" or “the city of roses”, is nestled on the shore of Chile’s second largest lake – Llanquihue. Our Airbnb is about 100m from the lakeshore, and just around the corner from some excellent restaurants. It’s been sunny but not exactly tropical in terms of temperature with an average of 15 degrees in what is supposed to be one of the hottest months. Having said that the lake foreshore has been full of local families taking in the sun and swimming – surprisingly the lake temperature is not so icy cold (not that I have yet taken the plunge). On the other side of the lake, and dominating the skyline, stand the snow capped peaks of Mt Tronador, Mt Calbuco (which spectacularly erupted in 2015) and the massive Orsono Volcano. Viv and I drove up the ski-field road on Orsono and were treated to dazzling views from the top. Being summer, we had the place virtually to ourselves – the ski lift was even started especially for us so we could gain a bit of height before wandering back down a specially prepared path. On our way back we visited the Petrohue waterfalls, a spectacular spot. Tomorrow we depart back to Argentina where we will spend Christmas day.
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Interestingly when you Google “Bariloche and . . .” one of the instant fillers supplied by Google is “Nazis”. Over 9,000 high ranking third reich officers and collaborators reportedly fled to South America in 1945, and one of the favoured destinations was the picturesque lakeside town of Bariloche in Argentine’s northern Patagonian region. Bariloche earned the dubious distinction of being referred to as “The Third Reich Capital in Exile” and it was even rumoured that Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun had faked their deaths and lived out their remaining years in the Bariloche region. Bariloche, at first blush, is a chocolate boxy type town overlooking the beautiful Lake Nahuel Huapi and the snow capped Andes. It's two and and a half hours plane ride south-west from Buenos Aires, within spitting distance of the Chilean border. There are numerous large chalets behind large gates and fences with picture perfect gardens and the soft chug-chug sound of sprinkler systems. On closer inspection however there are cracks in the façade – unpaved streets are full of potholes and there is a general state of neglect, especially on the lake frontage. And that’s probably a good summation of Argentina at the moment – a nation that was once one of the world’s super powers but with an economy currently in a poor state. When the current President, Mauricio Macri was elected in December 2015, annual inflation was sitting at around 25 per cent and the fiscal deficit amounted to an alarming 6 per cent of the country’s GDP. Two years later the economic situation now seems to be improving - single digit inflation is within sight, on the back of hard hitting reforms including slashing subsidies, import tariffs and freeing up the currency. We are staying in a cute little Swiss style cottage with views (OK a glimpse) of the lake. When you book an Airbnb, or any kind of holiday rental, you are never totally sure of what you will end up with. Our place is certainly cutesy but it’s a fair way from the main centre, up a steep winding hill and without much obvious in the way of walking routes – unless you don’t mind dodging cars on unpaved roads with no pavements. Sounds a bit ungrateful, but hey – now that we have experienced a number of holiday rentals around the world, you end up being a bit choosy . . On our fourth day we ended up doing what we should have done on our first, that being to take the gondola ride up to Cerro Otto – 1400m above sea level. The views of the lakes and surrounding mountains are jaw dropping and its great to get an appreciation of the local geography. Reminded us all (and, I might add, some English tourists we met up top) of the views from the top of the Skyline Gondola in Queenstown. There is a revolving restaurant that offers exceptional and slowly changing views and we were quite happy sitting back and making our ten-dollar coffees last a good hour. In the winter this is a ski town, while in summer it’s all about enjoying the outdoors. We decided to head to Cerro Llao Loao on the western end of Lake Nahuel Huapi where there was reportedly some excellent trekking. Our start point differed from the majority of trekkers in that we headed straight to the ultimate swanko potsy Hotel Llao Llao for a pre-trek coffee. It’s a bit like a cross between the beautiful Blanket Bay Resort near Glenorchy and the Millbrook Resort in Arrowtown, both in the South Island of New Zealand. Lightly perspiring golfers were pulling up in their carts as we drove our cheap rental up to the main entrance. Everything about the place is beautiful – from the high wooden ceilings to the huge stone built fireplace to the panoramic views over the lakes and mountains. If we could have sold the rental we might have been able to stay a night . . . Oh and the trek was amazing – the sun shone brightly through the fir trees that lined our path and we started to see glimpses of the shimmering lake until we emerged onto a clearing with 180 degree views of the lake and mountains. Diving into those crystal clear (but very cold) waters was the ultimate respite from the heat of the day. Heaven . . . So Bariloche for me was really a place of contrasts - from opulent chalets to pot-holed dusty streets to not so friendly and welcoming people. But overshadowing everything is the nature, mountains, lakes, rivers and trees (lots of them) – and after all, this is really why most people come here . . .
When I read up on Buenos Aires in travel books and websites I was struck by the exuberant, yet slightly unhelpful nature of the descriptions. Lonely Planet, for instance, describes the city as combining “faded European grandeur with Latin passion. Sexy and alive, this beautiful city gets under your skin”. And from Madonna, in somewhat of a literary (or perhaps wacky baccy) state of mind: "Buenos Aires. I'm new, I wanna say I'm just a little stuck on you. And if ever I go too far, it's because of the things you are. Beautiful town, I love you." And it wasn’t until we arrived that I sort of got why so many had trouble describing the place . . . Buenos Aires is a city like no other I have experienced. Alongside rough and ready neighbourhoods tower grand old buildings, ornate and beautiful. Alongside barrios where tourists are warned against openly displaying cameras and backpacks lie streets full of designer and upmarket shops. And where you see chic young Argentinians sipping their morning lattes there will also be an endless stream of street sellers touting socks, paper tissues or simply after small change. Buenos Aires is home to around 17 million inhabitants – in fact one third of Argentinians live here which sort of leaves the rest of this huge country feeling a little empty. I was astounded to learn Buenos Aires is only ranked 81st in the world for quality of life. Well whoever gave it that rank must like manicured lawns, white picket fences and being in bed at 8pm with a warm cup of cocoa because seriously – this city rocks. Its hard to go out on the streets without the senses being assailed by something going on: whether it be massive protests in the Plaza del Mayo, tango dancing and music on the streets or fireworks being let off indiscriminately (and that was just during the last 3 days). One thing to remember for all those vegetarian/vegan/gluten free types out there - Buenos Aires is one big meat lovers dream. Argentinians apparently eat about 55kg of meat a year – well that’s according to www.therealargentina.com - which is about double what North Americans consume. Our little vegetarian party of three encountered some serious challenges searching for an elusive restaurant serving anything resembling vegetables. But hey presto we found the perfect place – for those planning a trip here, wanting to eat slightly healthy but also enjoy ambience, good beers and a lively atmosphere – look no further than Hierbabuena, Avenida Caseros 454. One person who has always fascinated me, but of whom I have to admit I knew relatively little about (aside from being able to belt out some tracks of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical), is Eva Peron. From humble beginnings in rural Argentina Eva Duarte travelled to Buenos Aires in 1934 in search of fame and fortune as an actress. It turns out she was moderately successful in her acting career, which may have continued had she not met and married Colonel Juan Peron who would become President of Argentine in 1946. And this is where the extraordinary story really takes off as, with no official Government position and within six years, Eva Peron was instrumental in winning Argentinian women the right to vote, acted as the defacto Minister of Health and Labour and founded the Eva Peron Foundation which helped establish thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages and homes for the aged. When she died of cancer at the age of 33 (incidentally she was apparently the first Argentinian to undergo Chemotherapy), the people’s grief was almost overwhelming. Flowers were sold out in the whole of Argentina – reminiscent of the passing of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was loved by the poor and working and class and is still referred to as the Spiritual Leader of the Nation. Quite a lady . . . It was natural therefore that part of our Buenos experience would somehow involve Eva – and so it was with a visit to the Eva Peron museum and the Recoletta Cemetery. The latter was quite an experience, the Recolleta Cemetery being a surreal maze of over 6,000 mausoleums – most with ornate frontages and glass doors behind which stood anything from one to half a dozen coffins. Viv and I elected not to take a tour, where we would undoubtedly have learnt more than we would ever want to know about notable Argentinian internees, and instead headed straight for most photographed tomb of Eva Peron. I am pleased to say we added to the photography statistics. The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires “Malba” was a real highlight. Some quite outstanding art (in my humble view anyway) from twentieth century Latin American artists such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The whole collection is quite manageable (a far cry from the Sistine Chapel in Florence where I mainly remember the hunt for the Uscita/Exit) and blissfully the beautifully designed gallery is air-conditioned. My other highlight was our visit to La Boca – home to a strongly working class population and, most importantly, La Boca Juniors, who incidentally are currently sitting top of the Argentine First Division. Caminito, a small pedestrian alley, is a haven for artists, restaurants and the tango. The art is seriously good – not your usual tourist tat – and we just loved sipping our coffee watching some beautiful, if slightly erotic, tango dancing. So now its hasta luego Buenos Aires – yep it’s been great . . .
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Richard and JolandaJo and I have decided to give up our work, our house and our lives in Wellington NZ to see the world. Our big adventure started on April 6th 2017 . . . Archives
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