Seduced by Santiago

 

From Mendoza it was time for me to head to Santiago, Chile. I'd heard that the bus journey across the Andes was particularly spectacular but there could be long delays at the border crossing. I decided to take the first bus out of Mendoza at 7.30am so I would be able to appreciate the scenery in daylight and hopefully not get too held up at the border.
 
It was a 6 hour journey and I chose to travel with Andesmar again as I know what to expect with them.

We reached the border crossing after about 3 hours and I had been glued to the window the whole way, the views were spectacular as we wound our way through the mountains. I was also intrigued by a railway track that ran parallel to the road and hoped it was no longer in action due to it being in various states of disrepair.
 
The border crossing took about 40 minutes and I obviously hadn't learnt my lesson after the carrot incident as I remembered halfway through the journey that I had spices and a tin of tuna in my bag. I will blame the early start for that one! I ticked the 'something to declare' box on my form as I really didn't want to risk being fined. However, I needn't have worried as nothing was said and my big rucksack didn't get singled out for searching after having the once over from the sniffer dog and x-ray - phew.

I arrived in Santiago pretty much on time and got a taxi to the Princesa Insolente Hostel in Barrio Brasil. The hostel is pretty funky and I loved the décor.

When I went out to the supermarket my first impressions weren't great - a few seedy looking bars and sex shops (the first ones I've seen on my trip). However, after exploring the neighbourhood further during my stay I came to like its quirks. Nearly every building is covered in graffiti of some sort and most of it is really good. I like the mix of big old crumbling mansions in among the more modern buildings and just watching the day to day goings on of the locals. It is the kind of neighbourhood I imagine back home would end up becoming overrun with hipsters given half the chance.
 
I had five days in Santiago, which is more than enough time to take in the main sights. 

First stop was the Mueso de la Memoria, which is all about Chile during the Pinochet years and was within walking distance from my hostel. I had read a bit about the history prior to coming to here, but the museum really brought home what the reality was like for many Chileans during that time.

Entry was free and it's possible to get an audio guide for 2,000 pesos - I would recommend getting this as pretty much everything is in Spanish. I would also suggest making sure you have low denomination notes as they didn't have enough change for a 10,000 peso note when I went. This meant I got a much less detailed English booklet for free. Not having an audio guide did give me an opportunity to practice my Spanish reading and I found I was able to get the main gist of most of the exhibits - if only my speaking was as good! 

After having spent a good part of the day in the museum I headed to Parque Quinta Normal, which is just opposite, for some fresh air. As it was a Sunday it was a hive of activity, families having picnics, children racing round on bikes, young couples kissing, ice cream and drink vendors peddling their wares and even some breakdancing.

It was probably the noisiest park I have ever been in and I enjoyed just aimlessly walking and people watching. I went back to the park later in the week and it was pretty dead so I would recommend going at a weekend if you can.

 

Next day I took the metro from Republica to the centre of Santiago and had a wander round. I started by going up Cerro Santa Lucia, which among other things used to be a convent. There were Italian style fountains, a chapel and even a Japanese garden. Watch out for the sprinklers on your way to the top though, but as it was a really hot day I was glad to cool off. From there I strolled past Palacio de Bella Artes, which is set in the Parque Forestal, towards the Plaza de Armas. 

I then walked down Paseo Huerfanos and Paseo Ahumada, which is a pedestrian shopping street and as it is near the main business district it was full of people in suits at the time I passed through. 

Hot dogs or completos are a popular snack in Chile and I passed several places serving them, I don't normally eat them at home but as I was peckish I didn't need much persuading. I opted for an Americano, which came topped with salsa verde, tomatoes and mayo.

My last stop was the presidential palace, Palacio de la Moneda, also the site of the coup in 1973.

The following day I visited Cerro San Cristobal. I took the funicular, 2,000 pesos return, from Estacion Central at the end of Pio Nono to Estacion Cumbre. Then it was a short walk up to statue of the Virgin Mary, which stands on top of the hill overlooking the city. The views were pretty good and would have been even better if it weren't for the smog shrouding everything in the distance.
Back down the hill I wandered around La Vega Fruit Market, Central Market and Tirso de Molina Market. Chile prides itself on it's fresh produce especially fruit and vegetables and I enjoyed walking around La Vega seeing what was on offer - including loads of dried fruit.

I finished off by going to the oldest dive bar in Santiago - La Piojera (The Fleahouse), which is akin to a ruin pub in Budapest. The bar is famous for a drink called the terremoto - earthquake (sweet white wine, grenadine, bitters and ice cream) it was actually quite nice but pretty lethal, another and I'd have probably been on the floor!

On my final day I went to La Chascona, which was poet Pablo Neruda's Santiago home. Entry cost 5,000 pesos and came with an audio guide. Neruda designed the house to be shiplike so it was pretty unusual - I actually wouldn't mind living there. I loved all the various pieces of art and ornaments in the different rooms.
I wasn't that familiar with Neruda's work before going to the house but his poetry is beautiful and I will definitely be reading more when I return to the UK.

I had lunch at Galindo a restaurant serving traditional Chilean dishes in the Bellavista neighbourhood. I tried Pastel de Choco, which is a bit like a pie made with mashed maize and filled with beef, chicken, olives and an egg. I also had Porotos Granados, a stew made with white beans and mashed maize. The one I had also included bits of squash and a sausage. Both were really yummy but filling so I ended up taking the leftovers with me!

Despite being surprisingly taken with this smoggy, colourful, vibrant and at times shabby city, after five days I was ready to head south again to some smaller towns before it starts getting too cold. 

Red, red wine...

After leaving El Bolson my next port of call was the city of Mendoza in the heart of Argentina's wine country and home to malbec.

I used Andesmar again for the 21 hour journey and as El Bolson doesn't have a main bus terminal the coaches stop at their main company office in the town, these are all quite close to one another so fairly easy to locate.

First surprise of the journey was that the bus was actually early. After lunch, which comprised of the now standard ham and cheese roll with mayo, was a game of bus bingo! A great way for me to practice my numbers, I didn't win but the woman behind me did and she got a bottle of wine.

Dinner consisted of the most carbs I have ever seen as part of a meal - bread roll, slice of focaccia, muffin, slice of cheese and ham followed by a chicken cutlet and mashed potatoes! Thankfully I still had some tomato and chickpea stew leftover so supplemented my mash with this just to give it some colour! 

The coach arrived in Mendoza on time too - another first. I had booked to stay at Hostel Mora and it was a fairly straightforward 10/15minute walk from the bus station. My main reason for choosing this particular hostel was that it offered a free wine hour every night, secondly there were pancakes for breakfast. 

I was in Mendoza for four days and spent the first two exploring. As far as cities go it isn't a sprawling metropolis so it was fairly easy to navigate and the centre is concentrated around Plaza Independencia. There are four further plazas around Independencia, which are equi-distant from one another - Plaza Italia, Plaza Chile, Plaza San Martin and Plaza Espana. My favourite was Plaza Espana because I liked the tiled seats and fountain.

I also wandered out to Parque Central, which was about a 20 minute walk from Independencia down Avenida Mitre. I took some food with me from the vegetarian (yes, vegetarian) take away round the corner from my hostel. There were actually two veggie places in the vicinity - I thought the fact there was one was pretty awesome but two! The park was pleasant with plenty of grassy areas to sit and it was a nice place to while away some time.

The next night the hostel was organising an asado (Argentinian bbq) for 120 pesos and as I had yet to experience this particular part of Argentinan culture I signed up - unfortunately it was cancelled due to there not being enough interest. I was particularly disappointed especially as I'd eaten hardly anything all day in preparation.

The following day one of my fellow dorm mates told me about a buffet place she had been to during her last trip to Mendoza, which did lots of meat dishes and had a built in asado. At 140 pesos all you can eat how could I say no especially after the disappointment of the previous night! The place opened at 8.30pm and we were the first people in there, which was good as by 9pm it was heaving. 

The food was a-mazing, now I'm not the biggest meat eater but the dishes I tried were delicious. The slow cooked lamb in a tomato based sauce was to die for. Needless to say I went back to the hostel that night painfully full.
  
As I was in wine country it would have been rude not to at least visit some wineries during my stay. I booked to do a whole day bike and wine tour for 600 pesos on my last day. I would get to visit 3 wineries and have lunch at one. I was a little apprehensive about how wise it would be to ride a bike after a day of wine drinking but I thought it would be more fun than going in a bus. 

However, the morning of the tour the receptionist told me that unfortunately due to issues with the transport supposed to take us to the bikes the company had to cancel the tour. I was pretty gutted to say the least especially after the asado got cancelled earlier in the week - things didn't seem to be going my way. As it was my last day I couldn't try and book for another day either.

All was not lost though and I was able to book on a half day normal tour instead visiting two wineries and an olive oil producer.

The first winery was called Vistandes and was quite a modern set up. We got told about the wine making process then came the tasting. First up was a white wine (I forget what it was) but despite its fruity smell it was too dry for my taste. The second was a malbec but again I wasn't that blown away by it.

Next up was Pasrai an extra virgin olive oil producer. Again the process of making olive oil was explained to us and afterwards we were able to sample several oils from plain to flavoured ones. My favourite was the garlic infused oil, didn't like it enough to warrant buying a bottle to carry around with me though.

Final stop was a small family run winery called Don Arturo. Unlike Vistandes the winery was actually more like what I imagined one to be like - whitewashed buildings, grapevines, barrels etc and it felt a lot more personal too.

We were able to try three different wines and I discovered I have a taste for cabernet sauvignon - so much so I even bought a bottle for 60 pesos. I also liked the second malbec we sampled, which was a reserve one, however it was a little more expensive so I stuck with the cabernet sauvignon.

When I got back to Mendoza I was anxious that I needed to exchange some money for Chilean pesos ready for the next day so I'd have enough to get to my hostel. There was also the Via Blanca de Las Reinas parade to kick off the wine harvest celebrations happening in the city.

Thankfully I managed to locate a cambio office that was still open as I couldn't be bothered to try and find someone to do a blue market exchange with due to it being a bit chaotic and I only wanted to change a small amount. 

Turning water into wine - a fountain in Mendoza

After exchanging my money I secured myself a front row spot for the parade among a couple of families. As it got closer to the start time it started getting a bit more crowded. I had sort of made friends with the man next to me and his young grandson as I kindly held their spot while they went and got drinks.

The parade consisted of floats from the various provinces in the Mendoza region. On these floats are the harvest queens from each province, who get judged until one is crowned the overall National Wine Harvest Queen. In between the floats were gauchos on horses, a tractor procession, brass bands etc.

During the parade a few things were thrown from the floats into the crowd, this started with a few sweets - nothing unusual there, then progressed to pens (inwardly I was thinking health and safety would never allow this in the UK - they could take someone's eye out). If I thought the frenzy of the people around me for the sweets was bad the pens were even worse. I did manage to inadvertently catch a key ring much to the amusement of those around me.

After the pens came grapes, plums and apples. I am fairly sure if someone took a photo of me while this was going on the look on my face would have been one of bemusement mixed with fear as chaos ensued around me. 

The atmosphere wasn't violent at all and everyone around me was laughing and smiling while at the same time being very competitive. I even saw some people with baskets on sticks to help them catch stuff - serious business. My fear was mostly from the fact I didn't much want to end up being hit full in the face by an apple! I did manage to get a peach, which landed at my feet.

As if this couldn't get worse the people on the final float were throwing melons - yes that's right melons! It was at this point I regretted standing quite so close as an apple in the face is one thing, but a melon that could do some serious damage. I needn't have worried because a stealthy teenager crossed the barrier and managed to catch the one headed my way.

All in all it was a really enjoyable evening and fitting for my last night in Argentina. Also, as I missed out on some of the bigger Carnaval celebrations this definitely made up for it.

Bariloche and bohemian El Bolson

Various people I'd met along the way said I should go to Bariloche. I originally planned to stay there for 3 days before heading to Mendoza. However, while I was flicking through my trusty Lonely Planet I remembered I had wanted to visit El Bolson, which is a small bohemian town just south of Bariloche.

So it was that I changed my mind and stayed in Bariloche for just one day and spent two in El Bolson and I'm glad I did.

My first impressions of Bariloche weren't great, I arrived in the early evening and I don't know if it was due to my sleep deprivation but I just didn't get a great vibe. I didn't feel in any danger just my initial gut feeling wasn't good.

I stayed in Periko's Hostel, which was really nice and I shared a room with two German students, who like me were also heading to El Bolson the following day and were even going to be staying in the same small hostel.

My bus wasn't until the afternoon so I spent the morning wandering up the main streets in Bariloche. The town is famous for its chocolate so every other shop was one selling the product. Aside from this the other shops were just the same old touristy ones I'd come to be used to in El Calafate and Ushuaia so I was glad to be moving on somewhere a bit smaller.

I then came to the Civic Square, which had an almost European vibe to it in terms of the architecture. It also had a good view of Nahuel Huapi Lake. From there I wandered along the shores of the lake where there were small beaches and even at 11am people were out sunbathing. 

I'm not usually one for visiting churches but there was something about San Carlos de Bariloche Cathedral that drew me to it. Inside, my curiosity was rewarded with the beautiful stained glass windows, which with the sunlight pouring through them added bursts of colour to what was quite a simple interior.  

One of the reasons people stay in Bariloche, aside from the chocolate, is it's proximity Nahuel Huapi National Park. Had I been there for 3 days I probably would have done some of the hikes considering I didn't think all that much of the city itself.

I got a taxi to the main bus station, which is 2.5 miles out of the city and caught my bus to El Bolson.

The town is located at the foot of the Pittriquitron mountain. It is surrounded by forests and the Rio Quemquemtreu runs through it. It is known for being quite bohemian so you could say it is like the Glastonbury of this region.

I booked to stay at La Casa del Viajero, which is a small hostel located a 15 minute walk from the main town. Mathias, the owner of the hostel, met me at the bus stop and took me to the hostel.

On the way he explained a little bit about the town etc. He also told me that there have been a lot of forest fires in the surrounding area, which I think must be down to how hot and dry it was there and we could even see smoke from one way in the distance. I have also heard that there may have been political reasons for the fires too.

The hostel was lovely, a great place to just relax and enjoy the surroundings. There were several hammocks strung up around the grounds, perfect for lazing in.

The six bed dorm I booked was in a small wooden cabin and it had its own bathroom and kitchen. There was a veranda outside the front with comfy seats.

As the hostel was so small and out of the way, it meant it was easy to get to know the other guests and we spent most evenings drinking and chatting. As a solo traveller these are the moments you come to relish especially after a long journey when you realise you haven't had a meaningful conversation for a day or two.

Due to the laid back nature of my surroundings I spent most of the next morning in a hammock in the garden before heading to the market. The weekend market in El Bolson is quite popular as local artisans and producers display their wares from handcrafted jewellery to honey and home brewed beer. 

While I was there I saw a lot of people's attention was drawn to the smoke coming from a wooded area just above the town. It was quite close as I could even see the flames. There were planes flying over dumping water on it, the proximity of the fire to the town was a little concerning especially as the slight breeze that day seemed to have spread it a bit too.

El Bolson is definitely the type of place you could end up staying in for a while just due to it's relaxing atmosphere. It was certainly refreshing to be somewhere where I could just sit in a hammock all afternoon reading a book and not feel like I should be off doing something else.

If I hadn't already got an onward bus booked I would have stayed on for another day at least and maybe I would have gone on some of the hikes around the town, although that hammock was pretty appealing too... 

The road less paved - experiencing Ruta 40

While I was in El Calafate I booked the next part of my journey Northwards. As it is a small town and still quite remote only a couple of long distance companies Taqsa/Marga and Chalten Travel make the journey to Bariloche.

Fitzroy mountain range in the distance

Both these companies run buses to Bariloche for the same price - 1,580 pesos. The only difference is the route, Chalten Travel goes along Ruta 40, which runs parallel to the Andes and is the longest road in Argentina finishing in Jujuy province in the very North, whereas Taqsa/Marga goes up the Eastern coast via Rio Gallegos.

I wanted to experience travel along Ruta 40 mainly because going with Taqsa/Marga would take me back along roads I'd already been on. At the time I didn't really think about the fact that there are still sections of Ruta 40, which are unpaved or that a large chunk of the journey would be overnight so I wouldn't see anything.

I bought my ticket and was told that I would need to switch buses - fine I thought at least I know beforehand for a change. The only catch was it looked like I would have to switch in the middle of nowhere as the point on the map was a junction where Ruta 40 meets Ruta 23. 

Needless to say I was pretty anxious about potentially being left in the middle of the Patagonian wilderness, but I needn't have worried because the bus continued on it's way to El Chalten until we met the other bus coming in the opposite direction. Both buses stopped, I got off grabbed my bag, crossed the road and got on the other bus much to the confusion of the other passengers.

The bus I had been on before the switch was a really nice semi-cama bus, the type I have been used to on other overnight journeys. The other bus, however was just a normal coach and when I stepped on what hit me first was the smell of festering bodies.

Now, I know that I didn't exactly smell like a bed of roses either. I'd lost count of the number of days I had worn the same long sleeved top and t-shirt combo, but the smell on this bus was pretty pungent to say the least.

I didn't have a seat number either and the bus was already really full so the only seat available to me was right on the back seat squished in among four other passengers, thankfully I didn't get the death seat in the middle.

I also noted there wasn't a toilet on board and assumed that we probably wouldn't get any food either - both of these things I would have got if I'd gone with Taqsa/Marga and at no extra cost as the tickets were the same price.

At this point I just had to embrace my decision and make the best of the journey, it could be worse I have friends who have had to endure long trips sat right next to a stinky toilet.   

I had eaten a big lunch so wasn't too hungry and I have learnt to always take a few snacks with me so the lack of food didn't bother me much. There were several stops to random service stations in the middle of nowhere so people could get something to eat and use the toilet. 

The last stop was at 1am and after this I settled in as best I could for what I could already tell would be a rather uncomfortable night especially as by now the roads were unpaved.

Despite the bumpiness of the road I managed to get a little sleep before the bus stopped in the town of Perito Moreno - note this isn't the same place where you can see the glacier - at 6.30am. I was supposed to go on to the final stop at Los Antiguos and pick up a bus at 7am, however I knew that it would take longer than 30 minutes to get there and the bus would have to come back through Perito Moreno anyway.

The majority of passengers leaving the bus in Perito Moreno were heading to Bariloche so I deduced that it would likely be the same bus coming through to pick them up. Thankfully I was right and my name was on the list of passengers supposed to be on the bus - did get a little ticking off by the driver though for getting on in the wrong place. 

The journey from here to Bariloche took 12 hours and I had a double seat to myself. Although, I had gone from one extreme to the other and was now sat at the front of the bus so I had to endure the driver's choice of music for the entire journey. This ranged from Argentinian pop to more mariachi style music.

I would say despite the discomfort, lack of on board meals and toilet I'm glad I did that journey. I got to see the Fitzroy mountain range in the distance and lots of other scenery I wouldn't have otherwise seen.

From previous travel experiences it is always the bits that don't pan out how you think they will that are the ones you will remember. However, if someone asked me to make that trip again I would choose Taqsa/Marga without a doubt.

Glacial goings-on

From Ushuaia it was time to head back North again, this time up the Western side of Argentina. I booked a flight for this part of the trip as it cost about the same as the bus and would be a lot quicker.

Ushuaia airport is really small but even so I still ended up having a slight Home Alone 2 moment on the plane when they announced the flight was bound for Buenos Aires. Thankfully this was followed up with via El Calafate.

As the plane came in to land at I noticed it seemed to be speeding up – having travelled on a few Ryanair flights I assumed they were going for that slightly poo your pants style of landing. However, we suddenly started climbing again and a few minutes later the pilot informed us that they had to abort the landing due to turbulence. Thankfully the second attempt was successful and we were safely on the ground.

I took a shuttle bus from the airport for 100 pesos as this was cheaper than a taxi and would still drop me at my hostel.

During my first two nights in El Calafate there was a festival going on, which meant there were a lot more people than usual in the town. Thanks to Romeo Santos I didn’t get a lot of sleep either – his fans were very loud as was his music, which I could hear from the hostel.

El Calafate is a small town and there is one main street, which was very similar to the one in Ushuaia – full of travel agents, restaurants, souvenir shops and outdoor shops.

The town sits on the shores of Lago Argentino and on my first day I took a stroll around part of it. The walk was very pleasant aside from it being really windy although it certainly sped up the time it took me to get back to town. I also saw lots of different birds including some flamingos.

The main reason people visit El Calafate is the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is about 50 miles away. The glacier is the world's third largest fresh water reserve and has an area of 97 square miles.

There are so many tour agencies in town it can be a bit overwhelming knowing who to go with and what options to choose. I stayed at Schilling Hostel and the owners were able to give me advice on the different choices available and an idea to prices.

A popular option is a mini trekking excursion, which involves a trek over the glacier, however at more than £100 this was a bit out of my budget and although it would have been a good experience, it wasn't something I really, really wanted to do. In the end I decided to go with a guide, which cost 360 pesos.

It is possible to get to the Los Glaciares National Park independently and a return bus ticket costs 250 pesos.

On arrival at the national park there is a 215 peso entry fee to pay. I was also told it may be possible to go on a boat trip for 200 pesos, which takes you closer to the glacier.

The bus picked me up from my hostel at 8.45am - I was told it would be 9am so was still eating breakfast when it arrived, the first time in Argentina a bus I'm getting has been early! There were about 16 other people in total so a small-ish group.

The guide was really good and knowledgeable and I learnt a bit more about why Patagonia has the climate it does, mainly due to the Andes meaning Chile bears the brunt of the rain so all that's left for this part of Argentina is the strong winds. 

After entering the park we stopped at a viewpoint where we got the first glimpse of the glacier. From here we continued on to the start of the main trail. Those who didn't want to get the boat had four hours and those of us who wanted to get the boat had three.

There are three different routes to take woodland, coastal or circular. Each path allows you to see the glacier from different angles.

As I wanted to do the boat tour I did the circular walk first because the viewing platforms allow you to see the part of the glacier most prone to bits falling off. The trails were much like the ones in Iguazu, metal walkways suspended above the ground. 

Within minutes of getting to the platform with the closest view of the glacier I witnessed a huge chunk of ice coming away from the glacier and falling into the water below. The waves it created afterwards lasted ages. The only way I can describe the sound is similar to when watching reports from warzones and hearing the sound of bombs or gunfire in the distance.

I found the glacier fascinating and kept stopping just to look at it. In the light it appeared to change colour so the deep crevasses looked like dark blue veins running through it.

I joined the woodland trail and made my way back to the starting point and it was while I was on this trail with my view obscured by trees I heard a massive crashing sound, which must have been a huge piece of ice coming away. Would have been amazing to see if only I'd been a patient for a couple more minutes. That's the thing about glaciers they don't move quickly so you need to be prepared to just stop and wait for a while. 

I met the bus back at the start of the trail and headed to the port area to get the catamaran. Due to the festival there were still a lot of people in El Calafate so the guide had informed us earlier that she hadn't been able to reserve places on any of the boats due to them being fully booked by other agencies. She said it was worth trying anyway and thankfully it all worked out okay.

Once the boat was out of the port area it was possible to stand outside and most people headed to the top deck, however I went to the prow of the boat instead and the view leading up to the glacier was amazing. The boat stopped 350 metres away from the southern side. The colours were really vibrant and I could see every crevasse and fissure in detail as we were so close - amazing.

I almost didn't stop in El Calafate but I'm so glad that I changed my mind as the glacier is something I won't forget for a long time to come.