Day 111 : Thermal Pools Adventure

Visiting the thermal pools is a must do while in Pucon, especially when the weather is cold! 

There are 10 thermal centres in Pucon and many of the locals here have recommended that I visit Los Pozones.

Los Pozones is located 35km away from Pucon, with the option of getting there through tour agencies’ with a departure time of 8pm or on a shuttle service. 

Not keen with squeezing with the crowd at night and as I will also be leaving for Curanipe on a night bus today, I took the shuttle service from Pucon town to Los Pozones, which is a 1 hour bus ride away. 

The only problem with the shuttle was that the service was rather irregular.  I was lucky I managed to hitch hike back, which in itself was an amusing experience (see below for more details).

Day 110 : Hang On and Get Wet!

While planning for my trip, I had read up about the white water rafting possibilities in Pucon and was looking forward to doing it.  Despite having a sprained ankle, the intent was still very high!  Call me stubborn! :D 

The rafting takes place along River Trancura, offering a decline equivalent to grade 4.  I arrived at the pick-up point at 3pm and together with another 10 people, we were brought to the starting point for Rafting. 

Lago Caburgua & Ojos del Caburgua

The weather has cleared up a little today, though there were still some low lying clouds. 

I was going white water rafting later in the afternoon and since there were a few hours in the morning free, I invited Geyson to accompany me to Lago Caburgua, located about 22km away from Pucon. 

It was extremely serene and quiet as there were hardly anyone around.  Geyson mentioned that during summer, this place would be absolutely packed with people and boats.  I think I prefer the tranquillity the place has to offer now as compared to having to squeeze with the crowd in the peak of summer!

Day 109 : Pucon

Pucon is a small town, with a lot to offer especially for the adventure enthusiasts. 

If I had not injured my ankle, I would probably have trekked up to Volcano Villarica (2,287m high), a trek which takes 7 hours.  It is not an easy climb and I hear that some people give up halfway. 

At the top, one can look into the crater with close-up view of the lava lake averaging 1,250 degrees celsius.  In fact, just last night, I can see the peak of Volcano Villarica glowing from the town.  Amazing sight! 

Pisco Sour

As usual, wanting to know what the local popular drink is, I asked Geyson, who shared it was Pisco. 

Geyson said Pisco was a drink which originated in Peru, but is hardly drank by the locals.  Instead, almost everyone in Chile drinks Pisco with the more popular version among women to be Pisco Sour. 

There is also option of Pisco Cola, which is basically Pisco mixed with Cola.

So we went to the store and bought a bottle of Pisco Sour for me to try.  It was good and really easy to drink!

Definitely way way way much better than Fernet!!!

Day 108 : More Ashes

I thought the ash situation in Bariloche was bad, but as I made my way on bus towards Pucon, Chile, the roads near the border crossing was much worse.  At some points it looked as if it was covered with snow!

There were also piles of ashes in some parts, and the air was extremely foggy!  It sure looks like it is going to take months before it will clear.

There were some really beautiful scenery along the way though, which I could imagine the town / villages would have been a really pleasant place to visit if without the ashes.

Day 107 : Swollen Ankle

I think I must be over ambitious in hoping that I could possibly still go out to cycle a circuit with great views.  However after looking at the range of movement of my ankle and as it was still swollen, I had to trash the idea.

It is a good thing I could still walk!  So I continued my icing, and seeing that it was still inflamed, I made my way to the pharmacy to get some Arcoxia to help with the swelling.  

I crossed my fingers and hope that it does not need to be prescribed (I would have needed a prescription for this back in Singapore!)

I was in luck!  It wasn’t cheap though, but it definitely worked out cheaper than having to see a doctor!

Popped by the supermarket at the same time, to get some dulce de leche for a friend I was visiting in Chile.  On the way back, I passed by Rapanui and couldn’t resist having more ice cream, especially with ice cream that great!  This time I went for just a 2 scoop cup ice cream but of different flavours! 

Equally Yum!  Rapanui is a definite MUST visit if in Bariloche!

Day 106 : Mishap in the Mountains

I took a bus to Cerro Cathedral, in an attempt to do a full day trek to Refugio Frey with plans to subsequently come down on a different route to visit the waterfalls before heading back to the city (route in red in picture). 

Cerro Cathedral is where everyone goes skiing during the ski season, and is located about 45 minutes away by bus.  I took a walk around Cerro Cathedral, which was mostly shut since ski season is over, before heading over to the start of the trek to Refugio Frey.

Day 105 : Ashy Bariloche City

Over the last few days, I had heard first hand account from people residing in Bariloche about the volcano eruption that happened 4 months ago. 

It was strikingly bizarre when the city fell into complete darkness within seconds on a brightly lit afternoon. 

Everyone could not explain the sudden darkness and didn’t know what had happened until much later when they discovered that the volcano in Chile had erupted. 

The city was completely shut down for days and power was also out in some places.  People could walk out for a few moments and be covered entirely with ash when they walked back in.  The streets were also covered with ashes about 20cm deep. 

The most unfortunate thing is that it happened just as the ski season was about to start, and as Bariloche is a touristic town that survived on tourists during the high winter and summer months, the ski season for the year was destroyed.

Day 104 : Cerro Camponario

I was invited to join Augustina and a French couple (Orianne & Aurelian), who arrived into Bariloche earlier today, to trek up to Cerro Camponario.  Cerro Camponario is a famed attraction in Bariloche where one can get one of the best panoramic views in the world. 

Although the trek up took only about 40 minutes, it was not easy as the climb was rather steep and left the French couple and I panting.  But the climb was all worth it. 

The views were completely magnificent!  A total 360 degrees view could be seen of the mountains and the numerous lakes around the area, which left us all captivated!  And I truly have to agree that this is one of the best panoramic view of mountains and lakes I have seen!

Pictures doesn’t quite do it justice, especially when we had the sun at an angle which compromised our photo taking. 

Day 103 : Trip to Bariloche

I didn’t realise there was a change in flight details until 2 days ago when I tried arranging for my airport transfer from the hostel to the airport, and the lady at the airport transfer office mentioned that it was impossible to fly to Bariloche, and that there was no flight with my departure timing on that day and suggested that I checked with the Aerolineas office a few blocks away.

It was then I was told that the airport in Bariloche is closed, and the flight will arrive into Esquel airport instead, which is located about 250km away from Bariloche.  From there, a bus will bring us to Bariloche. 

Reason for closure : Airport is closed for repairs as ashes from the volcano eruption in Chile in June this year has affected the airport, with ashes apparently still in the air. 

Day 101 & 102 : El Calafate

Everyone who visits El Calafate are here for one main attraction – Perito Moreno Glacier. 

There isn’t a lot more to do in this city as the town centre is rather small and compact.  Other than 1 main road with shops, restaurants and a casino, there isn’t a lot more the town has to offer.

The one other sight which I felt was worth visiting was the Lagoon Nimez Nature Reserve.  It is famed for bird watching and when I was there, I saw flamingos! 

Big Ice Tour on Perito Moreno Glacier

After much contemplation, I decided to do the “Big Ice Tour” on Perito Moreno Glacier.  Much contemplation, because it was expensive – the most expensive day tour I have done till date (ARS770, approx. S$240). 

However I know that if I don’t choose to to do it now, I will live to regret it much later in life – something I am intending to avoid.  And indeed it is a once in a life time experience!  Perhaps prices will go up even more in future!

There is only one company (Hielo y Aventura) in El Calafate which offers this trek, and I heard that the prices of the tour had doubled in just 1 year, due to the devaluation of the Argentinian Pesos, which is also pegged to the USD.  I guess it is a good thing that the Singapore currency is at one of its high at the moment!

There was also the option of another ice trek, called “Mini-Trekking”, which was slightly cheaper than the “Big Ice”, but between the two, I felt that perhaps “Big Ice” is much better as it allows you to walk closer to the centre of the glacier and probably better views than “Mini Trekking”. 

Hostel Recommendation : El Calafate – Hostel Los Manos

This hostel was booked through the travel agent whom arranged my bus ticket from Ushuaia to El Calafate.  I had previously checked on prices of hostels in El Calafate online, and this was probably one of the cheapest hostel, and for the price I paid I think I got a really good deal.

They offered free pick up from the bus station, and they are just located 7 blocks away from the town centre. 

It is a rather cosy and nice hostel and the staff try to speak to you and make you feel comfortable. They are also able to assist you with arranging tours and buses to various places from the reception.

Day 100 : Journey to El Calafate

The bus trip from Ushuaia to El Calafate was rather interesting, though long, as we had to go in and out of Argentina and Chile borders, cross the Magellan straits (which belonged to Chile), and then transit at Rio Gallegos for 4 hours before catching the next bus to El Calafate.

The streets were certainly very quiet as I walked towards the bus station where the bus to Rio Gallegos departs at 5am in the morning.  All seats on this route were only semi-cama but as the bus was not crowded,, I got to have 2 seats to myself. 

We were given a form with 3 carbon copies on the back to fill for clearing the 2 Argentinian and 2 Chilean border crossing which we will be doing shortly.  Good!  Less paper work!

Day 99 : Last Day in Ushuaia

Ushuaia is a small town with not too many attractions.  I was told that Ushuaia is very popular in winter because of all the winter sports one can do here, or in summer as tourists flock here for the boat trip towards Antarctica.  Other than that, it is not a cheap place to visit as one has to pay a lot of money for tourists attractions.

One of such attraction was the 4hr boat ride into the Beagle Channel where we would be able to visit a couple of islands and possibly see sea lions and some other sea creatures.  I contemplated on doing it, but finally decided against due to the cost.

There was also the ex-prison and museum, but with the cost of the admission fee I could have gotten a really good meal!

So I decided to sleep in today and settle some personal stuff before coming out and settling down in a cafe to utilise the wifi and clear some emails. 

Enjoying a good cup of hot chocolate with baileys, and a sprinkle of chocolate shavings indoors on a cold windy day, is definitely way much better and cheaper than visiting a museum / ex-prison, and just the perfect way to end of my last day in Ushuaia!  Yum!

Day 98 : Road Trip Around Ushuaia

I am actually really glad and thankful to have met Jesus, because without him, I would not have gotten the chance to see so much of Ushuaia. 

Though I only suggested to visit Playa Largo together, he subsequently drove us around to visit other attractions, which without a car I would not have been able to do so.

The amazing wonders of chance occurrences…

Day 97 : Hitch Hiking Adventure to the National Park

I did my first solo hitch hiking today, and the whole experience was really fun!

I have hitch hiked when I was with Aliang in Paraty a couple of times, but never on my own.  It was daunting initially, and I wouldn’t have done it, if Federico had not assured that it was safe.  Furthermore he mentioned that it should be easier to hitch hike on a Saturday as more people will be going there.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

Visiting and trekking around the Tierra del Fuego National Park is a must do when in Ushuaia and so I put on my new trekking shoes to test it out. 

I decided to take the Costera Trail, which took me 3.5hrs to walk along the “coastal” route of the National Park.  I was not a big fan of long treks, but with scenery like here (wonderful scenery of the lakes and snow capped mountains), it was just extremely pleasant walking and taking in the stunning views and capturing some pictures along the way. 

Day 96 : Shopping Spree

I woke up this morning and found that it was drizzling outside, but it seemed to look different from the normal drizzle.  As I took a closer look, I realised that it was actually snow flakes and not rain! 

Gosh, it looks like it is going to be cold to go out today, but this slight snow is not going to stop me from exploring Ushuaia, promoted as the most southern city of the world (we can even go to the visitor information centre and have a stamp on our passport to prove we have been here!  Yay!)

Ushuaia also receives almost 90% of the world’s tourist to Antarctica (Antarctica is about 1,000km away!)

Making Home Made Pasta

I had my dinner at slightly past 12 midnight, which was pasta in tomato based sauce. 

The difference about this dinner was not only did we eat at 12 midnight, but we made the pasta from scratch, and it was fun!

 

Day 95 : Flight to Ushuaia

About 45 minutes before the plane was due to arrive in Ushuaia, I looked out of the window and saw incredible views of snow capped mountains. 

Day 94 : Last Day in Buenos Aires

I think I was being a little too ambitious in wanting to cover most of the south-eastern part of the city in one day.  The initial plan was to visit La Boca, San Telmo, Centro, Puerto Madero and in the midst of all that, pick up my passport from the Bolivian Consulate near the centre of Buenos Aires! 

The plan to visit all the sights in mind was also dampened by heavy showers in late afternoon, which lasted through the whole night and made it impossible to complete visiting the sights of Buenos Aires. 

So I ended up just visiting only the Centro area, which was extremely big and contained most of the main touristic sights.

Day 93 : Enroute to Chinatown

Had a busy morning fixing up visas for the trip ahead at both the Bolivia and Brazil Consulate that I was too tired to do major sightseeing in the afternoon. 

So I took a long walk to Chinatown, cutting through the parks and greens of Buenos Aires. 

The parks were filled with a couple of big lakes, and what I found interesting was that the geese comes really close to people in the parks, even without being fed!

Day 91 & 92 : El Tigre

I was invited to spend the long weekend with Fefu and his friends in El Tigre, in a house they had rented for the summer, and I was told that access is only by boat from the centre of El Tigre with minimal trips (8.30am, 11.30am or 4pm).  

I barely made it on to the boat yesterday due to some miscalculated travelling time (which is another story on its own!)

El Tigre is about 45 minutes by train from the Retiro, and only upon reaching El Tigre, did I understand why accessibility to Fefu’s summer house was only by boat. 

Day 90 : Buenos Aires

After a 13.5 hour bus ride, I arrived in the capital of Argentina – Buenos Aires (BA)!  Aliang had informed me that he had arrived in BA a few days ago, and we agreed to meet up when I got in. 

So after settling down, I contacted him and coincidentally realised that we were staying fairly close to each other and thus agreed to meet up nearby at 11.30am, before proceeding to explore parts of BA.

I haven’t read up much about BA before arriving, so Aliang suggested that we head towards Recoleta, which is supposed to be the upmarket and most expensive part of the city, boasting many museums, large green spaces and 1st class restaurants.

Amazing Steak at Even More Amazing Prices

While in Salta, I was told about an amazing happy hour deal in Buenos Aires where everything that is ordered (including steak and wines) is at half price.  The catch is that you need to enter the restaurant between hours of 7pm to 7.30pm and finish eating by 8.30pm.

Both Aliang and I decided to head to La Cabrera Restaurant, a renowned steakhouse in the Palermo area, to see how true the deal is.  So we walked towards Cabrera Road and got to the restaurant just around 7pm. 

The restaurant didn’t seem to be ready for meal time yet, so we waited around for about 20 minutes.  As the waiting staff in the restaurant still didn’t seem to be ready anytime soon, Aliang went in to check with the staff – perhaps the information I received had been inaccurate or maybe they don’t have Happy Hours on the weekends. 

Day 88 & 89 : Mendoza

The weather has started to change today, with cloudy skies and cold winds.  Looks like it is going to rain!  Guessed it was good timing that I managed to visit the vineyards with great sunny weather, and leaving just before the weather may get worse!

Mendoza seems to be a base destination for people to branch out to either enjoy the wine tours, or adventure sports such as white water rafting, rapelling, sky diving, skiing or trekking the nearby peaks (Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in Americas at 6,962m is located near here) and other outdoor activities, rather than spend much time within this city.  It is also a main stop for getting into Chile.

Fernet

I tried another first in Argentina last night, a drink called Fernet. I first heard about it in Salta when the tour guide Monica mentioned to us that it is a must try when in Argentina. So when Sergio brought me out for drinks with his girlfriend last night, I asked what is the Argentinian drink that I should try in Argentina, and he also suggested Fernet.

So I ordered it, though I don’t think I would ever order it again.

Half portion of Fernet was mixed with half portion of coke and my first thoughts when I first tasted it was that it tasted like cough mixture! Sergio said that the taste of cough mixture is generally everyone’s first impression, but the taste grows on you after a while, and before you know it you will be drinking 5 glasses!

The taste did changed a bit when I had my 2nd glass (I didn’t have a choice as 1 order comes with 2 portions of Fernet and a bottle of coke), but it definitely is not making me like it more, and doubt that even after I drink 5 glasses I will be asking for more!

I don’t understand how this can be the most popular drink in Argentina! Furthermore, Fernet apparently originated from Italy, and I am sure there are many more tastier drinks out there which they can make and popularise as their own!

I am flabbergasted!

Day 87 : Bike & Wine in Maipu

Being in Mendoza and not visiting the vineyards would be a crime!  So I took a public bus from Mendoza city towards Maipu, one of the famous wine region in the area located about 20km from Mendoza city. 

The journey took about 40 minutes and I constantly kept a look out on where to stop when a young boy boarded the bus and approached and asked if I was going to visit the vineyards. 

He was representing Maipu Bikes to solicit customers to rent bicycles to visit the various vineyards.  Since that was what I was planning to do, I agreed to go to their office to check out the bikes available for rental, especially when it was much cheaper than what was advertised on Lonely Planet.

Day 86 : Journey to Mendoza

Finally after 19 hours of bus journey, I reached Mendoza!  The bus ride wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I had a few surprises along the way.

First, while storing our luggage in luggage compartment of the bus, I was shocked when the luggage boy openly demanded for a tip before giving me my luggage docket. 

I was never asked for a tip during the whole time I had been in South America and so this came as a surprise.  Dug into my wallet and pulled out 2 Peso (approximately S$0.60), which was the last smallest note I had in my wallet and handed to him.  I later noticed that the other passengers had prepared about 2 Pesos each in their hands to give to the luggage boy and reckon that it is a practice in Argentina.

Hostel Recommendation : Salta – Backpackers Hostel Suites & Bars

This hostel is by far the best I have stayed so far.  It looked really new and what I liked about it compared to other hostels is that it is

• Clean & Well Maintained
• Mattresses and beds are new
• Free breakfast (usually a standard for most hostels in South America)
• Free dinner each night (not fantastic, but it is decent and fills the stomach)
• Well located and convenient
• Not too crowded
• My bed gets made each day

Day 85 : Wet Day in Salta

I woke up this morning and found that it was raining!  Am I so glad that I had great weather the last few days I was in Salta! 

I had planned on leaving Salta tonight so that I can get to Mendoza tomorrow on a 19hr bus ride (!!!), so I headed over to the bus terminal to purchase my ticket, and was offered 2 options of either Semi-Cama or Cama.

Not knowing what the difference between the 2 is, and with a price difference of about ARS62.00 (approximately S$20), I decided to opt for the higher priced ticket (Cama), thinking that it should be more comfortable than the Semi Cama, and would probably be wise for a 19hr bus ride!

Turns out that it was the last seat left in that category.. Guess its meant for me!

Not much more that I can do on a wet day, so will stay in and get some miscellaneous things settled before getting ready for the long journey ahead.

Day 84 : Humahuaca

Humahuaca is located up North from Salta, 120km past the town of Jujuy and stands at 2,940m above sea level.  Due to the distance, this was a much longer tour than Cachi and Cafayate and so we set off at about 7.30am and returned at about 8.30pm.

The tour today was a really big group of about 17 people in total (in contrast with 4 for Cafayate and 7 for Cachi), and we spent the first 3hrs mainly driving with hardly any stops, past beautiful coloured mountains – the main characteristic of landscape around this area. 

Day 83 : Cachi

Cachi is located 157km from Salta, and stands at 2,210m above sea level.  The road towards Cachi is filled with ever-changing landscape, and goes through the Los Cardones National Park (said to be the 2nd largest National Park after Iguaçu) as well as a few other key spots.

For me, it was the stops and the beautiful views along the way towards Cachi that was most interesting, as I felt that Cachi town was a little too sleepy and laid back for my liking.