Our wonderful time in Argentina
Feb 17th, 2008, 07:31 AM
#22
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hi avrooster et al
glad u r on the mend. r u getting any physio therapy to help ur recovery.
On New years day we got up later after our adventures of the early am and lounged about the pool at our apartment building w/ a group of both local and international tenants. (a quick aside about the weather: the whole time we were temporary portenos we only felt rain once. late one evening after dinner a spectacular rain and lightning storm rushed in and we were treated to quite a show. Is the dryness normal in late december early january?)
we chatted w/ some dutch visitors who invited us to join them for dinner. although i was not wild to see Puerto Madero, I was interested in eating and seeing the beutiful santiago calavatara bridge down there. I was surprised that the area was full of folks speaking castellano but underwhelmed by the presence of Hooters ( although appreciative of their washroom!)
We strolled about amidst the happy throngs and litter of champagne bottles ( wonder if there were fireworks on new years eve there) and had supper at a quite good but overpriced italian restaurant. there r interesting views looking back at the city including some huge tower topped french style office blocks that no one could identify aside from the douana
mucho mas, mas tarde!
cheers
AndrewDavid
glad u r on the mend. r u getting any physio therapy to help ur recovery.
On New years day we got up later after our adventures of the early am and lounged about the pool at our apartment building w/ a group of both local and international tenants. (a quick aside about the weather: the whole time we were temporary portenos we only felt rain once. late one evening after dinner a spectacular rain and lightning storm rushed in and we were treated to quite a show. Is the dryness normal in late december early january?)
we chatted w/ some dutch visitors who invited us to join them for dinner. although i was not wild to see Puerto Madero, I was interested in eating and seeing the beutiful santiago calavatara bridge down there. I was surprised that the area was full of folks speaking castellano but underwhelmed by the presence of Hooters ( although appreciative of their washroom!)
We strolled about amidst the happy throngs and litter of champagne bottles ( wonder if there were fireworks on new years eve there) and had supper at a quite good but overpriced italian restaurant. there r interesting views looking back at the city including some huge tower topped french style office blocks that no one could identify aside from the douana
mucho mas, mas tarde!
cheers
AndrewDavid
Feb 20th, 2008, 07:01 AM
#23
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Hi , I go often to Buenos Aires, the matter in fact I have returned today, only once I tried to stay in an apartment for a month, BOY did I regret it, there are so many options of hotels, apart hotels, and b&b that frankly having heard and lived the night mare of things that do not work properly and that more often that not people who rented the apartment does not give a FAST solution I cannot imagine while people do not study carefully the option of staying in place, with SERVICE. such a great feeling to have clean towels everyday and the room properly done daily. Security provided by a front desk etc. Being restaurants not expensive in Argentina I do not picture myself cooking in an apartment kitchen to save money. Because most of the charm of the stay would be lost for me.MY advice is put all the options and choose carefully.
Feb 21st, 2008, 07:47 AM
#24
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well it was sunday so time to visit san telmo for the ambience and the markets.we walked over from casa rosada and enjoyed chatting w/ stall keepers, poking our heads in the antique shops and people watching. didn't do much to support the local economy as between the 3 of us all we bought were 2 leather belts. that way if we were bored we could fight over who wore them. we had a lovely lunch at an italian restaurant overlooking the plaza good food and more people watching. next we grabbed a cab and headed over to la boca. liked the colour and the touristy vibe got groped by tango dancers and obliged w/ small tips for photo ops to shock the folks back home
cheers
andrewdavid
cheers
andrewdavid
Feb 22nd, 2008, 05:01 AM
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hola, I'd like to recommend the jazz club/ record store, Notorious. we were taken by friends and heard a great jazz flute and piano program over dinner and spent an hour or so listenening to discs. at the end of our trip we went to their branch in palermo soho to by cds as presents for friends.fyi cds r about 1/3 the cost of same up her. the house is now filled w/ tango both traditional and electronica and i'm trying to get the dj's at one of our local dance clubs to spin some!
cheers
andrewdavid
cheers
andrewdavid
Feb 24th, 2008, 07:29 AM
#26
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hola amigos
well after all our partying, swimming and generally lounging around in loche cafes we thought we shoud absorb some kulture. grabbed a cab and whizzed down to MALBA. This is certainly one of the best collections i have ever sen. I am fairly catholic in my taste in art, but it is unusual that i like every piece in a gallery. the selection ( or is it the entire) permanent col;lection is outstanding. I am familiar with many of the artists whose work is dispalayed and believe me this is all first class examples of their ouevre. the building is stunning and being an architect i had to sneak alot of illegal photos. the temp exhibit on the top floor artist name escapes me was wonderful: th guy is a painter , photograoher ( including rock stars) collagist and just a wonderful original talent.
the museum cafe is a great place for lunch and in the nature of small world we were seated across the bar form a young woman from vancouver who is working in southern Brasil ( where she says there is a bit of a succesionist movement : news to us) and saw our dutch friends form the apartment dining outside on the terrace!
I wlked throught the galleries twice and highly recommend this excellent museum
cheers
andrewdavid
well after all our partying, swimming and generally lounging around in loche cafes we thought we shoud absorb some kulture. grabbed a cab and whizzed down to MALBA. This is certainly one of the best collections i have ever sen. I am fairly catholic in my taste in art, but it is unusual that i like every piece in a gallery. the selection ( or is it the entire) permanent col;lection is outstanding. I am familiar with many of the artists whose work is dispalayed and believe me this is all first class examples of their ouevre. the building is stunning and being an architect i had to sneak alot of illegal photos. the temp exhibit on the top floor artist name escapes me was wonderful: th guy is a painter , photograoher ( including rock stars) collagist and just a wonderful original talent.
the museum cafe is a great place for lunch and in the nature of small world we were seated across the bar form a young woman from vancouver who is working in southern Brasil ( where she says there is a bit of a succesionist movement : news to us) and saw our dutch friends form the apartment dining outside on the terrace!
I wlked throught the galleries twice and highly recommend this excellent museum
cheers
andrewdavid
Feb 27th, 2008, 03:50 PM
#27
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hola, well coming back to plaza italia in a cab, my husband left our camera on the seat as we got out. when i called my travel agent to find out where i might report this, her assistant offerde to loan us her camera. how kind!. she said to report loss at the police station nearest the loss. i went in there and although i spoke enough castellano to make myself understood, for some reasonn they didn't want to deal w/ me directly so they sent me downtown to the tourist police to make report IN ONE OF THEIR OWN POLICE CARS ( although i couldn't get them to turn the siren on, it was a unique experience) Of course when i got doowntown they told me the local station should have processed it . they asked if i minded changing the location of the incident to nearer the nearest local ( to the tourist police) police station which i didn't so a very nice opolicewoman walked me a few blocks and i made my report. this misadvaenture turned into a wonderful adventure and i left w/ a well written ( of course in castellano) tourist report for my insurance agent to puzzle over. even though my deductibvle was more than the value it was fun y vale la pena
cheers
AndrewDavid
cheers
AndrewDavid
Feb 29th, 2008, 09:28 AM
#28
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well it became time to leave our apartment and head down to El Calafate. Into a cab we hopped w/ our colder weather gear ( Art Hotel held the rest of our stuff for checkin). Hadn't realized how close the Aeroparque was to Palermo Soho so in a few minutes we were there to wait for our delayed Aerolineas flight. After a few hours of confusion and misinformation we took off and had a scenic flight via Bariloche. P/U at airport ( and a beautiful little steel airport it is and was easy and we were whisked to Kau Yatun , our hotel which is a lovely spot ( former estancia and subsequent additions) w/ lots of garden and comfortable rooms , personable service and excellent food. After a good nights sleep we boarded a van to a bigger van to a bus and headed out to Perito Moreno. y mas un poco tarde......
AndrewDavud
AndrewDavud
Mar 1st, 2008, 02:07 PM
#29
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holas,
well the Perito Moreno "mini trek" day is an excellent experience. Travelling to the park by bus we ran along the edge of lago argentino. After entering the park proper, we started to see glimpses of the glacier in the distance. By the time we got on the boat to be ferried across the lake everyone was squealing like kids. Yes the VW size floats of ice are "icebergs" but rather small compared to the special effects used in "Titanic".
We stowed our day packs and lunch in an unattended hut ( no concern about possible theft: sweet) and our group was divided into castellano and non ( mainly english speakers) We walked down to the beach and our guide gave us the rudiments of glaciology. We could see people at the size of ants marching onto the glacier. I believe the face is 6 km long at the lakefront and about 30 meters high. Quite dazzling white w/ blue accents from pools of water within.
We strapped our campons onto our feet and off we went for about 1.5 hours across the granular surface . Periodic roars of explosion signalled calving off the face. Mainly sunny weather w/ fierce winds intermitantly. It was awesome trekking about on the actual glacier w/ the huge steel grey lake and mountains in the background.At the end of our trek we came upon a table w/a bottle of scotch and pitchers of glacier water and buckets of glacier ice to toast our avoidance of crevices.
We then reversed our steps picked up our lunches and piled out on the rocks to see calving . After we crossed the lake our buses took us to a visitor center and pathways led to terraces that gave views of the glacier from above.
The whole days excursion was extremely well managed and a good time was had by all except the most severely depressed.
cheers
AndrewDavid
well the Perito Moreno "mini trek" day is an excellent experience. Travelling to the park by bus we ran along the edge of lago argentino. After entering the park proper, we started to see glimpses of the glacier in the distance. By the time we got on the boat to be ferried across the lake everyone was squealing like kids. Yes the VW size floats of ice are "icebergs" but rather small compared to the special effects used in "Titanic".
We stowed our day packs and lunch in an unattended hut ( no concern about possible theft: sweet) and our group was divided into castellano and non ( mainly english speakers) We walked down to the beach and our guide gave us the rudiments of glaciology. We could see people at the size of ants marching onto the glacier. I believe the face is 6 km long at the lakefront and about 30 meters high. Quite dazzling white w/ blue accents from pools of water within.
We strapped our campons onto our feet and off we went for about 1.5 hours across the granular surface . Periodic roars of explosion signalled calving off the face. Mainly sunny weather w/ fierce winds intermitantly. It was awesome trekking about on the actual glacier w/ the huge steel grey lake and mountains in the background.At the end of our trek we came upon a table w/a bottle of scotch and pitchers of glacier water and buckets of glacier ice to toast our avoidance of crevices.
We then reversed our steps picked up our lunches and piled out on the rocks to see calving . After we crossed the lake our buses took us to a visitor center and pathways led to terraces that gave views of the glacier from above.
The whole days excursion was extremely well managed and a good time was had by all except the most severely depressed.
cheers
AndrewDavid
Mar 8th, 2008, 04:36 PM
#31
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onto Chalten:
we were picked up from Kau Yatun in El Calafate and transfered to Los Cerros in Chalten in our own private l;ittle van. Nice driver w/ good conversation , snacks and drinks. The drive is across a somewhat empty but memerizing landscape. somewhere we came to the end of pavement and bounced on to Rancho Leona, a rest and cafe. My hub was not feeling great this am : the result of too much to drink and eat at a late dinner treated by friends from our perito moreno mini trek group. This is butch cassidy and sundance kid territory and there were fotos in the cafe.
After awhile we started to drive along lago viedma, i believe the largest in argentina and after about 3 hours arrved in tiny Chalten surrounded by the most awesome peaks which were visible throughout our stay , apparently a rareity.
We had opted for an all inclusive 3 night 4 day stay at Los Cerros which included a room w/ a view all meals and activities and snacks and transport back and forth to el Calafate whenever we choose. I believe we paid $US 1600 all in and although expensive , it was a great stay for me ( although not Tim as he was ill most of the time unfortunately)
details of our stay , next up
cheers
AndrewDavid
we were picked up from Kau Yatun in El Calafate and transfered to Los Cerros in Chalten in our own private l;ittle van. Nice driver w/ good conversation , snacks and drinks. The drive is across a somewhat empty but memerizing landscape. somewhere we came to the end of pavement and bounced on to Rancho Leona, a rest and cafe. My hub was not feeling great this am : the result of too much to drink and eat at a late dinner treated by friends from our perito moreno mini trek group. This is butch cassidy and sundance kid territory and there were fotos in the cafe.
After awhile we started to drive along lago viedma, i believe the largest in argentina and after about 3 hours arrved in tiny Chalten surrounded by the most awesome peaks which were visible throughout our stay , apparently a rareity.
We had opted for an all inclusive 3 night 4 day stay at Los Cerros which included a room w/ a view all meals and activities and snacks and transport back and forth to el Calafate whenever we choose. I believe we paid $US 1600 all in and although expensive , it was a great stay for me ( although not Tim as he was ill most of the time unfortunately)
details of our stay , next up
cheers
AndrewDavid
Mar 9th, 2008, 08:55 AM
#32
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AndrewDavid,
Thank you so much for taking so much time to post all of this great information as well as such an entertaining report!
Wishing you many happy years together and no more cameras left in taxis
Thank you so much for taking so much time to post all of this great information as well as such an entertaining report!
Wishing you many happy years together and no more cameras left in taxis
Mar 10th, 2008, 07:10 PM
#33
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thank u scarlett; i was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading what i was bothering to write. while i feel it's my obligation to report to thank everyone for the info i received here, i understand there is no obligation to respond. my report seems to have garnered more interest from friends on the austalia chat. i am beginning to think about coming back next winter as argentina is such an interesting warm weather escape from the rigors of the canadian winter even in moderate victoria.
Los Cerros was the perfect place for Tim to recuperate, but unfortunately he missed the excellent food and wonderful activities.
The meal menu gives u 3 choices in 3 courses, but they r willing to make up anything u want if they have the ingredients i imagine. The view from the dining room over the quaint town and of the mountains is spectacular. The view from our room gave us a beautiful view of the end of the valley and the mountains beyond. The rooms r very comfortable and the public spaces: huge livingroom; lovely dining room and spa area r well designed and quite comfortable also
The first day i took an included all day excursion to lago and glacier viedma. As we drove out of town we got to see all the high peaks that surround Chalten and these spire peaks r spectacular. The crossing of the lake was exceedingly rough and we were kept in the cabin. the viedma glacier is dirtier than perito moreno as it has a mountain somewhere out of sight in the middle of the ice that is being sandpapered by the glacier. we hiked about 45 minutes across the moraine before putting on our crampons adn then were on the glacier for almost 3 hours. this day only one group was on the glacier so it is a more intimate experience than perito moreno. we got down into crevasses and ice caves.the weather was quite windy and i was glad for all my gear ( all very light wet micro fibre and down: turtleneck, down jacket and wind jacket w/ long underwear under my light weight convertible pants and wind pants over, touque and gloves and i was comfortable. total weight less than 2 kilos). at the end of our cavorting we were treated to bailey's creme rather than scotch to celebrate before we rinsed off our crampons and reboarded the boat. Although the so called sack lunch the hotel gave me was excellent and quite large i was ready to plow through the nice range of food offered w/ pre dinner drinks upon my return to los cerros
cheers
Andrew David
Los Cerros was the perfect place for Tim to recuperate, but unfortunately he missed the excellent food and wonderful activities.
The meal menu gives u 3 choices in 3 courses, but they r willing to make up anything u want if they have the ingredients i imagine. The view from the dining room over the quaint town and of the mountains is spectacular. The view from our room gave us a beautiful view of the end of the valley and the mountains beyond. The rooms r very comfortable and the public spaces: huge livingroom; lovely dining room and spa area r well designed and quite comfortable also
The first day i took an included all day excursion to lago and glacier viedma. As we drove out of town we got to see all the high peaks that surround Chalten and these spire peaks r spectacular. The crossing of the lake was exceedingly rough and we were kept in the cabin. the viedma glacier is dirtier than perito moreno as it has a mountain somewhere out of sight in the middle of the ice that is being sandpapered by the glacier. we hiked about 45 minutes across the moraine before putting on our crampons adn then were on the glacier for almost 3 hours. this day only one group was on the glacier so it is a more intimate experience than perito moreno. we got down into crevasses and ice caves.the weather was quite windy and i was glad for all my gear ( all very light wet micro fibre and down: turtleneck, down jacket and wind jacket w/ long underwear under my light weight convertible pants and wind pants over, touque and gloves and i was comfortable. total weight less than 2 kilos). at the end of our cavorting we were treated to bailey's creme rather than scotch to celebrate before we rinsed off our crampons and reboarded the boat. Although the so called sack lunch the hotel gave me was excellent and quite large i was ready to plow through the nice range of food offered w/ pre dinner drinks upon my return to los cerros
cheers
Andrew David
Mar 11th, 2008, 04:10 AM
#34
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I think a lot of people Read but don't always respond 
I am going to copy this because my son will be coming for a looong visit and will want to see as much as he can..glaciers, falls , etc.
Not to mention .. we will be doing it too
I am going to copy this because my son will be coming for a looong visit and will want to see as much as he can..glaciers, falls , etc.
Not to mention .. we will be doing it too
Mar 11th, 2008, 08:06 AM
#35
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dear scarlett, thanks 4 the encouragement. will continue scribbling. now remind me why we bothered coming home to vancouver island. snow skiing yesterday up island was really waterskiing as it was raining all the way up the mountain!!!
seriously thinking of a return to argentina next winter and imagine it would be more Bs As and then a couple more national parks for glorious argentine great outdoors. any suggestions?
well after a few more fabulous meals i walked over to the front desk on our second morning at los cerros to meet my group for a 18k roundtrip hike to glacier torre. well the group was me and my very own guide. kewl!
Pilar my guide was 23 and very knowledgeable about local landscape, flor and fauna and quite opinionated about the state of the world. we divided our 7 hours together evenly between castellano and english and i think both learned alot. she. like many of the young people i met in Chalten was working there on summer vacation.
It was a day that swung from fierce 80km winds ( I literally had to lie down to avoid being blown off the ridge of the moraine near lago torre) to shirt sleeves and warm sun. The hike was strenuous but beautiful. On the way back we passed by the campo de servizios ( i believe there r 3 in the area and u hike between them) where one can stay w/ food and tents and sleeping bags provided. This is set within a magical forest and we passed the occasional visitor hiking out to start the circuit. we came into town from the north end so looked down on the panorama.Pilar and i parted and i headed down to the spa for a massage and soak.
cheers
AndrewDavid
seriously thinking of a return to argentina next winter and imagine it would be more Bs As and then a couple more national parks for glorious argentine great outdoors. any suggestions?
well after a few more fabulous meals i walked over to the front desk on our second morning at los cerros to meet my group for a 18k roundtrip hike to glacier torre. well the group was me and my very own guide. kewl!
Pilar my guide was 23 and very knowledgeable about local landscape, flor and fauna and quite opinionated about the state of the world. we divided our 7 hours together evenly between castellano and english and i think both learned alot. she. like many of the young people i met in Chalten was working there on summer vacation.
It was a day that swung from fierce 80km winds ( I literally had to lie down to avoid being blown off the ridge of the moraine near lago torre) to shirt sleeves and warm sun. The hike was strenuous but beautiful. On the way back we passed by the campo de servizios ( i believe there r 3 in the area and u hike between them) where one can stay w/ food and tents and sleeping bags provided. This is set within a magical forest and we passed the occasional visitor hiking out to start the circuit. we came into town from the north end so looked down on the panorama.Pilar and i parted and i headed down to the spa for a massage and soak.
cheers
AndrewDavid
Mar 11th, 2008, 08:33 AM
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I'm enjoying your reports too, it's the one of the areas of AR we have yet to visit and want to. If you liked Calafate, you would love the Torres del Paine in Chile, we were almost "blown away" there too! It is amazing how the weather constantly changes in that area of Patagonia.
Mar 11th, 2008, 10:43 AM
#37
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Owlwoman, we actually preferred Chalten to Calafate. Chalten is up against the mountains and is only a village of about 400 souls in season.
How long were u in Torresdel Paine. It seemed when i was a kid everyother issue of National Geographichad an iconic foto of Torres (slight exaggeration I know!) Did u post a report that I can still peruse.
thanks
Andrew
How long were u in Torresdel Paine. It seemed when i was a kid everyother issue of National Geographichad an iconic foto of Torres (slight exaggeration I know!) Did u post a report that I can still peruse.
thanks
Andrew
Mar 12th, 2008, 05:51 AM
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I posted the report back in '95
Latin America: Trip Report - Argentina/Chile if you click on my name, you'll find it.
We only did a very long day trip into the TDP, in retrospect, I would have liked to have stayed in one of the Hosterias in the park for a night, but it all worked out well.
Latin America: Trip Report - Argentina/Chile if you click on my name, you'll find it.
We only did a very long day trip into the TDP, in retrospect, I would have liked to have stayed in one of the Hosterias in the park for a night, but it all worked out well.
Mar 12th, 2008, 09:50 AM
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thank u owlwoman, i just searched and nothing comes up before 2005 although i could read ur comments to others about ur trip. we were sorry we only had one full day in calafate as there was at least one other excursion we'd have liked to do. it was great having 3 full days at chalten; weather permitting they could keep u busy for weeks up there
cheers
andrewdavid
cheers
andrewdavid
