Another Amazing Trip to Patagonia

Old Jan 9th, 2017, 09:46 AM
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Another Amazing Trip to Patagonia

We just returned from another amazing trip to Patagonia.
Who: DH, DD (14) and me
Schedule and Hotels:
Day 1-BsAs overnight Art Suites
Day 2-4 San Martin de los Andes overnight Cabanas Arcos Iris
Day 5-Bariloche overnight Lirolay Suites
Day 6-11-El Chaltén overnight Anita's House Cabins
Day 12-El Calafate overnight Santa Monica Aparts
Day 13-BsAs overnight Art Suites
Art Suites- Was fine, a bit in need of some TLC. Location was good but we appreciated the extra space-not too sure we would stay again
Lirolay Suites, we absolutely LOVED! We would stay there for a week easily-really fantastic!
Cabanas Arcos Iris was very nice, a bit out of town,nice setting and a large cabin but would stay again
Anita's was a repeat stay-love it, she's fantastic and location is perfect, roomy cabin with comfortable beds
Santa Monica-Second stay same problems as first-floors are horribly squeaky but everything else is great-service, location, amenities, etc BUT oh those floors...
(More in depth reviews done on TA)

Flights:
We flew from JFK down (via Rio) and back (via Miami) on AA miles in business class. Service both directions was lackluster and basic. Dinner going was better than lunch coming back. Amenity kit very basic but we slept going down so we did not arrive exhausted.
Flights from AEP-BRC and FTE-AEP were on LAN. Both were fine but wow, they certainly have lines. AEP was a total disaster leaving-thank goodness we have one world status but still, they seemed to be completely mismanaged/understaffed/clueless? Flight from BRC-FTE was on Aerolineas (we used Delta miles). The plane was brand new, check in was a breeze (no charge for extra bag or overweight because I have the Delta Platinum card), everybody could;t have been nicer!
Car Rental:
BRC was through Hertz at the Llao Llao (thanks to a certain Fodors Argentine legend), all went perfectly well. Good car, in great condition-picked up at airport dropped off at the hotel-no problems.
FTE was through Servicar (our second rental from them). Car was just fine, even newer than the one in BRC, tires were in good shape, picked up at airport and dropped off at town location. Husband locked the keys in the trunk before we even left the airport and they could;t have been nicer about it, we waited for a spare set to come and then we were off-no charge.

Restaurant Highlights:
BsAs-Fervor
San Martin-El Regional, Unser Traum and Pizza Cala de los Andes
Bariloche-a fantastic lamb stew with a bottle of males at Lirolay Suites overlooking the lake-perfecto!
El Chalten-Techado Negro, La Tapera, Chocolatier Josh Aike and Restaurant Ahonikenk Chalten
El Calafate-Mi Rancho (the newer spot) and El Bar (for lunch)

We are already talking of our next return trip. We loved San Martin, especially for the awesome fishing we had with Alejandro Buchanan and his company, flyfishing-sma. We did a lot of great treks in El Chaltén and enjoyed the walkways at Perito Moreno (we hiked on it last trip).

I will copy and paste from my blog and put a link to it if you want to see the photos that go along with it.
odie1 is offline  
Old Jan 9th, 2017, 10:14 AM
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LAN and TAM merged (so it's LATAM now) and I definitely notice a decline in on-board amenities. Their phone agents have always been bad and the check-in service can be understaffed with long lines although the latter probably vary by airport.
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Old Jan 9th, 2017, 10:14 AM
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Thank you for your great report, odie1!

When should we expect you back?
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Old Jan 9th, 2017, 04:14 PM
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mlgb-Yes, we flew LATAM three times (also Rio-BsAs). The lines in AEP could have easily been a quarter mile long and we arrived three hours before our 10:00 AM flight. In El Calafate we arrived an hour and a half before our 8:00 flight and the line was ridiculous. They did hold the flight from AEP to BRC waiting for everybody who was supposed to be on board. We loaded via bus on the tarmac. In comparison, Aerolineas was stellar in every respect.

avrooster-Of course we are all ready talking about our return but it probably won't be for a few years again, but you never know. My husband and I just said when he retires (in 7 years or so) we will spend every Dec, Jan and Feb in Argentine Patagonia! We love it so!

Here is the link to the blog if you are so inclined:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/odie1/5/tpod.html

Vimeo Videos are here:
Northern Patagonia:
https://vimeo.com/197774031

Days 1 and 2 El Chalten
https://vimeo.com/197818830

Days 3 and 4 El Chalten
https://vimeo.com/197832843

Days 5 and 6 El Chalten and El Calafate
https://vimeo.com/197950532

But just in case I will put in day by day...

Dec 17-Buenos Aires is Far Better the Second Time Around:
So our flight was everything we hoped it would be-comfortable (not a word one typically uses when flying commercially), smooth and quiet. Following dinner, we all slept-Billy and I until 6 and Jenny slept just until landing. We landed feeling refreshed, a rarity for us!
The Rio airport is a cavernous edifice that appears to have been put together with some pretty shoddy construction, clearly enlarged for the Olympics. It was at least a mile walk between gates down long bare-walled corridors. The crazy thing is the airport was dead. There was no one around-a bit spooky to be honest!
We had decided to wait out our four hour layover at the Admiral's Club but alas it didn't open until 6:00 PM- total bummer but we figured that must be the time the people start showing up. Thank God for our Amex Platinum because that got us into the "Premium Plaza" Lounge. For the first two hours, we were the only people using the lounge-a room that easily holds a couple hundred. Everything was free of charge, staff was awesome and the food was delicious!
As we sat in the lounge sucking down glass after glass of fresh squeezed OJ, we were feeling pretty lucky as we stared out at the hills surrounding Rio, including the famed Sugarloaf Mountain. We had managed to get out of JFK just before the snow hit. At last check, JFK was reporting delays up to 5 hours-a trip wrecker for sure!
Our flight to Buenos Aires was fine. It was a shame as we left Rio that everything was clouded over because what I could see of the Rio coastline was beautiful-perhaps that is why some claim it to be one of the great natural wonders of the world.
Customs and immigration was a breeze and before we knew it, we were in our taxi headed to our hotel in Recoleta. We have a two bedroom apartment that has given us a lot of room which is nice. We took a few minutes to decompress and rearrange our carryon items and checked baggage and made our way out to dinner. We had about an hour and a half before our dinner reservation so we headed in that direction. This area certainly has more of the old European charm than the previous area we had stayed in, though there are still many signs of crumbling infrastructure.
We ended up in Plaza San Martin where an artisan fair was taking place. It was quite a unique selection of handicrafts as well as artisans and Jenny commented on how she loved that everything that was being sold had a real local flair to it.
Dinner was at one of the best restaurants, Fervor, in Recoleta. You walked in and it had the feeling of an old steakhouse/brasserie type place. The waiters were in black, with bow ties and long white aprons. There were deep, red leather booths while the walls were adorned with mirrors and old prints and newspaper articles. The food was excellent! We each started with some delicious empanadas, followed by steak for Billy, sole for me and beef raviolis for Jenny. By the end of dinner, we were too stuffed, as well as too exhausted to even contemplate dessert. We marveled at the fact it was 9:30 and the locals were just beginning to pour in.
Tomorrow we catch our flight to San Carlos de Bariloche to begin our Patagonia trip. It finally sunk in this evening, as we were walking through the fair, that we were actually, finally back in Argentina-much to all of our delight!

Dec 18-Our Expectations Have Been Exceeded
We arrived at the airport this morning two plus hours before our flight and when the doors to the terminal opened, it was one of those "oh sh*t" moments. We were met with a sea of people forming a ridiculously long serpentine through the ropes around the corner and down the hall for what seemed a quarter of a mile. It reminded me of the refugee lines you see in the news. I asked an agent whether they clear the lines and she assured me they do but as we waited we never saw anybody doing it.
Standing in line, Jenny suggested maybe we bribe somebody to get through which got me thinking, and really I should have been on top of it before, that LAN (the airline we were flying) is a One World member and all of us have status so we should get to check in in the priority line. I sent Billy to investigate while Jenny and I held our spot. He came back with good news-we could essentially move to the head of the line shaving at least an hour off our wait time, not to mention ease the stress that would soon be building of missing our flight. Loyalty certainly has its privileges!
Security at the airport was a joke. People were passing through with large bottles of water and giant bottles of sunscreen. I forgot to take my computer out of my bag-no problem, they didn't say a thing. Jenny beeped going through the metal detector-no problem they just waved her through. Not exactly comforting!
Upon arrival in Bariloche we picked up our rental car and headed out. Based on the future weather forecast, we decided to take the famed Ruta de los Siete Lagos to San Martin de los Andes, in order to enjoy the good weather we had today. The road was breathtaking to say the least. Though its called the Route of Seven Lakes, you actually pass far more than that, along with waterfalls and lagoons, canyons and mountain peaks, and marshes and forests. The landscape was amazing being shades of deep green almost the entire way.
We stopped for lunch in Villa la Angostura, a small town that is reminiscent of Jackson, WY on the one hand and Zurich on the other. Since it was Sunday, many of the shops were closed and the town was very quiet-which actually made it quite enjoyable. Jenny said she would like to have crepes for lunch so crepes it was. It was a small place, filled with locals and totally delicious! We followed the crepes up with some delicious helado (similar to gelato) before jumping back in the car to continue on our way.
The shortest river in the world, the Rio Correntoso, is just on the other side of Angostura. We took a small detour to see it and boy was it worth it. It's no longer than 900 feet long and actually connects the enormous Lago Correntoso with the even larger Lago Nahuel Huapi. The river is gin clear but looking at it, it appears to be a turquoise color. It is famous for the huge trout that swim through it, though fishing in it is prohibited.
Our next scheduled stop was the supposed lair of Adolf Hitler. Conspiracy theorists, who believe that Hitler and Eva Braun actually escaped, say that they lived out their lives on an estancia on Lago Nahuel Huapi. We had watched a few episodes of the reality series "Hunting Hitler" and using the data from there, figured out where the location was. While we couldn't actually see the estancia from the road, we stopped at the gates and marveled at the idea that such a thing could actually be real.
The ride to San Martin is said to be about 3 1/2 hours long. I believe that is the time that it takes if you drive like an Argentinian-meaning:
A. Whatever the posted speed limit is, you drive twice as fast
B. A double yellow line is actually a passing lane, even if on a completely blind curve
C. The science of traveling a calculated stopping distance between cars is really overrated-only 3 inches is needed even when following A and B above, at the same time!
So for us it took quite a bit longer, more like 6 hours. There were too many miradors (scenic views) along the way for photo-ops and too much beauty to soak in. We decided we weren't in a hurry and in reality, how could you rush through this? Every corner brought a gasp, every bend had someone proclaiming, "Wow." Wildflowers in every major color were present and accounted for. The lupine once again stunned and awed as I do not think there was more than a five foot stretch of road that did not have lupine growing.
It is amazing how different northern Patagonia is from Southern Patagonia. Southern Patagonia is flat with the mountains rising from the land at an almost 90 degree angle. Most of which are unreachable by all but the most elite mountain climbers. Northern Patagonia's mountains are far more accessible by having one driving through, over and around its majestic mountains. But both leave one almost speechless.
Our home for the next three nights is Cabanas Arcos Iris. A quaint, locally operated inn located on a small trout stream. We have a two bedroom cabin so plenty of space and comfort. We had a delicious dinner in town this evening at the cerverceria (brewery). Tomorrow our fishing guide is picking us all up and we will spend the entire day floating the Collon Cura in search of trout. We are just hoping the wind will not be as fierce as it was today as our little tuna can of a car was being blown all over the road!
Our first day here was fantastic. So far, northern Patagonia has exceeded all of our expectations!
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Old Jan 10th, 2017, 08:34 AM
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OMG! Some trip report!!!

Thank you again, odie1!
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 11:28 AM
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Thought I had better at least finish this up even though there is never much interest in this area. I have been busy planning an unexpected soon trip to Peru and Machu Picchu!

Not going to go into a day by day detail though. Just give a synopsis.

Fly fishing was amazing. We used a guide named Alejandro Buchanan, his company is flyfish-sma.com We caught an amazing number of fish.

We returned to Bariloche the opposite road then the Sevn Lakes route and we enjoyed that just as much. It was really beautiful.

Bariloche was just a stopping ground and we actually never even went into town. We drove out to Llao Llao to return the car, it was a beautiful drive so I can see where the area around there has a lot to offer nature wise.

El Chalten-there is more building going on but this town still has our hearts. We just love it. The hiking is awesome. We had done Laguna de los Tres the last time so hard for any other hike to live up to that! This time we did:
Laguna Torre-A nice hike but Cerro Torre wasn't out so a little bit anticlimactic. Do note there is very little water available on this hike.
Piedra del Fraile- A beautiful flat hike, if Fitz Roy is out you can see the back side of it. There is a cafe at the end that you can enjoy some food and beer/wine
Laguna Capri-a gorgoeous hike and the lake is spectacular, especially when Fitz Roy is out. We hiked from here to Poincenot and then crossed over passing Laguna Madre y Hija (very few people) to end up back on the Cerro Torre trail. This was a very long hike (14 miles) and I would absolutely most certainly not want to hike this in the opposite direction because the hill coming from the Cerro Torre trail to camp Poincenot is BRUTAL!
Galcier Huemule-a hike on a private estancia at the end of the Lago Desierto Road (not to be confused with the hikes on Estancia Huemule). Unbelievably scenic and wild. It is short-maybe an hour to the top but it is rugged and ALL uphill but oh so worth it!
Drive to the shore of Lago Viedma is pretty but not worth spending time on if you are short of time. We were in need of a respite after so many days of hiking.

Perito Moreno Glacier: We trekked on it last trip (which was amazing) but ran out of time to see it from the walkways so this time I wanted to do that and we are all so glad we did. It is magnificent and not to be missed viewing it this way!

El Calafate was just like our last visit but did not seem quite so touristic to us this time for some reason. Though I would not spend any time there other than needed to get in and out of the area and to see Peritio Moreno.

So, that's it! My husband and I have decided that when he retires we will spend our Dec and Jan in Patagonia between El Chalten and San Martin. We also know that all three of us will return again, in a few more years!
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 12:22 PM
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Great, odie1!

Just try to return in less than "a few more years".
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 08:07 PM
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Thanks for this report. It will help us, hopefully sooner rather than later.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 05:23 AM
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avrooster-If school wasn't an issue, we would spend every Christmas break down there, I assure you! My daughter has been pushing hard for me to home school so we could do just that! Oh and I suppose we would need money to grow on trees too!
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 06:12 AM
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Nice TR! Inspriing me to get another trip there. Such a beautiful area. San Martin was one of my favorite place -- lovely town.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 01:38 AM
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Excellent trip report. We too loved SanMartin. A place we seriously considered moving to.
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