February 28 - March 1, 2012 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Our bus, CATA International

Buenos Aires

Avenida 9 De Julio

Recoleta Cemetery

Recoleta Cemetery #2

Evita's grave

Recoleta Cemetery #3

More Evita Peron

Balcony view, Colon Theatre

Colon Theater

View from our Balcony, Palermo Soho

Our First Dinner

From Mendoza, we booked a first class overnight bus to Buenos Aires via Cata International. With 180 degree reclining chairs, private tv, champagne, whisky, dinner, breakfast and snacks this was true luxury. There was one tiny downfall, a torrential downpour that caused the roof to leak all over one of our seats. That night was our first instruction to Argentina’s vicious storms. It was a rough night but we made it, a little wet but happy to reach the “Paris of South America.” Now it was time to relax, time to chill and settle down for a bit, and what better place to do it than in Buenos Aires. Within three days, we found a beautiful apartment in the heart of Palermo Soho. We unpacked our bags, and enjoyed the last days of summer among the charming, tree-lined streets and plazas of Buenos Aires, our new home.

February 22-27 - Mendoza, Argentina

Plaza de Independencia, Mendoza 

Wine Festival

Inside the first Vineyard we visited

First Vineyard

Cabernet?

Trapiche

Wine Tasting at Trapiche

Biking through Trapiche

Wine, wine, wine and more wine! Mendoza needs no instruction so we’ll do our best to keep it short. For those expecting Napa, you can forget it. Mendoza, the city itself, is very urban, and in order to reach the vineyards you have to travel an hour outside of the city. Luckily for us, we happened to catch a wine festival in the city that showcased several of the finest wines of the region. For two nights straight, we sampled over twelve wineries. Our favorite was a small company by the name Domados. On our last day, we headed to Maipu where we visited two vineyards. I can’t recall the name of the first but the other, was the famous Trapiche. It was a perfect day, bright, sunny and welcoming, and what better way to spend it than riding our bikes through lush, green vineyards while sampling local Argentinean wines.

February 18-21, 2012 - Bariloche, Argentina

San Carlos De Bariloche 

St Bernard of Bariloche 

Typical stone and wood architecture of Bariloche

Nahuel Huapi National Park

Tree Species of Nahuel Huapi National Park

La Parilla de Tony

Bife de Chorizo 

Morcilla, blood sausage

San Carlos de Bariloche is like the Puerto Varas of Argentina. It is the gateway to Northern Patagonia, and is home to the famous Nahuel Huapi National Park. The main activities here are hiking, skiing and adventure sports, but by then, we were too tired and broke to do any of this. So instead, we decided to explore the park on our own via a public bus and on foot. Once there, we followed the first trail into the park that led us into a beautiful forest surrounded by mountains and lakes. The rest of the time, we explored the local culture of Bariloche which is mainly touristic driven. Chocolate stores and ice cream shops line all the main streets luring tourists with elaborate window displays. Of course, we couldn't resist. We had to try it all, and it turned out to be just good as it looked. In fact, the ice cream at Jauja was the best banana ice cream we had ever had. The chocolate and gummies were pretty good too. These decadent sweets were usually the last course to several memorable and not so memorable meals. Among the memorable was “La Parilla de Tony” where we ate the first blood sausage, “morcilla,” of our trip. Thank you Tony!

February, 16-18 - Ruta 40, Argentina

From El Calafate we booked a bus through Chalten Travel Agency to Bariloche via the legendary “ruta40,”  the longest road in Argentina that runs parallel to the Andes mountains. The trip took two days, traveling approximately twelve to fourteen hours per day with an overnight stay at Perito Morena. On route, we saw some of the most beautiful, pristine and unspoiled landscapes of Patagonia. The road was rough at times, unpaved, and passed through some of the remote areas of Patagonia.  It was a difficult journey and it’s hard to say whether it was worth it. In retrospect, we feel the best way to do it is on your own. On a bus, it turned out to be too uncomfortable and constraining to fully enjoy.  Also the likely hood of a breakdown is higher. On the first day, we had about a three-hour delay when the bus broke down, and all we could do was roll with the punches. Safe to say, we don’t recommend Chalten Travel. Instead opt for a four-wheel drive vehicle, preferably one that you drive on your own, in order to truly appreciate the majesty of ruta 40.

February 13-16 - El Calafate, Argentina

Parque Nacional Los Glaciers, Perito Moreno

Glacier Perito Moreno

Viewpoint from the Park

Perito Moreno

Viewpoint from the Park

Viewpoint from the Ferry 

From the ferry

Crampon Fitting

Showing off Crampons

Starting the hike

Standing on the Glacier

Ice Formation

Us

Our guide

Luminous skies

On top of Perito Moreno

Ice Formation

Whiskey served on Ice 

Cheers

We made it to Argentina and our first stop was El Calafate to see the famous Glacier Perito Moreno. Travelers warned us that the town was a tourist trap but strangely enough, we liked it. It had a very Swiss Alps feel to it that we enjoyed. The streets were alined with chocolate shops, boutiques, restaurants and tourist agencies. Most of the shops on the main street are built out of pine which only adds to the Swiss Alps feel. Yes, it was pricey but it didn't matter; the quality of service and the tour made it worthwhile. On the first day, we tried to book a tour with Hielo y Aventura (surprisingly, the only tour company that offers menitrekking on Perito Moreno) but it was fully booked for the next day so we scheduled it for the following. We figured it would be nice to enjoy a leisure Valentine's day. On the 14th, we treated ourselves to a "parillada" of vacio and sweetbreads, all grilled to perfection, at a popular restaurant called La Tablita. We sipped on local wine, walked the streets and enjoyed some artisanal beers before calling it a night.

Early the next morning we were promptly picked up by the tour bus and drove an hour to Parque Nacional Los Glaciers. It was spectacular, too stark and beautiful to be real, but there it was. Standing sixty meters high and thirty kilometers long, Glacier Moreno's grandeur left us speechless. Despite the heavy tourism and high cost, this is definitely a must do in Patagonia. We'll never forget walking with crampons, hearing the explosive sound of ice collapsing, and drinking a smooth glass of whiskey on this extraordinary glacier.

February 6-14 - Puerto Natales/Torres Del Paine, Chile

Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine

First day of hiking

Near our 1st campsite

Iconic Towers

Clouds clearing

Perfect view

We made it!

Las Torres

View from the final climb to the Towers

Day 2, picnic

Day 2, hiking to Los Cuernos

Our view from our campsite, Los Cuernos

Our tent

French Valley

River, French Valley

Near French Valley

Snow-capped mountains, glaciers

Burnt Forest

Striking view amongst the ashes

Our final hike

Having successfully completed our King Penguin mission, we headed northwest to the city of Puerto Natales. On arrival, our hostel, Lili Patagonico, gave us helpful information for hiking the W circuit of Torres Del Paine. After a few days of preparation which included shopping for groceries and renting camping equipment, we were ready to hike.

Day one, February 8th: We arrived at Hosteria del Torres where we initiated our hike to the iconic Towers. The first four hours was a steady climb uphill that finally leveled off and led us through a forest to our first campsite, Campamento Torres. There we set up camp, ate lunch, and resumed the last hour climbing up a steep rock slide to the viewpoint of the Towers. We'd be lying if we said it was easy. The truth is it was incredibly hard and the first day kicked our asses but it was worth the sweat and tears. The Towers were breathtaking.  

Day two, February 9th: After a rough night of tossing and turning (first night of camp is always the worst), we dragged our exhausted bodies out of the tent and started to pack up. Unfortunately, one of us, didn't make it out of the tent so smoothly. My leg fell asleep causing my shoelace to tangle on the front zipper of our tent. The only way to get out was by propelling my body several feet away and landing on a huge rock knee first. It hurt A LOT not to mention I felt like an idiot but there was no time to complain. We had a long hike ahead of us to our next destination, Refugio Cuernos. The hike took us along a path of snow-capped mountains, lakes, rivers and meadows. At one point, we had to cross turbulent streams on foot by hoping on stones. It was hilarious and intimidating to see travelers gather the nerve to accomplish this small yet challenging feat. One by one, they hopped their way until safely arriving on the other side. It took us about thirty minutes of watching before getting the courage to do it ourselves. We did it, and after the first two streams, we became pro's. A few hours into the hike, we felt confident that we were nearing Los Cuernos, so far so good. Then of course, the weather turned on us. Just as we were curving around the mountains, hurricane strength winds picked up to over 60 mph.  Several times we were blown down and had to huddle our bodies together to prevent the winds from blowing us away. All travelers were in the same position as us. It was terrifying. Jeff, got the worst of it. He was literally blown off the path, tumbled down a hill and landed head first on a small bush. We signed on for an adventure but now it was starting to feel like an "I Survived" episode. Luckily, we made it to the campsite in one piece BUT the weather only worsened. Relentless rain and wind continued through the night. Several tents were blown down. One traveller woke up immersed in a puddle of mud. It wasn't pretty but we all survived, and that morning the sun rose to greet us with its warm rays.

Day three, February 9th: We opted to stay another night in Los Cuernos, to enjoy a leisurely hike to the French Valley without our backpacks. It was incredibly beautiful and the weather was perfect. All around us were glaciers hanging out of mountain peaks, and down below we saw lakes, trees and rivers cascading down the valley walls. At one point, we witnessed an avalanche and heard the eery sound of ice chunks crashing from a distance. After a few hours of hiking, we headed back to our tent, all nicely built and waiting for us, and got drunk on boxed wine.

Day four, February 10th: This was our last day in Torres Del Paine. We decided to finish our journey at Pehoe. We didn't have the energy or means to continue the last leg of the W onto Camp Grey, and felt it was the right decision to end our journey here. Our last hike was through the burnt forest. In December of 2011 a massive fire destroyed 14,000 acres of land causing several of the campsites to close down. Dead trees and ash covered the landscape. It was eery but still beautiful, and reminded us that new life always arises from the ashes.