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South America

January - June 2024
Sabbatical with babe going around South America. Read more
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  • South America
    1
    Day 11

    Horses for courses

    February 8 in Uruguay ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Today we did one of our classic walking tours to get to know Montevideo and Uruguay. As usual, we loved it!
    We got to find out about the history of Uruguay, how they fought the Spanish for independence only to be conquered by Brazil, and how they defeated Brazil and planned to become part of Argentina. However, Britain got involved and they pushed for Uruguay to stay an independent state, so in 1825 they declared their independence and, in 1830, they finally had their constitution.
    Sadly we also found out that there's no indigenous population here, since they all got killed by one of their early president. As the country was adopting a more European/capitalist approach in the early 1900s, splitting its land up assign ownership, the nomadic indigenous people didn't fit into this new society. They were invited by the government up north, under the false promise of a dedicated territory, and they were all killed. A pretty dark moment in history!
    During the tour we met a lovely couple from Lancaster who gave us lots of tips on Mendoza and Bariloche, which is where we'll be going next. Both retired, they'd been travelling for over a month and Nick and I were very impressed by how adventurous they were in their retirement! An inspiration to us all 😊.
    We spent the afternoon horse riding just outside the capital along the forest and the beach. It was our first time horse riding and we really enjoyed it! Nick's horse was called Bonita, and she started kicking around in the water, apparently a sign of her suddent desire to go for a dive. Our guide Mia thankfully spotted her and told Nick to reign Bonita in, or he was going to get dragged in the water with her! I was partially relieved, and partially gutted I lost the chance for a great shot!
    We ended the day going for dinner at one of our friend's friend - a lovely Irish chap called Jeri who cooked us a fabulous dinner from his amazing flat. His wife is a diplomat and they live in the most amazing place, both the dinner and the sunset were stunning! Jeri was a great host, we'll meet him again on Saturday for the carnival!    Read more

  • South America
    Day 12

    Ramblas y tabladas

    February 9 in Uruguay ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Yesterday morning we did some admin for Patagonia. Even though we're only going in a couple of weeks, places in Patagonia book up early, and figuring out which buses to take was far harder than we thought. Good news is that it's all done now, and we're super excited about it!
    Around lunch time, we took a bus to the Montevideo sign and walked along la rambla - i.e. the beach - all the way back to ours.
    Fun fact about the name Montevideo (which we learned during the walking tour): apparently the name originates from "monte" (the hill near the city, just across the bay), "VI" as in the roman number 6, "d.e.o" as in "from East to West" in Spanish. When this area was colonised, the Spanish counted the mountains (hills, really) from the Uruguaian river towards the Atlantic ocean, and the one near Montevideo was number 6.
    The walk on the rambla was lovely and very relaxing; walking barefoot on sand really puts you in a holiday mood. We also very randomly stumbled upon a large seal, about 2.5 meters long, who was just taking a nap on the beach! I got very excited 😊!
    In the evening, we decided to see a tabladas, which is a type of local celebration, hosted throughout carnival in Montevideo (the longest in South America). We were told tabladas can be found anywhere, they involve people singing really fast about funny, occasionally political themes. We were told it's something that makes you laugh, but it also makes you think. Unfortunately we couldn't understand anything as they sing really fast and our spanish is awful! Particularly with the Uruguaian accent.
    We went to the one the hosted at the velodrome, apparently one of the best in town. We really enjoyed it, the costumes were very colorful, it was essentially a giant drag queen show. Most of the singers were men, with the lower half of their faces painted white. There were food stands, and hundreds of Uruguayans sat around, on either plastic chairs or on the floor, chatting and enjoying the performance. People clapped, cheered, drank their matè (local drink that everyone drinks here), and seemed to be having a great time. We felt like we were the only tourists attending, and we loved experiencing what felt like a very authentic local tradition, very different from other carnivals in South America.
    We left around 11pm as today we were supposed to have our final day watching the carnival parade. Sadly, today is raining all day and the parade has been moved to tomorrow, but we leave at 10am! We could extend our stay but we have a hike booked on Aconcagua before its season ends, so unfortunately we'll have to give it a miss.    Read more

  • South America
    Day 13

    Good food, great company

    February 10 in Uruguay ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Yesterday morning we walked to the old town and checked out the LGBT+/diversity square, where we read about Gloria Meneses.
    She was a transgender Uruguayan born in 1910, who sounded like a good influence in the community, organising the first tiny pride march. The participants had to wear masks to remain anonymous for fear of violence if identified. Now, hundreds of thousands of people march.
    However, a plaque remains stating 'the fight continues' due to ongoing discrimination, hate, and violence LGBT+ people face around the world. Today, Uruguay is remarkably supportive in comparison to other South American countries of LGBT+ people, and it's nice to walk around Montevideo feeling completely safe.
    After that, we went up the viewing tower on top of City Hall - the mirador - which had some interesting black and white pictures of the early 1900s, 81 metres up in the sky.
    Later, we met Jeri and his wife Charlotte for brunch, and ended up spending the whole day with them, eating and chatting (which is why I hardly have any pictures of the day).
    Even though carnival was sadly postponed, we had a really lovely time. They took us to a local museum, though they preemptively apologised for the local standard, which is nowhere near Europe when it comes to museums. We still had fun, joking with them about the mostly bad art 😁. Nick and I agreed that the day would have been a bit of a waste without them, but they made it a lot more fun. It was nice to meet people who live in the city and hear their take on things.
    We finished the day at a restaurant called Bruta, hands down the best meal we've had so far on this trip! It was a tapas style dinner, shared amongst the four of us, and every dish was delicious! I wish I had taken a picture for our journal, but we were too busy enjoying the food and the company.    Read more

  • South America
    Day 14

    Taxi, bus, ferry, taxi, another bus

    February 11 ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today we left Uruguay.
    We had breaky in bed, as is tradition, though the muesli has been very underwhelming, so we got hungry very quickly. We took the same 3 hour bus back to Colonia and stopped for lunch.
    It was a lovely sunny day, with many more tourists walking around, as it's the weekend and lots of Argentinians come over from Buenos Aires.
    Nick found a little Mexican place that made delicious tacos, and we ate really well.
    After a quick ice coffee near the beach, we took the ferry back to BA.
    We randomly found a restaurant called Raiz (root) in Puerto Madeiro, the borough where the ferry docks, which has been redeveloped recently and has lots of fancy high rises. The food was delicious, all vegan and veggie so a paradise for Nick. We're pretty sure no Argentinian has ever set foot in it, but it's their loss!
    We're now on a 15 hours night bus to Mendoza. There are 3 English girls in their early twenties who are very excited about this bus. Nick and I feel like old veterans at this stage.    Read more

  • South America
    Day 15

    Arriving in Mendoza

    February 12 in Argentina ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Yesterday we arrived in Mendoza via a night bus. Around 2am, I woke up while the bus was shaking in the wind and rain was battering the windows. Lightning was striking outside and I could barely see anything.
    We later found out there was an amber alert, and we happened to be driving through a storm. Nick somehow was sleeping like a baby, while the lady sat behind me and I watched each other thinking we'd soon be dead.
    Miraculously, the driver managed to get through it! The audio in the video gives an idea of how much rain and wind there was - I'm trying to show the driver's window in it and, if you're thinking you can't see anything, that's correct.
    Not much else to report, we just got our permits for Aconcagua, rented sleeping bags and did some food shopping. Mendoza is buzzing, lots of people out and about!
    We're now going on a 3 days hike to get a taste of Aconcagua. We are just going to the second camp, at 4,200m. It's not far in relation to the full mountain ascent, but it'll be the highest both Nick and I have ever hiked to. I'm packing my crazy zoom lens so my bag is quite heavy, I hope I won't regret it!    Read more

  • South America
    Day 16

    Andes vs. Nick: 1 - nil

    February 13 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Yesterday we got up at 5:45 to catch the 7am bus to Penitentes, which is where our 3 day trek to Aconcagua started.
    We met our guide, Silvia, a lovely lady from Mendoza, who has been guiding here for over 30 years.
    We thought we'd be part of a big group, but it turned out it was just the 2 of us and Silvia. Once we arrived at the entrance to the National Park we checked in, as you need a special permit to enter Aconcagua, they also provide bin bags to ensure nothing is left in the park.
    The altitude of the park entrance is 2,700 meters - which is more than our typical summit altitude in the dolomites! 
    The hike is so different from anything we've ever done before, the mountain is very dry, as the area is a desert. The paths are dusty which made our eyes red and gave us black bogies.
    Even though pumas and guanacos live in the park, they stay well away from people. The only animals we saw were birds, lots of lovely little ones flying around super fast. As there are no trees, they nest on the ground, so it's important to stick to the paths.
    After 2 more hours hiking we arrived at the Confluencia camp. We were fed lots of food and we were lucky enough to get assigned a private dome to sleep in.
    The mountains around the camp are really impressive, with vivid colours ranging from green, red and yellow. Most of the peaks are around 5,000 meters, while Aconcagua is a almost 7,000m. Even though we're quite far from it, we can see it towering over the horizon.
    The altitude of the camp is 3,400m and mules keep it stocked with food and water for the hiking season. They also go to base camp, Plaza de Mulas, at 4,200. We saw some getting out of the path and being reigned in by the arrieros ("muleteers") - and we were very glad we did not have to lug all that stuff up to camp!
    Unfortunately, because of the altitude, Nick felt pretty ropey pretty quickly. He had a constant headache and lost his appetite. Silvia and I made some back up plans as we were 99% sure Nick would not want to continue the hike in the morning.    Read more

  • South America
    Day 17

    Andes vs. Nick: 1 - 1

    February 14 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We woke up bundled in our sleeping bags, much colder than we expected. 3 degrees, we were later told the first hours of the morning, between 7 and 8, are the coldest in the mountain.
    Thankfully the rental shop had run out of light sleeping bags, which is what we had initially asked for, and had given us some suitable for -15°C.
    Nick thankfully didn't have a headache anymore (despite us both having oxygen saturations of 80% overnight)! He decided he was ok sticking with the original plan, an 8 hours hike to Plaza Francia, at 4,200 metres.
    We set off at 8:20 am, with the sun still behind the peaks. We wore all the layers we had and missed all the spare ones we had left in Mendoza, thinking it wouldn't get that cold in the Confluencia camp.
    The hike is a gental incline following the Horcones stream. The little frozen stream is fed from the glacier, and Silvia told us it would eventually become a small river by the end of the day as the sun melted the ice. Silvia explained that the lower glaciers in Mendoza are covered in rocks and sand - and we quickly realised we were walking alongside one. As we went on, we started seeing lagunas, areas where the glacier had caved in and exposed pools of freezing water. These pools are connected by underground rivers, which make the glaciers extremely dangerous and unstable.
    The East Wall approach to Aconcagua was closed just a few weeks ago as a 3km wide laguna opened up, and the rangers said the river flowing underneath made the whole area too risky to walk on.
    The plants around the path were quite unique, nothing like what we are used to in Europe. Small bushes with really thick roots which seem to run deep between the rocks dot the landscape until 3,600 - 3,700m, where all life seems to stop. We stopped with Silvia in silence for 5 minutes and couldn't hear anything. Not a bird or insect, nor the stream which was, at that point, running underground. The sun was now high and it was very hot and, when the wind stopped, it felt like we were on Mars. Just red sand and rocks, towering mountains, and silence. And obviously, on the horizon, Aconcagua.
    The walk led to a viewpoint of the South Wall, which is one of the steepest and largest in the world. 3km tall and wide enough to contain the whole city of Mendoza, it has many glaciers hanging from its steep cliffs, including the impressive Ventisquero Horcones, which runs from the superior glacier and is over 10km long.
    The walk was hard but we really enjoyed it. The more we walked, the more Aconcagua came into view, and it's fascinating to chase the view of such a colossal mountain. 
    From the viewpoint at 4,200m it was still the biggest mountain we've ever seen. As we stared at it during lunch, we witnessed an avalanche from one of the top glaciers. The speed and size of the cloud of snow toppling down was impressive to see.
    Silvia told us that, even though the typical summit route is via the north, there are also many routes up the South Wall. They all require sleeping up vertical walls of either rock, or ice, or both. To make things even harder, if you zoom into the pictures of the glaciers, you will see a lot of icy pinnacles, the so called "penitentes". The ice in Aconcagua is pierced by the blazing sun, and shaped by the strong winds into razer sharp pinnacles, some 2 meters high. It really takes some kind of madness to want to go up something like that.
    The walk back to Confluencia camp was faster and the landscape kept on surprising us with views which we had not noticed going up. When you go up, your eyes are constantly drawn to the Aconcagua, so we missed some of the more colorful rocks along the path. The frozen stream had indeed turned into a small river and the sound of the water kept us company for most of the way.
    We were tired and glad we weren't going any further after 32,000 steps! We had more food at camp and chilled for the rest of the day, getting to know Silvia and enjoying some more food.    Read more

  • South America
    1
    Day 18

    Leaving Aconcagua

    February 15 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Yesterday was our last day in Aconcagua. 
    We had been drinking a lot of water (Silvia had recommended to drink 4 litres a day), to better adjust to the altitude and so, inevitably, we were up a lot in the night to go to the toilet. 
    However, this provided a great opportunity for star gazing, and the stars at night were absolutely stunning. The fact that we never see stars in London, combined with being on the southern hemisphere where the milky way is visible, made each toilet trip a real treat.
    Once morning arrived, after a quick breakfast where we discussed politics and the monarchy, we started the trek back, which only took a couple of hours. We saw some mules running up towards camp and, despite us trying to get out of their way, they passed really close to us. Silvia had to wave her walking poles at them to keep them at a distance - something she had been advised to do by the arrieros. The mules have no interest in hitting us, but they are not always aware of how bulky their load is, and Silvia told us we wouldn't be the first to be hit by one of the heavy crates strapped to their backs.
    Once we reached the park entrance, we took a shuttle to Penitentes, where we waited for the bus back to Mendoza. Even though we had been through Penitentes on the way up, we had not really paid much attention to it. It looks like a mini ski ghost town, apparently once very popular, a victim of climate change and poor management and upkeep by the state. The chairlifts still hang on the side of the mountain, unused for almost 10 years.
    While waiting for the bus, we met 3 Brazilian women who looked like they were in their late 40s. They were training to run the ultramarathon which was the day after, which goes from Penitentes to Plaza Francia (at the viewpoint at 4,200m where we had been the day before) and back. They seemed completely mad but equally fascinating and inspiring.
    Back in Mendoza, we finally showered, shaved and took a well earned rest.    Read more

  • South America
    Day 19

    Chilling in the park

    February 16 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Yesterday we had a slow day, which was much needed as we have done something pretty much every day since we started the trip.
    We had initially planned a walking tour at 3:30pm, but we ended up being too late to it. We wanted to have a quick lunch, but somehow ended up at a wine tasting restaurant!
    In the end, it all worked out well, as we were quite tired, so we just went to a park, called our parents and texted some friends, and just relaxed. Mendoza is very nice and, even though it's hot, its dry desert heat is much more bearable than the humid Buenos Aires heat. The whole city has trees along each road and water ways on both sides. They are called acequias and they irrigate the land in and around the city, spreading the glacial water from the nearby rivers and making it possible to live here. We had never seen anything like those canals anywhere else, but we're big fans as they allow trees to grow on both sides of every road, providing some much needed shade and beauty.    Read more

  • South America
    Day 20

    Booze cruise

    February 17 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Two days ago (I know, I'm late with the updates!) we went on a tour of the wineries in the Valle de Uco, near Mendoza.
    We used a local hop-on/hop-off bus tour which had been recommended to us by a couple of Brits we met in Montevideo. The Vitivinicola bus tour has a set tour each day visiting different regions. We were pleased that the Saturday tour covered the Uco valley as Silvia, our Aconcagua guide, had recommended it as one of the best regions in the area for wineries. The area was only developed in the late 80s as vineyards, as the area closer to Mendoza was no longer producing enough to sustain the increasing demand for Mendozan wine. Wineries started being constructed towards the south, about 100km from Mendoza, in a part of the desert that was higher, between 800 and 1,000m above sea level. Being so recent, the wineries there are very new and at the cutting edge of their business.
    The bus picked us up at 8:35am and drove for a couple of hours before reaching the first winery. We were given an option between two wineries, Enzo Bianchi (Italian heritage) and Gimenez Riili (Mendozan). We chose the latter as we were told they could offer the tour in English. We were really lucky as the English tour was given by the owner! So, as everyone else was queueing to pay, we were asked to follow the owner for what seemed like a private tour (everyone else on the bus was South American, so opted for the tour in Spanish). We soon ran into an American couple who were staying at the vineyard and who joined our tour. Since they had probably paid about 10 times what Nick and I had, our private tour quickly became theirs 😆. Nevertheless, we had a lovely time! After the tour of the facilities, we rejoined our group for the tastings. We really lucked out then, as we happened to sit next to two lovely girls, and one of them happened to be a winery tour guide. She was there to sample the competition and spoke excellent English, better than any of the staff at Gimenez Riili (or any of the following wineries). She very kindly translated everything for us, even adding more things she knew from her own experience. So, in the end, we essentially had a private tour guide - and for the whole day!
    Neither Nick nor I are used to drinking much, and definitely not at 11am. However, since we were paying for the tasting and the Gimenez Riili wines were delicious, it seemed a waste not to not finish our glasses. We were given a white, a rose and a red and, given we had only had breakfast, we were pretty much drunk right away. A small detail we hadn't realised was that there was going to be another winery, with another three wines, before lunch 🫠!
    Next stop was Pietra Negra (Black Stone), where we chatted more with our newfound friends. We didn't enjoy the wines as much - apart from the premium blend of Malbec, which we loved so much we contemplated buying a case! Thankfully we were not so drunk to forget that our 6 month budget doesn't really allow us to splurge on a case of 12 bottles of wine, so we came to our senses and said thank you, but no thank you. By "we" I obviously mean "I", Nick always has more sense than me in these things so he was never intending to buy anything 😂.
    We then headed for lunch at the third winery, where we got chatting to two really nice guys from Buenos Aires. They were somehow particularly into British culture and were therefore able to chat in English perfectly. Once again, very lucky for us! We were served a huge platter of Tomahawk cut steak which is apparently not the usual Argentinian cut, as it is a whole rib rather than being a rack of cut ribs. It was delicious, even according to the Argentinians at the table. Nick had a veggie pasta instead, which left more meat for us (as it was a sharing platter). 
    We finished the day at one of the bigger wineries called Monteviejo, which had a massive, amazing terrace overlooking the vineyards and the Andes. We sipped our final red, having sobered up a bit after lunch, but already having started to regret having drunk so much.
    We got home around 9pm, completely exhausted and hungover 😂. We loved the day but, even though it may seem silly to not fully drink the wine, we promised ourselves we would just "taste" the wine next time!    Read more

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