Rio to Bariloche

  Bariloche, Argentina
Saturday, October 4, 2008

We boarded our new truck "CAMERON" in Rio and met our new guides, "Bob" and "Rob". Bob is from Leeds and Rob from Rotterdam. Four new people joined the trip, so there are 9 of us plus the guides.
 
Our next stop was Paraty on the Emerald Coast. It is idyllic - nice sandy beach and clear water. The town is very quaint with cobbled streets lined with pretty shops and restaurants. Judith was going to have her tarot cards read, but the lady only spoke Portuguese and Spanish! We had a fantastic boat trip round the islands. The sun was shining as we jumped from the boat into the sea and swam to the palm-fringed beaches (a bit like Robinson Crusoe/Pirates of the Caribbean). The captain of the boat kept us entertained by playing tunes on his guitar - the Portuguese version of "No Woman, No Cry" was Judith´s favourite.
 
After two long drive days we reached Iguazu Falls. The campsite was well equipped and we managed to play a short game of football. Judith managed to keep up with the lads!
 
We visited the Brazilian side of the falls and weren´t disappointed. They are mighty and magnificent. We had a 15 minute helicopter ride over the falls, which was something else, and then got up close to them (on foot). The tumbling water is awesome and above the impact of the water there is a perpetual high cloud of mist in which the sun creates blazing rainbows. Also, great dusky swifts and butterflies dodge in and out of the falls - beautiful. A great day was rounded off at a dance show where we were treated to a variety of traditional dances and a grand buffet.
 
The next day we bade farewell to Brazil - we crossed a bridge, half of which was painted in the Brazilian colours of yellow and green,and the other half in the Argentinian colours of blue and white. We visited the Argentinian side of the falls, which offers close views of the falls in their forest setting and we certainly got a birds eye view. We had a power boat ride into the falls, which was exhilirating to say the least. The boat sped under the crashing falls and the water thundered upon us. We were blinded and wettened by the sheer power. It was the best power shower ever! We then made our way to the "Garanta del Diablo" (Devil´s Throat), which was breathtaking. The gushing water was brilliant white and illuminated in places with rainbows. The story goes that a person came to Devil´s throat to take their own life, but the sheer beauty of the place persuaded him not to!
 




En route to Los Potreros Carmen (the truck) had a leak, so while Bob and Rob tended to her, some of us had a yoga lesson on the roadside! Later that day the tour company got fined 500 pesos because Carmen had faulty tyres and an illegal bull bar! That night we found ourselves in a small town called Parana and were advised to go to the best meat restaurant in town. The group (plus Antonio - an 80 yr old Italian who had befriended us near the campsite) piled into 3 taxis and it was like the Dukes of Hazzard. One taxi tried to take some of the lads to a brothel, our taxi kept on rolling backwards, and the other taxi had no lights! The meal was different - cows intestines; blood sausage (black pudding); cows ribs! We were at home with the black pudding, but couldn´t persuade the others to stomach it.
 
The next day we arrived at Estancia Los Potreros - a wonderful place nestled between the Pampas and the Andes in the heart of the Cordoba region. The Estancia is a 6,000 acre working cattle farm and has remained in the same family for 4 generations. It is peaceful and unspoilt. We camped there, but had sole use of a stone cottage. The whole place reminded us of North Wales or the Lake District. We spent the first night wine tasting and in fancy dress. The theme was something beginning with "P", so Dan was a pillock and Judith was a prostitute (the less said the better). Other attendees included a pineapple, pussycat, party boy, popeye, princess, pirate, panda, and a policeman.
 
The next day we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and after a brief lesson from Kevin (the owner of the Estancia) we mounted our horses. The horses are not stabled and roam freely on the Estancia. Judith´s horse was called "Surprise" because when they bought her she gave them a surprise, i.e. she was pregnant! Dan´s horse was called Castenno. We were led by a gaucho called Jose also known as Little Joe. He guided us through the wonderful scenery of the Sierras Chicas. We soon got into our stride and learned how to drive the horses. We had lunch at a waterfall, which was freezing - Judith had a dip and it was so cold it stung!






The following day we went on another ride - what a way to spend a Monday morning - the sky was blue and the sun shone brightly. The horses picked their way sure-footed over the rocks up and down the higher land. We went to a place named "The Top of The World" where we had a panoramic view of the area. At the end of the ride Dan purchased a polo shirt and Judith a gaucho hat and a t-shirt. The proceeds went to a community school.
 
We rounded of our stay at the Estancia with a BBQ and sampled what the gauchos eat - it was delicious and black pudding made an appearance yet again!
 
After a one night stop in Cordoba we arrived in Buenos Aires and booked into a hotel for 4 nights - luxury. The hotel was located on the beautiful De Mayo avenue where the national government house stands (from its balcony the country´s leaders have addressed the people, as Eva Peron did). We explored the city on foot, by bus and tube.



The many pedestrian streets are lined with upmarket shops and nearly always end in a beautiful square. La Boca neighbourhood houses the famous Boca Juniors stadium, which is yellow and blue and the structure of which looks from up above like a chocolate box "La Bombonera". The neighbourhood is also very picturesque due to the colourful custom (introduced by Italian immigrants) of building houses with wood and zinc and painting them in bright colours. We enjoyed lunching here at the various trattorias and were treated to free tango shows.



One of the highlights of our stay in Buenos Aires was the visit to the Recoleta Cemetery! It is an exclusive cemetery which houses the remains of Argentina´s most famous people including Eva Peron (Evita). It is an unbelievable place - 54,843 square metres with 4,800 vaults. The vaults are as tall as houses with front doors and stained glass windows through which you can see the coffins (spooky and freaky).  According to the guide the place has been architecturally enhanced and has become a major expression of funeral architecture worldwide.
 
Our next stop was Puerto Madryn - one thousand miles south of Buenos Aires - and the site of the first Welsh landing in 1865. En route we were stopped by customs who were checking for foodstuff. A beagle called Gringa came on board and sniffed out the fruit, which was confiscated! We followed the coast road to the campsite in Puerto Madryn and saw whales in the sea and very near the shore. It was a nice welcome after a long day in the truck. We spent two days in the breezy seaside town. On day one we visited the Valdez Peninsula with Norah our guide for the day. From Puerto Piramides, the only village in the Valdez Peninsula, we took a boat trip and saw many Southern Right whales. We got close up to the beasts (females can measure up to 13 metres and males about a metre shorter) and they seemed to be teasing us - blowing water and then disappearing into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a magnificent sight seeing their back fins raising out of the sea, although they did look sinister when they were swimming just below the surface of the sea.



In the afternoon we saw some elephant seals, which were ugly things slumped on the beach. They looked like giant sausages! This time of the year is the reproductive season, so we saw many pups nestling close to their mums. The dominant male was massive and, although very docile he was a keeping a close eye on the hareem and on two males who were trying to muscle in!



Further along the coast we saw some Magellanic penguins which looked comical as they went about their daily business. On the way back to camp we saw some Mara (a cross between a hare and a kangaroo), some Guanacos (llama), some owls and some Rhias (ostrich). On our second day in Puerto Madryn Norah took us to a town called Rawson. Some of the group took a boat trip to see the dolphins, but we stayed behind (Judith cleaned the inside of the truck and Dan went for a run). We then went to Punto Tombo to a penguin colony. Again they were Magellanic penguins, but this time there were hundreds of them - some resting under shrubs, in burrows and in open spaces. As they waddled along and across our paths we had to show them respect by adhering to the signs, which said "Give way to the penguins"! The braying noise that they were making was deafening. 



We then found ourselves in the pretty town of Gamain, which is full of tea shops. We piled into the nearest one and feasted on a Welsh tea, which was out of this world (bread, jam, scones, sweet cakes of all varieties, and tea of course). We were all full to the brim, so the evening meal was cancelled. Instead we went to an authentic local bar.
 
En route to our next destination - Bariloche - we stopped for lunch in a bus shelter. It was a little cold, but we survived! After one night in Esquel (a pretty town hidden in between mountains) we set off for Bariloche - the Argentinian Switzerland. The scenery was stunning as we drove through the Los Alerces National Park, which according to our guide book is one of the most appealing and untouched expanses of the Andes region. We had a short walk and enjoyed the view of the snowcapped mountains, which poke out of the ground like giant fruit cakes topped with icing. The landscape as we approached Bariloche was a magnificient alpine scene - christmas trees, snowcapped mountains, cows grazing in the green fields, aqua marine coloured rivers. It was like the cover of a chocolate box.
 
Bariloche is a swiss style resort with chalets and nice restaurants and great lakes. We had the option of going skiing or mountain biking. We opted for mountain biking and were not disappointed. The weather was fine and sunny and we cycled the "Circuito Chico" and discovered some amazing views. We biked through the forest, climbed hills and lunched by a river. The scenery was fantastic and breathtaking. We saw the five-star Hotel Llao Llao, which is a secluded resort in a beautiful location. If the group members put some more money in the kitty we might be able to afford a pint of beer from there!



On Sunday 05 October we cross the border to Chile.