7 years in Tibet for Brad Pitt only 3 days for us
Trip Start
Aug 03, 2006
1
43
75
Trip End
Dec 13, 2006
Uspallata,
Argentina
Friday, October 20, 2006
At first we thought we may have made a mistake and travelled to some backwater hole in the ground but after 3 days there we were sad to say goodbye. There are few things to do in town, few restaurants and one bar: The Tibet bar. (These people are holding on tightly to the fame of being the set for a Brad Pitt movie, there are references to the movie everywhere and even a picture of him at a press conference for us to look at while eating breakfast at the hotel.)
The appeal of this town is its proximity to rivers and mountains and the numerous activities that come with that
01 - Unfortunate name for a company
. Our second day there we went abseiling / climbing. It is low season so it was the two of us and 2 guides! Our decision to move to Uspallata was also vindicated in that it took only 15 minutes to get to the rock face. We did a 25ft and 50 ft abseil and then had a go at climbing. It was a new sport for Steve and Tara hadn't done it in ages so we didn't make it past the easier routes (Tara: I swear I could have made it higher but there were wasp nests in between the rocks!!!! No really......)The next day we booked on to a white water rafting trip. We joined Marcos and Pablo (2 Argentinian guys who were top lads and readily took us under their Argentinian wings) and did a 12km river ride in class 2 rapids. A good level for us beginners. The guide kept making sure we got good and wet! The rapids were great fun and the views spectacular. We were drifting down a river in a canyon of red rock with bright blue sky ahead and snow capped mountains all around. It was a great way to spend a morning (and only CDN$16 / 8 pounds per person!)
As we were heading back to town Marcos and Pablo invited us to join them on a drive to the mountains and a lunch of baby goat in nearby Villevicencio. We had a great afternoon with them and met up later that night for a few drinks
02 - Kitting up ready to go
.DAILY FACTS
- Stayed at: Los Condores. We orignally went to the youth hostel 6km out of town (Hostel Uspallata), but it looked nothing
like the slick website, there was no one there, it was a hassle to get into town and we couldn't have our room till 9pm, so we naffed off. Los Condores on the other hand is in the centre of town, has very nice rooms and was cheaper than the bloody youth hostel! How does that work? Recommended.
- Trip organised by: Pizarro. Excellent company whose guides really seem to know what they were doing. Recommended.
