20 Nov Quiet day today again, resting our aching joints from the previous days cycle. Trevor made us a fine farewell dinner, a big chicken and veg roast, washed down with lots of quality E2 wine before we caught our 11.50pm bus to El Califate.
21 Nov Our total journey time of 35 hours was a long one. The bus down south are of a less a standard than up north due to their remote location and poor quality roads. We stopped at a few places en route along an otherwise totally barren landscape. The road we took is called Ruta 40, a famous road from the north to the south. Its a legendery drive a bit like route 66 in the US. Most of it was unsealed, ie no tarmac, and made going very slow and rough. Fiachra had bought pirate copy DVDs in Paraguay and the driver let us play them. Rambo went 2/3rds of the way and stopped and Kung Fu Panda was in Chinese. We all had a laugh though as they were so bad.
22 Nov Arrived in El Califate this morning at 9.30am. We checked into a nice hostel and decided to go on an afternoon tour of a nearby glacier called Perito Moreno. One would think we were mad to go on a bus for another 5 hours, but what the hell...in for a penny, in for a pound. The Glacier was huge, 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high. We took a boat ride to the face of the glacier and then the bus took us up to the side of it with a great view. We got some great photos including Fiachras trade mark practically naked pose, in the freezing cold, with one of nature greatest creations in full view (although our opinions differed on what exactly that was). He was the toast of a whole heap of weather clad tourists switching their cameras to him rather than the brilliant white monolith behind him (mind you, his white arse would give it a run for its money). There were 2 English lads and a yank decided to do the same and were posing as a gaggle of schoolkids arrived. We choked laughing as their screams rang out and we decided to disappear to the warm nearby cafe before the police arrived. The lads dressed quicker than a slapper in Afghanistan.
23 Nov We woke this morning to discover Cristina was gone. Her bed was cold and she was nowhere to be seen. After breakfast she turned up and said she left in the middle of the night as she was being bitten and was covered in lumps. She complained to reception and they said that occaisionally their dog slept in that bed. This is one hot headed Italian and she lost it, they ended up putting her on a mattress in the lounge and then tried to charge her for the night. She swore blind at them in Italian and told them to F. off and call the police if they wanted her money. They let her off, so I went up and said I was bitten too. They wanted me to show them my bites, but after a weak display of a few old mosquito bites, my request was declined. Shite, Got a great laugh from the others though.
Later that day we got a bus to El Chalten. Id love to say I liked the place but it was a human blight on an otherwise beautiful landscape... cheap housing, caravans, dusty roads, gaping holes in ground that one could fall into... the list goes on. The town was in a valley and the wind would roar through the place blowing everything everywhere and was balticly cold, twud blow the Knickers off a nun. Prices were extorsionate, the local dogs wouldnt eat the food in the cafes and the local beer was piss. Anyway we were there for the hikes in the local area and suppose I should be glad of any services at all.
24 Nov We got up early and prepared for our 8 hour hike to Laguna del los tres and view Cerro Fitzroy, an amazing mountain top that rose vertically (a bit like a cliff face). We walked up the mountain side on our 18km walk and saw amazing views of the surrounding area. The weather is reknowned for its changability and I was taking layers off and back on again, up with the hood and on with hat and back off again. You get the picture. We finally reached the ascent area and were told there was no point as it was a white-out up there. We had lunch and got talking to a couple who are on our Antartica trip. Small world.
25 Nov Wanted to take the 1.30pm bus today back to El Califate to get a connecting bus to Rio Gallegos, but it was full. This was part of journey to the worlds most southerly town so ended up having to wait for the 6.30pm bus. After 8 hours hanging around after checking out of the hostel we got the bus and arrived in El Califate at 10pm. We had to hang around then for the 4am bus to Rio Gallegos.
26 Nov We decided not to go to the hassle of checking into a hostel only to leave at 2.30am so that we were at the bus station at 3am to buy tickets for the 4am bus. We ended up sleeping on the bus station floor, like tramps, for a few hours which was new but kind of cool too. Got on the bus and slept all the way to RG. Got to RG and after a coffee and croissants breakfast we got onto the bus to Ushuaia (the most southerly town in the world). After 5 hours and 2 police checkpoints, into Chilean territory and out of Chile back into Argentina, 2 sets of immigration for both countries and endless queing we reached the Straits of Majellan. This notorious strech of water (2km wide) seperates Tierra Del Fuego, the most southerly Argentinian landmass, from the mainland. The currents in the water were swirling around like an emptying bath. Our ferry was a modern yolk with powerful side thrusters keeping us in place.
Between waiting and travelling on buses we were on the go for 40 hours by the time we reached Ushuaia. It is a desolate location and nothing to look at but endless plains with freezing cold wind that kills everything.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tis getting cold going South
12 Nov Fiachras freind Trevor arrived this morning and we booked our bus tickets south to the town of Bariloche. Didnt do much else today other than relax in the sun and eat great food.
13 Nov Walked around Mendozas park today which was nice. I looked at their newly built University which was clad almost entirely in mirrored glass. Sitting across the road in a cafe drinking a coffee and looking at it I could hardly see it as it reflected all the trees around it. Fantastic modern architecture methinks. That evening we left for Bariloche, the bus broke down on the way and we were stuck for an hour in some bus station somewhere.
14 Nov Our, due to arrive, 1.30pm bus arrived in Bariloche at 4.30pm. Bariloche seems like a nice town, it is famous for its Swiss heritage, skiing and its chocolate. I am looking forward to exploring it and its environs. Checked into a hostel called '1004'. Its a 10th floor double penthouse apartment and has amazing views over the lake and the town.
15 Nov Walked around town today and saw the Cathedral & chocolate shops. Its a pricey place so we cooked a big casserole in the hostel and bought a few bottles of good wine (E3 per bottle). The hostel were having a wine tasting party that night and to get in you must bring a bottle per person over E3.50 per bottle. We had drank all our good stuff so we filled our expensive bottles with the cheap stuff (80c per bottle)and in we went. We were sick laughing and the faces of disgust when somebody tasted our wine.
16 Nov Went on a 16km walk today. We thought it was going to be a nice scenic walk around the lake on trails etc but it ended up being on the side of a busy road, we were pissed off we didnt rent bikes instead. At the end of the walk we got the bus home. It was a 45 minute journey on twisty, turney, stop start roads. We put on our sunglasses and pretended we were asleep as older women and women with kids started giving us the `I need that seat more than you do look´,but we were fecked. Met Stephanie and Rose, our dutch freinds at the Irish bar tonight which was a good night (the rest of Nov 16 has been censored)
17 Nov Didnt do much today. Hung around town and as it was Trevors birthday, we were busy buying him a present and a cake. Had good celebrations in the hostel and they put up decorations and balloons for the occaision. Was a good night.
18 Nov After a restless night of complaints to security about noise from our room, the hostel were glad to see the back of us. Two dry arse Bask Spaniards girls took a dislike to our mild AM chorus of booze, birds and birthday celebrations and complained to security. Fiachra threw a few F's at them afterwards for not asking us to pipe down first and they started shouting at us and slamming doors etc. They were psychos.
Later that day we got the bus to a small town south called 'El Bolson'. Its a nice little place with a hippy past and a real chilled out atmosphere. Familiarised ourselves with our surroundings and took it easy.
19 Nov Cristina left us today to go back to Bariloche and we met another lad called Wesly. The 4 of us rented mountain bikes and cycled 36km to a lake called Lago Puelo. It was a lovely spot but the road to there was busy. Went to a microbrewery bar/restaurant that evening to have a taste of the beers and eat dinner. We ordered one of every beer they had and had our own little beer tasting. Was a good laugh.
13 Nov Walked around Mendozas park today which was nice. I looked at their newly built University which was clad almost entirely in mirrored glass. Sitting across the road in a cafe drinking a coffee and looking at it I could hardly see it as it reflected all the trees around it. Fantastic modern architecture methinks. That evening we left for Bariloche, the bus broke down on the way and we were stuck for an hour in some bus station somewhere.
14 Nov Our, due to arrive, 1.30pm bus arrived in Bariloche at 4.30pm. Bariloche seems like a nice town, it is famous for its Swiss heritage, skiing and its chocolate. I am looking forward to exploring it and its environs. Checked into a hostel called '1004'. Its a 10th floor double penthouse apartment and has amazing views over the lake and the town.
15 Nov Walked around town today and saw the Cathedral & chocolate shops. Its a pricey place so we cooked a big casserole in the hostel and bought a few bottles of good wine (E3 per bottle). The hostel were having a wine tasting party that night and to get in you must bring a bottle per person over E3.50 per bottle. We had drank all our good stuff so we filled our expensive bottles with the cheap stuff (80c per bottle)and in we went. We were sick laughing and the faces of disgust when somebody tasted our wine.
16 Nov Went on a 16km walk today. We thought it was going to be a nice scenic walk around the lake on trails etc but it ended up being on the side of a busy road, we were pissed off we didnt rent bikes instead. At the end of the walk we got the bus home. It was a 45 minute journey on twisty, turney, stop start roads. We put on our sunglasses and pretended we were asleep as older women and women with kids started giving us the `I need that seat more than you do look´,but we were fecked. Met Stephanie and Rose, our dutch freinds at the Irish bar tonight which was a good night (the rest of Nov 16 has been censored)
17 Nov Didnt do much today. Hung around town and as it was Trevors birthday, we were busy buying him a present and a cake. Had good celebrations in the hostel and they put up decorations and balloons for the occaision. Was a good night.
18 Nov After a restless night of complaints to security about noise from our room, the hostel were glad to see the back of us. Two dry arse Bask Spaniards girls took a dislike to our mild AM chorus of booze, birds and birthday celebrations and complained to security. Fiachra threw a few F's at them afterwards for not asking us to pipe down first and they started shouting at us and slamming doors etc. They were psychos.
Later that day we got the bus to a small town south called 'El Bolson'. Its a nice little place with a hippy past and a real chilled out atmosphere. Familiarised ourselves with our surroundings and took it easy.
19 Nov Cristina left us today to go back to Bariloche and we met another lad called Wesly. The 4 of us rented mountain bikes and cycled 36km to a lake called Lago Puelo. It was a lovely spot but the road to there was busy. Went to a microbrewery bar/restaurant that evening to have a taste of the beers and eat dinner. We ordered one of every beer they had and had our own little beer tasting. Was a good laugh.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
We'll be comin' down the Andes...
04 Nov Left Salta today bound for Cafyete, a small town further south and in the foothills of the Andes. Its a wine growing region and has a lovely climate. The bus trip took us through amazing scenery akin to something you might see in the Roadrunner cartoons. We checked into a nice hostel and had a look around the town.
05 Nov Rented a couple of bikes and decided to do a mini triathlon of sorts. It involved cycling to this place along a dirt road and then walking for 2 hours along a riverbed to a waterfall, swim for a bit and then back home. We got to the end of our cycle and started heading along the river bed. We were following these arrows and it turned out to be the wrong way. We weren't the only ones to go astray. We met Juliana, an Argentinian girl coming the opposite way and she told us that she met a couple of local boys who said she needed to go back. We joined forces, found the right way and started heading up the right riverbed. The river walk was very lush with lovely pools, small waterfalls and cacti. The walking involved climbing rocks and all kinds of obstacles. It started to get more difficult as we got close to the final waterfall. We were climbing this steep ridge and I looked back for Juliana. I saw her slipping and she fell about 10 metres, bouncing off rocks and ledges like a rag doll. I shouted for Fiachra, just up ahead, and we jumped down after her. I was sure she was dead. She was miracously on her feet saved by her squashed backpack and the final land was into a small pool of deep water. Her head was split open and blood was pouring down her face. She could hardly walk with the pain in her back and was white as a ghost. We pulled her out of the water and sat her down. We decided that Fiachra run on for help and I would play it by ear and stay with her. Well enough to walk we stumbled along and met Fiachra coming back with help, a couple who had hired a guide. Their guide had ran on and called the hospital. After a long, slow and tedious return to the road we were almost there and we met the medical resue team with a hard stretcher but was not now needed. Driven by themselves, the police arrived (4 of them) in a taxi ( a 30 year old Peugeot 504) and questioned what happened. It was hard not to laugh. They all piled into the taxi and drove to the hospital. Juliana was xrayed in the head and back and was ok. She had 9 stiches in the scalp and had an injection for the pain directly into her spine. We brought her home from hospital via the pharmacy. Shattered from exhaustion and the nerves me and frog sat down to a steak dinner and a bottle of wine.
06 Nov We went on a trip with 2 dutch girls from our hostel that we had met in Salta. We went on a 90km tour of the surrouding countryside and saw amazing rock formations. We were brought to this small canyon thing that had a local focloria (traditional music) band playing. The small rock formation had excellent ascoustics and without speakers filled the place with music. We went to this other place called 'Tears of the Sun'. It was a chasm type rock enclosure that created little water droplets that fell on our faces. It was hot, a completely cloud free day and the desert was as dry as a bone. Apparently no scientific explanation has been made. Wierd. Walter our guide drove us around in his old Peugeot and even let me drive it. It was a grand old yolk and we havent come all that far in the 30 odd years since it was built. At one point we were standing along the San Andreas fault, where 2 tectonic plates meet, and has witnessed some serious earthquakes.We saw lots of other stuff but only seeing would do it justice. That evening we went wine tasting ans sampled some organic wine.
07 Nov Left Cafyete this morning at 5am. We took the bus to Tucuman, which is probably about 2 hrs 30 mins away by car but took the bus 6 hours. We drove through every two bit village along the way picking up everyone from Nuns to school kids and their teachers. It was interesting to see part of their daily lives and general goings on in a dusty country village. It was exactly like what one would imagine rural Mexico to be like. We got to Tucuman about 12 and luckily got a connecting bus to Cordoba 5 minutes later. Another 8 hours later we arrived into Cordoba, after experiencing the maddest drivers in the world. It was a friday night and there were suicidal drivers everywhere. We were sitting on the front two seats of the double decker and watched it all happen. One lad was overtaking the bus with no space and ended driving into the hard shoulder on the other side of the road to avoid a collision. Another lad overtook the bus on the hard shoulder. We got to Cordoba and it was a big fast, aggressive, horn honking town. It was hot and sweaty and the hostel was a dump.
08 Nov Walked into town to the world heritage Square, Plaza San Martin for a look around. It was a big dissappointment. Some of the things to see were shut down for no reason and the banks were all out of money. We made an executive decision that the vibe was bad and got the 9pm night bus out of there that day.
09 Nov Arrived in Mendoza at 9am and after checking a few hostels, had to hang around until 2pm to check in. We met up with Cristina, an Italian girl, and all headed into town for a look around. It appeared to be a nice town but we didnt do much today. We met an Irish couple in our dorm and we all went out for dinner that night.
10 Nov After a good night sleep, Fiachra kindly shared his bed with a certain Italian lady, we got picked up for a mountain bike trip. After an hour or so, we arrived at this adventure centre place, collected our bikes and went further up into the mountains. The going was all on dirt roads with big rocks sticking out so we had to on our guard. It was tough in places but got progressively got more technical. Thank god for my BMX and dirt biking days as we were flying through twists and turns, narrow little passes, through streams, up and down like fiddlers elbows and flying it.
We both fell off a few times but escaped with only a grazed elbow. When we got back, we got chatting to an Irish couple from Meath. They were great craic and were on their honeymoon.
That evening we found an Irish bar and decided to have a beer. I got chatting to this Argentinian lad and he went on to tell me about great Irish lads he met while serving on the Peace corps in Kosovo. I asked him if he met many British soldiers and he said that he had and his superiors had met there British counterparts, both of whom had fought on opposite sides in particular battles in the falklands war. The stories were fascinating stuff.
11 Nov Went on a wine tasting trip to the world famous Maipu Valley, where most Argentinian export wines come from. We got the local bus therefrom Mendoza and rented bikes from a Mr Hugo. We cycled around to all the wineries and visited a chocolate liquer factory and olive factory. Funnily enough we had the best wine in Mr Hugos back yard when we returned the bikes as he kept filing our glasses with the locally made plonk. Back on the bus on the way back to Mendoza we watched an amazing thunder and lightening storm. The orange sunset against huge forks of pink lightening was beautiful.
05 Nov Rented a couple of bikes and decided to do a mini triathlon of sorts. It involved cycling to this place along a dirt road and then walking for 2 hours along a riverbed to a waterfall, swim for a bit and then back home. We got to the end of our cycle and started heading along the river bed. We were following these arrows and it turned out to be the wrong way. We weren't the only ones to go astray. We met Juliana, an Argentinian girl coming the opposite way and she told us that she met a couple of local boys who said she needed to go back. We joined forces, found the right way and started heading up the right riverbed. The river walk was very lush with lovely pools, small waterfalls and cacti. The walking involved climbing rocks and all kinds of obstacles. It started to get more difficult as we got close to the final waterfall. We were climbing this steep ridge and I looked back for Juliana. I saw her slipping and she fell about 10 metres, bouncing off rocks and ledges like a rag doll. I shouted for Fiachra, just up ahead, and we jumped down after her. I was sure she was dead. She was miracously on her feet saved by her squashed backpack and the final land was into a small pool of deep water. Her head was split open and blood was pouring down her face. She could hardly walk with the pain in her back and was white as a ghost. We pulled her out of the water and sat her down. We decided that Fiachra run on for help and I would play it by ear and stay with her. Well enough to walk we stumbled along and met Fiachra coming back with help, a couple who had hired a guide. Their guide had ran on and called the hospital. After a long, slow and tedious return to the road we were almost there and we met the medical resue team with a hard stretcher but was not now needed. Driven by themselves, the police arrived (4 of them) in a taxi ( a 30 year old Peugeot 504) and questioned what happened. It was hard not to laugh. They all piled into the taxi and drove to the hospital. Juliana was xrayed in the head and back and was ok. She had 9 stiches in the scalp and had an injection for the pain directly into her spine. We brought her home from hospital via the pharmacy. Shattered from exhaustion and the nerves me and frog sat down to a steak dinner and a bottle of wine.
06 Nov We went on a trip with 2 dutch girls from our hostel that we had met in Salta. We went on a 90km tour of the surrouding countryside and saw amazing rock formations. We were brought to this small canyon thing that had a local focloria (traditional music) band playing. The small rock formation had excellent ascoustics and without speakers filled the place with music. We went to this other place called 'Tears of the Sun'. It was a chasm type rock enclosure that created little water droplets that fell on our faces. It was hot, a completely cloud free day and the desert was as dry as a bone. Apparently no scientific explanation has been made. Wierd. Walter our guide drove us around in his old Peugeot and even let me drive it. It was a grand old yolk and we havent come all that far in the 30 odd years since it was built. At one point we were standing along the San Andreas fault, where 2 tectonic plates meet, and has witnessed some serious earthquakes.We saw lots of other stuff but only seeing would do it justice. That evening we went wine tasting ans sampled some organic wine.
07 Nov Left Cafyete this morning at 5am. We took the bus to Tucuman, which is probably about 2 hrs 30 mins away by car but took the bus 6 hours. We drove through every two bit village along the way picking up everyone from Nuns to school kids and their teachers. It was interesting to see part of their daily lives and general goings on in a dusty country village. It was exactly like what one would imagine rural Mexico to be like. We got to Tucuman about 12 and luckily got a connecting bus to Cordoba 5 minutes later. Another 8 hours later we arrived into Cordoba, after experiencing the maddest drivers in the world. It was a friday night and there were suicidal drivers everywhere. We were sitting on the front two seats of the double decker and watched it all happen. One lad was overtaking the bus with no space and ended driving into the hard shoulder on the other side of the road to avoid a collision. Another lad overtook the bus on the hard shoulder. We got to Cordoba and it was a big fast, aggressive, horn honking town. It was hot and sweaty and the hostel was a dump.
08 Nov Walked into town to the world heritage Square, Plaza San Martin for a look around. It was a big dissappointment. Some of the things to see were shut down for no reason and the banks were all out of money. We made an executive decision that the vibe was bad and got the 9pm night bus out of there that day.
09 Nov Arrived in Mendoza at 9am and after checking a few hostels, had to hang around until 2pm to check in. We met up with Cristina, an Italian girl, and all headed into town for a look around. It appeared to be a nice town but we didnt do much today. We met an Irish couple in our dorm and we all went out for dinner that night.
10 Nov After a good night sleep, Fiachra kindly shared his bed with a certain Italian lady, we got picked up for a mountain bike trip. After an hour or so, we arrived at this adventure centre place, collected our bikes and went further up into the mountains. The going was all on dirt roads with big rocks sticking out so we had to on our guard. It was tough in places but got progressively got more technical. Thank god for my BMX and dirt biking days as we were flying through twists and turns, narrow little passes, through streams, up and down like fiddlers elbows and flying it.
We both fell off a few times but escaped with only a grazed elbow. When we got back, we got chatting to an Irish couple from Meath. They were great craic and were on their honeymoon.
That evening we found an Irish bar and decided to have a beer. I got chatting to this Argentinian lad and he went on to tell me about great Irish lads he met while serving on the Peace corps in Kosovo. I asked him if he met many British soldiers and he said that he had and his superiors had met there British counterparts, both of whom had fought on opposite sides in particular battles in the falklands war. The stories were fascinating stuff.
11 Nov Went on a wine tasting trip to the world famous Maipu Valley, where most Argentinian export wines come from. We got the local bus therefrom Mendoza and rented bikes from a Mr Hugo. We cycled around to all the wineries and visited a chocolate liquer factory and olive factory. Funnily enough we had the best wine in Mr Hugos back yard when we returned the bikes as he kept filing our glasses with the locally made plonk. Back on the bus on the way back to Mendoza we watched an amazing thunder and lightening storm. The orange sunset against huge forks of pink lightening was beautiful.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Waterfalls to Mountains, Gringo style!
29 Oct Tried to get on a trip today but it was fully booked so booked it for tomorrow. Went into town and booked buses and did our internet stuff. Was lashing rain so probably a good thing that we didn’t get on that tour. The hostel had a BBQ nite and a free tequila based cocktail (tequila, soda water, limes,sugar). I drank loads of them and was locked. I puked up outside my dorm in the hedges, licked my lips and went to bed. Good night though.
30 Oct Got picked up this morning to go on our day trip to the Haipu Dam in Brazil, the town of Ciudad del Este (CdE) in Paraguay and back into Brazil for the tour of the Brazilian side of the Iguazu falls. The Dam is the biggest Hydroelectric dam in the world. Its 8km long, 200m high and generates 14,000 MW of electricity. That’s used to power all of Paraguay and 25% of Brazil, an area the size of India. It was colossal. We went to CdE which was a dump but had good shopping if one so required its goods. Back into Brazil and had an all you can eat buffet which was excellent before heading off to see the Iguazu falls from the Brazilian side. Although most of the falls are on the Argentinian side, they are best viewed from Brazil.
31 Oct Left Iguazu this morning bound for a town, on the West of Argentina, called Salta. It was to be a 25 hour journey but was extended by 2 hours due to the air conditioning breaking down. We were sweating like pigs in an abbatoir as these super a/c coaches have no opening windows. Finally it was fixed after hanging around a mechanics garage in some outback town. We enjoyed all the comforts en-route including meals, videos and big reclining seats and the 27 hours passed easy enough.
01 Nov Having celebrated Halloween on a bus and dressed up as a backpacker we finally arrived in Salta. Salta has a population of 450,000 so it’s a nice thriving city by Argentinian standards. Unfortunately I discovered that I lost my visa card and had to sort that out, had my debit card and no money had been taken out so thank god for that.
We had a look around town and went to this museum that had an Incan child (c.3000 years old) preserved in a -20C chamber. She had been found in a buried chamber on top of a mountain and was perfectly preserved (she was a live human sacrifice and had died of the cold).
02 Nov This morning we went to another Museum and saw old artifacts from bygone eras of Salta and Andean Argentina. In one section they had a transport museum full of wagons (like house on the prarie) , a child hearse, and a 1911 Renault Limo with an 8.5 litre engine. Seeing as it was a Sunday I thought a trip to the Cathedral would be a good idea to hear the choir etc. It wasn’t much good so we left. We went up the Gondala (cable car) to the Cerro san Bernardo, a hill overlooking Salta. It was a lovely cool spot and had lunch there.
03 Nov Went on a trip today to the Andean highlands. We reached a height of 4170 metres, practically at the altitude sickness height. To combat the ill effects we were advised to suck on a heap of coca leaves (felt like I had a cabbage in my mouth), it worked too. We followed Ruta del Nubes (road to the clouds) into the mountains. We saw remains of old villages, an old mining town called San Antonio des Cobres for Lunch. Fiachra tried Llama and it was shite, I had the beef. We stopped for coca tea and met some indigenous mountain folk, saw viaducts, canyons, valleys, giant Cactus which were as old as 400 years. We went to the massive salt flats (Salinas Grandes) where they harvest salt. Got some great photos and on the way home we saw 7 colour hill, a huge rock formation with lots of different rock types. The crowd were good craic and had a laugh with the guide, Mimi. Finished the trip at 10pm, about 14.5hrs in total. I pitied the driver but was a great day.
30 Oct Got picked up this morning to go on our day trip to the Haipu Dam in Brazil, the town of Ciudad del Este (CdE) in Paraguay and back into Brazil for the tour of the Brazilian side of the Iguazu falls. The Dam is the biggest Hydroelectric dam in the world. Its 8km long, 200m high and generates 14,000 MW of electricity. That’s used to power all of Paraguay and 25% of Brazil, an area the size of India. It was colossal. We went to CdE which was a dump but had good shopping if one so required its goods. Back into Brazil and had an all you can eat buffet which was excellent before heading off to see the Iguazu falls from the Brazilian side. Although most of the falls are on the Argentinian side, they are best viewed from Brazil.
31 Oct Left Iguazu this morning bound for a town, on the West of Argentina, called Salta. It was to be a 25 hour journey but was extended by 2 hours due to the air conditioning breaking down. We were sweating like pigs in an abbatoir as these super a/c coaches have no opening windows. Finally it was fixed after hanging around a mechanics garage in some outback town. We enjoyed all the comforts en-route including meals, videos and big reclining seats and the 27 hours passed easy enough.
01 Nov Having celebrated Halloween on a bus and dressed up as a backpacker we finally arrived in Salta. Salta has a population of 450,000 so it’s a nice thriving city by Argentinian standards. Unfortunately I discovered that I lost my visa card and had to sort that out, had my debit card and no money had been taken out so thank god for that.
We had a look around town and went to this museum that had an Incan child (c.3000 years old) preserved in a -20C chamber. She had been found in a buried chamber on top of a mountain and was perfectly preserved (she was a live human sacrifice and had died of the cold).
02 Nov This morning we went to another Museum and saw old artifacts from bygone eras of Salta and Andean Argentina. In one section they had a transport museum full of wagons (like house on the prarie) , a child hearse, and a 1911 Renault Limo with an 8.5 litre engine. Seeing as it was a Sunday I thought a trip to the Cathedral would be a good idea to hear the choir etc. It wasn’t much good so we left. We went up the Gondala (cable car) to the Cerro san Bernardo, a hill overlooking Salta. It was a lovely cool spot and had lunch there.
03 Nov Went on a trip today to the Andean highlands. We reached a height of 4170 metres, practically at the altitude sickness height. To combat the ill effects we were advised to suck on a heap of coca leaves (felt like I had a cabbage in my mouth), it worked too. We followed Ruta del Nubes (road to the clouds) into the mountains. We saw remains of old villages, an old mining town called San Antonio des Cobres for Lunch. Fiachra tried Llama and it was shite, I had the beef. We stopped for coca tea and met some indigenous mountain folk, saw viaducts, canyons, valleys, giant Cactus which were as old as 400 years. We went to the massive salt flats (Salinas Grandes) where they harvest salt. Got some great photos and on the way home we saw 7 colour hill, a huge rock formation with lots of different rock types. The crowd were good craic and had a laugh with the guide, Mimi. Finished the trip at 10pm, about 14.5hrs in total. I pitied the driver but was a great day.
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