This is the end my friends

Well, I’ve reached the end of my year and the end of my South American journey.  The last week was in glorious Buenos Aires with the tango and steaks off the parilla.  The city was exciting and vibrant with dancers, musicians and vendors in the streets.  Lots of activity going on all day and night.  I hit a street market in San Telmo and finally got to buy a few trinkets as I wouldn’t have to be carrying my backpack anymore.There is a great combination of the colonial…    The modern… and the unique here in BA

I hit it off with a great lady, Annette, at my hotel and we went to a few tango shows and dinners together. 

I made it to most of the highlights of the city and even stood on the balcony where Eva and Juan Peron addressed the masses.   My last delicious steak was in colourful Boca alongside tango in the street and then I was on my way back to Canada.  My world is wet and cold once again but it’s nice to see family and to sleep in the same bed for more than a few nights. 

 

Top 10 List of my South America trip

1. Trekking the Puerto Moreno glacier in Patagonia
2. Driving across the Uyuni salt flats in Boliva with random sightings of bright pink flamingos, vicunas and chinchillas
3. Spending a day climbing in and around Machu Picchu, Peru
4. Paragliding off the cliffs in Lima
5. Riding a boat under the Iguazu Falls
6. Horseback riding in some of the best scenery imaginable
7. Walking with penguins on Christmas day
8. Flaky croissants, creamy ice-cream, cheap but pretty good wine and thick juicy steaks in Argentina
9. Four days on the Navimag boat navigating through the fiords of Patagonia complete with dolphins, glaciers and rainbows
10. Every lovely person who patiently listened and interpreted my pigeon Spanish.

Mendoza and Iguazu

Well, I’m heading down the final stretch and only have a few days left but I’m still enjoying Argentina.  Spent a few days in Mendoza which is the wine capital of the country and met some lovely ladies on a wine tasting tour.  We went out for a little tasting of our own as well as some delicious steak.

I flew to Puerto Iguazu and spent all day today in the park. It’s absolutely fantastic.  Filled with kilometres of jungle and animals as well as a new waterfall around every corner.   One of these little guys stole my lunch…couldn’t catch him. Butterflies were everywhereLots of fantastic birds  Reptiles and, of course, the falls.  This was taken from a zodiac type boat that took us right up under the water.  It was like being under a fire hose but a pretty good way to cool down in the humidity. There are so many waterfalls that it took all day to walk to them all.  Luckily, the park has a great series of boardwalks, paths and trains to get you around.  It was possible to walk around the bottom and over the top as well.

San Carlos de Bariloche

On my way north and, finally, into some hot weather.  I actually wore sandals yesterday.  I got onto a bus that I thought was 18 hours but turned out to be 30 hours and ended up in Bariloche, a pretty little town on the edge of Lake Huapi.  It’s famous for skiing in winter and outdoor sports in summer but it’s also just nice for walking around.See…pretty

I hiked up to a cave that archaeologists say has had inhabitants for the past 8000 years.  It was quite the hike but the view was worth it.  There were some cool cave paintings that the local guide explained might be a rudimentary map of the area. Then, I started the New Year out on horseback.  We got to go through fields, forests and mountains until reaching a beautiful waterfall.  This is my guide, Marie from France. I’m really hoping that this means 2011 will be the start of a new adventure and not a year filled with sore bums :)  Happy New Year to everyone still reading.