Iguazú Falls

I took the bus from Buenos Aires to Iguazú Falls. It was a 14 hour bus trip.  Don't think of a hot sweaty bus in South America with clucking chickens and a trail of dust. This was nice! Dinner, movies, flat bed, breakfast.  I took the overnight bus and arrived late morning. 

Here is a video I made because the photos don't exactly show the splendor. It was magnificent!!!  The highlight was the boat ride under one of the falls. It was a thrill of a lifetime. Unfortunately, I had to put my iPhone (as well as shoes and most of my clothes) in a waterproof bag.  So no action shots : /

Click on the link. Make sure you have good bandwidth as it's better in high definition. 

Video of The Falls

And here are some photos: 

Big Ice Hike

I couldn't help myself. The Perito Moreno Glacier was such a highlight I had to put this video together to try and capture the thrill!

Big Ice Hike

Patagonia Adventures

This was one amazing week in Patagonia. I put together this brief 90-second trailer of some of the highlights.  It was fun doing it! Click on the orange link below.

Patagonia Adventures Trailer

El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier

I was a little apprehensive about this hike because it was 7 hours in total, 3 on the glacier. I hadn't worn crampons before, I had no thermals and only hiking "shoes" (not boots). It was hard to pack for all climates for a long trip and here I was, not fully prepared. Or so I thought. It was spectacular.  After an hour of steady hiking through the woods, we were de-layering and warmed up before getting to the glacier. I was fine. My ankles were a little sore at the end because there is so much up and down trekking on the ice. But it was spectacular!! 

The pictures speak for themselves. 

Ushuaia

The most southerly city in the world

The view from the hotel in Ushuaia was spectacular. 

We had 2 days in Ushuaia exploring Tierra del Fuego, the southern portion of Patagonia with its magnificent views and fascinating history.  We visited the ranch of the first British missionaries and learned a lot about the history. From there we went to Gable Island by boat for a hike. We had wonderful guides who told us all about the native population and how they lived here prior to the white man coming. The white man made them put on clothes (they didn't wear any) which caused them a lot of health problems.  They were also not resistant to the white man's diseases so they started to die off.  Of the 3,000 Yamanas who were living at the time of the arrival of the Europeans, there were only 1,000 ten years later (1890) and by 1910 there were only 100.  Today, there is only one 100% Yamana alive.  She is a woman in her eighties. How tragic. 

We finished the day with a trip by boat to see some penguins.  

Here is a video of the Gable Island hike:

Gable Island Video

The second day was a visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park. We hiked 3 or 4 hours through the woods, spotting woodpeckers and other birds. The views were spectacular at the end. 

We finished the day with paddling down the Ovando river.  Here are some pictures.  

The Valdes Penninsula

I found out the night before that our excursion to the Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve began straight from the airport in Trelew.  The only thing was that I had been invited to dinner the night before at a friend's house. And if you are not familiar with Argentine dinner times, this means arriving for dinner at around 10 pm. My taxi was leaving at 3.am for a 5 am flight! Well, things wound down around 2 am, so there went any sleep I would get.  I was so tired at the airport and slept on the floor for an hour. I tried to surreptitiously  spot my travel companions at the gate (a retired American couple) but then with my big Irish face I thought they'd spot me first, so...duck and cover.  I hit the floor.

I met them at Trelew airport with the guide.  Yes. Guide.  I admit it, I wasn't schlepping it this time and had signed up for a guide.  The American couple, Barbara and Dennis, were as sleep deprived as I was.  And in no humor for small talk. They were miffed at their travel agent for imposing such a grueling schedule on them. Apparently they were out the night before too.  I was kind of relieved that they weren't all smiley-faced (I had a week with them, and real is better than smiley) despite the fact that I myself was putting on my Best Happy Face. I was trying to pretend that I wasn't tired and cranky. And it worked. I was suddenly in great spirits. I was egged on a little (I admit it) by Dennis's bad mood. Note to self - don't tell Dennis about this blog.  Well, the truth is, Barbara and Dennis turned out to be lovely travel companions and most gracious.  Our guide for the 2 days here was Armando.  He was excellent. A non-stop talker.  But excellent. Here they are:

Armando, Barbara and Dennis

The Punta Tombo Reserve

It was so worth the sleepless schedule! We got there before anyone else. It was just us.  The Punta Tombo Reserve is the most important breeding colony of Magellanic penguins in the world. Here a declining population of the species, still numbering over 300,000, return in early September and stay until the chicks learn to swim before heading north in the spring. It was thrilling to walk among these beautiful creatures. Here's a video:

Use this link for better quality: 
Link to YouTube 

On the way back to Trelew, we stopped for afternoon tea in the town of Gaiman, a Welsh settlement.  They still speak Welsh here and the houses are modeled after the homeland. A beautiful little town.  

I was so happy to check into my hotel in Puerto Madryn. The first taste of "luxury" since arriving in Argentina. I never knew I could get so excited by little shampoos and bath salts, and air conditioning! And a view of the ocean. Happy, happy, happy!

We spent the next day observing the vast array of wildlife, including guanacos, lesser rheas, Patagonia foxes, hairy armadillos, Patagonian hares, sea lions and Southern elephant seals. 

Puerto Madera - My Favorite Neighborhood in Buenos Aires

Puerto Madera (Wooden Port) is my favorite neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The bridge you see is called  Women's bridge because most of the streets in the neighborhood are named after women.  It is supposed to represent a woman in a tango pose. You decide for yourself.  It's designed by a famous Spanish architect. I had to look that up as it is very similar to the Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin. Same architect. 

It's an old port that underwent a massive regeneration and urbanization in the 1990's.   It has a wonderful mix of modern and old, with lots of great restaurants and cafés along the water as well as modern towers and old style lofts.  

This is also the place where I ran almost every day while here.  The drill was to go for a little siesta after class and wait for the evening sun. Running here at sunset was one of the most enjoyable things I did, second to going out to the local parrilla for steak and Malbec 😛