Argentina
07/08/2003 - Robbed!
Here is Clare, just after realising that her bag was missing. If you can see it in the picture let us know.
06/08/2003 - The view from Cerro Otto
In Bariloche. It was possibly the most beautiful region we have been to. We went up Cerro Camponario a few days earlier, but it was cloudy and we couldn´t see anything. On our last day we woke up and it was sunny. We managed to dash to Cerro Otto and get up it before the bus left (just).
04/08/2003 - Andean Fox
Next to the black Glacier. He was quite friendly. Must be used to being fed by the tourists.
04/08/2003 - The Black Glacier
We went on a day trip from Bariloche to a national park nearby. The highlight of the trip was the black glacier. We were suprised to find it was actually black, not like the pink beach on easter island or the pink river dolphins, neither of which were actually pink.
This part was a bit less black, but had the most interesting shapes. The rest of the park is lakes and mountains, and lots of snow. It was very picturesque. Shame the weather wasn´t so great. A lot of the mountains were totally hidden by the cloud.
02/08/2003 - Skiing at Cerro Catedral
Our first ever attempt at skiing. We booked an introductory course that included our ski rental, lift pass and an instructor for four hours, for a bargain 27 quid.
We started off at the bottom of the mountain on a tiny little slope where small children were playing. Luckily there were a few other hopeless adults to keep us company. After 2 hours we had a much needed rest, then headed up the mountain. Didn´t ski down it though! Just a few small slopes about half way up.
I got very annoyed about half way through at my inability to turn right. Very frustrating. Clare fell over quite a lot, and injured various parts of her body. It was a great day though, and by the end we could both just about ski. We are planning to go back on Monday to practise a bit more, then maybe do a bit in New Zealand.
31/07/2003 - Welsh tea
After our trip to the beach, we got a bus to Gaimen, a town that still retains its welsh heritage. We went straight to Ty Gwyn for a welsh tea, with an english couple we had met on the way. It consisted of unlimited (and very nice) tea, loads of bread with plum jam, scones, and six cakes each, for a rather pricy 15 pesos. Seemed pricy to us anyway. That is only about 3 pounds fifty.
The cakes were very nice (we didn´t manage to eat them all though, had to have some for breakfast the next day). We were a bit dissapointed that they didn´t have proper welsh cakes. Have to wait till we get home for them!
31/07/2003 - More whales
The day after our whale watching trip we went to a beach where the whales just hang around about 30 metres from the shore. We were told it is the best place in the world for watching whales from land, but that was by the bloke that sold us the trip. It was pretty amazing. There were about a dozen of them, so close it looked like you could just wade out and touch them.
30/07/2003 - Elephant seals
After the whale watching we went to a beach where elephant seals are starting to gather for the mating season. The females are quite large, but the males are absolutely monstrous. It is only the males that have the elephant style snout, and they weigh around 4 tons. The photo is of one male with his harem of females (about 25). Don´t know how well you can make him out, but it is just a face in a huge mound of blubber. Unfortunately he was just resting ready for all the fighting and mating that is ahead, so we never got to see him move and stand up to his full height.
30/07/2003 - Whales!
Loads and loads of them. We went on a whale watching trip, and were very lucky to get a totally calm day. We spoke to other people who went out in 6 foot waves. We were expecting to have to search for a whale for ages, but in fact we could see them from the shore before we had even set off. We spent about an hour and a half following various whales as they lounged about on the surface, often just lying on their backs for long periods.
The whales near Peninsula Valdes are Southern Right Whales. 2500 of the worlds population of 4000 are in the sea around here. They weigh up to 50 tonnes, and were pretty big!
29/07/2003 - Buenos Aires Cathedral
We ended up spending a few days in Buenos Aires, mainly because the hostel we were staying at was so nice and relaxing. It had a nice warm living room with a large selection of vides and a huge TV. Lots of friendly people staying and working there too, and a kitchen so we could cook some meals.
The cathedral was very impressive on the inside, with a huge gilted alter, and domed, decorated ceilings. This photo is of the tomb of the liberator, San Martin, who freed the country from Spanish rule.
27/07/2003 - Don't cry for me Argentina....
We decided to tour the cities markets on Sunday as the book promised good street atmospheres, gaucho horsemanship skills, tango dancers, buskers etc....
Unfortunately it was raining, real British type rain, constant miserable rain.
But we went anyway..... The markets weren't that good, but we did get to see Eva Perons grave (at a very impressive cemetary next to one of the markets). It turned out that the 26th July was the anniversary of her death, so there were loads of flowers all around her grave.
26/07/2003 - Buenos Aires
This is a view of Buenos Aires from the plane taken as we flew back from Iguazu.
We wanted to go and see some football while we were here to experience the atmosphere at Boca Juniors. Unfortunately they are currently in the US playing Man Utd (boo hiss), so no footy for us!!!!
25/07/2003 - Brazil
The falls are right on the border between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. We stayed in a hotel on the Brazilian side, but as the passport control didn't stamp Brazil in our passports, we don't have any evidence that we have been there.
Except for this photo, taken from the brazilian side.
25/07/2003 - Iguazu Falls
We decided to blow the budget and fly to Iguazu for a few days to see the Iguazu falls. They are 20m higher than Niagara and about 1 and 1/2 times as wide.
They are also in the middle of jungle, so the setting is spectacular.
Having seen both, I can say that Iguazu is better. There are so many waterfalls in addition to the main "devils mouth", 250 in total covering about 1 and 1/2 miles in width.
Stunning!