Blog Archives - WANDERING WITH WILLIAM

Exploring Mendoza

2/28/2018

It's our first full day in Mendoza and use it to explore some of the downtown area.

We have an early breakfast followed by some online tasks. I reconfirm one of my earlier online searches and see that unknown to us at the time, we have booked our stay in Mendoza to coincide with their largest festival - Vendimia. I search for the local tourism office and see that it is a few blocks past Plaza Indepencia.

Late morning we begin walking. When we approach Plaza Italia we stop for a coffee at a sidewalk cafe. Like many of the cafe's this one offers a desayuno (breakfast) of coffee and a pastry. There's a powdered sugar dulce de leche filled beauty that calls to us. The server wants to bring us four, since we're ordering two coffees, but we insist on only one.

Buzzed up on sugar and sweets we continue our walk to Plaza Indepencia. It's a nice park with benches and fountains which are turned off at the moment. Past the park we walk a few more blocks to the tourism office where we learn more about the festival, areas to see in Mendoza and excursions in the area. We're advised to use one of the local tourist agencies to attend one of the evening events for Vendimia.

Lunch sounds good so we go to Avenida Sarmiento, a pedestrian mall with many small restaurants. As we are dining I glance at a small tourist agency kiosk and see a sign for Vendimia. We stop by and book with them for the Sunday evening performance. They will even pick us up at the apartment.

We stroll over to Mercado Central, the main meat, fruit and vegetable market for the city. But it is after 1pm and the vendors will not open again until 6:30pm as they are eating their lunches and taking siesta. On our way home we manage to get a little lost and go in the wrong direction for four or five blocks, only to have to retrace our steps. Part of learning a new city!

After a siesta we walk to the main travel agency to pick up our tickets to Sunday, walking through Plaza Chile, another nice neighborhood park. Walking through Mendoza reminds us of European cities with their tree-lined streets and frequent public parks or piazza's.

In the evening we return to Plaza Italia for our second attempt at the festival. This time there is an opera singer on stage. All the little booths lining the plaza are food vendors, many the various Italian organizations in the area. The fare is the same as what we see at the summer Italian festivals in the U.S. including bombers (Italian sausage served on a bun with sauce and peppers), pizza, pasta, cannoli and gelato.

All this walking should help counteract the food we've eaten shouldn't it?

From Chocolate to Wine

2/27/2018

Olga, the housekeeper for our wonderful Bariloche apartment waves to us as the taxi pulls away at 7am. We leave behind the city of chocolates and fly to Mendoza, Argentina's wine capital. Unfortunately most flights require a stop in Buenos Aires and ours is not an exception. We arrive in Mendoza at 3:15pm and after a 20 minute taxi ride we are at the apartment.

We buzz Avenida Maunuel E Saez #460 and our hostess Marcela comes out to greet us.  Our apartment is the second story of her home.  It's a 2 bedroom, one bath which looks like it will work just fine.  The living space includes a dining table and there is also a small table outside.  An innovative metal staircase leads up the the apartment from our separate door at street level.  The staircase also can be lifted to provide access to the backyard patio and pool area which we share with Marcela.

Marcela speaks basic English and we try a little bit of our Spanish as she walks us through the apartment.  Then she places a call on her phone and I am speaking with her daughter Victoria, who further explains things to me in perfect English and answers our few questions.  Marcela makes sure I have Victoria's cell number and also her son's number for any questions we may have during our stay.

After a short rest we walk five blocks primarily along Paso de los Andes to the Vea Supermercado.  The tree lined streets are all paved and pretty clean.   Every few blocks there is a small green grocer and close by a kiosko.  The Supermercado is well stocked with meats and vegetables, a real change from Bariloche where the markets were hit-and-miss on meat selections and very limited on produce.

By the time we arrive home and quickly put the groceries away it is almost 7pm.  We are starving and we want something substantial. This could be a problem.  In our previous cities in Argentina many restaurants do not open until 8pm and we have read that in Mendoza it may be 8:30 or 9pm.  The apartment is just two blocks to Avenida Arístades, a major restaurant and bar area so we walk in that direction.

El Mercado restaurant is open and has a small patio area. It looks nice and they also start serving dinner at 7pm. Yeah! The food is very good.

After dinner we stroll down to Plaza Italia where a festival is being held beginning at 8pm tonight and tomorrow. There is a stage setup with a military band about to play and there are vendors setup all around the square. We start to walk along the square and within 10 minutes it is raining. I pull out my rain jacket but William opted to leave the umbrella at home. After all, this is Mendoza where it is only supposed to rain four days during the month of February.

It begins to rain harder and it obvious that the festival will be interrupted. We begin our nine block walk back to the apartment. After four blocks it is pouring. William eyes the bar Vinitos y Birritas and although we had enough to drink with dinner and are still very full, decides it's a good place to stop to get out of the rain. The staff is happy to have at least one customer and when William says he wants a cerveza they bring him an Imperial - a full one liter bottle. Oy! They eye me with skepticism when all I want is aqua con gas. The rain lightens up about the time that William declares he's had enough, leaving a good portion in the bottle. We continue our walk home in the rain. It's after 10pm when we arrive and Marcela is just preparing her dinner - a typical dining hour in Mendoza.

Sunny Sunday

2/25/2018

I have been wanting to go to one of the mountain tops for the last few days, but it's been cloudy. Sunday we wake to clear skies and decide today's the day.

After a relaxing breakfast in the apartment we pack up my black bag and make our way down Salta Street, cross Avenida San Martín, and join a group seven people already waiting at the bus stop. It's a mostly 20's group prepared for a day outdoors. After 15 minutes an already crowded #20 bus arrives. I'm not sure we will be able to get on, but we do - with William standing in the steps by the driver and my hanging onto one of the poles that holds the Sube card reader.

The driver eases the bus onto the road and I have the naive idea that the bus is full and will only be stopping to let people off for a bit. Hah! The driver stops for a young woman who worms her way past William and sits on the cross-bar for the Sube reader. He stops again and five more people are added, then again for two, then again for three but two people get off. This occurs repeatedly as the bus moves the 20km we have to go. William and I are moved back in the bus to join others making a 2nd column of people standing in the aisle on each side of the bus. Picture this: there are seats on the left side of the bus. Then a column of people are standing holding onto the seats, vertical bars behind some of the seats and bars along the top of the windows. A second column of people stands behind the first and they hold onto overhead bars, with everyone facing the windows on the left side of the bus. Behind them is the second column of people facing the right, the first column of people facing right and finally the seats on the right side of the bus. The driver never does declare the bus as "full" and bypass someone wanting to board. Approximately 20 people get off with us at our stop, almost popping out of the doors. It is an exciting start to what turns out to be an excellent day.

There are a number of mountain tops and ski lifts or gondala's to choose from and we've picked Cerro Companario. We pay our 250 peso's ($12.50 USD) each and soon are on a lift chair going up the mountain. The altitude of Cerro Companario is 1,049m, so not tall at all, especially when compared to the peaks in the Andes.

The sky is clear and blue and the view from the observation platform is wonderful. We can see several lakes, Victoria Island, and the surrounding mountains. We can also see Llao Llao Resort, our next destination. After enjoying the scenery and relaxing at the top we jump on the lift and return to the base.

The next #20 bus to come by is not full after the crowd disembarks and we are able to find seats. It takes us up the Llao Llao Resort. Again there are beautiful views and after taking a few photographs William and I make our way to the lobby bar, where we treat ourselves to a cerveza and glass of wine. The bar is decorated in a hunter's lodge style with chandeliers made from antlers and upholstery on some of the chairs of guanaco hide. It is fun to talk, relax and do a little people-watching in this resort where the least expensive non-air conditioned, no-view room goes for $400 USD a night and their average rooms are $850 a night.

It's now 2:00pm and we are getting hungry. We catch the return #20 bus to the central part of Bariloche and get off not far from San Martín Square. The stroll along Mitre Street takes us to Parrilla Don Julian. We vow to not overeat, and adopt a strategy of sharing a provolenta (baked provolone cheese), salad and one ribeye. The portions are generous and our strategy fails. We try to rationalize that the walk back to the apartment will help settle and offset the food.

It's been a beautiful day in Bariloche.

Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere

2/22/2018

Bariloche is famous for it's chocolates, and there are chocolate shops everywhere.

Chocolates and Bariloche became entwined in the min-1900s when European settlers broughht their skills from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and started making chocolates out of their homes. After WWII chocolate-making operations took off with the arrival of Aldo Fenoglio and Benito Secco from Italy. In 1947 Fenoglio started the Tronador Chocolate Factory, later renamed Fenoglio Chocolates. At the same time Secco opened Chocolates del Tourista.

When walking down Mitre Street it is hard not to find a chocolate shoppe - there are easily 20, ranging from the brands recognized nation-wide to those who haven't expanded much beyond Bariloche. The shops range from basic to expansive, including an ice skating rink within Rapanui. Of course, the chocolates are sold in a hundred or so outlets and independent shops throughout the city.

Just outside of the central city. Havana Chocolates has a production facility and store which offer tours throughout the day. There's an opportunity for a glimpse within their factory and on the day we visit they are making white chocolates. Although Havana is best known for their alfajores, they also produce bonbons and other chocolates.

Bariloche hosts an annual Chocolate Festival around Easter each year. In the past the festival has highlighted a gigantic chocolate Easter egg 8 meters high by 5 meters in diameter. In recent years two blocks of Mitre Street have hosted a chocolate bar measuring 120 meters long, 40 centimeters wide and 2 thick. In both cases they showcase the capabilities of local chocolatiers and as part of the festivities the chocolate is broken up ceremoniously and shared with the festival goers. Unfortunately we will miss this year's Chocolate Festival by a few weeks, it is April 12-15th.

We try to limit our sampling of the chocolate delights, but they are always there tempting us, almost calling to us as we stroll along the streets of Bariloche.

Llao Llao (pronounced shao shao)

2/19/2018

On the third day of our stay in Bariloche we acquired a Sube card for riding the local busses. We had trouble getting one at first, going from kiosko to kiosko only to be told that they do not sell the card or that their system is down, or to go to the visitor information center, which then directed us generically back to the kiosko's. A very nice man we met in the visitor information center (he was trying to add money to his Sube card with no luck) ended up buying one for us when we bumped into him again later in the day at a cafe. He's a kind-hearted soul who left his girlfriend sitting at their table while he quietly walked down the street to a kiosko he had just used to recharge his Sube and bought one for us! We thanked him profusely and quickly reimbursed him, although he did not want to take the money.

So on this crisp Monday morning we decide it's time to break out the Sube and experience the local bus system for a trip to Llao Llao. We walk down the hill from the apartment to the spot Maria Elana pointed out as the bus stop, which is at Km 1. We are going to Km 25.5. We wait 15 minutes for a #20 and board a standing room only bus. The driver asks where we're going and points me to put my Sube proximity card on the reader. It costs 30.10 peso's ($1.51 USD) for each of us. More people join the bus along the way and a few get off. Around Km 12 a woman near me gets off and I am able to grab her seat. William stands until Km 16. After riding the oftentimes crowded busses in Malta I can say that the Argentines certainly shower more frequently than the Maltese. :-)

At Km 25.5 the port is to the right and the long upward drive to Llao Llao Resort to the left. Straight ahead is the road leading to Parque Llao Llao. We walk around the port observing the view and the cruise boats which go to Isla Victoria then begin the (of course) upward climb to Parque Llao Llao. Once in the park we walk through a trail with signs of the various trees and bushes then continue toward Bosque de Arrayanes, a forest of the local Arrayanes trees. It's a quiet walk in the woods.

We take a road back which goes along the Llao Llao Resort Golf Club. There are some beautiful views of Lago Nahuel Huapi and the mountains from the manicured course. This road also doesn't have any traffic, which makes it much more pleasant. It's 1:30pm and lunch is in order, especially after walking. We make our way up the driveway to Llao Llao Resort and find their Patagonia Restaurant where we are shown to a table by the windows. There's a stunning view of four mountains with Lago Puerto Moreno Oeste in the forefront.

William orders a lamb burger and I have the lamb stew with potato topping. Again, my choice wins, but William also likes his burger. The small cookies that our waiter brings us with the bill is a nice touch at the end of a good lunch. The Resort reminds us of Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler, B.C. and we wouldn't mind staying here for a while if we return to Bariloche. Of course it is a bit more expensive than the delightful apartment we are renting.

The return bus initiates at Llao Llao Resort so we are able to get seats on the trip. The bus has ~ 60 seats and they are all filled within the first 5 kilometers. As we drive along another 45-50 people cram into the aisle and the steps. Eventually the driver bypasses people waiting for the bus, there's just no more room. Hopefully the next bus in 15 minutes will have room for them . Getting out of the bus at our stop is a little challenging, but we eventually make our way through the crowd and pop out of the bus. The bus ride wasn't optimum, but I'm willing to try our Sube card for another adventure later this week.

Where there's Smoke there's Fire

2/18/2018

In the afternoon I lay down in the bedroom to take a 30 minute nap. The window is open slightly for a little fresh air. I doze on-and-off. In a semi-conscious state I start to think about campfires. I can even hear the crackling of small twigs and smell the smoke.

Wait, this isn't a dream! I look out the window to see rising smoke and can hear a fire. I close the window then bump into William as he's coming to wake me. We look out the front window to see smoke rising from the vacant lot across the street. We grab our wallets, passports, and phones and head outside.

We arrive to a small group of neighbors with buckets throwing water on the brush fire. A Policewoman who arrived on bicycle is calling the issue into her Commander.

A few minutes later the Incendios Forestales (Forest Fires) team arrives in their pickup. They pull out the hose to their water tank and begin directing water down the steep hill, containing most of the fire. Ten minutes later the City of Bariloche fire department arrives and takes over. The fire is soon completely out, just the charred grass on half of the lot remains.

The brush fire reminds us of our stay in Atenas, Costa Rica in 2014, but this is much less dramatic. In Atenas the fires were flying up mountainsides every few days and on one occasion we were instructed to leave our rental home. We began to have a relationship with the firefighters. Of course if there had been a car parked straddling the street and lot, which is typical, today might have been a much more explosive.

Happy Hour

2/17/2018

Weekend nights about half a kilometer from us some of the streets are closed to car traffic and turned into Happy Hour. We check it out on Saturday night leaving our apartment at 7pm. As we walk along the streets there is one small pub after another, most with small interiors and anywhere from 10 - 20 tables outside. All seem to offer two for one cerveza's until 11:00pm. We pick a spot and sit down, watching the clouds overhead which have been threatening rain. It holds off, the sun begins to set and we have a tremendously beautiful sky. What a perfect moment.

As the street lights come on two girls show up as street performers doing juggling and acrobatics. A little later the band setup on a trailer in the street begins to play. After having downed couple of beverages we walk to another street and listen to a guitar player for a little while at another pub. Walking home we pass two enterprising street performers with washboard and guitar.

It's a fun inexpensive evening out.

The Seven Lakes and San Martín de Los Andes

2/15/2018

Friday morning the alarm goes off before the sun has risen.  Today we have booked a full day tour called 7 Lagos y San Martín de los Andes and we want time for coffee and tea in the apartment to get us started.

The 20 person bus picks us up outside the apartment at 8:15am.  Tour guide Gabi explains that she has reserved the seat behind the driver for us because we are the only English speaking people on the tour and that way she can just lean over and talk with us.

After picking up other passengers on our way out of town we are on the famous Ruta 40 heading north. We are joined by 13 other people all from Argentina - Salta, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Mendoza and Buenos Aires.

Gabi explains that this tour is of the seven lakes and that Lago Nahuel Haupi(the one Bariloche abubts) does not count.  We drive along the lake and it is much larger than I thought - it has extra "fingers" not visible from Bariloche.  Gabi uses the time to provide information about the area.  Tourism is clearly their primary industry and Gabi explains that in 2011 one of the volcano's in Chile erupted and caused the airports to be closed for eight months.  We can still see some of the ash in the landscape.  85 kilometers from Bariloche we pull into the city of Villa La Angostura for a bio-break at a cafe.  It is a cute town also on Lago Nahuel Haupi filled with sweet shops and restaurants.

Leaving Villa La Angostura we begin our tour of the lakes. Lago Correntoso (Rapid Water Lake) is the first one. We pile out of the bus for photos. The ride continues with a stop at Lago Espejo Chico (Little Mirror Lake). The initial landscape is familiar Patagonian steppe, but further into the drive it becomes Patagonian forest. The parking lot at Lago Espejo (Mirror Lake) is full - we see it on the return. Lago Falkner is a nice stop along it's sandy beach. The landscape surrounding these lakes in the National Park is beautiful with green trees and mountains.

Back on the bus we quickly come to Lago Villarino then enter Parque Nacional Lanín. Lago Hermoso (Beautiful Lake) is the sixth of the lakes on the route. We only 45km from the border pass to Chile. The landscape changes to a combination of steppe and trees as we round the mountains and approach Lago Lácar. The city of San Martín de los Andes sits on it's eastern shore.

We have a nice lunch at a restaurant by the lake then have some free time to explore the small town. It is easy to find the San Martín central square, we just have to follow Avenida San Martín! There is a good share of sweet shops, restaurants, clothing and souvenir stores interspersed with trekking, boating and kayaking tourism businesses.

The return trip to Bariloche is faster, with only two stops, one at Lago Espejo and the other in Villa La Angostura. We don't have a chance to get to know our fellow travelers very much, but there is one gentleman that always seems to be late. In San Martín de los Andes Gabi and the driver waited 10 minutes for him at our meeting point then started driving through the town to find him. In Villa La Angostura again he was not on the bus at the appointed time. Gabi, a 4'8" dynamo, walked around the major streets to spot him and bring him to the bus. We all clapped when he got onboard. He seemed only mildly embarrassed.

We are back in our apartment by 7:30pm. We had considered renting a car and William would drive the route or to pay for a tour. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. We conclude that the tour was a good option - William did not have to contend with the traffic, had a chance to enjoy the scenery as we drove along, and could nap a bit on the way back. Also we enjoyed what we learned from Gabi.

Bariloche Overview

2/14/2018

Bariloche is a city of approximately 200,000 located within Nahuel Haupi National Park and on the shore of Lago Nahuel Haupi.  It emerged as a tourism destination during the 1930's and 40's, so it is a much larger and more developed city than Ushuaia and El Calafate.

We spend our first few days walking around and getting a feel for the city.  Now, William will tell you that all of our destinations were uphill both ways, and there is some truth to that.  Aside from a few east-west roads close to the lake all roads seem to have hills so even if we are generally headed downhill there will be a small upward climb.

We revisit San Martín Square both during the day and in the evening.  By day people are lounging enjoying the sun and the view of the lake or taking selfies in front of the Alpine-style civic buildings. In the evening there are street musicians and people sit around listening and enjoying their maté or perhaps a cerveza they purchased at a nearby kiosko (convenience store).

William decided it was time for a haircut and for his beard to come off. We scope out a few of the Stylist shops (we can't find any strict Barber shops) and he chooses one on Avenida San Martín. Between his very limited English and William's limited Spanish they communicate sufficiently. The Stylist is nervous about shaving off the beard - wanting to make sure he fully understands. He stops for a moment with just the mustache remaining and reconfirmed again that William wants it all off. In the end William is pleased with the experience and the results.

We walk along the lakefront photographing the scenery. Soon we see the Cathedral and are compelled to explore. It isn't open, but we enjoy the beauty of it's exterior architecture. Perhaps another day we will revisit and see the interior.

We spend a good deal of time relaxing at cafes enjoying coffee or sparkling water and watching the people on the street. Most are not in a hurry. There's been different types of travelers in each of the cities where we have stayed. Ushuaia is a port city and it has people coming off of the cruise ships mixed in with backpackers. El Calafate is mostly trekkers, about a 50/50 mix of young backpackers and middle-age generally outdoorsy types. The Bariloche we have seen so far is visited by all ages with an interest in nature, but willing to see it by driving around in a vehicle or taking small to medium treks. Perhaps 10-20% of the visitors on the street in the central area are backpackers.

When we are not walking about we enjoy the views from our apartment. It is located on the 6th floor and affords tree-top views of the lake and mountains to the north and east.

To San Carlos de Bariloche (usually just called Bariloche)

2/13/2018

We need to call a taxi to take us to the airport so I use my google translate approach.  I type out what I want to say, have it translated to Spanish by Google then when I call just blurt it out in a measured voice and hope that I can understand whatever they may say back to me.  I try to start by asking them to excuse my Spanish and that I speak English - hoping that whomever I have called will just tell me they speak English.  On the morning of February 13th it goes like this:

Me: "Por favor disculpe mi Español.  Hablo Inglés. Necesito un taxi ahora en Puerto San Julián trescientos sesenta.  Dos personas van al aeropuerto."
Taxi Rep: "Puerto San Julián trescientos sesenta.  ¿Nombre"
Me - Slightly panicked even though I should know this: "¿Nombre....uh...number?" (At this point William reminds me nombre means name). "Anne".
Taxi Rep: He says something that I don't understand then "Dos minutos. Ciao".

Whew.  It worked.  Ten minutes later (not two, but I didn't really think it would be two) a taxi arrives at our door.

The flight to San Carlos de Bariloche takes us north along the Andes. We get views of Cerros Torre and Fitz Roy but then the clouds take over for a while. They clear in time for us to see some good views of mountains and lakes and occasionally a small town. 15 minutes later we begin the approach into Bariloche airport.

Maria Elana, the owner of the apartment we are renting, is standing outside of baggage claim waiting for is. She uses her basic English skills to tell us about the city and we get to know each other a little on our 15km drive. The apartment is great and has magnificent views of Lago Nahuel Huapi. Of course to get these views the apartment is "uphill" from the town square and primary restaurant and shopping area.

After showing us the apartment, including the "trick" when the hot water does not come on, Maria Elana tells us that she has time and would be happy to drive us around showing us things in the area. We decide to prioritize grocery shopping-the idea of carrying heavy bags uphill is not appealing. She takes us to the supermarket and even pushes the cart for us while we gather provisions for at least breakfasts and a good supply of bottled water. Everyone tells us that the tap water is fine, but we never trust it in any location. Maria Elaina smiles as she drops us back off at the apartment then goes on her way.

We are starving and it is only 4:45pm. The idea of cooking is a non-starter. Most restaurants do not serve dinner until 8pm, unless it is one of the cafes which cater mostly to tourists. A fast, desperate search through Trip Adviser identifies a potential winner - Cerveceria Manush which opens at 5:30pm and is rated #15 of 354 places in Bariloche. It is a 15-20 minute walk. We arrive at 5:20 and sit on their steps until they open. We order beer, wine, trout for me and pork for William. The entrees are well prepared, flavorful and presented with a mixture of fresh vegetables. Yum! We're tired and head back to the apartment for a nap.

As today is Fat Tuesday, the last day of Carnival season and last day before Lent begins. There is a celebration tonight in San Martín Square. At 9:30pm we walk to the square. The celebration is very family friendly. There are people onstage in ridiculous costumes singing poorly. We hope that it is a joke, but then we remember some of the acts we've seen in Ecuador and wonder if it is. People are milling about in front of the stage, but there are also many people walking along Mitre Street, one the main shopping streets. Many are buying sweets and strolling along. Young people are sharing maté. A few people are drinking beer as they walk along. The cafes are doing a brisk business. It is a very pleasant night and about 11:30pm we return to the apartment for some well deserved sleep.