Mar 5
It was almost time for our Antarctica trip! After 7 days trekking in Torres del Paine, we headed from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas (putting us even further south). We left for Punta Arenas on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day there too
This is a continuation of my last two posts about trekking the circuit in Torres del Paine. Click here to read part 1 (which is an introduction to the park) and click here to see part 2. Part 3 was the most challenging of the trek but with the greatest challenges, also come the greatest rewards.
After trekking in El Chalten, we took a bus back to El Calafate. El Calafate kind of sucks but unfortunately it's a major hub in Patagonia and is a gateway to the southern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (El Chalten serves the northern and free part of the park) and you usually have to go there to transfer to other places you want to travel to.
I was looking forward to going to El Bolson. I heard it was a beautiful town surrounded by majestic mountains, colorful flowers, homemade beer, artsy stuff, fresh organic berries and had a general laid-back vibe. Yeah, it was kind of a hippy place. But honestly, deep down, I must be one too. I'll come clean. I love this stuff. And I loved El Bolson.
Visiting the northwest of Argentina was one of the highlights of our trip in South America so far. However, I found it a bit daunting when planning our time in this region. There is so much to see and do, where do you start? We knew we wanted to rent a car for sure to give us freedom and flexibility but for how long? Where would we rent the car? I scoured the internet and guide books for answers.
We stayed for 2 nights at this hostel while exploring Colonia del Sacremento. It’s located close to the ferry, the bus terminal and downtown, making it very convenient to all. The hostel is immaculate and boasts a lovely outdoor sitting area and rooftop where you can relax in the sun or sit and have your dinner.
After the storm came in Cabo Polonio, it continued to be rainy and dreary. So we decided to start our journey back. This meant going west back towards Montevideo. A long bus ride on a very crowded bus (where Laurent had to stand for over 2 hours!) deposited us back off in the city. We stayed there overnight, had another fabulous steak dinner and the next afternoon, we left for Colonia del Sacremento.
Discovered in 1680, Colonia sits right on the water and was a crucial smuggling port back in the day. The Portugese and Spanish fought heavily over it. But in the end, the Spanish won.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires, we were hungry for still more beef. I did a little searching and found La Cabrera. It's a pretty touristic place but it doesn't really matter when the beef is so good.La Cabrera is not a typical, old fashioned parilla. You cannot see the grill in front of you, it's more hidden in the kitchen. The place itself is whimsical and fun with hot air balloons hanging from the ceiling, plates shaped like cows and photos of cows showing their various cuts of meat. We arrived at 8:15, (which is very early to dine in Buenos Aires) and there was already a long queue and to top it off, we were without a reservation. But after about a 30 minute wait, we were seated.
We arrived to Tigre, Argentina on our first morning. We weren't really supposed to go to Tigre. We were going to go out about 2 hours to the Pampas, to an older city with a long history of gaucho culture (gauchos are the south american version of cowboys). But we were so tired from our travels and the supervolcano that took place before the travels, that we decided to go to a city closer. We had read about Tigre and it's proximity to Buenos Aires and how nice it was. So we decided to go.
Infused exposures 