Patagonia was the splurge part of my holiday, staying at Eolo Patagonia's Spirit. It is out of town, on the way to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, and it is a worthwhile option with really pleasant staff, amenities and food, and lovely views of the surrounding area. The horses though are even lovelier! If you like horses. (See photo of photogenic Electra below.)

My first afternoon was spent riding Electra, being lead by a guide, learning about the flora and fauna of the area, (saw some flamingoes) and tasting mate as well as learning about the ritual behind it. it was difficult for me to adjust to riding gaucho style, as I am familiar with the dressage style, but my guide had picked Electra who coped well with my riding technique, or lack thereof!

The second (1st full day) was spent visiting Perito Moreno Glacier. With an early start (photo from my bedroom window as the sun started it's ascent), we were the first group to commence the ascent. Not just visiting, the tour included a  hike along a section of the glacier, a break for lunch, and then a visit to the glacier viewing deck where spectators sit and watch the icebergs calving. Before our departure from hiking the glacier, we were offered whisky on glacier ice - taken straight from the glacier, or glacial water on ice, which I went for. Lovely! 

An absolutely spectacular area of Patagonia to visit.

Today was the day I was most looking forward to, in Buenos Aires. Becky, from Foto Ruta Buenos Aires had very kindly arranged an half Academy photography day for me. So a four hour time slot. Like Ms K was my guide for all my time in Chile, Emma was the equivalent photographer guide for me for today in Buenos Aires.
The session began at Cafe La Poesia, one of the many "Notable Cafes" in Buenos Aires. (Yes, Emma informed me of this! And other notables are La Biela, Recoleta and Cafe Torroni just down the road from Plaza Mayo, which I had read about and, as I am in Buenos Aires, one of which I had inadvertently visited before knowing it was "Notable".)

Emma took me through a well thought out overview of important aspects to consider in creative, street photography. I won't give away the secrets, but I thoroughly recommend attending one of Foto Ruta's tours currently in Buenos Aires, Santiago and New York, if you are in the area.

We visited locations throughout San Telmo that are both on and off the usual tourist stomping ground, also visiting a school which is now home to many poorer people living in Buenos Aires. It was such a pleasure to listen to Emma chat with some of the women who live there. An unexpected pleasure to say the least!

Below are some of the photos I took while under Emma's tutelage. Such an enjoyable and unique perspective of the city of Buenos Aires.  

With Recoleta Cemetery being on my hotel's doorstep, it was an easy tourist attraction to get to. My problem was that my energy levels were waining as I hadn't had any lunch and it was heading for 3pm. Perseverance being a well known tourist trait, I started my wanders throughout the alleyways of the cemetery. The cemetery is a very eclectic mix of architectural styles and, I admit, I found it rather overwhelming. I was on the hunt for Eva Peron's tomb, advised by tourist mags and websites that I would only have to follow the trail of tourists visiting her tomb. There weren't that many tourists there, only 2, but it is the start of spring here in South America, so I guess a quieter period for tourists.

An early start as I had to catch a LAN flight a 9.05am flight to Iguazu. Well, at least that is what I thought. Trip advisor had other ideas, telling me my flight was delayed. But as I was booked to be p/u at 7am, I decided to go with the Argentinian flow. Which meant that, yes, Trip Advisor was completely correct and  I had to sit at the airport for a couple of extra hours until the flight departed at 11.10am.

 Flight finally departed Buenos Aires and I arrived at the hotel in Puerta Iguazu, late afternoon.

Our day at Iguazu National Park commenced with a pick up from the hotel at 7.20am so an early start. Not my forte....

There was a mix of nationalities on the bus, so we got to listen to the same information (although I did notice that the English translation on occasion had a bit less info than the Romance languages - French, Spanish, Italian) a few times.

I won't bore you with the details of the methods of getting around the park, all I will say is that there are three main trails - which have quite a few diverging paths - and it definitely is worthwhile taking a tour. There are so many wondrous locations from which you see different aspects of the falls, I really don't think it is possible to see the best of the falls on your own.

Let the images speak hopefully of the beauty of the falls, rather than me try it in words.

Ok, I admit I am having great difficulty working out conversions between the Aussie $, the US$ and the Argentinian $(or pesos). This morning I took a taxi to the touristy - but worth a visit - San Telmo Markets, and inadvertently tried to shortchange the taxi driver by giving him Argentinian $5 pesos (and saying "no no you are worth it, very nice person" -  in Italian of course - no ablo espagnol  and then realised  the fare was $45 pesos! Luckily we had been conversing well about the Argentinian & Australian economy, along with something about Argentinia, Australia & Canada being the same in someway - I didn't understand that bit but just said "ah si, si chiaro" as I had seen Ms K do in taxis in Santiago. So we worked it out & I was suitably embarrassed.

I then went to have a cafe cortardo in the famous cafe - Bar Plaza Dorrego. The bill was $18 pesos, I only had $12 or $100, so I said, in my pseudo italspagnglo - how about American $? Hence this blog's title Dos ($2) or Doce $12. I gave him $12, he said thank you and walked off. I, of course, realised my mistake and watched him. After a few mins I gave him the look and he wandered over. I said, think there has been a mistake. He then feigned ignorance, in Spanish, saying no I am sure you gave me $2. Oh, looky here! How did that US $10 note get into my wallet???

Ahhhh Buenos Aires......

The markets were alot of fun to wander around. You can find some interesting items if you dig hard enough. I came across 2 stands with the colourful soda water siphons, which are more popular for photographs than they are for being purchased I think! One of the sights at the market, that got the most attention were the older couple, who look like regulars, doing the tango. I don't know how much money they make, but at least their images fill up visitors photo albums!  Yes, Buenos Aires is all about photography. And romance I guess, for a lot of people who come here.

With the day being so cold I decided to visit the Museo di Bellas Artes, which holds quite a large collection of European art. In their temporary exhibition space there was an exhibition of the works of an Argentinian (with an Italian background) artist called Pino Collivadino , whose era was late 19th & early 20th century. A lot of his works in this exhibition recorded the city scapes of Buenos aires, the changes Argentina was undergoing, as well as reflecting many of the changes that were occurring in the European art genres. (This is from my reflections on his artwork, so best to read up on him if interested in actual facts!)

My sight seeing day ended with a lovely (late) lunch at a Spanish restaurant in Recoleta, called El Burado. The staff were very pleasant, the food looked and tasted divine. The clientele were lovely, chatting to me as we sat at the bar, a mix of italo-spanglese. 


Photos of San Telmo Markets

I can honestly say that arriving in Buenos Aires  on a flight that gets in at 7.45/8pm on a Friday evening is a great way to arrive. I was through immigration and customs within 15 minutes and whisked to my hotel in Recoleta, arriving in my room by 9pm.

I did though think it a bit rough for the Argentinians, as there was a ratio of 1 tourist to every 10 residents, but no adjustment to the allocation of immigration officials to assist and speed things along for the locals.

My first day started off cool but with sunshine and I headed off on a tour, which was arranged as part of my Chimu Adventures holiday.

We visited Plaza Mayor being allowed time to take photos of Parliament House, visit the cathedral and have a quick wander around. 

We were then off to drive through the newest suburb of Buenos Aires, Puerto Madero, which is located in the old port area where there are many warehouse conversions and new towering apartment constructions. An apartment here costs around US$1 million.

Back on the main side of the river we passed the ghetto area, close to where the current port is located, and then on to La Boca to go photography crazy. The architectural style here is Italianate, with Italian migrants living in this area when they arrived. The buildings in this touristy area are painted so many contrasting colours it wouldn't be a good idea to visit here with a migraine!

With a quick drive through San Telmo, no time for a photo stop, we learnt that ST was the birthplace of the Tango. It was a dance performed by prostitutes and their clientele but it soon caught on with the upper classes as well.

We headed north towards the more affluent suburbs of Recoleta and Palermo, known for the leafy green parks and Evita's resting place, Recoleta Cemetery. Here the tour ended and I headed for La Biela, a cafe that is one of the many recommended to visit when in Buenos Aires.

One of those tidbits of information to ponder on is, when Spain took over Argentina the ratio of locals to Spanish was: one million locals to roughly six million Spanish.

La Moneda and Estacion Central
From the dogs, horses and costumed police officers at La Moneda - was to be the treasury -  to the everyday fashion of the folks at Estacion Central, Ms K and I traveled from one extreme of Santiagan life to another.

We went for a wander through Parliament House, the courtyards at least, and met with many of the very pleasant and helpful police people. After admiring the architecture, cannons, fountains and fruit trees, we headed off to see the Changing of the Guard at 11am. 

It was a lovely flamboyant finish to my stay in Santiago, seeing the mounted police, the band and the foot patrols in their crisp white uniforms. Needless to say, the friendly stray dogs of Santiago got into the act as well. They ran from the procession to have a quick drink at the fountain and then back again to ensure they didn't miss out on too many photo opportunities that the crowds offered, who had turned out that day.

We hopped on the metro again - a pleasant & quick way to travel to many of the sights in Santiago, and arrived at the Estacion Central. Designed by Gustav Eiffel, the station has seen better days but it is still a hubbub of activity.

Isla Negra
Today we headed off on our two day road trip to Valparaiso stopping off at Isla Negra, to visit Pablo Neruda's house. This houses an eccentric & eclectic collection of artefacts and is well worth a visit to give you a peek into Neruda's character. 

Valparaiso
What can I say? An architectural enthusiasts dream! The architecture ranges from shanty style houses clinging to the cliffs that surround the port, to delicious Art Nouveau buildings housing museos, interspersed with ascensores that allow the visitor to easily access the scenic streets up above the port.
Lovely bars, cafes and restaurants abound, which allows the visitor an indulgent escape from the bustle of Santiago, for all the senses.

Isla Negra is not an island, just a location.

The day started with Ms K picking me up from the hotel and we started our touring day at Los Dominicos, a version of a typical chilean village that sells touristy knickknacks - ceramic ware, clothing jewellery.  The evening prior the temperature had dropped and we spotted a car with a thick layer of snow and ice. It was definitely a cool day "frio" and snow was falling on the Andes.

We then went on to Alto Las Condes visiting a typical chilean mall - very popular here with a supermarket style shop with - yes, we counted them to confirm,  65 checkouts. Ms K told me that on the weekend all 65 are in operation as everyone does their shopping then. Incredible!

Onwards and upwards, we drove up through the Parque Metropolitano which is otherwise known as Cerro San Cristobal - cerro meaning hill. Lovely views over Santiago to the Andes can be seen from the viewing points on the drive/walk/cycle up. We walked to the top of the hill to check out the Virgen de la Immaculada Concepcion - I  pretended I was in Rio, as I am not getting that far north on this trip. Ok, I realise she is female and not as large as the jesus at Rio, but one can pretend on occasion.... Being a tourist plus a local we took the funicular down to Bellavista, had a wander around the streets & their restaurants, a pretty but on occasion slightly unsafe area, and then headed down to the Mercado Central for a late lunch. The Mercado is the main fish market, and we had a wander through discovering a few fish that can't be purchased in Australia, at least not at the Sydney Fish Markets! For lunch we had a lovely black coloured fish, Reineta, fried with an ensalada chilean, mi gusto!  

We then wandered over to the Estacion Mapocho bravely wandering through areas not usually traversed by my friends. The building  is a lovely old 1800s train station with intricate ironwork, influenced by European architecture, now well maintained and used for expos and such.  

We wandered a bit further into unknown territory, to take some photos of an unusual church spire. I was banned by Ms K from using my camera, due to safety concerns, and she took photos instead with her phone camera. Getting very odd looks & comments from the locals. (Hadn't they seen tourists around this area? Maybe not very often.)

Setting off early this morning Ms K, Ms M & I headed firstly to Santiago's Museo de Bellas Artes, free on Sundays. Inspired by The Petit Palais of Paris, the Palacio, with its ornate glass roof, houses a varied collection of Chilean &European art.

Ms K & I set off on our own, leaving the city we headed for the Santa Rita winery at Pirque. The original owner set up an Andean museum for the Chilean people with his collection of artefacts from the Arica area in the north of Chile. We then had lunch at the winery's restaurant, along with the locals, tourist & families from Santiago who were enjoying their Sunday out and about. 

Then it was off to the Concho y Toro vineyard for a winery tour. The vineyard was started in 1883 and the first vines in Chile were planted here.
http://www.conchaytoro.com/