i have never seen so much chocolate in all my life. Bariloche has chocolate shops like we have Starbucks, one on every corner and a couple in between for good measure.

chocolate, fondue, wine, and St. Bernard puppies…….does a day get any better than that? i wish i could hve gotten a better shot, but the owners charge for photos, so i was trying to be sly. just to be clear, i am not bringing home a puppy. but i really think i could fit one in my carry-on, it’s more acceptable than that woman who drugged the baby tiger and put it in her luggage, right?!

today i went on a short tour (Circuito Chico) that took us up to Mt. Campanario, another view point that was accessible via chair lift. btw, i’m still trying to figure out the best camera settings for snow-capped mountains, they always seem a bit washed out……

we then went to a panoramic viewpoint for a view of Lake Perito Moreno. a lot of things in this area are named after Francisco Moreno. Perito means expert, and it was a title given to Francisco Moreno by the government due to his knowledge and all of the work he did with/for Argentina. i still think it’s sad he never saw the glacier.

 

after that we went to see the Llao Llao Hotel, which i didn’t get a very good picture of, we could only drive by. it’s very exclusive and you can’t even go in without an appt.

 

of course what tour isn’t complete without a stop at a local factory/manufacturer….today’s visit was to a place that makes product from rose hip. it was mostly cosmetics, creams and such, but also tea. the tea was a bit bitter for my taste, but my hands were very hydrated for the rest of the day.

i met a nice lady from Australia on my tour, and we ended up having lunch and walking around the town after the tour. it is so much fun to meet people from all over the map!

as i write this, i’m enjoying some wine, bruchetta, and salad at the local wine bar, and then i will call it a night. you know i have some crazy all day tour planned for tomorrow, so i need my rest.

what the flights here lack in promptness is made up for by the bus service that’s for sure. the travel coordinator said it would be a 32 hour ride, but it was only 28. only 28…..sheesh. good thing i borrowed a nice big Ken Follett novel from the hotel! we left on time and everything was comfortable as it could be.

the bus was more like Amtrak, it was the Benz of buses, literally. i had a reclining seat, movies, and meal service. i use the term meal loosely by the way. i love a cheese sandwich as much as the next person, but if i have one more i may cry. or give me one with more than cheese and bread…..a little mustard would be a nice addition.

of course as with any overnight travel situation, we had the snoring guy…..it was so bad most people moved up a few rows and put on headphones to drown out the noise. what else could you do, it’s not like we could go to another room.

overall it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. i cringe at what a 28 hour Greyhound ride would be……close to hell i imagine. some of the scenery was pretty, below are a couple of photos, not the best, but hey, they were taken from inside a bus!

 

now time to enjoy a shower, quick dinner and then bed. i need to be well rested to see what Bariloche is all about tomorrow.

my next stop is Bariloche, north of where i am now. unfortunately the airport there is closed due to smoke and ash from a volcano in Chile.

the volcano erupted at the beginning of June, but the smoke still rises, causing poor air quality and unsafe flying conditions.

Laura, the travel coordinator, assures me that Bariloche is fine to visit, the airport is just closed. ok, so how do i get there?

i take a bus…………a bus that takes 32 hours. sigh.

it might be an adventure, there might be beautiful scenery, it might just suck. only time will tell, but all i have to say is Bariloche had better be one great town!

photo courtesy of earthquake-report.com

today i went to the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park and did the coolest thing in my life, i walked on a glacier!

Perito Moreno is named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer who studied the area and played a big part in defending the Argentinian territory in the international border dispute with Chile. oddly enough, Moreno never actually saw the glacier. he was traveling on Lake Argentina via whaling boat in the summer and the winds were so strong he had to stop exploration of the area before he reached the glacier.

i can’t tell you how breathtaking it was to stand on top of a glacier. my pictures can’t do it justice, but hopefully you can get an idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

when i arrived in El Calafate i decided to change up my tour a bit from what was planned. the main point of attraction here is the Perito Moreno Glacier, which i’m going to see tomorrow.

i was supposed to go today, but wanted to take part in the optional mini-trek, so i had to postpone one day. i decided to take a 4×4 excursion to fill my morning. i was a little skeptical about the adventure, but figured why not go and see what it was all about. it actually ended up being a lot of fun.

there were about 20 of us in the truck, and it was quite the ride up the mountain. tons of mud, snow and ice, and we ended up having to put on the chains. all part of the 4×4 adventure right?

when we got to the final destination it ended up being a snow park of sorts. we had inner tubes to ride which were a blast, and for an extra fee you could go snow mobiling, which I didn’t do.

they had tent set up for coffee and pastry, which our additional guests liked as well.

 

a few posts ago i spoke briefly about a celebration that happens in Salta on September 15th. it’s called Procesion del Señor y Virgen del milagro, the procession of the Lord and Virgin of the miracle.

the story goes something like this……..on September 13, 1592 an image of the Lord on the cross was placed in the main church of Salta. the image had been found in the sea by Peru with only the writing, “for Salta” on the box. they don’t know who sent it or what ship it came in on.

jump to September 13, 1692, big earthquakes continuously shook the whole valley and Salta was at the point of destruction. the main church was on the verge of collapsing and the ladies who dressed the statues in the church noticed that the Virgin became pale just before each earthquake. a priest understood it was Mary’s pleading for the image of the Lord. the image was still in the wooden box, never taken out, just as it arrived….

the Lord and Virgin were taken out of the church and placed in the main plaza and for days people prayed. on the 15th the earthquakes stopped and a big procession was organized. when earthquakes started happening again years later, it made the people remember the time when Salta was almost destroyed, and a pact was made between the people of Salta and the Lord and the Virgin of the miracle. each year they would celebrate the miracle, renew the pact, and continue their loyalty and love to Salta and the province.

Salta is expecting a million people at the celebration this year, and people walk from all over the country to participate. i heard of one group that was walking 22 days.

it’s a one day celebration that starts at the church in the main plaza and then after the service the people walk eight blocks, ending at the monument of General Guemes.

 

 

when i was in Peru last year i was able to see a religious celebration of a smaller magnitude in Cusco, and it was truly amazing. i can only imagine how incredible, and moving it must be in Salta today.

i woke up early so i could make the first chair…….oh wait, sorry, i was flashing back to Tahoe in April. today i slept in, had my corn flakes and mediocre coffee, and made my way to the slopes for a little viewing.

although i had time to go skiing, i am still in the summer mindset and decided against it. that, and i figured all i needed to do was go skiing in an unfamiliar resort, get lost, and miss my flight all together. besides, it’s not often i get to ride the chair lift down the mountain.

 

 

 

miss my flight? right, that’s funny. my flight today is only 2 hours delayed (so far), so i’m doing well. at least we know why this flight was delayed. it really doesn’t make anything better, but sometimes you just like to know.

the airport in Ushuaia is probably the smallest, prettiest airport i’ve ever been in. and at least i have the view of the mountains to look at while children run and scream behind me. is it really a bad thing to threaten other people’s children?!

yay, the plane has finally arrived, time to get ready for the flight! hopefully those children will be far-far away from 16E.

post flight addition:
when all was said and done the flight left three hours after the original scheduled departure time. the screaming children ended up in front of me by 10 rows or so, but it didn’t matter……. the one kid had a set of lungs on him and was heard throughout the plane. throughout the plane for the entire trip, awesome.

thankfully my luggage made it, my ride was waiting, and now am in sitting in my cozy hotel having a glass of wine. tomorrow’s adventure…..a little 4×4 excursion in the snow!

Ushuaia! that is where i finally landed last night after a layover of almost seven hours. good times. but i woke up this morning at, “el fin del mundo”, the end of the world, and i knew it would be a fun day.

definitely the coldest part if the trip thus far; i finally put the wool coat, hat, scarf and gloves to good use!

we started the day by taking a train ride through the Tierra del Fuego National Park.

 

the beavers in the area have been causing a bit of destruction, but the dam makes for a good picture.

these trees are all over the park, and they’re referred to as the Chinese lanterns or fake mistletoe. the green bunches aren´t really part of the tree, they are parasites that land in the tree and take up residence.

 

after the trip to the park i had a quick sandwich and made my way to the port for a boat ride through the Beagle Channel.

 

looking at my itinerary i found i had a full free day in Salta, so i booked a tour to Cafayate. Cafayate is 114 miles south of Salta, a small area known for it’s wine.

we started the trip passing by a number of farms, mostly tobacco. the other crop of the area is sugar cane. we then went through five small towns, arriving on the main road that would take us to the main attraction, wine.

along the way we stopped at a few sights, the first being Quebrada de las Conchas, or, a ravine of shells.

Garganta del Diablo made a second appearance, this time in rock formation. (i really like this picture).

 

at one point along the way we saw natural rock formations that have been turned into points of interest. for example, there was a shape that looked like elephants in a row, one called the Titanic, the monkey, the knee, etc. this is a photo of the castle towers.

we went on a winery tour in Cafayte, which reminded me of being in a little Napa. although last time i went to Napa there weren’t carts of llama salami for sale outside the vineyards………..

 

 

on the way home we stopped at a rock called the amphitheater due to it acoustics.

this tour is my favorite so far. i ended up traveling with people from my city tour, which was like seeing old friends and i met some new people visiting from Buenos Aires. they spoke English and i found out all sorts of useful information about their city and we made plans to meet for lunch when i return.

again i was the only American on the tour, but the guide spoke English and translated everything, plus made an extra effort to make sure i was ok and didn’t have any questions. also he was quite the entertainer, singing songs and telling jokes on the way home. it didn’t matter that they were in Spanish, he was hilarious and i was laughing just as hard as everyone else. it was a great way to end my stay in Salta.

today was spent in Salta. i slept in, dropped off laundry, wandered about, scheduled a tour for tomorrow, had a little lunch, did a little shopping, and went back to the hotel for a rest. picked up the laundry and then went on a city tour.

the Iglesia Catedral is located in the Plaza 9 de Junio (date Argentina declared independence). on September 15 the square will contain more than a million people for a celebration called Procession Señor de Milagro.

 

Iglesia Santo Francisco has the second tallest bell tower in all of South America.

 

you can take a tram, walk, or drive to the top of San Bernardo Hill for a view of the city.

the tour ended with a visit to a local artisan market; lots of woven blankets, hats, tablecloths, ponchos, and scarves. anything you can make with silver and onyx can be purchased there, along with ceramic and wood home goods.