March 17, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
=============================
I had a leisurely wake up. It was raining. After breakfast, I checked out by 10 AM. I left my bag at the hotel and headed to the bus terminal to book my tickets to Mendoza. I booked myself on the 1:40 PM bus to Mendoza - Cama, of course. It had stopped raining.
I took a bus to the centre and paid 2 pesos for the lift to a Mirador (Viewpoint). The views were OK. I spent around an hour at an Internet cafe and headed to a local cafe for some lunch in the form of toast and juice! I got back to the hotel, picked up by bag and headed to the bus terminal. I had a 35-minute wait there as the Bus had not yet arrived.
The bus arrived at 1:45 PM and I checked in. I was given Seat No. 1. This time around there was 6 people in the 9-seater cama section. I was travelling with a different bus company - TRAMAT. TRAMAT had cloth seats while ANDESMAR (the company that bought me to San Juan) had leather seats. Needless to say, ANDESMAR seats were a lot better.
I dozed a bit on the way and we reached Mendoza a little after 4 PM.
March 17, 2008 - Mendoza, Argentina
=============================
I took a Taxi (thankfully they were not on strike anymore) to Hotel Palace. I chatted up the driver on the possibility of him taking me to some of the wineries on my list in the Lujan de Cuyo and Maipu areas. He was asking for 200 pesos (US$67). I took down his name and number. On reaching Hotel Palace, the Check-in was a breeze. I picked up by large duffel bag from their storage and also my clothes from the nearby laundry.
As I was running low on Argentine Pesos, I exchanged some Dollars for Argentine Pesos. I visited the Trout and Wine Tour agency only to be told that there was a hitch in their programme and that I could not visit all the wineries on my list. I thanked them and walked out. I am sticking to the wineries that I want to visit - not what someone thinks is worth visiting! As I have a few free days in Mendoza, I am sure I will be able to plan something on my own.
I booked myself on a tour to ACONCAGUA for tomorrow (120 Pesos - US$ 40). I received a call from Amor and agreed to meet her at her hostel. I took a trolley to her hostel. We visited one more travel agency and Amor (being a native Spanish speaker) inquired about tours to the wineries I wanted to see. They said they would get back to me.
We met up with friends of Amor (whom she had befriended on a day tour in Mendoza) for dinner. The Lasagne with No Meat came with Meat! We tried a Sandwich with no Ham that came with Ham! I finally got lucky and had a chocolate alamendrado with Banana split ice cream!
Amor and I may meet again tomorrow as we are both doing day trips to ACONCAGUA - albeit with different tour companies.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
March 15-16, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
March 15, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
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I woke up late and made it to breakfast by 10:15 AM (Breakfast closes at 10:30 here). It turned out that I was perhaps among the first customers eating breakfast there! A soccer team was staying in the hotel and they continued to amble in and chomp on their breakfast well after 10:30.
I had planned to visit the Natural Sciences museum in San Juan today. The museum would be open until 1 PM today (being a Saturday). Most tour agencies would also close by 1 PM. One of the tour companies I had visited yesterday called me up to inquire whether I would be interested in a tour of Ischigulasto Park on Sunday (tomorrow). As I was holding out hope for a second agency (that was conducting a private tour of Ischigulasto and Talampaya over 2 days for 2 people) to call me back on whether I could piggy back on their private tour, I had to decline this company's offer to visit Ischigulasto tomorrow.
By the time I reached the hotel reception on my way out, I had a rethink of my options here. If the agency (conducting the private tour for 2 people) is not able to get me in on the 2-day tour of Ischigulasto and Talampaya, it may be too late to book myself on the day trip to Ischigulasto (for tomorrow) with any other agency (since all of them will close by 1 PM today). Upon reaching the reception area to hand in my keys, I requested the front desk manager to call up the tour company associated with the hotel and booked myself on the day trip to Ischigulasto National Park for tomorrow (Sunday). The draw back was that the tour cost had to be paid in Cash. On the bright side, if the company arranging private tour is somehow able to hook me in on their 2-day tour, I could always take it as I have not paid to the company that is taking me on the day trip to Ischigulasto tomorrow.
I walked the 2 short blocks to the bus terminal and took a bus to the Natural Sciences Museum. I was dropped off after a 15-minute ride. The museum was a short walk from the bus stop. There entry to the museum was free. If one requires the services of a guide, one can choose to pay the guide. As the only guides available were going to provide explanations in Spanish, I declined their offer and proceeded to read up the Spanish explanations next to the exhibits.
The fossils on display were from excavations at Ischigulasto. The Ischigulasto formation dates to the Triassic era (before Jurassic). I saw a skeleton of FRENGUELLISAURUS ISCHIGUALASTENSIS as well as a skeleton of a DICYNODONT. The museum is part of the University of San Juan and I observed a couple of palaeontologists cleaning fossils. The museum was rather small and I finished my visit is less than 45 minutes. The University of San Juan also has a museum at Ischigulasto Park as well and this apparently contains a lot more fossils. I shall hopefully get to see it tomorrow when I visit Ischigulasto.
I walked around for a bit near the Museum area. I noticed teams of young girls playing field hockey in a nearby park. San Juan appears to have a field hockey league (for youngsters) and it was quite similar to Baseball, Soccer leagues for youngsters in the US (including the screaming of the parents at the referee)! Upon further research I found out that the Argentine women's field hockey team has had a stellar record. Maybe some of these youngsters (and their screaming parents) will make it to their national team someday!
There was a bit of a delay in getting a bus from the Museum back to the city centre. On reaching the city centre I headed to the travel agency to inquire about the possibility of joining their private tour. I was told that it was not possible. Perhaps the 2 folks (who are paying for this private tour) do not want a 3rd person (moi) joining them! [They know not what they have missed!] So I will only be doing Ischigulasto tomorrow.
I headed to SOYCHU (the Vegetarian restaurant I had dinner last night) for lunch. By the time I finished my lunch, the place was packed. Looks like Vegetarian food (when it is on offer) is quite popular in these parts. I headed to a call centre and call friends and family. It was 2:30 PM and siesta time was well under way. The call centre owner suggested that I could visit a local winery in the afternoon.
I headed to my hotel and rested a bit before heading to the bus terminal to take a bus to "Cavas de Zonda". It was 3:30 PM and I was told that I had to wait until 4:30 PM as the buses to this place are infrequent. The fare was 2.25 pesos (less than $1) for the 1-hour ride to the foothills of the Andes where the Winery is located. I missed getting off at the right stop the first time and had to wait until the bus made it all the way to the last stop and dropped me off on its return route! I walked to the Bodega entrance to find out that it closes at 5 PM on Saturdays! It was close to 6 PM now. I may try to visit this place on Monday as they open at 9:30 AM. "Cavas de Zonda" is supposedly famous for Sparkling wines.
I had a 45-minute wait by the road side for a bus back to town. I observed many cyclists speeding by. I suppose they must be training in the Andes foothills before heading for the tour de France. Upon reaching the city, I headed back to the hotel. I checked my e-mail. Wine tours in the Mendoza area appear to be getting finalized. I wrote my diary and charged all my camera batteries (did not want to be running out of juice when I am at Ischigulasto).
I headed to dinner at a well recommended local restaurant. The food (Italian) was ok, the local wine decent and the service was bad (as usual). As they had already added a service charge, I did not tip them. I walked back to my hotel.
March 16, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
=============================
I woke up at 5 AM and was ready and at the reception a little after 6 AM! My pickup was scheduled between 6 and 6:30 AM. I waited...and waited...and waited. I observed many late-night (rather all-night) revellers stumbling home. Most of these folks caught a taxi in front of my hotel and some of them took their keys from the front desk and headed to their rooms.
A young lady appeared at the reception area and from the snippets of conversation I overhead it appeared that she was headed to Ischigulasto as well. I was not in a particularly friendly mood so did not strike up a conversation with her. The pickup vehicle finally showed up around 6:50 AM. It turned out to be a CAR! It appeared that the lady and I were going to Ischigulasto with the same tour company. The lady took the front passenger seat. Upon seating myself in the rear seat, I eagerly asked the driver for the number of passengers on this trip. When I heard his reply (4), I resigned myself to being squeezed in the back seat for the next 12 hours!
We headed to a nearby hostel and picked up a couple. All of the passengers (with the exception of yours truly) were Argentines. I was headed to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and language was not going to make a difference to my enjoyment.
I decided to catch up on my sleep during the 4-hour drive to the park. I woke up in time to see a magnificent sunrise around 8:30 AM. Brilliant Orange Ball of fire against a clear sky. Perhaps it's the near desert climate here, but the weather has been fantastic thus far. Due to space constraints, I had left my camera bag in the trunk of the car and memorized the sunrise in my mind. I dozed on after that.
We reached the park entrance around 10 AM. The trip had taken us less than 3 1/2 hours in large part to the excellent paved road and the sparse traffic on it. We paid the park entrance fees of 35 pesos (US$12). We were to follow a park ranger in our vehicles as we toured Ischigulasto National park. There were around 15 Vehicles (all shapes and sizes) and about 80 people. The ranger would take us on a 40-Kilometre (25 Miles) circuit (aptly called Circuito Turistico!) over a 3-hour period with stops at various places for a show and tell. Of course, it was all in Spanish. In the ranger's defence he spoke lucid, clear Spanish with clear diction and enunciation (perhaps the Argentines could not follow him!).
After our second stop in the circuit, I chatted a bit with our driver. It turned out that the clocks had rolled back an hour today! So I had woken up at 4 AM and had been waiting for the vehicle since 5 AM. D'oh!
Although the TRIASSIC era formations at Ischigulasto looked somewhat similar to the formations I had observed during a visit to the Dakotas (US) last year, the significant difference was that we were able to drive and walk among the formations in Ischigulasto on paths designed not to disturb the ecosystem here. Although we did not see any fossils or observe any digs, it was a very nice trip and a thrill to know that we had visited a place where some of the oldest dinosaur skeletons have been found.
After our show and tell as we were headed back to the park entrance, we drove by magnificent RED ROCK formations aptly called COLORADO. As we were not allowed to stop, I rolled down the window and took pictures from the car. Tours of Ischigulasto that take place in the afternoon do stop at these rock formations as the evening light enhances the redness of COLORADO. The park also conducts tours during full-moon nights. That would have required additional bit of planning on my side! (Perhaps next time)
We got back to the park entrance and I eagerly headed into the museum. While the displays were impressive, it turns out that all of them were replicas. The originals were supposedly in the museum at San Juan! When I told the curator that I had visited the museum at San Juan and did not see any Originals, I was told that the Originals at the San Juan museum were not for Public viewing! I hope that they change this policy soon and open up these fossils for public viewing - perhaps limiting the number of visitors per day to 200 or so.
The driver suggested lunch at a nearby place (3-4 kilometres away). I requested and obtained a cheese-free HUMITA and combined with some hot sauce, it was delicious. It would keep me alive until I get back to San Juan.
On the way back we stopped at a precious stone museum and a weekend artisan fair. I think all these could have been skipped for a visit to Talampaya which was just 65 Kilometres (40 Miles) from Ischigulasto.
I got back to my hotel around 7:30 PM and rested a bit. I decided to try having dinner at a cafe. Despite my instincts I ordered a cheese Pizza. It was DISGUSTING as ever. I took out 95% of the cheese off the Pizza and had the bread and tomato sauce with half a bottle of wine. Not bad :)
Almost all the tour agency trips I have taken thus far have drivers / guides who are quite knowledgeable and provide you with all the information and answers questions as well. They also do not stand around scratching their heads at the end of the trip waiting to be tipped. I am quite impressed with this attitude.
=============================
I woke up late and made it to breakfast by 10:15 AM (Breakfast closes at 10:30 here). It turned out that I was perhaps among the first customers eating breakfast there! A soccer team was staying in the hotel and they continued to amble in and chomp on their breakfast well after 10:30.
I had planned to visit the Natural Sciences museum in San Juan today. The museum would be open until 1 PM today (being a Saturday). Most tour agencies would also close by 1 PM. One of the tour companies I had visited yesterday called me up to inquire whether I would be interested in a tour of Ischigulasto Park on Sunday (tomorrow). As I was holding out hope for a second agency (that was conducting a private tour of Ischigulasto and Talampaya over 2 days for 2 people) to call me back on whether I could piggy back on their private tour, I had to decline this company's offer to visit Ischigulasto tomorrow.
By the time I reached the hotel reception on my way out, I had a rethink of my options here. If the agency (conducting the private tour for 2 people) is not able to get me in on the 2-day tour of Ischigulasto and Talampaya, it may be too late to book myself on the day trip to Ischigulasto (for tomorrow) with any other agency (since all of them will close by 1 PM today). Upon reaching the reception area to hand in my keys, I requested the front desk manager to call up the tour company associated with the hotel and booked myself on the day trip to Ischigulasto National Park for tomorrow (Sunday). The draw back was that the tour cost had to be paid in Cash. On the bright side, if the company arranging private tour is somehow able to hook me in on their 2-day tour, I could always take it as I have not paid to the company that is taking me on the day trip to Ischigulasto tomorrow.
I walked the 2 short blocks to the bus terminal and took a bus to the Natural Sciences Museum. I was dropped off after a 15-minute ride. The museum was a short walk from the bus stop. There entry to the museum was free. If one requires the services of a guide, one can choose to pay the guide. As the only guides available were going to provide explanations in Spanish, I declined their offer and proceeded to read up the Spanish explanations next to the exhibits.
The fossils on display were from excavations at Ischigulasto. The Ischigulasto formation dates to the Triassic era (before Jurassic). I saw a skeleton of FRENGUELLISAURUS ISCHIGUALASTENSIS as well as a skeleton of a DICYNODONT. The museum is part of the University of San Juan and I observed a couple of palaeontologists cleaning fossils. The museum was rather small and I finished my visit is less than 45 minutes. The University of San Juan also has a museum at Ischigulasto Park as well and this apparently contains a lot more fossils. I shall hopefully get to see it tomorrow when I visit Ischigulasto.
I walked around for a bit near the Museum area. I noticed teams of young girls playing field hockey in a nearby park. San Juan appears to have a field hockey league (for youngsters) and it was quite similar to Baseball, Soccer leagues for youngsters in the US (including the screaming of the parents at the referee)! Upon further research I found out that the Argentine women's field hockey team has had a stellar record. Maybe some of these youngsters (and their screaming parents) will make it to their national team someday!
There was a bit of a delay in getting a bus from the Museum back to the city centre. On reaching the city centre I headed to the travel agency to inquire about the possibility of joining their private tour. I was told that it was not possible. Perhaps the 2 folks (who are paying for this private tour) do not want a 3rd person (moi) joining them! [They know not what they have missed!] So I will only be doing Ischigulasto tomorrow.
I headed to SOYCHU (the Vegetarian restaurant I had dinner last night) for lunch. By the time I finished my lunch, the place was packed. Looks like Vegetarian food (when it is on offer) is quite popular in these parts. I headed to a call centre and call friends and family. It was 2:30 PM and siesta time was well under way. The call centre owner suggested that I could visit a local winery in the afternoon.
I headed to my hotel and rested a bit before heading to the bus terminal to take a bus to "Cavas de Zonda". It was 3:30 PM and I was told that I had to wait until 4:30 PM as the buses to this place are infrequent. The fare was 2.25 pesos (less than $1) for the 1-hour ride to the foothills of the Andes where the Winery is located. I missed getting off at the right stop the first time and had to wait until the bus made it all the way to the last stop and dropped me off on its return route! I walked to the Bodega entrance to find out that it closes at 5 PM on Saturdays! It was close to 6 PM now. I may try to visit this place on Monday as they open at 9:30 AM. "Cavas de Zonda" is supposedly famous for Sparkling wines.
I had a 45-minute wait by the road side for a bus back to town. I observed many cyclists speeding by. I suppose they must be training in the Andes foothills before heading for the tour de France. Upon reaching the city, I headed back to the hotel. I checked my e-mail. Wine tours in the Mendoza area appear to be getting finalized. I wrote my diary and charged all my camera batteries (did not want to be running out of juice when I am at Ischigulasto).
I headed to dinner at a well recommended local restaurant. The food (Italian) was ok, the local wine decent and the service was bad (as usual). As they had already added a service charge, I did not tip them. I walked back to my hotel.
March 16, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
=============================
I woke up at 5 AM and was ready and at the reception a little after 6 AM! My pickup was scheduled between 6 and 6:30 AM. I waited...and waited...and waited. I observed many late-night (rather all-night) revellers stumbling home. Most of these folks caught a taxi in front of my hotel and some of them took their keys from the front desk and headed to their rooms.
A young lady appeared at the reception area and from the snippets of conversation I overhead it appeared that she was headed to Ischigulasto as well. I was not in a particularly friendly mood so did not strike up a conversation with her. The pickup vehicle finally showed up around 6:50 AM. It turned out to be a CAR! It appeared that the lady and I were going to Ischigulasto with the same tour company. The lady took the front passenger seat. Upon seating myself in the rear seat, I eagerly asked the driver for the number of passengers on this trip. When I heard his reply (4), I resigned myself to being squeezed in the back seat for the next 12 hours!
We headed to a nearby hostel and picked up a couple. All of the passengers (with the exception of yours truly) were Argentines. I was headed to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and language was not going to make a difference to my enjoyment.
I decided to catch up on my sleep during the 4-hour drive to the park. I woke up in time to see a magnificent sunrise around 8:30 AM. Brilliant Orange Ball of fire against a clear sky. Perhaps it's the near desert climate here, but the weather has been fantastic thus far. Due to space constraints, I had left my camera bag in the trunk of the car and memorized the sunrise in my mind. I dozed on after that.
We reached the park entrance around 10 AM. The trip had taken us less than 3 1/2 hours in large part to the excellent paved road and the sparse traffic on it. We paid the park entrance fees of 35 pesos (US$12). We were to follow a park ranger in our vehicles as we toured Ischigulasto National park. There were around 15 Vehicles (all shapes and sizes) and about 80 people. The ranger would take us on a 40-Kilometre (25 Miles) circuit (aptly called Circuito Turistico!) over a 3-hour period with stops at various places for a show and tell. Of course, it was all in Spanish. In the ranger's defence he spoke lucid, clear Spanish with clear diction and enunciation (perhaps the Argentines could not follow him!).
After our second stop in the circuit, I chatted a bit with our driver. It turned out that the clocks had rolled back an hour today! So I had woken up at 4 AM and had been waiting for the vehicle since 5 AM. D'oh!
Although the TRIASSIC era formations at Ischigulasto looked somewhat similar to the formations I had observed during a visit to the Dakotas (US) last year, the significant difference was that we were able to drive and walk among the formations in Ischigulasto on paths designed not to disturb the ecosystem here. Although we did not see any fossils or observe any digs, it was a very nice trip and a thrill to know that we had visited a place where some of the oldest dinosaur skeletons have been found.
After our show and tell as we were headed back to the park entrance, we drove by magnificent RED ROCK formations aptly called COLORADO. As we were not allowed to stop, I rolled down the window and took pictures from the car. Tours of Ischigulasto that take place in the afternoon do stop at these rock formations as the evening light enhances the redness of COLORADO. The park also conducts tours during full-moon nights. That would have required additional bit of planning on my side! (Perhaps next time)
We got back to the park entrance and I eagerly headed into the museum. While the displays were impressive, it turns out that all of them were replicas. The originals were supposedly in the museum at San Juan! When I told the curator that I had visited the museum at San Juan and did not see any Originals, I was told that the Originals at the San Juan museum were not for Public viewing! I hope that they change this policy soon and open up these fossils for public viewing - perhaps limiting the number of visitors per day to 200 or so.
The driver suggested lunch at a nearby place (3-4 kilometres away). I requested and obtained a cheese-free HUMITA and combined with some hot sauce, it was delicious. It would keep me alive until I get back to San Juan.
On the way back we stopped at a precious stone museum and a weekend artisan fair. I think all these could have been skipped for a visit to Talampaya which was just 65 Kilometres (40 Miles) from Ischigulasto.
I got back to my hotel around 7:30 PM and rested a bit. I decided to try having dinner at a cafe. Despite my instincts I ordered a cheese Pizza. It was DISGUSTING as ever. I took out 95% of the cheese off the Pizza and had the bread and tomato sauce with half a bottle of wine. Not bad :)
Almost all the tour agency trips I have taken thus far have drivers / guides who are quite knowledgeable and provide you with all the information and answers questions as well. They also do not stand around scratching their heads at the end of the trip waiting to be tipped. I am quite impressed with this attitude.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
March 14, 2008 - Mendoza & San Juan, Argentina
March 14, 2008 - Mendoza, Argentina
=============================
I woke up a little after 9 AM and was ready by 10. The breakfast was decent. I checked out after breakfast. I was heading to San Juan for a few days before returning to Mendoza again. I left my larger duffel bag at the Hotel until my return from San Juan.
I tried to get a taxi to the bus station. The taxi drivers were all on strike! Fine day to do it :) I took the only other option available and walked the 20 blocks to the bus terminus. Even the small bag and the camera bag were a burden to carry after 5 blocks! I made it to the bus terminus after 30 minutes.
I headed to the offices of the ANDESMAR bus company. They had services to San Juan. A Semi-cama would cost 18 pesos ($6) while a cama seat would cost me 22 pesos ($7.3). I chose Cama. The Cama seating was in the lower part of the double Decker bus. 9 seats in 3 rows with a 2-1 split for the aisle. I took the single seat. The leather covered seats were luxurious, reclined almost 180 degrees and were better or at least equal to Business class seats on Airlines. The Cama passengers were also served coffee and cookies during the ride. I skipped the coffee but ate the cookies. All this for a shockingly low price. I have to take this option (Cama) when I travel from Mendoza to Santiago (Chile).
The 2-hour plus journey was along the Andes range during which I read a bit and dozed a bit.
March 14, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
=============================
We reached San Juan around 2:30 PM. Hotel America was 2 blocks away from the bus terminal. Even the local taxi drivers suggested that I walk it. The front desk gal was the prettiest gal I had seen in Argentina (thus far). The hotel had free internet. I checked messages. The wine tour companies were uniformly expensive.
Like Salta and Mendoza, San Juan closes at 1 PM and opens at 5 PM!
I visited a number of tour agencies to explore the possibilities of visiting the Ischigulasto and Talampaya national parks during my 3-day stay in San Juan. I encountered the same problems as at Asuncion (Paraguay). They would not run tours for Single folks. As San Juan was off the main tourist tracks, the chances of me getting to see all that I came to see appeared remote. I may get to see Ischigulasto perhaps on Sunday (March 16).
I found an all-vegetarian place for dinner. The food was not great.
I have a free day in San Juan tomorrow.
=============================
I woke up a little after 9 AM and was ready by 10. The breakfast was decent. I checked out after breakfast. I was heading to San Juan for a few days before returning to Mendoza again. I left my larger duffel bag at the Hotel until my return from San Juan.
I tried to get a taxi to the bus station. The taxi drivers were all on strike! Fine day to do it :) I took the only other option available and walked the 20 blocks to the bus terminus. Even the small bag and the camera bag were a burden to carry after 5 blocks! I made it to the bus terminus after 30 minutes.
I headed to the offices of the ANDESMAR bus company. They had services to San Juan. A Semi-cama would cost 18 pesos ($6) while a cama seat would cost me 22 pesos ($7.3). I chose Cama. The Cama seating was in the lower part of the double Decker bus. 9 seats in 3 rows with a 2-1 split for the aisle. I took the single seat. The leather covered seats were luxurious, reclined almost 180 degrees and were better or at least equal to Business class seats on Airlines. The Cama passengers were also served coffee and cookies during the ride. I skipped the coffee but ate the cookies. All this for a shockingly low price. I have to take this option (Cama) when I travel from Mendoza to Santiago (Chile).
The 2-hour plus journey was along the Andes range during which I read a bit and dozed a bit.
March 14, 2008 - San Juan, Argentina
=============================
We reached San Juan around 2:30 PM. Hotel America was 2 blocks away from the bus terminal. Even the local taxi drivers suggested that I walk it. The front desk gal was the prettiest gal I had seen in Argentina (thus far). The hotel had free internet. I checked messages. The wine tour companies were uniformly expensive.
Like Salta and Mendoza, San Juan closes at 1 PM and opens at 5 PM!
I visited a number of tour agencies to explore the possibilities of visiting the Ischigulasto and Talampaya national parks during my 3-day stay in San Juan. I encountered the same problems as at Asuncion (Paraguay). They would not run tours for Single folks. As San Juan was off the main tourist tracks, the chances of me getting to see all that I came to see appeared remote. I may get to see Ischigulasto perhaps on Sunday (March 16).
I found an all-vegetarian place for dinner. The food was not great.
I have a free day in San Juan tomorrow.
March 13, 2008 - Salta & Mendoza, Argentina
March 13, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================
I woke up early and checked out by 7 AM and followed it with a quick breakfast at the hotel. Upon finishing breakfast, I requested a Taxi to the airport. One arrived in less than 3 minutes. It was still pitch dark as we made our way to the airport. The 25-minute ride to the airport cost me 25 pesos (US$ 8). The locals here have no clue about the cost of these things as the hotel had claimed that it would cost me no more than 18 pesos and here I was paying 25% more.
Upon check in my duffel bag weighed in at 19 Kilos. My 'small' handbag probably had 15 kilos of stuff in it! I was quite relieved as this would be my last internal flight before I head back to the US - which would allow me to take 2 bags of 23 kilos each!
The flight departed a bit late. I got an exit row window seat with lots of legroom. Terrific! I read Bruce Chatwin and the articles in the Aerolineas Argentinas magazine during the flight. After the rather light breakfast served by the airlines, I dozed a bit as there was nothing great by way of scenery.
We reached Buenos Aires around 11:30 AM. I had to get out and go through a security check again before boarding my flight to Mendoza. I got a window seat again and continued my reading of Bruce Chatwin's travels in Patagonia.
March 13, 2008 - Mendoza, Argentina
==============================
We reached Mendoza around 2:30 PM. Radio taxis were the only option from Mendoza airport to the city. They charged a flat rate of 16 pesos. It was a lovely sunny day. We reached my hotel in 20 minutes which turned out to be quite decent. The hotel was costing me 110 pesos (US$37) per night. The front desk manager recommended a laundry close by. I headed to the laundry and requested that they be returned by March 17 (Monday). I walked to the town centre and had a late afternoon snack.
A word on Business practices in Salta and Mendoza: Almost all establishments close at 1 PM and re-open at 4 after a nice siesta. The only option between these hours is to sit in a cafe - which is what I did. The laundry being open between these hours was a surprise to me. I visited the local tourism office and obtained maps as well as information on local vineyards and the best times to visit them.
I headed next to a few local tour operators and asked about visiting some of the wineries I had chosen from my wine guide. Needless to say all these agencies took people to standard run-of-the-mill wineries and the wineries on my list would have to be done as a private tour costing upwards of 450 pesos (US$150)!
I headed next to a wine tasting place recommended by my guide book. It turned out to be an interesting place. I helped myself to one of their newsletters and promised to drop by later for a proper tasting as I did not want to do any tastings on top of the "light" snack I had consumed for Lunch.
I noticed that there appeared to be a HARLEY DAVIDSON festival of some sort going on in town. There were numerous bikers from Argentina and Chile congregated around the town centre. None of the bikers seemed able to tell me when and where there would be a formal kickoff for the ride (My bad Spanish was not much help]. I took a few pictures and headed to an internet cafe. I wrote to a list of tour companies recommended in the wine newsletter.
During my walk after the Internet cafe, I came across one of the agencies recommended in the newsletter. I spoke to the young Irish lad (and he works for a WINE TOUR COMPANY? !) about visiting some of the wineries on my list. He also suggested a private tour that would set me back 400 pesos (US$135). He also recommended a few good wineries and gave me a copy of the newsletter he published (on wine, of course). I told him to send me an e-mail by tomorrow evening on whether any tours could be arranged (with other wine lovers) to see the wineries I was interested in. [This way the cost could be reduced]
I headed to the restaurants (with good wine selections) that he had recommended highly. Both places had overpriced wines and limited options for a vegetarian meal. I finally found an Argentine restaurant that served decent Vegetarian food (Italian, of course). I had a decent Terranzas Malbec with my dinner.
I got back to my hotel and realized that the low quantity of food, plus 4+ glasses of Malbec was a recipe for heartburn. I took a couple of heartburn pills and went to bed.
==========================
I woke up early and checked out by 7 AM and followed it with a quick breakfast at the hotel. Upon finishing breakfast, I requested a Taxi to the airport. One arrived in less than 3 minutes. It was still pitch dark as we made our way to the airport. The 25-minute ride to the airport cost me 25 pesos (US$ 8). The locals here have no clue about the cost of these things as the hotel had claimed that it would cost me no more than 18 pesos and here I was paying 25% more.
Upon check in my duffel bag weighed in at 19 Kilos. My 'small' handbag probably had 15 kilos of stuff in it! I was quite relieved as this would be my last internal flight before I head back to the US - which would allow me to take 2 bags of 23 kilos each!
The flight departed a bit late. I got an exit row window seat with lots of legroom. Terrific! I read Bruce Chatwin and the articles in the Aerolineas Argentinas magazine during the flight. After the rather light breakfast served by the airlines, I dozed a bit as there was nothing great by way of scenery.
We reached Buenos Aires around 11:30 AM. I had to get out and go through a security check again before boarding my flight to Mendoza. I got a window seat again and continued my reading of Bruce Chatwin's travels in Patagonia.
March 13, 2008 - Mendoza, Argentina
==============================
We reached Mendoza around 2:30 PM. Radio taxis were the only option from Mendoza airport to the city. They charged a flat rate of 16 pesos. It was a lovely sunny day. We reached my hotel in 20 minutes which turned out to be quite decent. The hotel was costing me 110 pesos (US$37) per night. The front desk manager recommended a laundry close by. I headed to the laundry and requested that they be returned by March 17 (Monday). I walked to the town centre and had a late afternoon snack.
A word on Business practices in Salta and Mendoza: Almost all establishments close at 1 PM and re-open at 4 after a nice siesta. The only option between these hours is to sit in a cafe - which is what I did. The laundry being open between these hours was a surprise to me. I visited the local tourism office and obtained maps as well as information on local vineyards and the best times to visit them.
I headed next to a few local tour operators and asked about visiting some of the wineries I had chosen from my wine guide. Needless to say all these agencies took people to standard run-of-the-mill wineries and the wineries on my list would have to be done as a private tour costing upwards of 450 pesos (US$150)!
I headed next to a wine tasting place recommended by my guide book. It turned out to be an interesting place. I helped myself to one of their newsletters and promised to drop by later for a proper tasting as I did not want to do any tastings on top of the "light" snack I had consumed for Lunch.
I noticed that there appeared to be a HARLEY DAVIDSON festival of some sort going on in town. There were numerous bikers from Argentina and Chile congregated around the town centre. None of the bikers seemed able to tell me when and where there would be a formal kickoff for the ride (My bad Spanish was not much help]. I took a few pictures and headed to an internet cafe. I wrote to a list of tour companies recommended in the wine newsletter.
During my walk after the Internet cafe, I came across one of the agencies recommended in the newsletter. I spoke to the young Irish lad (and he works for a WINE TOUR COMPANY? !) about visiting some of the wineries on my list. He also suggested a private tour that would set me back 400 pesos (US$135). He also recommended a few good wineries and gave me a copy of the newsletter he published (on wine, of course). I told him to send me an e-mail by tomorrow evening on whether any tours could be arranged (with other wine lovers) to see the wineries I was interested in. [This way the cost could be reduced]
I headed to the restaurants (with good wine selections) that he had recommended highly. Both places had overpriced wines and limited options for a vegetarian meal. I finally found an Argentine restaurant that served decent Vegetarian food (Italian, of course). I had a decent Terranzas Malbec with my dinner.
I got back to my hotel and realized that the low quantity of food, plus 4+ glasses of Malbec was a recipe for heartburn. I took a couple of heartburn pills and went to bed.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
March 10-12, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
March 10, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================
I woke up at 5 AM but had to let the shower run for 15-minutes before the hot water started flowing. The breakfast (@6:30) was quite basic - 2 croissants, Orange Juice, Coffee or Tea. While waiting for the tour bus to show up, I continued reading James Hadley Chase. Quite fast-paced as always.
My tour bus arrived on time at 7:15 AM. I was the first pickup. The Vehicle was a crossover Renault that seated 3 passengers in the back and one up front. I took the seat next to the driver as it would give me some additional leg room. We picked up 3 more people - a guy and 2 girls - all argentines from Buenos Aires before heading south to Cafayate. The driver provided commentary in Spanish. It had started raining heavily by now. Within 10 minutes, the windshield wiper on the driver's side stopped working. The driver pull the vehicle to the shelter of a gas station, pulled out an all-purpose tool (like a Swiss army or a Leatherman) from his hip pocket and fixes the wiper in 10 minutes. Very impressed with his handiwork.
We continued south to Cafayate - 190 Kilometres (120 miles) south of Salta. We stopped shortly after the wiper blade fix to fill up gas. It was still pitch dark. It was well past 8:30 before we saw any light. The dark clouds continued to follow us. I was told that it rains just 10-days a year in Cafayate. I did not want today to be among the 10!
Our first stop was a place called ALEMANIA - named after an Indian chief and NOT Germany. In the years past Trains from Salta used to come here regularly until part of the tracks were washed away during rains 2 decades ago. The tracks were not rebuilt, the train services stopped and ALEMANIA has turned into the Ghost town it is today.
After ALEMANIA we continued south until we stopped at Garganta del Diablo (Devil's throat). Yes, those of you who have been reading and memorizing the details would know that one of the waterfalls at IGUASU was called "Garganta del Diablo". The Garganta del Diablo here is not a waterfall but a magnificent rock formation formed by years of Wind and Rain shearing a mountain leaving a diagonally sliced rock formation with a large opening on top - hence the name. I was very very impressed by this. While the rest of the folks in my group clambered over the smooth exterior and reached the lip of the diablo to take some pictures, my shoes would not let me get any grip on the smooth rock surfaces. I passed my camera to one of the folks who had climbed and he took some pictures for me.
By the time we finished viewing Garganta del Diablo and got back to the vehicle, it had started raining. The driver skipped a visit to the nearby Amphitheatre (yet another rock formation) with the assurance that we would visit it in the way back. The guy (Esteban) and one of the girls (Silvia) spoke passable English (way better than my bad Espanol) so we chatted from time to time and they interpreted the driver's commentary for me from time to time as well.
The rain eased up for a bit but by the time we reached a place called Tres Cruces (Three crosses) it had started pouring again. I got back into the Vehicle without taking a picture. I will request a stop on the way back - assuming the sun is shining at that time.
We reached Cafayate around 12:15 PM or so. Our first stop was at a bodega called VASIJA SECRETA. We tasted 3 wines here - a White (from Torrontes Grape that is native to Salta), a rose wine and a Red (Cabernet Sauvignon). None were impressive.
We headed to the town of Cafayate for Lunch. I ordered a HUMITA for lunch and had a wine ice-cream. I will definitely need to have a decent dinner. After lunch we walked around the town Square and I got to know my travelling companions a bit better. Esteban is an accountant by Profession and works for Deloitte. Silvia is an Technology consultant and works for ACCOR (a food company that makes cookies, candies and ice cream among others). Griselda works as a tester for the Mobile Phone company - Personal. The church in the town centre was supposed to have 5 naves - very unique as most churches have only 3. Despite visiting the church, I failed to notice this :)
I was treated to a coffee by the driver / guide. After coffee, out next stop was Bodega DOMINGOS HERMANOS. The wines here were decent - including the Torrontes. We watched the beginning of the wine making process - Grapes being unloaded from trucks and being de-stemmed. I did not purchase any wines.
Our next visit was to Bodega NANNI. It was apparently the driver's favourite bodega - after all he wears a baseball cap given by these folks! As regards the tasting here, the less said the better. One piece of advice though - avoid even under pain of death! I wish the tour companies took us to classier wineries - even if we have to pay for tasting - rather than take us to down and out vinegar manufacturers!
We started back to Salta after bodega NANNI. The clouds had cleared up and the sun was out. We stopped at Tres Cruces on the way back and I got some decent pictures. We also stopped at the Amphitheatre. It is yet another extraordinary rock formation. The amphitheatre was supposed to be acoustically 80% as good as the famed Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. Musicians and Philharmonics have performed here. The four of us took a group photo here. Rock formations like these remind of the trip I took across the great plains (Dakotas and Wyoming) back in August 2007.
I dozed a bit on the way back to Salta. The Argentines were shocked at my dinner plans for 8 PM! They invited me for dinner at a restaurant at 10:30 PM! We changed e-mails to exchange pictures. I headed back to the hotel for a bit of rest before dinner.
I met the Argentine trio for dinner. I had a ravioli and a decent wine. I got back to the hotel at 1 AM! I head out for a tour tomorrow at 7:15 AM again!
March 11, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================
Despite the fact that I could not open my eyes, I forced myself to get up at 6 AM. I was ready by 6:45 and finished breakfast. I chatted with the night manager while I waited for my tour bus to show up. He said that he had not see such a long last name in his 35-years of working! Oh well, there is always a first time for everything :) I continued reading James Hadley Chase while I waited for the tour bus to show up.
The tour bus and driver showed up around 7:15 AM. Despite being very European looking and speaking with a light accent the driver was from Salta! My tour Vehicle today was a Chevy truck with an extended cabin. We were to pick up 2 more people before heading out. I took the seat next to the driver. We pick up a Swiss couple (Michel and Lisa both in their 50s) shortly thereafter and headed out of Salta. As we all spoke and understood English, the driver would provide his commentary in English.
It was pitch dark (as usual). What surprised me was that I saw young children dressed in Uniforms making their way to school. One would think that the schools would adjust their timings so that the children can come to the school during daylight hours. There are no school buses in these parts. Either parents drop their kids in school (Cars, public buses etc.) or if the school is close by, the kids walk to it. In some of the remote areas where the schools are far away from the children, the children stay in hostels Monday through Friday before coming home for the weekend. Public school are all free including the hostel stays and meals in those hostels.
Our first stop along the "Tren a las Nubes" route was a bridge across the RIO TORO. It was still a bit dark and there was a thick mist as well. I got out of the Vehicle and took a picture before my camera battery died out. Thank god I carry multiple spares - fully charged. I dozed as much as I could during the ride.
Our next stop was the small village of Santa Rosa de Tastil located 3000 metres above sea level. It was a bit cold here. With the late dinner last night and the early wakeup this morning, I had forgotten to bring my sweater. There were some vendors selling hand-woven ALPACA sweaters. After a bit of bargaining, I purchased an Alpaca Sweater for 40 pesos from a vendor. I promptly put in on and it helped a bit in fighting the chill. As I was walking around the village taking pictures, I ran into Silvia and Griselda from yesterday's trip. They were also doing the Tren a las Nubes - with a different tour company. We chatted for a bit and agreed to meet up for dinner at 10 PM in Salta. [Our tours are expected to end around 9 PM]
From the village the driver (Marcelo) took a path and climbed a hill above the village putting us at an Altitude of 3200 metres. We were here to observe the pre-Inca settlement. This was a well-preserved settlement and a large one at that. At its peak it had around 1000 people living here. Michel, Lisa and I walked around the settlement for about 20 minutes or so before we got back into the van. We observed a lot of large cactus plants in this area. According to Marcelo many of these Cactuses are 200-300 years old.
The lack of sleep was catching up with me. I dozed as much as possible. The driver chewed Cocoa to keep himself awake and alert. He said that every driver on this route chews the stuff. We were climbing even higher as we made our way to the town of San Antonia de las Cobres. We stopped at the high point of ABRA BLANCA (4080 Metres above sea level) to take some pictures. We saw our first snow capped mountain near ABRA BLANCA. While I did not see Colourful rock formations (like Cafayate), the mountain scenery was spectacular. I tried not to doze off and miss the scenery. Being a small group we could request the driver to stop whenever we wanted to take pictures.
We reached San Antonia de las Cobres around 11:30 AM. As the next stop would be almost 4 hours away, we decided to lunch here. I had white rice with Vegetables which tasted good. Michel and I shared a carafe of red wine. Michel owns a travel agency in Switzerland. We talked mostly about watches. He owns a BLANCPAIN! (of course, he was wearing a cheap 'travel' watch - like I was!) Michel and Lisa promised to show me around if I ever visited Switzerland.
After lunch we walked around San Antonio de las Cobres for about 30 minutes. Most of the people here have strong Indigenous features and resemble the Indians from Bolivia. However, they spoke no indigenous dialect. They conversed only in Spanish.
Marcelo told us that we would not be able to visit the last bridge on the train route as it was in a different direction than where we were supposed to be heading. I was a bit disappointed as this bridge is supposedly what one sees in any Photograph of the "Tren a las Nubes".
We headed to SALINAS GRANDES - a vast expanse of Salt flats about 100 Kilometres (60 Miles) away. I dozed most of the way. We drove on the famous RUTA 40 for this stretch of the trip. We saw quite a few VICUNAS on our way to the Salinas Grandes.
On reaching Salinas grandes, we walked around to take pictures. The complete whiteness of these flats was quite blinding and I was forced to wear my sunglasses. We also saw a house built entirely of SALT from these flats! We saw a lot of trucks carrying Salt from these flats to PARAGUAY which was a 3-day drive away!
From SALINAS GRANDES we started climbing mountains to reach PURMAMARCA where we would be dropping off Michel and Lisa. The weather was perfect. To use an analogy - like the opening scene of "THE SIMPSONS" - blue sky, clouds! The drive was spectacular. We crossed ALTO MORADO (4170 metres above Sea level) - the highest point during our journey today. After ALTO MORADO, we started seeing colourful rock formations (from the mineral deposits contained) in addition to the lovely mountain scenery.
Roads are excellent here. The early engineers have done a marvellous job of surveying and putting up these roads. Way too many hair-pin bends on our way up and down. We reached the valley of HUMAHUACA and started seeing quite a bit of greenery.
We reached PURMAMARCA and I parted ways with Michel and Lisa but not before we exchanged e-mails. They would be visiting Mendoza around the same time as me and we agreed to stay in touch and perhaps meet up there. PURMAMARCA is a small quaint village. There are quite a few Bed & Breakfast places in this tiny village and more were being constructed. It's claim to fame is a unique rock formation that has 7 colours.
Marcelo and I had a coffee and chatted a bit before heading out of Purmamarca. Just out of town Marcelo parked the vehicle on the side of the road so I could take some pictures of the 7-coloured rock formation. I did. We drove past San Salvador de Jujuy - Capital of the Province of Jujuy (pronounced Hoo-Hoo-ey). The cloud cover was quite thick and we passed through densely vegetated areas. It was quite an interesting contrast to the desert like landscape we had passed earlier in the day. We did not stop anywhere else on the way and headed straight to SALTA. Marcelo works as a free lancer. Any company that wants his services contacts him. The company takes a big chunk of the fees the tourists pay them and Marcelo gets a small percentage of the tourist fees. Although he had graduated with a University degree in Geology, he has been working as a tourist guide and driver for the past 4 years and seems to be enjoying it.
We reached SALTA a little after 7 PM. I think Marcelo made up the trip as we went along, otherwise we were not supposed to be back in SALTA before 9 PM. I thanked him and we bid adieu. I took a shower at the hotel and headed to an Internet cafe to copy my memory cards. I finished around 10 PM and met Silvia and Griselda at the appointed place. We headed to a restaurant called "El Solar del Convento" - a very nice restaurant that was not expensive.
We ordered a bottle of wine from the famous premium winery at COLOME (about 3 1/2 hours south west of Salta). It was 50 pesos. Needless to say we were not having COLOME's flagship wine :) I had a fettuccini for dinner. The twin 26 year old gals and the 43-year old man had an extended conversation (oh and dinner too). Having a captive audience I provided advice to them on all and sundry - whether I was qualified to provide them or not - in Spanish! I topped my dinner my having a Chocolate Ice Cream for dessert.
We finished our dinner and conversations close to 1 AM. I did not mind as tomorrow is a free day for me in SALTA. The girls were heading out at 6:30 AM for a 9-hour hike! I wished them well and we agreed to meet at 10 PM tomorrow to have dinner and take in a local cultural show. I may do some city sightseeing tomorrow.
March 12, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================
I slept in and woke up around 9:30 AM. By the time I was ready, I had missed breakfast. I headed out at 10:30 AM into a light rain. I decided to visit Cerro San Bernardo later in the day - when the weather cleared up. My first stop was the Aerolineas Argentinas office to confirm my flight to Mendoza (tomorrow). I also obtained the number for the Airport Shuttle service - as I seemed to have misplaced the number I had. I visited Iglesia San Francisco and Case Uriburu. Uriburu was a former president of Argentina.
I visited the tourism office to obtain a list of vegetarian restaurants before heading to BIOS DIET restaurant. Today's lunch special was Soya Burger with Spinach cream sauce. This place is 100% vegetarian and also caters to diet-restricted folks (Diabetic, non-spicy etc.). The breads served here do not have salt in them! (although the Soya Burger did have salt). They do not stock any spices at all - period! I used the salt and pepper shakers liberally on my soya burger and spinach cream sauce. The highlights - in addition to the good healthy food - was the tall young waitress!
Post lunch I visited the 9 de Julio plaza. I took a few pictures here. It was part 1:30 PM. I headed back to the hotel and wrote my diary and some postcards while resting for a bit. I headed out again at 4 PM. It does get quite hot in the afternoon here and resting in a shady (preferably air-conditioned place) is the best way to spend it!
The Cable car station to Cerro San Bernardo was located right across from my hotel. I purchased a roundtrip ticket for 12 pesos (US$4). One does get good views of the city of Salta from the top of the hill. There is a small man-made waterfall on the top. I spent close to 40-minutes here (including the rides up and down on the cable cars).
I took a taxi from the Cable Car station to the train station. The "Tres a las Nubes" - when functioning - departs from this station. I met the guard on the train - who also doubles as a curator of the museum located in the station. A highly enthusiastic person who was quite thrilled to know I was from India. He insisted I fill out the visitor book. Once I completed signing the visitor guide book, he gave me a few souvenir tickets from the "Tren a las Nubes". He told me that the train will be operational starting July 2008. He gave me permission to wander around and take pictures.
I went to the yard and took pictures of their upgraded train. Looks quite touristy. The ride from Salta to Socompa (on the Chilean Border) and back normally takes about 14 hours. The train operates only during the Argentine Winter season. I would have to come back here later for the train ride. It is quite nice to meet folks like these who are quite enthusiastic and love their jobs and are willing to share information and spend time with tourists.
After the train ride, I walked to the town centre. I walked on Peatonal (Pedestrian Walkway) Florida for a bit. Packed with people. I came across and walked into Museo Hernandez and saw the Guemes Painting and some good works by Armina Serra. The Guemes Painting is a large very impressive piece of work. I visited the Artisan workshop but was not impressed with anything on display there. I visited an internet cafe to backup my memory cards and check e-mail. The bad aspect of internet cafe here is that Smoking is permitted and is quite disgusting.
I headed to a cafe for a late snack after which I visited the post office to mail some post cards. Since most establishments close between 1 and 4, they stay open late - until 8 PM or so.
I got back to the hotel and left my camera bag behind as it had started raining again. I was scheduled to meet the Argentine girls (Silvia & Griselda) for dinner and possibly a local cultural show. I waited for 20 minutes and gave up. I headed back to the hotel, packed up, wrote my diary and went to bed.
I head to Argentine Wine Country (Mendoza) tomorrow.
==========================
I woke up at 5 AM but had to let the shower run for 15-minutes before the hot water started flowing. The breakfast (@6:30) was quite basic - 2 croissants, Orange Juice, Coffee or Tea. While waiting for the tour bus to show up, I continued reading James Hadley Chase. Quite fast-paced as always.
My tour bus arrived on time at 7:15 AM. I was the first pickup. The Vehicle was a crossover Renault that seated 3 passengers in the back and one up front. I took the seat next to the driver as it would give me some additional leg room. We picked up 3 more people - a guy and 2 girls - all argentines from Buenos Aires before heading south to Cafayate. The driver provided commentary in Spanish. It had started raining heavily by now. Within 10 minutes, the windshield wiper on the driver's side stopped working. The driver pull the vehicle to the shelter of a gas station, pulled out an all-purpose tool (like a Swiss army or a Leatherman) from his hip pocket and fixes the wiper in 10 minutes. Very impressed with his handiwork.
We continued south to Cafayate - 190 Kilometres (120 miles) south of Salta. We stopped shortly after the wiper blade fix to fill up gas. It was still pitch dark. It was well past 8:30 before we saw any light. The dark clouds continued to follow us. I was told that it rains just 10-days a year in Cafayate. I did not want today to be among the 10!
Our first stop was a place called ALEMANIA - named after an Indian chief and NOT Germany. In the years past Trains from Salta used to come here regularly until part of the tracks were washed away during rains 2 decades ago. The tracks were not rebuilt, the train services stopped and ALEMANIA has turned into the Ghost town it is today.
After ALEMANIA we continued south until we stopped at Garganta del Diablo (Devil's throat). Yes, those of you who have been reading and memorizing the details would know that one of the waterfalls at IGUASU was called "Garganta del Diablo". The Garganta del Diablo here is not a waterfall but a magnificent rock formation formed by years of Wind and Rain shearing a mountain leaving a diagonally sliced rock formation with a large opening on top - hence the name. I was very very impressed by this. While the rest of the folks in my group clambered over the smooth exterior and reached the lip of the diablo to take some pictures, my shoes would not let me get any grip on the smooth rock surfaces. I passed my camera to one of the folks who had climbed and he took some pictures for me.
By the time we finished viewing Garganta del Diablo and got back to the vehicle, it had started raining. The driver skipped a visit to the nearby Amphitheatre (yet another rock formation) with the assurance that we would visit it in the way back. The guy (Esteban) and one of the girls (Silvia) spoke passable English (way better than my bad Espanol) so we chatted from time to time and they interpreted the driver's commentary for me from time to time as well.
The rain eased up for a bit but by the time we reached a place called Tres Cruces (Three crosses) it had started pouring again. I got back into the Vehicle without taking a picture. I will request a stop on the way back - assuming the sun is shining at that time.
We reached Cafayate around 12:15 PM or so. Our first stop was at a bodega called VASIJA SECRETA. We tasted 3 wines here - a White (from Torrontes Grape that is native to Salta), a rose wine and a Red (Cabernet Sauvignon). None were impressive.
We headed to the town of Cafayate for Lunch. I ordered a HUMITA for lunch and had a wine ice-cream. I will definitely need to have a decent dinner. After lunch we walked around the town Square and I got to know my travelling companions a bit better. Esteban is an accountant by Profession and works for Deloitte. Silvia is an Technology consultant and works for ACCOR (a food company that makes cookies, candies and ice cream among others). Griselda works as a tester for the Mobile Phone company - Personal. The church in the town centre was supposed to have 5 naves - very unique as most churches have only 3. Despite visiting the church, I failed to notice this :)
I was treated to a coffee by the driver / guide. After coffee, out next stop was Bodega DOMINGOS HERMANOS. The wines here were decent - including the Torrontes. We watched the beginning of the wine making process - Grapes being unloaded from trucks and being de-stemmed. I did not purchase any wines.
Our next visit was to Bodega NANNI. It was apparently the driver's favourite bodega - after all he wears a baseball cap given by these folks! As regards the tasting here, the less said the better. One piece of advice though - avoid even under pain of death! I wish the tour companies took us to classier wineries - even if we have to pay for tasting - rather than take us to down and out vinegar manufacturers!
We started back to Salta after bodega NANNI. The clouds had cleared up and the sun was out. We stopped at Tres Cruces on the way back and I got some decent pictures. We also stopped at the Amphitheatre. It is yet another extraordinary rock formation. The amphitheatre was supposed to be acoustically 80% as good as the famed Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. Musicians and Philharmonics have performed here. The four of us took a group photo here. Rock formations like these remind of the trip I took across the great plains (Dakotas and Wyoming) back in August 2007.
I dozed a bit on the way back to Salta. The Argentines were shocked at my dinner plans for 8 PM! They invited me for dinner at a restaurant at 10:30 PM! We changed e-mails to exchange pictures. I headed back to the hotel for a bit of rest before dinner.
I met the Argentine trio for dinner. I had a ravioli and a decent wine. I got back to the hotel at 1 AM! I head out for a tour tomorrow at 7:15 AM again!
March 11, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================
Despite the fact that I could not open my eyes, I forced myself to get up at 6 AM. I was ready by 6:45 and finished breakfast. I chatted with the night manager while I waited for my tour bus to show up. He said that he had not see such a long last name in his 35-years of working! Oh well, there is always a first time for everything :) I continued reading James Hadley Chase while I waited for the tour bus to show up.
The tour bus and driver showed up around 7:15 AM. Despite being very European looking and speaking with a light accent the driver was from Salta! My tour Vehicle today was a Chevy truck with an extended cabin. We were to pick up 2 more people before heading out. I took the seat next to the driver. We pick up a Swiss couple (Michel and Lisa both in their 50s) shortly thereafter and headed out of Salta. As we all spoke and understood English, the driver would provide his commentary in English.
It was pitch dark (as usual). What surprised me was that I saw young children dressed in Uniforms making their way to school. One would think that the schools would adjust their timings so that the children can come to the school during daylight hours. There are no school buses in these parts. Either parents drop their kids in school (Cars, public buses etc.) or if the school is close by, the kids walk to it. In some of the remote areas where the schools are far away from the children, the children stay in hostels Monday through Friday before coming home for the weekend. Public school are all free including the hostel stays and meals in those hostels.
Our first stop along the "Tren a las Nubes" route was a bridge across the RIO TORO. It was still a bit dark and there was a thick mist as well. I got out of the Vehicle and took a picture before my camera battery died out. Thank god I carry multiple spares - fully charged. I dozed as much as I could during the ride.
Our next stop was the small village of Santa Rosa de Tastil located 3000 metres above sea level. It was a bit cold here. With the late dinner last night and the early wakeup this morning, I had forgotten to bring my sweater. There were some vendors selling hand-woven ALPACA sweaters. After a bit of bargaining, I purchased an Alpaca Sweater for 40 pesos from a vendor. I promptly put in on and it helped a bit in fighting the chill. As I was walking around the village taking pictures, I ran into Silvia and Griselda from yesterday's trip. They were also doing the Tren a las Nubes - with a different tour company. We chatted for a bit and agreed to meet up for dinner at 10 PM in Salta. [Our tours are expected to end around 9 PM]
From the village the driver (Marcelo) took a path and climbed a hill above the village putting us at an Altitude of 3200 metres. We were here to observe the pre-Inca settlement. This was a well-preserved settlement and a large one at that. At its peak it had around 1000 people living here. Michel, Lisa and I walked around the settlement for about 20 minutes or so before we got back into the van. We observed a lot of large cactus plants in this area. According to Marcelo many of these Cactuses are 200-300 years old.
The lack of sleep was catching up with me. I dozed as much as possible. The driver chewed Cocoa to keep himself awake and alert. He said that every driver on this route chews the stuff. We were climbing even higher as we made our way to the town of San Antonia de las Cobres. We stopped at the high point of ABRA BLANCA (4080 Metres above sea level) to take some pictures. We saw our first snow capped mountain near ABRA BLANCA. While I did not see Colourful rock formations (like Cafayate), the mountain scenery was spectacular. I tried not to doze off and miss the scenery. Being a small group we could request the driver to stop whenever we wanted to take pictures.
We reached San Antonia de las Cobres around 11:30 AM. As the next stop would be almost 4 hours away, we decided to lunch here. I had white rice with Vegetables which tasted good. Michel and I shared a carafe of red wine. Michel owns a travel agency in Switzerland. We talked mostly about watches. He owns a BLANCPAIN! (of course, he was wearing a cheap 'travel' watch - like I was!) Michel and Lisa promised to show me around if I ever visited Switzerland.
After lunch we walked around San Antonio de las Cobres for about 30 minutes. Most of the people here have strong Indigenous features and resemble the Indians from Bolivia. However, they spoke no indigenous dialect. They conversed only in Spanish.
Marcelo told us that we would not be able to visit the last bridge on the train route as it was in a different direction than where we were supposed to be heading. I was a bit disappointed as this bridge is supposedly what one sees in any Photograph of the "Tren a las Nubes".
We headed to SALINAS GRANDES - a vast expanse of Salt flats about 100 Kilometres (60 Miles) away. I dozed most of the way. We drove on the famous RUTA 40 for this stretch of the trip. We saw quite a few VICUNAS on our way to the Salinas Grandes.
On reaching Salinas grandes, we walked around to take pictures. The complete whiteness of these flats was quite blinding and I was forced to wear my sunglasses. We also saw a house built entirely of SALT from these flats! We saw a lot of trucks carrying Salt from these flats to PARAGUAY which was a 3-day drive away!
From SALINAS GRANDES we started climbing mountains to reach PURMAMARCA where we would be dropping off Michel and Lisa. The weather was perfect. To use an analogy - like the opening scene of "THE SIMPSONS" - blue sky, clouds! The drive was spectacular. We crossed ALTO MORADO (4170 metres above Sea level) - the highest point during our journey today. After ALTO MORADO, we started seeing colourful rock formations (from the mineral deposits contained) in addition to the lovely mountain scenery.
Roads are excellent here. The early engineers have done a marvellous job of surveying and putting up these roads. Way too many hair-pin bends on our way up and down. We reached the valley of HUMAHUACA and started seeing quite a bit of greenery.
We reached PURMAMARCA and I parted ways with Michel and Lisa but not before we exchanged e-mails. They would be visiting Mendoza around the same time as me and we agreed to stay in touch and perhaps meet up there. PURMAMARCA is a small quaint village. There are quite a few Bed & Breakfast places in this tiny village and more were being constructed. It's claim to fame is a unique rock formation that has 7 colours.
Marcelo and I had a coffee and chatted a bit before heading out of Purmamarca. Just out of town Marcelo parked the vehicle on the side of the road so I could take some pictures of the 7-coloured rock formation. I did. We drove past San Salvador de Jujuy - Capital of the Province of Jujuy (pronounced Hoo-Hoo-ey). The cloud cover was quite thick and we passed through densely vegetated areas. It was quite an interesting contrast to the desert like landscape we had passed earlier in the day. We did not stop anywhere else on the way and headed straight to SALTA. Marcelo works as a free lancer. Any company that wants his services contacts him. The company takes a big chunk of the fees the tourists pay them and Marcelo gets a small percentage of the tourist fees. Although he had graduated with a University degree in Geology, he has been working as a tourist guide and driver for the past 4 years and seems to be enjoying it.
We reached SALTA a little after 7 PM. I think Marcelo made up the trip as we went along, otherwise we were not supposed to be back in SALTA before 9 PM. I thanked him and we bid adieu. I took a shower at the hotel and headed to an Internet cafe to copy my memory cards. I finished around 10 PM and met Silvia and Griselda at the appointed place. We headed to a restaurant called "El Solar del Convento" - a very nice restaurant that was not expensive.
We ordered a bottle of wine from the famous premium winery at COLOME (about 3 1/2 hours south west of Salta). It was 50 pesos. Needless to say we were not having COLOME's flagship wine :) I had a fettuccini for dinner. The twin 26 year old gals and the 43-year old man had an extended conversation (oh and dinner too). Having a captive audience I provided advice to them on all and sundry - whether I was qualified to provide them or not - in Spanish! I topped my dinner my having a Chocolate Ice Cream for dessert.
We finished our dinner and conversations close to 1 AM. I did not mind as tomorrow is a free day for me in SALTA. The girls were heading out at 6:30 AM for a 9-hour hike! I wished them well and we agreed to meet at 10 PM tomorrow to have dinner and take in a local cultural show. I may do some city sightseeing tomorrow.
March 12, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================
I slept in and woke up around 9:30 AM. By the time I was ready, I had missed breakfast. I headed out at 10:30 AM into a light rain. I decided to visit Cerro San Bernardo later in the day - when the weather cleared up. My first stop was the Aerolineas Argentinas office to confirm my flight to Mendoza (tomorrow). I also obtained the number for the Airport Shuttle service - as I seemed to have misplaced the number I had. I visited Iglesia San Francisco and Case Uriburu. Uriburu was a former president of Argentina.
I visited the tourism office to obtain a list of vegetarian restaurants before heading to BIOS DIET restaurant. Today's lunch special was Soya Burger with Spinach cream sauce. This place is 100% vegetarian and also caters to diet-restricted folks (Diabetic, non-spicy etc.). The breads served here do not have salt in them! (although the Soya Burger did have salt). They do not stock any spices at all - period! I used the salt and pepper shakers liberally on my soya burger and spinach cream sauce. The highlights - in addition to the good healthy food - was the tall young waitress!
Post lunch I visited the 9 de Julio plaza. I took a few pictures here. It was part 1:30 PM. I headed back to the hotel and wrote my diary and some postcards while resting for a bit. I headed out again at 4 PM. It does get quite hot in the afternoon here and resting in a shady (preferably air-conditioned place) is the best way to spend it!
The Cable car station to Cerro San Bernardo was located right across from my hotel. I purchased a roundtrip ticket for 12 pesos (US$4). One does get good views of the city of Salta from the top of the hill. There is a small man-made waterfall on the top. I spent close to 40-minutes here (including the rides up and down on the cable cars).
I took a taxi from the Cable Car station to the train station. The "Tres a las Nubes" - when functioning - departs from this station. I met the guard on the train - who also doubles as a curator of the museum located in the station. A highly enthusiastic person who was quite thrilled to know I was from India. He insisted I fill out the visitor book. Once I completed signing the visitor guide book, he gave me a few souvenir tickets from the "Tren a las Nubes". He told me that the train will be operational starting July 2008. He gave me permission to wander around and take pictures.
I went to the yard and took pictures of their upgraded train. Looks quite touristy. The ride from Salta to Socompa (on the Chilean Border) and back normally takes about 14 hours. The train operates only during the Argentine Winter season. I would have to come back here later for the train ride. It is quite nice to meet folks like these who are quite enthusiastic and love their jobs and are willing to share information and spend time with tourists.
After the train ride, I walked to the town centre. I walked on Peatonal (Pedestrian Walkway) Florida for a bit. Packed with people. I came across and walked into Museo Hernandez and saw the Guemes Painting and some good works by Armina Serra. The Guemes Painting is a large very impressive piece of work. I visited the Artisan workshop but was not impressed with anything on display there. I visited an internet cafe to backup my memory cards and check e-mail. The bad aspect of internet cafe here is that Smoking is permitted and is quite disgusting.
I headed to a cafe for a late snack after which I visited the post office to mail some post cards. Since most establishments close between 1 and 4, they stay open late - until 8 PM or so.
I got back to the hotel and left my camera bag behind as it had started raining again. I was scheduled to meet the Argentine girls (Silvia & Griselda) for dinner and possibly a local cultural show. I waited for 20 minutes and gave up. I headed back to the hotel, packed up, wrote my diary and went to bed.
I head to Argentine Wine Country (Mendoza) tomorrow.
March 9, 2008 - Buenos Aires & Salta, Argentina
March 9, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
==============================
After a leisurely wakeup and breakfast, I checked out by 10 AM but left 2 bags in their storage room. I decided to wander around until 12 Noon when the Museo Borges would open. Buenos Aires appeared quite a dead place at 10:15 AM. There were not many places open and the few that were, were small cafes. I found an Internet cafe and read news and checked my e-mail for an hour. By this time a few bookstores had opened and I went to those in the hope of finding Borges in an English Edition (translation). I did not have any luck.
I was at Museo Borges a little after 12. The Museum is located in the Galerias Pacifico shopping mall. I was quite disappointed with the museum as there was very little on Borges himself. Instead the museum showcased different artists. Among these exhibits was a retrospective on the Swiss Photographer RENE BURRI (very interesting) and works by the Surrealist Joan Miro (I was not impressed with the works on display despite my love of surrealist works). The rest of the Museum was devoted to Contemporary artists - who were quite sad - and that's putting a positive spin on it. The Mosaics by Gabriel Lopez Santiso were quite interesting with their vivid colours.
After my museum visit, I visited the adjacent Galerias Pacifico mall and purchased some candies from a famous chocolatier - Abuela Goye (Means grandmother Goye in Spanish). I tried to have a lunch at Ideal Cafe and was disappointed to see that it was closed. I headed to my favourite haunt - Cafe Tortoni - and had yet another breakfast for lunch. As this would be my final visit to this place during this visit, I took out my camera and shot some pictures. It is a great place. As I have said before, Buenos Aires is a lot like Paris. The cafes are wonderful without the snobbishness endemic to French cafes.
I got back to the hotel by 3:15 PM, collected my bags and took a taxi to the airport. My duffel bag still weighed in at 21 Kilograms! I was quite flummoxed. Even after shipping out 5 Kilos of goods from Uruguay, the bag continues to weigh over 20 Kilograms! I don't know what else to do. The bright aspect in all these is that I just have 1 more internet flight to go (from Salta to Mendoza) after which I will be travelling by bus to Santiago (Chile) before taking the trans-continental flight from Santiago to USA.
Buenos Aires is a terrific place. If there is one big city (in South America) I would like to visit again, it would be Buenos Aires. The place is rather inexpensive, there are lots of things to see and do and it is quite safe even at the wee hours of the night.
I started reading "I'll bury my dead" by James Hadley Chase. The blurb on the jacket stated that the book ought to be finished in a single sitting (250 Pages). By the end of my 2 1/4 hour flight from Buenos Aires to Salta, I had finished 110 pages.
March 9, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
========================
Dark grey skies greeted my arrival in Salta. There was, however, no rain. The tourism office at the airport was quite helpful and provided me with lots of Information. I took a Minibus to the City Centre (6 miles away). The ride took 30 minutes and cost me 6 Pesos (US$2). I was dropped in front of my hotel.
I met Maria at the front desk and was given a Triple bed room with Private bath and air-conditioning! The cost was 90 pesos (US$30) per night with breakfast. After putting my bags in my room, I got back to the reception and told her the list of things I wanted to see and do while in Salta. She spoke to someone on the Phone and there was someone from a local travel agency within 10 minutes at the front door! The "Tren a las Nubes" (Train to the Clouds) - which was the sole reason for me making Salta as a stop in my travels - was apparently not running as the maintenance works were still not completed. The Travel agency, offers a bus trip that follows the train route and also takes tourists to the Salt flats further north. I took this tour option for 270 pesos (US$ 90). This was to be a 14-hour round trip and I took this option for Tuesday, March 11. I also booked myself on another trip to the Cafayate area for 125 Pesos (US$ 42). This would be a 10-11 hour round trip and I slated this for tomorrow (Monday, March 10). I paid for all of these by Credit Card. Ah, the convenience of Plastic.
I headed to the centre of town for dinner and had a local dish called HUMITA that consisted of CORN, ONION and CHEESE steamed / cooked inside a palm leaf. One has to untie the palm leaf wrapping to reach into the cooked HUMITA. HUMITA tasted a lot like the Indian dish Upma.
It also has some slight semblance to the Northern Chilean dish QUINOA. I will perhaps request the QUINOA without Cheese next time around. Perhaps add some MALAGUETA peppers from my stash :)
Dishes derived from the Indigenous populace are usually terrific. The Unimaginative European (Spanish / Portuguese / Italian) cooking is what irritates me.
I head off to Cafayate tomorrow morning. My pickup is scheduled at 7:15 AM. I had to request breakfast specially at 6:30 AM (as breakfast does not open until 7 AM). It is well past midnight already. I hope I wake up in time for breakfast and the tour.
One of the nice things about the tours in these parts is that, the tour company will force the hotel to knock on your hotel room, wake you up and then take you on the tour. You may have bad breath (because you did not have time to brush your teeth) or smell bad (because you did not have time for a shower), but you will not miss the sights that you paid up to see!
==============================
After a leisurely wakeup and breakfast, I checked out by 10 AM but left 2 bags in their storage room. I decided to wander around until 12 Noon when the Museo Borges would open. Buenos Aires appeared quite a dead place at 10:15 AM. There were not many places open and the few that were, were small cafes. I found an Internet cafe and read news and checked my e-mail for an hour. By this time a few bookstores had opened and I went to those in the hope of finding Borges in an English Edition (translation). I did not have any luck.
I was at Museo Borges a little after 12. The Museum is located in the Galerias Pacifico shopping mall. I was quite disappointed with the museum as there was very little on Borges himself. Instead the museum showcased different artists. Among these exhibits was a retrospective on the Swiss Photographer RENE BURRI (very interesting) and works by the Surrealist Joan Miro (I was not impressed with the works on display despite my love of surrealist works). The rest of the Museum was devoted to Contemporary artists - who were quite sad - and that's putting a positive spin on it. The Mosaics by Gabriel Lopez Santiso were quite interesting with their vivid colours.
After my museum visit, I visited the adjacent Galerias Pacifico mall and purchased some candies from a famous chocolatier - Abuela Goye (Means grandmother Goye in Spanish). I tried to have a lunch at Ideal Cafe and was disappointed to see that it was closed. I headed to my favourite haunt - Cafe Tortoni - and had yet another breakfast for lunch. As this would be my final visit to this place during this visit, I took out my camera and shot some pictures. It is a great place. As I have said before, Buenos Aires is a lot like Paris. The cafes are wonderful without the snobbishness endemic to French cafes.
I got back to the hotel by 3:15 PM, collected my bags and took a taxi to the airport. My duffel bag still weighed in at 21 Kilograms! I was quite flummoxed. Even after shipping out 5 Kilos of goods from Uruguay, the bag continues to weigh over 20 Kilograms! I don't know what else to do. The bright aspect in all these is that I just have 1 more internet flight to go (from Salta to Mendoza) after which I will be travelling by bus to Santiago (Chile) before taking the trans-continental flight from Santiago to USA.
Buenos Aires is a terrific place. If there is one big city (in South America) I would like to visit again, it would be Buenos Aires. The place is rather inexpensive, there are lots of things to see and do and it is quite safe even at the wee hours of the night.
I started reading "I'll bury my dead" by James Hadley Chase. The blurb on the jacket stated that the book ought to be finished in a single sitting (250 Pages). By the end of my 2 1/4 hour flight from Buenos Aires to Salta, I had finished 110 pages.
March 9, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
========================
Dark grey skies greeted my arrival in Salta. There was, however, no rain. The tourism office at the airport was quite helpful and provided me with lots of Information. I took a Minibus to the City Centre (6 miles away). The ride took 30 minutes and cost me 6 Pesos (US$2). I was dropped in front of my hotel.
I met Maria at the front desk and was given a Triple bed room with Private bath and air-conditioning! The cost was 90 pesos (US$30) per night with breakfast. After putting my bags in my room, I got back to the reception and told her the list of things I wanted to see and do while in Salta. She spoke to someone on the Phone and there was someone from a local travel agency within 10 minutes at the front door! The "Tren a las Nubes" (Train to the Clouds) - which was the sole reason for me making Salta as a stop in my travels - was apparently not running as the maintenance works were still not completed. The Travel agency, offers a bus trip that follows the train route and also takes tourists to the Salt flats further north. I took this tour option for 270 pesos (US$ 90). This was to be a 14-hour round trip and I took this option for Tuesday, March 11. I also booked myself on another trip to the Cafayate area for 125 Pesos (US$ 42). This would be a 10-11 hour round trip and I slated this for tomorrow (Monday, March 10). I paid for all of these by Credit Card. Ah, the convenience of Plastic.
I headed to the centre of town for dinner and had a local dish called HUMITA that consisted of CORN, ONION and CHEESE steamed / cooked inside a palm leaf. One has to untie the palm leaf wrapping to reach into the cooked HUMITA. HUMITA tasted a lot like the Indian dish Upma.
It also has some slight semblance to the Northern Chilean dish QUINOA. I will perhaps request the QUINOA without Cheese next time around. Perhaps add some MALAGUETA peppers from my stash :)
Dishes derived from the Indigenous populace are usually terrific. The Unimaginative European (Spanish / Portuguese / Italian) cooking is what irritates me.
I head off to Cafayate tomorrow morning. My pickup is scheduled at 7:15 AM. I had to request breakfast specially at 6:30 AM (as breakfast does not open until 7 AM). It is well past midnight already. I hope I wake up in time for breakfast and the tour.
One of the nice things about the tours in these parts is that, the tour company will force the hotel to knock on your hotel room, wake you up and then take you on the tour. You may have bad breath (because you did not have time to brush your teeth) or smell bad (because you did not have time for a shower), but you will not miss the sights that you paid up to see!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
March 8, 2008 - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay & Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 8, 2008 - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
======================================
I woke up at 8:15 AM and was ready to head out by 9:15 AM. I paid up for my 2 night stay - 900 pesos (close to US$45) and took a taxi to the Ferry terminal. The short ride cost me 40 pesos (US$2). For the first time during my 6-day stay in Uruguay, it was bright and sunny - and I depart in less than an hour! All I can hope is that the same sunny and bright weather will continue in Buenos Aires as well.
As the Taxi was not allowed to enter the port area, I had to get off at the entrance and walk 30o-metres or so. I am so glad I purchase this wonderful duffel bag in the US before my departure. It is quite rugged, has excellent wheels and can pretty much go anywhere. The check-in was quite easy. There was no security check. I completed my Immigration formalities (Uruguayan exit and Argentinean entry) here. I boarded the ferry around 9:50 AM and it departed for Buenos Aires around 10:20 AM. The ferry did not appear crowded.
The ride was uneventful. The waters were quite muddy.
March 8, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
===============================
We reached Buenos Aires in an hour. I had to wait 15-minutes to get taxi. It cost me 8 pesos (US$3 approx) for the ride. I was staying at Hotel Marbella (yet again) for a night. I got a room in a different floor this time.
After checking-in, my first order of business was to collect my long overdue laundry. I heaved a sign of relief upon picking it up. It was turning out to be a nice sunny day. I walked to the Palacio del Congress and Casa Rosada and took pictures (just wanted some nicer pictures as the ones I had shot earlier were taken during cloudy and rainy days). I had breakfast (rather lunch) at Cafe Tortoni. I wanted to visit Cafe Ideal (another historic cafe) but they seemed more interested in giving Tango lessons than serving coffee hence the choice of Tortoni yet again. Tortoni was packed.
I walked to the San Telmo neighbourhood and was quite disappointed. All the guidebooks build it up as some great place. Far from it, is all I can say. I found an old memorabilia store and purchased magnets of Argentine Greats (Fangio - Formula 1 Champion) and Borges (poetry).
I went to an Internet cafe to backup my memory cards. During my 1-hour stay here a fellow internet user lost his bag. As always with all these kids, they carry their entire credentials and valuables in their bag (Passport, IDs, Credit Cards, Cameras etc.) and when in an internet cafe, they get so carried away with their e-mailing that they fail to pay adequate attention to what is going on around them. Carrying your passport with you at all times is a DUMB thing. It is NOT required. Despite their stupidity I felt sorry for him.
I headed for dinner once again to Tandoor restaurant. I had a decent meal of Dal along with Appams. I met Shahrukh there and he told me that I was the first customer whom he had seen ordering appams! I had a nice Voignier from 2007 and it went well with the Indian food. Shahrukh was dining with the Indian ambassador to Argentina and he introduced me to the entire family. From the name it sounded like this Ambassador was from the Southern part of India and from my recollection (during the conversation I had with the Honorary consul in Belo Horizonte, Brasil) it appeared he had moved from Brasil.
I got back to the centre of town and took some night-time pictures of the broadest street in the world (Av. 9 Julio). I headed to an Antique bookstore and purchased first editions of a James Hadley Chase novel as well as a book containing speeches by the former president of India - Radhakrishnan. I wanted to have dessert at Cafe Tortoni but it was too crowded. I headed to an Internet cafe and checked and answered e-mails.
I got back to my hotel, wrote my diary and went to bed.
I head for Salta tomorrow afternoon.
March 7, 2008 - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
March 7, 2008 - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
=====================================
Woke up at 8 AM. Breakfast was OK. It was certainly better than not having breakfast. I stuffed myself with 4 croissants. I was out of the hotel by 10 AM. I visited the local tourist office and obtained some information on visiting the Plaza de Toros (Bull Fighting Ring).
I took a bus from the front of the tourist office to Plaza de Toros . The ride took 25 minutes and I got off right in front of the Plaza de Toros. It must have been a grand bull-ring once. Uruguay has banned bull-fighting for many decades now (Those Killjoys :)). The Plaza de Toros is old and crumbling. One is not allowed to visit the interior for safety reasons. Major work needs to be done here before the pubic can be allowed to visit the interior of the Plaza de Toros.
I visited many old rail cars in a nearby railroad depot that also appears abandoned. I asked a couple (who had also come to visit this place) to take a picture of me near the bullring. It turns out that they were from Jackson heights, NYC! Talk about travelling a long way from home and running into folks from your neighbourhood. The man was a native of Uruguay who had moved to the US when he was a child. He still has lots of family here and the couple were spending 3 weeks in Uruguay visiting his family. They were quite upset about the spate of bad weather as well.
We bid adieu and I took a bus back to the Centro. The ride back took 20 minutes. It was close to Noon. I visited a DHL office (close to my hotel) to inquire about the charges for shipping a package to the USA. The charge appeared reasonable so I headed to my Hotel to get the stuff (Documents, Souvenirs and clothes - no longer needed during this trip) that I wanted shipped. For a total 4.5 Kilograms (10+ Pounds approx.), I was charged 1915 pesos (US$ 91 approx). It was expected to reach the USA in 3 days. I would get to carry 5 Kilograms less during the rest of my travels. Thus far I have shipped out close to 15 Kilograms (33+ pounds approx.) since I began my trip back in December 2007.
I wandered around for a bit. A kid from the tourism department wanted me to answer a questionnaire. I spent 10-12 minutes answering all his queries. Needless to say, I panned the cuisine. I visited a place called the Drugstore and had lunch there. I had a Gnocchi with vegetable sauce. I also had a BAD Tannat from Bodega Don Pascual (2007). As the restaurant did not accept credit cards, I had to pay cash to settle my bill. I was down to 80 pesos (US$4 approx.) cash on hand!
I used 50 (of the remaining 80 pesos) to visit the municipal museum. Purchasing a ticket to this museum allowed me free access to 4 other museums as well. I spent over an hour visiting the Portuguese and Indigenous museums as well as the colonial house and the Mosaic Museum. While they had fancy costumes and china in the Portuguese and Colonial museums the biggest collection in the Indigenous museum was stones! This is an abject display of Indigenous civilization while showcasing European civilization. If you have wiped out the Indigenous population, you can portray their history any way you want - without being challenged.
I headed to a currency exchange place and changed US$100 for 2035 Uruguayan pesos. I had an ice-cream at a supposedly famous place. There are times like these when my guidebook falls short (by recommending an ordinary ice-cream place as something very special and great). They think that 3 vegetables (on a salad) qualifies them as having a good vegetarian selection and colourful displays with different labels qualifies a place as being the BEST Heladeria (Ice-Creamery) in town! Ignorant bastards.
I headed back to the hotel for a short rest. I may decide to go out later for some more sunset pictures.
I observed many folks using Mopeds in Uruguay. Not sure if they are all supplied by the large moped manufacturer from India - TVS.
I headed out of my hotel around 7:30 PM and took a leisurely walk to the waterfront. I found decent location and sat down. I could see the Buenos Aires Skyline in the distance. Although there was no rain, today has turned out to be quite cloudy. We had a terrific sunset around 8:20 PM. I took lots of pictures with my tripod, of course. I could not find a decent Internet cafe to back up my memory cards. I will have to do that when I get back to Buenos Aires tomorrow.
I head back to Buenos Aires on the 10:15 AM ferry tomorrow morning. I will have 2 half-days (tomorrow and the next day AM) before heading to Salta in Northern Argentina.
March 6, 2008 - Montevideo & Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
March 6, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
=============================
Although I received a wake-up call from the front desk at 6 AM sharp, I lingered in bed for an hour before getting up at 7 AM. By 8:15, I had checked out and requested a taxi to take me to the bus station. The Taxi arrived at 8:30. I thanked the front desk (day manager) for all her help and told the taxi to take me to the bus station. Hotel Palacio is a terrific place - both from a location as well as a price standpoint. The people here are quite friendly that I would definitely stay here again (if I visit Montevideo).
The drive to the Tres Cruces (Three Crosses) bus terminus took around 20 minutes. All I saw was a single massive cross. Not sure where the other two were! The taxi fare was 78 pesos (less than US$4). I went to the bus company (COT) window and gave her the reservation number. The fare to Colonia del Sacramento was 170 pesos (less than US$9). I had 30 minutes left before my bus departed at 9:30 AM. As I had not had breakfast (the singular bad aspect of Hotel Palacio), I headed to a nearby McDonalds and had 2 media lunas (that's what Croissants are called in this part of the world) and an Orange Juice.
I wandered a bit and was at the platform around 9:15 AM. The bus to Colonia showed up at 9:20 AM. I loaded by bags and took my assigned window seat. An European man took the aisle seat nest to mine. Beyond the bare "Hola", I went to being my anti-social self!
I had a solid sleep all the way to Colonia. Whenever I woke up to shift my sleeping position, I saw greenery everywhere.
March 6, 2008 - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
=====================================
The journey to Colonia took 3 hours and we reached the bus terminus at Colonia around 12:30 PM. I took a taxi to my Hotel (ROMI). It was perhaps unnecessary as the hotel was just 4 blocks from the bus terminus. The fare was 50 pesos (US$2.5). The Hotel had no Information about my request of a change in the reservation dates from March 6-8. So much for all my e-mail communications and for them being on top of things! As the hotel was quite empty, I got a single room with Television and Fan for US$20. Not finding my original reservation seems like a boon as I was scheduled to pay US$35 per night for a double room with Air-conditioning. I figured that I could use the savings of US$30 (saved over 2 nights), hence I took the room with twin beds, fan and TV. The bathroom was nice.
I headed out shortly thereafter to get lunch. I had a horrible pizza for Lunch. I was forced to wash it down with a can of 7-up. Reminder to Self: NEVER have ITALIAN CHEESE BASED dishes in South America. I wish "La Cosa Nostra" would put out a contract on these HORRIBLE IMITATORS of Italian food.
I obtained a map of the historic old city and walked to it. The Old historic city completely UNDERWHELMED me!. This would not even register as a place of Interest when compared with a magnificent place like OURO PRETO. I am not sure if this Old City can even compare to OLINDA. It has a few historical streets, buildings and ruins and that's it. The good thing is that my hotel and Uruguay in general are quite cheap!
I finished my tour of the old city by 3:30 PM or so. The weather was dull and grey (as usual). I tried to take a bus to visit a local bodega but was unsuccessful. I had an ice-cream and coffee at a local cafe where I wrote some postcards. I visited the post office and mailed the cards. I headed to an internet cafe and blogged for 2 1/2 hours. My blogs were updated until February 12 (Still 3 weeks to catch up). I also managed to finalize my hotel for San Juan (Argentina). I headed back to the hotel for a short rest and a shower.
I took my tripod and headed out for some night shots of Colonia. I spotted a nice place and obtained decent twilight shots. I went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. Despite the restaurant being nice, the service was bad. The Wine (a Tannat and Merlot blend from a local bodega) was bad as well. I guess I need to avoid blended wines in these parts.
Most restaurants in Argentina and Uruguay slap a cover charge at dinner. My cover charge at this restaurant was 40 pesos (US$2) presumably to cover their cost of bread and butter! I think this ought to be eliminated.
The weather was chilly as I got out of the restaurant. I noticed many folks wearing light jackets.
One of the interesting things about Uruguay is that one can find many, many antique cars on the road. These are not driven by rich collectors but by ordinary folks, who cannot afford the steep import duty levied by the government on foreign cars, and choose instead to service their old cars and keep them running. According to my guidebook, Uruguayan mechanics are considered the best in the world. Given the number of antique cars on the road is proof enough!
Post dinner I walked around the old city area. Many streets were quite deserted and I took my time composing and taking pictures. I felt quite safe. I got back to the hotel around 11:30 PM, wrote my diary and went to bed after midnight.
I have a full day at Colonia tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
March 4-5, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
March 4, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
=============================
I woke up at 8 AM and was out of the hotel by 9. The hotel does not provide breakfast. I located the nearest laundry and ask for a 1-day service on a trouser and shirt. The cost was UR$110 (US$5.5) and it would be ready after 9 AM tomorrow. I headed next to a currency exchange and changed US$120 to Uruguayan pesos (the exchange rate was down to 21 pesos to a dollar). As the rate was close to 25 about 4-5 months ago, Uruguay appears to be yet another country where the weak dollar is hurting me.
I had an Orange Juice at McDonald's for breakfast before heading to the tourist office located in the town hall. An English speaking girl provided me with lots of information on Montevideo. I started to look for a Vegetarian restaurant as I had decided to have lunch before commencing my walking tour of Montevideo. After a fruitless search lasting 30 minutes, I headed to a Nouvelle cuisine cafe and had a Spinach Empanada and a muffin for lunch!
I walked to the Old City. I visited the Plaza Independencia, Jose Artigas' mausoleum, the Old City Gate, the Uruguayan Club, the Montevideo Cathedral etc before I found myself at the National tourism office. The girl here was even more helpful and provided me with lots of Information. She booked my bus ticket to Colonia (2 days from now) and also offered to make hotel reservations in Colonia as well. She provided me with the respective bus routes for the various places in Montevideo (Montevideo does not have any trains) as well as vegetarian restaurants in the city. By the end of my 40-minute stay at the tourism office, the staff of 4 was exclusively working for me! I was given numerous warnings about my camera and how I ought to be careful walking the streets here.
I was also told about the Origins of the name of Montevideo. The original surveyors had given it the following name - Monte VI de E o O (Monte VI de Este o Oeste) - the 6th Mountain of the East and West.
I decided to take a bus to the top of the short hill that gave Montevideo its name. After a 1-hour ride, I got off close to the Cerro. I took shelter for 15-minutes while a short downpour ensued. I walked for 20 minutes before reaching the hill. The hill houses a military fort and is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 AM - 5 PM. Today is a Tuesday! Even without entering the fort premises, I could get a decent view of Montevideo from here. I did not expect great pictures as the weather continued to be dull and grey throughout.
Some of the tourism offices have really gone out of their way to help me out. It is really fantastic.
I took a bus back from the Cerro to Ciudad Vieja (Old City). I walked around and took pictures. It was 6:30 PM. I visited the 130-year old cafe Brasiliero and had a cafe cortado (Coffee, water and milk). While drinking my coffee, I also updated my diary. I walked to the centre of town and spent an hour at an internet cafe. I headed to a Vegetarian restaurant (Sala) for dinner and had health food! The restaurant had a decent buffet spread including a choice of 2 desserts for UR$129 (US$6). After dinner, I walked back to my hotel. I had a quick stop at an internet cafe to let my hotel in Colonia know of my change in plans (I was originally schedule to depart Montevideo for Colonia on 5th March - Now I would do so on March 6th).
On reaching the hotel, I went to the Balcony and took some pictures of the street below. I wrote my diary for a bit before going to bed.
One of the interesting sights in Montevideo: Horse Carts are used to cart refuse.
March 5, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
===============================
I was ready by 8:30 AM. I waited a bit at the front desk while the reception folks sorted out my extra night of stay (As I had mentioned before, I was schedule to depart Montevideo today - but was staying here for an extra night). All was settled after 15-minutes. I headed to the laundry to pick up my clothes. The lady at the Laundromat inquired about my touring experience yesterday and apologized for the bad weather today. I sincerely hope that the weather improves. I headed with my Camera and Tripod to Teatro Solis for a tour of the Theatre. There was no one around!
I headed to the Numismatic Museum. I was not allowed to take my camera and had to check it in at the security desk. The museum houses not only an impressive display of Historical (and current) Uruguayan currencies, but it also has a display section devoted to currencies from other countries. After spending 30 minutes here, I asked to purchase a set of coins for my collection. After some back and forth between a security guard and someone on the other end of a Telephone, I was introduced to a gentleman who took me to his office and showed me a price list of the various souvenir sets on offer at the Numismatic museum. He also offered the current set of coins at face value in plastic pouches. I purchased 2 of the current coin sets for UR$75 (less than US$4). Uruguay releases coins well after their supposed release date. The coins supposed to be released in 2008 will not be minted and available until 2010! Many of the older coins had the Independence hero Artigas. The proposal to change the head of newer coins to animals had raised a big hue and cry - on how Artigas could be replaced by Animals. The government has gone ahead anyway and new coins with Animal faces would be released in the coming years.
The rain had picked up considerably since I entered the museum. After a quick check at an Internet cafe, I headed to Teatro Solis for the 12 Noon tour. Free Spanish tours are offered on Wednesdays. English tours, however, cost UR$40 (US$2). I took the English tour at Noon.
The tour was conducted by a very attractive Uruguayan guide who spoke excellent English as she had been an exchange student (many years ago) in the US. The rest of our group were day trippers from Buenos Aires. It was a good tour. I was allowed to use my tripod and I took as many pictures as I could. A couple of mimes put up an Impromptu show (during our tour) which was quite entertaining. The Theatre has had many refurbishments and upgrades done over the years and is currently trying to hold performances of one kind or the other year around.
I had lunch at a local creperie. The Crepes were good and I was quite happy and satisfied with my lunch. Post lunch I headed to Uruguayan post to inquire about shipping some of my stuff back to the US. I decided to wait a bit longer. I headed next to the MAPI (Museo de Arte Precolumbino e Indigena) which was housed in an old building used earlier by the ministry of defence. The museum had a decent collection of artefacts most of which were between 500 BC and 500 AD. There were still many rooms on the upper level that did not have any exhibits. Even though the entry was free, I made a small donation (20 pesos).
I visited a museum dedicated to the Uruguayan painter 'Joaquim Torres Garcia' who published the book on "Constructive Universalism" (Universalismo Constructivo - Whatever that is). The entry was free. I liked some of his portrait works.
It was still raining. It was not even worth the effort to take my camera out of my bag! I visited an Artisan maker recommended by my guide book. I did not find anything appealing though. I walked on and presently found myself at a Vegetarian store. I purchased a pair of Vegetable spring rolls and they did not have any sauce! I decided to eat the rolls later.
It was raining quite heavily now. I decided to take a bus to the Punta Carretas shopping centre. After a 30-minute ride I reached the shopping centre. We passed the upscale POCITOS neighbourhood during our ride to the shopping centre. A very nice neighbourhood.
The Cineplex at the mall was playing "Petroleo Sangriento" (The Spanish translation for the Daniel Day Lewis’ movie - There will be blood!) There was a showing of the movie at 6:50 PM and it was just 6 PM. I purchased a ticket for 95 Pesos (less than US$5 - cheap). During the 45-minute wait before the movie started, I purchased a pair of socks as well as a decent raincoat. The theatre was quite nice with stadium seating. The movie turned out to be excellent and Daniel day Lewis' performance was well worth his Oscar. I ate the vegetable spring rolls during the movie. I washed it down with Coca-cola!
The movie was over by 9:30 PM and I was able to take a bus back to the centre. During my walk back to the Hotel, I spotted a decent Ice-Cream place and had 2 scoops for 60 pesos. I had a quick check at an Internet cafe before arriving back at my hotel. I paid the 1300 pesos (US$65 approx) for my 3-night stay and requested a wake-up call at 6 AM. I wrote my diary and went to bed.
I head to Colonia del Sacramento on the 9:30 AM bus tomorrow. I sincerely hope that the weather is good.
=============================
I woke up at 8 AM and was out of the hotel by 9. The hotel does not provide breakfast. I located the nearest laundry and ask for a 1-day service on a trouser and shirt. The cost was UR$110 (US$5.5) and it would be ready after 9 AM tomorrow. I headed next to a currency exchange and changed US$120 to Uruguayan pesos (the exchange rate was down to 21 pesos to a dollar). As the rate was close to 25 about 4-5 months ago, Uruguay appears to be yet another country where the weak dollar is hurting me.
I had an Orange Juice at McDonald's for breakfast before heading to the tourist office located in the town hall. An English speaking girl provided me with lots of information on Montevideo. I started to look for a Vegetarian restaurant as I had decided to have lunch before commencing my walking tour of Montevideo. After a fruitless search lasting 30 minutes, I headed to a Nouvelle cuisine cafe and had a Spinach Empanada and a muffin for lunch!
I walked to the Old City. I visited the Plaza Independencia, Jose Artigas' mausoleum, the Old City Gate, the Uruguayan Club, the Montevideo Cathedral etc before I found myself at the National tourism office. The girl here was even more helpful and provided me with lots of Information. She booked my bus ticket to Colonia (2 days from now) and also offered to make hotel reservations in Colonia as well. She provided me with the respective bus routes for the various places in Montevideo (Montevideo does not have any trains) as well as vegetarian restaurants in the city. By the end of my 40-minute stay at the tourism office, the staff of 4 was exclusively working for me! I was given numerous warnings about my camera and how I ought to be careful walking the streets here.
I was also told about the Origins of the name of Montevideo. The original surveyors had given it the following name - Monte VI de E o O (Monte VI de Este o Oeste) - the 6th Mountain of the East and West.
I decided to take a bus to the top of the short hill that gave Montevideo its name. After a 1-hour ride, I got off close to the Cerro. I took shelter for 15-minutes while a short downpour ensued. I walked for 20 minutes before reaching the hill. The hill houses a military fort and is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 AM - 5 PM. Today is a Tuesday! Even without entering the fort premises, I could get a decent view of Montevideo from here. I did not expect great pictures as the weather continued to be dull and grey throughout.
Some of the tourism offices have really gone out of their way to help me out. It is really fantastic.
I took a bus back from the Cerro to Ciudad Vieja (Old City). I walked around and took pictures. It was 6:30 PM. I visited the 130-year old cafe Brasiliero and had a cafe cortado (Coffee, water and milk). While drinking my coffee, I also updated my diary. I walked to the centre of town and spent an hour at an internet cafe. I headed to a Vegetarian restaurant (Sala) for dinner and had health food! The restaurant had a decent buffet spread including a choice of 2 desserts for UR$129 (US$6). After dinner, I walked back to my hotel. I had a quick stop at an internet cafe to let my hotel in Colonia know of my change in plans (I was originally schedule to depart Montevideo for Colonia on 5th March - Now I would do so on March 6th).
On reaching the hotel, I went to the Balcony and took some pictures of the street below. I wrote my diary for a bit before going to bed.
One of the interesting sights in Montevideo: Horse Carts are used to cart refuse.
March 5, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
===============================
I was ready by 8:30 AM. I waited a bit at the front desk while the reception folks sorted out my extra night of stay (As I had mentioned before, I was schedule to depart Montevideo today - but was staying here for an extra night). All was settled after 15-minutes. I headed to the laundry to pick up my clothes. The lady at the Laundromat inquired about my touring experience yesterday and apologized for the bad weather today. I sincerely hope that the weather improves. I headed with my Camera and Tripod to Teatro Solis for a tour of the Theatre. There was no one around!
I headed to the Numismatic Museum. I was not allowed to take my camera and had to check it in at the security desk. The museum houses not only an impressive display of Historical (and current) Uruguayan currencies, but it also has a display section devoted to currencies from other countries. After spending 30 minutes here, I asked to purchase a set of coins for my collection. After some back and forth between a security guard and someone on the other end of a Telephone, I was introduced to a gentleman who took me to his office and showed me a price list of the various souvenir sets on offer at the Numismatic museum. He also offered the current set of coins at face value in plastic pouches. I purchased 2 of the current coin sets for UR$75 (less than US$4). Uruguay releases coins well after their supposed release date. The coins supposed to be released in 2008 will not be minted and available until 2010! Many of the older coins had the Independence hero Artigas. The proposal to change the head of newer coins to animals had raised a big hue and cry - on how Artigas could be replaced by Animals. The government has gone ahead anyway and new coins with Animal faces would be released in the coming years.
The rain had picked up considerably since I entered the museum. After a quick check at an Internet cafe, I headed to Teatro Solis for the 12 Noon tour. Free Spanish tours are offered on Wednesdays. English tours, however, cost UR$40 (US$2). I took the English tour at Noon.
The tour was conducted by a very attractive Uruguayan guide who spoke excellent English as she had been an exchange student (many years ago) in the US. The rest of our group were day trippers from Buenos Aires. It was a good tour. I was allowed to use my tripod and I took as many pictures as I could. A couple of mimes put up an Impromptu show (during our tour) which was quite entertaining. The Theatre has had many refurbishments and upgrades done over the years and is currently trying to hold performances of one kind or the other year around.
I had lunch at a local creperie. The Crepes were good and I was quite happy and satisfied with my lunch. Post lunch I headed to Uruguayan post to inquire about shipping some of my stuff back to the US. I decided to wait a bit longer. I headed next to the MAPI (Museo de Arte Precolumbino e Indigena) which was housed in an old building used earlier by the ministry of defence. The museum had a decent collection of artefacts most of which were between 500 BC and 500 AD. There were still many rooms on the upper level that did not have any exhibits. Even though the entry was free, I made a small donation (20 pesos).
I visited a museum dedicated to the Uruguayan painter 'Joaquim Torres Garcia' who published the book on "Constructive Universalism" (Universalismo Constructivo - Whatever that is). The entry was free. I liked some of his portrait works.
It was still raining. It was not even worth the effort to take my camera out of my bag! I visited an Artisan maker recommended by my guide book. I did not find anything appealing though. I walked on and presently found myself at a Vegetarian store. I purchased a pair of Vegetable spring rolls and they did not have any sauce! I decided to eat the rolls later.
It was raining quite heavily now. I decided to take a bus to the Punta Carretas shopping centre. After a 30-minute ride I reached the shopping centre. We passed the upscale POCITOS neighbourhood during our ride to the shopping centre. A very nice neighbourhood.
The Cineplex at the mall was playing "Petroleo Sangriento" (The Spanish translation for the Daniel Day Lewis’ movie - There will be blood!) There was a showing of the movie at 6:50 PM and it was just 6 PM. I purchased a ticket for 95 Pesos (less than US$5 - cheap). During the 45-minute wait before the movie started, I purchased a pair of socks as well as a decent raincoat. The theatre was quite nice with stadium seating. The movie turned out to be excellent and Daniel day Lewis' performance was well worth his Oscar. I ate the vegetable spring rolls during the movie. I washed it down with Coca-cola!
The movie was over by 9:30 PM and I was able to take a bus back to the centre. During my walk back to the Hotel, I spotted a decent Ice-Cream place and had 2 scoops for 60 pesos. I had a quick check at an Internet cafe before arriving back at my hotel. I paid the 1300 pesos (US$65 approx) for my 3-night stay and requested a wake-up call at 6 AM. I wrote my diary and went to bed.
I head to Colonia del Sacramento on the 9:30 AM bus tomorrow. I sincerely hope that the weather is good.
March 3, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina & Montevideo, Uruguay
March 3, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
==============================
I woke up around 7 PM. I skipped breakfast and headed to the front desk to checkout. The front desk manager (same person as Yesterday Morning) apologized for not picking up my clothes from the laundry. As it was past 8 AM, he sent his assistant to pick up the clothes from the laundry. The assistance comes back 5 minutes later - empty handed as the laundry does not open until 8:30 AM. Waiting until then would definitely mean that I would miss my 9 AM ferry to Montevideo (Uruguay).
I pay up for my 5-night stay and take a taxi to the port. I ask the taxi to pass by the laundry one last time in the hope that they may open early. No luck as the laundry is still closed. I may have to do some wash and wear during my 5-day stay in Uruguay!
The check-in to the Ferry is quite similar to an Airport Check-in. You have counters up front where your ID and tickets are checked and moving baggage belts to cart away the checked bags to the ferry's hold. The Security check did not even require me to empty my pockets of coins. The exit (Argentina) and entry (Uruguay) Immigration formalities are both done here. The two people sit right next to each other! I obtained yet another stamp on my passport. US Citizens do not require any Visas for visiting Uruguay. This would be the 5th (and last country) I would visit during this trip.
The ferry had two levels of seating. I found a window seat at the upper level of the ferry. I had a 3-seater to myself. I was travelling in Economy class. The Ferry also had a first class section where you have uniformed folks serving you. Of course, the first class has less number of seats and is therefore quite roomy. The ferry was reasonably packed. Many of the folks were doing a 1-day excursions to Uruguay offered by BUQUEBUS (the company owing and operating this ferry). I had some croissants and juice for breakfast. I went through the motions of visiting the duty free shop on board the ferry! The walk through the duty free shop reminded me that I need to get socks in Uruguay (as I did not have more than a spare pair on me at this point). The pair of socks could be my souvenir from Uruguay!
I planned a list of things to see and do while in Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) as well as the subsequent stops of Salta and Mendoza (both in Argentina). The weather was dull and grey. I did not even bother looking at the Buenos Aires Skyline from the boat. It rained heavily for a bit after we had departed Buenos Aires. Dark Clouds appeared to follow us during the 3-hour ride to Montevideo. Oh well, I cannot get too stressed about these things!
March 3, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
=============================
We reached the Montevideo around Noon. The customs folks here wanted to inspect my larger duffel bag. I took a taxi shortly thereafter to my hotel. On my way in, I called Shahrukh's hotel (in Montevideo) and it appeared that they had checked out. I reached Hotel Palacio by 12:50 PM. I paid the taxi AR$14 rather than UR$83 (1 Argentine Peso = 6 Uruguayan pesos approx.) as I did not have any Uruguayan pesos. This is what one loves about South American and even European Countries. They will accept the adjacent countries' if one does not have any local currency. I doubt if I can use Mexican pesos or Canadian Dollars in the US - anywhere.
I headed up the Hotel reception and found a message from Shahrukh waiting for me. He was planning to swing by my hotel and pick me up around 1:15 PM before heading to the Bodegas. As I had 20-minutes before his arrival, I rested in my room for a bit. The Hotel is located in an 80-year old building. It has quite charming rooms. I was paying US$20 per night for a decent sized single room with an attached bath and fan. While waiting for Shahrukh, I sent a message to my friends and family announcing my arrival in Montevideo. I also obtained a city map from the reception. I was advised by the hotel reception desk not to venture into Ciudad Vieja (Old City) after dark. Fair Warning - I will heed to it.
Shahrukh and his girlfriend Romi showed up at 1:15 Sharp. We called a taxi and headed out. He had arranged 3 tastings for this afternoon at 2, 3 and 4 PM (in 3 different wineries, of course). The driver of the taxi took a bit longer route than necessary (he claimed it was "faster") before dropping us off at the first winery (Castel Pujol) for our 2 PM tasting.
This was a very old winery (dating back to 1752) although the current ownership has been in place since the 1970s. We were shown around the winery by a member of the family. We saw the grape sorting, de-stemming and crushing machines before heading into the cellars to observe the wines stored in casks and bottles. Just as MALBEC represents Argentina, TANNAT represents Uruguay. We tasted a Pinot Noir, a Tannat and a Sauvignon Blanc. I liked the Pinot Noir best even though it was light bodied (and my preference is for full bodied wines). We also realized they they were charging us US$7 per person for the tour and tasting. I told Shahrukh to keep a tab on all expenses so I could pay my share later (I have not had the time to change US$ to Uruguayan pesos). Shahrukh was paying for everything at this point. The Winery also has Vineyards on the Uruguayan Border with Brasil. Shahrukh purchased 3 bottles of wine. I thought they were reasonably priced. I wished they waived the tour and tasting fees every time folks made a purchase.
Our next stop (Santa Rosa Winery) was a 10-minute walk away. It appeared run down and a bit less professional than Castel Pujol. Although we were scheduled to be here at 3 PM, we arrived here at 3:30 PM. Romi had a gut feel that this was not a great place. While we were debating on whether to walk out of here or not, a well dressed gentleman greeted us and escorted us on a tour of the winery. The initial part of the tour appeared to reinforce Romi's gut feel about the winery. After the Initial part of the tour, we descended to the cellars. The gentleman escorting us on the tour was the Owner. The Winery had been started by his grandmother. Santa Rosa does not make table wine. They produce only fine wines and sparkling wines. They do produce wines from TANNOT but they do not produce any wines from PINOT NOIR - as they consider it to be a temperamental grape.
Our tastings were to be done in the cellar. We were to taste Sparkling wines, Chardonnay, Tannat and a blend. The tasting was to be done by the 3 of us along with the owner. Although the majority of the conversation was in Spanish, he thoroughly enjoyed talking wine with us and spending time with us during the tasting process. Neither Shahrukh nor I had ever had such a tasting experience as this. There was no clock watching, no bean counting (where they try and judge whether we are going to buy their wines or not), nothing. The owner had even gone to the extent of purchasing 2 boxes of crackers for us - that we used during the tasting process to cleanse our palates! We polished off an entire bottle of bubbly during our "tasting". He re-corked the Tannat (that was 3/4 full) and gave it to Shahrukh and Romi. Shahrukh expressed interest in buying some wines right away. He could not do so as it was past 5 PM, and no one (the owner's father alone excepted) could buy wines after 4 PM! He gave us a unlabelled bottle of wine from the cellar as a gift as well! Now you know why an experience like this is unlikely to happen again!
We thanked him profusely and got into the taxi (he had called for us) and headed back to Montevideo. I thanked Shahrukh for inviting me along. Romi thought I was "Divino" (Divine) as well as easy going and agreeable. I will NOT disagree with that Characterization!
We had the taxi drop us off near the old market area and we scoured places for dinner. As we had all skipped lunch, it made sense to have an early dinner. We settled on an Italian place that would not charge us any Corkage fee (we were planning to open one of the bottles given to us at Santa Rosa!). We had a good dinner, conversation and the wine was decent. Towards the end of the meal we were presented with a tab of UR$1300 (US$65). While I was willing to pay it off, Shahrukh thought that the bill was a bit steep considering what we had eaten. We found out that we had been charged a "Corkage" fee of UR$300 (US$ 15). Shahrukh and Romi had a long and extended argument with the restaurant folks about what we were told (no corkage fee) while we were being wooed to take a seat in the restaurant. The arguments were in Vain as the Waiter who had wooed us and served us had disappeared! We paid up the bill - ZERO tip of course and departed. Shahrukh and I exchanged some Dollars for Uruguayan pesos and we promised to keep in touch.
Shahrukh and Romi had booked tickets at Teatro Solis for a performance that evening. As they were heading back to Buenos Aires on a late night ferry, they told me to pick up the tickets in case I was interested. They told me that it was a Jazz performance by an American. I headed to the hotel to leave my Camera equipment behind before heading to Teatro Solis. I told an English speaking Usher about the tickets being under my friend's name (Merchant) and he went off to look for it. 5 minutes later I was given a single ticket and ushered in. There was no charge for this performance. I was seated in a box of 6 seats. As there was no one else, I had the entire box to myself. The box was at the rear-centre of the theatre and offered a good view of the proceedings. The program booklet stated that it was music and dances from Beethoven, Dvorak etc. This turned out to be fantastic news as I prefer Classical music to jazz.
Solis is a gorgeous little theatre and provided for a far more intimate setting that bigger halls like Avery Fisher hall (Lincoln Centre) or Carnegie Hall. The music portion was excellent. Some of the program pieces were accompanied by dancers. The entire program lasted a little over an hour. All in all it was a wonderful evening. I need to thank Shahrukh for this.
I walked back to my hotel (5 minutes away), wrote my diary and went to bed.
==============================
I woke up around 7 PM. I skipped breakfast and headed to the front desk to checkout. The front desk manager (same person as Yesterday Morning) apologized for not picking up my clothes from the laundry. As it was past 8 AM, he sent his assistant to pick up the clothes from the laundry. The assistance comes back 5 minutes later - empty handed as the laundry does not open until 8:30 AM. Waiting until then would definitely mean that I would miss my 9 AM ferry to Montevideo (Uruguay).
I pay up for my 5-night stay and take a taxi to the port. I ask the taxi to pass by the laundry one last time in the hope that they may open early. No luck as the laundry is still closed. I may have to do some wash and wear during my 5-day stay in Uruguay!
The check-in to the Ferry is quite similar to an Airport Check-in. You have counters up front where your ID and tickets are checked and moving baggage belts to cart away the checked bags to the ferry's hold. The Security check did not even require me to empty my pockets of coins. The exit (Argentina) and entry (Uruguay) Immigration formalities are both done here. The two people sit right next to each other! I obtained yet another stamp on my passport. US Citizens do not require any Visas for visiting Uruguay. This would be the 5th (and last country) I would visit during this trip.
The ferry had two levels of seating. I found a window seat at the upper level of the ferry. I had a 3-seater to myself. I was travelling in Economy class. The Ferry also had a first class section where you have uniformed folks serving you. Of course, the first class has less number of seats and is therefore quite roomy. The ferry was reasonably packed. Many of the folks were doing a 1-day excursions to Uruguay offered by BUQUEBUS (the company owing and operating this ferry). I had some croissants and juice for breakfast. I went through the motions of visiting the duty free shop on board the ferry! The walk through the duty free shop reminded me that I need to get socks in Uruguay (as I did not have more than a spare pair on me at this point). The pair of socks could be my souvenir from Uruguay!
I planned a list of things to see and do while in Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) as well as the subsequent stops of Salta and Mendoza (both in Argentina). The weather was dull and grey. I did not even bother looking at the Buenos Aires Skyline from the boat. It rained heavily for a bit after we had departed Buenos Aires. Dark Clouds appeared to follow us during the 3-hour ride to Montevideo. Oh well, I cannot get too stressed about these things!
March 3, 2008 - Montevideo, Uruguay
=============================
We reached the Montevideo around Noon. The customs folks here wanted to inspect my larger duffel bag. I took a taxi shortly thereafter to my hotel. On my way in, I called Shahrukh's hotel (in Montevideo) and it appeared that they had checked out. I reached Hotel Palacio by 12:50 PM. I paid the taxi AR$14 rather than UR$83 (1 Argentine Peso = 6 Uruguayan pesos approx.) as I did not have any Uruguayan pesos. This is what one loves about South American and even European Countries. They will accept the adjacent countries' if one does not have any local currency. I doubt if I can use Mexican pesos or Canadian Dollars in the US - anywhere.
I headed up the Hotel reception and found a message from Shahrukh waiting for me. He was planning to swing by my hotel and pick me up around 1:15 PM before heading to the Bodegas. As I had 20-minutes before his arrival, I rested in my room for a bit. The Hotel is located in an 80-year old building. It has quite charming rooms. I was paying US$20 per night for a decent sized single room with an attached bath and fan. While waiting for Shahrukh, I sent a message to my friends and family announcing my arrival in Montevideo. I also obtained a city map from the reception. I was advised by the hotel reception desk not to venture into Ciudad Vieja (Old City) after dark. Fair Warning - I will heed to it.
Shahrukh and his girlfriend Romi showed up at 1:15 Sharp. We called a taxi and headed out. He had arranged 3 tastings for this afternoon at 2, 3 and 4 PM (in 3 different wineries, of course). The driver of the taxi took a bit longer route than necessary (he claimed it was "faster") before dropping us off at the first winery (Castel Pujol) for our 2 PM tasting.
This was a very old winery (dating back to 1752) although the current ownership has been in place since the 1970s. We were shown around the winery by a member of the family. We saw the grape sorting, de-stemming and crushing machines before heading into the cellars to observe the wines stored in casks and bottles. Just as MALBEC represents Argentina, TANNAT represents Uruguay. We tasted a Pinot Noir, a Tannat and a Sauvignon Blanc. I liked the Pinot Noir best even though it was light bodied (and my preference is for full bodied wines). We also realized they they were charging us US$7 per person for the tour and tasting. I told Shahrukh to keep a tab on all expenses so I could pay my share later (I have not had the time to change US$ to Uruguayan pesos). Shahrukh was paying for everything at this point. The Winery also has Vineyards on the Uruguayan Border with Brasil. Shahrukh purchased 3 bottles of wine. I thought they were reasonably priced. I wished they waived the tour and tasting fees every time folks made a purchase.
Our next stop (Santa Rosa Winery) was a 10-minute walk away. It appeared run down and a bit less professional than Castel Pujol. Although we were scheduled to be here at 3 PM, we arrived here at 3:30 PM. Romi had a gut feel that this was not a great place. While we were debating on whether to walk out of here or not, a well dressed gentleman greeted us and escorted us on a tour of the winery. The initial part of the tour appeared to reinforce Romi's gut feel about the winery. After the Initial part of the tour, we descended to the cellars. The gentleman escorting us on the tour was the Owner. The Winery had been started by his grandmother. Santa Rosa does not make table wine. They produce only fine wines and sparkling wines. They do produce wines from TANNOT but they do not produce any wines from PINOT NOIR - as they consider it to be a temperamental grape.
Our tastings were to be done in the cellar. We were to taste Sparkling wines, Chardonnay, Tannat and a blend. The tasting was to be done by the 3 of us along with the owner. Although the majority of the conversation was in Spanish, he thoroughly enjoyed talking wine with us and spending time with us during the tasting process. Neither Shahrukh nor I had ever had such a tasting experience as this. There was no clock watching, no bean counting (where they try and judge whether we are going to buy their wines or not), nothing. The owner had even gone to the extent of purchasing 2 boxes of crackers for us - that we used during the tasting process to cleanse our palates! We polished off an entire bottle of bubbly during our "tasting". He re-corked the Tannat (that was 3/4 full) and gave it to Shahrukh and Romi. Shahrukh expressed interest in buying some wines right away. He could not do so as it was past 5 PM, and no one (the owner's father alone excepted) could buy wines after 4 PM! He gave us a unlabelled bottle of wine from the cellar as a gift as well! Now you know why an experience like this is unlikely to happen again!
We thanked him profusely and got into the taxi (he had called for us) and headed back to Montevideo. I thanked Shahrukh for inviting me along. Romi thought I was "Divino" (Divine) as well as easy going and agreeable. I will NOT disagree with that Characterization!
We had the taxi drop us off near the old market area and we scoured places for dinner. As we had all skipped lunch, it made sense to have an early dinner. We settled on an Italian place that would not charge us any Corkage fee (we were planning to open one of the bottles given to us at Santa Rosa!). We had a good dinner, conversation and the wine was decent. Towards the end of the meal we were presented with a tab of UR$1300 (US$65). While I was willing to pay it off, Shahrukh thought that the bill was a bit steep considering what we had eaten. We found out that we had been charged a "Corkage" fee of UR$300 (US$ 15). Shahrukh and Romi had a long and extended argument with the restaurant folks about what we were told (no corkage fee) while we were being wooed to take a seat in the restaurant. The arguments were in Vain as the Waiter who had wooed us and served us had disappeared! We paid up the bill - ZERO tip of course and departed. Shahrukh and I exchanged some Dollars for Uruguayan pesos and we promised to keep in touch.
Shahrukh and Romi had booked tickets at Teatro Solis for a performance that evening. As they were heading back to Buenos Aires on a late night ferry, they told me to pick up the tickets in case I was interested. They told me that it was a Jazz performance by an American. I headed to the hotel to leave my Camera equipment behind before heading to Teatro Solis. I told an English speaking Usher about the tickets being under my friend's name (Merchant) and he went off to look for it. 5 minutes later I was given a single ticket and ushered in. There was no charge for this performance. I was seated in a box of 6 seats. As there was no one else, I had the entire box to myself. The box was at the rear-centre of the theatre and offered a good view of the proceedings. The program booklet stated that it was music and dances from Beethoven, Dvorak etc. This turned out to be fantastic news as I prefer Classical music to jazz.
Solis is a gorgeous little theatre and provided for a far more intimate setting that bigger halls like Avery Fisher hall (Lincoln Centre) or Carnegie Hall. The music portion was excellent. Some of the program pieces were accompanied by dancers. The entire program lasted a little over an hour. All in all it was a wonderful evening. I need to thank Shahrukh for this.
I walked back to my hotel (5 minutes away), wrote my diary and went to bed.
Friday, April 4, 2008
February 28, 2008 - March 2, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
February 28, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I had a leisurely wakeup. I had Table service here for breakfast. The breakfast was decent. My first stop was at the BUQUEBUS office (15 blocks away) to inquire about ferry options to URUGUAY. Crossing Avenida 9 de Julio (the broadest street in the world) can take 2 traffic lights if you walk leisurely!
On reaching the BUQUEBUS office, I had a short wait before my turn came up. Based on the information I received, I decided to take a ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo (Capital of Uruguay) and return from Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) back to Buenos Aires. These were fast ferries. The trip to Montevideo would take 3 hours, while the trip from Colonia would take 1-hour. The bus ride (which I would book on reaching Montevideo) from Montevideo to Colonia would presumably take 2-hours. The two ferry rides were to cost A$335 (US$112 approx.).
Upon exiting the BUQUEBUS office, it started raining heavily. So, what's new? Every big city greets me with a downpour (Asuncion, Rio, Salvador, Sao Paulo and now Buenos Aires) I ducked into a nearby internet cafe for 30 minutes and waited for the rain to subside. When it did let up a bit, I headed to the American Express office to exchange my Travellers Cheques to Greenbacks as well as Argentine Pesos. It started pouring again as I left the American Express offices.
I visited a tourist office next for Shelter and Information. It appears that the "Train to the Clouds" in Salta (Northern Argentina) is not running at this time. I may have to see what else is there to see and do in Salta as I have already planned on staying there for 4 days.
I visit the Retiro Train Station and inquire about trips to Tigre Delta. There is no advance booking possible for these trains and tickets can be purchased before the time of travel. It appears that the Train takes about an hour from Retiro Station to reach Tigre Delta. I may visit Tigre on Saturday.
I headed to a Telephone centre and called home. All was well. I took a train back to my Hotel. Public transport in Buenos Aires is good and cheap. I rested a bit in my hotel and dried myself. I left the hotel a bit later and went out in search of lunch. I found the famous Confiteria TORTONI and had a Sundae for lunch! Despite the price (A$22 - US$7), it was excellent. The other tourists who were just having coffee, stopped midway to take pictures of me and my Sundae before and during my gobbling!
As it was still raining when I left the cafe, I headed to a nearby Internet cafe and blogged for 3 hours. The cost for 3 hours was 9 pesos (US$ 3). The rain had more or less stopped and blue skies were trying to peek through the clouds. I got back to the hotel, took my camera backpack and headed out.
I headed first to the Palacio del Congress and then to the Obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio for pictures. It was well past 7 PM and there was still excellent light. After my picture taking, I start my hunt for an Indian restaurant. The restaurant on lavalle and Florida streets - Bombay - is closed. Another vegetarian restaurant - Thulasi - is open only from 10:30 AM to 4 PM - Mondays through Fridays! I decide to head to Tandoor restaurant a bit further away.
I take a train to Recoleta and head to Tandoor restaurant. It appears to be a very nice neighbourhood and the restaurant looks classy as well. I order food and a wine by the glass. 2 men of Indian descent seat themselves on a table next to mine and start blind tasting 4 bottles of wine. I cannot resist commenting and we are pretty soon chatting away and I get to "SAMPLE" wines from 2 of the 4 bottles they were having! It turns out these 2 men were former engineers, who had quit their jobs, travelled in south America and had decided to open this restaurant.
The restaurant has been in operation for 8 months. We chat about wine for a bit and exchange e-mails as well. One of the owners will be in Montevideo (while I am there as well) and he promised me that we could do some joint visits to the bodegas there. I finish my dinner, bid goodnight to Shahrukh and Beliappa and head back to the train station.
Turns out that there are no trains after 10 PM. I take a taxi from Recoleta to my hotel (A$10). During my ride, I chat with the driver. It turns out that he is a realtor by day for REMAX. I get his contact Information. Who knows when I may come into riches and may want to buy some property everywhere!
I could not write the diary after 4 glasses of wine. Amor had left a message at the Hotel's front desk that she would stop by tomorrow morning at 9 AM. Based on my observations over the past 2 days, women in Buenos Aires are very Average looking. Certainly nothing to write home about!
February 29, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I woke up at 8:15 and decided to snooze for a bit. The next thing I knew was Amor calling me at after 9 AM! She had to visit a travel agency and was going to be delayed a bit. We agreed to meet up at 10:!5 AM near the Obelisk on Av. 9 de Julio. I got ready in a hurry and just had a tall glass of Juice for breakfast before heading out of my hotel. I reached the obelisk area around 10:20 or so and walked around a bit. Amor showed up around 10:35 AM and apologized for being late.
We headed to her hostel as she needed to check out. We headed next on Av. Florida. Florida is a peatonal - pedestrian only street. As my Brazilian Phone was not working in Argentina, I had asked Amor (since she is a fluent in Spanish and English) if she could help me find a decent Mobile telephone company in Buenos Aires. During our walk, we headed to the nearest Western Union and I exchanged 122 Brazilian Reais into 180 Argentine pesos. We found a MOVISTAR office and approached a customer service representative. After a long back and forth between me and the customer service representative (with Amor as the translator), I decided to purchase a local Argentine SIM Card for A$12 (US$ 4). The Chip came with a 5 peso credit.
I used my Argentine MOVISTAR Card (that I had Purchased in USHUAIA in late January) and it worked. I now had A$25 credit on my Phone. International roaming was not possible with this number. While Chilean MOVISTAR had all the features including International roaming. However, I would be able to use this Number in Uruguay - as Argentina considers Uruguay to be part if it :)
Amor and I headed to lunch at Thulasi. I had rice and Vegetable Kofta. It was a tad bland and I asked for pickles (the Indian Kind) to spice things up. Amor had rice and Chana Masala. We walked back and bid adieu. We plan to meet up again in Mendoza (Argentine Wine Region) in 2 1/2 weeks.
I headed next to the Aerolineas Argentinas office to reconfirm my flights and to explore the flight options to visit Bariloche from Mendoza. On reaching the office, I found out that the flight to Salta had changed. It was no longer at 3 PM. I was offered a flight either at 11 AM or at 5:30 PM. I chose the 5:30 PM flight. However (and they tell me this after all the time I have spent there) , I need to get my PAPER tickets (already issued to me) before they will issue the new tickets with the changed flight timings! I had to go back to my Hotel to get these. All flights within Argentina passed through Buenos Aires. To go from Mendoza to Bariloche, I would have to go from Mendoza to Buenos Aires and then to Bariloche which seemed quite a waste of time. The flight option was to cost me an extra A$1100 (US$350). As the bus from Mendoza to Bariloche takes 19-hours, I may decide to skip Bariloche during this visit.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Casa Rosada (Presidential Palace) were nearby. I spent the next 45 minutes visiting these places. I then took a train to my hotel and rested a bit, did an internet check and headed back again to the Aerolineas Argentinas office. In many of these offices, one needs to take a number and wait their turn. I was a bit late in responding to my number (when it was called) and the agent told me that I needed to retake a new number. I blew my top. It worked! An English speaking agent took me right away and helped me out. After all this huffing and puffing, she finally tells me that the paper ticket (with the changed flight details) would be issued at the Airport (on the day of my flight). And I have already wasted 2 hours on this! I wish all agents would read from the same Script.
I headed next to the Movistar office to confirm the International code for sending TEXT messages to friends and family. I was asked to use the "+" sign rather than "00". It seemed to work. I took a train to Callao station (near Recoleta). I walk to Espacio Norton. I ran into a young man called Marcelo who works for the Marketing department for Bodega Norton. An excellent English speaker, he tells me that Espacio Norton is holding a wine tasting that evening at 7 PM. He asks me to come by at 7 PM and assures me that he will ensure that I am on the list of Invitees. The Sommelier for this evening's wine tasting would be a Spanish speaker and I may not understand all of the comments or discussions that take place.
As I had some time before the tasting, I visited a nearby music shop called NOTORIOUS. I was able to sample 4-5 CDs of Argentine jazz music, before I decided to purchase a couple for A$51 (US$ 17). That's the kind of price all CDs and DVDs in the US should be (US$4 - US$8). Anything higher and downloads are justified! After all most of the money is skimmed by the fat cats (in the marketing and publicity) and very little goes to the artists anyway.
I had a brownie and coffee at Notorious cafe and headed back to Espacio Norton. I was welcomed and given a welcome glass of Sparkling wine. I chatted with an Argentine in Spanish (as much as I could). 2 Sommeliers walked us through the tasting of 3 wines - a Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec - all from 2004 vintage. The Sauvignon Blanc was the best of the lot. It was a good tasting session with the sommelier asking and responding to questions from the tasters (In Spanish, of course). At the end, we were given a tour of the house of Norton. On departing the place (after the tasting), I was given a bottle of their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon as a gift for showing up!
Some of the tasters were rather well dressed. Women here may be ordinary looking but they do dress well. I took a train back to Centro. I headed to a cafe and had a simple cheese sandwich and coffee. The white bread was excellent. It reminded me of tasting similar bread (many decades ago) at Dasaprakash in Chennai! I headed to an Internet cafe to back up my memory cards. On my way back, I came across a cinema theatre showing "There will be Blood". I may see it tomorrow.
I plan to visit Tigre Delta tomorrow.
March 1, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I woke up early and was done with breakfast by 7:20 AM. I took the metro to Retiro Station and purchased a roundtrip to Bartolome Mitre Station for A$1.80. Retiro is a grand old station. The train carriages (on the train to B. Mitre station) were quite old and the seats were worn. I noticed a large mosque on the train route (close to Retiro Station). I assumed that Buenos Aires must have a decent Islamic Population to warrant such a large mosque.
The train ride to B. Mitre took 40 minutes. I had to walk to the Coastal Train Station (called MAIPU) to take another train to Tigre Delta. The ticket office was not open. The train (a short one with just 4 coaches) came in to Maipu station a little before 9 AM. I purchased a 1-way ticket to Tigre for A$5 on the train. There were 10 station between Maipu and the final destination of Tigre. Every station had been highlighted (on my train map) for some attraction or the other. The train was much newer and it was air-conditioned.
There is a lovely residential area close to Maipu train station. I wondered how much the property prices here were. The ride to Tigre delta station took 30 minutes. I walked for about 10-minutes before coming to the dock area. To appreciate the central attraction of this area, one needs to take a boat trip on the tigre delta. Boats trips were being offered for 60 minutes for A$18 or 90 minutes for A$30. The weather was dull and grey and showed increasing promise of rain. I decided to walk around the place until the sky cleared up and before I took a boat trip on the delta.
I noticed people rowing on the tigre river. There were single row boats and rowing teams practising. I suppose, Argentina, must have a decent rowing team at the Olympics. I took a long nice walk. There were many old buildings and museums. The Museo del Arte, Tigre is an excellent building on the waterfront. The museum opened at Noon and it was hardly 11 AM!
As with all my days (thus far in Buenos Aires), there was a light drizzle followed by a brief downpour. I waited it out in a shelter and continued my walking tour. I reached the Central area of Tigre around Noon. I walked around the Tigre Station (as opposed to the Tigre Delta Station) which has direct train services to Retiro Station in Buenos Aires. The fare is cheaper as well (A$1.00).
It was still cloudy. I decided to take a boat ride at 3 PM hoping that it would clear up by then. I continued to see a lot of interesting properties. This might not be a bad place to live as it may not be as expensive as Buenos Aires and yet it is quite close to Buenos Aires. I spent an hour at a local Internet cafe to kill some time. I walked by the tourist office and picked up a vegetarian empanada for lunch from a nearby shop as I did not want to eat Italian food again!
I walked to the Tigre Delta Station and the Portos de Frutos area 20 minutes later. I purchased a ticket for a 90-minute boat ride. It was close to 2:30 PM. As there was a weekend flea market going on, I spent some time walking around the place. Nothing interested me.
I got back to the dock and boarded the boat. We departed around 3:15 PM. There were about 30 passengers on this 100-passenger boat. We had a decent bilingual guide. We started along the Sarmiento river and a few other tributaries. We observed a lot of nice houses. Some of these houses were on stilts. I hope the waste is treated before being pumped back into the river. Within 10 minutes of our departure, the clouds opened up and it poured for 15-minutes. Once the rain stopped, I headed to the upper deck to take in the view and some pictures. One could see the Skyline of Buenos Aires in the distance. We were even catching glimpses of a blue sky!
The tour ended around 4:30 PM. The guide wanted to see some of my pictures. I obtained her card (with her e-mail address) and told her I would send here an invitation to my online album, once the pictures are uploaded. I got back to Tigre delta station and purchased a ticket to Maipu station. It was A$8 this time! It appears that I was treated as a resident of Buenos Aires on my way in and hence I was charged A$5.
I would probably not recommend this day trip. Frankly, there is nothing of terrible interest here. Of course, if you want to escape the big city for a day, then this would be a good place.
I got back to Retiro Station around 6:20 PM. As the movie "There will be blood" was playing at Recoleta, I decided to see it. I had a long, long walk (as I had underestimated the distance of the theatre from the Station) before reaching the theatre a few minutes before show time. The only tickets available were in the first row! I passed as I was not that desperate. I took a bus back to my Hotel. I rushed to the nearby laundry (before they closed at 8 PM) and gave my clothes for washing.
On my return, I decided to sample the other Indian restaurant in Buenos Aires - Kathmandu. It was a little ways from the centre of town resulting in a 15-minute train ride and a 15-minute walk after that. I reached the restaurant at 9 PM and got a table. By 10 PM, the place was packed. The restaurant is run by folks who hail from Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. The chef is from New Delhi. "Kathmandu" is a name presumably chosen at Random - or to avoid the tedium of "Taj Mahal" or "India Palace" :)
The food was OK. It was certainly better than eating bland pasta again! I took a taxi back to the hotel and it cost be A$12. It was close to midnight, but the streets were completely alive with activity. Locals were out and about everywhere. Needless to say, the tourists were safely tucked away in bed - and I was headed there as well. Buenos Aires may indeed be the Paris of South America.
I wrote my diary and headed to bed. I may head to San Telmo tomorrow. I would also need to pick up my laundry - late in the afternoon - tomorrow.
March 2, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I had a bad sleep. The rich Indian food gave me heartburn and I was forced to wake up in the middle of the night and take a few pills to take care of it. I had a really leisurely wakeup and wound up missing breakfast.
Teatro Colon - the most famous theatre in South America - was closed for renovations and no tours were possible. The hotel front desk offered to pick up my laundry in the afternoon thereby saving me a trip back to the hotel. I was also informed by the front desk that River Plate (one of the two Soccer team in Buenos Aires - the other being Boca Juniors, from where Diego Maradona rose to greatness) was playing a home game today. There was a tour company that was providing a ticket to the game along with a pickup / drop-off service - from/to the hotel for A$130 (US$45). I passed as I knew that by going on my own, I would have a better experience and definitely save a lot of money. The hotel front desk also said that River Plate was located in a nice neighbourhood and that I could go there on my own.
I took a train and a Bus to visit the stadium of Boca Juniors. The area is quite old and many of the houses were painted in bright colours. There were Tango street performers who were dressed to kill. They offered to pose for pictures - for a fee! I passed. I walked to the nearby Boca Juniors Stadium. I paid the A$17 (17 pesos) fee and started with a visit to the stands. The spectator areas are barricaded from each other and from the players with barbed wire. I guess this must be a far rowdy crowd than the crowd that visits Maracana (Brasil).
I also visited the adjacent museum which had profiles on the all the former greats of CABJ (Club Athletico Boca Juniors). Yes, Diego had a 20-feet long statue at the entry to the museum. The museum had videos of some of the great games from earlier years. One of the videos showed a goal by Diego Maradona against arch Rival River Plate in April 1981 - indicating signs of greatness that was to come in future years. A truly gifted player.
Although I wanted to buy a souvenir, the jerseys were way too expensive and I passed. I had lunch at an Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood and the food was simply horrible. I ate it anyway. This is what I called "between a rock and a hard place". I eat Indian food - I love it but get heartburn. I eat Italian food - the food is bad and I simply hate it. What's a vegetarian to do?
As I had decided to visit River Plate stadium and try for tickets there, I needed to take a bus to get there. I had to be rather delicate in asking directions to "River Plate", as this was "Boca" Country. The buses here require exact change. I spent a fruitless 20-minutes walking up and down many store entrances, asking for small change for my larger peso bills. None of the shops had change. I think they were being jerks. I finally found a 1-Peso coin in the deep recesses of my trouser pockets and was quite relieved.
The bus ride to River Plate took about 40 minutes. The bus had man River fans dressed in their regalia and chanting all their slogans. I got off wherever they did and followed their trail for 15-minutes before reaching the River Plate stadium. The neighbourhood was quite classy with really nice houses. There was a security check outside the Stadium and I was asked to throw my water bottle (a plastic one) away. I went to the ticket counter and purchased a ticket for the upper deck for 70 pesos (US$23) which I thought was a tad expensive.
There were barricades (barbed wire) here as well - between the stands and between the stands and the playing field. There was no shelter for any stands as I had experience at Maracana. The opposition team (from San Juan) was relegated to a stand of their own. The crowd was vociferous. There was a heavy police presence all around. Unlike Maracana, there was no Samba drumming here - just chanting.
River Plate scored twice in the first half. San Martin scored on a penalty kick but River still led 2-1. The second half started in pouring rain. I had my raincoat on and watched the game. Both River and San Martin scored, but River still led 3-2 when I decided that I had had enough and headed out to the stairways to take some shelter from the rain. The game was called off after 15-more minutes of play. The teams will apparently meet again and replay this game.
I waited for an hour at the stadium hoping for the rain to stop. When it let down a bit, I started walking to the main road. All buses and taxis were full. The rain picked up again. MY BLOODY LUCK! After another hour or more of waiting, I finally managed to get a bus and a seat on the bus. A local Argentine gent helped me get off close to Retiro Station. I took a metro train back to the hotel.
I was surprised to find that my laundry was not there. As the evening manager was different, he had no clue as to what I was talking about! I leave for Montevideo (Uruguay) early tomorrow morning. If the Laundromat opens at 8 AM, I have a chance to pick up my clothes otherwise I need to think of a Plan "B".
I had originally intended to leave my larger duffel bag in the hotel during my 5-day trip to Uruguay. After the laundry fiasco, I decided not to trust these folks with my bags. I packed all my belongings into the 2 bags that I intend to take with me to Uruguay.
I walked to a nearby street and had a late dinner. I had a cheese sandwich and coffee. The white bread was excellent. Post dinner, I headed to an Internet cafe to pay my credit card bills and backup my memory cards. I saw a note from Shahrukh (the Indian restaurant owner in Buenos Aires) about visiting bodegas around Montevideo tomorrow afternoon.
I got back to the hotel, wrote my diary and went to bed. I keep my fingers crossed for the Laundromat to open by 8 AM so I can pick up my clothes before I head to Uruguay.
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I had a leisurely wakeup. I had Table service here for breakfast. The breakfast was decent. My first stop was at the BUQUEBUS office (15 blocks away) to inquire about ferry options to URUGUAY. Crossing Avenida 9 de Julio (the broadest street in the world) can take 2 traffic lights if you walk leisurely!
On reaching the BUQUEBUS office, I had a short wait before my turn came up. Based on the information I received, I decided to take a ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo (Capital of Uruguay) and return from Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) back to Buenos Aires. These were fast ferries. The trip to Montevideo would take 3 hours, while the trip from Colonia would take 1-hour. The bus ride (which I would book on reaching Montevideo) from Montevideo to Colonia would presumably take 2-hours. The two ferry rides were to cost A$335 (US$112 approx.).
Upon exiting the BUQUEBUS office, it started raining heavily. So, what's new? Every big city greets me with a downpour (Asuncion, Rio, Salvador, Sao Paulo and now Buenos Aires) I ducked into a nearby internet cafe for 30 minutes and waited for the rain to subside. When it did let up a bit, I headed to the American Express office to exchange my Travellers Cheques to Greenbacks as well as Argentine Pesos. It started pouring again as I left the American Express offices.
I visited a tourist office next for Shelter and Information. It appears that the "Train to the Clouds" in Salta (Northern Argentina) is not running at this time. I may have to see what else is there to see and do in Salta as I have already planned on staying there for 4 days.
I visit the Retiro Train Station and inquire about trips to Tigre Delta. There is no advance booking possible for these trains and tickets can be purchased before the time of travel. It appears that the Train takes about an hour from Retiro Station to reach Tigre Delta. I may visit Tigre on Saturday.
I headed to a Telephone centre and called home. All was well. I took a train back to my Hotel. Public transport in Buenos Aires is good and cheap. I rested a bit in my hotel and dried myself. I left the hotel a bit later and went out in search of lunch. I found the famous Confiteria TORTONI and had a Sundae for lunch! Despite the price (A$22 - US$7), it was excellent. The other tourists who were just having coffee, stopped midway to take pictures of me and my Sundae before and during my gobbling!
As it was still raining when I left the cafe, I headed to a nearby Internet cafe and blogged for 3 hours. The cost for 3 hours was 9 pesos (US$ 3). The rain had more or less stopped and blue skies were trying to peek through the clouds. I got back to the hotel, took my camera backpack and headed out.
I headed first to the Palacio del Congress and then to the Obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio for pictures. It was well past 7 PM and there was still excellent light. After my picture taking, I start my hunt for an Indian restaurant. The restaurant on lavalle and Florida streets - Bombay - is closed. Another vegetarian restaurant - Thulasi - is open only from 10:30 AM to 4 PM - Mondays through Fridays! I decide to head to Tandoor restaurant a bit further away.
I take a train to Recoleta and head to Tandoor restaurant. It appears to be a very nice neighbourhood and the restaurant looks classy as well. I order food and a wine by the glass. 2 men of Indian descent seat themselves on a table next to mine and start blind tasting 4 bottles of wine. I cannot resist commenting and we are pretty soon chatting away and I get to "SAMPLE" wines from 2 of the 4 bottles they were having! It turns out these 2 men were former engineers, who had quit their jobs, travelled in south America and had decided to open this restaurant.
The restaurant has been in operation for 8 months. We chat about wine for a bit and exchange e-mails as well. One of the owners will be in Montevideo (while I am there as well) and he promised me that we could do some joint visits to the bodegas there. I finish my dinner, bid goodnight to Shahrukh and Beliappa and head back to the train station.
Turns out that there are no trains after 10 PM. I take a taxi from Recoleta to my hotel (A$10). During my ride, I chat with the driver. It turns out that he is a realtor by day for REMAX. I get his contact Information. Who knows when I may come into riches and may want to buy some property everywhere!
I could not write the diary after 4 glasses of wine. Amor had left a message at the Hotel's front desk that she would stop by tomorrow morning at 9 AM. Based on my observations over the past 2 days, women in Buenos Aires are very Average looking. Certainly nothing to write home about!
February 29, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I woke up at 8:15 and decided to snooze for a bit. The next thing I knew was Amor calling me at after 9 AM! She had to visit a travel agency and was going to be delayed a bit. We agreed to meet up at 10:!5 AM near the Obelisk on Av. 9 de Julio. I got ready in a hurry and just had a tall glass of Juice for breakfast before heading out of my hotel. I reached the obelisk area around 10:20 or so and walked around a bit. Amor showed up around 10:35 AM and apologized for being late.
We headed to her hostel as she needed to check out. We headed next on Av. Florida. Florida is a peatonal - pedestrian only street. As my Brazilian Phone was not working in Argentina, I had asked Amor (since she is a fluent in Spanish and English) if she could help me find a decent Mobile telephone company in Buenos Aires. During our walk, we headed to the nearest Western Union and I exchanged 122 Brazilian Reais into 180 Argentine pesos. We found a MOVISTAR office and approached a customer service representative. After a long back and forth between me and the customer service representative (with Amor as the translator), I decided to purchase a local Argentine SIM Card for A$12 (US$ 4). The Chip came with a 5 peso credit.
I used my Argentine MOVISTAR Card (that I had Purchased in USHUAIA in late January) and it worked. I now had A$25 credit on my Phone. International roaming was not possible with this number. While Chilean MOVISTAR had all the features including International roaming. However, I would be able to use this Number in Uruguay - as Argentina considers Uruguay to be part if it :)
Amor and I headed to lunch at Thulasi. I had rice and Vegetable Kofta. It was a tad bland and I asked for pickles (the Indian Kind) to spice things up. Amor had rice and Chana Masala. We walked back and bid adieu. We plan to meet up again in Mendoza (Argentine Wine Region) in 2 1/2 weeks.
I headed next to the Aerolineas Argentinas office to reconfirm my flights and to explore the flight options to visit Bariloche from Mendoza. On reaching the office, I found out that the flight to Salta had changed. It was no longer at 3 PM. I was offered a flight either at 11 AM or at 5:30 PM. I chose the 5:30 PM flight. However (and they tell me this after all the time I have spent there) , I need to get my PAPER tickets (already issued to me) before they will issue the new tickets with the changed flight timings! I had to go back to my Hotel to get these. All flights within Argentina passed through Buenos Aires. To go from Mendoza to Bariloche, I would have to go from Mendoza to Buenos Aires and then to Bariloche which seemed quite a waste of time. The flight option was to cost me an extra A$1100 (US$350). As the bus from Mendoza to Bariloche takes 19-hours, I may decide to skip Bariloche during this visit.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Casa Rosada (Presidential Palace) were nearby. I spent the next 45 minutes visiting these places. I then took a train to my hotel and rested a bit, did an internet check and headed back again to the Aerolineas Argentinas office. In many of these offices, one needs to take a number and wait their turn. I was a bit late in responding to my number (when it was called) and the agent told me that I needed to retake a new number. I blew my top. It worked! An English speaking agent took me right away and helped me out. After all this huffing and puffing, she finally tells me that the paper ticket (with the changed flight details) would be issued at the Airport (on the day of my flight). And I have already wasted 2 hours on this! I wish all agents would read from the same Script.
I headed next to the Movistar office to confirm the International code for sending TEXT messages to friends and family. I was asked to use the "+" sign rather than "00". It seemed to work. I took a train to Callao station (near Recoleta). I walk to Espacio Norton. I ran into a young man called Marcelo who works for the Marketing department for Bodega Norton. An excellent English speaker, he tells me that Espacio Norton is holding a wine tasting that evening at 7 PM. He asks me to come by at 7 PM and assures me that he will ensure that I am on the list of Invitees. The Sommelier for this evening's wine tasting would be a Spanish speaker and I may not understand all of the comments or discussions that take place.
As I had some time before the tasting, I visited a nearby music shop called NOTORIOUS. I was able to sample 4-5 CDs of Argentine jazz music, before I decided to purchase a couple for A$51 (US$ 17). That's the kind of price all CDs and DVDs in the US should be (US$4 - US$8). Anything higher and downloads are justified! After all most of the money is skimmed by the fat cats (in the marketing and publicity) and very little goes to the artists anyway.
I had a brownie and coffee at Notorious cafe and headed back to Espacio Norton. I was welcomed and given a welcome glass of Sparkling wine. I chatted with an Argentine in Spanish (as much as I could). 2 Sommeliers walked us through the tasting of 3 wines - a Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec - all from 2004 vintage. The Sauvignon Blanc was the best of the lot. It was a good tasting session with the sommelier asking and responding to questions from the tasters (In Spanish, of course). At the end, we were given a tour of the house of Norton. On departing the place (after the tasting), I was given a bottle of their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon as a gift for showing up!
Some of the tasters were rather well dressed. Women here may be ordinary looking but they do dress well. I took a train back to Centro. I headed to a cafe and had a simple cheese sandwich and coffee. The white bread was excellent. It reminded me of tasting similar bread (many decades ago) at Dasaprakash in Chennai! I headed to an Internet cafe to back up my memory cards. On my way back, I came across a cinema theatre showing "There will be Blood". I may see it tomorrow.
I plan to visit Tigre Delta tomorrow.
March 1, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I woke up early and was done with breakfast by 7:20 AM. I took the metro to Retiro Station and purchased a roundtrip to Bartolome Mitre Station for A$1.80. Retiro is a grand old station. The train carriages (on the train to B. Mitre station) were quite old and the seats were worn. I noticed a large mosque on the train route (close to Retiro Station). I assumed that Buenos Aires must have a decent Islamic Population to warrant such a large mosque.
The train ride to B. Mitre took 40 minutes. I had to walk to the Coastal Train Station (called MAIPU) to take another train to Tigre Delta. The ticket office was not open. The train (a short one with just 4 coaches) came in to Maipu station a little before 9 AM. I purchased a 1-way ticket to Tigre for A$5 on the train. There were 10 station between Maipu and the final destination of Tigre. Every station had been highlighted (on my train map) for some attraction or the other. The train was much newer and it was air-conditioned.
There is a lovely residential area close to Maipu train station. I wondered how much the property prices here were. The ride to Tigre delta station took 30 minutes. I walked for about 10-minutes before coming to the dock area. To appreciate the central attraction of this area, one needs to take a boat trip on the tigre delta. Boats trips were being offered for 60 minutes for A$18 or 90 minutes for A$30. The weather was dull and grey and showed increasing promise of rain. I decided to walk around the place until the sky cleared up and before I took a boat trip on the delta.
I noticed people rowing on the tigre river. There were single row boats and rowing teams practising. I suppose, Argentina, must have a decent rowing team at the Olympics. I took a long nice walk. There were many old buildings and museums. The Museo del Arte, Tigre is an excellent building on the waterfront. The museum opened at Noon and it was hardly 11 AM!
As with all my days (thus far in Buenos Aires), there was a light drizzle followed by a brief downpour. I waited it out in a shelter and continued my walking tour. I reached the Central area of Tigre around Noon. I walked around the Tigre Station (as opposed to the Tigre Delta Station) which has direct train services to Retiro Station in Buenos Aires. The fare is cheaper as well (A$1.00).
It was still cloudy. I decided to take a boat ride at 3 PM hoping that it would clear up by then. I continued to see a lot of interesting properties. This might not be a bad place to live as it may not be as expensive as Buenos Aires and yet it is quite close to Buenos Aires. I spent an hour at a local Internet cafe to kill some time. I walked by the tourist office and picked up a vegetarian empanada for lunch from a nearby shop as I did not want to eat Italian food again!
I walked to the Tigre Delta Station and the Portos de Frutos area 20 minutes later. I purchased a ticket for a 90-minute boat ride. It was close to 2:30 PM. As there was a weekend flea market going on, I spent some time walking around the place. Nothing interested me.
I got back to the dock and boarded the boat. We departed around 3:15 PM. There were about 30 passengers on this 100-passenger boat. We had a decent bilingual guide. We started along the Sarmiento river and a few other tributaries. We observed a lot of nice houses. Some of these houses were on stilts. I hope the waste is treated before being pumped back into the river. Within 10 minutes of our departure, the clouds opened up and it poured for 15-minutes. Once the rain stopped, I headed to the upper deck to take in the view and some pictures. One could see the Skyline of Buenos Aires in the distance. We were even catching glimpses of a blue sky!
The tour ended around 4:30 PM. The guide wanted to see some of my pictures. I obtained her card (with her e-mail address) and told her I would send here an invitation to my online album, once the pictures are uploaded. I got back to Tigre delta station and purchased a ticket to Maipu station. It was A$8 this time! It appears that I was treated as a resident of Buenos Aires on my way in and hence I was charged A$5.
I would probably not recommend this day trip. Frankly, there is nothing of terrible interest here. Of course, if you want to escape the big city for a day, then this would be a good place.
I got back to Retiro Station around 6:20 PM. As the movie "There will be blood" was playing at Recoleta, I decided to see it. I had a long, long walk (as I had underestimated the distance of the theatre from the Station) before reaching the theatre a few minutes before show time. The only tickets available were in the first row! I passed as I was not that desperate. I took a bus back to my Hotel. I rushed to the nearby laundry (before they closed at 8 PM) and gave my clothes for washing.
On my return, I decided to sample the other Indian restaurant in Buenos Aires - Kathmandu. It was a little ways from the centre of town resulting in a 15-minute train ride and a 15-minute walk after that. I reached the restaurant at 9 PM and got a table. By 10 PM, the place was packed. The restaurant is run by folks who hail from Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. The chef is from New Delhi. "Kathmandu" is a name presumably chosen at Random - or to avoid the tedium of "Taj Mahal" or "India Palace" :)
The food was OK. It was certainly better than eating bland pasta again! I took a taxi back to the hotel and it cost be A$12. It was close to midnight, but the streets were completely alive with activity. Locals were out and about everywhere. Needless to say, the tourists were safely tucked away in bed - and I was headed there as well. Buenos Aires may indeed be the Paris of South America.
I wrote my diary and headed to bed. I may head to San Telmo tomorrow. I would also need to pick up my laundry - late in the afternoon - tomorrow.
March 2, 2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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I had a bad sleep. The rich Indian food gave me heartburn and I was forced to wake up in the middle of the night and take a few pills to take care of it. I had a really leisurely wakeup and wound up missing breakfast.
Teatro Colon - the most famous theatre in South America - was closed for renovations and no tours were possible. The hotel front desk offered to pick up my laundry in the afternoon thereby saving me a trip back to the hotel. I was also informed by the front desk that River Plate (one of the two Soccer team in Buenos Aires - the other being Boca Juniors, from where Diego Maradona rose to greatness) was playing a home game today. There was a tour company that was providing a ticket to the game along with a pickup / drop-off service - from/to the hotel for A$130 (US$45). I passed as I knew that by going on my own, I would have a better experience and definitely save a lot of money. The hotel front desk also said that River Plate was located in a nice neighbourhood and that I could go there on my own.
I took a train and a Bus to visit the stadium of Boca Juniors. The area is quite old and many of the houses were painted in bright colours. There were Tango street performers who were dressed to kill. They offered to pose for pictures - for a fee! I passed. I walked to the nearby Boca Juniors Stadium. I paid the A$17 (17 pesos) fee and started with a visit to the stands. The spectator areas are barricaded from each other and from the players with barbed wire. I guess this must be a far rowdy crowd than the crowd that visits Maracana (Brasil).
I also visited the adjacent museum which had profiles on the all the former greats of CABJ (Club Athletico Boca Juniors). Yes, Diego had a 20-feet long statue at the entry to the museum. The museum had videos of some of the great games from earlier years. One of the videos showed a goal by Diego Maradona against arch Rival River Plate in April 1981 - indicating signs of greatness that was to come in future years. A truly gifted player.
Although I wanted to buy a souvenir, the jerseys were way too expensive and I passed. I had lunch at an Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood and the food was simply horrible. I ate it anyway. This is what I called "between a rock and a hard place". I eat Indian food - I love it but get heartburn. I eat Italian food - the food is bad and I simply hate it. What's a vegetarian to do?
As I had decided to visit River Plate stadium and try for tickets there, I needed to take a bus to get there. I had to be rather delicate in asking directions to "River Plate", as this was "Boca" Country. The buses here require exact change. I spent a fruitless 20-minutes walking up and down many store entrances, asking for small change for my larger peso bills. None of the shops had change. I think they were being jerks. I finally found a 1-Peso coin in the deep recesses of my trouser pockets and was quite relieved.
The bus ride to River Plate took about 40 minutes. The bus had man River fans dressed in their regalia and chanting all their slogans. I got off wherever they did and followed their trail for 15-minutes before reaching the River Plate stadium. The neighbourhood was quite classy with really nice houses. There was a security check outside the Stadium and I was asked to throw my water bottle (a plastic one) away. I went to the ticket counter and purchased a ticket for the upper deck for 70 pesos (US$23) which I thought was a tad expensive.
There were barricades (barbed wire) here as well - between the stands and between the stands and the playing field. There was no shelter for any stands as I had experience at Maracana. The opposition team (from San Juan) was relegated to a stand of their own. The crowd was vociferous. There was a heavy police presence all around. Unlike Maracana, there was no Samba drumming here - just chanting.
River Plate scored twice in the first half. San Martin scored on a penalty kick but River still led 2-1. The second half started in pouring rain. I had my raincoat on and watched the game. Both River and San Martin scored, but River still led 3-2 when I decided that I had had enough and headed out to the stairways to take some shelter from the rain. The game was called off after 15-more minutes of play. The teams will apparently meet again and replay this game.
I waited for an hour at the stadium hoping for the rain to stop. When it let down a bit, I started walking to the main road. All buses and taxis were full. The rain picked up again. MY BLOODY LUCK! After another hour or more of waiting, I finally managed to get a bus and a seat on the bus. A local Argentine gent helped me get off close to Retiro Station. I took a metro train back to the hotel.
I was surprised to find that my laundry was not there. As the evening manager was different, he had no clue as to what I was talking about! I leave for Montevideo (Uruguay) early tomorrow morning. If the Laundromat opens at 8 AM, I have a chance to pick up my clothes otherwise I need to think of a Plan "B".
I had originally intended to leave my larger duffel bag in the hotel during my 5-day trip to Uruguay. After the laundry fiasco, I decided not to trust these folks with my bags. I packed all my belongings into the 2 bags that I intend to take with me to Uruguay.
I walked to a nearby street and had a late dinner. I had a cheese sandwich and coffee. The white bread was excellent. Post dinner, I headed to an Internet cafe to pay my credit card bills and backup my memory cards. I saw a note from Shahrukh (the Indian restaurant owner in Buenos Aires) about visiting bodegas around Montevideo tomorrow afternoon.
I got back to the hotel, wrote my diary and went to bed. I keep my fingers crossed for the Laundromat to open by 8 AM so I can pick up my clothes before I head to Uruguay.
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