We had toiled many an hour over whether to make the extreme detour to visit Iguazu Falls, one of the Seven Natural wonders of the world and the world's largest waterfall. Why on earth we spent so much time on this very simple decision is now beyond me. Money schmoney, this was worth the 24 hour round trip plane ticket, the shitty accommodation options, and the expensive entrance fees. In fact, i'd go as far to say i'd do it all again tomorrow. It was THAT magical. Staying just two nights, we managed to find a hostel via airbnb that had good reviews and seemed like the best of a bad bunch. The room was dingy, the shower was horrific, but the hosts were so friendly and gave us the best insider tips on how to navigate the falls, so here goes! Despite the hostel host’s tips, we still got caught out with a few unexpecteds which frustratingly delayed our planned early departure. You can only pay for park entrance in cash (AR$250pp), so that meant making a dash to the cash machine, (most of which were empty!). The bus ride to the park is also extortionate (AR$160pp), and don't believe the lady on the desk when she says you need to book all activities before you get to the park (AR$240pp), it’s just not true! The falls speak for themselves. We decided to do the short twelve minute boat trip which takes you right up to, and then under the falls! Needless to say you get drenched from head to toe, but it was well worth the extra money. We also, by complete chance, chose the correct order to do the three waterfall routes in, starting with the tamest and ending with the most incredible. The upper route takes you along the top of the falls so just teases you with some sidelong shots. The lower route is longer but with far more impressive views of the whole falls (and is where the boat trips leave from). And finally the Devil's Throat, which requires a rather slow and compulsory tourist train to the start, and then a fifteen minute walk, but is utterly breathtaking. We didn't have time to also go to the Brazil side, however unless you're waterfall obsessed, we felt a whole day from 9-6 was sufficient to appreciate the power of the place. Additionally, Iguazu town is one of the most visited in Argentina but is so utterly budget and depressing.
After seven hours of dust and desert, we arrived! A lush oasis of neatly lined grapevines with gardens of cacti and lavender in full bloom. Paradise! Bodega Colome is not only the world's highest winery, Argentina’s oldest winery, and located in the middle of the desert near to nowhere, but it is also owned by a Swiss chap called Donald Hess who happens to have a significant contemporary art collection. Part of this collection is made up of seven James Turrell works (the same light artist featured in our Naoshima, Japan posts) which are now housed in a dedicated museum in the bodega grounds. I had read about it months ago and knew that it was another art pilgrimage we absolutely had to make. Our reservation for a tour of the winery, lunch and tour of the museum had been in place for weeks and I was ridiculously excited! Lunch was simple but stupidly delicious, the wine was the best we tasted in Argentina, and the tour was to the point and informative. We learnt that some of the Malbec vines are still the original vines brought over from France 160 years ago by the first settlers in the region, and they now only exist in their untainted form at Bodega Colome. Sadly we weren't alone for the museum tour and there was a strict no photo policy but the works were amazing and some of the more interesting I have seen by the artist. Our only complaint was that we were a little disappointed by the architecture of the building and thought that a bit more effort could have gone into the design of the space. Our base that evening was the small town of Molinos, a quiet, charming, but dislocated village closest to the winery. And one of the more bizarre hostels we have stayed at, six beds in our room, and run by an old lady who wasn't quite all there.
We had heard good things about the Northern Argentinian town of Salta, so we booked an airbnb for four nights. It is a beautiful town surrounded by dry and arid desert. We probably stayed at least one night too many and we were ready to leave when it came to it. It didn't help that our airbnb host was a tad on the odd side; knocking on our door at 2am to tell us a joke, waking us up for breakfast, and the worst, hanging up our wet laundry to dry (my pants included). I was genuinely scared he was watching us through a camera. We do believe he was trying his best just to be helpful but he really needed to learn to respect the space of others. That aside, we did really enjoy our time here, the town is genuinely old for Argentina and beautifully maintained. Its churches are grand and ornate, our favourite was Iglesia San Franscisco which needed absolutely no Insta filter help to show off. There are even a few cobbled streets here and there One bonus to our airbnb was that the wifi was pretty good so we did a lot of blog updating and general admin. Travelling for eight months is a full time job people! But it was lovely to visit the artesanale market and pick up a couple of souvenirs whilst exploring the town. We cheated a little by taking the cable car up Cerro San Fernando where we had awesome views of the city, and we finally enjoyed a huge asado that left us feeling like we had had our months intake of red meat in one night! One thing we did not appreciate was that most of the places of interest in Salta are actually outside of Salta and can only be accessed via a tour or rental car. So this time we decided on a bit of both. First, a day trip to a village called Cafayate. It's a good job we shopped around for tours as they all vary but mostly do the same route. We ended up choosing Altro Tours as they looked the most professional! The village itself was totally missable but the scenery on the drive through the Quebrada de las Conchas valley was pretty spectacular and the rock formations, such as the Devil's Throat, along the way were impressive. But it is a long day tour and I think we’d of rather have done it as part of a road trip. It was finally time to say goodbye to our odd American host as we hired a car from the airport to embark nervously on our road trip to Bodega Colome, via the small and picturesque village of Cachi. I say nervously because every person we spoke to about the roads to get there cringed when they saw how small our hire car was. But we weren't going to let that put us off! What a drive it was! We traversed the Los Cordons National Park for five hours, navigating the most ridiculous hairpin gravel roads up to an altitude of 3470m above sea level (our highest yet) whilst passing through some of the most beautiful and varied landscapes. Words won’t do it justice so here are the photos instead. Cachi, our base for the night was a real gem. Full of whitewashed buildings, cute cafes and bars, it is a small town that clearly takes pride in its appearance. However the last few hours to reach Colome were somewhat more challenging; the roads were dusty dirt tracks at best but our little hire car withstood the test and to our surprise, the engine did not fall out and we still had all four hubcaps. We drove through some lovely little dusty untouched hamlets on the way; the surrounding hillsides full of blazing red patches where peppers were being laid out to dry, later to be crushed up into pimientos.
I have to admit, before our trip, Mendoza was one of the places I was most excited about visiting. Wine tours around the Argentine countryside, what's not to like? But in reality, the city itself was rather a disappointment, the best wineries are out of town and your only options of reaching them are via ridiculously expensive tours (where tastings are additional!) or renting a car. We didn't really fancy the last option so we were a little confined to the city. Luckily we had our island friend, superstar techno DJ Rous to help us find the gems this busy city has to offer. On our second night, Rous and his boyfriend decided to take us out on the town and we got to experience how the Argentines party. It was so so fun but exhausting! It is usual for Argentines to bring their own wine to a restaurant, bearing in mind that Rous is a wine expert, we left that to him and had two delicious bottles of red (naturally) at one of Francis Mallmann's new restaurants, Oregano. Then there were more drinks at a fabulous garden bar. Then there was gin at Rous's beautiful apartment. Granny Charlie and Grandpa Rob are normally fast asleep by 2am, but instead we found ourselves heading out to a techno club with a gut full of gin and red wine! But techno dance we did and made a respectful exit somewhere around 4am. The next day was a disaster, we were tired and hungover, and then Rob slipped in the shower and smashed his head. It could have been much much worse, but luckily he escaped with just a massive egg on his forehead. We should have stayed in bed and declared a movie day. But in our eagerness to try to explore this land of grapes, we headed out to Caquimbito, an area of wineries just outside of the centro. At least, that's where we thought we were headed, until we realised we were on the wrong bus. And before we knew it, we were walking through Mendoza’s version of a gangland, rucksacks placed firmly on our chests, wondering how the hell we were going to get out of here alive, stomachs groaning and desperate for a cheesy empanada. At last we found what Rous later informed us was Mendoza’s ‘worst winery’, Lopez, and signed up for a tour in Spanish because we couldn't be bothered to wait an extra hour for the English version. It was not interesting and the wine was shit. The only good thing about the day was a wonderful home made pasta dinner at Rous’s place. This guy can cook, pick the best wine, and DJ some serious beats. What a dream boat!
The next day was all round much better as Rous was determined to show us the best bits of his home city. We were treated to private bodega tours of Escorihue La Gascon, the oldest winery and cellar in Mendoza, as well as visiting another of Francis’ restaurants, 1884 before hoping on a bus to the lovely Lujan district. When it finally came to boarding our overnight bus to Salta, we felt we had started to see the appeal of this hard to define city. The following is the perfect piece of literature that describes Valparaiso. No one summed it up better than the one and only Pablo Neruda, so here you go: An Ode to Valparaiso by Pablo Neruda Valparaiso, what an absurdity you are, how crazy: a crazy port. What a head of disheveled hills, that you never finish combing. Never did you have time to dress yourself, and always you were surprised by life. Death woke you up, in your nightshirt, in your long johns fringed with colors, naked with a name tattooed on your stomach, and with a hat. The earthquake caught you, and you ran crazedly, you broke your fingernails. The waters and the stones the sidewalks, the sea, the night, all were shaken. You slept on the ground, tired from your navigation, and the furious earth lifted its waves more tempestuous than a marine gale. The dust covered up your eyes. The flames burned your shoes. The solid houses of the bankers trembled like injured whales, while above, the houses of the poor jumped into the void like imprisoned birds who test their wings and fall to the ground. In summary, we LOVE Valparaiso. At first, it seems gnarly, dirty, and a bit of a shithole. But then you start to explore its steep 'disheveled hills' and its bohemian charm really starts to rub off on you. There isn't really much 'to do' per se, it's really just about wandering and getting lost in its graffitied streets, which is exactly what we spent two days doing. There are the cemeteries (No. 1, No. 2 and the Cementerio Disidentes), the old prison (which you can't actually enter anymore), and the Cultural Park which houses a few great arts spaces as well as offering great views of the city. The hills are steep and if you decide to tackle them on foot, be prepared for some serious leg burn! But the views are your rewards and often take you to some of the quieter parts of town. If you can't face the burn, the innovative people of Valpo have created 'ascensors', fun little funiculars which are a cross between an elevator and an escalator. The whole town has a serious bohemian vibe. On one of our wanderings we came across a lovely little square full of unrelated musicians jamming away. By the time we left, at least five more had joined from nowhere and there was an impromptu swing dance class breaking out. Another example, on our way home after a fairly boozy evening drinking at the only place to be on a Saturday night, Fauna, (we had been so good, we felt we deserved it) we wandered past a little local printmakers studio. Poking our drunken noses through the window, the artist spotted us and was quick to invite us in. Well, it would be rude not. "A beer with my artist friends and I?" Oh, go on then! Twenty minutes later, we had exchanged emails and I had two prints tucked under my arm. Ah Valparaiso, what an absurdity you are. Although we were staying in downtown, Cerro Conception and Cerro Alegre are the places to stay. And despite quite a few people saying we should watch ourselves and our belongings at night, we felt completely safe. And then we found Chile's best empanadas - Le Pato, #556 Almirante Montt. Crispy on the outside but with a slightly doughy interior packed full of delicious sausage filling. We also did another free walking tour which was well worth it, mainly for gaining an insight into the complicated Chilean history and the current complex political situation. We also ended the tour in an old palace, a side of Valpo we hadn't yet experienced. The interior was quite spectacular and had survived decades of earthquakes, the glorious green onyx staircase was still intact!
Santiago is a stereotypical South American city. It has the obvious colonial architecture and european characteristics, but is less threatening and obnoxious than other cities. It’s an easy place to relax and take a breather, with great Chilean food and just enough culture to keep you occupied. Restaurants Peumayan has a particularly interesting fusion of Mapuche ancestral food using modern cooking techniques. Sadly it suffers from the banal graffiti problem so prevalent in South America, and areas destroyed by various earthquakes have been replaced with generic and unattractive architecture. However a large number of really incredible churches have survived, the parks are generally well looked after and vibrant street food is abundant. In particular Barrio Brazil, Concha y Toro, Londres-Paris, and Barrio Italia all have a different feel and are worth the time.
Airbnb came through again (mainly on the price) and after a four hour bus ride, we arrived in Castro, Chiloe Island's main town. It was an odd set up for an Airbnb, hostel-like with shared bathrooms and kitchen, but with a restaurant downstairs that belonged to the owners, Antonio and Viviana, who also lived there with their two kids - a quieter fifteen year old and a very excitable two year old. We didn't sleep that well as it was right on the road and the room had hessian curtains, not to mention the kid who didn't seem to sleep at all but chose instead to bounce off beds and walls in the room next to ours. But despite this, we were getting good vibes from Castro and decided to stay three nights before making our way north to Santiago. Castro is full of super cool, quirky architecture, owned and developed by a growing number of hip Santiagoans heading south in search of some peace. But it is most well known for its 'palafitos', houses on stilts, which interestingly are all illegal builds, hence them hanging out onto the water. There are two palafito areas, along Pedro Montt and Gamboa, and staying near either of these is the place to be. We would recommend avoiding the centre of town. You can take a short boat ride to get a little closer to see the Pedro Montt palafitos from the water or head to Mirador Gamboa viewing point. Our favourite cafe was called Palafito Patagonia, with a cool interior and awesome deck on the water. Cafe del Puente was also fun for some tea and cake (avoid the scones, they were poor). There are also some pretty chic hostels and hotels, if we weren't on a budget, we would have stayed at Hotel Boutique Palafito del Mar which is #hotelgoals. And on the three nights we were there, we ate at Mercadito which we'd also HIGHLY recommend, such a fun interior and their ceviche was dreamy. We were treated to a tasty paella at our Airbnb, Hostal Catelan on the other night, where our host Antonio regaled us with stories of his crazy gangland past... enough said. Chiloe is famous for its 53 Unesco World Heritage protected wooden churches that were built by the Jesuits (whoever they were) hundreds of years ago, and are scattered all over the island. Iglesia San Francisco is located in Castro but the rest are in harder to reach villages. There is relatively good public transport but we liked the idea of being able to jump out when we saw something we liked so decided to hire a car. We had a bit of an issue finding a hire car as we didn't want to trek to the airport but finally found West Hire based at the casino. Our first day of driving was a bit of a non-day. A disaster in fact. Rob somehow managed to sleep all night with a fly in his eye. I was unfortunate enough to locate the gruesome discovery and was responsible for the safe removal of said fly. With the fear of an impending and possibly deadly Chilean eye infection, we decided it was best to find a pharmacy. Rob would stay with the car and I would nip in. Easy. FOURTY minutes later, a totally bizarre pharmaceutical system, me gesticulating 'fly in eye', rambling, "possiblo infectione", and I emerged with an unidentifiable bottle of 'antibiotico'. Meanwhile Rob had lost his shit after having to drive round the square five times wondering what the hell I was doing. There were crossed words, and long periods of silence, interrupted only by curt navigational instructions. I blame the fly. But we eventually made it to Dalcahue where the small car ferry to Isla Quinchao departs. We toured round the villages of Curaco de Velez and Achao, with the aim of visiting the best of Chiloe's wooden churches. Seeing them from the outside is fun but it's the wooden clad, often colourful interiors that you really want to see. Well, if you can get into them that is. Most are locked with bizarre public opening hours, and have 'key holders' outside of these hours. So then you start playing the really fun game of hunt the key and 'guess the vicars house'. Sometimes it worked but we missed out on seeing the inside of Achao after the vicar had gone missing. After flygate, neither of us were really in the mood to continue playing the game. Back on Chiloe, we decided to improve what was left of the day and try our luck further north (let's forget the unfortunate dirt track we then almost broke the car on). Isla Aucar is a fun and tiny island you can walk to from Aucar along a boardwalk that crosses the water. Quemchi isn't really worth visiting but Tenaun is a little gem, with a really spectacular ultramarine church which was worth all the effort of getting there. The next day was an altogether better day, we woke to bright blue skies and brighter moods. Our plan today was to venture to the west of the island, to find Muelle de las Almas or Dock of Soul, with two other guests from our hostel, Cecelia and Drew.
After a short hour walk on Chiloe's west coast, you reach this stunning little point, a wooden dock art installation which taps into the islands indigenous mythology of the Mapuche people. Before years of warfare, the Mapuche dominated Patagonia. Today, their influence is mostly only felt in island folklore and place names. The legend tells of four whales, who were actually four old women turned into fantastic sea creatures. Their job was to carry the souls of the dead from the pier over the sea into the afterlife. But not everyone got to go, you had to prove first you had a pure soul. I'm not sure we would have made it! After a short but sweet packed lunch it was time to rush back for our overnight bus to Santiago! On arriving in the picturesque lakeside town of Puerto Varas in Chile, we immediately knew we had made the right choice to spend a night here rather than Puerto Montt, which in driving through seemed pretty rough. Our overnight bus with Via Bariloche had been surprisingly pleasant. We were disappointed that we didn't have the fully reclining seats we had read about online, but we had more than enough room to spread out. Our Airbnb was located in a quiet residential part of town a short walk from the centre. It was a bit of a random one, a small bedroom next door to the kids room in a small family house, but they were super friendly and we were only there one night. Plus it was cheap which is what we need right now! Flying through the budget!
There are a few things to do in Puerto Varas, it's a beautiful little place to wander round, sandwiched between two volcanoes and full of cute cafes and shops. The main attraction is a boat ride across the lake, some waterfalls, and a hike around Volcan Osorno. We decided that we would have ample time for more volcano climbs in the future and we were already booked in to visit Iguazu Falls (the biggest in the world). This one didn't look especially spectacular so we decided to head straight to Chiloe Island the next morning. After a good meal and a beautiful sunset, we agreed that we were going to like Chile, a lot. |
AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |