Patagonia: At the End of the World (Part II)

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Jenn

The iconic Fitz Roy mountain in Argentina Patagonia

After a couple of days in El Calafate, Jason and I hopped on a 3-hour bus ride to the less-visited sister town, El Chaltén. There are three bus companies that bring you from El Calafate to El Chaltén. First, they stop at the tourist centre in El Chaltén and then at the town’s tiny bus terminal.

The early-morning bus ride from El Calafate to El Chalten

The sole reason for El Chaltén’s existence is tourism and even during high season, it’s a pretty isolated little town. It’s the self-declared trekking capital of Argentina, and is the gateway to amazing climbing and trekking territory. It provides fairly easy access to the famous Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy mountains. Those who are familiar with the Patagonia clothing company might find the mountain range here familiar-looking – the highest peak in the company’s logo is Fitz Roy.

Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre mountains (Argentina)

Cerro Fitz Roy (right of the center) and Cerro Torre (left of the center) mountains

One catch though: since we were visiting during the off-season (Argentina’s winter months), the town would likely be almost deserted. We had read that most accommodations and restaurants would be closed for the season, so we were a little wary coming here. However, the California couple we met at Perito Moreno Glacier gave us a great tip on where to stay since they had just come from El Chaltén.

The little town of El Chalten

Upon arrival, we discovered that – in the whole town – there were two hostels and one restaurant that were still open. Their local market was also still open so we ended up spending the next four days making our own meals in the hostel’s well-equipped kitchen.

I loved our time there. It was quiet, relaxed and peaceful. The town was a charming little place full of smiling locals and, since it was off- season, almost no tourists. We arrived on a brilliantly sunny day and the friendly guide at the town’s tourist centre made sure we understood how lucky we were – calm, sunny days were rare during the winter. Many travellers who arrive here in the winter never even get to see the mountains because of the snow and clouds.

With the exception of the two sunny days, El Chalten looked like this for the rest of our stay.

Unfortunately, I was trying to get over a pretty bad cold so we “wasted” the sunny day by staying indoors. Luck was on our side though, because I got up the next morning (rested and feeling much better) and was greeted by another sunny day. And we weren’t going to waste this one.

At the beginning of the Fitz Roy hike

Jason and I were getting pretty good at trekking, at this point. But trekking through icy and snowy terrain was a little new to us. Our trusted hiking shoes that got us through slippery rocky terrain in Cusco and dry, dusty desert in Arequipa were no match for ice-covered trails. Luckily, only the beginning of the trail was icy since those trails remained in the shade for most of the day. The terrain was pretty varied actually. Some parts of the the trail looked like this:

Parts of the trail which were mostly in the shade during the day were snowy or icy

And then other parts of the trail looked like this:

Parts of the hike which were in the sun for most of the day were dry. You can see the summit of Fitz Roy ~~peaking~~ peeking out in the distance

But no complaints when you get to soak in scenery that looks like this for most of the trek:

Patagonia scenery

We had chosen the slightly shorter hike (3 hr), which took us to the nearby lake (lago Capri) and look-out point near Fitz Roy. We arrived at the lake to find it completely frozen over and covered in a blanket of snow. There were signs everywhere that warned us not to step on the frozen surface but there were footprints all over the lake, so it seemed pretty safe. The view of Fitz Roy from the lake was magnificent. Again, we were so lucky to have such amazing winter weather – couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.

View of Fitz Roy on Lago Capri

The iconic jagged peaks of Fitz Roy

Hiking in Patagonia was an awesome experience – the scenery is unmatched by anything else we’ve seen in South America.

One last look at Fitz Roy

Patagonia: At the End of the World (Part I)

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Jenn

Just 24-hours after soaking in the subtropical heat of Iguazu Falls, we were greeted with this sight:

Up close and personal with one of the few advancing glaciers left in the world

Patagonia in all its icy, snow-covered, wintery glory!

Argentina is definitely an amazing country of contrasts. Packed away were the bikinis and tank tops – out came the toques, scarves, and wool gloves. I was really looking forward to visiting Patagonia and after seeing the awesomeness of Iguazu Falls, Jason was also excited to see what else Argentina had to offer.

Patagonia is home to the Perito Moreno Glacier, one of my ‘photography travel‘ places, so I had high expectations of it. From Iguazu Falls, we flew into El Calafate, a small little town that serves as a gateway to the glacier.

The morning of our glacier tour, there was a little mix-up and we almost missed our bus transportation to the glacier. Luckily, we were able to grab a cab and catch up with the bus while it was still picking up people from various hotels in the area. It was a pretty cloudy day, but I didn’t mind since that meant better lighting for pictures.

Beautiful blue ice

Our group’s first glimpse of the glacier drew audible gasps. The glacier is magnificent. A huge expanse of blue-hued ice that stretched back into the foggy horizon. It was unlike any other natural wonder I had ever seen. We spent an hour or so at the boardwalk area, which allows you to see the northern side of the glacier up close.

Well-constructed and strategically placed walkways around the northern side of the glacier

On one of the various walkways near the glacier

Even after an hour of taking in the spectacular sight of the glacier from all angles, the feeling of awe does not disappear. I recalled to Jason about my first time seeing the Grand Canyon in the United States. It was amazing when we first approached the canyon; but after 10 minutes, the view got a bit old and I was ready to leave. With this glacier, however, I found that every time I looked away for a few seconds and caught sight of the glacier again, it would take my breath away.

We also got to board a boat that takes you right up to the southern side of the glacier. One of the coolest things you can see while visiting the glacier is catching a rare moment when ice calves or breaks off from the main glacier. It makes a incredible thunderous crack before giant slabs of ice fall away into the water. We saw a couple of smaller ice chunks break away from the northern side but was never able to capture it on camera.

Chunks of ice that had broken off the main glacier

Later on that day, as the group started packing up and putting their cameras away, the loudest crack I’ve heard all day split the air. It happened so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to take my camera back out. You’ll have to take my word that it’s pretty incredible to see in person. I was able to get my camera out to capture a bit of the aftermath of the calving glacier though.

Southern side of Perito Moreno Glacier (glacier calving aftermath)

The aftermath of ice calving off the glacier

I would’ve been happy just admiring the glacier from the boat, but Jason and I were lucky enough to walk on the glacier!

Another group of glacier trekkers that were making their way off the ice.

They strapped everyone up into crampons and gave us a few quick tips (“don’t walk with your feet too close together or you might end up stabbing yourself in the foot”)

One of the guides helping me get fitted for crampons – HUGE metal spikes that they tie to your shoes. One lady wore high-heeled boots. Not sure how they found crampons for her.

And then we were off!

The first few hesitant steps on the glacier with crampons

In a couple of minutes, we were walking like pros. Crampons are like winter tires for people.

The steep parts were a little tricky but once you got the hang of it, it was pretty exhilarating walking on top of a glacier.

Glacier walking!!

Some awesome backdrop while walking on the glacier

It’s not all fun and games. I got lectured for walking too close to this giant sinkhole.

Our guides even surprised us with a little treat near the end: Scotch ~~on the rocks~~ over glacier ice and alfajores! Talk about an extravagant refreshment break.

Now that’s what I call a refreshment break – Scotch on the rocks and sweets!

Towards the end of the day, the skies even cleared up a bit. The glacier against the mountain setting is pretty breathtaking. Seriously still can’t believe how beautiful Patagonia is.

Mind-boggling that we got to walk on this!

View of the glacier while on the glacier

Bye glacier, hopefully we’ll be back one day. Don’t you go anywhere.

View of Perito Moreno Glacier as we motored away

Iguazu Falls: Thundering Waterfalls and Peaceful Jungles

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Jenn

Gorgeous view of Iguazu Falls, complete with rainbows (and unicorns…just kidding! no unicorns)

Argentina is a beautiful country of contrasts. After reveling in cosmopolitan Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks, Jason and I decided to hit the road to soak in some heat in the subtropical climate near Iguazu Falls. It’s wintertime in Buenos Aires so we wanted a bit of a break from bundling up in sweaters and scarves.

The main attraction of Iguazu Falls: Devil’s Throat.

Before arriving in Argentina, we were warned to be careful while in the country. The economic situation had pushed a lot of people to desperate measures. Jason and I (as well as our possessions) were safe while in Buenos Aires. But on our way from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls, we experienced our first theft. We took an 18-hour overnight bus and I had my sunglasses, Patagonia rain jacket and the monogrammed Swiss Army knife (that my dad got for me from Switzerland) stolen from the secure luggage compartment under the bus. (Warning: Do not use Expreso Singer bus company if you want a bus company that cares about your belongings).

So upon arriving in Iguazu Falls and discovering our things were stolen, we had to deal with the hassle of filing a police report. First of all, imagine the inefficiency associated with filing a low-priority report with the police, then compound that experience with trying to communicate with a police officer who does not speak any English whatsoever.

Main police station in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

We were originally instructed to go to the main police station to file our stolen items report.

The 'overflow" police station in Puerto Igauzu?

However, we were subsequently directed to this little ~~mickey mouse~~ ~~operation~~ police station for our police report.

Inside the little police station in Puerto Iguazu

Inside the little police station, we were directed to a wooden bench. We passed 6 levels of ‘Plants vs Zombies 2’ on that bench.

Using whatever broken Spanish we possessed, we managed to piece together the story for the officer. After two hours at the station, we finally had a police report that looked half-legit and half-joke.

On the upside, we had booked a few nights in a great little lodge in the jungle on the outskirts near Iguazu Falls. It was a perfect little getaway after the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires and dealing with the aggravation of having our things stolen.

The walkways at our jungle lodge, La Cantera, in Puerto Iguazu

The walkways between the main reception area and our lodge at La Cantera.

We spent the first day just relaxing and lounging by the pool. It was perfect. At one point, I turned over to Jason and said “I am so happy right now”. The stress of having our things stolen had completely dissipated in the sun and fresh jungle air.

The infinity pool at La Cantera, Puerto Iguazu

Lounging by the infinity pool in the jungle

The next day, we made our way to the falls to see one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of Nature’. It’s nestled at the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, although 80% of the falls fall on the Argentine side. It’s probably the world’s most impressive waterfalls, with 275 separate falls spilling over jungle cliffs.

On the Iguazu Falls tram, planning our route around the park. Would help if I was looking at the correct side of the map

Iguazu Falls was one place that everyone unanimously told us was a ‘must-see’. Jason was a little skeptical. “It’ll probably be like Niagara Falls“, was what he said. However, after seeing the jaw-dropping views and experiencing the thundering rush of standing over the falls, even Jason was gushing about how awesome Igauzu Falls was. And ‘awesome’ is not a word Jason used lightly.

We spent the day visiting three main viewing sections. The highest section lets you stand right over the main attraction of the Argentine side of the falls: Devil’s Throat. There’s a free tram that takes you to a 1km-long walkway. It spans the upper Iguazu river before ending at the main look-out point.

The 1-km long walkway that takes you to Devil’s Throat

Almost there! We can see the mist from here.

We (along with most visitors) got drenched so we weren’t able to get any good pictures up there. Water and mist coated our camera lens and the wind gusts were a little crazy.

Devil's Throat, Iguazu Falls (Argentina)

Standing over Devil’s Throat. No escaping the misty gusts of wind.

Devil's Throat at Iguazu Falls (Argentina)

Another view of Devil’s Throat. This is probably the only clear picture I have of this section.

Leaving Devil’s throat completely drenched.

The middle section lets you take a relatively short walk along the upper rim of the falls.

Standing at the edge of the falls. Pretty awesome view of the falls below us.

Coati lounging in the sun (Iguazu Falls, Argentina)

This little guy lounging in the sun is called a Coati. He looks like a cross between a raccoon and a possum. They are everywhere in the Iguazu Falls park. And are not afraid of people. They look pretty cute (IMO), but can be pretty vicious if provoked (or want your food).

The lower section is a longer walk but provides the most complete views of the falls. It also lets you get up close and personal at the bottom of the falls.

Gorgeous views from the lower walkway in Iguazu Falls.

Getting up close and personal with the falls

We even visited some of the smaller falls scattered around the park – most of them overlooked by tourists clamoring for views of the larger falls.

The tiny hidden waterfalls in Iguazu Falls park

Iguazu Falls was one of our highlights in South America. It was gorgeous to see and exciting to experience. We can definitely see why Iguazu Falls was on everyone’s “must-see” list.

Buenos Aires: Tango and Football

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Jenn

There were two very Argentine things that Jason and I both really wanted to do while in Buenos Aires: go watch a football game and enjoy Argentine tango.

The two couldn’t be more different but after watching both, I have to say they’re so similar that I wouldn’t be surprised if Argentine tango dancers started wearing jerseys and football players traded in their cleats for tango shoes. Okay, perhaps I’m being a little extreme, but hear me out.

Venue

We wanted to watch the Boca Juniors play in the La Bombenera stadium but since the Boca Juniors fans are crazy, it would be really difficult to get tickets to a game. Instead we watched the River Plate soccer club play at the River Plate stadium – a huge venue filled to capacity with enthusiastic fans.

River Plate Football Stadium in Buenos Aires

The River Plate Football Stadium. And yes, that’s a water cannon on top of a tank at the bottom of the picture.

Jason and I were lucky enough to visit Buenos Aires just as the World Tango Championships kicked off. We were even able to score tickets to the World Tango Finals

Buenos Aires World Tango Championship tickets

We scored tickets to World Tango Finals. We only had to line up for 1.5 hours for them!

Like football, the Tango Finals were held in Luna Park Stadium – a huge venue filled to capacity with enthusiastic fans

Luna Park Stadium – where the World Tango Finals took place

Athleticism

Watching the River Plate team was pretty impressive. They were obviously the better team and played their hearts out. Their display of endurance, speed, and agility was pure joy to watch. There was no question they were world-class athletes.

River plate vs. Colon

The tango finalists that we watched that night were spectacular. Even Jason was impressed with how technical and difficult the Tango was – especially when it came to the intricate footwork. As with the football players, the Tango dancers’ display of endurance, speed, and agility was exhilarating to watch. World-class athletes here too.

Passion

A lot of what makes a live football game so exciting to watch can be credited to the team’s fans. Football fans are the pure definition of the world: fanatics. They are in love with the game, the players, the excitement and are not afraid to let you know. The whole stadium shook when fans chanted, stomped, and sang in unison. The passion was palpable. Side note: if the River Plate fans are considered to be tamer than Boca Juniors fans, then I don’t think I ever want to get on the bad side of a Boca Juniors fan.

Football fans take their sport VERY seriously

Like a football game, the passion is also palpable when watching a pair of tango dancers ooze desire all over the dance floor. The best tango dancers make you feel a little voyeuristic when watching them dance. It feels a little wrong watching that much passion exchanged between two people.

A passionate embrace in between intense tango footwork

Acting Ability

Two world-class tango dancers will make you believe they are absolutely in love with each other. I would not be surprised if every single dance couple up there were actually romantically involved by the way they touched (and locked lips with) each other.

Putting on a show for the audience and judges

Like tango dancers, football players also possess an incredible acting ability. More times than I can count, two football players will barely make incidental contact and almost always, one of them will roll around on the ground in agony. They writhe in “pain” until they are certain the ref won’t be making a foul or penalty call. At that point, they jump up and rejoin the game as if nothing ever happened.

There is, however, one big difference between the two displays of athleticism – Security

While the security guards at the Tango Finals just waved us through without so much as an extra glance, we were met with this when we tried to make our way into the football stadium:

Some serious crowd control before the football match

Fans were funneled down certain streets by the stadium where they were then subjected to full body pat-downs and bag searches by riot gear-clad police officers.

Pat-downs and bag searches before the football match

Pat-downs and bag searches by police in full riot gear

After the initial search, your bag is subjected to 3 more searches at various checkpoints until you are finally allowed into the general area around the stadium. One final bag search when you reach your entrance gate and then you’re allowed inside into this:

Fenced-in seating area in River Plate Stadium

Our “box seats” for the River Plate game

A fenced-in seating area topped with barbed wire.

This area is where fans of the opposing team are seated. After the game, the entire stadium is locked down for 30 minutes to allow the opposing team to leave the stadium and surrounding area first. Crazy football fans!

So there you have it. Really, other than the barbed wire seating area, Argentine Tango and football are like two peas in an Argentine pod.

Buenos Aires: Fuudis Food Tour

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Jenn

One of the funnest and yummiest things we did in Buenos Aires is join a food tour. This was all thanks to Jason – he read about Fuudis in a local events magazine.

Quoted from their website: “Fuudis is a brand new concept bringing together uber cool people who love looove food, and surprising dining experiences. We create ‘experiences’ for you to enjoy food in unusual settings, away from the norm, combining gastronomy and art in new creative spaces.”

Founded by food-loving Argentinian and Aussie business partners, Marine and Anne, Fuudis offers many food-themed events. We decided to try their dinner food tour.

We emailed them right away and asked whether they had room on their next dinner food tour. Unfortunately they were booked solid but they said they would add us to their waiting list. The night before, they emailed saying that they had room for us! Woohoo!

We were instructed to meet at an intersection in the Puerto Madero district at 8:30pm (an early dinner time for most Argentinians). Puerto Madero is right on the canal and is Buenos Aires’ most modern neighbouhood, home to exclusive restaurants, luxury hotels, and expensive apartments.

Puerto Madero district

We met the group of foodies (or fuudis) and the organizers, Anne and Marina, who were so friendly and bubbly.

The co-founders of Fuudis – Anne & Marina. It was the only decent picture I was able to take of them – they were on the move all night

The group consisted mainly of locals but we were told that the mix changes from week to week. We immediately struck up a conversation with a Brazilian man of Jewish descent who was serving in the Israeli army, and his Argentinian mother. We all walked to the first restaurant together (Campo y Mar) for the appetizer course.

Our first restaurant

Once we got in, we were seated with three Argentinian locals: Tatiana; her mother, Sophia; and a Fuudi veteran, Evo. It was Evo’s eighth food tour.

Sophia and Evo

We had some great conversation about the food scene in Buenos Aires and enjoying food while travelling. The good thing about being seated with locals is that we received lots of great local restaurant recommendations.

For our first course, we enjoyed marinated octopus and a refreshing glass of malbec rose. The octopus was delicious – slightly tart and a perfect consistency.

Our first course: Marinated Octopus

On the way to the second course, we bumped into a Kiwi couple who had just arrived in Buenos Aires: Craig and Sarah. We hit it off right away (being native English-speakers probably helped) and when we reached our second restaurant, La Rosa Nautica, we sat together to continue the conversation

Kiwi couple: Craig and Sarah!

I had the whitefish with artichoke sauce and blue cheese cream and Jason had the BBQ beer-battered salmon. And also a couple of glasses of Malbec. Anne (one of the organizers), walked by and whispered: “the faster you finish your glass, the faster they’ll refill it” 😛

Second course: Whitefish with artichoke sauce and blue cheese cream

Second course: BBQ Beer-battered salmon

Jason won. His salmon was delicious.

Our third and final stop was Bice for Italian desserts.

Third restaurant: Bice

Last course: Italian desserts

We were seated at a long table across from a hilarious Argentine lady who wanted to practice her English (Laura) and her husband (Paolo). Laura was a doctor who loved food and travelling. Her next travel destination was Prague, Czech Republic.

Hilarious Argentine couple: Laura and San Paolo

Fuudis was such a great concept – a great opportunity to meet locals who share a passion for food, enjoy a delicious three-course meal, and have great conversation. They held a draw at the end of the night and I even won a bottle of wine! Great way to cap off a great night.

I won a bottle of wine! Party continues on the bus home 😛

Eating: Argentina

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Jenn

Before Jason and I arrived in Argentina, I emailed my colleague (who is Argentinian) to pick his brain on what to eat. He sent back an amazing list of what to eat and we pretty much followed it word for word. Actually it was so descriptive, I’m going to let him help me write about the awesome food in Buenos Aires (his words in italicized blue font).

Eat meat. It really is so different. Everything cooked on a parrilla. Here are some things to try:

Bife de lomo or bife de chorizo (cuts of steak, they don’t have t-bone etc)

Even though I’m not the biggest fan of meat, I really enjoyed the parilla restaurants in Buenos Aires. Parillas (Spanish for ‘grill’) basically serve grilled meat and animal parts. Our first visit to a parilla was to Las Cholas in the Las Canitas neighbourhood. It was probably our favourite parilla. They didn’t give us a choice as to how we wanted the steaks prepared (they prepared the steaks well-done), but it was still so delicious! It’s served with a side of Chimichurri sauce (a sauce of herbs, garlic, and vinegar) – which is perfect for the steaks. Never turn down Chimichurri sauce if you’re offered some.

Las Cholas, a delicious parilla in Buenos Aires

Jason got the Bife de Lomo – delicious cut of steak

I ordered the Bife de Chorizo. I won – it was so tasty, fatty, and delicious

We had parilla again a few weeks later at a restaurant called La Cabrera. They had an awesome happy hour deal where between 7-8pm, everything in the restaurant is 40% off. No one in Buenos Aires has dinner earlier than 8pm (with the exception of tourists), so it was a clever way for the restaurant to generate some additional business and a great deal for tourists. We had met a fun couple from California in Patagonia and we decided to meet up again in Buenos Aires for dinner and drinks. Christina and Scott had both just finished writing the Bar and were travelling for 7 weeks before starting their careers in law.

Dinner with Scott and Christina at La Cabrera

Ribeye steak (cooked medium) at La Cabrera

Jason and I ordered the ribeye steak. They even let us choose how wanted it prepared (medium).

Morcilla (blood sausage), mollejas (glands) and chinchullines (intestines) are all delicious

We had parilla again at our hotel in Puerto Iguaza, La Cantera. It’s a quiet hotel in the middle of the jungle in the city by Iguazu Falls. We met this interesting Dutch couple (Yoost and Guusha) who was travelling for four weeks before they moved from Holland to Ontario for work. We had a great time with them over dinner. The restaurant actually had to kick us out because we wouldn’t leave.

Dinner at our hotel restaurant (La Cantera)

Dinner with our new Dutch friends, Yoost and Guusha

We tried the blood sausage, glands, and intestines. Very interesting flavours – I liked the blood sausage and glands. The intestines were a little too weird for me. Guusha wouldn’t even touch the animal parts. Yoost was brave enough to try them out. He, too, thought the intestines were a bit weird.

Our giant meat platter

I liked the blood sausage so much that I tried it again when we were back in Buenos Aires.

Blood Sausage (Morcilla) at La Cabrera

The trick to eating the animal part is to not think about it too much. The more you think about the fact that the sausage is made out of blood or that you’re eating the throat glands of the cow, the more you psych yourself out. I have to admit though, my first thought after I ate the intestines was ‘I wonder if the cow ate something sandy before it became our dinner?‘

Choripan – sausage on a bun, street food…so good

This was divine. They weren’t as easy to find as street meat is in Toronto, but when we had our first one, we both let out a sigh of delight. Choripans are grilled sausages, covered in the magical Chimichurri sauce, and served on toasted buns. I think I’ll have to write to the city councillors in Toronto to petition for the replacement of all Toronto street meat with Choripan.

Choripan – street meat in Buenos Aires

You can see the delicious Chimichurri sauce in this picture.

Milanesas – my favourite of all, it’s like a schnitzel but tastes way better. I eat these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

These are so good. I can see why it’s my colleague’s favourite. I, too, ate these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No joke…I’ll show you:

Milanesas – like a schnitzel but better. I had these ones for breakfast – twice.

I had this one for lunch one day.

And this one I had for dinner.

Eat sweets. Again, so different and so good

You have to go eat ice cream from Freddo’s, you will be amazed that you have never eaten ice cream that good before.

Freddo’s ice cream

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve had Freddo’s ice cream by now. It probably is the best ice cream we’ve ever had. Each time we had it, we ordered the 1/4 kilo serving. And each time, we wished we’d ordered the 1/2 kilo after we inhaled the 1/4 kilo in about 5 seconds flat.

This is a 1/4 kilo of ~~heaven~~ Dulce de Leche and Chocolate with Almonds ice cream.

Alfajores – the best ones hands down are Havanna. They have little stores you can find that sell these.

Yup, the best ones ARE Havanna. We stopped at a Havanna cafe in La Boca and ordered four alfajores. Don’t let the size of these little sweets fool you – they are very filling. We only finished two.

Havanna cafe

Dulce de leche – it’s everywhere and perfect

Along with the Havanna alfajores, we ordered coffee with dulce de leche. It really is perfect. Coming to Argentina, I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth but I am leaving this country with one (or five).

Alfajores and Dulce de Leche coffee. I think I got a cavity just from looking back at this picture.

Facturas – pastries but better. The ones filled with dulce de leche are my faves. Anything filled with dulce de leche is my fave.

My newly developed sweet tooth craved facturas all the time. They come in all different sizes and shapes and they’re all good.

Facturas – delicious delicious Argentine pastries

In addition to the list my colleague provided, we also got a lot of recommendations from locals to eat lots of Argentine pizza and empanadas.

Argentines are very proud of their pizza. The immigration from Naples and Genoa at the end of the 19th century brought this food over, but since then Argentines have made it their own. There are two main types: Pizza a la piedre (on a stone oven) is similar to Neopolitan pizza. It has a crispy thin crust. Or the traditional pizza molde which has a spongey, chewy thick crust.

Senior Telmo pizza place in San Telmo (Buenos Aires)

Senior Telmo in Buenos Aires

For really good pizza a la piedre, we went to a popular little joint in San Telmo, called (what a surprise!) Senor Telmo.

Packed with locals – exactly how I like my restaurants

We arrived literally 2 minutes before the dinner rush (9:30pm). All the groups behind us had to wait over an hour for a table. We were seated within 10 minutes.

Arugula & Jamon Crudo and Pancetta & Mushrooms

We asked the server for two recommendations and we went with both: arugula & jamon crudo, and pancetta & mushrooms. They were delicious but I’ve been spoiled by the really good Neopolitan pizza joints in Toronto so I wasn’t that blown away.

For the traditional Argentine pizza molde, we were advised to go to El Palacio de la Pizza (The Palace of Pizza…I know, it’s cheesy! Get it? Cheesy, Pizza? haha). I typically like to enjoy my pizza with a cold beer, but Argentines love to enjoy it with wine. So we split a bottle of red.

El Palacio de la Pizza

We were also advised to order the provolone pizza. Thick, chewy, and smothered in infinite layers of provolone and mozzerrella. It was deliciously artery-clogging. We ordered a medium pizza and both of us couldn’t finish our second pieces.

Provolone pizza from El Palacio de le Pizza (Buenos Aires)

Provolone pizza. The medium size comes with 4 slices. Two people will likely only be able to finish 3.

It kind of reminded me of Chicago’s deep-dish pizza.

Provolone pizza from El Palacio de la Pizza

Side view of our pizza.

We stayed in the Montserrat neighbouhood for a couple of days, and our host (Ruy) recommended we go to a local pizza joint (closest intersection is Salta & Venezuela) for their empanadas. He described them as little cheesy pockets of pastry perfection. I ordered the Roquefort (which I highly recommend) and Jason ordered the ham & cheese.

Empanadas: little cheesy pockets of pastry perfection

Ruy wasn’t kidding – they were perfect. We’ve had dozens upon dozens of empanadas since that first one and none have measured up.

So there we have it: a rundown of all the delicious foods one must try in Argentina. Special shout-out to my Argentine colleague for his advice and letting me use his wise words in this blog post.

Buenos Aires: City of Neighbourhoods

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Jenn

Buenos Aires is a wonderful city – probably one of our favourite cities in South America. It’s a city of beautiful French and Spanish architecture, fascinating political and cultural history, a vibrant arts scene, great restaurants – it makes for an incredibly liveable city. Jason and I have spent over 3 weeks in Buenos Aires – the longest we’ve stayed in just one city and we loved every moment of it.

Buenos Aires kind of reminds us of Toronto, or Paris, or New York – probably because it’s also a city of neighbourhoods. Each neighbourhood or district has its own unique look and feel. The posh refinement of Recoleta, trendy hip Palermo, gastronomic Las Canitas, the proud roots of La Boca, historical Montserrat…the list goes on. It’d take weeks to explore all the little nooks of Buenos Aires, and weeks we took.

Luckily, Buenos Aires has an excellent and inexpensive public transport system: a clean and efficient subway system (ARS$2.5 or CDN$0.50) and a very extensive city bus network (ARS$1.60 or CDN$0.30). We only used a cab twice the whole time we were there.

Las Cañitas

We stayed in a modern little apartment in Las Cañitas

Our modern apartment in Las Canitas neighbouhood

Our apartment for the 3 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Wedged between Palermo and Belgrano, Las Canitas is a pretty, tree-lined neighbourhood. It popped up in the 90s and quickly became a neighbourhood of signature restaurants and hip bars. Today, it possesses the highest concentration of restaurants and bars in the city.

At Las Cholas, one of the great restaurants in Las Canitas

Montserrat

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we also spent a few days in Montserrat. A place of historical significance, Montserrat is the district that holds Plaza de Mayo, the Cabildo (where Eva “Evita” Peron famously addressed the nation), and Casa Rosada.

The face of Evita on one of the buildings in Montserrat

San Telmo

Closeby is the neighbourhood of San Telmo. It’s a beautiful old neighbourhood – its history rooted in tango dancers pressed together on the cobblestone streets, colonial houses, and antique stores. Today, it’s one of Buenos Aires’ trendiest areas – full of hostels, refurbished old pubs, and independent designer boutiques.

Cobblestone streets in San Telmo

On Sunday, many of the main streets close down for its weekly antique fair and is packed full of performers, artisans, and market stalls.

Sunday Antique Market in San Telmo

Artists & performers in San Telmo

San Telmo was one of our favourite neighbourhoods. We frequented this neighbouhood often – returning to enjoy Argentine pizza, grab a microbrewed beer, or to wander through the market.

La Boca

Another neighbourhood steeped in history is La Boca. The old port (Vuelta de Rocha), is where thousands of European immigrants arrived at the end of the 19th century – bringing and instilling a very proud Italian subculture in the neighbouhood.

The old port in La Boca

La Boca is also home to the rowdiest and craziest football club in Buenos Aires: the Boca Juniors. Fans are so rowdy (and sometimes violent) that tickets are no longer sold to visitors- only club members can purchase tickets to football games. We were told that the only way tourists can see a game is to either purchase tickets on game day through very sketchy scalpers (i.e. counterfeit tickets galore) or to go through a tour operator that charges USD$150/ticket. Jason REALLY wanted to see a football game while in Argentina. But we didn’t end up seeing the Boca Juniors.

La Bombenera: the Boca Juniors stadium

La Boca can be pretty dangerous. We were advised, by our guide book and locals alike, to not wander off the beaten path and to always be aware of our surroundings. Luckily, the beaten path offers some very interesting sights.

El Caminito in La Boca

Colourful sheet metal houses in El Caminito

‘El Caminito’ is one-part tourist trap and one-part bohemian getaway. The picturesque streets are lined with colourful sheet metal houses and filled with (artists dressed like) tango dancers that want to take a picture with you (for a fee, of course!)

Belgrano

Belgrano is a quiet neighbourhood that’s also home to the city’s Chinatown. The stores here sell anything and everything; pungent smells waft from the fish markets; and barbecued duck and pig carcasses hang in the front of restaurants.

El Barrio Chino (Chinatown) in Belgrano

I can see why there are no Asian people in the rest of the city – they all seem to congregate here. I also found my favourite comfort food here: a steaming bowl of noodle soup.

My favourite comfort food: noodle soup

Recoleta

Recoleta became the most exclusive area in the city in the late 1800s when a yellow fever epidemic forced the wealthy aristocrats from San Telmo to the tree-lined streets of this upper class neighbourhood.

Parks and walkways in Recoleta

One of the most exclusive addresses in the city can be found in Recoleta, but no one actually lives there: the Recoleta Cemetary. It’s a must-see for all visitors, especially during the week when it’s eerily empty and quiet.

Spooky Recoleta Cemetary

Looks like its ready for Halloween year-round

Recoleta Cemetary: beautiful and eerie

Evita’s remains are buried here with her family, under her maiden name.

Eva ‘Evita’ Peron’s final resting place

The above were just a few of the neighbouhoods we visited and enjoyed. There are so many more neighbouhoods to explore. If you get a chance to visit other neighbouhoods in Buenos Aires, leave me a comment below and let me know about it. Or did I miss any of your favourite neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires? Tell me about them 🙂

Lesson Learned: Multi-city airline tickets

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Jenn

Back in the beginning of July, Jason and I made the decision to purchase a multi-city airline ticket that would bring us through the countries we wanted to visit in South America.

When we first left Canada for our travels, we had nothing planned. Two weeks in, we had a rough idea of the route we wanted to take through South America: Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. So we purchased a multi-city airline ticket that would take us through the major cities in those countries. Although it locked us into set travel dates, the money we saved purchasing a multi-city ticket (vs. purchasing the tickets between each of the cities separate) seemed like it was well worth it.

Leg 1: Bogota (Colombia) to Lima (Peru)
Leg 2: Lima (Peru) to Santa Cruz (Bolivia)
Leg 3: Santa Cruz (Bolivia) to Santiago (Chile)
Leg 4: Santiago (Chile) to Buenos Aires (Argentina)

At first things were going well – we caught our Bogota (Colombia) to Lima (Peru) flight without any incident. Although we didn’t know it at the time, things started going awry when we decided to skip our Lima (Peru) to Santa Cruz (Bolivia) flight.

When it was time to catch our Santa Cruz (Bolivia) to Santiago (Chile) flight, we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. We had spent the majority of our time in Bolivia in the city of La Paz but we were scheduled to fly out of Santa Cruz, so we caught an early flight from La Paz to Santa Cruz. We arrived in Santa Cruz at 8am but our flight to Santiago was at 5:30pm – so we had about 9 hours to kill. Little did we know, it would the most stressful 9 hours of our travels so far.

We were lucky that the Santa Cruz had some good food options, bank machines, travel agents, internet/phone kiosk. We’ve been stranded in worse airports before.

We tried to check-in electronically since our airline ticket counter was still closed. We received an electronic message saying that there was no record of our reservation since it had been cancelled.

My immediate thought was that our flight was cancelled, but a quick search showed that our flight was still set to arrive as originally scheduled.

So then we had to call the customer service line of the company we booked our multi-city airline ticket through: CheapOair (I know, sketchy-sounding company, eh? But we’ve used them before without incident). Problem was, we had no cell phone. Since we were travelling for 6 months, we had both put our cellphone plans on hold. There was no stores in the airport that sold SIM cards either. Luckily, there was an internet/phone kiosk in the airport.

Internet/Phone Kiosk in the Santa Cruz, Bolivia Airport

The Internet/Phone Kiosk in the airport. Jason spent a lot of time in the phone booth here.

Jason got on the line with CheapOair and found out why flights booked through them were so cheap – their customer service sucks! 1-800 and 1-888 numbers do not work outside of North America so we had to call their number for International callers. Companies that provide good customer service usually provide collect call services for their international callers. CheapOair did not. So we had to bite the bullet and call long-distance. They immediately put Jason on hold and at the 20-minute mark, we decided to drop the call as we were quickly racking up long-distance costs without any idea of how long we’d be on hold.

The airport had free WIFI, so we decided to call CheapOair via Skype. Granted, the WIFI was spotty, but at least the call would be free. Jason waited on hold for 30 minutes before a customer service rep got on the line. Fifteen minutes into the conversation, the call dropped – the WIFI had cut out! Jason called back when the WIFI came back on and had to wait on hold for another 30 minutes for another rep. The call dropped again after 10 minutes. This painful cycle repeated itself several times before we were able to get the whole story.

Apparently, the airline (Avianca Air) that we flew with for our Bogota-Lima flight had cancelled our reservation for this flight. The CheapOair rep told us that we had to call Avianca and resolve the situation ourselves. Jason was pretty annoyed at this and argued that, since CheapOAir was acting on behalf of us as a travel agent, they should be responsible for resolving the issue with Avianca. CheapOair shrugged (or at least it sounded like a shrug over the phone) and said there was nothing they could do.

Jason called Avianca and talked to a customer rep there. Luckily, Avianca had a toll-free number that worked in South America, so we were able to use the land-line phone for this call (i.e. no dropped calls because of spotty WIFI). Avianca told us that it was, in fact, CheapOAir that had called THEM to cancel the flight reservation! They had a very detailed activity log outlining dates and times of CheapOAir’s activities regarding our airline reservations. They also informed us that, as an airline, they do not cancel a customer’s airline reservation unless instructed to do so by the customer or the customer’s travel agent.

We were livid! CheapOAir was giving us the run-around. By then, it was almost 2pm. We should’ve be checking into our flight.

Jason got back onto Skype and called CheapOAir. Let’s just say there were a lot of heated words exchanged in that phone booth. The rep who took the call said that Avianca cancelled our reservation but we knew he was lying as Jason had already talked to Avianca and they had an activity log of CheapOAir’s instructions. Jason finally convinced the rep to call Avianca themselves to straighten it out – and then the call dropped AGAIN! Jason called them back, waited on hold, and got another rep. This one told us that we had to talk to LAN, the airline that would be flying us to Santiago (Chile) at 5:30pm. Sounded like another run-around. Jason stayed on the phone with them while I went downstairs to the LAN ticket counter to talk to them.

I was still in line when Jason joined me downstairs. The call had dropped again and he was sick of having to call them back and waiting on hold. He was getting nowhere with them.

We finally got to a ticket agent. We told them that our airline reservation had been cancelled and that we couldn’t check in. She was incredibly apologetic for the inconvenience and told us that she would help us out. FINALLY! A helpful customer service rep!

After a couple of keyboard clicks and some digging around, she told us that she could see our reservations but that there were no airline tickets attached. She called the manager over for help. Some discussions in Spanish ensued and the manager took over. The manager apologized again for the inconvenience and asked whether we had missed the second leg of our multi-city airline travel. I didn’t have a good feeling about this: ‘Yes, we did but we still need the third leg of our airline travel‘ She sadly informed us that we cannot skip any leg of a multi-city airline ticket. Once we skip one, the entire ticket is then null and void – apparently that’s the policy for multi-city airline tickets.

We stood there flabbergasted! We tried pulling the sympathy card (‘But we were never informed of the policy!‘) but the manager couldn’t do anything. We had no airline reservations to Chile and even our fourth flight to Argentina has been voided. She suggested that we can talk to the airline’s head office on Monday (it was currently Saturday) to try to plead our case, but nothing was guaranteed. She gave us a sympathetic look and called for the next customer in line.

We were numb as we wandered away from the ticket counter. We had just lost two flights and a LOT of money – almost 10% of our travel budget! I tried to stay positive but Jason was having a pretty hard time. We let ourselves wallow in our misery for a few minutes. But then I forced us to get past it and start thinking about the options in front of us.

Stay in Bolivia until Monday to talk to the head office of the airline.
1. Pros: we might be able to recoup our flights
2. Cons: we’d have stay in Bolivia for two additional nights and find last-minute accommodation. Also, there’s no guarantee that we’d be able to recoup anything
Buy another flight to Santiago, Chile
1. Pros: we’d get to leave Bolivia sooner
2. Cons: flying to Chile would be expensive, as would the eventual flight out of Chile to Argentina

After a lot of thought, we decided to go with our 3rd option: book a flight straight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We would cut Chile from our travels (Chile is an expensive country and flying into and out of Chile would just add to our travel expenses). We didn’t have much planned in Chile and haven’t heard too many things about the country that made us feel like we had to go there. While on the other hand, there were plenty of things we wanted to do in Argentina.

So we chalked our cancelled flights up to a really expensive life lesson and started looking for the next flight out to Buenos Aires and accommodations. I think we must’ve used up all our bad luck, because within a few hours, Jason had found a beautiful apartment in Buenos Aires that was available and I found a flight that would fly us out the next morning for an amazing price.

It was an emotional rollercoaster of a day, but by 7pm, we had finalized our plans and settled down with beer and wings in the food court to celebrate.

Food court in Santa Cruz, Bolivia airport

During our 24 hours here at the airport, we ate at every single food counter here. The place on the left served wings and beer 🙂

The travel agent who helped me book the flight to Buenos Aires even let us spend the night in the employee lounge behind their ticket counter (i.e. a secure space to store our backpacks, a comfy couch, and a huge flatscreen TV). So Jason and I settled in after our food court dinner and dreamed of Buenos Aires.

Lesson Learned: DO NOT skip any leg of travel if travelling via a multi-city airline ticket. Doing so will make any subsequent flights on the ticket null and void

Bolivia: The Wild West of South America

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Jenn

Okay, geographically speaking, Bolivia is actually more accurately described as in the middle of South America. But Jason and I had an inside joke going: whenever we saw something crazy happen in Bolivia, we’d shrug at each other and say: “It’s the Wild West!”

Dancers in an unofficial parade in La Paz

Impromptu Bolivian Independence day parade marching down the main avenue in La Paz during rush hour without any permits or safety blockades? It’s the Wild West!

Man handing out shots of liquor to all the parade performers

Random man handing out shot after shot of liquor to all the dancers in the parade? It’s the Wild West!

Drunken dancers getting more irate with the increasing enraged rush-hour drivers caught behind the parade? It’s the Wild West!

Enraged rush-hour drivers jumping the curb and driving in the oncoming traffic lanes? It’s the Wild West!

Llama fetuses in the Witches' Market in La Paz, Bolivia

Llama fetuses in La Paz, Bolivia

Market stalls selling Llama fetuses on the streets? It’s the Wild West!

Drunken man relieving himself on the sidewalk in the middle of the day – requiring me to jump over the stream of urine running across the pavement? It’s the Wild West!

Cholitias Wrestling: Bolivian ladies letting off steam every Sunday

Bolivian ladies wrestling each other for entertainment every Sunday in La Paz? It’s the Wild West!

Sleeping over in the Bolivian airport

Spending 24-hours and sleeping over in the Bolivian airport because our airline ticket was cancelled? Its the Wild West!

Even though we only spent a week in Bolivia, it left a very lasting impression. Oh crazy, chaotic Bolivia…it was fun while it lasted.

Eating: Bolivia

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Jenn

Jason and I enjoyed 3 wonderful weeks of gastronomical joy in Peru. We knew it had to end sooner or later. But we didn’t expect it to end so suddenly.

While still in Peru, we talked to a few travellers who had just come from Bolivia and we didn’t entirely believe them – but this IS the only good thing to eat in Bolivia:

Salteñas: the only good thing to eat in Bolivia!

Salteñas!

They’re a type of Bolivian baked empanada. They’re savoury and filled with ground beef, chicken, or pork and swimming in sweet, slightly spicy sauce. They sometimes contain peas, potatoes, and other ingredients and there are vegetarian versions available too. The delicious filling is like a stew and there’s a trick in eating them: hold the pastry upright, start at the top corner, and work your way towards the bottom – trying to avoid spilling the hot, juicy filling all over your hand.

Eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Repeat until you leave Bolivia.

travels of yum

pressing pause on real life

Category Archives: South America