The Vagrant Gypsy Life

A friend (Rodolfo) in Santiago invited me to his friend’s (Martin) house in Tongoy, which is a small town with a couple of nice beaches on the coast, south of Coquimbo and La Serena. Martin’s parents are retired; they had spent a couple of years doing postgrad studies in the US years ago and spoke English, but it so transpired that we spent most of the time (trying to) converse in Spanish. Tongoy is their summer house; they spend most of their time in their home in Santiago.

Martin had invited Rodolfo and his partner Maria, Carlos and his family (Angelica and a 2 year old baby). Carlos, Martin and Rod have known each other for twenty years and work in the same University – Universidad de Chile. It was quite surreal to be hanging out and shooting the breeze with so many postdocs/ professors. It never ceases to amaze me that I have friends who are professors in various universities!

Martin’s mom welcomed me with a kiss on the cheek, saying that a visit like this deserved more than the customary cheek to cheek kiss! I felt extremely welcome and had a wonderful stay.

It was a lovely home stay; quite refreshing to be away from the tourist circuit and gorge on home-cooked meals. The food was excellent. It was so nice to have home-cooked meals that I ate a lot; I even learned some recipes.

Day 152 Sat 29/1 Valparaiso/ Tongoy

Started the day with a bus ride from Valparaiso to Santiago, which took two hours and then to Tongoy, which took another hous. The stretch from Stgo to Tongoy was definitely more picturesque, with parts of the drive along the coast.

I met all the folks, chatted with them and went to the fair. There was some traditional music and dance (cueca?) at the plaza.

Day 153 Sun 30/1 Tongoy

Even for a jobless vagabond, this had to be an extremely lazy day: breakfast, beach, chat with Martin’s mom, play with the baby, lunch, rest, beach (earthquake), play with the baby & chat with everyone, dinner, chat, sleep.

The only thing I did that resulted in any activity was play paddle ball on the beach. I am quite ashamed that I slept through an earthquake. The others felt the movement and I slept through it. Some of the folks on the beach ran away from the beach, fearing a tsunami. Chile has a lot of volcanic actvity and they are constantly under the threat of earthquakes. Left the beach when it was too cold and headed home for a nice dinner, and bed.

Day 154 Mon 31/1 Tongoy

Monday followed the pattern of the previous day. The only difference was that we did some shopping at the bi-weekly food market. The evening was extremely windy and it meant that we spent the evening indoors. Carlos, Angelica and the baby had left to La Serena in the evening.

Day 146 Sun 23/1 Border crossing, Valparaiso

After various 20 hour bus rides, a 7 hour bus ride seem like a breeze. The only glitch was the 2-2.5 hour wait at the border to cross into Chile. The scenery was well worth the time spent in the bus as we drove along the Andes, gaining about 1500-odd metres from Mendoza to the border. They had signs at the immigration control advising people how to deal with altitude sickness.

After checking into the hostel at Valparaiso, I went for a walk and also to get some food. There was some music in Plaza Italia, and a dance performance in some other plaza. I ended up missing dinner!

Day 147 Mon 24/1 Valparaiso

Spent the day exploring the port town. The downtown is not attractive, with dirty streets. There are lots of stray dogs in Chile and Argentina, which leads to a lot of “kaka” on the streets. Not much fun to walk along these streets. But it all changes as soon as one steps onto the hills. The town has a Porto-like feel with extremely colourful houses on hills. There are many “ascensors” that take you up the hill and the hills are connected by streets. The views out into the ocean from the hills also well make it worthwhile walking these streets. The title of cultural capital of Chile seems to be well-earned as there is an artistic vibe to the place!

After about 4 hours of walking, I was ready to head back to the hostel to get some rest before heading back out for a short walk in the evening.

Day 148 Tue 25/1 Valparaiso

Spent the day with a Finn and Kiwi. One was a musician and the other worked in wineries, making wine and was extremely knowledgeable about wines.

Pablo Neruda had a house in Valparaiso, named La Sebastiana, which he bought complete from a Spaniard. Spent a couple of hours enjoying the house and the lovely views from his house. He definitely knew how to enjoy life!

Walked around the neighbourhood and had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. Very good food and service.

Off to the hostel to get some shelter from the sun. Head out again in the evening for a walk along Cerro Concepcion and Cerro Alegre, a region which has been deemed a UNESCO world hritage centre. A very interesting neighbourhood with colourful house, graffiti on the walls and winding, steep streets! There are some very nice restaurants in the area as well.

Day 149 Wed 26/1 Valparaiso

Went to Isla Negra to visit Neruda’s house on the coast. He designed most of the place, so it has touches of his eccentric personality. It is about 1.5 hours from Valpo.

I got an hour early for my appointment for the guided tour, so spent the time sitting on a rock on the beach. Listening to the waves, as they roar and leap, and die on the rocks is such a soothing experience.

The tour through Neruda’s house was a bit rushed, but still informative. He had a love of ships, and owned a boat, but never did sail, because he was afraid of sailing. He has a model of a horse in a room, with saddles and other things, but never rode. He seemed to collect many things! There are items off boats, maps, butterflies, bottles, posters… He enjoyed wine, food and the company of people. His bedroom looked over into the ocean and was well lit from two huge windows. Beautiful views from a bunch of his rooms! The tombs of Pablo Neruda and Matilde, his 3rd wife, are also in the property.

The guide requested that we not take photos. This didnt please a French lady from New Caledonia, who muttered away in French. It was hard not to laugh at the way she seemed to hide behind the rest of the folks in the tour and try take photos! She did get caught taking a photo in one room, as the flash gave her away. When the guide objected, she blamed other tourists, who were looking into the room, and spouted more French.

Stopped in a town called El Quilco on the way back to have a picnic lunch on the beach with my travel companion, who has lived quite an interesting life.

The night was a very sociable one as I ended up spending most of the time in the kitchen, talking to people, being offered food and wine.

Day 150 Thu 27/1 Valparaiso

Spent the day wandering about Cerro Concepcion (again), seeing things I missed the first time and visited the cemetery. Also went to the museum of fine arts, Palacio Baburizza, which had been closed for ages for renovation. They only opened the previous day and had 3 rooms with paintngs (European) open to the public.

Thursday was the first of 3 days of Arts and Music festival in Valpo and they had some nice “sculptures” outside the museum, which I really liked.

Spent a couple of hours after lunch in a nearby town called Viña del Mar. It is as different from Valpo as one could imagine. It could have been any European or American beach town. I recall that Playa del Carmen in Mexico looked similiar. Beach being the main attraction, there was little in the town to interest tourists. The town itself is very clean and teeming with multi-storied buildings.

Day 151 Fri 28/1 Valparaiso

After spending some time in Viña del Mar again, to visit the park and the archaelogical museum, I headed back to the hostel. A fellow traveller from San Diego, Mostafa, opened a bottle of wine and a few of us sat around chatting for a while, savouring the wine.

Then it was time for a concert at Pablo Neruda’s house as part of the festival in Valpo. It was by an orchestra called Orquestra Andina. The combination of flutes, guitars and drums left me wanting for more! Wish they had CDs on sale.

Tango time – the show was supposed to start at 20:00, but they had barely got all the instruments ready by that time. They announced that the show wouldnt start till 21:30 and the crowd booed and hissed. I guess it was late even by laid-back S American standards! But when it did begin, it was a very enjoyable show. They had artists from Arica, Bariloche, Mendoza and other places. I have learned to love Tango on this trip and plan to get hold of some more tango music when I get home.

I really enjoyed my stay in Valparaiso and can understand why it draws tourists by the thousands!

Day 143 Thu 20/1 Mendoza

Mendoza is much smaller than Cordoba and Buenos Aires. The buildings arent quite so interesting. They had an earthquake sometime in 1861 that did a lot of damage. They , probably because of the threat of earthquakes, have a lot of plazas. My favourite plazas were Plaza Independencia (the main one) and Plaza España.

After checking into the hostel and recovering from the effects of a long bus trip and a 30 minute walk from the bus terminal to the hostel, I headed out to wander the city. Visited a couple of plazas and headed out to Parque San Martin. San Martin being an Argentine hero and a son of Mendoza, there are plenty of monuments to him all around the place. The parque had a monument on top of Cerro Gloria.

Headed to the hostel after trekking in the heat for a few hours to prepare dinner and enjoy the free glass of wine that the hostel offers. They also offered a free international call, which meant I could ring my sister and say hello.

Day 144 Fri 21/1 Mendoza

Mendoza is one of Argentina’s important wine regions. The main attraction of the province has to be the wine and the proximity to the Andes. There are plenty of tours that one could take to wineyards, ranging from USD 150 to USD 40.

Being the parsimonious (guess that is as good a term for being cheap and penny-pinching) backpacker that I am ,I opted for taking the public transportation out to the wineyards and walking. One could also rent a bike – I think it is a good option if you plan to visit a few wineyards. I had decided 3 wineyards would be my limit. I also wasnt sure that I would be able to navigate a bicycle after a few glasses of wine: I get tipsy after about 3 glasses. I wasnt going to desist from imbibing as much wine as they offer in these wineyards, either!

After taking the bus to Maipu, I started at the Museo del Vino. It is a family run wineyard that acts as a museum. The guide spoke Spanish on the tour and I only managed to digest about 50 percent of what she said. An enjoyable free tour, which ended in a free glass of red wine. Who could complain?

After that, it is off to La Antigua, a place where they make olive oil, chocolates, liquors etc. A family run business, the tour wasnt very good and wasnt very informative, especially for the 15 pesos they charged. However, they did offer a multitude of thigns to taste: olive oil, jams, salsas, chocolates and one liquor among the many they make. I opted for absinthe since I wasnt sure I would get another chance. Boy, was it strong!
Wine tasting. Museo del vino, A La Antigua, Trapiche. Wine tasting class at hostel

Trapiche is one of the biggest wineyards in Mendoza and probably Argentina, as well. The tour and wine tasing cost 25 pesos, but it was well worth it. The lady who gave thr tour wasnt very good at imparting information, but the guy who was in charge of tasting was really good. Had 4 glasses of wine – a Chardonnay, two reds and a dessert wine. We were also allowed to grab grapes off the vines to taste them. They were going to wait for two more crop cycles before using the grapes for wine. Nice tasting grapes, and a good way to end my journey to Maipu.

Got back to the hostel to find that they were offering a free 1 hour wine tasting class, which also included 3 glasses of wine. How on earth do I say no to something like that? The lady was a good talker and her talk was very informative. I am still not sure that my palate will ever be able to discern the berries or the hint of musk or whatever terms the oenophiles use! Give me a glass of wine I enjoy, and I am happy. But I reckon it is good to know how to tell. I am just not sure if I care about training my palate.

It was a very enjoyable day!

Day 145 Sat 22/1 Mendoza

I had meant to take a bus to Uspallate to see the Puente del Inca, but I didnt wake up in time to catch the 6:00 bus. Decided that I would enjoy an easy, slow day at Mendoza instead.

I wandered around town, read my book, prepared dinner. Headed out for a postprandial walk. The Plazas were well lit and plaza independencia had some live music as well. To my delight, there were quite a few street stalls set up as part of the weekend street markets. The highlight of the evening was a chess game I played with a bookseller, Sergio. We also had a conversation, after he wiped the floor with me, about books, India, travel. He recommended Valparaiso, which is handy, since I am headed there Sunday morning at 09:30.

Day 139 Sun 16/1 Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires at 6:30 am! Since the ticket offices were open, I brought my ticket to Mendoza.

As I left the bus station, some folks tried the pigeon shit trick to separate me from my bags. The scam works like this: Someone smears a paste that looks like pigeon waste on your person or your bags (in my case, it was the cover that pretects my backpack.) Someone else informs of that there is shit on your person or bag and offers a helping hand to clean the stuff up – in my case an offer of a napkin and an offer to help clean. While you are engrossed in cleaning the stuff (having to put down one of your bags to do so), someone else in the team walks away with your bag or some possession. A team of 3 “worked” on me. A young man to tell me that there is something on my bag, a lady offering me a napkin and another older man who showed up after a couple of minutes to tell me that I should really clean the stuff up. Luckily, I had been informed of the scam by other travellers and travel guides. I did want to ask the 3 of them how they felt about robbing travellers and why, for folks who seemed physically fit, they couldnt look for some honest work! My Spanish isnt good enough for that, sadly.

Since the subway doesnt run at 7 am on Sundays, I decided to walk the 4k to the hostel. I took the scenic route, which took me through a plaza where I was able to clean up the paste from my bag (they do a good job with the paste. It looks very realistic. Luckily, they hadnt quite managed to incoroporate the smell!)

I arrive at the hostel sweaty from my exertions! A shower and breakfast finds me in better spirits. I decided to get some shut eye before venturing out. However, by the time I woke up from an hour-long nap, it had started raining. A real storm! Decided to stay in and watch some football. There was quite a group to watch FC Barcelona play Malaga!

Went to San Telmo at night to have dinner with a Buenos Aires native I had made friends with in Sao Paulo. We had been in touch over facebook and he had invited me to his house on a couple of occasions, but we could never synch up our schedules. It was nice to catch up over dinner. The plaza we had dinner was filled with music; there was dancing. Some folks playing candome, some folks playing some music that I couldnt recognise. A very festive atmosphere on a Sunday night!

Day 140 Mon 17/1 Buenos Aires

Headed out on walks in neighbourhoods I hadnt seen in Buenos Aires and that are removed from the usual touristic circuits. I did come across a few nice buildings and a couple of nice plazas.

Lunch was on the run, and I returned to the hostel tired and ready to rest my weary legs.

Day 141 Tue 18/1 Buenos Aires

The day was spent going back to a couple of neighbourhoods that have now become extremely familiar. The highlight of the day was my second trip to the Mueso de Bellas Artes. A few of the rooms were closed as they undergo renovation.

Wandered around a little bit as I start saying goodbye to a city that has managed to captivate me. I am almost sorry to say goodbye to Buenos Aires tomorrow!

Day 142 Wed 19/1 Buenos Aires

It rained so hard that I spent the morning finally catching up with my blog entries! The weather suited my disposition. It is a strange feeling, especially for one who is so used to being on the move. It was with a little bit of sadness that I said my goodbyes to Rosa and the other folks who worked at the hostel. I was indeed a bit sad to say goodbye to Buenos Aires.

The bus ride to Mendoza was extremely comfortable. There were a couple of kids (siblings) sitting in the seat ahead of me who couldnt keep from staring at me.

Why do I travel?

Ever since I took the decision to take some time off from work and hit the road with my trusted backpack, I have had many different reactions to the decision. Some think that it is a wonderful adventure, one they wish they could undertake. Some, like my father, dont quite understand it. To them, it is a waste of time. The folks who have asked me why I travel probably never wondered that I ask myself that same question, many a time over the past 4 months of travel; I also asked myself that question during the time I was making my decision to quit the “real” world. Why do I travel?

It will not surprise most of my friends that I do not really have an answer. But here are some of my thoughts on it.

I travel because I enjoy it. I travel because sometimes I feel so restless, that only by moving around can I put my mind at rest. I travel for the new experiences, to give my brain something new to digest. My normal life is so much driven by routine, that I fear that my brain will one day stop taking things in. I travel, because, for me, it is also an escape from reality! Who doesnt want a short escape from reality and the responsibilities that arise from living in a social setup.

I travel because it makes me deal with circumstances that seldom arise at home. It forces me to be independent, while also putting me in a situation where I have no option but to be sociable. I always hope that travel, meeting and talking to strangers on the road, will help me improve my poor social skills. (Ah, the stereotype of the socially awkward engineer..)

A friend asked if I am travelling to find myself. I wish it were so. I wish I still could believe in a life of certainties where life offers answers. At my age, one realises that finding oneself is a fantasy one has when one is young and naive.

I am not your amazingly fearless adventurer. I am your average, boring individual.

I enjoy the feeling of adventure that comes with arriving at a new place. I enjoy listening to people talk in a language I dont understand, without feeling guilty about eavesdropping. I listen, not to the conversation, which is beyond me, but to the cadence of the speech.

I enjoy that I can slow my life down to a crawl, while the speed of rotation (of the earth) does not change, the people around me live life at a pace that matches that of one´s normal life.

In the end, I like the answer that Sir Edmund Hillary gave when some reporter asked him why he climbed Mount Everest: “Because it is there”. I travel because there is literally a whole world out there… I travel because I can.

I realise that not everyone can do it, for whatever reasons. I am well aware of my good fortune, and strive to not be a bad traveller. I try to talk to people, am polite to people I meet, to try and eat at a local restaurant, to not throw rubbish on the streets.

How?

I also got a lot of questions on how I travel: what I do when I get to a city, how I find out about things to do and sights to see, how I decide where to stay, what to do, etc.

Travel these days is quite easy, but it can still be challenging enough to be fun. I read travel guides, websites before my trip. When I arrive in a city, if possible, I go by the tourist office to ask for a map and for advice. I stay in hostels and ask the folks at the hostel about things to do and places to visit. I have discovered places that never came up in my research from websites or books, from suggestions of fellow travellers.

For me, the best way to explore a place is to grab a map and then walk. But then, I like to walk. Sometimes, it is even fun to walk down areas one normally wouldnt go as a tourist.

Day 103, Sat Dec 11 Cordoba

It was a very comfortable 10 hour bus ride to Cordoba from Buenos Aires. My seat was next to a fairly big man, which did restrict my movements, but the seats were extremly comfortable and I slept most of the way.

While Cordoba is the second largest city in the country, it is dwarfed by Buenos Aires. It is a University town, and that to me was the most alluring thing about the city. The architecture, for me, is not quite as impressive as BA. It is a nice city, well worth the visit.

The hostel in Cordoba I stayed in, Che Salguero, is run by a bunch of University students. They do a really good job. I checked in and after bfast, went out on a walk. There was quite a buzzle for a Saturday. After a wee bit of a walk in the morniing, I settled in a nice little park with a book (Youth by Coetzee) for a couple of hours. I enjoy reading in a park, in the shade of trees, watching people walk by, play, sit, make out… Followed that with more walks around the city and a movie! My first movie in 3 months.

The highlight of the day was the street market along Feria de los Artes that started around 18:30, with some live music.

I made a change to my routine. Normally when I get to a town, I orient myself before heading out to explore. I walk down a couple of main streets or look at the map and figure out where the main streets lie. This time, I decided to just walk before looking at the map or orient myself. Bad idea.. I had no idea about the layout of the city and managed to get lost quite a few times during my stay!

Day 104, Sun Dec 12 Cordoba

Based on the recommendation of one of the owners at the hostel, I headed out to visit Quebrada del Condorito. An early start to the day, since I needed to be at the station to catch the bus at 08:00, for a two hour bus journey.

Spent the day on a 6 hour hike, watching condors. The condors teach their young to fly herem and it was quite enjoyable to watch them fly. I had a couple of them come about 10m from me.

The weather surprised me. I had expected it to be cool, since I was up in a mountain, but I hadnt expected the wind, which made it extremely cold. It was quite all right during the hike, but waiting for the bus back to Cordoba was quite a tough experience. 1.5 hour wait at the bus stop, huddle together against the wind. It was a good thing I had company – I made friends with 3 Swedish girls and an Argentine couple I met on the hike.

Day 105, Mon Dec 13 Cordoba

I took the day off! I didnt do much the day. Walked around a little bit and then decided to watch a movie. The movie was really bad. I cant remember the title; I managed to fall asleep in the middle of the movie. It was nice to get away from the heat for a little while!

After lunch, I headed to the hostel to watch Arsenal play Manchester United, with a group of Irish and Engligh guys. Despite my (fairly vocal) support, Arsenal lost the match!

Day 106, Tue Dec 14 Cordoba

Walked around the city, visiting spots previously missed – Paseo del Buen Pastor, Gothic church.

I met a friend from the Navimag at city centre and headed out to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch. We spent the afternoon catching up and walking around quite aimlessly, as we tried to make plans for the next couple of days.

Went to the new Harry Potter movie to escape the heat.

Day 107, Wed Dec 15 Cordoba

Sandra, my friend from Navimag, and I headed out to La Cumbrecita, which is a very touristy German/ Swiss town about 2.5 hours outside Cordoba city. We had to take a connection at Villa Belgrano. We made the connection with about a minute to spare.

Cumbrecita was small and a pleasant town, but a bit of a let down. The waterfall was nice, and we tried swimming in it, but the water was too cold. Spent a hour or so at the waterfalls, before heading out to explore the other locations marked on the map. The town takes all of 30 minutes to see! We headed back to the waterfalls and decided to take an earlier bus. That would give us a couple of hours to explore Belgrano. Had some ice cream that was amazing! Selva Negra flavour (black forest).

Belgrano is another German town. The main street makes you wonder where you are! The buildings and the names are German. The best thing in the town for me was a German bakery store that sold some black bread and some nice cakes!

Dinner was at an Arabic restaurant where the food was great and the service, non existent. The owner didnt thaw till we paid the bill and left, at which time he finally cracked a smile!

Day 108, Thu Dec 16 Cordoba

Sandra and I wandered around town, visiting spots that either had missed. Manzana de los Luces, the block of enlightment, with its university and church was the highlight of the day.

We had dinner and sat around chatting for a long time, before realising that Sandra had about 30 minutes to get to the station. We headed to her hostel, grabbed her bags and almost ran to the station! Made it with about 5 minutes to spare, with the bus driver complaining that she almost missed the bus!

Day 134 Tues 12/1 Colonia del Sacramento

After a day of rest, it is time to be on the road again. Colonia del Sacramento is a place most tourists head towardand it is recommended for its history as well. On the Rio de la Plata, it is a charming little town, but it is small and after about 4 hours of walking, I had seen most of the sights! The buildings were nice, but I thought that the buildings in Monteideo were more interesting and more architecturally appealing. To me, the buildings in Colonia were bland, while colourful.

By the time I headed to the hostel to prepare a salad for lunch/dinner, it started to rain! Boy, did it rain. Summer rain. Downpour the likes of which I hadnt enjoyed in ages. Nothng to do but sit inside and chat to a couple of pretty girls in my room. Travel can be oh so so hard!

Day 135 Wed 13/1 Carmeo & Colonia

I asked for recommendations for a day trip and someone suggested Carmelo. Another small town about two hours from Colonia.

Again, a pretty town, but less interesting than Colonia and way smaller. After an hour, I was back at the plaza where I started. Hopped on the next bus back to Colonia.

3 of my Brasilian room-mates and I rented bikes and spent a pleasant couple of hours biking along the coast of the river. We went to the beach and Plaza de Torro. The old bull-fighting ring is closed to the public and isnt being used at all. Wonder why they dont restore it and use it as a museum.

Day 136 Thu 14/1 Montevideo

Montevideo is a welcome change after two days of self-imposed exile. The bus ride from Colonia was pleasant, but not overly scenic. Nodded off on quite a few occasions.

Went for a long walk to explore areas previously not visited and returned to the hostel extremely hungry! Prepared a salad and headed to bed.

Day 137 Fri 15/1 Montevideo

A local took me with him to a local street market. Pedro regaled me with how stories from his childhood in Montevideo. He also spoke of some of the history of the city. He has had quite a life, having lived in Italy, Spain, US. He now runs a business based on an invention of his that helps speed up the process of making bricks.

The rest of the day was spent in long aimless walks, enjoying some of the old buildings. Also visited the cemetery, which had some interesting sculptures.

Headed over to the Rambla to watch the sunset once more. There was also a fair on the Rambla, with some live music.

Day 138 Sat 16/1 Montevideo

The bus to BA doesnt leave till late at night. I decided again to head out into areas I hadnt seen before. I ended up in a street full of bookshops, and spent most of the afternoon browsing.

The bus left on time and was quite a pleasant ride. The border crossing was again uneventful, as I didnt even have to leave the bus!

Day 131 Sat Jan 8 Montevideo

The bus ride took 10 hours from Buenos Aires and wasnt too bad. The seats reclined well, but it seemed a bit cramped to me. Border crossing at 1am was quite a breeze, and the Uruguayan officials very friendly!

Checked into the hostel around 07:30, had breakfast and headed out into Ciudad Vieja. Walked around till around 3pm. Returned to the hostel for a well-earned nap!

The evening kicked off with a Candombe performance in the street next to the hostel. Men playing drums, women dancing; a feeling of celebration in the air. Within about 30 minutes, a TV van arrived and filmed the dancers and the drummers!

I wandered on again, to run into a group of older people dancing tango at one of the main squares! Boy, could they move! The music was captivating too!

I have been charmed by my first day in Montevideo! Compared to Buenos Aires, it is small, but almost as beguiling! It is extremely manageable and has a nice vibe to it.

People seem to drink mate a lot here as well, not to speak of the amunt of meat on dispay! There seem to be a lot of similiarities between the Argentines and the Uruguayans. The music, the accent…I cannot distinguish between an Argentine and a Uruguayan just yet.

Day 132 Sun Jan 9 Montevideo

Off for a walk and about 3 km in, I end up in the middle of one of the largest street markets I have seen in South America. (Feria de Tristan Narvaja) Books, clothes, fruits, nuts, jewellery etc. I spent a couple of hours browsing the books and wandering among the stalls.

By the end of my walk, I was extremely huungry and decided that I would try a decent looking place for lunch. I would regret my choice about 6-7 hours later!

After a short nap at the hostel, I went to ParqueRodo, where they had a tango performance. Walking along the Rambla was quite fun. By the time I got back to the hostel, I could feel my stomach cramping up. Before too long, I could barely move and decided to take to bed. The night was spent mostly awake as I had to deal wth a bout of food-poisoning. Not the most fun way to spend a night.

Day 133 Mon Jan 10 Montevideo

I spent most of the day recuperating from a rough night with little sleep. Planned my trip, booked some hostels, and ate nothing till lunch – a slie of fruit and two biscuits. After lunh, it was time for a 4 hour nap.

Woke up feeling refreshed and went for a walk in the neighbourhood and along the La Rambla. Enjoyed a spectacular sunset. It was interesting to see a bust of Mahatma Gandhi along the Rambla, part of which as named after him as well.

I have also been falling in love with the buildings of various neighbourhoods. My favourite buildings are the ones with a bit of a so-called Moorish touch to it, with arches. There are, occasionally, to my eyes, a touch of Portuguese influence too.

The day that had started so badly ended well. Off to Colonia del Sacramento next!

Day 98, Mon Dec 6 Bus to Buenos Aires

The bus from Puerto Madryn was quite uncomfortable and I was happy to arrive in BA. It is great to be back in Buenos Aires. I felt as if I had returned to an encounter with a loved one!

Had dinner and then went out to meet the crew from Navimag who were also in town. Needless to stay, it was quite late before I got to bed. Did have a killer chocolate cake, though!

Day 99, Tue Dec 7 Buenos Aires

I spent the day wandering aimlessly. Had dinner with my travel mates.

Day 100, Wed Dec 8 Buenos Aires

Walked to Palermo, wandered around the neighbourhood and had lunch again at Krishna, the vegetarian place. Finally a day on my own after a while of travelling with people.

Day 101, Thu Dec 9 Buenos Aires

Arrangements for the next destination (Cordoba): purchase ticket, look up hostels, do some research on things to do.

The group decided to get together for dinner as most of the folks were in Buenos Aires that night. It was quite a festive dinner, only to be interrupted when a car crashed into a motor bike in front of the restaurant. Some of the streets don´t have lights, and there were no stop signs, either. It took 15 minutes before the ambulance arrived to take the biker and passenger away. There might have been broken bones, but both were alive and not badly injured.

Day 102 Fri Dec 10 BA

Rain cut my wandering short. It was a blessing in disguise as I encountered a gem of a bookstore I would have missed otherwise. El Ateneo in Corrientes has to be the most beautiful bookstore I have encountered in my life. A bookstore set in an old theatre draws crowds. I managed to find a chair and read for a bit to enjoy the ambience.

The night found me on the bus to Cordoba. The overnight semi cama was full, but more comfortable than the cama that I took from Puerto Madryn. I slept soundly on the bus, as I looked forward to a few days of being on my own.

Day 93, Wed Dec 1 El Chalten

El Chalten is very small and has one ATM, which was out of cash for almost 3 quarters of the time I was in town! But most people come there to hike, to catch a glimpse of or to climb Cerro Torre or Fitz Roy.

The sight of snow fall did little to make me think that the day held much promise, as I prepared my breakfast in the kitchen. However, the sky did clear in about an hour. As I was getting ready to head out on a hike, who should walk in the door, but two friends from the Navimag trip – Luis and Gary. We ended up doing a 6 hour hike to Laguna Torres and Lago Madre y Higa.

The clouds prevented us from getting any view of Cerro Torre or Cerro Fitz Roy. I imagine I have to be content with images of the peaks from google! The hike got us feeling cold, wet and miserable as we hiked in the snow for quite a bit! The wind and the wet plants ended up encouraging us to shorten the hike from a 8 hours to 6 hours. Probably a good thing as my knee was starting to hurt after I twisted it while stumbling over a root.

Had lunch and dinner at the same restaurant. The food and the pretty waitress had something to do with it! We had an extra person at dinner as we ran into an Aussie who had set up camp next to us most of the hike in Torres del Paine. We backpackers tend to follow the same route, and it is quite common to run into the same people multiple times!

The weather forecast for the next day didnt seem any better, so I decided to curtail my intended two day stay to 1 day and to travel with Gary to Puerto Madryn. Arranging bus tickets took a while. I was extremely tired by the time I crawled into bed and set my alarm for 5 the next morning!