Tango in the streets

Buenos Aires

We decided against a 60 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires so flew from Calafate instead. Joining us were Sjors and Ellen, friends from Antarctica. Walking off the plane we were welcomed to warm weather! Some of the first of the trip. In the airport we decided to take the local city bus to our hostel. Learning that the bus only takes change which is very difficult to come by, we started asking people in the airport to change bills for coins. Needing only 3 pesos each it felt like a scene from the amazing race trying to get the coins. The money was collected and with our fellow competitors/travel companions we boarded the bus. We were all in awe of the size of Buenos Aires but with little difficulty we collected our packs and pilled off the crowded bus. We celebrated a new beginning as our trip had been predominantly spent in cold places and from here on out it was warmth all the way... touch wood. 

Asado dinner

Our first morning in Buenos Aires was all business as we needed a visa to enter Brazil and the time was quickly approaching. Printing out all our fake documents we went to the consulate where you needed an appointment to be seen. With the tourist visa appointments backed up 2 weeks we made an appointment under other visas hoping it would still work. Nope, rejected, telling us we had to wait 2 weeks we decided to get our visas in Uruguay. We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of the San Telmo district, seeing the Plaza de Mayo and the Obelisc.

Obelisc, symbol of Buenos Aires as many locals strive to reach the captial city, seeing the obelisc reminds them they made it.

angry birds

Palermo district

Exploring the city for the next few days was great, the more we saw the smaller it felt. A cemetery here, a football stadium there. Thankfully everything in this metropolis was connected by an extensive but poorly maintained subway system. The incredible architecture and huge works of public art certainly showed off the past glory days of Argentina, but the politically motivated graffiti and constant protests were the overtone. 

Walking the 10 blocks of the Sunday market.

When the market vendors start packing up locals gather in the square and start dancing Tango!

The colourful musical district of La Boca

La Recoleta cemetery of Buenos Aires. This cemetery has no religion and many famous people have been burried here. Some of the tombs had been broken into and looted, we saw an open one with bones hanging out.

Rest in Peace

The other 49th parallel

El Chalten - Argentina Patagonia

Now on the Argentina side of Patagonia we had recovered from the hike in Chile and were ready for another. Arriving in the tiny town of El Chalten (youngest town in Argentina) we again rented a tent and stove. This time there were 6 of us hiking together and only 2 tents left in town. No big deal, we can share the so called "4 man tent." The hike started through the hills and we arrived at a campsite at the bottom of the Argentinian Torres.

Trail Head

Staying the night here we were still laughing about how we arrived in town, got off the bus, rented a tent, and set out on the hike with nothing planned. Crawling into the tent we realized the so called "4 man tent" was made for 4 Peruvian sized men which are about half the size of Canadian and Dutch sized men! With our feet poking out the end of the tent and orchestrated rolls "on three" we drifted to sleep. 

Day 2 we hiked up to the beautiful Torres of the "Fitz Roy Range." Eating hand fulls of trail mix we sat in near silence admiring the spires and enjoying the sunshine.

1-2-3- Jump

Heading back down and around the valley we hiked to the backside of this mountain range to our next campsite. 

With camp set up next to the river and water boiling we corked the bottle of wine that had become so heavy in the final kilometers. 

Our final day we took a morning stroll around one side of the lake to a vista of another glacier pouring down the mountains and into the lake.

We made it !

much deserved cervezas