Buenos Aires - Home of Tango, Soccer Passion, & Good Food

Buenos Aires, the huge, passionate, historic port city was the final leg of our 4 month long adventure. We decided to save time and bought a plane ticket from el Calafate in the south directly to the city.

Being in such a large urban area (over 13 million in metro area) was a stark contrast from our previous weeks in the wilds of Patagonia. Luckily, one of our new friends, Rolando, who we met on the Inca Trail in Peru, insisted that we send him our flight info so that he could pick us up at the airport in his home city.

Rolando Lopez and his wife Alicia basically adopted us during our week long stay in the city, and they were amazingly gracious and generous hosts. First, they found us an affordable hotel in Montserrat, a good neighborhood near the center of the city. As you'll see in the photos and videos, they also took us to all sorts of fun locations around the city. Knowing locals who could help us explore the city was priceless. Our trip ended in a spectacular fashion in the bustling city on the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver). A special, heartfelt thank you to Rolando and Alicia.

Here's a view of the famous Obelisco monumeent ont the very busy street - 9 de Julio. Our hotel was very near this area.

There are many wonderful areas of the city. Our first day we visited a district that has been totally renovated in the last decade and a half with expensive hotels, multinational companies and apartments for the rich and famous. Connecting the area to the downtown area is a famous bridge that models tango dancers -- imagine the man - the part in the air angled to the right, dipping the woman down (the actual bridge) and holding here (aka the cables of the bridge).

Rolando and Alicia took us to a restaurant in this area. The restaurant is named Siga la Vaca (Follow the Cow). It's an all you can eat (dangerous!) buffet with an enormous grill serving all sorts of outstanding Argentine meats from their country estancias (ranches). I don't think we were hungry for days after this outing.

Grill with meat choices at Siga la Vaca.

...and that was only one part of the grill!

As with many national capitals and especially in Latin America, protests of some form or fashion are the norm. Here was one such protest, apparently by the workers of the Province of Buenos Aires. They had their whole families there in the middle of a city street, and large drums were beat continuously for hours. I guess if the people in charge didn't cave in, at least they'd be very annoyed by the pounding all day.

These were the riot police between the protestors and the office building of the Province of Buenos Aires. Chad wanted to ask one of them if he could pose with his shield and helmet, but Kari didn't like the idea. Probably smart.

The Plaza de Mayo is the famous square in front of the Casa Rosada (Pink House) government palace. Hundreds of pictures of people killed in Argentina's "Dirty War" were posted in remembrance. The Dirty War was a period of time when the dictatorial, military government from 1976 - 1983 abducted and killed ("disappeared") as many as 30,000 of its own citizens. Many of the disappeared were left-wing guerillas or their sympathizers, but many were also people who didn't approve of the policies of the military regime.

While we were in town, court cases were being pursued against some of the government officials involved in the disappearings, and many Argentines marched in the streets, went on hunger strikes, and participated in other forms of public demonstrations to express their feelings about the Dirty War and its aftermath.

Here's Casa Rosada, the executive palace of the government.

Here's a picture at dusk of the building where Argentina's congress meets. This building is on the other end of a wide avenue which leads to the Casa Rosada. It reminded us a little bit of Washington DC and the mall.

Our first Friday in town was National Tango Day. That night we watched a tango concert in front of the Casa Rosada. Tango is a style of music and dance originated in Buenos Aires but now famous worldwide. You might remember it in the scene with Al Pacino in the movie, Scent of a Woman. Interestingly enough the music and dance originated in the brothels of the immigrant areas of town. After many years it gained more popularity with the elite class, and then spread around the world. I asked our host Rolando if he knew how to dance tango, and he told us that it was more of a tourist attraction. According to him, most of the normal Porteños, as residents of Buenos Aires are known, don't dance the tango or listen to it on a regular basis.

The video below will give you a flavor of the sound of tango from our concert:

Tango Music - Buenos Aires from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

Kari captured this beautiful sunset looking back over palm trees, a fountain, statues, and a clock tower.

One of the most anticipated parts of visiting Argentina and South America as a whole was going to a fútbol (soccer) game. We were lucky to get to Argentina when we did because it was the last weekend of soccer games for the club teams throughout the country. Rolando invited us to a game of his club team, Argentina Juniors, at the stadium that was right down the street from his house. The stadium is named after Diego Maradona (the Pele of Argentina) since that's where he started his career.

Rolando gave Chad a team jersey so he'd fit in at the game.

The game wasn't too crowded because it was the last game, and the final standings had already been announced.

Even though it wasn't a highly attended game, the crowd that was there was definitely riled up. They were shouting, cheering and beating drums throughout the whole game. They also threw toilet paper and confetti all over the field.

Argentine Soccer Game - Argentina Juniors from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

Argentina Juniors won the game 5 to 1 and finished #5 in the nation.

After the game Rolando and Alicia invited us to their house for dinner of homemade empanadas and a special bottle of wine that Rolando told us he'd been saving for important guests. We were very flattered and enjoyed the delicious dinner.

The next day Rolando and Alicia invited us to a street festival called Feria de Mataderos. It was kind of like a county fair... there was lots of food, street vendors with local crafts, dancing and

gauchos (cowboys).

Here's a picture of the grill (parrilla) with LOTS of meat... sausage (salchicha), ribs (asado) and steak (vacio).

We also ate tamales and humitas, which are like tamales but with creamed corn instead of meat inside the corn husk.

Here's a picture of a gaucho (cowboy). There was a competition similar to jausting later that evening.

We also got to see some traditional Argentine dances. Here's a short video:

Traditional Argentine Dancing from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

Rolando and Alicia were such gracious hosts. They wanted to show us different areas of Buenos Aires that the average tourist wouldn't get to see. I don't think we missed out on anything! On Monday, they took us to a town called Tigre, about an hour outside of the city. It's a great place for a relaxing day trip from Buenos Aires. We took a catamaran tour of the river.

Here's us on the boat:

There were lots of beautiful and interesting sights. There were lots of houses along the river that reminded us of the lakehouses in South Carolina.

We also saw a tugboat graveyard.

We also saw a weekend getaway house of a previous president- notice the bulletproofing all around the house!

You could see Buenos Aires on the horizon:

We love ice cream and any good excursion isn't complete without a tasty cone. Kari had the most unforgetable scoop of her lifetime... a foot high strawberry cone dipped in chocolate!

On our last full day in Buenos Aires, Rolando and Alicia invited us to their house for a proper asado (as cook-outs are known).

We learned that friends and neighbors have regular asados and take turns hosting it, and every asador (grill master) claims to be the best.

Here's the assistant:

And here with the master:

We had LOTS of food. We started off with a piqueo (appetizer) of cheese, olives, chips, etc. Then we had a choripan (saugage) sandwich. Then asado (ribs) - YUM!. Then morcilla (blood sausage), which was not as bad as we feared since we first spotted it in Spain (but not tasty enough to eat ever again).

After the huge and delicious meal they took us for a drive around town to see a nearby park, to walk in the commercial district, and to eat an ice cream cone before they took us to the airport. In the mall, we met up with a friend from back home... Papa Noel. He wished us a happy holiday, which was a great sendoff as we headed home for the holidays.

Papa Noel in Buenos Aires from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

With that, our four month journey drew to a close.

We hope you've enjoyed following our travels with us. Now that we're headed stateside we look forward to catching up and to hearing from you!

We wish you all a FELIZ NAVIDAD (Merry Christmas) and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!

Living it Up in the Trekking Capital of Argentina ...

El Chalten, a small Argentine village surrounded by amazing peaks and glaciers, was our third world class hiking destination within a matter of weeks. Just like Machu Picchu and Torres del Paine, we were blown away with the sites and the experience.

We were a little worn out from being on the move since the beginning of November, so we decided to make our stop in El Chalten a 5-6 day stopover. One night was camping, and the rest of the time was spent doing day hikes and relaxing in the 70 degree, sunny weather (we were told this was completely abormal. Mountain climbers had been waiting weeks for the rain and clouds to clear up).

Below are a some of the pictures with comments from our trip to "The Trekking Capital of Argentina," in the southern Patagonia region.


Below is our first view, from the bus, of the mountain peaks so famous in this park. The tallest one on the right at just over 11,000 feet is "Fitz Roy", named after the captain of the Beagle - the famous boat of Charles Darwin in his exploration of the coast of South America, the Galapagos Islands, and other areas of the Pacific Ocean. The peak on the far left, the second tallest of the group at 10,280 feet, is called Cerro Torre.

These peaks are famous for mountain climbers because of their relatively easy access and beauty. We met one pair of Americans in our hostel who were summitting a peak while we were there.

This was a view in a glacier-fed river valley on our first day hike. Breath-taking.

Waterfall at the end of our first day hike. We just sat on a rock below the falls and soaked everything in for a while. The water was amazingly clear, and we saw trout fish skirting around. Apparently this is a world class area for trout fishing, although we didn't try any.

During another treck, we saw this big boulder perched above us. It looked like the Patagonian wind could blow it over at any moment. Chad's theory was that Wiley Coyote, from Looney Toons, had a rope attached to it and was waiting for the Road Runner to pass nearby.

Our second day hike led us several hours up to a bald point on a hill where we had the most panamoramic view of the entire group of mountains, below.

On our way back from the big view, we walked through amazing fields of yellow dandelions. It looked like a Monet painting.

Queen of the mountains. Doesn't she just look beautiful in her element?

They said the water was safe to drink straight from the river, but Chad got a little crazy and started banging sticks on the ground - apparently at nobody ;)

Our overnight trip took us very close to the base of Monte Fitz Roy. This was the base camp for mountain climbing excursions to the peaks.

In this same base camp area, we saw one of the most beautifully blue glacier lakes of our lives. We perched on a rock and watched a glacier tumble down (in its slow glacier way) off the mountains and into this pristine lake.

We were ready for a little adventure being around all of these mountain climbers, so we found a small mountain/hill to the right of the lake above to climb. It was basically all rock, although it was gradual enough with plenty of footholds, so we could make our way up without having to really rock climb. We ended up turning back before the very top, but here's a video we made for all those worried moms out there:

We're being really safe! from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

The second day of our overnight hike was beautiful. We hiked on a connector trail between the trails that lead to the two famous peaks of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, which meant that there were hardly any other hikers. We pretended that we had this awesome wilderness beauty to ourselves.

Our hike ended at this magnificent picnic spot above another glacier lake and with a crystal clear view of Cerro Torre.

We were a little spoiled with so many once in a lifetime views within such a short time. Kari, who just loves mountain views and the outdoors, was in heaven. Being in these quiet, grand places fed our souls and imaginations.

What a Big Hunk... of Ice!

After our wonderful hike in Torres del Paine, we crossed the border to the Argentinean side of Patagonia and went to El Calafate, which is a jumping off point for outdoor adventures for Glacier National Park. Just one hour from town is the Perito Moreno Glacier. When we got there the weather wasn't the best, to say the least! Here's a look:

Snow, wind, cold and Chad at Perito Moreno Glacier from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

Here's an panoramic video of the glacier (thank you, Wikipedia):


And a home video:

That's one big ice cube! Perito Moreno Glacier from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

This is a view of the glacier from the visitor's center:

(Many thanks to Wikipedia for the great photo!)The park is great because you can view the glacier from a peninsula opposite it on boardwalks that have benches to stop and watch.

The weather cleared up for a while and we were able to take some better photos.

Here's one side of the glacier, you can see a boat to give you a perspective how big the glacier is:

The glacier is huge- 19 miles long and averages 3 miles wide. It's almost 100 square miles in all, and it's also 558 feet deep!

Not only is it huge, but it's incredibly beautiful. Here's a close up of the glacier ice. Photos really don't do it justice. The variety and intensity of the shades of blue are breathtaking. Looking into the cracks of the glacier reminded me gazing into a campfire with its glowing colors at the heart.

Looking at the glacier is superb as it is, but another wonder is to see and hear it move. Most of the glaciers in Patagonia are receding, but this is one of 3 that's advancing. Perito Moreno is constantly moving and big chunks of the glacier calve into the Argentina River below, creating a loud thundering noise and huge waves.

Sometimes the glacier advances to the land and forms a dam. The pressure builds up and eventually breaks through. It ruptures every 4 to 5 years. We only saw pieces fall, but someone caught the rupture from 2006 on video:


Wow!

We didn't see any calving of that grandeur, but we did see quite a few chunks crash into the river in the 4 hours we were there.

Here's a picture of the same area from the video when we were there. It ruptured again last year, but you can see that the glacier has moved quite a bit since the was taken in 2006.

The word "awesome" is often overused but you can't help but feeling in awe watching the Perito Moreno glacier.

Towering Peaks, Long Hikes, and Wily Foxes ... Torres Del Paine NP, Chile

When you have a dream to do something, it helps to make a dreamboard with images of what you want. For over a year prior to our trip, we described to each other where we were going to be seated on the plane on the way to Spain and South America and how we would feel. We've also had a picture of a backpacking tour of Patagonia (the southern part of Chile and Argentina) that we've looked at many times daily. (Some of you might have seen it yourselves on a pit stop at our place.) Alas, our dreams were realized. We sat in the plane seats we visualized, and here we were in Patagonia! The first stop on our backpacking adventure was Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

We made the necessary preparations in Puerto Natales (the nearest town to the park): We rented a tent, bought a bus ticket to the entrance to the park, and prepared our meals. Chad is a huge fan of peanut butter and jelly, and he was so excited to find peanut butter at the supermarket that he went a bit overboard with the sandwiches he prepared:

Yes, those are ALL PB&J sandwiches! Needless to say, we ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly and too much bread and cheese (since we didn't take a camping stove).

We planned to hike the "W," which is the shape of the route, in either four or five days, depending on how we felt. Our route was from east to west (3 - 2 - 1).


We started with a hike to the most famous vista in the park, los Torres (the towers), on the first day. It was a day of hiking uphill. Chad made a video as we climbed up the trail.



Up, up to visit the Torres from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

The background noise is the wind, which was a constant companion through our tour of Patagonia. On our last day, in fact, we felt gusts up to 40mph.

In the park there are refugios (shelters), like the one in the picture below, located at various points along the trails. The rooms in the refugios are bunk style and are booked months in advance. They also have hot meals and refreshments, which is most welcome for hikers coming off the sometimes windy and cold trail.

We didn't like the rigid schedule that months of forward planning would require, so we chose the mostly free tent campsites where we could eat our petrified peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ("Yummmmmm" ~ Chad)

These are the famous "Torres".

We were rewarded with this amazing vista after our final climb.

We found a comfy rock, chilled, and soaked in the splendor. We stayed until the sun set over the top of the peaks. We were practically the last ones there - in total silence in our sanctuary.

After sunset we walked back down to our campsite, ate dinner of leftover pizza (oh yeah!), and fell asleep early.

Day 2 was a little chilly starting off. Kari "mountain woman" Carson, her nickname for the trip by Chad, is shown here crossing one of the many streams in the park.

Day 2 was more relaxed, flat hiking than Day 1. The park is filled with gorgous glacier lakes. Some are the turquoise-blue (typically closer to the glaciers), some are jade-green, and others, like the one below, are crystal clear and create perfect reflections of the mountains and skies above.

With the strong winds of the area, amazing varieties of cloud formations are created. We took pictures of a few of our favorites.

"The Flying Dragon"

"The Thoughts of a Mountain"

Day 2 was also our first sighting of the other famous peaks, "Los Cuernos" or "The Horns". Chad is translating the name for everyone below:

This was another view of the Horns we skirted all day. They look different from every angle.

The Horns again, with the setting sun hitting them from the west.

Day three was our climb up the middle of "The W", if you're keeping track on our map above. This part of the trail was called "Valle del Frances" or Valley of the French. Chad was looking for all of the French people along the way, but all we saw were a few Germans and a couple of Americans. Go figure.

This picture below was at the start of the climb. The peak is called Paine Grande, and the white parts are big glaciers that thundered the entire night before as ice and snow crashed down the mountain in avalanches. It was a thrilling sound and sight.

The wind in this valley was particularly strong. Do you have a guess as to which direction the wind blows from?? Poor little trees.

In this video you can get an even better feel for the wind in the valley:

Wind in Patagonia - Torres del Paine National Park from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

At the top of the valley we had more stunning views, this time of the back side of the Torres we saw yesterday.


We also got to walk in snow. Here's Chad's big snow shoes, oops ... I mean feet, while taking a rest.

Hiking back down the Valley of the French

19 Mile Day! Day 3 turned out to be a lot longer than we orignally planned. By the end of the day we had hiked about 19 miles (we still can't explain why we kept walking)! Much of the 2nd half of the day was in drizzling, soaking rain as well. We left in the morning at 8AM and arrived at Refugio Grey - near the Glacier in the picture below - at 8:30 p.m.! Our feet and bodies were sore!

We ate a well earned hot meal at the refugio, and returned to our tent to crash.

Glacier Grey and Lake Gray - the site of our night 3 campsite.

Thanksgiving Day and the Feast of the Fox:

We're showing you the picture below to give you a little idea of some of the food we lugged around in our packs all over Torres Del Paine. We knew that we'd be celebrating Thanksgiving Day somewhere in the park, so since we couldn't haul a turkey around - the dried sausage and cheese was the next best luxury. You also of course remember our multitude of PB&J sandwiches, along with bags of trail mix, granola bars, and our prize possession: a big milk chocalate bar.

We were prepared for our Thanksgiving feast ... but our friend the fox had other plans during the eve of Thanksgiving ...

After our long 19 mile day 3 hike, we were tired and made a camping cardinal sin - we left our food outside the tent. Even so, we did leave it in Kari's backpacked, zipped and sealed.

When we awoke Thanksgiving morning Kari went outside to check on our things and discovered our backback was MISSING. She searched all over the camp site, asked other campers, but it was no where to be found. We couldn't imagine someone else stealing and having to haul it out of the wilderness.

Then we saw a glint of plastic in the woods. We followed trails of the carnage and discovered Kari's backpack - neatly unzipped - with every single bit of the food eaten (including our beloved chocolate!)

We were devastated of course, but we were relieved that Kari's bag apparently hadn't been damaged. The ranger at the campsite told us that a fox, appropriately called el ZORRO in Spanish, had been the culprit. I bought the cheapest thing I could find at the camp store - more bread and cheese, alas. Kari chewed her slightly stale bread with a sad look on her face ;)

As we packed and prepared to leave, Kari learned that the sly Zorro did leave his mark. He chewed threw one of Kari's backback straps. As this is crucial for carrying a 25 lb pack (or lighter without the food now), we wouldn't get far like that. The ranger lent us a needle and thread, and Kari stiched up her strap as well as possible.

As we walked out and left the park that day, we looked for a fat fox napping under a tree somewhere, recovering from the Thanksgiving feast of lifetime, but we only had beautiful views of glaciers, peaks, and lakes, along with a strong Patagonian tail wind to send us on our way.

What an adventure!