Two excellent parks

We took a short detour from our route west and headed north to Valle Fertil. This little town is one of the main access points for two national parks. During our trip we have met a number of travellers who have great suggestions. The more you talk to people, the more things you add to the list of things to see. Our hostel was nice and inviting. I´ll try to summarize both parks which can be toured in a single day.

Ischigualasto: AKA Valle De Luna. The tour was about two hours which had five stops where we were dropped off to look around. The park looks similar to a desolate landscape of a deserted plant. There were some interesting rock formations especially the round moon rocks which are created by CaCO2 seeds which attract minerals to form round rocks. The color of the ground in this area is a combination of grey and orange due to differing layers exposed over time. Further north was the red walls of Talampaya.

Talampaya: Wind and water erosion dug out very tall vertical walls. The walls of the canyon are 450 meters tall. The sides of the canyon has depressions created by years of erosion. The guide had the entire tour group stand in one of the depressions and we yelled HOLA! We could hear up to four echoes bouncing off the walls. Both parks offer different things to see. I suggest that visitors see both. One issue with this park is that it has been privatized, so it costs 65 pesos to see.

Picutres are from the parks.

Moving westward

Out time in Cordoba was short and sweet. It was obvious that our guide book was out dated since we came across a bunch of areas and restaurants which were not in the book or no longer in business. The city does offer quite a few sites, so leave at least a couple of days to see everything. Jane and I had an epic day starting with seeing the condors at a national park close by. The bus dropped us off at the park entrance which seemed like the middle of nowhere. The easy hike was about 11K each way. At the end was a lookout over a deep gorge where you could see the condors fly about. We were told on some days they fly really close to you, but not today. A bunch of us waited outside the park on the side of the road where the sunset made an excellent pink, red, and orange glow. We ended our evening with dinner and a tango show. It was a great day overall.

My budget and bife de lomo

What a huge difference between Argentina and Europe!!!!
My initial budget for South America was $100 per day. Jane´s initial buget was half that amount. At first, I was skeptical that we could keep to that, but it has worked out well so far. Lodging is about $8 per night and meals rarely exceed $10. Most of the major cost so far have been coming from transport between cities and fees for tourist activities. The cost should be even less once we get to Bolivia and Peru. Cheap food prices allow us to indulge in fancier table fare. If you come to Argentina, you need to throw out the inner vegitarian and go for the bife de lomo. It is very tender cut of beef which you can cut with a spoon (if the meat is top quality). The same cut of meat would cost about $25-30 at Whole Foods. However, I´m able to order the steak (about 400 gr) for about $10. I can see why so many people come down and end up staying longer than planned.

Cordoba

I just checked into the hostel this morning. There is a lot of small things we need to do before we start looking around. I realized I should have followed the ´lay out what you need then take half´rule. My pack is so heavy!!!! Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina, but it is about 1/10 th the size of Buenos Aires. It is giving us a better vibe so far. More to come.

Iguazu

We reached Iguazu this weekend and are planning to stay for a few days before heading to Cordoba. Out bus ride here was extremely cushy. It was similar to being on a first class airplane seat, but with more motion (we were on the second deck). The plan is to see the falls and maybe do some sort of outdoor adventure. The weather here is much warmer than in Buenos Aires. I´m glad I packed some tropical clothes (which I´ll likely dump once we hit the mountains).

Iguazu falls is a must for all visitors to Argentina. It is beautiful here, but other than the falls, there is not much else to do. Two days was enough for me. Jane and I went on the boat ride which takes you up to the falls where you get a nice shower. Jane´s 30 peso waterproof pants were crap. I managed to stay dry (except for my head) with slightly better gear.

Pictures are from the falls

Ready to move on

After a week and a half, I can truely say that I´m ready to move on. The Spanish class has been great and I reccommend it for those travelling to South America for an extended amount of time. Jane and I are currently staying in the middle of the city and we are starting to get tires of the noise and smog. Some barrios of Buenos Aires are better than others, but the city centro is dirty. We met up with one of Jane´s Swiss connections here and saw a Tango show. All together, we have seen some really interesting shows (Tango, drums, Cuban Salsa). Rolli (the Swiss guy) mentioned that he was getting tired of the city as well. One thing I noticed is that people here do not pick up after their dog. I swear there is dog crap all over the streets all the time. It doesn´t matter which neighborhood you are in. We have met some really nice people travelling through. I just met a gal from Austin who is here for the summer (after graduation from UT). I´m looking forward to leaving and getting some fresh air. I´ll definitely come back in August.

One last thing. Jane is an ice cream addict. We have had ice cream every day since we´ve been here.

Arrival to South America

Jane and I made it to the city. We´ve been here about five days already and it seems like it has passed by so quickly. The hostel we have is centrally located and it seems to be a good spot to get to know the city. We quickly checked out some Spanish schools and other hostels just to make sure we were not missing out on anything. In the meantime we have hired a private Spanish teacher (Rosanne) who is from Brazil. Jane is picking up the language much more quickly than I am. However, I do know much more now than I did before leaving. We are going to be here for another week, then off to Iguazu next weekend. One thing which is better compared to Switzerland is the cost of living. I don´t feel like I´m spending too much money here. Hostels are cheap, but food and other expenses are cheap as well. I´m looking forward to the classes next week and hope to see more of the city.