16. 3 Months in (mostly) Argentina/Chile - Lessons Learned.

We had visited the northern part of the continent on previous trips, so this time we kept to the southern half (latitude-wise). We crossed the border into Argentina 7 times in the 3 months - once each from Canada, Paraguay and Uruguay and 4 times from Chile. We had a fantastic trip. Some observations:

1. When to go?
The prime vacation period in Chile and Argentina is January and February (equivalent to July & August in N. Hemisphere). Accommodations are harder to find and the popular places are crowded. We therefore decided on March to May. It worked out very well.

2. Overall strategy
Tierra del Fuego is not too far from Antarctica, so winter comes early there. We flew to Ushuaia first and slowly worked our way north, staying ahead of the winter and going back and forth between Argentina and Chile. Our original plan was to spend most of the time in Argentina, but in fact we were longer in Chile. Apart from the very south of Chile (no roads), the Transamericana highway in Chile is ideal for South/North travel, whereas in Argentina the roads tend to wander all over the place. Many of the prime destinations are on either side of the Andes, so the Chilean highways provide excellent access.

3. Resources
We found the latest versions of the Lonely Planet guides for Argentina and Chile to be excellent. Some of the backpackers didn't like the fact that these guides cater to various types of accommodation, including high end. This was not a problem for us, as mentioned below we used the Internet to select hostels.

4.Transportation
Argentina Airlines has good rates for internal flights - when booked from out of the country you get good prices but you get very little, if any, refund if you cancel and changes in scheduling are expensive. Also many of the inter-city flight legs only operate in prime summer season.We booked 3 legs - one to Ushuaia at the start of the trip and two (to & from Iguassu Falls) near the end. The fact that we did not book many internal flights turned out to be a godsend. We were able to be very flexible and go when we wanted to. Freedom.

The rest of the time we travelled by bus. The bus system in Argentina and Chile is far superior to that in Canada. The buses are more modern and they are better equipped. A few of the trips were as long as 15 hours, but most of those you can travel overnight. The overnight buses usually have an "Executive" class where the seats fold out horizontal for a good nights sleep. We were even served champagne on one trip.Travelling by bus is much less stressful than flying. Most bus terminals are downtown, much closer than the airport.You book ahead or even the same day, get seat selection, then show up about 15 mins. ahead of departure. Your large bags are stowed under (you get a tag) and away you go. No security lineups, long taxi rides and no need to show up 1 to 2 hours before departure. In addition to being modern and efficient, the buses are relatively inexpensive. Highly recommended! (Buses in Paraguay are another breed entirely - The ones we took must have been 40 years old).

5. Accommodation

We used hostels for the entire trip. We stayed in over 30 different hostels. With the exception of the jeep trip in Bolivia, we always had our own room, about half the time with ensuite bath. Some were great, some were good and a very few had some problems (eg all night dog barking nearby), but overall the experience was excellent. Hostels have so much more to offer for the traveller than hotels. They are cheaper, most include breakfast, you can cook your own food if you want, they have wi-fi and most have a couple of computers online for guest use plus there is normally a lounge where people congregate and socialize. Some of the best experiences we had on the trip were a direct result of information passed on by other backpackers that we were either unaware of or not planning to do. They are safe - you either have a key to the front door or you have to ring to be let in and you have your own room key.


Front doors of "Chill House" hostel, Buenos Aires

The average age in the hostels was about 25 - 30, less than half our age. When we would first arrive, we would get some odd looks (Whats Gramps and Grandma doing here?!!) but once we made a bit of an effort to break the ice and they realized that we were doing exactly the same as them, there was no problem with the age difference. In fact we had some great dialogue.

There are several agencies that you can book through online (we used Hostelbookers.com most of the time). Their web sites list all the hostels in a given town that they are agents for along with ratings feedback from travellers. You can even read all the comments posted about any particular hostel. Following this regimen, we always had a very good idea of what we were booking. Many of the younger backpackers just show up looking for a dorm bed. Sometimes there is one available, sometimes not. But if you want your own room, it is better to book a couple of days ahead as most hostels have a very limited supply.




View of the Andes from our flight home. Winter is setting in (May 2013)

Strange cloud formation over the Andes (volcano?)

6. Language

It would definitely not be a good idea to do this trip with zero Spanish. You would miss a lot and it would be very frustrating at times. We had a very very basic vocabulary which expanded as we went and we had no problems at all. Once people realise you are a gringo, they tend to slow down and speak very basic Spanish. (Normally they tend to talk much faster than our ability to comprehend). In stores, virtually no one spoke any English. Even in visitor information offices it was rare to find an English speaker.

7. Safety, Security

The only place we were even the slightest bit concerned was in Buenos Aires (where we were robbed once - see blog). There you really have to keep your wits about you and be aware of people around you. Avoid standing around in full view studying a map. Check out the guidebooks for typical scams. Watch your daypack if you wear one. Armed robbery is highly unlikely. Ours was a "soft" robbery. This incident was the only time in the entire 3 months that we had concerns.

We did not carry wallets and purses. Normally we would leave all credit cards, passports etc locked up at the hostel and carry a small amount of cash. When moving we carried everything in money belts under our clothing. It is a little awkward at times when you need to show your passport, but it's worth it.

8. Health

Before we left home, we visited our local travel clinic and had any shots required. Other than some tummy problems following our jeep trip in Bolivia, we were really healthy the whole trip. In Bolivia, the altitude can be a problem. Insomnia and headaches, especially at night, are common and we experienced this. There are pills you can take for altitude sickness - one of us couldn't tolerate it due to constant nosebleeds - it seems to thin your blood.

One area where hygiene was suspect throughout our trip was public washrooms, even in restaurants. Rarely was there any toilet paper or paper towels and sometimes not even a toilet seat. We always carried a supply of paper with us. The hostels normally had very adequate bathroom facilities. Another concern we had at the outset was bedbugs. Over 30 hostels later, we never had a problem.

One health advantage we did not realise until we got home - after all the walking and hiking (we must have walked hundreds of miles in the three months) plus probably a lower calorie diet resulted in an 8 lb loss for each of us. Now if we can just keep it off!!

9. Laundry
We never found any self-serve laundromats similar to Canada, however there is an even better option. Every town of any size has at least one lavanderia (laundry). You drop your clothes off in the morning, then pick them up later that day - all cleaned , dried and folded. Not too expensive and it leaves you free for the day to do whatever.

10. Money
Last but not least on the agenda. Argentina and Chile operate on a primarily cash basis. Some large chain supermarkets and high end retail shops will take credit cards. A few others will accept cc's but charge a minimum of 10% for the privilege. Everyone else wants cash. ATM's that accept out of country debit or credit cards are available in most locations and that was the route we took. It is best to take out the daily maximum when you do use an ATM as the fee appears to be the same no matter how much you withdraw.

As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, take as much US cash as you are comfortable carrying into Argentina, since you can get almost twice the official rate on the "blue market". Talk to other travellers or locals before undertaking these "clandestine" operations - you want to make sure you are dealing with someone that you could find again if necessary. There have been reports of counterfeit bills. We found some small shops to be the best bet. Just ask for "cambio".

None of the other countries we visited on this trip had a black market.

15. Uruguay and Buenos Aires

We flew back to Buenos Aires from Posadas. Still pretty unsuspecting after 2 1/2 months in mostly smaller places, we were fleeced the first day back in the big city. The old "bird poop on the jacket" trick. Suddenly you have people diligently trying to help you clean it off. Meanwhile they are actually trying to clean you out. After they departed we were $50 poorer. Fortunately we purposely left credit cards and passports locked at the hostel.

A backwater in the Delta

Spent a day near Tigre - in the Parana R. Delta. Water everywhere and the only way to get anywhere - no roads. Lots of flowers.

Uruguay is a small country - about 3.3 million -about the size of the greater Toronto area - lying directly

Atop the old lighthouse in Colonia

across the wide Rio de la Plata from Buenos. Aires. About 40% of the population live in the capital, Montevideo. We took the  high speed ferry across the river to Colonia de Sacramento, a small place with an interesting "old city", which we wandered around for a few hours, then caught a bus to Montevideo.

Montevideo was pleasant, but another big city. The old port area has some beautiful old buildings, but is quite run down and not safe at night. We did lots of walking and eating. The Uruguayans are even more red meat fanatics than Argentinians. You get a huge plate of meat with very little else. Back to the cave man days. Visited a great antique car museum run by the Uruguay Automobile Club.

Watched an industrial league football game (read soccer). It was pretty intense, with banners and cheering sections. Before the kickoff, the players all hug and kiss (really) their opposite numbers, then do their best to kill each other after the opening whistle. Firecrackers are constantly going off and each time a big black dog ran into the play. Sometimes there were two balls on the field. Halftime brought a huge smoke bomb.

 Interesting features of most parks are the professional dog walkers. Watching them try to manage up to 20 dogs and their leashes makes for some good entertainment.

After 4 days we headed back to Buenos Aires for the last 3 days of our adventure. Spent a day in La Boca - a pretty rough but colourful part of the city. Check out our tango moves!

The Metro in Buenos Aires is very efficient, but it quite a shock to see the cars totally covered in grafitti. Even parts of the windows.

14. Paraguay and the Jesuits

To quote the Lonely Planet : "For a century and a half from 1609 one of the worlds great social experiments was carried out in the jungles of South America by the Society of Jesus ( the Jesuits). Locating themselves in incredibly remote areas, priests set up missions where they established communities of Guarani whom they evangelized and educated while at the same time protecting them from slavery".

At their peak, the 30 Jesuit missions across what is now Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay were self sufficient and populated by more than 100,000 Guarani, with only about 2 priests per mission. In 1767 for various reasons, King Carlos 111 of Spain banished the Jesuits. The communities then rapidly fell apart.

Very little remains of most of the missions but across the Parana River From Posadas, Ar. there are two remarkably preserved ruins in Paraguay. Just the name of the river dissuades one from trying to swim across. Canadians need a visa for Paraguay. This seems pretty straight forward until you find out that the Paraguayan Consulate in Posadas Argentina only accepts US$ in payment. We had no US$ and it is illegal for the banks in Argentina to sell US$. (They publish buy and sell rates but do not sell ???). So off to another dodgy place to exchange funds while looking over your shoulder.

After clearing the border, it became rapidly apparent that Paraguay was much less affluent than Argentina and Chile. The bus we hopped to go to the first ruin was totally decrepit. We finally got there and ended up hiring a "Tuk-tuk" to visit the second site. On the way back to the border on another bus, we almost had to get out and push to climb one hill.

The mission sites (both Unesco world heritage  designated) were extremely impressive, both in size and state of preservation, especially since they were abandoned in 1767. The churches the Jesuits built were huge - we'd call them cathedrals. Much stonework decoration has also survived. A very interesting day.

13. Salta to Iguassu Falls, Argentina

It seems as though there is always somebody on strike in Argentina. When it was time to travel to Salta, Argentina from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, it was the bus drivers. So we booked with a Chilean company. They were still operating. The bus strike ended the day we arrived in Salta, but there were still some bad feelings. Just before we arrived, someone threw a huge rock at the bus, shattering the window next to the people opposite us. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

Changed the last of our US$ in Salta in a dodgy place. Got 9.3 pesos to the dollar vs the official rate of 5.0. Don't know how the financial structure of this country can be stable.

Our first full day at Iguazu Falls was Saturday, May 11. It was a gorgeous day. Unfortunately we weren't there. The air traffic controllers were on strike, delaying our flight from Salta (first flight in 2 1/2 months) by a day. We made it for Sunday but our exceptional luck with the weather on this trip ran out in a big way. We spent two days at the falls. The first day we ended up soaked to the skin from off and on rain.  The second day the rain held off till later in the afternoon and we had  an excellent day - did every trail on the Argentine side.

Iguazu is almost indescribable. Over 200 ft drop with about 275 separate cataracts over 2.7 km wide, it is the largest waterfall in the world. (Not the highest - Angel Falls in Venezuela, nor the biggest volume - Victoria Falls). It is just astounding. We took dozens of photos, but none come close to capturing the scene, along with the constant roar of the falling water.

The falls are on the border of Argentina and Brazil. On the Argentine side, they have built a series of trails and catwalks that let you get up close and personal (and wet!). They also have a small railway to connect various access points. It is really well done. There is an island just below the falls where a boat will carry you across and you can hike around it to see parts of the falls hidden from the mainland.
It took us all day, but we did every trail in the complex. Taking photos became secondary to just soaking up an experience of a lifetime.

With the rain holding off we saw many more birds and butterflies and the ever-present coatis, who roam in gangs looking for handouts.

Many people also go over to the Brazilian side - further away, but a better panorama of the falls. We needed an expensive and bureaucratic visa to cross, so elected not to - just to get one photo. We stayed in Puerto Iguazu for a couple more days hoping for the weather to break, but no such luck. It appears that the "rain forest" is appropriately named! So we caught a bus to Posadas, about 200km to the southwest.

12. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

The biggest problem we had with San Pedro was getting there from Uyuni, Bolivia. San Pedro is in the far north of Chile, south of the Bolivian border. There is no cross border passenger service of any kind. After some research and plodding all over Uyuni, we found a small company that could arrange this. There were two others with the same problem - 2 young ladies, one from Spain, the other from Belgium.

This was the sequence: We took a jeep halfway to the border, stayed overnight, all 4 of us jammed in an unheated basic room. It was still very high altitude and it was freezing cold. Next day the jeep took us to the border. After clearing out of Bolivia, we boarded a minibus which took us to San Pedro, where we checked into Chile. Quite the procedure, but it worked.

San Pedro is in the Atacama desert, the driest place on earth. It is a dusty town with no paved roads, but it has no shortage of tourists. And it is expensive. Most storefronts are either a tour agent, a hostel or a souvenir shop. There are many interesting places to visit in the area - most of which we had already seen similar or better in Bolivia. We were also pretty tired after 6 straight days in jeeps and basic, freezing accommodation.

We did do a couple of interesting trips. One was to Laguna Cejar, an ultra salty small lake in the desert. We swam there - it was really weird - you couldn't drown if you wanted to. Just bobbed like a cork. Something like the Dead Sea. We then moved to two small ponds called "Ojos de Salar" or eyes of the salt flats. The water there was much fresher and we swam & rinsed off the salt. Then on to another "lake" - a large salt flat with about 2 cm salt water uniformly across the whole area. The water was dead calm and acted as a perfect mirror. People were standing in the middle - looked like they were walking on water. Watched the sunset, while enjoying a Pisco Sour - Chile's national beverage.

Next day we visited Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon)- a very arid area with some strange rock formations. Crawled through a long sequence of caves that were used many years ago by the natives to hide from the Spanish. Again watched the sunset on a high cliff overlooking some interesting terrain. No Pisco Sour this time!

Had to change hostels mid-visit due to a loud, howling dog next door to our original pick. Next stop is back to Salta, Argentina, but there was a slight problem - all the Argentinian bus companies are on strike. Finally found  a Chilean company that had space for us.

 Little Girl at a local market

The bus strike was settled the day we travelled back to Salta, Argentina but there was still a lot of bitterness. Just as we arrived in Salta, somebody threw a large rock at our bus, shattering the window mext to the people across from us. No one hurt, but very scary.

11. 4 day Jeep trip from Tupiza to Uyuni, Bolivia

We left the comfortable confines of Tupiza, Bolivia - 4 of us in a 4x4Toyota from Tupeza Tours accompanied by a guide/translator/cook and a driver. We had to pay a little extra for an English speaking guide, which proved to be money well spent. Most of our luggage was tied on the roof under a plastic tarp, along with spare wheel, spare fuel and assorted other stuff.

After about 100 yards of pavement we were on dirt "roads" which would continue for the rest of the trip. They are actually very rough mountain roads which you would never consider tackling on your own. No signs, roads angling off all over to who knows where. Even with a GPS you would be lost in no time.

Day 1

Got to know our companions - the other two were a young couple  from France, Guillaume and Emilie, driver Alfredo  and Janet, the other valuable asset. Visited a few native villages, saw lots of Llama and Vicuna (related) and some great scenery, including snow-capped volcanoes. The jeep travelled well - we each had our own window. The dust was something to behold. Thank goodness the traffic was light.

Overnight at "new" San Antonio was very basic. Adobe building in a small village, no heat, electricity for lighting for 2 hours (7 to 9pm), 4 bed dorm with 4 blankets each plus the sleeping bags we rented. We sure needed them as the temperature dropped below freezing - we were at 13,800 ft altitude. Janet prepared a great supper and we were entertained by 5 local youngsters singing and playing their homemade flutes.

It was difficult to sleep due to the altitude and accompanying headaches.

Day 2

We were awaken at 5 am for our breakfast, packing in the dark and 6 am departure. The sun didn't rise until about 7.

First stop was "old" San Antonio - a large former Inca village of 2000 inhabitants. Apparently it was abandoned sometime during the conflicts with the Spanish. It was amazing how well preserved the buildings were - they were all made of stone and the roofs were the only parts that were missing. Contrast the construction of these houses with the ones in "new" San Antonio where we spent the previous night. There the homes were all adobe brick, which would be gone in no time if the village was abandoned.

An interesting creature inhabited the ruins of old San Antonio - a vizcacha - rabbit-like with a long curled tail and jumped like a kangaroo.

We visited several lagoons, some with pink flamingos. There are many mineral-laden lagoons with salty composition in this area, some of which are being mined. Entered the huge National Andean Fauna Reserve. We stopped at a hot springs for lunch and had a welcome hot soak in the cool air. You didn't need to towel off as in the dry, high altitude, you were dry in minutes.

Shortly before lunch we had a flat tire on the jeep. No problem. Alfredo had the spare off the roof, changed the tire and we were underway in 10 minutes max. Over lunch, he and some fellow drivers patched the tube (they use tube tires as they can be repaired anywhere) and put the tire back on the jeep.

We visited a beautiful lagoon with Volcan Zabaleri as a backdrop - the peak is a demarcation point between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. At the end of the day we realized that we had met ZERO vehicles coming the other way during the entire day.

Almost 16,000 ft. Elevation

 Accommodation (unplanned by the guide as we were running late and that was all that was available) was  at 14,100 ft and was even more basic. Pit toilet (1) and no running water. Oh well we still had the 4 blankets and the sleeping bag. It was even colder than the night before. Still difficulty in sleeping and headaches due to the altitude.

Day 3

Were woken at 6am - real treat to sleep in! First stop was at Salta Manzana - a fantastic geothermal area. Lots of steam shooting from vents in the soil along with bubbling mud. Totally surreal. Took lots of photos but found sulphur deposits all over the camera and ourselves.

Next stop was the Red Lagoon - named for the colour of it's water - lots of pink flamingos. The red water is due to the mineral content. Then saw a volcano that is still smoking. Checked out of the national park - a great asset for Bolivia.

The Siloli Desert was next - some weird rock formations. We climbed some of them and took too many photos. Then Laguna Honda with more flamingos - there is a hotel there so the birds are a little more used to humans - got quite close for photos. We are flamingoed out!Towards the end of the day we drove over the Chiyana salt flats at great speed towards our accommodation for the night in Jyaca.

Interesting place to spend the night. All the walls and floors are made of salt from the huge Uyuni salt flats nearby. Also the tables and chairs. We had our own room - more like a closet but they had a !hot shower! - first in 3 days yaay! Still having trouble with the altitude.




Day 4



Sunrise over the salt flats

5 am wakeup for 5.30 departure. Drove right onto the Uyuni salt flats  - went about 20 km and stopped to watch the sunrise over the totally white salt. Awesome. The Uyuni salt flats are the largest in the world (about 12,000 sq km and also the highest at 12,000 ft. The surface is so uniform that it's elevation varies by less than 1 metre over the entire surface.It's so even that it is used to calibrate the altimeters of Earth-observation satellites. When it gets flooded in the rainy season, it becomes the worlds largest mirror!

Next stop was an "island" - Incawaasi Is. in the salt flat. Apparently when it rains a lot (not too often in this desert environment) it does actually become an island . Otherwise you can drive right up to it. It was originally underwater and was covered with corals, which still cover most of the island's surface. It is densely populated with several varieties of cacti that are very similar to the saguaro cactus in Arizona. Hiked to the top - really noticed how laboured our breathing was in this altitude - 12,000 ft. Had a tailgate breakfast at the jeep.

The Uyuni salt flats have to be seen to be believed. They are immense. That day we drove about 140 km across them. The deepest is about 120m - all salt! Due to the whiteness and

uniformity of the surface, life becomes almost 2 dimensional. Distance perspective is lost. We had a blast in the middle of the flats taking weird photos of each other using the illusion of distance. Also got a sunburn - we were well covered due to the chilly weather but the sun plus reflection off the salt made for some red faces. Driving on the salt brings back memories of driving on frozen lakes in Canada.

Arrived in Uyuni about noon. Janet prepared our lunch while Alfredo drove us to the Train Graveyard. A huge area covered with ancient steam locomotives, coaches and all kinds of old railway equipment. Despite the graffiti it was an interesting spectacle. There must be a lack of ability to recycle the metal here - in Canada the scrap value would be huge.

Finally said goodbye to our team of Janet and Alfredo. They were excellent. Driving on those mountain roads requires constant focus on every rut and bend. Janet had to be up earlier and stay up later than us to prepare meals and wash up. She was awesome. Based on our experience, we would highly recommend Tupiza Tours.

Train Graveyard in Uyuni

The 4 day trip was nothing short of fantastic.