Living in Buenos Aires

We arrived in the capital after a quick flight from Bariloche. The weather was still hot and sunny, but with the unwelcomed addition of humidity. We took the metro to a neighborhood called San Telmo. We had heard it has a bohemian vibe and is more Porteño (authentic Buenos Aires). We found a hostel for cheap and began our research. We came to Buenos Aires with the goal of renting an apartment for two months and getting to know the city inside and out. Although we didn't know where we were going to rent or how to go about renting, we had plenty of time to do the necessary investigating. After a few days, we had found numerous sites that offered rentals and ended up narrowing it down to a couple apartments through a company called 4RentArgentina. We walked through several neighborhoods and decided that Palermo, the young, vibrant district saturated with bars and restaurants fit us the best. We settled on an apartment in the heart of Palermo with a full kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom and AC.

The abode

Finally no more shared kitchen space 

To start off, Buenos Aires is huge but it doesn't take too long to get anywhere if you know the best way. There is a great subway system that connects all the main areas and a comprehensive bus system that fills in the gaps. The first thing we had to do was change USD to pesos. We were lucky enough to have our friend Mike fly in for a week and provide us with dollars. The official exchange rate is 8.5, but if you change dollars on the blue market the rate can be as high as 13.4. The exchange is done on Florida Street where you'll hear many people asking you to change dollars. We found a small phone accessories store where the exchange is done in a back room. It sounds sketchy, but at the end of the day it's part of their business and they make sure it runs smoothly. We took our new pesos and saw what the city had to offer. 

At the horseraces

Never bet on red

Looks a little nicer than Golden Gate Fields

Polo Sculpture

Very interesting sport to watch

Great day at the fields

                                           

When it rains here, it pours

                              

Recoleta Cemetery

Over 4,000 vaults hold the Argentine elite

Nobel winner Luis Leloir

General Juan LaValle

Some in interesting disrepair

Street art in Belgrano district

Our friend Tim enjoying the view

My favorite

I know what you do

MALBA Latin American Art Museum

Modern art indeed

A man and his guitar

Formula E Championship

All electric

She broke all the records that day

The sideshow

I rooted for the only American, Shanta rooted for the only female 

El Ateneo, voted second best bookstore in the world

Amazing how they converted it from an old theatre

Welcome to the best ramen in Buenos Aires

First IPA in six months 

Puerto Montt and into Argentina

We left Punta Arenas and after a short three hour flight we landed back in Puerto Montt. When we flew out of Puerto Montt a week earlier, we had only stayed for a night and had little time to explore the sleepy port city. The weather a week earlier was also dark and cold, and didn't motivate us to walk around the streets. This time around, it was a completely different scene. The sun was out and the weather was in the mid-70s. The sun illuminated the green hills and surrounding mountains. It was clear why some people compare this southern Lake District to the Pacific Northwest.

Downtown 

I hope this isn't high tide

Bohemian life

We took a day to explore the city and check out the markets. While Chile is an expensive country, the abundance of fresh fish makes seafood the cheap silver lining. We gravitated to the fish market and with empty bellies we dove into the smoked salmon and two different ceviches.

Take your pick

Sprinkle those chili peppers

With our smoked salmon in our bag for later and two orders of ceviche down the hatch we meandered through the market in search of a good spot for dinner. We found a small hole in the wall with great prices so we gave it a shot. The owner gave us free drinks and ceviche before the entrees came out. The entrees were huge and we struggled to make a dent but they were delicious.

Complimentary drinks and food 

Couldn't help myself

Shanta's salmon

My king crab (centolla)

After stuffing ourselves, we headed back to the hostel with enough leftovers to feed us for a few days. On the way, we saw a local protest at the port. The protest quickly died down as the carabineros arrived.

The robocops 

With our bags still packed, we took off early the next day for Bariloche, Argentina. Bariloche is just across the border and is known for its amazing chocolate and its proximity to great skiing in wintertime. It sits on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi and has a slight resemblance to Tahoe City. Argentina requires US citizens pay $160 online before crossing the border. The reciprocity fee is never fun, but at least we can get some credit card points out of it. The drive is a quick seven hours through thick forests and past amazing lakes. Once we crossed the border and arrived in Bariloche, we found a hostel, set down our bags, and tried our first Quilmes beer. The next two days could have been our laziest of the trip. We caught up on sleep, sat in the park, had a few more Quilmes, and started exploring the variety of cheap Argentine wines. 

Looking at Lake Nahuel Huapi

Windy day

The town square

Church of Our Lady of Nahuel Huapi

Lounging in the park

Quilmes naps

The famous Bariloche chocolate

Not the best flavor...

After a few days in Bariloche, we took off to start our two months in Buenos Aires. Back to city life!

Torres del Paine pt 3

The night at our third camp, Refugio Cuernos, felt like we were in the middle of a tornado. All night long, wind howled at our tent and shook it as if we were in an earthquake. Neither of us got much sleep. When we ate breakfast the next morning, we learned that two friends had a tree branch crash through their tent. They were fine, but their tent was unrepairable. Another couple had a branch sever one of their poles as it cut through their tent. They were fine as well, but also had an unrepairable tent to carry.

Still can see light at 10:45pm

Breakfast on day 4

Day four was going to be the longest day by distance at just under 12 miles. The path was a steady climb up the foothills to Campamento Chile.  After a quick lunch, we set off again up the valley to Campamento Torres which lies about 45 minutes away from the Torres themselves. One of the reasons we hiked the 'W' from west to east is so that we could save the famous Torres for the final fifth day. Some of the best views of the trip were still ahead.

Facing the sporatic rain and heavy wind head on 

Gust of wind racing across the water with a rainbow in tow

The lone boulder

Only one at a time across the bridge

Heavy wind and a smile

Raging river as we get closer to Campamento Torres

Amazing cut through the mountain

Spectacular forest

We made it to our last camp at the doorstep of the Torres. The winds were not letting up, so we picked a spot that provided good cover. There was a mix of campers on their last day, and many on their first day trekking east to west. It was clear who was which. We barely had enough energy to cook our raviolis, and ultimately decided that the sauce wasn't worth the energy to cook so we just added hot sauce. It was very tasty. The guy next to us was working three burners at once. Sausage and beans in one with a homemade sauce in the other and two types of rice in the third. We stared in disbelief as he actually twisted off the top to a personal-size bottle of wine to go with the two-course dinner. We didn't need to ask if it was his first day. We made our way to the tent and prepared for a 4am wake up to see the Torres at sunrise. The plan was to hike 45 minutes up the steep terrain until we reach the lookout point for the towers.

We made it to the top

Waiting for the sun to shine

Breathtaking view 

We made our way down and packed up our gear. It was another three hour hike back down to the shuttle that would take us back to Puerto Natales. As we arrived at the shuttle pickup, we couldn't believe that it was over. We set down our packs, walked into Hotel Las Torres, and ordered a beer. The trek was difficult, but the only memory will be of the unimaginable beauty of the park.

A much needed beer at the finish line

Once we got to Puerto Natales, we dropped off our gear and went back to our hostel. We flew out the next day to Puerto Montt, but not before Shanta finished her celebratory beer at the airport. 

She hiked Torres faster than she finished that beer!