Argentina

Travel | 旅游

Iguazu Falls

2020 Jan. Iguazu Falls. Argentina & Brazil.

I have always wanted to visit Iguazu Falls, having read and heard about it being more impressive and magnificent than Niagara Falls which I had visited during my college days 20 years ago. Indeed it was. A friend suggested that I book my stay at Gran Melia, the only hotel within the National Park on Argentina side. That turned out fantastic, with good view of the falls upon stepping into the lobby and hotel room.

         

Iguazu Falls is divided between two countries: Argentina and Brazil. Both parks offer a different experience and have different characteristics and attractions. I planned to visit both sides. After check in and a quick lunch, we set off by car to cross over the border to Brazilian side of Iguazu National Park. The park set up is touristy and accessible to all ages. We boarded a park visitor bus to get into the forested area and walked along a dedicated trail to enjoy views of Iguazu Falls from Brazilian side.

                

We approached the lookout point for Devil’s Throat Falls, where there was a viewing bridge and observation tower.

         

 

          

The one-way visitor trail on the Brazilian side was not long, entire visit took less than 3 hrs with ample time stopping and taking pictures. We were back at the hotel to enjoy a dip in the pool at sunset. Beautiful clouds and falls view from Gran Melia pool.

 

Notice the mist cloud hovering above the Devil’s Throat Falls due to the immense water volume plunging down.

       

The next day we explored Iguazu National Park on the Argentinian side, which had more trails. We started with the Lower Circuit, followed by the Upper Circuit, and then the main attraction Devil’s Throat trail. Iguazu Falls when viewed from Argentinian side, was even closer and more impressive. Good fun getting wet on the boat ride as well in between the trails, which required separate booking and payment. Best to plan and book a day in advance from hotel concierge.

                       

The trails were well maintained and easy to access for all fitness levels. Had a nice early morning stroll along the boardwalk. The lower and upper circuits offered different vantage points to take in beautiful sights of the vast landscape, with a total of 275 waterfalls in the national park.

                   

We did not make advanced booking for the boat ride as we were unsure how much time we would spend on the trails. Decided to try our luck after completing lower and upper circuits before mid day. We walked in to check but all slots were taken. Luckily we waited as standby, and managed to board with the last group.

             

The most thrilling moment of the boat ride was going under one of the waterfalls and getting thoroughly drenched. It was exciting and great fun. Check out the video clip.

   

Exciting plunge under the waterfall

The Devil’s Throat Falls is the key attraction in the National Park, best visited in the afternoon for better photo opportunity and avoid direct glare from the sun. Access is via the jungle train to the Devil’s Throat Station. From there, a 1km footbridge led to the immense monumental waterfall. The level bridge was quiet and safe, and wheelchair accessible. Incredible views of the falls await at the end of the platform. Everyone will be wowed!

                           

Very difficult to capture the magnificence of the falls in photos, videos are better, but the impact and immense wonder of nature needs to be experienced in person. Just amazing!

Beautiful view of Devil’s Throat and surrounding falls

Impressive water volume cascading down Devil’s Throat 

That was the finale for this trip! Flew home the next day on multi leg flights via Iguazu – Madrid – Abu Dhabi – Singapore, which took a super loooong 36 hrs.

   

Home sweet home!

Travel | 旅游

Buenos Aires

2019 Dec. Buenos Aires. Argentina.

Buenos Aires was a quick city stop between my Patagonia trekking adventure and sight seeing visit to Iguaza Falls. The phobia from the birdshit scam was still fresh in my mind, so I wasn’t too keen to explore crowded places in cities. Had an unexpected good dinner at Bar Chin Chin around the corner from Curio Collection Hilton Hotel we stayed in. The steak was also excellent, hence my conclusion that steaks are very well executed by most decent chefs in Argentina generally.

 

Highlight of the evening was drinks at Bar Sur to experience live Tango dancing. Cover charge was not cheap, as this was the bar made famous by Wong Kar Wai’s movie ‘Happy Together’ (春光乍泄）starring Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung. Not surprising, a number of the guests were asian tourists.

   

 

New Year’s eve was free and easy day to explore the city, but many places closed early. We headed to La Boca, Buenos Aires’ famed neighbourhood for its colourful houses, tango and soccer team, and supposedly the one attraction that every tourist must visit. The centrepiece was the cobblestone strip El Caminito. Outside the tourist area was a fairly poor neighbourhood with many crime reported, so need to be extra careful.

                     

Visited another shopping and dining area in Palermo in the afternoon, stores were starting to close early. Chanced upon this street with graffiti all over.

                 

We headed to Recoleta Mall next and walked past Participatory Science Museum with an interesting painted facade.

Visited Recoleta Cemetery in the heart of Buenos Aires, arguably the world’s most beautiful place to rest in peace. Buried here were the who’s who of notable Argentinians including politicians, Nobel Prize winners, and of course Argentina’s most beloved Evita, Eva Peron.

       

This place reminded me of the cemeteries in New Orleans, but bigger and nicer. The entire cemetery is a huge maze and impossible to navigate. Took us some effort to locate the most famous and visited tomb of Eva Peron. 🎼 Don’t cry for me Argentina…

             

Decided to take a long walk to the revamped dockside area Puerto Madero and then back to hotel, to take in some views of the city.

   

The unique 335-foot pedestrian suspension swing bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava.

       

Finding a restaurant for dinner on New Year eve was not easy. Decided to eat at Bar Chin Chin again early before the countdown partygoers gather at the bar. Of cos, I had to order the excellent steak again. And that was probably why despite all that self-punishing hardcore trekking for this trip, I did not lose any weight. 🙂

               

We did not want to go to the big countdown parties with huge crowds in the city. Decided to stay in our hotel and sat at the small square right in front. Nice ambience with customers from the restaurants and bars flowing out, and locals gathering to dance in the small park.

         

Dancer performing outdoors at the restaurant

Countdown moment to New Year 2020

Revellers dancing and celebrating

It was a nice low key countdown to 2020 in Buenos Aires, great ambience! Flew to Iguazu the next morning on New Year Day.

Travel | 旅游

Los Glaciares National Park

2019 Dec. Los Glaciares National Park. El Chalten. El Calafate. Patagonia. Argentina.

Part 2 of my Patagonia adventure continued, in Argentina. Bus ride from Puerto Natales across the border to El Calafate took 5 hrs, then another 2.5 hrs car ride to El Chalten. El Chalten is a tiny tourist mountain town within the Los Glaciares National Park near the base of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy spires. It is 220km north of El Calafate, and a popular base for hiking numerous trails to the base of surrounding peaks and glacial lakes, such as Laguna de los Tres and Laguna Torre.

Our dinner at La Tapera on Christmas Day was awesome, and deserved special mention! The steak was marinated and rustically grilled to perfection with flavourful chimichurri seasoning on the slightly charred crust, moist and tender on the inside, hitting exact medium rare doneness, with just the right amount of fat trimming on the edge. The portion was humungous and the price unbelievably reasonable. It was so delicious, that we went back again specially for the steak. I am salivating once again as I describe the unforgettable meal. Move aside US prime beef and Japanese wagyu, Argentinian beef is now my new favourite!

       
I did not realise there were 2 more full days of 21km hike AGAIN!!! awaiting me in Argentinian Patagonia after W Trek. Clearly I did not read the details of my itinerary carefully enough, more hardcore trekking after a short break on Christmas Day. I could hardly walk or stand straight in the wind by this point, and thought to myself I had done enough hiking and seen enough glaciers for this trip. But having gone through the trauma back in Santiago, I was determined to make the most out of this trip and soldiered on.

Day 1 in Los Glaciares National Park was a guided hike to Laguna de los Tres, 21km roundtrip with 730m ascent in about 9 hrs. Entrance to Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina is free and does not require any permit, unlike Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The trail started with an open terrain, before crossing a dense forest of lenga trees, and then opening up to nice glacier views.

     

             

The trail went deep into the forest before reaching the Poincenot campsite.

     

 

From here onwards, the route climbed steadily and steeply to the lake. Some parts gain height zigzagging along the slope, further up a rocky section. Near the destination, tough stretch with more steep slopes to advance through a bare terrain directly towards the lake.

       

Finally reached Laguna de los Tres, which supposedly has the most spectacular view of Fitz Roy, but was covered by clouds. Laguna de los Tres is an emblematic and must visit to El Chaltén, as it is possible to appreciate different glaciers from the beginning of the trek.

   

Few steps away, there is another lake on a different level with different colour. Quite an interesting sight. Climbed the small hill on the left of Laguna de Los Tres, and there was a good view of Laguna Sucia right next to Laguna de Los Tres.

   

Video clip of Laguna de Los Tres and Laguna Sucia on different levels

After enjoying the views and taking a short break at the 2 lakes, we continued trekking and climbed down toward the direction of Laguna Capri.

           

It began to rain when we reached Laguna Capri. Really need to be always prepared for all weather conditions when trekking in Patagonia, both in Chile and Argentina even although the climate is somewhat different with the Chilean side getting much more rain from the Pacific Ocean.

   

       

The trail ended in the northern end of El Chalten as we exited the National Park. My feet were hurting and I could barely walk properly, trailing behind the group in a distance. After cleaning up in hotel, we had dinner at Techado Negro, another recommended restaurant. Food was ok but nothing near as good as La Tapera the night before.

   

   

Day 2 of the guided trek was to Laguna Torre, also 21 km long roundtrip and estimated to take about 7 hrs. I seriously considered sitting out for this trek as I could hardly walk normally. In the end I decided to just follow and try my best and to turn back when I feel I could not go on anymore. The day started miserably wet with rain again. Luckily the ascent for this hike is only about 250m and mostly right at the trailhead starting in El Chalten.

       

From the first viewpoint Mirador Margarita, the hike is mostly on a flat path, with occasional up and down sections.

       

   

It was wet and freezing cold when we reached Laguna Torre, not much of a view due to the poor weather again. Supposed to have an iconic Cerro Torre mountain towering behind and a glacier that spills into Laguna Torre.

         

Video clip of Laguna Torre

The weather only started to clear up toward the end of our trek on the way back to El Chalten in the mid afternoon.

                  

Ended Day 2 hike back in El Chalten and by this time, I was limping on every single step, unable to walk properly. Nevertheless I was really glad I managed to complete the entire trek. Decided to go back to La Tapera for the awesome steak, and had a delicious meal again.

         

Day 3 was a free day in the morning to explore more of El Chalten on our own, but I was not in the condition to do another trek, so I only walked around the small town, which was very charming at dawn basked in the beautiful light.

                         

We had lunch at Maffia, where the freshly made pasta was pretty good.

       

A nice cafe with decent wifi around the corner from Hotel Senderos where we stayed. The wifi at the hotel was unforgivably lousy and impossible to even connect properly throughout our 3 night stay, including in the main lobby. So for that, I would not recommend anyone to stay there.

 

This minimal and nicely designed food store La Roti had excellent quiches and empanadas, great choice as packed lunch for hikes or afternoon snack.

     

We transferred via minivan to Hotel Patagonia Queen in El Calafate in the early evening, and was treated to the beautiful cloud formations along the long 3 hr drive.

           

Day 4 in Argentinian Patagonia was a guided boat tour operated by Southern Spirit to Los Glaciares National Park to see Perito Moreno Glacier, with some easy walking. No more hardcore trekking, more like a touristy excursion for families, thankfully.

             

The boat stopped at Bahia Toro for a quick discovery walk through the vegetation, nothing that wowed.

                   

And then another stop at Cerro Negro for a short hike with some views of the glaciers in a distance. Probably planned for lazy tourists on boat tours to enjoy a ‘hiking’ experience, though I already overdosed for that. 🙂

 

                            

And then the finale was going up close towards the Perito Moreno Glacier. It was the most impressive and largest one I have seen so for, comparing those I visited in New Zealand and Alaska. It is the third largest ice field in the world after Antartica and Greenland.

        

This 250 sqkm mass of ice is one of the most impressive sites in the world, its massive ice walls rose 74m over the water on average. Seeing giant chunks of ice ‘calving’ off this great wall and plummet down crashing into the lake below loudly was memorable. We alighted the boat and had some free time to climb up the viewing deck to explore the glaciers and huge ice field from various vantage points. Gorgeous!

       

 Video clip of Perito Moreno Glacier

   

 Another video of Perito Moreno Glacier

   

Back in El Calafate, we had dinner at the famous La Tablita restaurant. Its famed mixed parrilla, included steak, sausage and Patagonian lamb cooked on wood fire grill. Good meal.

             

Day 5 in Argentinian Patagonia was a free and easy half day before we flew off to Buenos Aires. Had breakfast at the delicious looking local bakery Panadería y Confitería Don Luis around the corner from our hotel, and the food did not disappoint.

   

Spent the morning exploring El Calafate which is a big touristy town, and strolled to nearby Reserve Laguna Nimez, which is a natural sanctuary for indigenous bird species, such as flamingos & swans.

                            

… and that was a wrap for my unforgettable and breathtakingly beautiful Patagonia adventure!