The cellars at Concho y Toro
There are many great wineries in the area around Santiago, Chile. You can take public transport to Concho y Toro, just 45 minutes outside of Santiago’s city center by a combination of subway and bus and spend the day sipping wine on their lovely patio. The tour of their grounds was lovely, and we particularly enjoyed seeing the huge cellars filled with barrels and bottles.
We’ve made it to the final installment of the packing list series! If you haven’t checked them out already, head over to our “Things We Carry” page and check out the rest of our lists – ‘Clothing’, ‘Medical and Toiletries’, ‘Electronics’ and ‘Miscellaneous Gear’.
We’ve got to carry all that gear around in something, so our final list is dedicated to the bags in which we carry our stuff! We brought a mix of old comfortable bags, and new ones bought specifically for this trip. This is the only gear category in which we are completely satisfied with everything we brought.
Head on over to the new page to check out our Gear Bags.
We’ve decided to try and be more diligent about sharing pictures of our journey, so from here on out we will have a regular Photo Friday post. We’re starting with a nice little travel meme, “7 Super Shots” started by HostelBookers and passed along to me by Nod ‘n’ Smile travel blog (check it out, they are in the final stages of the planning process and will be heading out soon!). This meme is very straightforward – select 7 photos that fit into 7 categories and then nominate 5 others to share the same.
Since we are on the road, we’ve chosen only from pictures that we’ve taken on this journey.
A photo that…
1) Takes my breath away
Justin in the Andes at Macchu Pichu, Peru
We had gotten up long before dawn to make our way up to Macchu Pichu before the sunrise. As day broke, the mist that had settled in the valleys overnight began to shift, rising and flowing up through the Andes. It was a moment of such unexpected beauty that it really did take my breath away.
2) Makes me laugh or smile
Dianna Arroz. Of course.
I mean, how can you not laugh or smile at this?!?! We were grocery shopping in Bariloche, Argentina when we came across this marketing gem.
3) Makes me dream
Sunrise at Deception Island, Antarctica
I still cannot find the words to describe how incredible Antarctica is. It really is the most beautiful, almost magical place we’ve ever been. We got up at 4am so we could witness the sunrise on our final day of landings. Watching the sun break the horizon that day, I felt like anything was possible.
4) Makes me think
Local woman near Maras, Peru
We took this picture on our way to see the salt ponds of Maras, in Peru. The juxtaposition of this woman with the beauty salon advertisement, in the background (notice that the model is a blonde woman) makes me think about what happens when the modern and the new crashes into the traditional.
5) Makes my mouth water
Olives at the market in Arequipa, Peru
We LOVE local markets. We can spend entire afternoons wandering around and sampling food, eating little bits of everything there is to offer in lieu of a real meal. These olives were so perfect that I can almost taste them as I’m typing this…
6) Tells a story
Shaman during a wedding ceremony in Ollantaytambo, Peru
We were blessed with the chance to attend a local wedding during our stay in Ollantaytambo, Peru. The traditional ceremony was performed by a shaman, and while we couldn’t understand the language much at that point, the beauty and the purpose of the ceremony came through very clearly. At this point, a young girl had just come into the ceremony site with a bag of fresh milk. The bride and groom’s families took turn offering the milk, and some wine, to the four directions, after which the wine was poured by the bride and groom and shared with all in attendance. It was one of the most mystical things we’ve experienced, and we feel very fortunate to have been a part of it.
7) I am most proud of (a ‘National Geographic shot)
Glacier in Paradise Bay, Antarctica
It was hard to not choose pictures entirely from Antarctica for this challenge because it’s just so easy to take great photos there! For me, this one just leaps out every time we sift through the tons of images from that trip. Our zodiac cruise around Paradise Bay was one of the highlights of the cruise because we had absolutely perfect weather and, as you can see, totally still waters. As our zodiac made its way closer to this ice hunk, a piece of it collapsed and sent huge chunks of ice crashing into the ocean, a reminder of the ever-changing landscape in Antarctica.
And now…I’d like to see 7 Super Shots from
Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina
Wow, that title sure is a mouthful. The thing is, any post about the Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina deserves such a title because the glacier itself is so huge.
Perito Moreno has been on our South American Must-See list for as long as I can remember. While it’s not the biggest glacier in the world, it is one of the most accessible and tourists come in droves from all over the world to get up close and personal with this giant hunk of ice. It measures 97 square miles, and is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field on the border of Chile and Argentina. This ice field is so massive that it contains nearly 1/3 of the world’s fresh water. It stands at a height of about 250 feet, and that’s just above the lake! One of the most remarkable things about Perito Moreno is that it’s one of the only glaciers on Earth that continues to grow instead of melting away into oblivion.
Close up of the ice formations on the Perito Moreno glacier
There are a million varieties of tours you can take when you visit – everything from boat rides that get you up close to the face of the glacier, to bus/boat combos, to ice trekking tours. You can also go on your own and take a public bus to the park entrance and spend the day wandering the catwalks. Despite the fact that we have generally been living like paupers, we decided to go ahead with a major splurge for our chance to spend a day doing some ice trekking. There’s only one company in town that runs this show (heeellloooooo monopoly!) so we forked over way more cash than we should have, and attempted to go to bed early since we were getting picked up bright and early the next morning.
We were a bit bummed to be greeted with a drizzly morning, but we layered up, grabbed some extra plastic bags for the camera gear, and hopped on the Hielo & Aventura bus at 7:30am. It takes about an hour to reach the glacier from town, and as our bus rounded the bend to give us our first glimpse of the ice, the driver slowed way down and blasted comically dramatic music to heighten the atmosphere. We were given an hour to walk around the catwalks and take photos before we boarded a boat for a ride across the front of the glacial lake to where we would get our gear for the ice hike. After a moderate climb up behind the edge of the glacier we were given gloves and crampons and split into very small groups to begin the trek.
Be careful when walking!
Hiking on ice is fairly straightforward. Make sure your crampons are on tightly, then lift your feet and smash them down into the ice to make sure you have a good grip. Keep your feet enough apart that you don’t rip your pants or skewer your own calf, which apparently has happened more than once on these tours.
Our guides were fantastic and took us on a long and meandering path where despite the fact that we knew the other groups must be close, we didn’t see them at all. The ice is constantly moving, changing shape, melting and re-freezing. This makes each trip unique, and some features that we saw will have totally vanished in the time it took me to actually get this post up (6 weeks since we visited).
We saw numerous ice caves, including one that was big enough for us to walk inside, though we had to really watch our step because it was split down the middle with a crevice that was easily 20 feet deep. The inside was perfectly smooth, slippery and so blue that we almost glowed.
Inside the ice cave
An erratic rock on the Perito Moreno glacier
We also saw numerous ‘erratic rocks’, which are rocks that tumble down the mountains that surround glaciers and are then carried by the movement of the glacier. Eventually, when the glacier is gone, the rocks will remain and appear completely out of place since they are often carried great distances and then deposited in the valleys and flatlands created by the glacier.
It’s a very surreal feeling to be out in what seems like the middle of nowhere on something that is as foreign as the surface of the moon. The ice changes texture and shape often so there is always something new to look at after walking just a short distance. The surface is deceptively peaceful since one wrong step can leave you crashing through a thin spot, or slipping into one of the fast moving rivers that form on the surface as parts of the ice begin to melt. Above all, it’s exquisitely beautiful.
Ice landscape
Top of Perito Moreno glacier
Lunar ice landscape
After tromping around for nearly 5 hours we were completely exhausted and were taken back to the boat landing to begin the journey home. Much to our surprise and delight, we were given a chocolate biscuit and a healthy glass of Jameson on glacier ice (yes, for real) to finish off the day.
This was easily the most expensive tourist day trip we’ve done so far on our journey, and it was totally worth it.
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For more pictures, take a look at the slideshow below!
It’s time for another installment of the packing list series! If you haven’t checked them out already, head over to our “Things We Carry” page and check out our first three lists – ‘Clothing’, ‘Medical and Toiletries’ and ‘Electronic Gear’.
We’ve tried to be as prepared as possible for situations that we know we’ll encounter, but we also wanted to make sure that we were bringing things that were durable and that we’d use regularly. For the most part we did really well in that regard, especially when it comes to the miscellaneous gear that we cart around. There are a few exceptions though, the biggest being the pacsafe cable. This was on a lot of ‘must-have’ lists we looked at, so we got one…and we’ve never used it. Most of the hostels we’ve stayed in have had lockers, and when they haven’t, we just lock everything up in our packs using our regular luggage locks. I’ve never felt the need to lock a pack to something, though I suppose that could happen somewhere down the line.
The other thing we haven’t really used much have been the backpack rain covers. We’ve seen people who keep them on practically all the time, but we just haven’t found them necessary at this point.
Click on over and check out the full list of our miscellaneous gear.
If you are unfamiliar with our Moving Box Bet series, check out Justin’s first challenge from Peru, and his second challenge from Chile.
It took a long time for us to find a suitable food challenge for Justin in Argentina. This mostly has to do with the fact that just about everything we’ve come across here is delicious! Argentina has a lovely mix of Spanish and Italian heritage, and as a result you get some great pasta, pastries, and meat. All of these we love, so you can see the dilemma.
In Argentina, people eat a lot of meat. A lot. Parillas (place that cook meat on a grill) are a dime-a-dozen, it’s an Atkins diet dream come true.
One thing we discovered in our quest to get better at reading menus is that people here eat every part of the cow. Seriously. Every part.
This diagram is missing a few key elements...
It is not uncommon to find sweetbreads or other organ meats on the menu. Lonely Planet even lists ‘ubre’ (udder) in the food glossary, which mean you must be able to find that in at least a few establishments. We had resigned ourselves to the fact that we would simply have to find a place that could grill up some good thymus gland and that would suffice for Justin’s challenge, despite the fact that it’s really not all that unusual.
That was before we met our couchsurf host.
We had the pleasure of staying with a fantastic family for most of our time in Buenos Aires, and we shared the concept of the Moving Box Bet with them in the hopes that they could point us towards a reputable place for Justin to complete the challenge. Much to my delight, our host exclaimed that there were way more unique parts of the cow that could be cooked and eaten. Parts that she in fact knew how to cook. Parts like the brain.
Until this point I was totally unaware that you could waltz into a butcher and just ask for a brain, but apparently you can. Our first few attempts at locating this precious item were unsuccessful and we had resigned ourselves once again to the thymus. On our second to last night we were heading out to dinner with some friends of our host’s daughter and we happened to pass a butcher. We popped in and low and behold, the man had not one, but TWO brains available for us to choose from! Jackpot!
The brain was frozen, which was ideal since we were on our way to dinner and didn’t have time to run back to the apartment before we were due to meet the rest of our party. Our host’s daughter simply had them double bag it, and she casually popped it into her purse as if it was no big thing to be carrying a frozen brain on your way to a restaurant. I was giddy over the whole situation and kept bursting into laughter at the thought of the brain just chilling in her purse during dinner.
Tragically this was the ONLY NIGHT we have ever forgotten our camera in the last 4 months. Go figure. I could not get over our luck at finding the thing, and our sheer stupidity for not having the camera to document the moment.
The next day, true to her word, our host expertly cooked the brain (just a tip, you have to soak it in vinegar for about 15 minutes, remove some sort of filmy outer membrane, and then you can boil it) and had it ready to go for dinner that night. There is a long history of people eating brain in different parts of the world. In Italy they used to chop it up and use it as filling for ravioli. You can also slice it thinly, bread it, and fry it, like Milanese. The possibilities are endless. For the purpose of the challenge, I requested that it remain whole, you know, so Justin could see it for exactly what it was before he ate it.
We actually shared a lovely full meal with the family that evening, and brain wasn’t the only thing on the menu. We had decided that since we’d only be in Uruguay for a short time, and since the menu is very similar, that Justin would eat TWO things that night and one of them would count for Uruguay. If Lonely Planet can lump them together into one guidebook, then we can lump them together into one challenge. We decided on something you can find easily at every parilla in Argentina and Uruguay – morcilla, or blood sausage, to round out the evening. In all, I consider it a spectacular success.
Cemeteries in South America are fascinating. They tend to be above ground in spaces that range from basic slots in a big wall, to insanely elaborate family mausoleums that resemble miniature mansions, churches, or temples. To wander around in them is like being in a very tiny city.
One of the most elaborate cemeteries we’ve visited is the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s an actual tourist attraction and is where Evita was laid to rest, along with a slew of other notable Argentinians.
As we wandered though this little place of the dead, a few things became very apparent to me.
1) There are a lot of tombs where either there is nobody left to pay the maintenance fee, or the family can’t afford to pay it anymore.
2) Nobody seems to care, or do anything when these tombs start literally falling down.
There were a number of mausoleums where the glass on the windows or doors were broken, and a few where the ceilings had caved in completely. This makes it a whole lot easier to see the, erm, contents, of the structure. I am a bit unaccustomed to seeing stacks of coffins, so when I peeked into the windows of a disheveled tomb and saw this (below), I was a little taken aback.
I don’t know what I expected was in these things, but I was still surprised to see so. many. coffins. The other thing was that they are all just there on like a bunk bed for the dead. Morbid, I know, but after many nights in dorm rooms I just can’t think of another way to describe it.
Now, if you already know me, what I am about to say won’t be that surprising. If you have never met me, well…sorry, you’re about to meet a little bit of my supernatural crazy.
It wouldn’t be very difficult at all for a zombie to pop the lid off a coffin that’s just laying about in a mausoleum. In the States, they’d have to work against all that topsoil and it would take them forever to get out. In Buenos Aires, it requires hardly any effort!
Justin tried to point out that they’d still be all in their little marble houses, but then we started realizing that actually, a lot of those aren’t so secure. Take this one for example.
It looks like it was originally built to be solid. I don’t really know what’s happening with the door, but clearly it wouldn’t take much to unhinge it completely. Let’s take a closer look at the “lock” now.
Yeah, that’s not going to restrain the power of the walking dead. I’m just saying.
There were tons of tombs that had this problem, and we quickly came to the conclusion that we don’t want to be anywhere in South America when the zombie apocalypse occurs.
In the meantime though, these cemeteries are incredible little microcosms of architecture, and you should totally go check a few of them out if you get the chance. The best we’ve seen are the Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Cementerio General in Santiago, Chile.
The Parallel Life 