BarilocheThere`s no doubt that I saw some of the most stunning scenery of my life while in Argentina and such a variety of landscapes too. Argentina is the world´s eighth largest country and boy did we know it. It is so huge you can´t hope to see even a quarter of it in a month - we had a little "Australia syndrome" when looking at maps, becoming overwhelmed by its sheer size and the lengths we would have to travel between points of interest.
BarilocheDistances are huge in Argentina, and thus, the cost of travel can be expensive. I first realised this when we paid around 60 euro for our night bus to Bariloche from BA - and this was not even half the distance we wanted to travel to the South. It was this unfortunate expense that led us to leaving Argentina a few weeks ahead of schedule. In fairness though, we did arrive two weeks early in the first place, cutting short Chile by this amount in order to meet the Zimmermans. A few weeks into our travel in Argentina however, and we were looking forward to the budget travel that Peru and now Bolivia (an additional country has been added to our itinerary due to our extra few weeks) would hopefully bring.
Having said that, the quality of buses we used was high. I would like to say that the bus companies here run with the same efficiency as an airline, even offering waiting rooms followed by good service when on board. However I am sure there are many-a-backpacker out there to contradict me and complain of their bus´s tardiness. Chris and I were pleasantly surprised nonetheless and sat in comfort on our reclining ´semi-camas´while watching a film and even devouring a lovely hot meal of Ravioli on one occasion!
I don´t know whether it was having to travel these long distances that made me so homesick or whether it was because we´d been away for so long, hadn´t had a routine for a good ten months, I was to celebrate my birthday without friends and family at home or because we´d just spent a lovely few weeks with Chris´s family which led me to miss mine even more terribly. There were a number of factors but, either way, I remember arriving at a destination after a long bus trip and thinking, "What on earth am I doing here? Why have we travelled all this way? What are we even doing?!".
Yes, a slightly mental bout of homesickness certainly kicked in but was soon remedied after talks with Mum, Dad and Grandma and a long chat with good friends Jess and Sara. Sometimes you just need family and friends to sort you out and have a word, I suppose! I don´t want my memories of Argentina to be jaded by the homesickness I was feeling but there´s no doubt that this is where it happened to me during the trip, for whatever reason.
Seven-Lakes Drive, St Martin de los AndesArgentina was such an interesting place to visit for a short time because you can easily see how the generations of immigration from Europe have influenced its many attractions, such as the Swiss colony we visited outside of Bariloche. Chris has just been reading about some Welsh settlements too and it´s a shame we didn´t make opportunities to visit more such colonies as I´m sure they would´ve blown us away with the randomness of their locations and continued traditions from wherever home might be. I for one was grateful for the Swiss-style, quality chocolate shops in Bariloche for example and felt like I was walking the shores of Lake Geneva at times during my visit to this Alpine ski resort.
Our favourite and highly recommended chocolate shop in Bariloche: MamoushkaI mustn´t sign off from these somewhat limited reflections without mentioning... the beef! I know Chris has managed at least one blog about the quality of the Lomo over here but seriously, it makes you drool to even think about a delicious plate of meat from Argentina. The food here was certainly a highlight of our trip and I´m so glad we managed to share some of our best eating experience with Lis, Jim and Monica who as fond as we are of a good meal. I just don´t know if anywhere will ever beat Argentina for a good Lomo!
Wow, it's been such a long time and I have a lot to catch up! This note is good, Steph! You're right about the distances, maybe someday Argentina will take advantage of a low-cost plane network, but it'll take some time! I've been two weeks in the Northwest, near the Bolivian border, and I loved it (and the bus ticket price killed me, haha), it's so different from Patagonia! I have to go back there and I'll read your notes about Bolivia and Peru, it's a planned destination too!
ReplyDeleteI've been to the Welsh colony in Gaiman and had delicious cakes and great tea, I'm sure you'd have loved it :)
Where are you now, got back home? France? England? Hope all is well and the rest of the trip went fine!
hugs,
abdel