South America: Feb. 3 - Apr. 1, 2017. Part two: Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, Cruise

We took two side trips from Buenos Aires, the first to Iguazú Falls, and the second to Mendoza, with a night in BA in between.
And so began our numerous early morning departures.  (As a result, we are now planning our 2018 two-month trip to Iberia, and have nixed anything earlier than a 9 am departure)

Iguazú
A guide with a minivan met us and other travellers at the Puerto Iguazú airport.  The van was stopped by local police upon entrance to the national park region.  We were each issued a pass, and told to keep this handy during our visit.  Argentina has got this attraction right - perfectly organized and ecologically sensitive.

Puerto Iguazú is a frontier and tourist town, filled with hostels, tour offices, restaurants, and souvenir shops.  Our hotel was just off the main street.  Jeff and I had no plans for the afternoon other than a long walk.  Robert and Suzanne, however, opted to see the the Brazilian side of the falls.  Although this was included in our three-day tour, Jeff and I couldn't go because we refused to purchase the exorbitantly expensive Brazilian visas for just an hour in that country.  Unfortunately for Robert and Suzanne, their British passports were rejected at the Argentine-Brazilian border because they had entered Argentina on their Canadian passports (no fee for Brits entering Brazil).  To make a long story short, they were kicked off the bus, directed to a taxi, and returned to the hotel with their tails between their legs.
Jeff and I were pleased to see them, and the four of us set off to find the Triple Frontier:  the junction of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil where the Iguazu and Paraña rivers converge.
We took a longer, steeper, route back to town - my fellow travellers should've known by then not to trust my little hikes.

Desperately in need for refreshment (i.e. sangria), we stopped at Bambu, a delightful patio restaurant.  We were so relaxed that we stayed on for dinner.

The following morning, a rather uncomfortable bus picked us up.  We had a long day ahead of us.  Our first stop was the Wanda Mine.  Waste of time.  Semi-precious stones.  Just a shopping stop along the road.  What made matters worse, our "English-speaking" guide was less than fluent, and it was her first day on the job.  Busloads of tourists flocked to the shop which was selling overpriced costume jewelry.  (This is why I dislike tours ..., but I digress).

Our next destination made up for the dusty, hot, interminable bus ride:  San Ignacio Miní,  one of the numerous Jesuit missions in northern Argentina, southern Brazil, and Paraguay.   A highlight of our journey!  It's humbling to see a magnificent structure abandoned and in ruins.  The Jesuits began building their missions in this part of the world in the 17th century.  San Ignacio was begun in 1696, and completed 30 years later.  While it was in operation, it had a population of about 3,000, mostly indigenous (Guarani).  The complex included a church, a cabildo (city hall), a monastery, a cemetery,  and workshops.  All of the buildings are made of red sandstone.
After the Suppression of the Jesuits in 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from the region.  The Guarani fled the mission, and all of the Jesuit missions were destroyed in 1817.  The ruins, covered by dense vegetation, were rediscovered at the end of the 19th century, but restoration did not begin until 1940.  In 1984, the ruins were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On the way back to Puerto Iguazú, we stopped at a maté co-op.  Maté is the local drink of the Argentinians (and Uruguayans).  In our part of the world, we often see people walking around with paper cups from Tim Horton's, Starbucks, and Second Cup.  In Argentina, maté drinking is a whole ritual.  People wear hip-holders which house large thermoses filled with hot water.  They also have ceramic mugs with maté leaves at the bottom of the mug.  They add the water to the leaves (actually, it's more like tree bark), and sip the drink through a metal straw.  The straw has a spoon at the bottom end for stirring the concoction.  It's a friendly gesture to pass your maté mug among company.  The locals on our tour kept doing this, and I kept declining and passing it along.  The whole germ-infested tradition grossed me out!

Our third day in Iguazú was the absolutely outstanding, stupendous, amazing trip to the Falls.  Bah, Niagara Falls does not even come close (aside from the Maid-of-the Mist).   We spent the whole day there, winding our way from the upper viewing area to the middle to the lower.  The government has done an excellent job of building and maintaining a series of bridges and walkways throughout the park, while maintaining its natural, rainforest setting within a protected zone.  It was a wet day, but so what!!
It was warm, and we loved almost every minute of our visit (except for the bothersome coatis).  We saw interesting birds and monkeys, and beautiful flora.  Thankfully, no snakes!




Once again, I declined maté, this time on the little train that took us from one area to the next.







We had a two-degrees-of-separation experience in Puerto Iguazú.  A couple from Peterborough, Heather and Jeff, were staying at our hotel.  Within an hour, Heather and I realized that we had close friends in common!  Heather and Jeff are good friends with good friends of ours.  Very small world - it reminded me that I should always be on my best behaviour, because you never know who knows you!

We had a quick sleep back in BA the following night before setting off for Mendoza.

Mendoza
Up at 4:25.  Picked up at 5 for a 7 am flight.  Four crabby passengers.  (Well, I'm assuming the rest of the plane was crabby, too).  It was all worth it, though, since Mendoza was just as enjoyable as Iguazú.  Our hotel was very nice (4 stars, Joan! with bathrobes).

It's amazing how the climate changed wherever we went.  Mendoza was hot and dry - a true desert.  The city is a good size, and there are lots of parks and colonial buildings (mainly banks).  We loved the pedestrian mall in the centre of town (like Sparks Street in Ottawa).  Lunch at Mercato Central (1883 - oldest building in town).  Lots of atmosphere.  The city suffered a severe earthquake in 1861. It was rebuilt to withstand seismic activity, with large squares and  wider streets and sidewalks than anywhere else in Argentina.  Water flows into the city from the Andes mountains nearby.

There are running gullies along the sidewalks, which made us stop and wonder how many people trip and hurt themselves.  We were extra careful during our long walks, especially at night after a copa or two of Malbec.

Another observation on Mendoza:  there are hundreds of old rusted cars spewing "unpleasant" fumes all over the city.  Jeff says they are cast-offs from Cuba!

For our first evening in Mendoza, we decided to venture to a positively-reviewed Middle Eastern restaurant for dinner (a change from beef, beef, beef).  Unfortunately, it hadn't opened when we arrived (AFTER 9 pm), so we decided to eat al fresco at Lerot Bar.  As was our custom, we asked our waitress for separate bills.  She took our order, but soon returned to inform us that the policy was one bill per table.  Jeff stood up in a huff - Robert, Suzanne, and I thought he was going to leave - but no, he had a better plan!  He sat himself down at the next table, beckoned me over, and together we moved our table right next to R and S!!  As the restaurant filled up, the waitress regretted her decision to forfeit two tables on the annoying Canadian tourists.  One of those "you had to be there" moments - we laughed and laughed.

The next day we had an amazing tour to the Andes mountains.  The sky was perfectly clear, and we stopped in several places to view the volcanoes (including Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere), the first ski hill in Argentina, and the reservoir that supplies water to Mendoza.  Jeff was out of his comfort level as our bus wound its way up a very curvy, steep road leading to Christ the Redeemer of the Andes.  The statue lies on the border of Argentina and Chile.  I can't imagine the mule train that transported this peace monument to its resting spot at 4000 metres above sea level!  Soldiers on both sides looked cold and bored.

On the way back to Mendoza, we stopped at Puenta del Inca, a natural arch that forms a bridge over a tributary of the Mendoza River.  The site was so famous that even Charles Darwin visited it!  In the early 20th century (Argentina's golden age), there was a large thermal resort and spa which attracted wealthy Argentinians who arrived on the now-defunct railway system.  An avalanche destroyed the resort, but the chapel on the site survived the disaster.

What would a visit to Mendoza be without a winery tour!!  Picture this:  we were picked up at our hotel at 9:30 am.  As we sampled our way through Trapiche, Sin Fin (really good Malbec that is only sold in Argentina), and Zuccardi, our group became sillier and sillier.  I don't know how many copas I drank, but I confess it was more than three!  By the time we sat down for lunch (about 2 pm) at Zuccardi, I had new besties from Switzerland and Hong Kong, and various places in South America.  On the return journey to our respective hotels, our guide (who drank along with us all day) asked Jeff for help in translating Spanish to English AND English to Spanish!

That evening, Jeff and I walked to the Plaza Independencia to stroll among the locals at the outdoor crafts market.  The end of a very fun day.

Jeff was our tour guide the next day - a long, hot walk to the ruins of the Jesuit Church devastated by the aforementioned 1861 earthquake.  The site of this church was the original centre of Mendoza, but after the earthquake, the centre of the city was moved to the Plaza Independencia.  I'm not sure what the monolithic sculptures represent - they lined the park near the Church.

We had two more days in BA (highlights already covered in part one) before boarding the cruise ship.

The Cruise:  oh my, out of my comfort zone.  An expensive mistake.  Old, fat, uninteresting, uninterested people from mainly English-speaking countries.  Some notable exceptions - our trivia team (Cathy and Gerry from Texas, Howard and Susan from London), my buddies from the 7 am stretch class (including Rob and Cathy from Gravenhurst), the spin-class aficionados (Michael from Germany and several Canadians).  This two-week journey was interminable.  Boring beyond belief 80% of the time.  However, I would like to focus on the few things that we enjoyed.

Montevideo, Uruguay - Jeff and I spent the morning walking around the centre of the city.  Architecturally similar to BA.  The highlight of the day was our coffee date with my cousin, Heidi, and her partner, Luis.  Heidi and I hadn't seen each other in more than 20 years, but our families are so close that we chatted as if we had been together yesterday.  Quite wonderful!  Check out Heidi's fantastic creative initiative in Uruguay - Campo.

Stanley, Falkland Islands - Glorious weather!  Sunshine and interesting history.  So remote, yet so strategically important to the mother land.  The locals are more British than the British!  In many ways, a step back in time.  There was even an eclipse of the sun at 11 am to add another special effect to our terrific day.

Robert had done a lot of research on the 1982 Falklands War, and were intrigued by the excellent Dockyards Museum.  The friendly women working at the museum kindly shared their horrifying experiences during the War.  What a fiasco.  The museum also had very informative displays about Shackleton and his polar expeditions.  Loved the Anglican Church with its whalebone arch, too.

Lunch was a treat - fish and chips at the Bittersweet Cafe along with local beer.
I wish we could've have more days in the Falklands to see the other towns, the battlefields, and the penguins.

Punta Arenas, Chile - A cold, rainy day.  I opted for the guided hike to view the Strait of Magellan.  The bus drove us to a ski hill.  Up the mountain on the rickety chair lift (circa 1960).  Total fog, no view, but a very muddy, strenuous hike through the forest with cruise mates who were also happy to escape the confines of the boat.  We were rewarded with hot chocolate and cake in the chalet at the end of the hike.  Invigorating!

I spent the rest of the day touring PA - Sara Braun cemetery with its sculpted greenery, the Magellan monument (note the pigeon on his head), an interesting glassed-in government building, and the shepherd monument (homage to those who struggle against the cold and wind to watch their flocks).

Jeff, Robert, and Suzanne did their own touring - the highlight for them was the Museo Neo Victoria, where they admired replicas of the famous ships that contributed to the discovery of this area (e.g. Darwin's HMS Beagle and Magellan's Neo Victoria.  They also enjoyed a delicious lunch at a restaurant recommended by one of Jeff's classmates at the Academy for Lifelong Learning.

Ushuaia, Argentina - Another cold, rainy day (the southern tip of South America is not noted for good weather).




Jeff and I walked every inch of the town, and enjoyed  touring the prison museum (Presidio).

Great views of the surrounding mountains from the the lookout. Street art dedicated to the "disappeared" and the "mothers", and the memorial to those lost in the Malvinas (Falklands) War.  Lots of very sad history lessons.

Happy hour at Ramos Generales (also recommended by Jeff's classmate).  One of the funniest baños we've ever seen!
I even found a hairdresser nearby to cut my bangs.

The boat travelled through all three passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific:  the Drake Passage, the Strait of Magellan, and the Beagle Channel.
We circled Cape Horn twice (a bumpy ride), and shuddered at the thought of living in the lighthouse at the end of the world.  We saw beautiful (alas receding) glaciers, as well as the Chilean fjords.

Lots and lots of trivia games - there was literally nothing else to do!  By the time the cruise ended, our team were the overall champs.  We had a bagful of Holland America pins and bragging rights.

Puerto Montt, Chile - yup, a drizzly day.  We had a Dale and Jeff adventure: local bus from PM (filthy town) to Puerto Varas, where we admired the roses in the main square and the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon, perched on a hill.

We continued on another local bus to Frutillar, where we toured the German settlers museum.  Due to the weather, we were unable to see the volcanoes on the farther side of Llaniquehue Lake.


On March 7th, we arrived in Valparaiso, Chile.  Pleased to be on land once again, and ready for the next part of our South American adventure.