Friday, January 29, 2010

Patagonia animals in Torres del Paine and El Chalten

Seeing animals in the parks at Patagonia is a rare treat. Most of the animals stay away from the main trekking trails as there are large untouched acres for them to roam.



In Torres del Paines we spotted a few Andean Condors, which is a national symbol to numerous countries in South America including Argentina. It was cool to see these birds as they came close to extinction, and are making a comeback due to conservation efforts. They sun their feathers to dry off after the heavy rain we had that morning.



The guanaco, the puma (mountain lion to us in Colorado), the zorro or Brazilian fox are some of the common animals. As with all mountain lions, sightings are extremely rare, as they will likely have seen you, but you will not see them. However we did see a lot of guanacos and a little fox while in Torres del Paine! (looks like Taz!)




Finally, while on our treks through Fitz Roy we heard numerous singing birds that we were unable to get pictures of but we did see this woodpecker pretty close to the trail!



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Monday, January 25, 2010

Cerro Torre & Fitz Roy

After five days in Torres del Paine, we headed back into Argentina to the small town of El Chalten, gateway to the areas of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy. Though there is some camping both in town and in the mountains, most of the most famous sites can be visited by day hikes from town. Since we would have had to rent gear, we opted for a hostel in El Chalten and day hikes.


The first day in El Chalten the weather was pretty miserable, even by Patagonia standards. Clouds covered the area and heavy rain and winds made hiking unappealing to say the least. We had a few days, so we opted to try to wait it out. The following day the weather was slightly better, but we decided to bite the bullet and hike up to Lago Los Tres at the base of Fitz Roy. The hiking weather wasn't bad. It was cool and only occasionally was there light rain. But, unfortunately, the clouds obscured much of the famous sights. Still, it was a nice hike.





On day three, we woke to find beautiful, clear blue skies. Our plan was to head up to Cerro Torre. We made the hike to the mirador relatively quickly and with the sun still low in the sky, the views were incredible and it was impossible not to take amazing pictures. This meant, though, that the mirador was crowded with people. We quickly set off with a new plan in mind. We would head towards Lago Torre at the base of the tower and then head north on a three-hour trail to the area around Fitz Roy, since we hadn't seen much of it the day before.


We made good time to the split in the trail, but there was no telling how long the clouds would hold off and we had three hours of hiking ahead of us. After Torres del Paine, the Salkantay trek, Nevado Chachani and lots of other smaller hikes, we were feeling in pretty good shape. So, with only daypacks, we decided we would do a little trail running. We made the three-hour distance in a little under an hour and it was actually quite fun running on the less popular and empty trail.


As a result, we made it to the valley to enjoy the clear blue skies and spectacular views of Fitz Roy. It was well worth it! We snapped way too many pictures, but it was hard not to when the weather and light is so perfect. It was a great way to conclude the Patagonia part of our trip.


All in all, Patagonia's infamous weather cooperated much better than we could have ever hoped. The worst weather was in the Valle de Frances in Torres del Paine and still we were able to see the valley, if not under ideal conditions. Patagonia is an amazing place and we're a bit sad to leave. We've had three weeks in the region and could have spent three months. We can't wait to go back!

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Torres del Paine

For as long as I can remember, Patagonia has been a place I've wanted to visit. Specifically, Torres del Paine and (even more specifically) the Cuernos del Paine have captured my imagination. Anyone who has been in our house in Boulder has seen the large panoramic photo of the Cuernos prominently displayed in the living room. In short, I was pretty excited about this part of the trip. The excitement was somewhat tempered by expectations based on things I'd heard that the park was becoming overcrowded. Make no mistake, the park is crowded, but it is well managed and doesn't feel as much like an amusement park as I'd imagined. The trails, for the most part, are not the super-highways of the most traveled parts of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park. Most of the refugios have a similar feel to the 10th Mountain Division Huts back home in Colorado. Basically, this is not what I'd call backcountry, but it is still a great backpacking experience for such a famous place.


NOTE: For detailed route information on the "W," click here.

The jumping off point for Torres del Paine is the town of Puerto Natales in Chile. We arrived by bus from El Calafate at about 2:45 PM, just in time to catch the daily talk on the "W" and the full "Circuit" at Erratic Rock Hostel (highly recommended!). After getting the necessary beta on the park, we chose a route and began dealing with the details of gear, food, transport and reservations. The bus picked us up a little before 7:30 AM the next day and, after swinging by a few more hostels to pick up other hikers, we were off to the park. We arrived, got our park entrance tickets and got on the catamaran ferry across Lago Pehoe. It's a quick half hour boat ride, but the views of the Cuernos (we had great weather!) were pretty spectacular. I'll just say it lived up to my expectations and then some!




We got off the boat at the Paine Grande Refugio at 12:30 PM and immediately started hiking towards Refugio Grey. This first day provided the best weather of the trip with mostly clear skies. The wind was, of course, ever-present. The hike was pretty easy, especially since we rented our sleeping bags and tent each night at the refugios and didn't have to carry them. And the water is crystal clear and clean, making this area one of the few places left in the world (sadly) where you can safely scoop the water right out of the streams and drink it limiting the amount of water we had to carry. We arrived at Grey in less than three hours. The refugios insist on setting up the rented tent for you (probably so it doesn't get abused), but this made us feel like gapers, though they eventually relented and let us at least help. After making camp, we went up to the Grey Glacier overlook (or mirador) where the wind was blowing something fierce. The views of the glacier were great though and we even saw some calving. Back at camp, we enjoyed a nice dinner and hit the sack with plenty of light still in the sky.



The next day we hit the trail early and headed up to the glacier. The hike did not take nearly as long as we had anticipated based on the estimates given on the map. Despite some rain, it was a nice hike right up to the glacier. The glacier itself is immense. We had been seeing it for nearly a full day already, but its size is deceptive until you are right on top of it. Even then it is hard to truly appreciate just how big it is. This was the first time Leslie had seen a glacier like this and she has been obsessing over glaciers ever since she first laid eyes on it.



After the glacier we started back. The rest of the day would be backtracking to the Paine Grande Refugio where the catamaran had dropped us 24 hours earlier. The Paine Grande Refugio stands apart from the other refugios in that it is more like a hotel and a ski lodge. There is still a large camping area, but also a full store, a cafeteria, a bar and hotel-like reception area for those staying inside the refugio. One of the funny things about the "W" is that you end up seeing the same people each night at the refugios. It is almost like a traveling hostel. We had dinner that night with one couple we had first met in Puerto Natales: Sophia and Wilhelm. It was Sophia and Wilhelm that did the "Tail" part of the trail (see route description for more on this) and made us wish we had done the same.

The next day was the longest so we got an early 6:45 AM start. The first part of the trail was quite easy, but then the weather came in as we began up the Valle de Frances. This trail was more difficult than anything we had seen yet on the "W" but was still not too difficult. The wind, rain and even snow (or gropple to be exact) came and went often and rapidly. The views were not perfect due to the weather, but occasionally the clouds would lift affording us beautiful views of the whole valley, if not perfectly clear blue skies. One of the highlights of the valley is the hanging Glaciar de Frances and every once in a while we'd hear a rumbling and look up just in time to see huge chunks of ice break off and tumble off the cliffs above the valley. We went all the way up to the mirador, but the wind, snow, rain and cold (all at once now) limited our time up there. Besides, we still had another 13 kilometers to go to get to camp for the night.




Down below, the weather was more stable and sun and blue skies dominated. Well actually the wind still dominated, especially along a rocky beach at Lago Nordenskjold. We settled in again at Refugio Los Cuernos and made camp. We enjoyed a couple of beers we didn't have to carry (another nice thing about the refugios) and called it a night.


We slept in a bit the next day as we had a short, easy day ahead of us. As we left the refugio, an amazing rainbow formed to accompany the great views of the Cuernos, looking very different than they did from the catamaran due to how close we now were. It was an easy hike, but about halfway through the skies opened up. Heavy wind and rain soaked us by the time we reached Refugio Chileno. We huddled inside the refugio and tried (unsuccessfully) to dry our clothes. Chileno is the closest refugio to the towers themselves and therefore it was packed with day-hikers as well as those doing the "W," all trying to stay out of the rain and dry out. We climbed in bed early hoping the skies would clear by our 3:00 AM wake-up.




One of the fortuitous things about the towers is that they are perfectly facing the sunrise. On the off chance that you can catch them on a day where there are no clouds between you and the towers or the towers and the sun, it is pretty spectacular. We took a chance we would be so lucky and headed up the trail by headlamp. A relatively quick one and half hour hike got us there with over and hour and half to spare. We were lucky, however, as the there were stars in the sky for our hike and the towers were clear of clouds in the pre-dawn sky. We wished the earth would spin faster so the sun would come up with the towers still clear, but a few clouds did settle on the tops of the towers before the sun broke the horizon. Still, we did get a great view and a little of the red glow of sunrise on the towers that it is famous for.


We were back at Chileno by 8:00 AM and had some coffee and a bit of breakfast before hiking down to Hosteria Las Torres. Just before we started down the rains came again. This was the hardest rain yet and by the time we reached the Hosteria, we were again soaked. No big deal though as we could change into dry clothes, have a nice -- if WAY too expensive -- lunch at the Hosteria and wait for our bus back to Puerto Natales.

Torres del Paine is an amazing place. We hope to return and do the full "Circuit" in the future. I'm hopeful that the ever-increasing popularity doesn't change the place too much. It's pretty special just the way it is.

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Torres del Paine Route Info/Beta

One common sentiment among the hikers we met at Torres del Paine is how difficult it was to find information about the "W" and the "Circuit" before you get to Puerto Natales. So, we thought we would provide a little info to the Internet that will hopefully be of some value to those planning their first trip to Torres del Paine.

NOTE: you can read our full trip report here.

(hi res image)


General Info

We would recommend arriving in Puerto Natales by 3:00 PM the day before you plan to head to the park. This is to give you time to rent gear, if necessary, book reservations (for things like the bus to the park, refugios, etc.), and to attend the 3:00 PM daily talk held by the Erratic Rock Hostel. We attended the talk and it was very helpful and the people at Erratic Rock are great!

There are a few different buses that take you to the park that all leave Puerto Natales at 7:30 AM daily. It is best to book your bus ticket through your hostel so the bus knows where to pick you up. We also used Austral Glacier Travel to book our camping in the park. This is a good time to explain the camping (and non-camping) options in the park. The park has a number of refugios (small lodges with a staffed kitchen preparing three meals a day, bathrooms with hot showers and dorm rooms for those that prefer not to camp). Each refugio also has a paid campground and will rent you a tent, sleeping bag and pad. The camping can only be reserved in advance if you are renting gear too. Otherwise it is first come, first served and some did fill up fast while we were there. Since we are traveling for a year, we are not carrying camping gear and opted to rent gear at the refugios allowing us lightweight hiking and the ability to book our accommodations in advance. This certainly made the trek very comfortable and easy, but it limits you to the refugios (not always ideal as I'll explain later) and is kind of expensive.

In addition to the refugios, there are a number of free campgrounds. It is definitely do-able to camp only in the free campgrounds though it seems most stay at a refugio at least one night. You can only camp at designated campgrounds and some of the free campgrounds fill up fast too.

On the day you begin your trek the bus will pick you at your hostel at 7:30 AM (or thereabouts). At around 10:30-11:00 AM you will reach the Laguna Amarga park entrance. Your bus will stop and everyone will buy their park entrance tickets (note: you'll need your passport number if you are a foreign resident and actual identification if you are Chilean and hope to pay the discounted price for nationals). If you plan to do the W clockwise, you grab your pack and walk an hour or so down the road to Hosteria Las Torres and the beginning of the trail. Everyone else then loads back onto the bus and heads to stop #2: Guarderia Pudeto. This is where you catch the catamaran ferry if you want to begin your trek at the Paine Grande refugio (Lago Pehoe). This is what we did, but not necessarily what I'd recommend (more later). If you want to do "The Tail" you stay on the bus and head to the third and final stop: Sede Administrava CONAF. If you have good weather that day, this is what I'd recommend as it provides very good views of Cerro Paine Grande and the Cuernos del Paine (my personal favorite sights in the park) and can be done without adding a day to your trip.

The Trek(s)

First you'll have to decide how much time you have, how much ground you want to cover each day, and whether you want free camping, refugios, or some mix of both. I'm going to focus on the "W" as that is what we had time for, but I really wish we had allowed the time to do the full Circuit. If you have a week to 10 days, go for it! Note, though, that you'll most likely need to carry gear as there is a large gap between Hosteria Las Torres and Refugio Dickson.

Here are a couple of sample itineraries for the "W." I'll be describing counter-clockwise routes as that is what was recommended to us, but it is certainly possible to go clockwise as well. Camps are marked on the maps with a number for the night we stayed there. Sorry the map isn't perfectly focused and cuts off a bit of the tail part of the trail.

Route 1 - refugios only (what we did):



Day 1
Catamaran to Refugio Paine Grande and a 2.5 to 3 hour hike to Refugio Grey.

Day 2
Hike up past Campamento Los Guardas to Grey Glacier (about 2 hours roundtrip with daypack). Hike down to Refugio Paine Grande.

Day 3
This is the longest day, but still not all that difficult. Hike from Refugio Paine Grande about and hour and a half to Campamento Italiano. Head up the Valle del Frances past Campamento Britanico to the mirador (if you can, leave your pack with someone at Italiano and just bring a daypack). Head back down the Valle del Frances, pick up your pack if necessary at Italiano and hike to Refugio Los Cuernos. The full day took us about 7 hours moving at a brisk pace, but stopping for pictures, lunch, etc.

Day 4
Hike from Refugio Los Cuernos to Refugio Chileno. Note that the maps provided by the park (as of January 2010) do not show a major shortcut on this trail. About 2-3 hours into your hike, you will encounter a small lake on your left (the very large Lago Nordenskjold has been visible on your right for most of the hike). About halfway down the small lake the trail splits, follow the left fork, hugging the lake. At the end of the lake the trail splits again and again you stay left, though this time the fork is well marked.

Day 5
We got up at 3:00 AM to hike to the Torres del Paine for sunrise, allowing the 2.5 hours the map indicates. Moderately fit hikers should be able to knock significant time off almost all the times listed on the map, especially if you’re not carrying your tent and sleeping bag. The 2.5 hours ended up being 1.5 hours and we arrived well before sunrise... the first ones there! After you've had your fill of the towers, hike down, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast at Chileno and hike out to Hosteria Las Torres. From there you can catch a shuttle to Laguna Amarga or just walk the road for another hour or so. Buses back to Puerto Natales leave at 2:30 PM.


Route 2 - refugios only with the Tail (what we wish we did):



Day 1
Take the bus all the way to Administrava CONAF and hike the tail to Refugio Paine Grande.

Day 2
Hike up 2.5 to 3 hour hike to Refugio Grey. Then go up past Campamento Los Guardas to Grey Glacier (about 2 hours roundtrip with daypack). Hike down to Refugio Paine Grande.

Day 3
This is the longest day, but still not all that difficult. Hike from Refugio Paine Grande about and hour and a half to Campamento Italiano. Head up the Valle del Frances past Campamento Britanico to the mirador (if you can, leave your pack with someone at Italiano and just bring a daypack). Head back down the Valle del Frances, pick up your pack if necessary at Italiano and hike to Refugio Los Cuernos. The full day took us about 7 hours moving at a brisk pace, but stopping for pictures, lunch, etc.

Day 4
Hike from Refugio Los Cuernos to Refugio Chileno. Note that the maps provided by the park (as of January 2010) do not show a major shortcut on this trail. About 2-3 hours into your hike, you will encounter a small lake on your left (the very large Lago Nordenskjold has been visible on your right for most of the hike). About halfway down the small lake the trail splits, follow the left fork, hugging the lake. At the end of the lake the trail splits again and again you stay left, though this time the fork is well marked.

Day 5
We got up at 3:00 AM to hike to the Torres del Paine for sunrise, allowing the 2.5 hours the map indicates. Moderately fit hikers should be able to knock significant time off almost all the times listed on the map, especially if you’re not carrying your tent and sleeping bag. The 2.5 hours ended up being 1.5 hours and we arrived well before sunrise... the first ones there! After you've had your fill of the towers, hike down, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast at Chileno and hike out to Hosteria Las Torres. From there you can catch a shuttle to Laguna Amarga or just walk the road for another hour or so. Buses back to Puerto Natales leave at 2:30 PM.


Route 3 - free camping only



Day 1
Catamaran to Refugio Paine Grande and a 3 to 3.5 hour hike to Campamento Los Guardas (be sure to head up to glacier too!).

Day 2
Hike down to Refugio Paine Grande and east to Campamento Italiano.

Day 3
Head up the Valle del Frances past Campamento Britanico to the mirador (leave your tent up and your pack in it and just bring a daypack). Head back down the Valle del Frances and spend another night at Italiano.

Day 4
Hike from Italiano past Refugio Los Cuernos and Refugio Chileno to Campamento Torres. Note that the maps provided by the park (as of January 2010) do not show a major shortcut on this trail. About 2-3 hours into your hike, you will encounter a small lake on your left (the very large Lago Nordenskjold has been visible on your right for most of the hike). About halfway down the small lake the trail splits, follow the left fork, hugging the lake. At the end of the lake the trail splits again and again you stay left, though this time the fork is well marked.

Day 5
From Campamento Torres it is only a 45-mintue hike to the Torres del Paine for sunrise. After you've had your fill of the towers, hike down, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast at your tent, break down camp for the last time and hike out to Hosteria Las Torres. From there you can catch a shuttle to Laguna Amarga or just walk the road for another hour or so. Buses back to Puerto Natales leave at 2:30 PM.


Now, of course, you can mix it up as well and stay some nights at refugios and some at free campgrounds (if you carry your own gear). The possibilities are myriad!

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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Tierra del Fuego - Patagonia - Ushuaia

Patagonia is one of the places we had on our "must visit" list. Actually, over two years ago we tried to plan a trip to Patagonia for a week's Thanksgiving vacation. Realizing that was way too short a time for a trip to Patagonia, we ended up in Panama instead. It was during that planning the seeds of what would become this year-long trips were planted. And now we have made it to the southernmost city in the world: Ushuaia.


After the ferry from Uruguay at noon, we had a nighttime flight down to Rio Gallegos from Buenos Aires and got into the Rio Gallegos airport around 2:00 AM. The bus station did not open until 6:00 AM so we tried to catch some sleep on the floor of the airport with about 10 other travelers who were in the same predicament. Patagonia has a short season where the weather is passable (meaning there is still rain, wind and sleet, but that is a good day!). However that also means that buses and hostels book up early. We arrived at the bus station to find out that there were only two direct buses to Ushuaia and both were booked for that day. After about an hour of waiting and slight pleading with the guy at one of the bus companies, he got us on a bus to Rio Grande and from there we were to take a minibus into Ushuaia. We were very lucky to get on a bus, as when we were leaving the bus station we saw a couple who did not get on the bus making a cardboard sign saying "Ushuaia" to attempt to hitchhike!



Going from Rio Gallegos we crossed the Strait of Magellan into the archipelago Terra del Fuego by ferry.


When we arrived in Ushuaia at 1:00 AM the sky was still slightly glowing from dusk as Ushuaia is so far south (Latitude: 54° 48' 0" S). It is the southernmost city in the world, and calls itself "El fin del Mundo" (The end of the World). It is the jump off point to most Antarctica trips as well. It is still quite a ways north of the Antarctic Circle, however, and therefore, doesn't ever get 24 hours of sun. It is probably comparable to Juneau, Alaska.


We were ecstatic to be in bed as we had been traveling 40 straight hours since leaving Montevideo. We met some folks in the hoste, and all agreed to head to Laguna Esmeralda the next day for some hiking. We had a pretty fun group. It was a muddy trek as it has been raining a lot here, but there were only a few wipe outs.




Near the lake it started raining and some ladies from Buenos Aires who were camping invited us to have some coffee and sit by their fire. They were asking us where we were from and we explained: Germany, Holland, Israel and the U.S. They gave us a puzzled look, and said.... "and you guys are all friends?"




On our last day in Ushuaia we took a zodiac out to see the penguins on Martillo Island. The island is dominated by Magellanic penguins, but there are also some some Gentoos, larger than the Magellanic and with orange-red beaks ending in black. It is a huge colony, and the penguins are almost as curious about humans as we were about them and they would waddle up right to you to check you out.



The babies had been born about a month and a half ago, and were just starting to molt and lose their fluffy feathers so they can go into the sea to fish. I think our favorite part was watching the penguins swim, jump out of the water, then shake themselves off. They all start with their top, and down to their little tails. It was one of the cutest things I have seen.


Penguins - Martillo Island, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina from Jim Kendrick on Vimeo.




We only had a few short days in Ushuaia before heading to El Calafate, El Chaten and Puerto Natales where we are hoping to be doing a lot of backpacking/trekking around Fitzroy, Cerro Torre and Torres del Paine!

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Friday, January 8, 2010

Montevideo, Uruguay

We were able to find relatively inexpensive plane tickets from Buenos Aires to Patagonia, saving us a lot of time on buses. So we decided to use our new found time to visit Uruguay. Montevideo is a short three hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires.


We arrived in Montevideo and decided to walk the short distance to our hostel. Immediately we were struck by how quiet and empty things seemed compared to Buenos Aires. It seems as though much shuts down following New Years and we saw many shops and restaurants with signs that said they were re-opening on January 17th. We don't know if the weather plays a role, but we did experience one day of driving rain. It was, however, a nice change of pace.



We stayed in the Ciudad Viejo or Old Town. Our hostel was right in the heart of the bar district so the relative quiet of this time of year was perhaps a blessing. Things in Montevideo (and perhaps all of Uruguay) are much more expensive than Buenos Aires or anyplace else we have been in South America.


The Old Town is charming and the Plaza de Independencia, a block from our hostel, was very nice. We were mostly taking it easy and we spent a hour or so every morning at coffee shop in the neighborhood that we really liked.



We wandered the streets and ate at a few local restaurants -- those that we could find open -- on the first day. The Uruguayan people are very laid back and extremely friendly. We enjoyed our time with everyone we met.

One of the main advantages Montevideo has over Buenos Aires is the fact that there are several beautiful beaches right in the city. We spent one day lounging on the beach at Pocitos. We may have spent a bit too much time on the beach as we came away a bit sunburned. But we relished this time in the sun as we knew we were headed to the infamous Patagonia weather.


Our time in Uruguay was short... too short! We really wish we would have had time to visit coast towns such as Punta del Diablo. Punta del Este is a very popular international resort destination, but Punta del Diablo sounded like it would be more our speed.


We headed back on the ferry and then had a flight from Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos in Patagonia. A 15 hour bus ride from Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia brought the total to 40 straight hours of travel. I'm going to bed!


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Saturday, January 2, 2010

Agentinian Foods! Meat, wine and cheeses!

While staying in the San Telmo barrio of Buenos Aries, we have been lucky to try some of the best steaks either of us have ever had.


On our first night in Buenos Aries we had dinner with my cousin Tracy. She has been living in Buenos Aries for a couple of months and is now heading down to Mendoza to work on a farm there. It was fun to see her again, and get some "insider" info on Buenos Aries and San Telmo. We are excited to see her in Mendoza too!



We started off with a good steak and chorizo sausages at El Desnivel. Every restaurant has the most amazing chimichurri that I have ever had.


For Christmas day we stated off with some local cheeses (from a cheese company here in Argintina named Veronica!), olives, prosciutto and guacamole (yes a little weird, but they have great avocados and we do love guacamole!)

We then made our own steaks with mashed sweet potatoes and creamed spinach. Topped them off with a shallot red wine glaze. We ended with some roasted peaches on ice cream.



Of course we had some Malbecs! All of these were about $10 a bottle mostly from Mendoza, but we tried a Patagonia Malbec as well.



If there is a national food in Argentina, it is the steak. Rightly so as each steak we eat here is better than the last. I have heard that the true difference between Argentinian steaks and those you get in the rest of the world is how the cows are raised. Feedlots are still a rarity, and so the cows roam about eating grass making them healthier and the meat leaner and better tasting. Happy cows make... well, tasty steaks. The best steak we have had so far was at Gran Parrilla del Plata. We are actually going to go there again because it was so good!

These steaks were about $8. The legend is true... amazing steaks and red wine are cheap and plentiful in Argentina.

We also had grilled provolone with roasted red peppers and bacon...

Steaks are not the only great food out here. Near the National Eco Reserve park are tons of little shacks selling choripán. Choripán is a chorizo sausage grilled, sliced down the middle, then placed in a warmed baguette. Again, one of the best parts of a giant sausage sandwich is the chimichurri and other sauces that come with it. One of the more interesting condiments is mayonnaise with green onions. I have seen many a Porteño (or people from a port city, and what the general population in Buenos Aires likes to call themselves) slather on mayo on their choripáns and salchipapas (French fries with cut up hot dogs). Not bad, but I am sticking with the chimichurri.


Finally, it would be a crime not to mention the empanadas. My personal favorite is roquefort empanadas. The traditional empanada for this region is the carne with ground beef, a boiled egg, and green olives.


There is a very European influence here in Argentina and there are probably 4 fresh pasta stores within 4 blocks of our apartment. We made salmon ravioli with a Alfredo tomato sauce.

Our time in Buenos Aires is nearing an end to head to Uruguay then Patagonia. We are a quarter of the way through our trip, and we have loved having this apartment and beautiful city as our home base for a while.

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