Back to Buenos Aires

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Josi

To my surprise leaving, El Chalten was quite sad. After a week of hiking, fly fishing and exploring, we had developed a nice routine of outdoor activities, going to great places to eat, and knowing where to shop. I can honestly say that we had both reached a level of relaxation similar to when we were in Costa Rica. With lots of physical activity being our main routine, we were able to really let go of everything else. It was a great mental break from all of the up and go that we have been doing as of late. As soon as we borded the plane to Buenos Aires my sadness dissipated and the excitement of going back to a city I love came back. We landed in AEP which is the airport right next to the downtown area and in less than than 15 minutes by taxi we were at our hotel. We chose to stay at the same hotel we stayed at when we first landed in Buenos Aires: Ayres de Recoleta Plaza, and it felt like going back home. The staff is so nice and helpful, not to mention that they were generous enough to keep our surf boards and on of our bags while we explored Patagonia at no charge.

For the most part we spent our last 3 days in the city exploring, shopping, eating and drinking coffee!

We checked out the Aldo Sessa photo exhibit. The local photographer depicted 50 years of Buenos Aires through his collection of mainly black and white photographs. I mainly enjoyed looking at the older photos from the 60’s as I found were more vibrant as they seemed to transpire the true feelings of the kids and adults living in the neighbourhood of La Boca at the time. He also showed a series of tango photos, also in black and white, that were stunning. I left the gallery wishing there was a more well rounded selection of photographs, and at the same time happy to have seen the exhibition and to have discovered a bit more of the Puerto Madero area as it reminded me of le Quartier St-Henri in Montreal.

We also spent one more day in Palermo Soho which made for great retail therapy session. The only downside of travelling for a long time is that you have to lug around everything that you purchase for the rest of the trip. I find that buying small and light stuff or things you really need is definitely key. Unfortunately the amazing pair of $300 shoes I found didn’t make the cut. I was more than happy with the bikini and purse that I did buy that were both Hecho (made) in Argentina!

Next stop South Africa!

Posted in Travel
Country: Argentina

Northern Patagonia we came, we conquered

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Josi

I always dreamed about going to Patagonia to experience the incredible mountain activities and witness the breathtaking views. Even the name is cool: Patagonia! It screams Adventure and Adventure it was.

As Noel mentioned in his previous post, our first stop after leaving Buenos Aires was Bariloche which we accessed by a 22h bus ride. Travelling in a bus for such a long period of time was a first for Noel and I. We had heard so much about the amazing experience of travelling by busses in Argentina that we had to give it a try. There are different classes of tickets that you can purchase and we had been told that a trip over night was best in a Tutto Letto seat which means a seat that fully reclines for a better sleep. Unfortunately for us, they were all booked so we went with the second best choice, a Cama seat, which means that your seat reclines to a 45 degree angle. Each tickets were 980 pesos which is more or less equivalent to CAD$200. It comes with a blanket, a mini pillow, snacks, breakfast, a hot dinner and wine. Not bad at all for a bus ride. We were also told that in the busy season, people reserve their seats a couple of months in advance, so if you are concerned about comfort, it’s best to plan ahead.

Here were the highlights of our stay in Northern Patagonia:

Bariloche

Cerro Otto

The best way to get a panoramic view of the Nahuel Huapi lake is to hiked up to Cerro Otto, a view point accessible right from the town of San Carlos de Bariloche. We started our hike from km 1 (town marker) which made for a more gradual ascent over approximately 8 km. We snapped a ton of photos since the sky was without a cloud allowing you to get a full 360 degree view. We had a quick picnic at the top and started our descent using a super steep trail right underneath the gondola. If you want to save your feet for the many hikes you will want to do, I strongly recommend to come back the same way you came. The views you get from the trail are better anyway, but most of all you will still have a smile on at the end of the hike. It doesn’t look that steep on the photo below, but believe me it was.

Cerro Catedral and Refugio Frey

Catedral ski hill is about 20km from Bariloche and is a cute little ski town with a bunch of super cheap restaurants at the bottom. The hike to Refugio Frey starts for the parking lot of the ski hill and goes up and around the side of the mountain giving you stunning views of lake Gutierrez. The path then climbs up a valley to a first refuge hut and until then it feels like the climb is pretty gradual and not exhausting. After you pass the first hut, the hike gets much steeper and more strenuous. It is so rewarding to finally reach Refugio Frey. The mountain refuge built in 1956 is nestled between the various rocky and pointy mountain peaks. If you are travelling with camping gear, definitely plan on staying up there for a night as you can access other hikes for the top. We had lunch by the little lake while watching the climbers scale amazing cliffs right in front of us before coming back down and completing our 20km journey.

Playa Bonita

Playa Bonita is about 7km out of the town of San Carlos de Bariloche is a great place for a quick dip in the turquoise, glacier cold water. For anyone who spent some time in Whistler, I would say that it’s about the same temperature as Green Lake, so it is best to dive in for a full refreshment and run back to shore before your toes freeze. Noel and I couldn’t believe how packed this little beach gets around 4pm. You would think you are in Santa Monica as you try to find a spot to lay your towel.

Hotel Nido Del Condor

Once again we lucked out and got a great discount on 3 nights at this great hotel just outside of the busy part of San Carlos de Bariloche. To our surprise, we got a room that was bigger than our Vancouver apartment and had a kingsize bed overlooking the lake Nahuel Huapi. There is no need for a tv when you get such an amazing view! I have to admit, it was a bit fancy for our needs and at the same time It was great to come back from our hikes, shower up and lay in bed while watching the sail boats go by. I would highly recommend this place for honeymooners but make sure to shop online to get a discounted rate.

Here was the view from the bed:

The Ice cream

My friend Tricia wrote me an email as we were leaving Buenos Aires to make sure that we taste the Argentinian ice cream and especially the Dulce de Leche flavour. Noel and I had a pastry filled with Dulce de Leche in Buenos Aires and couldn’t wait to taste the Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. There are so many places selling Hellados here, it’s like seeing a Starbucks Coffee shop on every street corner back home in Vancouver. Our favorite is to share a 1/4kg as it allows you to try 3 flavours. My favorite mix was chocolate with almonds, Crema Americana, which taste like vanilla and rasberry. Another flavour that I loved was the Vanilla with swirls of dulce de leche and chocolate chips….abslolutely delicious. I have yet to try the orange flavour icecream and I am sure the opportunity will arise as we have planned a lot of hiking and might need a little pick me up after our mountain treks.

I enjoyed spending a few days the Bariloche area and would love to come back in the Winter time to experience the snowboarding and seeing this magical winter wonderland.

Road trip outside of Bariloche

Hotel Tronador and Mount Tronador

I would have loved to camp on the mountain when we went to mount Tronador but unfortunately the black flies were so ferocious that camping was not an option. Luckily, we got a killer deal on two nights at hotel Tronador right on lake Mascardi: http://www.hoteltronador.com/ Normally it would have been above our price range and we would have passed on it, but luckily for us a family had cancelled their two bedroom suite and we were able to get it for a fraction of the price. The lodge has a rustic feel as it was built in 1933 and to this day it is still family operated. It felt like going to a kids summer camp where they feed you 3 meals a day, they provide you with a free rowing boat to explore the lake and they provide you with a list of hikes, lakes and rivers to fish, horse back ridding and many other activities. You could spend a full week there and never get bored.

Despite the black flies, Noel and I did a bunch of hiking and fishing and drove to the base of Mount Tronador where you can get a decent view of the immense glacier and do a short hike to a beautiful waterfall. I have to say that getting attacked by black flies really irritated me and I had a hard time enjoying the sights as you constantly had to battle those little buggers. Most people were fully dressed with long sleeve shirts, pants and hats and still covered themselves with a towel. Apparently it is not always like that in the summer. The weather was much higher than usual and made for an extra buggy week.

San Martin de Los Andes

Hotel Siete Flores

Right outside of the little town of San Martin de Los Andes is this cute little lodge that offers well priced rooms and delicious breakfast: http://www.sietefloreshosteria.com.ar/ On top of making the most delicious marmalade, the main cook was so nice, spoke great English and gave us some great tips for places to fly fish and hang out.

Fly Fishing and swimming

There are so many lakes and rivers around where you can do a few casts, jump in for a quick swim and they are all great spots for picnics. My two favorite spots were Lago Meliquina and a secret river past Junin de los Andes.

I was a bit hesitant at first to drive up a gravel road for a few hours to reach San Martin de Los Andes and I am so glad we did as it is a lovely area not to miss. It was well worth the sweaty, sticky, dusty hours in the car.

Overall I loved Northern Patagonia and would love to come back in the Winter time to experience the snowboarding and seeing this magical winter wonderland that I heard so much about.

Posted in Adventure, Fishing, Food, Travel, Uncategorized
Country: Argentina

Things to do in Buenos Aires

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Josi

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city with so much to discover and filled with taxi drivers who love to give you a free tour (in spanish) as they drive you to your destination. It is fairly easy to navigate as it is divided in different neighbourhoods which are called Barrios and all quite different from one another. We’ve only spent four days touring around the city and it went by way too fast! Noel and I already agreed that it would be nice to come back to Buenos Aires for a few days at the end of our trek through Argentina before our departure for South Africa.

Overall, we will be spending 26 days in Argentina which sounds like a long time at first, but when you start listing all the amazing places to visit and when you look at the size of the country, you soon realize that a month will fly by in no time. In my opinion, it is best to stay a bit longer in each location to get a real feel for the vibe and fully experience the place, rather than packing in too many destinations. Plus it is nice to have a few days of down time when you are on the road for so long. Both Noel and I love to travel without a fully planned itinerary so we can stay longer if we love a place or move on to the next destination if we prefer. Being on the same page has made it very easy on us to travel together.

So here is what we’ve been up to over the last few days:

Shopping

The best shopping is found in a neighbourhood called Palermo Soho, about 10 minutes ($6CAD) away by cab from where we were staying in Recoleta. If you feel like checking it out, just ask your cab driver to drop you off at the corner of Armenia and Honduras and you will be in the heart of it. You can find several local designer shops offering classic and eclectic clothes, bags and shoes. The items that I have been on the hunt for are bikinis (as I love the sexy bottoms they sell in South America), bags of all sorts as well as bohemian style clothing. So far, all I purchased is this gorgeous salmon colour bikini and I plan on continuing my hunt when we come back from the mountains.

Another popular place to shop in Buenos Aires are the malls. They sure love their malls in Central and South America! Noel and I are not mall rats at all back home in Canada and we surprised ourselves spending way too much time in them so far on our trip. On top of the shopping experience, it is also a great place to cool down after walking the streets! The best mall is definitely the Recoleta Mall. Even though it’s a bit pricy it has the best stores. At this time of the year all the stores are on sale and most of them are part of the tax free program. Basically, at the time of purchase they give you a form to bring to the airport along with your receipts in order to collect the 21% tax back. It makes it a bit more enticing to make purchases.

My hot husband shopping the sales!

Churches

I’ve never been much of a church lover until a couple years ago when I went to visit L’Oratoire Saint-Joseph in Montreal with my parents. I love to look at the details of the architecture and the art and most of all I love the peaceful feeling you get from sitting down on these old wooden benches. On our tour of the city, we visited two smaller churches, one in Recoleta and one in Palermo. We also did a quick visit to the La Catedral Metropolitana, considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Buenos Aires. The Cathedral was fairly ordinary on the outside and reminded me more of a tribunal than a church, but is absolutely beautiful inside. I felt so inspired that I kneeled down to pray for safe travels for Noel and I (Noel snapped a photo).

The Recoleta Cemetery

This is the first public cemetery of Buenos Aires and where people of all levels of the society have been resting in peace over the last couple of centuries. Noel and I went in for a self guided visit and it turned out to be a great opportunity to snap a few photos of the amazing graves that the families have put in place to celebrate the lives of their loved ones past. To be honest I got a bit overwhelmed in there and was happy to be on a self guided tour. It is truly impressive to see how much love went into building this beautiful sanctuary.

Palermo Park

On our second day in Buenos Aires, Noel and I felt like getting our sweat on to compensate for all the sweet treats we’ve been eating. There is no better way to discover a city than by going from run. We ran from Recoleta to Palermo and all around the park area and back. On that particular Sunday some of the roads were closed off and a ton of people were walking, running, roller blading and biking on the streets. Some people where sun tanning in the grass and It felt like being in a tropical Stanley Park. On the way back to our hotel, we walked through the botanical garden which is a must see. It is a peaceful place to enjoy a Sunday morning and cool down from a run.

Feria de San Telmo

Apparently every Sunday this fair takes place in Barrio San Telmo, bringing hundreds of merchants selling all sorts of stuff from antiques through jewellery, clothes, leather items, gadgets and food. Locals and tourists gather to walk up and down the street and experience this festive vibe. There is music and tango on the street and clearly everybody is having a great time.

As I mentioned earlier, we are now on our way to Bariloche and then further down into Patagonia, returning to Buenos Aires toward the end of the month. One thing that I am looking forward to experiencing in Buenos Aires, if we manage to stay up past midnight, is the nightlife. I read online that most clubs open around 1:30am and stay open until 7am. Apparently it is vibrant with people who love to dance without taking themselves too seriously. That screams Noel and I ! Please let us know if you have any other suggestions of things we must see or most do.

View from our Balcony

Posted in Adventure, Travel
Country: Argentina

Too Relaxing of a Layover

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Josi

Noel and I stayed in San Jose for a night before starting our Argentinian Adventure. The price was right so we chose one of the big box hotels by the SJO airport which was characterless, and nice and easy at the same time. We were up early the next day on our way to Panama and then onto Argentina. The flight from SJO to Panama was one we purchased as it was not a part of our scheduled around the world ticket. What was great is that they upgraded us to first class which surprised Noel considering we were wearing flip flops, shorts and TShirts.

Our 5 hour layover in Panama didn’t seem so bad knowing we had access to the first class lounge and could catch up on emails and work. We got comfy, drank coffee, did a bit of work and watched planes take off. At some point, we got tired of eating Copa’s prepackaged lounge snacks so we went to grab a quick bite downstairs in the airport. After eating lunch I took my phone off of Airplane Mode to check my emails and the local time adjusted itself. We thought that we knew what time it was, but we must have had it wrong. We spent way longer than we thought in the lounge and rather than having over an hour left we were about to miss our flight to Buenos Aires. After a long run through the airport we made our flight with only a few minutes to spare. I am so glad that we didn’t miss our flight to Argentina as I didn’t want to spend the night in Panama.

Our next flight was about 6 hours and for the first time it felt like what I always imagined First Class to be… It was very comfortable. The seats reclined to a level that made it more than easy to sleep, the food was surprisingly delicious and the landing as smooth as it gets. We landed at 1am and after a quick cab ride we checked in to our hotel in Recoleta, a nice neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Since then we have spent our days discovering this super cool city, taking it in as much as we can before leaving to the mountains of Patagonia. I absolutely love Buenos Aires and could easily see myself spending a much longer period of time here. The weather is about 32 degrees everyday with a mix of sun and clouds and a nice breeze which makes it very enjoyable for walking around. The sun stays up until about 8:30pm and the humidity level has been very tolerable. I haven’t bought many things as of yet, but the shopping here is amazing and I’m in bikini and purse heaven!

Buenos Aires has a very romantic vibe and I witnessed a lot of people kissing passionately at restaurants and in the parks, which makes for a great stop for our honeymoon. The three neighbourhoods where we hug out the most: Palermo, Palermo Soho and Recoleta remind me of New York in a less busy way. The fact that there is not much traffic makes it possible to steel a quick kiss from your lover in the middle of the street as you are crossing. More photos of Buenos Aires to come real soon!

Posted in Adventure, Flights, Travel
Countries: Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama

Papaya Colada and Mud Baths

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Josi

Finally my cold is gone and I can do stuff again. I found it less than easy to stay in bed while everyone was having fun. Since I’ve been feeling better, I am packing my days with activities and enjoying as much sunshine as possible.
Most of our mornings are dedicated to surfing. Noel had warned me that it would take a while for me to get used to my new 6.0 board as it is much shorter than my 7.0 that I am used to. The beauty is that I am now mostly able to duck dive and I can get past the break way easier and much faster. Duck diving is an art. My board is super floaty and I’m not so big so whenever I don’t get it perfect the white water hits me and I end up riding the wave backwards and getting worked. I’m sure that it provides much entertainment for the people on the beach! The surf has picked up and the shapes of the waves are way better. Today was my best day so far as I caught quite a few decent waves and rode down the line. I can’t wait to go back tomorrow morning!

My folks are in town and it’s been a real pleasure hanging out with them and touring around. We recently rented a car and went to Montezuma, a village on the tip on the Nicoya Peninsula. Our friends Jobbie and Veronique joined us and we had a great time shopping, playing on the beach and enjoying some delicious cocktails. I had the Papaya Colada and I have been craving it again ever since. We’ve also used the car to visit playa Manzanillo and Playa Hermosa which were both beautiful and so peaceful. Noel put his line in the water, but no luck. Still, it was super fun.

Another thing that kept us all entertained today was our mud baths that we took! We collected a bunch of clay rocks on the beach at low tide, crushed them with boiling water and made two big containers of mud. We then went to the beach where we proceeded to spread the mud all over ourselves. We couldn’t stop laughing as we started snapping photos. Once you are done spreading it, all you have to do is to let it dry. It feels like your skin is going to crack and it sure gets people’s attention as they walk by! Once all dried, we jumped in the ocean and washed it all off, leaving your skin soft like a baby. There is nothing like a free homemade day at the spa!

I should go to bed soon as we are getting up at 5:50am tomorrow. A lady that we met on the beach will be taking photos of Noel surfing first light in the morning. It already sounds like the best morning ever! Exercise first thing as we get up and then after go enjoy some delicious Costa Rican coffee made by my lover and then go out for a yummy breakfast.

Posted in Adventure, Fishing, Surfing
Country: Costa Rica

Bocas del Toro

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Josi

Bocas Del Toro ended up being a shorter stay than expected. It was overcast and grey when we arrived in town which didn’t make for a great first impression. I was wondering where that turquoise water that you see in the pictures was. We had shortlisted two hotels from our online research and the luckily, the first one we went to had a beautiful room available and overlooking the water. Most of the houses and hotels over there are on stilts and sit right overtop of the water. It makes for a nice scenery and a calming sound at night. I have to say though that the shore right underneath the houses in covered with trash. Luckily, it’s not the whole shoreline that is like this, but most of the shoreline inside the bay is. The trash from surrounding areas floats away and gets trapped there. Once you enter your hotel, you don’t notice it, but still it was on my mind. I am not sure what the solution is to fix the issue and bringing more awareness to the problem might be a start.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to experience the surf at all during our stay as there was no swell. We kept busy though with a bit of work and beach hopping. There are so many beautiful beaches in Bocas del Toro. They are either accessible by bus or boat rides for super cheap. Playa Estrellitas was my favourite. You can access it via a 45 minutes bus ride from Bocas town and you get to see more of the country side. It’s only $5/person round trip. Once you get there, it is a 15 minutes walk along the ocean. Once we got there, we took a short boat ride to check out bird island which was beautiful. The boat went around as you cannot get out and got us back on the beach where we hung out for a several hours. Before leaving we had the most delicious seafood dinner at a little white shack on the beach. I had the prawns which were served with a tasty tomato, garlic and pepper salsa, a side of coconut rice, a fresh salad and patacones (Green plantain chips). The whole meal was tastier than some of the meals I had at fancier restaurants back home and cost only $10.

The following day we went to a private beach on Carenero Island. As we got out of the boat on this narrow wooden pier I noticed this super long skinny snake hanging out by the gate to the beach. I proceeded with Noel’s help to jump off the pier in the water to avoid the creature. One guy who was hagning out on the beach made a comment about my lack of bravery and that was our introduction to Yves Guillaume and a couple of his friends. We started chatting and had so much fun getting to know them that we ended up going for drinks a Bibi’s, a beautiful restaurant on the water.

The 3 days we spent in Bocas were enjoyable and overall I am very glad that we went to check it out, but with no surfing and chilly weather, it was time for us to go. A phone call later, we had changed our departure flight and are currently on our way to Costa Rica.

Posted in Adventure, Food
Country: Panama

On the road

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Josi

The world adventure has begun! It was more than a year ago that Noel and I decided to embark on trip around the world. For a while, we weren’t sure of the exact date of our departure and since the summer is so nice in beautiful British Columbia, we decided to stick around and enjoy the sunshine. It was perfect really since it gave us time to go to Mexico for two weeks for a swimwear photo shoot/ surf trip, and prepare for this trip. It took a lot more preparation that I had envisioned, so we both ended up working a lot more than expected and the trip, even though it was coming quickly, seemed like it was never going to happen.

Noel’s mom drove us to the airport and it is only when we sat down on the plane that it felt real!

We have been gone for 4 days now and it seems like it’s already been forever. Vegas was a blast! Staying awake all night was definitely the call and it made for a sleepy plane ride on our way to Panama.

It is the first time for both of us here and we didn’t know what to expect at all. I was surprised to see how many high rises there are in the city and how tall they are. My guess is that the tallest is around 80 floors and the crazy thing is that it is right next to the ocean. The architecture of some of these new buildings is impressive.

The old part of the city: Casco Antiguo is beautiful and great fun to walk through. The old buildings now house government offices, churches, restaurants, stores and hotels. It definitely has a tourist vibe and at the same time it is vibrant with the locals presence. Casco Antiguo is on the other side of the bay from the downtown area and it makes for a bit of a clashing scenery. While most of the government buildings are revamped and quite charming, the rest of the area is surrounded by dilapidated buildings and rough neighbourhoods.

Unfortunately, there is no real surfing right in the city, so after two days, we decided that it is time for us to move to our next destination: Bocas del Toro.

We could have flown there easily within 45 minutes and we decided that saving a few bucks by taking the bus was a great idea. It is an 11h bus ride! Ouch! In fact this is where I am writing this post at this very moment. I love going on bus rides in tropical places because it gives you time to reflect on what you’ve seen so far and plan your next adventure. That being said, the real reason why I like bus rides is that you get to bring snacks! And shopping for snacks in tropical places is the best!

First you get as much local food as you can: empenadas and locally made ham and cheese croissants are the best! Second you get to choose between all the sugary snack from your youth and some that you never even heard from before! The labels are usually pretty awesome too, in a non American kind of way! Third is the drinking yogurt! I don’t know why we don’t carry more in our grocery stores back home in Canada, because it’s are purely delicious and they have all the fruit flavours that you can imagine. I have to say that the mango and passion fruit mix is my favourite so far.

My sugar rush is finally coming to an end so I will put my headphones on, listen to a audio book and pray for the bus driver’s assistant to find the key to for the bathroom which has been locked since we left the bus terminal a couple of hours ago:)

Posted in Adventure, Flights, Food, Travel
Countries: Canada, Panama, USA