Argentina

We would originally have flown from Havana back to Caracas and on to Rio de Janeiro and Iguassu Falls before heading to Buenos Aires. But with all the problems on Varig (now they fly, now they don't) and the struggles to get hold of them and the US$55 departure tax in Caracas and the short stay in Rio etc, we decided to fly straight from Havana to Buenos Aires and just reclaim our air miles used for the Varig tickets. It all worked out so much better and we ended up in a very affordable and central hotel in downtown Buenos Aires.

The following 2-3 days were spend walking around, eating steaks, dealing with other people's smoking addictions, blogging, uploading photos, doing last minute shopping, etc.

Tonight we fly home!

After another relaxing day or two in El Calafate, we left early Saterday 25 March 2006 for Puerto Natales, Chile. Witnessed a stunning sunrise - check the photos. The bus ride of about 250 km took about 5 hours crossing the most beautiful outstretched desert-like region with the white snow-covered Andes on the horizon.

Yesterday was a privilege and a half! We took a tour to the nearby Perito Moreno glacier. It was breathtaking. Our first glimpse of the glacier was from 7 km away from its southern face. It is one of the few expanding glaciers on the planet. You can watch as huge chunks of ice fall off the 60m to 80m high face. The sound created by this falling ice, as well the straining and cracking ice, is thunderous. The glacier moans and groans as it moves forward under this immense pressure at a rate of about 2 m a day. We also did a short walk opposite the northern face of the glacier as well as a boat trip closer to the glacier. On the way back our bus burst a tyre and woke Johan from his sleep.The driver handled the situation very well and all discomfort we had to endure was the freezing wind before we were picked up by a much more luxurious bus with better seats!

Johan has been suffering from a headache - most probably because of the quality of our substandard budget beds :-) We had to buy some additional winter wear to protect us against the freezing wind and very low temperatures. The low temperature is also be a blessing in disguise as we have left our cold drinks outside on the windowsill to keep them cold!

Tomorrow we are off to Puerto Natales in Chile...

The southern regions of South America is called Patagonia. It is a wind-swept desert like region with beautiful open skies and chilly breezes. We landed yesterday afternoon in El Calafate, the gateway to the Parque Nacional los Glaciers with its 15 or so glaciers. The town itself is sort of touristy, but not in an unpleasant way.

We managed to find a room in Hostel Alejandra where we have to walk through the owner's living room to get to our room! But it is very central and cheap by Patagonian standards. As they say (spesiaal vir Le Roux) "what it lacks in old world charm it more than makes up for in concrete"- check our view!

Culture shock: walking through someone's living room to get to your room with no view, local Spanish remixes of Nirvana songs.

Well! After enduring a 9 hour flight with a bunch of drunk South African rugby fans on their way to Argentina, we landed in Buenos Aires unscathed. Passport control, although crowded, was a breeze. We paid for our domestic flight that Johan booked on the internet from South Africa before we left. In typical Johan fashion, we got the cheapest taxi from the airport.

Speed and lanes are both negotiable on the roads of Buenos Aires. Everywhere along the highway people are enjoying the grass and the sun - picnicing and tanning oblivious to the traffic. We travelled to a part of Buenos Aires called San Telmo - the poorer (read 'cheaper') region of the city. After very little searching we ended up in beautiful hostel called Telmotango. For about US$20 we got our own very clean 2.5m x 2.5m room, breakfast and free internet included. (Talk about breakfast! Croissants and caramel and coffee!)

We explored the city yesterday and found prices to be about 50% to 70% of those in South Africa. We also realized that Johan walked half the day with the zip of his pants down! Janine bought a beautiful t-shirt for US$5 and Johan bought some shocking green sandals that will make Scuba 'green' with envy. Janine also had the most amazing ice cream of her entire life!

Last night was steak and chips in a typical Argentinian parrillo (steakhouse). Very good! We have stayed here for 2 nights and fly to El Calafate later today. Chow!

Culture shock: a pink parliament building; no toilet paper allowed to be thrown into the toilet - separate bin provided.