If it had been a super-fast ralley run South to Ushuaia it was completely the opposite as I headed North. The journey seemed incredibly slow across Tierra del Fuego with everything seeming to overtake us. Even the border crossings back into Chile, although not a slow process, seemed to add to the time it was taking. There wasn´t much to alter the scenery as we went but we did meet a farmer, his horse, dog leading his sheep along the road at one point. It was a real stereotypical Patagonian scene but nice to see it in reality. Eventually after about eight hours we finally reached the ferry. Two huge lorries were first in line for boarding but when the time came it became obvious that there wasn´t enought clearance for them to drive on. There then followed a bit of headscratching until the lorries had to turn and try reversing on. With a bit of repositioning of the ferry, a relay of numerous wooden boards acting as ramps and being packed underneath the wheels and constantly repositioned as the lorry was inched back under the eagle eye of the crew and other drivers, first one then the other were finally boarded. It was a bit of drama and entertainment for us watching interestedly from the wings! Once we were all on board and set off we were then joined by several Commersons Dolphins surfing and jumping round the boat. Their black and white colouring stood out wonderfully against the milky grey green of the sea. They stayed just a short while before disappearing, and then we reached the other side and were on our way too, and soon crossed back into Argentina again and continued Northwards. With just a change of bus at the uninspiring town of Rio Gallegos, it was a long drive up to my destination of Puerto Madryn. For the most part the scenery remained the wide expanse of emptiness although as the sun got stronger and hotter the vegetation changed more towards prickly short bushes and less grass. Travelling at what seemed a very sedate pace for hours and hours and hours we finally arrived and I was more than ready to get out and have a look around the town. Quiet during the day by early evening it got busier and was pleasantly bustling. There is a wide seashore promenade where everyone seems to gather - families walking, youths hanging around, kids playing, beach walkers, rugby coashing classes, you name it it happens there! It makes for a great atmosphere and with the setting sun throwing a deep red glow over the area it was a lovely evening.
The main reason for my stop in Puerto Madryn was to visit the Valdez Peninsula. There were just 4 of us on my trip which was nice and we set off climbing through the plains to Istmo Ameghino. The isthmus there divides the Gulf of San Jose from Gulf Nuevo and marks the entrance to the peninsula. All roads on it are gravel so it was a dusty and bumpy days travelling but well worth it. First stop was at Punta Norte which is only one of a couple, if not the only, place in the world where Orcas, hunting the young sealions which bask on and aroud the beach, are known to actually take them straight from the sands themselves! They seem to use echo sounding, and though there are known to be about 16 whales regularly patrolling the area only 5 or 6 are thought to have the skill to actually take the pups from the beach. Its a nice spot with the dark beaches stretching round the corners, the grey sandy soil having blown over the few bushes amongst the desert, the sea a lovely rich blue with white waves breaking onto the shore. Lots of sealions were to be seen on the beach and swimming in the shallows. As we waited and watched we saw 3 or 4 orcas also patrolling the coast. They cruised back and fore hunting and diving and we watched, on one hand willing them to demonstrate their incredible hunting skills but at the same time hoping the cute looking pups would be safe for another day! In the end the sealions were safe and the orcas continued on round the coast. I'm not quite sure why this location is the oly place the whales act like this, it must be something to do with the geography, but it means there is an almost permanent delegation of Natinal Geographic of TV film crews in the area. We left and in the car park watched an armadillo parading around until it found a bit of banana and scuttled off out of sight of its audience. We left and drove down to watch a colony of Magellan Penguins. There was a mixture of maturing young and molting adults sheltering in holes in the sand cliff, all down its slope, on the shore at the bottom, and playing in the water below. Some slept, some preened themselves or each other, some watched us and some played in the water - evidently delighted to be clean and back in the sea after shedding their old feathers for new. It was great to watch and nice to add a third breed of penguin to the list of those I've seen in the wild this trip. Leaving there we carried n down past Caleta Valdes, a 30km sand spit, and at its end we stopped at a little estancia come visitors complex where we were able to see Elephant Seals basking on the sands below us. The Southern Elephant Seals are the largest of the 18 types of seal and can dive to an incresible 1500m. That day they were only resting and sleeping. We finished our tour in the little village of Puerto Piramides. With no pier or proper harbour the boats are transferred to and from the water by tractor and trailer similar to at Mahau in NZ. On one side of the sandy bay was a high cliff and at the foot of it was a slightly unusual flat topped, round edged, and neatly tiered staging of stone embedded with shells. It looked artificial but was in fact completely natural. After a walk in the village we returned to Madryn. There was an Asado (traditional Argentinian BBQ) organised at the hostel at night and it was a super evening of eating drinking and chatting rounding off yet another good day. The big asado grill is heated with the ashes from the huge adjoining fireplace and was filled with lamb, chicken, sausages and morcilla. These "blood sausages" are the equivalent of our black pudding, were absolutey delicious and every bit as good as Charley Barley´s! If I´d had room I could have easily had more but my plate was already full with all the meat and the accompanyong salads and bread! Delicious!!
My next stop of my road North was Buenos Aires itself. Never a huge fan of big cities it usually takes me a few days to get used to them and BA was no different really. However, I arrived on Easter Sunday and found the city slightly eerily quiet with everything closed up for the day. I intended heading out to explore the next day but it didn´t quite work out like that. I must have developed an allergic reaction to something and when I woke in the morning my eyes were so swollen I could hardly open them. Fortunately with amtihistamines from the pharmacist, more from a doctor staying in the same hostel, and a day sat bathing them in water they soon improved. On the positive side I did learn some new Spanish phrases as a result, though admittedly "I woke with a face like a balloon" is hardly the easiest phrase to work into everyday conversation: in fact if I´m honest I´ve probably forgotten it already! When I was able to venture out without looking like I´d come straight from the boxing ring I went on a couple of good walking tours to see more of the city. The contrasts of wealth and poverty in the city are marked. Sitting almost alongside shanty town are some of the most oppulent streets, stores and buildings. After World War 1 Argentina was able to export its plentiful resources of meat, animals and leather to Europe bringing a lot of riches to the country. On the ships returning from their exporting trips the wealthiest families were able to import goods from the "style capitals" of europe such as France. With one trying to outdo the next it wasn`t uncommon for whole buildings to be brought back and reassembled in Argentina. There are many grand buildings throughout the city as a result but little that you could say is typically Argentinian. Even the parliamentary buildings are copies from other countries. Walking from the government Consular Palace down to the very pink Pink House, which is the Presedential building probably made most famous by Eva Peron, we passed the Plaza de Mayo. Its there that is the venue for the weekly parade of "The Mothers". Interestingly we were told that the local Porteños have little support for them now. The feeling is they have become a political lobbying group and lost sight of their original cause. A splinter group "The Grandmothers" is more highly regarded and continues to work with much success to try to trace the lost and disappeared from the Dirty War years. Our tour ended at the iconic towering white obelisk in Republica Plaza which is probably the most revered symbol of Argentina for its citizens and the gathering point for major celebrations. The Recoleta Cemetery was another interesting place. With the wealthy and well-heeled and famous buried there the BA determination to try to outdo his neighbour continues with row after row of ornate anf elabotare mausoleums. Unlike our rows of headstones here there are rows of buildings acting as shrines or tombs for the departed. Not an inch of open space remained and it was a bit bizarre. Sometumes there was no evidence of an urn or coffin but spookily sometimes there was - in varying states of decomposition! Among those burried there of course is Eva Peron, and her family mausoleum was bedecked with floral tributes in stark contrast to the others. An unusual tourist attraction maybe but interesting nonetheless.
One evening three of us went out to a Parilla called El Denevil. A typically Argentinian grill restaurant it was relaxed with a casual atmosphere. Packed with locals and tourists alike the food and wine was good. The steak was magnificently tender and cooked to perfection. The traditional Chimmichunga sauce was equally nice, either with the meat or just with bread. Argentina´s meat certainly lives up to its reputation. In turn for my last night I went to a tango show - after all I couldnt go to BA and not see the tango performed now could I? The show was really in two parts and although the first half was more an interactive song and dance performance but as it was conducted all in Spanish so I barely understood a thing. The second half was more of a demonstration and the footwork of the dancers was incredibly quick and intricate and great to watch. The band was good aswell: comprising a violin, squeezebox, double bass and piano the tunes were traditional and were certainly enjoyed by the mainly Argentine crowd who happily joined in the dancing and singing whenever possible.
Next for me was a visit to the wonferful Iguazu Falls. Arriving in the town of Puerto Iguazu in the morning I caught the local bus out to the national park thinking that a day would be enough. How wrong I was! I ended up spending two days on the Argentinian side, then nipping over to Brazil for the day to see them from that angle! I have to say, though, that it was far less spectacular from Brazil really. Sure, you get some panoramic views but it was far more interesting and beautiful in Argentina. Throughout the large park there, there are a number of trails taking you round the various cascades giving a variety of places to admire them from. There is a little train aswell which runs from one walk to the next but I enjoyed meandering through the forest between places. The trees and bamboos were tall and offered a bit of shade from the heat but also amazed me with the range of different colourful butterflies which were around. There were big ones, little ones, many vividly coloured others quite camouflaged, and some with markings that looked for all the world as if they´d been branded with a number 88! The woods were also the home of a lot of Coatis which wandered around scrounging for food. They were a strange mix of long snouted, stripey tailed, little eared, furry foxy budger skunk like type of animal! There weren´t a lot of birds around but those that were were generally colourful and friendly too. There were some huge jungle eagles which circled overhead all the time though. They were very graceful but extremely powerful looking and fascinating to watch for a while. The falls themselves are really a series of almost 300 cascades stretching for about 3km in length and towering anything up to 80metres in height. Walking the "upper circuit" took me along the tops of a few big waterfalls dropping sharply into the river below. It was lovely and the river was so gently flowing before it fell that the contrast between quiet calm and the roaring falling curtain of water was pronounced. That trail also allowed me to look across to even more forceful and majestic looking falls further round the cliffs. The "lower trail" zig-zagged down the cliffs before following the river round and giving spectacular views through the trees to the towering blankets of water falling opposite. With the sun reflecting in all the spray which was thrown up there were little rainbows glinting in the gorges too. Across on Isla San Martin, a little island nestled in the river basin in front of the falls, a steep climb up the high steps allowed yet another viewpoint and let you appreciate how much greenery there was on the cliffs behind some of the cascades. The heat and damp is very obviously a good growing combination! Another trail, "Garganto del Diablo" (the Devil´s Throat) crossed the idyllicly peaceful upper river by means of a stilted walkway. With the flat calm water, the blue skies, little rocks sitting just proud of the water, the tall dense trees and the reeds and grasses visible on the little islands it had a real tropical feel to it. Then I reached the waterfalls and the contrast was unbelievable. The noise, power, force, volume and height of the falls truly became obvious. Absolutely shooting in a great boiling mass of water down the 70+m drop it was a boiling white cauldron. The spray from the crashing water rose back the full height and more in enormous thick misty clouds making it look like you were peering through opaque glass at times. Numerous rainbows punctuated the white wall of water. Even the green tufts of plants on the upper river were dripping with water as if a hose had just been turned on them. It was beautiful breathtaking and wonderful. I remember being amazed at Niagara but here the force and height was even more. By the time I was leaving the sun was beginning to sink and a lovely mellow glow was being shed on the surrounding scenery. Incredible. I had wanted to go on a little boat trip through the upper river islands but it wasn´t running because (as far as my spanish and sign language allowed me to make out) the water level was too low. I can only imagine what Iguazu would be like with a higher water level it was just so spectacular as it was and a fantastic place to spend time.
My visit to Iguazu over, I had gone as far north as I could without changing direction or country. I opted to stay in Argentina for a little longer and turned west(ish) ...
