Author: Ella

Post by Ella

Post by Ella During our day tour along the seven lakes (see Never ending water post), guide Matthias kept us entertained by telling us about the wildlife found in the area. He has a deck of 5 x 7 laminated cards. He held up each photo and then passed the card around. I noticed that…

One of the many natural sights in the Bariloche area is the string of seven lakes which stretch from Bariloche to San Martin de Los Andes. The lakes nestle up to the Andes to the west, which is also the Chilean border. Interesting story about how the Andes were designated as the border. A lot…

Post by Ella Bus #20 took us up to the Aerosilla Cerro Campanario, a chairlift up to breathtaking views. The bus was full but again, our advanced age got us seats. A typical bus stop is a shelter made out of corrugated metal with a clever cut out so one can watch for the approach…

Post by Ella. Technically, it’s blue, but once you find it, it’s a treasure. The Holy Grail. The Sube card. Your ticket to ride the buses in Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Mendoza.. A transport card, purchase the card for 2000 ARS (US $2) and then top it up with credit. And for some reason, it is…

Post by Ella I stepped out into the garden to take a peek at the stars, being the Southern hemisphere and all that. I shoulda studied up on these constellations. My iPhone camera wasn’t great with the stars but I did capture a bit of moonlight over the lake.

Post by Ella. I haven’t said much about our accommodations. They’ve all been pretty good. In Buenos Aires, we had an apartment in Recoleta. Everything worked just fine. You really can’t get far from the noise but at least being on the 7th floor, the traffic sounds were muffled. But not the drunken singing in…

Post by Ella We did a zig (Buenos Aires to El Calafate) then a zag (El Calafate to Còrdoba). Now we do another zig from Cordoba to Bariloche, which is back to Patagonia. See? That magical Calafate berry worked! This morning we had a fun ride to the airport with Pedro, our Uber driver. Again…

Post by Ella Amalfa, the beloved cartoon character. In Buenos Aires, there was a queue a block long just for the honor of a taking a pic of this 6 year old. Here in Córdoba, poor thing was alone in the rain. We stopped for coffee. This woman had been listening to a guy talking…

Post by Ella. What else? Go walking in the rain. Which was non-stop all day. Good thing someone invented umbrellas and rain jackets. Oh but also, why not stop in a museum or two for a respite. We stopped at the Museo Superior de Belles Artes Evita and Museo Metropolitano de Urbano Arte. The collections…

From the viewpoint in Parque Sarmiento, Córdoba.

Post by Ella We headed over to San Martin Plaza late in the morning to meet up with the guy holding a red umbrella, sporting a head set and top hat, and making bendy movements with his knees as if he were about to cha cha cha. This was Tommy Tour (aka who knows?) who…

Post by Ella. Travel day. We flew from rustic Patagonia to the bustling city of Córdoba. A speedster taxi ride from the airport got us right back into city mode. The cab driver zipped along, cornering and darting like he was on a race track. We arrived in the city in record time. Our exuberant…

Post by Ella. A 20 minute walk from the center of El Calafate gets you to a lagoon that borders on Lake Argentina.  We walked into a small shack that was the entrance. The care taker, a young guy, was sitting with some buddies around a wood burning stove having a raucous time. The entrance fee…

Post by Ella. The Calafate plant is in the family of the barberry. It’s said if you eat a Calafate berry, you will return to Patagonia. Challenge accepted. What better place to find this magical berry than Acuarela, an artisanal ice cream shop in El Calafate on the main drag, Avenida Libertador. The closest I can…