One of our reasons for coming to Chile was to visit wineries, so we set off to visit the two that do not require advance reservations. Our first stop, Balduzzi vineyards, was easy. The visitor center and tasting room is not far off the main north south highway (Ruta 5). We had a tour withContinue reading “Winery Hunting, Feb. 23, 2015”
Category Archives: South America
Finding Casa Barbara, Feb. 19, 2015
Airbnb listings usually provide directions, and Barbara, our hostess for this week, had provided a sheet with landmarks showing the way to her house. In addition, we had a map of the region indicating how to get from the airport in Santiago to the city of Talca. The directions looked straightforward, and the map showedContinue reading “Finding Casa Barbara, Feb. 19, 2015”
Market Day in Chillan, Chile, Feb. 21, 2015
The weather in Talca is like August in the US, cool in the morning and evening and very warm during the day–today’s high was 33 C (91 F). On Saturday, we visited the market in Chillan, a town to the south. It was more than a square block, with booths selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fishContinue reading “Market Day in Chillan, Chile, Feb. 21, 2015”
Argentina to Chile, Feb. 19, 2015
Up before dawn, our favorite cab driver, Guillermo, came to pick us up and deposit us at the Aeroparque in Buenos Aires for our 7:50 am flight to Santiago, Chile. The flight was uneventful, though bumpy over the Andes–no surprise there. In customs we owned up to having cheese, salami, raisins and almonds, all ofContinue reading “Argentina to Chile, Feb. 19, 2015”
The mountains of Tierra del Fuego
The city of Ushuaia, Argentina
Today’s tour guide, Andres, pointed out that everyone in Ushuaia has many names. They are all Fuegians, Patagonians, and Ushuaians, as well as Argentine. We didn’t begin to see the size of the city until our tour bus picked up passengers from several areas that most visitors don’t see. There are two parallel main streets,Continue reading “The city of Ushuaia, Argentina”
Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, Feb. 18, 2015
The excursion to the national park focused on visiting the end of the Panamerican Highway, and seeing the shore of the Beagle Channel. The end of the highway is nicely marked, even though it is a parking lot. We saw black-necked swans: And we were reminded again that this is the end of the world:Continue reading “Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, Feb. 18, 2015”
Who Knew they held Mardi Gras in Ushuaia? Feb. 17, 2015
We happened past a sign that announced Carnival parades on Feb. 16 and 17. On the 17th, Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the big day, the parade went along the sea front, from 4-6 pm. Groups performed and kids from 4-18 squirted each other with foam. The more cynical sold the foam: The enthusiastic performed (Great costumes!):Continue reading “Who Knew they held Mardi Gras in Ushuaia? Feb. 17, 2015”
Pinguinos/Penguins! Feb. 17, 2015
Today was our great adventure, visiting a colony of penguiuns on Martillo Island. We rode a bus for 90 minutes, then we were divided into two groups, about 12 each. Ours visited the museum and then the coffee shop at Estancia Harberton, the oldest settlement in the region. After that we rode for a fewContinue reading “Pinguinos/Penguins! Feb. 17, 2015”
Ushuaia, Argentina–the toe of the world.
Feb. 16, 2015 We got up at 5:00am to make our way to the Ezeiza airport and onto the plane to Ushuaia that left at 8:10 am. We flew for over 3 hours and were still in Argentina when we swooped down over the ocean and could see huge mountains: The rather ordinary city withContinue reading “Ushuaia, Argentina–the toe of the world.”
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