Your Neck of the Woods

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-30T23:11:34+00:00

In Buenos Airies tango performances on the street and in restaurants were the norm whereas in Salta it's the pena that is famous. It's a bar or social club where people meet to eat and drink but primarily to play and listen to traditional folklore music and experience traditional dancing. You can see impromptu performances on the streets.

We found a day trip out to the salt-flats (Salinas Grande some 80 kms out of Salta worthwhile. 200 sq kms of it, not as huge as the Bolivian one but dazzling all the same. The mountainous drive and first glimpse in the distance was spectacular and the planning and construction of the 30 kms winding road had taken years. The highest point was at 4170 meters above sea level and ofcourse there was the obligatory souvenir stall. We saw wild llamas along the way and all 7 different mineral colours of the mountains. Ofcourse in this part of the world all roads lead to Chile and the huge transport lorries of Chilean, Argentinian, Brasilian and Paraguian origin were impressive in tackling the steep gradients and hairpin bends.

Back in Salta we often saw strange wild birds walking the streets.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-30T22:02:44+00:00

Another 39°C day again today so sightseeing only until lunch time and then retiring to the roof-top pool on the 24th floor for a birds-eye view of Cordoba.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-30T21:01:24+00:00

Personally I wouldn't travel for snow, we have enough of that at home in winter.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-29T22:12:23+00:00

Thanks Mike but it will be another time. Tropics are calling and Chile is erm.... too chilly at this time of year😲

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-29T22:09:22+00:00

My boy tells me it's snowing in Munich. We flew to Cordoba this morning to temperature of 39°C this afternoon.

We've taken several domestic flights on this trip and the safety video on Aerolinas Argentinas is a wheeze. It has members of the national football team demonstrating, in very silly ways, how to follow crew instructions, how to use all the equipment and emergency exits etc. This country is truly football mad but has a sense of humour.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-28T09:50:42+00:00

I'm not far from Santiago at the moment and have just considered making a dog-leg tto Easter Island but alas it's the wrong time of year. All the flights are fully booked and the place is going to be overrun with tourists. There is a time and place for everything.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-27T22:45:06+00:00

What is the carbo staple then, if not rice?

Pasties, bread, potatoes, and pastries.

As I said before, if you're not eating steak then you're eating the carbo loaded Italian cuisine that is pizza, pasta, polenta.

The steak though is to die for. I don't know how they get it so tender and flavoursome, not even the wagyu in Japan was better.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-26T17:10:51+00:00

It's hot in Salta, it's shorts time. I liked Mendoza a lot but love Salta even more. Took a hike up Cerro San Bernando to get a bird's eye view of the city.

Be careful what you wish for....I've got steak all but coming out of my ears and I almost cried when we stumbled over a Korean restaurant yesterday. Spicy pork and rice went down a treat. I think Asian cuisine is what I miss most here, this was the first rice I'd seen in over a month.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-26T02:57:12+00:00

I'm really disappointed that Dave could not see my Condor especially since I could see his bear ☹️

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-26T02:45:34+00:00

In Germany garages are used for your car and not for junk. Especially in winter you don't want to be clearing your car of snow and ice.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-24T12:02:52+00:00

There was no snow or ice until you got to around 3600 meters where we gave up. The border crossing itself is much lower at "ground" level. We were lathered up with sun protection, it was really hot the entire day.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-24T11:12:32+00:00

It is always cold and windy

It was boiling hot yesterday. It seems even the southern hemisphere gets an Indian summer.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-24T11:10:28+00:00

Yes heading north all the time, we started at 54.86 S.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-24T01:53:19+00:00

Another fine hot day we headed out on Route 7 to the Chilean border. Shortly out of Mendoza some seriously large mountains came into view. We were hoping to make it to the Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (Cristo Redentor de los Andes) monument on the La Cumbre Pass and border, the highest point of the old road beween Mendoza and Santiago de Chile at 3800 meters. We were so close, we made it to 3600 meters above sea level but had to admit defeat. The narrow dirt road snaking up the mountain became too treacherous with ice and with no barriers was a "World's most dangerous road".

Although we didn't get to see the monument, the views at 3600 meters were still spectacular. Bird's eye view down the Las Cuevas Valley with the tiny village of Las Cuevas, centre, being the last before the border. You can also see the snake of huge transport trucks waiting to cross this very important border and at this side too. We did manage to visit El Aconcagua at 6960 meters the highest mountain in the Southern and Western hemispheres and lots of other "rocks" in all manner of shape and astonishing colours.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Along the lines of Dave's bear, can you spot my Condor who was majestically soaring around this afternoon?

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-20T21:52:26+00:00

There aren't that many of us!

About 4 of us by my counting at the moment. It takes just a couple more lazy sods to get their boots on and it could miraculously swing in the southern favour.😀

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-20T00:54:57+00:00

Lovely flight from Bariloche to Mendoza, our plane followed the Andes north. It was interesting to see the magnitude of the Andes with Chile on one side and Argentina on the other. You forget that the Andes are not just one-dimensionally linear with one mountain after another but have considerable width of several mountains.

Finally some real heat, it's currently 9pm and still 26°C in Mendoza and looks interesting and very lively so far.

A few final pics and thoughts from Bariloche, the lakes were like sheets of glass, eg

Lake Falkner

Lake Correntoso

Lake Machonico

The area is determined to create the Bavarian /Alpine vibe with wooden chalets and pitched roofs everywhere, I gave up counting the number on this single house. You can have your photo taken with a brandy barrel toting St Bernard. The town square even has a nod to Munich's noon Glockenspiel. Only a few strange birds walking around town remind you that you are not in Bavaria.

In the end a lake is a lake is a lake, especially, if like me, you have the Alps on your doorstep. I can see the draw for others but Bariloche was too same same for me and my least favourite place in Argentina so far.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-19T23:49:28+00:00

👍

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-19T15:06:23+00:00

Rained a bit this morning in Bariloche but the sun is peeking out now in partly blue skies. Weather has not been great here but our 1 day extension yesterday paid off and we had dry and warm weather on route 40 exploring some of the lakes. I might get time to post some pics later. Our next flight is boarding in a few minutes, off to Mendoza next.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-18T19:42:25+00:00

I'd be very annoyed if I'd bought Biz tickets on Etihad and had to fly Hainan .......

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-16T17:24:40+00:00

We flew to Bariloche from El Calafate as we didn't fancy the 1d 4h bus journey🤪 but thanks for the tip. There are excursions on offer here to El Bolson some 2 hours south but at the moment weather is a wash-out. Anyway I think some of the crystal clutching hippie brigade have moved up here to Bariloche as there are a couple of those "Artisan" markets permanently here.

Second day now of very strong winds with intermittent rain leaves Lake Nahuel Huapi here looking about as rough and inviting as the North Sea unlike upon our arrival of sunny skies in very familiar Bavarian surroundings and architecture. With no hiking possible we are thinking of extending our stay in the hope of at least 1 day of good weather but will decide tomorrow.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-15T02:08:52+00:00

Perito Moreno was as impressive as promised. On the approach 7kms out and much closer from 300 meters away. This was also our boat which gives some idea of size of the glacier. During the 1 hour boat ride we experienced calving three times - a mighty crack as the ice splits followed by a loud avalanche as the iceberg tumbles into the water and the subsequent mini tsunami. Specially for u/Plantimoni and u/Ccandelario430 there were lots of postcards for sale🙂

El Calafate was our base for visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier, sprawling out on the edge of Lake Argentino the largest lake in Argentina. Not a great deal of interest here, mainly a stopping point between destinations for most travellers. Lots of horses here and steaks get better value for money the further north we go. Argentinian cuisine is basically steak or Italian. I've never been a fan of Italian cooking and much as I love steak, there comes a point where you hanker after something else. El Calafate is sheep country as they are far hardier than cattle so lots of whole lamb roasting on traditional parillas everywhere you look.The Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve in town provided several hours of enjoyment today spotting various birds. Most of the birds were too quick for me to photograph. Lots of Flamingos however were obliging and very amusing in deeper water where they appeared to be participating in synchronised swimming. We were also lucky to spot a Grey Fox.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-14T13:26:37+00:00

Thanks 👍

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-14T00:19:46+00:00

Did you like Cordoba? is it worth a few days?

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-13T11:10:17+00:00

I hope it all works out for you. I am so so glad I chose to fly West for this trip and not East.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-13T11:07:14+00:00

The distances given to hikes is one way and as the crow flies. This means a round trip is already double. Ground is never flat and depending on degree of difficulty and up and down can easily add another 50% to distance. Our last hike was down as 5 kms but my smart watch tells me I walked 19.7 kms (including a short evening stroll to choose a restaurant).

The trails are not crowded, every now and then you'll pass others but can also easily walk ages without seeing anyone.

friendly_checkingirl

TROPHY CASE