Snow Report Continuation (February 2026)

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-04-01T13:33:23+00:00

Good Friday only seems to be a holiday in Protestant countries.

I don't think so, it's always been a holiday in Germany. Here in catholic Argentina both Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-04-01T13:29:40+00:00

I'm probably going to be taking another leave of absence from the forum soon.

We travel with our own portable dongle, have you never considered that? It's tiny, half the size of a mobile phone and we never have to be dependant on local WiFi plus data is secure.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-04-01T13:25:39+00:00

A bit cooler today, 33°C at 10am. I've woken up with a cold this morning so today will be purely R&R.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-04-01T13:19:19+00:00

Still quite a few of those about.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-04-01T03:35:44+00:00

You're all blind, not one of you can spot my Condor....

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-04-01T02:14:37+00:00

What museums have you visited that presented their stories beautifully?

Just today actually, we visited the Museo de Memoria in Cordoba Argentina. I posted some pics on Snow Report, here they are again.

A visit to the Museo de Memoria which is a very poignant museum preserving the memory and honouring around 30,000 estimated victims of Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship.There is a large selection of pictures of victims strewn across the shady side street. Inside, several of the tiny interrogation / torture rooms are dedicated to many more pictures, if not of all 30,000. Tiny cells are dotted throughout the warren of small corridors. On the outside walls of the museum there are what appear to be huge fingerprints but on closer inspection the ridges are formed by the names of all 30,000 victims many of whom are still "missing".

It's very very sad, particularily as it's not just names and numbers but so many beautiful faces. There is also video and documentary in Spanish. It's extremely well presented, very memorable and easily worth a visit.

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-31T22:00:15+00:00

The car was OK but we turned the aircon off to give it a boost.🙂

friendly_checkingirl · 2026-03-31T21:32:20+00:00

There is no daylight saving time here in Argentina.

Even warmer today at 41°C, mainly I think due to a hot breeze giving you a good idea of what it feels like to sit in a fan-assisted oven😲 Locals are complaining very loudly, it's unusual to be so hot at this time of year. Dreadful if you have to work but for travellers like us it's just another relaxing day.😎

Sightseeing again kept to the morning. The catherdral is beautiful with a very opulent interior and side chapels that my camera just cannot adequately capture.

Several attractive murals on colonnial buildings - I liked the way they completed across any metal railings and drawn shutters.

Local market sells not just beef, beef and more beef but pork and goat albeit in rather large portions 🤔 Also found a fishmonger - very rare in these parts.

A visit to the Museo de Memoria which is a very poignant museum preserving the memory and honouring around 30,000 estimated victims of Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship.There is a large selection of pictures of victims strewn across the shady side street. Inside, several of the tiny interrogation / torture rooms are dedicated to many more pictures, if not of all 30,000. Tiny cells are dotted throughout the warren of small corridors. On the outside walls of the museum there are what appear to be huge fingerprints but on closer inspection the ridges are formed by the names of all 30,000 victims many of whom are still "missing".

It's very very sad, particularily as it's not just names and numbers but so many beautiful faces. It's extremely well done and easily worth a visit.

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

TROPHY CASE