Trip Monthly Update

July 9 2011 – August 8 2011

Summary of the ninth month of our trip

Number of countries visited: 1

Number of flights taken: 1 (from Buenos Aires to Patagonia)

Number of posts added to our blog:15

Number of marital conflicts: 1 (and it was a minor one that rose quickly during a heated political-economical discussion and died equally quickly once we arrived at some Pre-Inca ruins; it put things in perspective)

Best overnight stay: it's hard to decide as we stayed in a few great and atmospheric hostels. I would give the first prize to our hostel in El Calafate (Patagonia). It felt like home. There was a fireplace lit up every evening. There was no flat screen TV. Instead, sofas were facing huge panoramic windows with beautiful views on the lake and surrounding mountains. And we met some great people there.

Our hostel in Mendoza also deserves a mention: there w a court with hammocks to relax during siesta time, a free glass of wine every evening, and a lot of activities organized by the hotel staff every day of the week.

Worst overnight stay: definitely the hostel we stayed in in Buenos Aires. We had a double room but it looked more like a prison cell than anything else. It was also not the cleanest place I've visited. Not to mention the fact that this was the place where our bag was stolen so we clearly don't have good memories of this place.

Best Call we made: visiting the Talampaya National Park on bikes. There are three choices available: tourist bus, a walking tour and a bike tour. On the day we went there, there was quite a strong wind and the bike tour operators did everything they could to discourage us from cycling. We suspect it was mostly because the guide didn't feel like cycling himself. However, we were very determined and we ended up having a private tour, since other tourists were easier to persuade.

The wind may have been strong but it didn't bother us most of the time. We were shown some sites where tourists in buses don't stop and we could admire some magnificent petroglyphs completely undisturbed.

I also felt I could better appreciate the grandeur of the canyon on bike than in a bus. It was a great day and it didn't bother us one little bit that the guide at some point decided he had had enough and he practically left us all far behind on the way back :)

Worst Call we made: leaving Patagonia so early. We had a good reason to do so because we wanted to make a road trip with two French guys we met in El Calafate and they were short on time. We had a great time with our French friends. However, we regret not spending more time in the south. Well, this just means we have to come back to Argentina :)