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SOUTH AMERICA – yet another trip I had planned for 2020 ……But COVID! Canceled TWICE.
So South America Mark 3 was planned.
This one was a tour with Cathy and Geoff, and Inspiring Vacations. My first ever group tour where someone would tell me what to do and when to do it. Well apart from when I was running the tours!
3rd Sept 2023 – to Buenos Aires
7th Sept to Iguazu Falls
9th Sept to Rio
12th Sep to Lima
14th Sept to Peruvian Amazon
16th Sept to Sacred Valley – Machu Picchu etc
21st Sep Lake Titicaca
23rd Sept Lima
26th Sept Santiago
28th Sept Home
Day 1. 3rd Sept. The Journey.
Somehow I had become a Qantas Platinum and had access to the famous Sydney First Class Lounge. And wow. Worth the hype!
I spent a few hours eating amazing food and drinking great champagne. And went and had my free massage of course. Jolly nice way to spend a few hours.
Then off to Sth America. A pleasant 14 ½ hr flight to Santiago with a few hours there. Also got into the fancy lounge there, and spied that they had sleeping rooms. Then onto the four hour flight to Buenos Aires. And a car to the hotel.
Day 2. 4th Sept. Buenos Aires.
We spent the day wandering around Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The original cemetery – Cementerio de la Recoleta is a huge cemetery now in the center of town. It was built here, on the outskirts, on high ground to help avoid insect spread of the 1870’s cholera and yellow fever epidemics. Very much a cemetery of the rich and famous, summed up in a popular quote “It is cheaper to live a whole life of luxury than to be buried at the Recoleta.”
There are more than 6,400 statues, sarcophagi, coffins and crypts. And 90 of them are national historical monuments. It’s built on a grid with some main avenues and many very narrow lanes. All filled with amazing statues. Tombs include – military people, politicians, doctors, rich people, Avita, the first Nobel Prize winner. Most were family plots with coffins stacked up. Others were no longer maintained by family and were crumbling.
Cool, creepy and all the rest. You could peek in through the glass or bars and see the coffins.
Lunch was Empanadas (of course) and the weirdest salad ever – celery, pineapple and walnuts. Guess it was a ….waldorf?
Dinner was at a great meat place with – yay – Lamb on the Rack.
Day 3. 5th Sept. Buenos Aires.
Food tour of the San Telmo area.
We started off with a “Mate” tasting. The local social drink. Looks like lucerne chaff and tastes like coffee mixed with chook shit. (Well, I’m guessing that as I don’t drink coffee or eat chook shit!)
San Telmo Markets. San Telmo is the oldest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires and the huge undercover Mercado de San Telmo have run continuously since 1897, selling everything from antiques to produce and food. Fantastic.
First stop was a tapas platter, then on to eat empanadas, and of course a third stop for beef. Much fun.
Day 4. 6th Sept. Buenos Aires.
A walk around the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur. A 350 hectare wetlands on the edge of town between the city and the Río de la Plata delta. Such a beautiful area on the edge of a city of 15 and a half million. We walked down to the waterfront. It was hard to remember that it wasn’t a coastal beach. It was a beach onto the Río de la Plata estuary. A ginormous estuary stretching 220ks where it meets the ocean. The water was chocolate front eh silt and the waves were big in the strong winds.
Fantastic.
We only saw one of the mammals – a pair of Natria. A large rodent – Beaver sized. Cute.
But many birds – Southern Screamer – on her nest. A huge bird.
Long-winged harrier.
A Shiny Cowbird.
Huge walk then a stunning Italian meal. We just stumbled upon what turned out to be one of the best places in the city.
Day 5. 7th Sept. Buenos Aires.
Today our tour began. Be in the foyer at x o’clock.
City tour of Buenos Aires. We started with a walking tour down to Avenida De Mayo. Named in Honour of the May Revolution in 1810 that led to Argentina’s independence.
So many beautiful buildings. All important buildings including the Pink House (Parliament House) with Evita’s balcony.
The cathedral was impressive. The building looked more like a Roman library. The mosaic work and architecture detail were stunning.
As were the guards around some of the tombs. Amazing.
We then went back to the hotel, got dry and checked out. And into the bus for a drive around the port area (where we had the stunning Italian meal) we went down to La Boca.
A working class area on the Riachuelo River. The original dock area and home to the cholera and yellow fever outbreaks. And now home to La Boca junior football teams. Maradona being one of its champions.
It’s now a trendy tourist area. With most of the building painted in bright colours. I was sad about the rain…… until I saw how amazing it looked when wet. Amazing.
It rained. Hard. All day.That evening we flew to Iguazu Falls. And this is where I hated the planning of Inspiring Vacations.
Flight took us to the airport on the Argentinian side. We landed at 9 pm and onto the bus. We then spent two and a half hours driving to the Brazilian side, including immigration at the border. But we were in our hotels by 11pm ish.