Touring Argentina with Grandma Annie, Liese, and Laura!

In April, Mom, Liese, and Laura made the long trip down to Bariloche to visit us. We had some great weather--and some bad weather, just to make us appreciate the good days.  They stayed at our house in Bariloche for a week, we had many good meals, took some nice walks on trails around the area, and saw the essential local attractions. Then we hit the road!  We did a boat crossing to the coast of Chile, flew to Mendoza to see the wine country, then on to the capital, Buenos Aires.  The best of Argentina in 14 days or less!

A gondola takes you from the main drag in town up to a rotating restaurant on a hilltop with fantastic views.

On the way down things got a little crazy when Mom decided to hang out the window a little too far for a slightly better view. 

The iconic Hotel Llao Llao has a storybook setting and long history reminiscent of the Old Faithful Inn of Yellowstone NP. 

A view of the hotel from Panoramic Point.

In the hotel lobby before sitting down for brunch.

On the back deck of hotel.

The next leg of the trip was a boat excursion to the Lake District of Southern Chile. We crossed 3 lakes, the largest being Lago Todos Los Santos, with bus trips between the lakes, eventually arriving to the town of Puerto Varas on Lago Llanquihue.

Most of this trip across the continental divide is through national park lands, with occasional in-holdings of long time family farms.  The scenery is much like the inland passage from our Pacific Northwest to Alaska, but in this area one crosses fresh water lakes inland from the coast.

Our hot and sunny weather turned in earnest as we travelled west to the Chilean border.  Our first boat ride took us to Puerto Blest near the base of Cerro Tronador.  Unfortunately clouds covered our views that day.

But there was a great restaurant along the way to warm up, inside and out.

Eventually, we arrived to Puerto Varas.  We had visited this hotel on an earlier trip through the area.  It is a favorite spot for amazing views of Volcanoe Osorno and a first rate restaurant.

Wandering around the town of Puerto Varas...

And then a short swing through Puerto Montt, near the end of the Panamerican Highway.  Those are bundles of dried clams, mussels, and kelp on the left.

After a bus ride back to Bariloche, we flew a couple of hours north along the eastern slope of the Andes to Mendoza in the Argentinean wine country.  The peak in the distance in this photograph is Cerro Tupungato that stands 21,555 feet high. 

During the week of our visit, the region had a malbec grape festival and colored this fountain as part of the festivities.  Liese drank from the fountain until she was full before she realized it was not filled with malbec wine. 

We spent a day touring wineries south of Mendoza.  The Pulenta winery was a favorite.

Laura finished her glass early and resorted to eating the grapes right out of the vat!

Liese just snuck around the corner and tapped the tank of the finished product when nobody was looking.

At this point in the day Laura was getting a little unruly.

Here she was just fine.

Then she fizzled out altogether, so we were able to transport her back to the hotel without any resistance.



Breaking out her wallet to bring home some of the local product!

Back in the city of Mendoza, a pleasant city with great restaurants and many parks.

On our last day in the area, Liese and I did a bike ride through the Maipu region near Mendoza. 

Here we toured an olive oil grove and factory.  Did you know that extra virgen olive oil is defined by a regulated maximum amount of fatty acids (less than 0.8%), primarily oleic acid which is lowest in the early season harvests?

For our last leg of the trip, we flew to Buenos Aires.  The airport is located on the banks of the Rio Plata where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.  In the horizon in this photo are buildings in downtown Buenos Aires.

The Congressional Plaza in downtown Buenos Aires.

The presidential palace of Argentina built in 1783.

Memorial in the Plaza de Mayo to the veterans of the War of the Malvinas Islands of 1982.

Empanada snack in the Congressional Plaza.

               

Riding the subway back to the hotel.

A view of our hotel, built in 1909, a grand old building.

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a Premier Division soccer game, with the classic revelry of the local fans.  This game was between Velez Sarsfield, last year's league champion, and Lanus, a team trying to break out of the middle of the pack. Getting in and out of the stadium among crowds with a reputation for being unruly added to the drama.  It turns out, after the game the entire stadium of spectators are kept inside the venue until the players are whisked away in their team bus so that the fans cannot assault them--either  the opposing team players if they happen to win or the home team players if they did not perform satisfactorily!

A short video clip of footage from the game.

At a downtown antique fair, Plaza Dorrego in the San Telmo district.

A street performer who starched his suit and tie to mimic a wind storm!

Oh come on, behave!

On our last day, we toured through the historic cemetery in the Recoleta district, a beautiful sanctuary from the bustling city and a 3D history of colonial figures in Argentina.

Everyone must visit the tomb of Eva Peron, the famous First Lady of Argentina, known for her support of underprivileged in the country during the 1940's-50's.