El Calafate, Mendoza and Santiago

The last of Argentina and Chile...

After a month and one day in Argentina/Chile, Sam and I are officially making our way to country number three: Brazil! Our last eight days in Argentina and Chile have been filled with exploring: biking, hiking, five different cities, two buses, two planes, and one national park.

I’ll start with the beginning: Perito Merino National Park in El Calafate, Argentina. We arrived in El Calafate via bus from Puerto Natales, Chile with Sam’s parents (his sister had to go home unfortunately) late on Saturday 12/14 night. Sunday we were up early for our one full day in El Calafate. The main attraction for El Calafate is the glacier, Perito Merino. I was personally a little nervous that the glacier would be underwhelming after seeing Grey Glacier on the O trek, but I was happily proven wrong. We learned from our tour guide (aka our Airbnb host’s neighbor) that Perito Merino was in fact the other side of Grey (as she put it: imagine a scoop of ice cream is put atop a mountain and it melts on both sides). The views from the paths along the glacier were stunning and well-worth the stopover in El Calafate. El Calafate itself was a cute town with surprisingly amazing food options - the best dinner I’ve had this whole trip was in El Calafate at this old family-owned barn. We all said as we left early Monday morning that we wished we had more time to explore El Calafate.

The next stop was back to Bariloche, then El Bolson. Since we loved both places so much, we thought it necessary to bring Melinda and Dave (Sam’s parents) to see two of our favorite places. We got to watch a storm come in after swimming at Playa Bonita, go back to Rapanui (many times) (best ice cream in the world that first opened in Bariloche), bike the Circuito Chico again, and drive down to El Bolson for the day to hike and explore. It’s special to share a place with other people and see it “for the first time” again through their eyes. As Sam was  driving us through the small, hilly streets of Bariloche, Melinda said “I keep forgetting we’re not in Italy.” After three days in Bariloche, we headed back to Bariloche airport and flew north to Mendoza, Argentina.

An appropriate welcome to Argentina’s wine country, the airport itself had a mini vineyard lining the exit of the airport. Although we only had two days there, we all really loved it (maybe the most out of all the places we’d traveled to together this past week). The huge park in Mendoza’s center, and right next to our Airbnb, was filled with lush greenery, palm trees, rolling hills, a lake, and privately owned tennis and swim clubs. The stoned streets of Mendoza felt like a cozy neighborhood, with a mix of residential and business amongst all encompassing canopy-like trees. On the morning of our only full day in Mendoza, Sam and I woke up early to run through the park before it got too hot. There’s something about running in a new city that feels like you are seeing a place through the eyes of a local. We got back to the house in time for a quick shower before eating breakfast in the backyard of the Airbnb made by a housekeeper (incredibly included in our reasonably priced stay). We picked one winery to visit during our short visit, called Los Toneles. We picked it for its closeness to our Airbnb (twenty minutes) and its positive reviews (from both our Airbnb host and a TikTok I found). The four of us had a lovely afternoon sipping on wine and eating from a small charcuterie board. Another place I must note is a bakery on the corner of the street we stayed on called “El Rosado.” We ate there for our first lunch and last dinner. The owner, who we met on the last day, is this kind woman, whose daughter owns another bakery across the street. On our last night, we sat on the patio eating chipa sandwiches, drinking orange juice, playing cards, and listening to recent college graduates celebrate their accomplishments the traditional Mendoza way (in a mini parade of honking cars driven by their family members, as the graduates hang outside a car proudly holding signs and waving to cheering passerbyers). The next morning, Saturday 12/21, the four of us woke up early to catch a bus to Santiago, Chile.

The bus ride from Mendoza to Santiago came highly recommended by multiple people, who said that it included incredible views of the mountains specifically at the Chilean border patrol. While this was true, we had a less than positive experience with this bus ride. What was supposed to be an eight hour trip (accounting for three hours driving to the border, two hours going through customs, and three hours getting to Santiago), ended up being over eleven hours, with 4.5 hours spent at border patrol. I won’t get into the annoying details of our time at the border, but let’s just say that border patrol team isn’t the most efficient government body I’ve ever seen. Finally, we got to the Santiago bus station. This is where we sadly had to part ways with Melinda and Dave - with them heading to the airport to fly back to New York and us heading to our hostel in the Italian neighborhood of Santiago.

Since we had less than 24 hours in Santiago, we tried to make the most of our time. After hearing mixed reviews about Santiago, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. We went to dinner on the nearby Ave Italia and got to hear live street music on our walk home. This morning, (12/22) Sam went downstairs fifteen minutes before me to read in the lovely courtyard at the center of our hostel (called Eco Hostel Tambo Verde). By the time I came to join him, he was in a vibrant conversation with two fellow travelers. We chatted as Sam and I ate our free hostel breakfast. We learned their names were Jackie and Claire, and that they met working on Catalina Island in California together at an environmental leadership program , and that they, like us, are staying in Santiago for just one night, after spending time in Antartica. They invited us to spend the day with them, and we happily accepted. Claire had done some research the night before and found this park called Santa Lucía Hill that was a thirty minute walk from our hostel. This park was unlike anything I had ever seen. Located on a grassy hill in the middle of a busy part of town, it was filled with old European style buildings, fountains, and cobblestone streets. At the top of this hill was a panoramic view of the city. The mountains surrounding the city were semi-covered by a haze, but you could still tell how close and humungous they were. Afterwards, we went to an artesian market right across the street from Santa Lucía Hill. Jackie bought a shawl for his mom and a wool sweater for himself. It was midafternoon and we were all starting to get hungry. Sam and I then led them to the one part of town we knew (Ave Italia) for a non-Italian lunch of sushi, ceviche, and juice. We then headed back to our hostel, since it was nearing the time Sam and I needed to leave for the airport and it was also unbearably hot (92 degrees) and only getting hotter during the late afternoon sun. Jackie, Claire, Sam, and I sat in the hostel’s courtyard, enjoying the shade, breeze and great conversation before Sam and I had to leave for the airport. One month in and my favorite part of traveling has truly been the connections with people we’ve made. It’s so much fun to meet people and spend time with them, and hopefully, with Jackie and Claire and other beautiful people we’ve met along this journey, our paths cross again in the future.

Now, Sam and I are on the flight to Iguassu Falls, luckily sitting next to each other after being assigned middle seats but the ones next to me left vacant. In Foz de Iguassu we’re meeting up with my parents, who are currently on a flight to Sao Paulo. We’ll arrive at the hostel around midnight tonight, and my parents will get in around 9:00 AM tomorrow (Monday 12/23). The four of us will spend three-ish days exploring Iguassu Falls, which are at the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, before flying up to Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday 12/25 and meeting up with my sister to spend an entire eight (!) days in Rio. This will be the longest time this whole trip that Sam and I will be staying in one place! Very exciting. I’ve also heard incredible things about Rio and Brazil in general, so I’m looking forward to seeing it all for myself. And obviously, I’m so excited to be seeing my family and so thankful that they’re making the trip to see Sam and I during our travels. And I’m thankful for all of you, my friends and family, for reading and following along with my journey. It has been so much fun to write about and share stories from our trip. It makes me feel closer to home knowing that I get to share these experiences with you all via this blog.

Xoxo,

Grace