Saturday, January 01, 2000

Argentina

December 24 - December 28
January 6 - January 29

We entered Argentina the first time on a bus for Chile. We spent a few days in Tierea del Fuego before cutting out for Antarctica. After, we plan to head north all the way to Brazil in the company of the Briceno family.

Day by day:
  • Sat Dec 24 - cross border around 14:00, arrive in ushuai at 19:00, check into hotel, out for christmas dinner at 20:30, back to hotel and sleep at 0:00
  • Sun Dec 25 - up around 09:30 for breakfast in hotel, conversation with a anglo-american couple that live in rio, find lunch at bar/cafe, spend the afternoon in a net cafe with wifi, nice steak dinner at che-themed restaurant, in bed for about 0:00
  • Mon Dec 26 - up around 09:30 and check out of hotel, check into new hotel, grab bus to national park and spend a few hours walking, lakeside lunch, cup of coffee at cafe and bus back to town, drop laundry, go to bank, spend a bit of time at net cafe, up to room to chill and watch a bit of TV, out for pasta dinner, sleep
  • Tue Dec 27 - up around 09:00, simple breakfast, check out of hotel, move over to hotel albatros (organized by antarctica tour company), wait around in lounge until room available at noon, lunch at pubby cafe, back to hotel to get laundry receipts and chill a bit, jason out after laundry but unsuccessful, some TV, then out to buy pimp cups and booze, deliver goods to hotel, jason out to get laundry again - this time with success, chill in hotel, jarah arrives, out to parilla buffet place for big supper, back to hotel to sleep
  • Wed Dec 28 - up at 07:00 and drop bags in lobby by 08:00, have a bit of breakfast at hotel, relax in lobby for a bit, out for a short time to buy glue and pens, taxi out of town to tour group asado lunch next to the water, jason back on bus, mike and jarah walk back, hang in hotel for just a bit then board bus for the boat, board boat around 16:30
(In Antarctica for a bit)

More day by day:
  • Fri Jan 06 - check into hostel, have breakfast with lee ann and jarah, mike gets some bad news by email so return to hostel to sleep, mike calls home, rest a bit more than out for supper at che-themed place again, drinks at irish bar with dr. dudley backup and son (ben), out to x-mas restaurant on waterfront to dance, return very late and very drunk
  • Sat Jan 07 - up at 10:00 to move to another hostel, mike spends almost entire day sleeping and watching tv and being hung over, dinner at french-style grand cafe, back to hostel to watch tv and relax
  • Sun Jan 08 - up at 07:00 and take taxi to airport, catch flight to rio gallegos, get some lunch there and hang in internet cafe after a walk around town, back to bus depot to catch an overnight ride to puerto madryn
  • Mon Jan 09 - arrive around 12:00, check into hostel, take in laundry and have empanada-based lunch then search for SIM cards, back to hotel to siesta, out again around 18:00 to chase down phones and such, stop to get haircuts and end up having dinner with the owner of the place (natalia), walk natalia to her car then return to hotel to blog and then sleep
  • Tue Jan 10 - up around 11:00 after a night full of scary dreams (for mike), buy bus tickets to BA for the evening of the 13th, try to pick up jason's new SIM card but are denied, denied again at laundry, kill some time by having a beachfront lunch of pasta and salad, pick up laundry and return to hotel to change for the beach, enjoy an afternoon at the beach followed by a drink at a bar on the sand with live guitar player and singer, back to hotel to shower, try again to pick up SIM but again denied, spend some quality time at an internet cafe uploading media, simple late dinner at parisian-themed corner cafe
  • Wed Jan 11 - up around 10:30 and walk an hour down to "ecocenter" but find it closed until 5, stop on way back for hamburger and hotdog lunch, return to hotel to regroup, jason tries to get SIM again but finds place closed, mike naps while jason hits the beach, work on media stuff, dinner, early-ish to bed
  • Thu Jan 12 - up around 09:30 and both get some exercise, regroup for lunch, mike heads out to find a box and some tape while jason relaxes, mike fails but does spend some quality time with the internet, meet up at hotel and nap then head for ecocenter, spend an hour or so there then return to hotel, gussy up a bit and head out, dinner at restobar then some pool then back to restobar for a beer, try local dance joint but nothing is going at 01:00 so turn in in preparation for early start tomorrow
  • Fri Jan 13 - up at 09:00 and pack, check out of hotel and mike spends rest of morning putting stuff in the mail while jason reads at the hotel, lunch at barbarian corner cafe then get a big dollop of internet, over to bus station to wait a bit more than board ejecutivo service to buenos aires with a short dinner stop
  • Sat Jan 14 - arrive in Buenos Aires around 11:30, take a cab into town, pass over louis's hotel as too expensive and settle into prince hotel at a much more comfortable rate, shower then have a bit of a walk and a very nice lunch of tamale (mike) and fat soup (jason), back to hotel to relax, walk up to cafe to watch football match, out to milion for drinks, spend evening chatting with a couple of girls, return to hotel around 06:00
  • Sun Jan 15 - relax a bit at hotel, check out then jump a taxi to the airport, meet louis and cab it back, crash hard for a few hours, walk around city a bit and ruin our supper at a local cafe, mike chucks some wine on louis, retire early
  • Mon Jan 16 - up around 10:00, steak and chips lunch, cemetery, stop for drinks on way to japanese gardens, tube down to arms and armaments museum, walk down to central plaza and pop into cathedral, stop in cafe on pedestrian walkway (la florida) for a beer, mike gets shit on, walk back down to hotel for shower and relaxation, out to san telmo for "vietnamese" dinner with drinks at an empty bar afterward, in bed for about 01:00
  • Tue Jan 17 - up around 10:30, light lunch at cafe, inquire about estancias and tango at tourist information bureau, head out to Once by train, walk back, relax at hotel, meet for beers in cafe next to louis's hotel, head out for italian dinner in microcentro, back to hotel to relax, put louis to bed and grab a cab out to the club around 02:00, return to hotel at about 06:00 after a storming night of drum and bass with bad boy orange
  • Wed Jan 18 - up around 13:30, mike feeling damn ill, jason and louis have lunch then work on organizing estancia trip and tango outing, mike stays his ass in bed and blogs and watches TV, jason and louis head out at night for a few beers than a tango and dinner thing
  • Thu Jan 19 - up around 08:00, jason and louis head to airport to pick up eric and karen, mike heads down to park and gets shit on while reading paper, return to hotel to wash, then go to another park to read the economist, fall asleep on park bench and awake to find the soon-to-be extended briceno family, over to restaurant from first day in BA for lunch, naptime, others head out to shop while mike goes to see (half of) king kong, meet back at oasis bar (next to wilton hotel) for a few beers than cab it to waterfront for steak dinner, back to oasis for a drop of aged tequila then call it a night
  • Fri Jan 20 - up at 09:00 and back up, check out at 10:00 and meet louis and eric and karen at wilton hotel, cabs to bus terminal, catch a ride to san antonio de areco after a short wait, taxi to estancia, hang out around pool, tea time, change clothes and go on horse ride, croquette match, wine and sunset, dinner and talk with english and irish couples, hang out on porch after with the dogs, retire to room to bathe and relax, sleep
  • Sat Jan 21 - mike sleeps until 13:00, others get up around 10:00 for breakfast and a riding lesson, big fat beefy lunch, ping-pong with kids, hang around pool for a bit, mike and karen play some bocci, then a game of croquette, tea, jason goes for another ride, others enjoy cocktails and chess, take some photos of jason on horse, back to porch to hacky sack and such, chicken dinner inside, drink wine and play cards into the night, in bed for about 02:00
  • Sun Jan 22 - up around 10:00 (or earlier in some cases), grab a bit of breakfast, packed and out for 11:00, catch a bus straight through to prince hotel in BA and check everybody in, walk down for empanada lunch then over to parks to shop at market and relax, regroup at hotel and set out to palermo viejo for upscale dinner followed by nice drinks, back to hotel, boys chat about finance before bed
  • Mon Jan 23 - up at 11:00, split up, mike and jason have an indian lunch, karen and eric get their shop on, louis sorts out plane tickets and missing stick (at estancia), regroup at hotel, mike and jason nap and compute, eric and karen back out for lunch, out for a movie, dinner at corner bar/cafe thing near cemetery, drop karen and louis at the hotel, boys out for pints at the shamrock, karen later makes everybody go to bed
  • Tue Jan 24 - up around 11:00, gather the clan and head out to san telmo, lunch and beers in nice square, watch a bit of street tango and feed peanuts to the birds, walk down to national museum but it is closed, taxis up to national art gallery, spend some time there before regrouping at hotel, some napping, mike out to shop a bit, stops at oasis bar/cafe to read newspaper and is joined by the rest, dinner and many drinks there, drop off eric and karen and louis at the hotel then out to drum and bass night around 02:00, return to hotel for about 06:00 and sleep
  • Wed Jan 25 - up around 11:00, louis and karen and erik are checked out of the hotel, jason has a lunch date with emma, others go for empanadas and such, interview eric and karen after the lunch, hang out over coffee in corner cafe, meet up with jason, head to airport and say goodbye, taxi back, dinner at rigeletto, watch pulp fiction over some beers in the hotel, sleep
  • Thu Jan 26 - up at 08:30, pack up, talk to front desk about tickets, they will contact travel agent whilst we go to bus station, go and return via subte to bus terminal to get tickets, back to hotel on check on flights, all is well so turn over passport and credit card data and head to lunch, nice eats at cholito, split up, jason heads out to buy new sun glasses, mike goes to park to write letters and work on blog and edit vid and the like, mike stops at apple store to get laptop foot fixed and also takes in tea and cake, meet at hotel and get tickets, hang there for a bit reading before off to bus station, board bus around 20:50 and speed into the night
  • Fri Jan 27 - up around 08:00 for onboard breakfast, arrive in iguazu about 13:00, check into hotel alexander and immediately head out for a al fresco lunch, chat up waitress a bit and hang with street urchin, also meet claire - scottish girl at next table, claire enters a bet with mike regarding tony blair's nationality that necessitates a post-lunch trip to the internet cafe where the matter is decided soundly in mike's favor, she agrees to accompany the OC lads to the falls the next day, head back to hotel to read and relax around the pool then enjoy wifi in the lobby, head out around 23:00 to a salsa dance club called cuba libre, dine on hamburgers and many fries and enjoy some beer and energetic dancing, return to hotel at 01:00 to get an early start on the next day
  • Sat Jan 28 - up around 07:30 and to the bus station for 08:00, claire does not show, take 08:50 bus to falls, hike along catwalk to top down view of falls, then backtrack to take truck ride through jungle and boat ride on the river and into the mists, then cross to beach where jason has a swim and mike dries out, climb up steps and run into navimag peeps looking over smaller falls, chat with them a bit and walk around then part company, cross back to mainland and walk lower circuit back to where we started from, grab bus back to town and hit hotel to wash and relax, out for final parilla supper then back to hotel to snooze
  • Sun Jan 29 - up at 09:00 and pack, breakfast and hang out in lobby taking advantage of free wifi, down to bus station, empanadas while waiting, get bus to border, jump off bus to get stamps, cross into brazil around 12:00
Photo Albums
Buenos Aires
Estancia
Iguazu Falls

Video Clips
Beach Soccer
Puppy vs. Big Nuts
Iguazu Falls

posted by jason at 9:00 AM gmt