We Are Back!!

Good morning Bariloche!!  Our last day spent in Patagonia was magical!!  We got up to fresh snow in the mountains and lights winking in the homes around the lake.  Pictures cannot due this place justice.  After 12 days exploring Chile, Argentina and Uruguay we landed in Bariloche, Patagonia.  I now call this place Fairyland!!

Let’s go back to the beginning.

Santiago – The new, the funky and the old.

BellaVista, very bohemian district with coffee shops and more.

We loved each city and place we came to beginning with Santiago where we saw the new and the old and some incredible places like the Bellavista neighborhood with Pablo Neruda‘s home.

The City looked like parts of Manhattan, with palm trees!

We also visited Valparaiso on the coast that was just as beautiful. We spent time going through the town and the port.  You will see many multicolored builds with graffiti paintings everywhere

The next stop was the seafood market at Mercado Central.  One picture describes my time there.

We then ventured to Buenos Aires, the Europe of South America.  Recoleto is an incredible area including old building, parks the cemetery and churchs.  The word Recoleto comes from the spiritual recollections according to the Franciscan order that was part of the church we visited. The architecture was ancient and beautiful just like some of the biggest cites in Europe.

No visit is complete without Tango in the City that made it famous.  We went to a dinner show at Piazzolla Tango Theatre and my wife Susie who is a professional dancer, was awestruck!

Ok, let’s get down to the subject of food in Argentina.  Dinner choice for me, meat!

This was after a steak for lunch mind you.  The best beef in the world and cut with a fork.

We visited the cemetery the next day and found Evita‘s grave.

This place rivals any that I have seen in Italy. Later, we sat out at the square and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

We also visited Colonia in Uruguay the next day and sat out on the water for more gourmet at Charco

Colonia del Sacriementos is one of the oldest cities in South America settled by the Portuguese in the 1500s.

Back in Buenos Aires, we set off to find some local stores with cheese and meats for a snack/dinner.  The selections made me cry.  Same with the wines!

After eating our way through Buenos Aires, it was time to go to Bariloche where we began this story.  Our first place was a delight and was small and quaint.

Our room had a hot tub and a view to the lake and islands beyond.

The first day tour was to the tallest peak in the Andes here called Mt Tronador and the black glacier.  I saw some Condors flying high in the peaks as the sun broke through.

The next morning we went up to Catredral at the base of the ski lift.  Snow and hot coco mixed with a cognac finished the morning on the mountain.

How wild, snow in June!!

Sunrise the next day was spectacular.

No stay at Bariloche is complete without a trip to Rapa Nui for chocolates.

We were delayed in our departure from Bariloche due to weather back in Buenos Aires so we had to rough it at a new resort called Charming which I highly recommended.  After missing our flight and returning to the our new room for the night, it started snowing on the lake.

I did a big photo shoot of the mountain peaks s they lit up with the sunrise the next morning.

I spent one afternoon with the owner Alberto Holgado who recently built the resort and was working on Sunday clearing snow off the tables on the patio that morning!  He and his friend who is the head of Telefonica and I watched Futbol and sipped Fernet in front of a huge fireplace.  What great new friends and a place I now call Fairyland!

I will not bore you with anymore, but I have linked our photo album if you do want to see more.

Our Travels to South America 2018

This will not be our last travel South for sure!  If you are interested, COPA flies direct to Santiago and to Buenos Aires.  Let me know if I can give you some recommendations for these area.