Via Crucis

Good Friday in Buenos Aires. About 2,000 people carrying candles followed this procession to the main Cathedral as they did the Stations of the Cross. A group of about six men carry this huge cross - and by the looks on their faces it wasn't easy. And harder yet to stand still with it. This may be the biggest holiday in Argentina. Most people are off 5 or 6 days. In our neighborhood most things were open but citywide pretty shut down today.

Tierra Santo, Buenos Aires

World's first religious theme park. Large lines to get in today and tons of kids. You have the ability to, as the sign says, "See Jerusalem Every Day In Buenos Aires"

Very popular and the kids seemed to love it. There are tons of famous stages scenes (think Noah's Ark, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, Stations of the Cross etc). All executed in these fiberglass/resin life size creatures.

For the Resurrection scene, that was not operating on Good Friday (should have guessed that) but when it does, an enormous Christ rises from a mountain and has about 35 different moving parts so he can bless the crowd. He normally rises every 30 minutes on the quarter hours.

Argentina is 92% Catholic and while a smaller percentage practice actively, this is a big 4 day weekend. Good Friday is the quietest day in the year with most things closed.

Of course it helps with the mood that Pope Francis was born here and served as the Archbishop and Cardinal of Buenos Aires.

Below you see Calvary/Golgotha and the Wailing Wall.

Some of the Graffiti is Really Cool

Right outside our house, and more around the corner.

Delicious Long Lunch, La Mar

Fish, yeah! Veggies, yeah!!! Beautiful outdoor patio.

Sweet Rooftop

4th floor of our house is a large rooftop with loads of greenery, herbs, outdoor shower (cold), pool (not heated), parilla (we cannot possibly choke down more meat!) and a nice dining area. Weather is perfect.

Laundry Day . . . Again

We arrived at our house in Buenos Aires for the last week of our trip and believe it or not this is only the second time in the entire trip that we've had a washing machine. But no dryer. This is our laundry room with drying racks that you lower on pulleys from the ceiling. Works fine but didn't stop us from also taking a load to the laundry service around the corner.

Our House in Palermo Soho

It's pretty large 3 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, full kitchen, large living room, dining room, then a big den for watching TV. And best, a rooftop deck with a parilla and a small pool plus more dining and sitting areas. It may not look like much with the graffiti-covered gate to the interior courtyard, but once inside it's a different story.

Well, it is a Rainforest! Iguazu.

And we spent the day absolutely soaked to the bone! It takes about 5-6 hours to walk all the paths, and since most people spend just one day here, the nonstop rain didn't deter anyone from their mission. We saw old people with canes, big families, babies in strollers, little kids, tour groups. It was pretty crowded. We went early. It you do still The pathways around the falls on the Argentina side are a marvel on their own. The take you over the river, to the top and sides of many falls, along the sides of mountains, over the top of some falls, all to get you as close as possible. At certain points you are so close to the powerful waters that the spray and mist drenches you in seconds. Of course everyone was already totally wet so it didn't matter!

The falls at the bottom are the Two Sisters. Small but powerful!

We will post more pics but for the first 3 hours it rained so hard that after the first picture of John, we put the iphones in our backpack under the raincoat. The actual camera never came out all day.

The pictures never do it justice anyway.

Hike Out to Bosques de Arrayanes

These guys know something about a great forest walk. You can hike out 12 km then return by boat. It looked almost flat but in the first 3 km you actually walk the equivalent of 100 flights of stairs. Another beautiful weather day.

The Arrayanes are related to crepe myrtle and at the end of the peninsula there is something like the world's largest concentration of these trees. Turns out the land was privately owned in the past, and they selectively cut down other trees, allowing this large grove to thrive.

Ruta de los Siete Lagos

I know we take pictures with a lot of fake props, but this guy was real. Cost 5 bucks to spend some time with him but it's a very common thing for people to bring St. Bernards to tourist spots (e.g. town square in Bariloche or viewpoints along the scenic roads). Worth 5$. Although he had very little interest in anything but doing his job. He stood, he sat, he walked away. A working dog.

Sunset From Hotel Villa la Angostura

And this was nothing compared to what the sky looked like about 3am when the moon was out, lighting the sky up through the light cloud cover.

Looks Totally Fake, Right?

Driving Route 40 Ruta de los Siete Lagos. 7 lakes. Drive up was rainy and we couldn't see too much. Drive back a few days later was like this. What a drive! Very thankful to my friend Mariela who made sure we added this beautiful area to our itinerary.

Sweet Digs: Villa La Angostura

Staying at Las Balsas, excellent 10 room small hotel with — finally — a heated pool!

First Signs of Autumn

From our hotel room @ Rio Hermoso.

Parking

There's usually some minimal charge for on street parking, even in small out of the way places. No meters and no central ticket dispenser. You go in search of one the these attendants. They write down your car info and how many hours you want to park. This all goes in a little notebook. Then they seem to enter it into a mobile phone app. Then you pay. That can be tricky because the money situation is odd here and small bills (there are virtually no coins) can be hard to come by and they often have no change. Once sorted out off you go. Nothing goes in or on the car. Complicated but seems to work.

Sent from my iPhone

Serene in Patagonia

The sun's back out and someone finds the rocky beach soothing, even with a little cold Patagonian wind.



Sent from my iPhone

Room With a View

Rio Hermoso. Quite beautiful. Only a few rooms, and it's just us and one couple with 2 kids. Bottom pic is from our bedroom window.

Anybody Enjoying the Lakes District?

Oh yeah. Our fly fishing plans were foiled by some early morning rain. So we hunkered down until it ended, then drove from Rio Hermoso down a dirt road along Lago Melinquina to the town. Excellent casual lunch.

If You Are Not Hiking For The Day

You can go into town, or hang around the awesome spa/pool at the hotel. We did both. It was supposed to rain, but it didn't start until about 6pm, and it was a nice relaxing day. First day in a while John hasn't accused me of trying to kill him by keeping up with my Energizer Bunny antics.

Having the cool Patagonia rain hit you in the hot pool with a fabulous view - fantastic!

Harvest Time

We woke up one morning to have our serene vineyard scene disturbed by a huge racket. Around the corner appeared this. This machine basically picks the grapes by shaking the vines until they fall off. Not the traditional picture of hand picking but we checked the vines afterward and it seemed to do a pretty good job without causing any damage.

Overlooking Lake Nahuel Huapi

Outside Bariloche, Argentina, looking out over the lake. The building on the bluff is the Llao Llao Hotel and the green in the middle is their golf course. Not bad, right. Basically a ski resort, Bariloche attracts visitors year round with views like this.

How Does One Work Off a Fondue Lunch?

I think a good hike. Note the huge pot of Emmentaler cheese bubbling on the right. On top of bread chunks, you get some healthy looking stuff to dunk in like apples, tomatoes, carrots, fried potatoes, ham, etc. YUM.

Beautiful Afternoon in Bariloche

Not Another 7 Course Tasting Menu @ Butterfly, Bariloche

Regrettably, yes. I mean the place was great and we loved it but we are committed to NEVER having another huge meal like this for the rest of the trip. Done in!

What you see behind John is not artwork, though it should be. That's really what Bariloche looks like. But better. Even at the end of summer here there are still snow capped peaks surrounding this area in the lakes region. Views like crazy.

Salta, Main Town Square at Night

They know how to light up their beautiful buildings. The city dates back to mid 1500s and they have some interesting spots, but like many cities in Argentina, plagued by graffiti and littering is still the norm.  So best seen at night. 

View From Cerro San Bernardo in Salta

A relatively short walk from our hotel, you can either take the tram up, or try to work off some of the empanadas. We took the walk — 1,000 stairs punctuated by stations of the cross, on a pretty hot day. Time to get back in shape! We were hiking like crazy but last few weeks have been pretty subdued and that walk drained us! Luckily after a brief rest, we found our way to ..... more meat.

I may go vegan after this trip.

The Empanada Bake-Off Happening Today!

Salta is alleged to be the birthplace of the empanada, and we have sampled them all over the country. But today, we dedicate ourselves to find the best empanadas in the city that claims to have the best. It's hard work but someone has to do it.

A World of Stray Dogs

Everyplace, every city. This is a museum entrance. The dogs like it because it's cool inside, and very hot outside. Nobody seems to mind even if you have to step over them to pay to get in.  Check out the dog paws up by the pay window.

Quebrada de las Conchas

About 1.5 hour south of Salta, the road winds through many different landscapes and rock formations, following the path of the Rio Colorado. Notable formations are  the Throat of the Devil, a natural Ampitheater, the Windows and more.  This area was formed about 90-100 million years ago around the time the Andes emerged. In  places you can see the white strips in the mountains which are layers of sea shells, showing the mountains were pushed up from the sea.  The scenery changes dramatically about every 5-10 miles and it goes unbelievably on and on for 2 solid hours.  Hard to pay attention to the road.

Another 5 Course Tasting Menu

This time at Piatelli, just outside Cafayate.

We are now basically only eating one meal a day, and it's still too much.