Argentina – Lots More Penguins, Lots More Wine

After 52 days in Chile it was time to move on to Argentina. This post is all over the map – literally. We travelled from Bariloche, at the northern edge of Patagonia, down to Ushuaia at the southern tip of the continent and back north to the vineyards of Mendoza.

Bariloche and the Seven Lakes

If you read our story of driving the Yellow Tank through Chile, you might think we would never drive in South America again. Wrong. The day after finishing the Carretera Austral, we rented a car for another road trip. We headed to Argentina to drive the Seven Lakes Route, a stretch of Ruta 40 that skirts along the Andes, weaving between glistening technicolor alpine lakes.

Getting to the Seven Lakes Route from Chile is itself a memorable drive. After a 3-3/4 hour wait at border control, we crossed the Andes into Argentina over Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass. The Argentine side of the pass is barren. A whole swath of the countryside was blanketed by a foot of ash from a 2011 volcanic eruption. A decade later, ash still blankets the ground. The forests have not recovered. The trees still stand but are dead – petrified by the ash.

Seven Lakes Route

We joined the Seven Lakes Route near Villa La Angostura. In winter the town is a base to ski resorts. In summer there are numerous hiking trails and plenty of water sports on the lakes. It is a true resort town with lots of coffee shops and restaurants to people watch. Don’t try find dinner before 8 pm though. We did an easy day hike, hitching a boat ride to one end of an island and walking back through myrtlewood forests to the other end.

The Seven Lakes drive stretches 107 km to San Martin de los Andes, mostly through National Parks on well paved roads (yay!). We broke up the drive with stops every five minutes at scenic viewpoints overlooking the many lakes, and a 40-minute hike into a small waterfall. The trail was busy with locals heading to the falls to picnic, swim and cool off from the summer heat. We looked a bit out of place with our hiking poles!

San Martin de los Andes is another alpine-themed village. In summer it gets lots of campers and boaters. When we arrived early in the day the town was deserted (except for the line-up at Western Union). We had trouble even finding somewhere to buy a cold beer. The main streets were all closed to traffic. Around 5 pm people started setting up tables along the streets for an Artisans Festival. We felt bad for the artists because there was no one around. Fear not, by 7 pm the crowds started appearing. By 11 pm the streets were jammed and the party was just getting into gear, with bands and street performers added to the mix.

Good-Bye Well-Paved Roads

The next day we headed south to Bariloche. Instead of re-tracing our previous day’s route, we opted to cut cross-country via the town of Villa Traful. The route was suggested as an option by some travel blogger who we suspect had never actually driven it. The route is admittedly very scenic, following a mountain lake most of the way. However, it is mostly unmaintained dirt road for 60 km. It was slow-going. The road was narrow, winding and steep with no guardrails for high drop-offs. The never-ending potholes brought back nightmares of the Yellow Tank.

Bariloche is another ski town. In winter visitors outnumber the local population. Thankfully it was summer so did not have to battle the crowds. We settled into a terrific lakeside resort to do nothing but relax. We only left the grounds once, to get cash at Western Union. (Still no luck.)

Ushuaia

After dropping off our rental car in Puerto Montt, we flew to Punta Arenas, Chile, then took a 12-hour bus ride to Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. Next stop from there – Antarctica. It’s so remote that it was founded as a penal colony.

Most Antarctic cruises start here. It is very busy during cruise ship season. Up to five ships dock each day bringing thousands of passengers, a lot to handle for a city of only 80,000 people. Most cruises are expedition ships with a few hundred passengers each and then the big ships with a few thousand each. We briefly contemplated booking a last-minute cruise, then quickly came to our senses. Instead we did an evening cruise of the Beagle Channel. Luckily we got a calm, sunny evening to enjoy all the natural beauty and wildlife.

Ushuaia is home to the rugged, end-of-the-world Tierra del Fuego National Park, known for its hiking trails. We rode the Tren Del Fin Del Mundo (Train at the End of the World) into the park. The train originally transported prisoners from the penal colony into the forest to fell trees. From the train we hiked about 15 kms along an easy trail following the coastline.

The highlight of Ushuaia was an excursion to Isla Martillo. We were able to walk among colonies of Gentoo and Magellanic penguins going about their daily routine. We were impressed at how vocal they were; the Magellanic sound like donkeys braying when looking for a mate.

Ours was the only tour company actually allowed to venture onto the island. Someone asked if there had been a bidding process for the rights. Our guide just smiled and explained that the owner of the tour company is married to the daughter of the island’s owner.

Vegetarians and Vegans Skip the Next Paragraph!!!

Ushuaia is the first place we saw the Argentinian Parrilla (grill) in full swing. Whole butterflied lambs were cooking on racks in restaurant windows. Large grills were loaded with chunks of beef, chickens, pork and different varieties of sausages. We did not recognize any of the cuts as they just cook big slabs of meat. Of course we had to partake. We ordered a mixed grill for two. Way too much meat. Some hungry dogs got a nice meat selection for dinner that night. It is one of those experiences where you say “been there, done that”. Also don’t try tell Argentinians how you want your meat cooked. When participating in an Asado, that little detail is left to the cook to decide.

Córdoba

After almost seven weeks in Patagonia we left to catch some summer sun in central Argentina. Our original plan was to fly to Buenos Aires. Lack of advance planning quashed that idea. All the flights are filled with returning cruise ship passengers. The only other direct flights from Ushuaia went to Córdoba, a city we hadn’t actually planned on visiting at all. Córdoba it was.

Boy, was it a shock to the system to land in 30C temperatures in Cordoba after the cold of Patagonia. It is a lively city with six universities, beautiful colonial buildings, many museums and the large Sarmiento Park in the center of the city. Lots of coffee shops, restaurants and food kiosks to satisfy the student population. There is little graffiti which we have become accustomed to seeing everywhere in South America. There is however a lot of street art. The Pueyrredon district with many abandoned buildings has been getting a face lift. Government, businesses and artists have come together to use street art to improve the neighborhood and make the streets more appealing. The brightly painted building are now a tourist attraction in a once crime ridden area.

Giving Parrilla a Second Try

Despite our experience with parrilla in Ushuaia, we still wanted to experience the famous Argentine beef. Mouthwatering smells of grilling meat enticed us to make a booking at El Solar de Tejeda, overlooking the main square. We stopped during the day to make a 7 pm dinner reservation. Lacking Spanish, we couldn’t understand why the granny making our reservation was laughing. We found out later when we arrived for dinner. We had the restaurant to ourselves. It was deserted. The waiter humoured us and served up a beautifully grilled rib-eye. By about 9 pm when we were finishing our last drops of wine, other diners began arriving.

Mendoza

Mendoza was one of our favourite stops. And not just because the wine is excellent, plentiful and cheap. It was the longest stop so far on our trip. After five hectic months down the west side of South America and Patagonia, we decided it was time to stop and smell the malbec.

We rented a house that, to our surprise, was a luxurious, antique-filled designer home. It was across the street from General San Martin Park and a few blocks from Mendoza’s shopping and restaurant neighbourhoods.

Massive San Martin park in the city is one of the biggest urban parks in South America. There are miles of walking, cycling and running trails. We spent hours wandering the walking paths. One of the park’s nicest features was something alien to most Canadians. Vendors are allowed to sell artisanal beer and wine from stalls and food trucks. People sit out in the sunshine relaxing with glasses of wine or beer.

Mendoza’s Famous Wines

Mendoza is most famous for its wines. We spent a day cycling, visiting wineries and artisan stores. The bike rental company booked our wine tastings, made a lunch reservation and provided a map. In truth, there was more wine-tasting and eating than cycling. The route was on a flat dedicated bike path and was barely more than 10km. A very pleasant way to visit wineries and get exercise at the same time. Oh, and if you’re interested in loading up on caseloads of wine, Aerolineas Argentinas (Argentina’s flag carrier) waives the no liquids in your carry-on rule. Every passenger is allowed up to 6 bottles of wine as carry-on.

One of the more interesting wine tours we’ve done was at Bodega Carmine Granata. Founded in 1931 it is still run by the founding family. They produce 800,000 bottles of wine annually. As we found out firsthand, foil caps and labels are all still put on by hand. Nothing at the winery is automated. Wine is aged in enormous cement vats before ageing in oak barrels.