NW Argentina

Flying in Tucuman

Spent 2 nights in Tucumán after BA and had 2 short flights. Cloudy the first day I flew so just a top to bottom. The Saturday was a lovely sunny day, but after waiting around all morning for my lift to the site, I missed it after hunger got the better of me and I went to find some empanadas. The empanadas were delicious (best empanadas in the country up north - much moister), but maybe not worth the 3 hours it took me to make my own way to the takeoff. Still, had a surprisingly nice flight in the early evening, finding some lift off a spur that was catching the light valley breeze.

Salta

Had decided to spend a night in Salta, but on my way there thought I would be better off in Jujuy, a bit further north. So just a few hours in Salta - enough to appreciate the colonial architecture - before heading on and arriving pretty late in Jujuy (thankfully there was still someone in the hostel I'd gone for as they locked up shortly after - not a lot of options in Jujuy).

On Monday I went for a day trip to Purmamarca, a bit further north of Jujuy in the Quebrada Humahuaca gorge, to see the Cerro de los siete colores (hill of seven colours). Not much to the village of Purmamarca other than the colourful market stalls that practically fill the village, selling all the same Andean jumpers, ponchos and socks etc. The hill overlooking the village is indeed very colourful, but I forgot to count how any different colours I could see. After a wander round the village and finding a bit of info i wasnt really sure what I was going to do all day, as the walk around the hill looked like it would only take about 10 minutes. It did, but on a quest to explore I followed a ridge on the edge of the village that took me up into the mountains behind and I ended up having a great hike, climbing up the nearest peak and then circling round the back of the village along the ridge line. The landscape was incredible. Desert mountains with big bands of martian red and white in the rock and the hillsides dotted with giant cacti.

 

The change in ancestry to Andean heritage is really noticeable in the North.

My last night in Argentina I treated myself and went to the #1 rated restaurant on TripAdvisor in Juyuy...and I can only conclude that Juyuy is not a capital of gastronomy. I tried the llama a la frontera which turned out to be a llama steak on a big plate of crisps. The meal was ok. The biggest disappointment was the llama; I was expecting something with a reasonably robust flavour and what I got was akin to a supermarket pork loin.

A few thoughts on Argentina:

• Expensive 
• Artesanal
• Italian 
• Mullets

- The Italian ancestry is very apparent in the Argentine personalities and language.

- Great meat (and they really do eat A LOT of it), but pretty limited cuisine otherwise. Fruit and veg here is about as good as the UK.

- Big hippy communities plying their arts and crafts and artesanal everything nearly everywhere.

- Imaginative haircuts with great combos of mullets, dreads and shaved patches - if you're into that kinda thing.

Buenos Aires

Spent nearly a week in Buenos Aires. Didnt really do much more than wander about the place but it's a very easy and enjoyable city to be in. No hassle, felt quite safe (I didn't venture outside the nice parts of town), attractive buildings and good atmosphere. Very European in looks.

Was the 1st of May when i arrived which is 'Workers Day' in Argentina and hence some big union type parades around the city centre. A parade rather than a protest, although I would have put it down as a protest if I hadn't known otherwise, but there are daily protests happening in BA.

Didn't see the best of Buenos Aires nightlife. Followed the crowd on an organised bar crawl in San Telmo one night which was as bad, if not worse than you might expect. A bar crawl for 200+ people... You can imagine we saw the best bars that San Telmo has to offer. Did wander off for a bit and caught the end of a spoken word gig. Didn't understand any of the words but the passion was easy to appreciate. We eventually all got bussed off to some average club and after a while there, a group of us left to try and find a better venue. Only slight problem being, once outside, no one knew where we were! We eventually made it back to the hostel around 4.30, at which point everyone else had lost their drive to party. On a desperate hunt for techno however I went in search of an apparently nearby club. An hour or so later, after repeatedly searching the same streets and finding only a metal bar, I too had to give it up. Cocoliche where are you??!

Had a good night out at La Bomba de Tiempo, a big, live percussion group.

Some BA street art

Being in BA after all, I also went to a Tango show. It didn't bode well however when, upon arrival at the theatre, we were shepherded through the shop to see the great deals they had on offer. And the rest duly disappointed. Sabor a Tango was indeed a taste of tango. Just a taste, along with a whole meal of cabaret pish with alot of singing and a few permed guachos showing off their ball swinging skills. Even got a rendition of Don't cry for me Argentina, complete with projected photos of Evita. The tango parts and the accompanying music were excellent, shame about the rest.

San Telmo flea market

Also pretty much wasted one day trying to collect some money. The office was already swamped when I arrived so I took my ticket and went for a wander.  had a good steak sandwich at a small local parilla bar I found, with a load of old men getting tanked up and one old guy fully kitted out in the Brazilian football strip, complete with blond curly hair and a headband. Still a massive queue when I back so I tried another office, queued in the wrong line for a while and by the time I realised it was too late. Managed to salvage something from the day by getting a much needed haircut. The hairdresser said I was handsome (at least that's what I understood) and I didn't come out with a mullet; so all good.

La Cumbre

Had a somewhat sleepy day wandering around Cordoba and then dragged myself up early the next day and headed off alone again to the town of La Cumbre in the traslaserierra mountains, to try and get some flying in. La Cumbre being one of Argentinas most well known flying sites and a previous host of the world cup.

Was raining when I arrived and thick fog the morning after so I pretty much gave up on the idea and booked a night bus to Buenos Aires. After passing a few hours in an Internet Cafe in the morning however, I emerged to discover bright sunshine and a lovely afternoon. Flying was back on and I managed to easily meet up with a tandem pilot at the hostel and off we headed off for a showdown at the Cuchi Corral.

Had an excellent flight, mainly soaring the small ridge but with a few thermals to keep it interesting and lots of condors sharing the lift. Had a great 5 minutes of proximity flying with a big condor just after taking off.

Eventually sunk out but got a ride back up the hill with a group of guachos (one very drunk sporting a "las islas Malvinas son Argentinas" cap on - it did get mentioned) after sharing beer and their left over asado.

Mendoza

Had a very pleasant 3 days in Mendoza; drinking lots of wine and eating lots of meat!

It's a nice city. Not many tourist attractions but very livable with lots of plazas and a southern European feel to the place. Was a nice change from Patagonia; walking into the city from the bus station, getting a coffee and sitting outside in the warm morning sunshine next to a leafy plaza.

The real draw however is what surrounds the city: great vineyards!

Did a bike and wine tour in Maipú on the Sunday. Most vineyards are closed on Sunday but there were still two open at opposite ends of the route. The first, Trapiche, was a big, commercial affair with a fancy building and a large estate. The wine sampling before lunch went down very nicely.

sophisticated business

Trying to find some food in Maipú on a Sunday proved to be a bit of a challenge. Eventually found the only open takeaway in town however and enjoyed a pretty good steak sandwich sat on the street, before getting back on our bikes.

On leaving Trapiche, we also found ourselves being tailed by a police car. Was it because the area was dangerous?  That tourists touring vineyards on bikes were dangerous? It remained a puzzling (and slightly concerning) mystery until on our way back Pina got a puncture and we found out the less sinister and tourist friendly purpose of the escort: they were just there to help! A nice offering, but they could work on its promotion.




Our second vineyard was much smaller and run by a French couple and it was interesting to see the contrast after Trapiche. 

Maipú itself isn't a particularly attractive place and the cycle route between the vineyards is mostly down the main road.

Was going to try and fly on Monday but it clouded over so had to resort to more wine tasting with Pina and Sylvia, this time in the nicer town of Luyan. After a steak lunch at the first vineyard we only had time for one other but it was another  lovely day sitting around sampling wine, with a little cycling to keep the blood flowing.

The wines were mainly malbecs obviously, but quite a few blends and a couple of whites too. Wasn't blown away by any but they were all pretty good.

Chris had gone on to seek a viewing with Aconcagua and I again tagged along with Pina and Sylvi on a night bus to Cordoba. Splashed out on the ultimate in bus luxury with a fully reclining seat... but still didn't get much sleep.

El Bolson

Got off the bus with 2 German girls, Pina and Sylvie, and at the last minute Chris (my climbing buddy from El Chalten) after persuading him that El Bolson was indeed worth a stop. We followed the German girls to the secluded Casa de Odile hostel, way out of town in its own small wooded estate, which was to be my base for the next few days.

Started the next day with yoga in the crisp morning air in the garden, and then, after making a few paragliding enquires, found myself heading off with my glider, in the company of Manu, his wife and baby. Both very relaxed and friendly pilots and they took me on a tour around town showing me the landing zones, telling me about the area and eventually dropping me off at the track heading up to Mount Piltriquitron. Not the most interesting hike up (track for the most of it but no traffic unfortunately) but I had some company from a friendly old dog who joined me for the hike.

I eschewed the official take off and on the advice of Manu's wife carried on to a higher takeoff on the mountainside, at about 1600m. It was a beautiful sunny and calm day with a few light thermic cycles coming up the takeoff. I took off at 6. Not much lift but lovely smooth conditions and a beautiful 25 minute flight along the rock faces of the mountainside before heading into the valley and El Bolson.

Happy to get my glider out!

I Struggled to recognise the main landing field from above however and where I thought it was, it definitely wasn't; so I went for my fall back option and landed in a nearby field. Just after landing I noticed one, two, then three large gentlemen come out of a building a 100 or so metres away, taking a clear interest in my actions. One of them then purposefully strode over to me and I discovered I'd just landed in the back yard of the Gendarmerie...

They weren't too happy but after some initial stern words and noting all my particulars the officer relaxed and was actually quite friendly by the time he'd escorted me off site. Probably the only field in El Bolson I shouldn't have landed in!

I was back up Piltriquitron the next day, but this time to climb it with Chris. Got a ride up the track I'd hiked the day before fortunately, so just had the 1000m to climb from the car park to the summit. Fairly easy going with just a steep scree slope to the summit presenting any challenge. Very different landscape to southern patagonia. Much more arid higher up and different rock, blacker and sandier here.

Not alone in the woods

 

The view from the top was spectacular and after hiking back down to yesterday's takeoff, Chris had the pleasure of watching me fly off and leave him to walk back alone. Took off earlier than the day before and although the wind was a bit cross, found a few thermals and buoyant air and had a great 45 minute flight - much longer than expected! The cypress trees and their long shadows looked particularly stunning in the low evening sun as I came down to land.

Late that same afternoon Volcano Calbuco, across the border in Chile, decided to let off some steam and the resultant cloud of ash draped itself all over Bariloche to the north. Couldn't see the eruption from El Bolson but did notice an odd looking cloud formed on the horizon after I'd landed. I had planned on a few days around Bariloche for flying and hiking but the volcano put paid to that. El Bolson got very hazy the next day and you could taste the ash in the air. I had a fairly relaxed day, wandering around the big craft market that El Bolson is famous for (big alternative / hippy community in El Bolson. Lots of arts, crafts and artesanales offerings). 

The approaching ash cloud

My little group of Chris and the 2 German girls I'd been hanging out with were all heading to Mendoza the next day. I think after all the solo camping in Patagonia I was enjoying the company of nice people and wasn't quite ready to go it alone again. That and the lure of a wine tour in a balmy 20+ degrees, meant I duly followed suit.

We passed through Bariloche and although the ash had cleared a lot from the days before, the air was still thick and you couldn't see any of the surrounding mountains. It was a very eerie drive heading north east from Bariloche to Neuquen. Flat and pretty featureless landscape, shrouded in a grey haze and with patches of thick ash swirling in the air that looked like smoke rising from the ground.

20 odd hours later we all arrived in Mendoza.

El Chalten

El Chalten is nestled in a valley, overlooked by the towering Mount Fitz Roy and a plethora of glaciers all within a days walk of the town. It was a crisp sunny day when I arrived and the approach into town presented a stunning view with Fitz Roy glowing in the morning sun above the town. With the weather set to change, I hired some more camping gear and hiked up to Fitz Roy that afternoon to spend 2 nights on a round trip of the area.

Autumn is further progressed here than elsewhere I've been and all the trees are resplendent in deep hues of red and amber. Truly spectacular when you add in some big spiky mountains and glaciers into the background.

At the official campsite, at the bottom of the short steep hike up to the base of Fitz Roy, a few day trippers on their way back recommended a camp spot up at the top. Taking their advice I spurned the campsite in the woods and pressed up and onwards to the mountain in the early evening. It was good advice and I had a magical camp in front of the lagoon, looking up at the spectacular mountain and glacier in the evening light. The stars even came out, but the weather was changing and in the morning I awoke to a mountain shrouded in damp cloud.

Looking up the valley

Fitz Roy base in the fading light

The not quite so spectacular morning view from camp

In the hope the cloud might lift later on I went for a wander and scrambled down to the bigger lagoon below, which has a massive glacier literally falling into it, with numerous chunks of ice regularly tumbling down the cliff face. Thought I'd get a great view up the other side so went on what turned into quite a long scramble up a steep scree and rock slope. The clouds unfortunately didn't play ball however and as I got higher the view was obscured and I got rained on. The rock here is great for climbing on however. Even in the damp it was reassuringly sticky, although a little flaky in places. Found another fantastic camp spot near the lower lagoon which I would love to come back to one day. Did give it some serious contemplation but in the end practicalities and bus timetables won out. Next time!

The view from the other side

Camped the next night in front of Laguna Torres with the originally named Glaciar Grande (it's a really big glacier) spilling into it at the far end. Was fairly cloudy though so didn't get to appreciate the full majesty of the view. [Most of the names here are particularly imaginative: Los Glaciares national park for example. It's aptly named however; there are an astounding number of glaciers here, and all so close to sea level]

More woody woodpeckers

Camp in front of Glacier Grande

It rained all morning but was only a few hours of easy hiking back to El Chalten. Met a couple of guys I'd chatted to in Torres del Paine in the afternoon who'd just done a bit of climbing in the area (there's excellent climbing and bouldering round here too). With the weather looking good again I teamed up with one of them, Chris, to hire some gear and do some sport climbing the next day.

Had the usual slow start while we both tried to remember the important bits of climbing (like how to secure yourself at the top!) and warmed up on a couple of easy 5a's. The other climbs on the crag (which was just on the edge of town) were significantly harder but without a good topo I scoped one out which looked doable, following a nice crack up the wall and with what looked like lots of solid holds...

2 bolts up, I began to realise it may be a little trickier than I had envisaged. Half an hour later, 4 bolts up and with a throbbing right arm I had a good appreciation that this was a tough climb! 6 bolts up I think I found the crux of the problem and after a good deal of searching I had to admit defeat. It was a nice climb with some cool moves and at my climbing peak it may have been possible. Now however... not a chance!

Defeated

Next challenge was to retrieve the gear. Chris had a good go top roping but didn't manage to change the gear over on the bolt to rescue our quickdraw; so I got another go to finish what I'd started. Cold and a bit tired it was challenging to get back up there but managed to get our gear back and then crossed to the other side of the valley for a final climb in the early evening. Nicer climbs over there with some long pitches and more mid level grades but in the fading light only had time for one climb. 

The weather for the day was good and mostly clear, although what clouds there were seemed to be more often than not in front of the sun. It was quite windy too and with the cool air temp it was hard to stay warm for climbing. Should try and get here earlier in the season next time! The bouldering here is meant to be world class and there are some nice multi pitch climbs too. And there is always Fitz Roy itself...

Back at the climbing shop we discovered the route I'd attempted was a 6c+ so I was pretty pleased with how far I'd got!

After umming and ahhing all day about whether to go back and camp at the base of Fitz Roy again, I took the sensible option and got on the long 20 hour bus to El Boson in the north that night. The forecast is looking good for the week so fingers crossed will get some paragliding in.

El Chalten itself is a small town with a frontier feel to it; only built in the 80's and without many new developments about. It's really the end of season now. Only 2 or 3 restaurants still open and a lot of the shops already closed. Still a few tourists around though and the bus I'm on now to Bariloche is full.