BlogMyerson 3.0

While in Iguazu, I got word from my old friend Alec, who devotees will remember was my travel companion through most of Central America.  It turns out that he was heading into Buenos Aires and would be there for my last week. So, when I arrived back in town from Iguazu, I found him at his hostel and we headed out to wander the town and catch up.

For a few days, I did nothing but walk around town with different combinations of my friends Sara, Menno, Claudia and Alec.  Then at some point the week became dominated by eating as much excellent food as humanly possible.  First, Alec and I got dinner at a parrilla on Calle Florida, a pedestrian mall not far from the hostel.  I had the Bife de Chorizo, which was (up to that point) the best steak I’d had in Argentina.  The next day, a bunch of us met up at an excellent Milanesa restaurant where we overate delicious flattened, breaded chicken covered in ham, cheese and tomato sauce before going to see La Bomba de Tiempo (an incredible improv percussion band) at Konex.  Then, Guille and Mariela once again invited everyone over to their rooftop terrace for a home cooked asado.  As it turns out, Guillermo is a master asador and made up some excellent Chorizo, Molleja, Riñon, Lomo, Asado and Vacito.  Amazing. Then, last night, the whole crew opted to go out to Cafe San Juan where we all had something different, but my dish, the ojo de bife, was definitely the best.

I’ve probably walked a few dozen miles around Buenos Aires, seen a lot of great neighborhoods, perused through countless markets, gotten lost on the way to a few different places, seen some great museums and spent time with some amazing friends.  Buenos Aires is a very cool city, and a perfect place to have finished up this trip.

As soon as we arrived in the town of Iguazu, we ran into our friends Menno and Claudia and booked ourselves into the Marco Polo hostel.  Even though it was still early and we would have had time to see the falls that day, we opted instead to sit by the pool, get some good food, and just chill out for the day.

The next morning we caught a bus to Iguazu Falls National Park.  The falls really are indescribable, and sadly these pictures do it no justice at all.  Really, all I can say is: Go see it for yourself.

After walking around the park and the miles of walkways above the cliffs, we took a quick boat ride to see the falls (and feel the spray) up close.  Soaked and exhausted, we headed home for another night of good food and drink.

The next day, Claudia, Menno and I said our goodbyes to Robby who headed off into Brazil to make his way home.  I’ve travelled with him for the better part of the last 5 months, and we’ve had some ridiculously fun times.  It was sad to see my good friend go.

At least I had my other good friends joining me on the long bus ride back to Buenos Aires.  The other consolation was that we all had fancy, full bed bus seats, complete with meals and free drinks.  The champagne, whiskey and wine made the trip a whole lot more bearable.

After a nice cab ride from the airport (the driver might be the only person in all of Argentina who enjoys baseball), I checked into my hostel.  I found a few of my friends there, waiting with a nice chicken salad dinner.  Nice welcome, indeed.  It got nicer, as those friends, along with a large crowd from the hostel went out to a nearby club for some cheap drinks and dancing.  Of course, I was fairly exhausted from my long travel day and made an early(-ish) night of it.

The next morning, I slept in, then relaxed, then took a nap.  It was very productive. Later, we met up with our friends Guillermo and Mariela (a couple that Robby and I had met on our Inca Jungle Trail). That night, they took us out to see the band Dancing Mood play at a place called Konex.  Afterwards, we went back to Guille and Mariela’s place for some pizza and drinks.  Great music and great people is a simple formula for fun.

The next day, Robby, Sara and I took a walk around town, taking in some of the sights around San Telmo (the neighborhood around our hostel) and the beautiful cemetery in Recoleta.  We walked down to a neighborhood with some inexpensive shopping (much of my clothing has been lost, worn out completely, stolen or is just well past the point of usefulness, and I thought I could use a few things).  A few things conspired against a fruitful shopping excursion. The first is  my crippling, all encompassing hatred of shopping.  The second was the flood of biblical proportions that descended upon the city.  We essentially had to swim back to the hostel.

After a shower and change of clothing, Guillermo and Mariela once again took us out, this time to a Tenedor Libre, where 72 pesos (less than $20) gets you free beer, salad bar and unlimited asado.  Tons of amazing cuts of meat, as well as a few more -shall we say?- exotic choices.  Any time you get a chance to eat thymus, you take that chance. We walked off our giant meals around the ritzy, new neighborhood of Puerto Madero.

The next day, Robby and I took our final bus journey together, off to the amazing site of Iguazu falls.

I struggled with the decision to go all the way down to Ushuaia.  On the one hand, it would cost a bunch of money, and I´d end up in a place with very little to do.  On the other hand, it´s as far south as civilization gets.  And so, I set off to see the End of The World.

After a miserable series of bus rides from El Chalten, I arrived in Ushuaia, with just enough time to check into my hostel and fall asleep.  The next day I set about exploring the town, which took far less time than I thought it might.  I visited the former prison, which now houses the Maritime, Modern Art and Penal museums.  Some interesting exhibits there, but the rest of the town didn´t offer much.

The next day, I set out for Tierra del Fuego national park.  And, like many of the other parks in Patagonia, it was absolutely stunning.  I took the obligatory photo of the end of highway 3, the southernmost road.  When I had hiked my feet sore, I headed back to town.

The next day I flew to Buenos Aires, and into the beginning of the end of my travels.