Bariloche

After Pucón, I headed east across the Chile/Argentina border again and into pretty little Bariloche. Another stunning town set in the middle of mountains and lakes.

All you hostel haters...

Those of you who were so worried about me staying in hostels, check this out! This is the backyard of my hostel in Pucón. Very nice! BBQ, pool, etc.

The hostel dogs -

View of the volcano from the backyard of the hostel.

Bike ride to a waterfall

A few of us from the hostel rented bikes and went on a big 40km loop to see these waterfalls. I nearly passed out from exhaustion, while everyone else seemed to be just fine. I just didn't get it.

Flowers: real or fake?

These (above) are wooden flowers which they sell all over Pucón.

This is a real flower growing on the side of the street. They had these everywhere in big bushes!! Soooo pretty.

Pucón

Randomly (on a recommendation from a dreadlocked German that I met), I decided to go south from Santiago and visit a small town called Pucón. It's famous for the active volcano there, Volcán Villarrica. This town amazed me - you look one way and see the snow capped volcano, another direction and see the Andes, and the black sand beach tops it all off. Wow! The last pic is a view from the actual volcano when I attempted to hike up it. Unfortunately, the weather conditions weren't good so we had to turn back before getting to the top. It sucked cause if you make it all the way up you can actually look into the crater! Next time, I guess.

Birds at the Los Dominicos market

I was fascinated with all the birds at the artisen market I visited. There were TONS of different kinds in huge cages. All I could think about was how I wished Chad were there to see them all!!

Soccer game

We went to a soccer game in Santiago. It wasn't any major teams, but the Spanish obsession with the sport was definitely still present! It was fun. I spent most of my time watching the crowds go crazy. I think they were singing/chanting for 3 hours straight.

Santiago

Check out Mendoza, Argentina and Santiago, Chile on a map. Look close? It took me ten hours to get from one to the other. This gives you an idea of how slow the traveling around South America can be! Especially when the Andes get in the way. Still, the mountains made for a nice, scenic trip, and I made my first border crossing. Only had to wait three and a half hours (verses sometimes as much as nine in the winter I was told!) at the border. Below are some pics of the city...

Big and smoggy

Interesting statue

Doesn't the Chilean flag look suspiciously similar to the Texas flag?!?

La Polícia

A little tipsy after the vineyard tour, I asked a poiceman if I could take a picture with him on his motorcycle. To my surprise, he said yes!
 

Touring the vineyards

I went with two Canadian girls to do a tour of the vineyards around Mendoza. We rented bikes and rode all over.

Somehow we always managed to be the last three at every place we went.

One vineyard said that you could take a "self tour." We took this to mean that we could sample the grapes off the vine. They were delicious!

Trip from Mendoza up into the mountains

Believe it or not, but our bus came up this crazily narrow and steep route to take us to a peak of the mountain.

The Incan bridge

Alta Grácia

I went a little outside of Córdoba to the smaller town of Alta Grácia. I visited the house where Che Guevara grew up.

His bedroom -

Also visited an estancia. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it was. Regardless, it was old and apparently something special.

Nice little cathedral in Córdoba

The streets of Córdoba

Swimming

What is the only thing you can do when it's 95 degrees outside and few places have AC? Get to the water. I arrived in Córdoba, met a girl in my hostel (and another at the bus station), and we set out for the river.

Let me expand a little on the variety of people I have met so far on this trip...
Canadian girl - very nice
Beglium girl - nice
Swiss girl - very nice
American girl - (Californian) She asked me where the capital of Texas is and I told her Austin, duh. She said that she would have assumed it was San Antionio. Idiot. I decided I didn't like her. Later she pulled out a boiled egg for a snack. I definitely didn't like her. So far, she is the only American I have met and she did not make a very good impression.

La Puerta Madera

Interesting bridge on the port.

La Boca

A super cute and colorful part of town.

My second purchase

If nothing else, I should at least have a good earring collection by the time I come back home. I splurged on these ($6) at the markets in La Boca.

Views from my hostel

My hostel is situated right in the middle of downtown. You can see the busy street below. Sidenote: it is incredibly HOT here!! I have been walking around for 3 days now and each time I come back I'm a ball of sweat and am just about ready to pass out. Thank goodness I brought my SPF 45 or else I would look like a lobster already.

El Cementerio de la Recoleta

On our way to a famous cemetary in Recoleta, a nice part of the city. I was amazed by how huge this tree was!

Evita is one of the famous people buried here (all above ground).


I just loved these trees! Aren't they crazy looking? Apparently they only grow in South America.