Friday, January 26, 2007

The Best for Last

Well not exactly true that we've saved the best for last, although the past week here in Argentina has been once again full of amazing sights and natural wonders. Great fun riding on the roof of a safari track through the spectacular Quebrada del Toro, following the route of the Tren de los Nubes, one of the highest railways in the world. Quite surreal - brightly coloured layers of rock covered with giant cactus trees, towering up to over 10m in places! We visited pre-Inca ruins and traditional villages high in the mountains.
Enjoyed a relaxing few days in Salta la Linda (Salta the beautiful), in the northwest corner of the country. Incredible how green the whole region is in comparison with the same area on the other side of the Andes (there you have the Atacama desert).
Our last stop before returning to Buenos Aires and onwards to Brussels was Iguazu. On the border with Brazil and Paraguay are the spectacular falls, which allegedly (never having seen them myself) make falls such as Niagara pale into insignificance. They cover a huge area and can be viewed from a series of walkways on both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the border. Alternatively, you can have the close-up experience, as we did, with a trip right up to and under the falls in an inflatable dingy, leaving you literally soaked to the skin! Not much chance of drying off either as the falls are in the heart of the rainforest with 90% humidity. Surprised by how much wildlife we saw, despite the crowds of tourists. Thousands of brightly coloured butterflies (which seemed to be particularly attracted to Marc!), birds including parrots and toucans, crocodiles, coatis (like ragoons), iguanas ... and the list goes on!
Don't think the trip has had time to remotely sink in yet and it will take a long time to process all the sights, sounds, flavours and impressions we've encountered on our travels. Amazing to think that in the space of a month and a half, we've travelled over an area the size of Europe - from the bustling metropolis of Buenos Aires to the end of the world via the middle of nowhere. We've stood on glaciars, climbed mountains, travelled up to over 4000m in the desert, watched sunsets in lunar landscapes, witnessed smouldering volcanoes, erupting geysers, journeyed through brightly coloured gorges, across emerald lakes, rivers, oceans... Not to mention the fauna - walking with penguins, exotic birds, reptiles, sea otters and sea lions, guanacos, llamas... We've eaten some of the best steaks ever, more pies that one should eat in a lifetime, and drunk many a bottle of fabulous Chilean and Argentinian wine. You can't go wrong in a country that sells Mumm or Chandon bubbly for 4 euro a bottle!
But what's really made it has been the friendliness of the people, their openess and enthusiasm, the incredible hospitality of our hosts and knowlegdge of our guides who've shared their history and culture with us. All in all, a trip of a lifetime!

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