So, we don´t have a set in stone itinerary, but this is the narritive version of what our current plans our. Note, all are subject to change.
The trip begins when we fly into Buenos Aires on October 2nd. Don’t expect anymore dates to be given until the end of this itinerary because the only other certainty is that we fly out of Lima, Peru on December 16th. We’ll be spending about five or so days in Buenos Aires, eating steak and hopefully buying beautifully cheap leather products. After BA, we’ll jump on a ferry and cross the border into Uruguay, where we’ll catch a bus to Montevideo, Uruguay’s capitol. When we’re ready we’ll continue into Uruguay on bus until we reach Punto de Diablo. Yes, it means Devil’s Point, but it’s actually a nice and quaint fishing village that is tourist (and seafood) friendly.
This will end our Uruguayan chapter and we’ll hit the road once again, as we cross the border at Mercedes and head towards Resistencia. This will take a good day of traveling so we’ll stop in Resistenica for a while, visit the markets and the museums, before heading for one of the highlights of the trip – Iguazo Falls.
Iguazo Falls is one of the natural wonders of the world – a horse shoe shaped waterfall that can supposedly make Niagara seem like baby pool. The Falls can be heard from miles away and can be viewed by both Argentina and Brazil. Argentina has the actual waterfall, but apparent Brazil has the panoramic view that just brings the whole Falls into focus. Unfortunately for us, just crossing into Brazil costs $100, then once we return to Argentina we would most likely have to pay the ~$50 entrance fee again – so instead we’ll (probably) save the money and instead stay put in Argentina. Besides, there are lots of outdoorsy things to do here – hikes near the Falls, boat rides, etc, so we’ll be sure to partake in these adventures for a few days… we’d probably be willing to do anything to avoid the buses for a little while.
After our time in Port Iguazo we come to a fork in the road. Our choice is to either head west into Paraguay or to go south we’d into central Argentina. If the Paraguay plan pans out (nice alliteration J), we’ll visit a friend of Chrissy’s who is volunteering with the Peace Corps in Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion before heading to Cordoba in central Argentina. If Paraguay doesn’t work, we’ll just head straight for Cordoba.
Strange as it sounds, Cordoba is known as the cultural capital of the Americas. With such a title to live up to we couldn’t pass by without visiting. There are theaters, films, colonial buildings and other things one might expect to find in a cultural capital. Once we have our fill, we’ll once again take to the streets and head southward, depending on the bus situation, to either Bahia Blanca, Viedma, or Buenos Aires (ideally Viedma). The sole purpose of this stop is to simply catch a bus to Puerto Madryn in Patagonia. We’ll be wearing our hats and gloves because this is the southern most point of our journey. We’ll be sure to make the most of it by heading to sea on a boat tour where we’ll watch for whales, dolphins and… penguins!!
After the pinguino spotting, we’ll satisfy Chrissy’s inner (and outer) hippie with stops in Esquel, El Bolson and Bariloche – where a laidback, Bohemian lifestyle apparently thrives. All of these cities are close to each other and are located in the Argentinean Lake District, where we should be able to see some great wildlife (I’m corssing my fingers for flamingoes!). These cities will be the finale for our Argentina section of the trip, but no need for tears because we’ll be entering into Chile – the tall, skinny, supermodel country of South America.
We’ll get a stamp in our passports in Osorno, a city that was cultivated by Germans and is now an agricultural hub. Next comes a 12 hour bus ride to Chile’s capital, Santiago. While the summer in Santiago brings smog, the spring will hopefully make it beautiful and full in bloom. We’ll spend several days in and around the city, visiting wineries, checking out restaurants and all that jazz. Just outside of the city lay the coastal towns of Valpariso and Vina del Mar. We’ll visit then follow the Pan-American highway up the coast until we hit the National Park of Nevado Tres Cruces, where we’ll do the outdoor thang. However, the next stop of San Pedro de Atacama will truly be the natural wonder, filled with geysers, salt flats, and desert. There are sunrise and sunset tours of the geysers offered as well as stargazing and bike trails. When we’re ready we’ll journey northward and come to Arica where we’ll catch a train and cross the border into Peru.
Peru will be filled with “roughing it” activities. We’ll start out spending several days in Arequipa where, among other things, we’ll hike into the world’s deepest canyon. Next, over to Pano, where we’ll visit the “pristine” Lake Titicaca. From there we’ll catch a train, plane or bus to Cuzco where we’ll hike the Incan trail – a four day high altitude hike with the prize of finishing at the top of Machu Picchu. The rest of the trip will be spent throughout Peru, perhaps in Trujillo or Lima, depending on the amount of time we have left. Either way, we’ll be near Peru and on December 16th we’ll catch the midnight flight to the USA where we will leave the longest days of the year and arrive into the shortest days. Christmas will be right around the corner and I’m sure we’ll be happy to be home.
