Saturday – Sunday, Dec 3 – 4 [Sofia]
The flight to Buenos Aires was longer than I expected, and somehow we still arrived an hour ahead of schedule leaving us with 3 hours to waste in the airport. We took turns sleeping on airport lounge chairs. The flight from Buenos Aires to Salta took another 2 hours. Our tour guide Nick picked us up in the airport on his VW truck. The hotel – Legado Mitico – had a Spanish colonial architecture with a nice courtyard. Our room was very large, with a nicely renovated bathroom. We needed to get some Argentine money and Nick offered to help. We headed out to the main square which was only 4 blocks away, however all the street-corner money changers were apparently taking Sunday off. The banks were closed as well, and ATMs were suspiciously out of cash. After 3 strikeouts, we finally got 2,000 pesos from an Itau bank ATM a bit further away from the main square. After a quick lunch of empanadas and avocado in mysterious adobo sauce (mayo with hot sauce), we started walking towards local Artisan Market. Once we realized that it’s too far to walk, we caught a taxi. The market had lots of handicraft things, of both good and poor quality. After another short taxi ride from the market, we took a cable car (Teleferico) up San Bernardo hill to enjoy the views. We thought we may walk back down, but couldn’t locate the trail and felt too tired anyway. So, we took the cable car down and returned to our hotel to get some sleep.
 |
| View from San Bernardo hill |
In a
couple of hours, feeling refreshed, we headed out to explore and get some dinner.
Salta downtown looked well preserved, the cathedral was spot-lit for the night,
and the whole festive scene reminded us of Granada. We walked over to El
Charrua restaurant and not knowing portion sizes, narrowly escaped ordering way
too much steak. Following our waiter’s advice, we settled for a single order of
bife de lomo, sweet potatoes fries, and a vegetable salad. The steak, a huge tenderloin,
was absolutely amazing – marinated, smoky, and juicy. The waiter recommended a
good bottle of Salta high-altitude Malbec – Don Pedro de las Curtiembres – fruity
and smooth. The flan with dolce de leche concluded this excellent meal, a great
start to our 2 week Argentinian vacation.
 |
| Salta cathedral |
Monday, Dec 5 [Sofia]
This
morning we are heading out to Tilcara. Nick picked us up at 8:30 am and we made
a quick run on foot back to main plaza to exchange money with a guy on the
corner. Apparently, USD hundreds and fifties are in high demand here, because
we got 16.5 pesos per US dollar – better than wholesale exchange rate. We drove
out of Salta and headed north on Rt. 9 towards San Salvador de Jujuy, past
tobacco plantations and colorful mountains, stopping at various observation
points. Later, north of Salvador we explored an old restored Spanish conquistador
fort with adobe buildings, and continued on. At one place Nick parked his truck
for a few minutes and fixed us herbal mate tea which was too bitter to my
taste.
 |
| Mountain views on the road to Tilcara |
For
lunch we had a dozen little tasty empanadas made with deep fried corn dough in
some hole-in-a-wall place. We stopped by a local cemetery which was colorfully
decorated with artificial flowers for November 1st Day of the Dead.
Driving further north, we have officially crossed Tropic of Capricorn marked by
a tall angular stone. On the way we stopped by to say hello to a few mean
looking and bad smelling but still cute llamas working hard as a main
attraction at a big souvenir shop. We passed through Purmamarca and Tilcara and
continued north through Quebrada de Humahuaca, taking in stunning mountain
scenery with multi-colored wind-eroded cliffs. In the town of Humahuaca we climbed
and took photos at imposing multi-level Heroes of the Independence Monument
built around 1946 and bought a llama wool sweater for $12.
 |
| Heroes of Independence Monument in Humahuaca |
After
that we decided to take an hour drive further north for a view of a sun setting
over a colorful mountain range at over 4,000 meters above sea level. It was
cold at the top and we took a quick walk to snap a few photos. Getting back in
the car I really felt the effects of high altitude and lack of oxygen. Nick the
tour guide gave us some coca tea, biscuits, and a few coca leaves to chew on.
That fixed the health conditions and general mood very quickly, we even felt
more energy kicking in. In an hour we drove back to Tilcara and checked into
our Las Marias hotel. Tilcara is a little town with a church and central square
with several restaurants and souvenir shops. Our hotel was perched on a hillside
and was modern and quite comfortable. It even had a swimming pool although the
water was cold. There was no AC in the room but it started getting cool in the
evening. For dinner we went to a restaurant with a strange name of El Nuevo
Progresso 1917 where Leon tried llama steak with salsa and I had very tasty
crepes with quinoa and goat cheese along with fresh crunchy greens. It felt
nice and relaxing after a bottle of Torrontes/Riesling blend wine.
 |
| Quebrada de Humahuaca |
Tuesday, Dec 6 [Sofia]
After
breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Garganta del Diablo –
about an hour walk up the mountain with a subsequent descent into green
dramatic valley and crossing a few streams before reaching a moderate height
waterfall. On the way we saw how locals build adobe houses – shaping large
rough bricks out of grass, straw, and mud and leaving them to bake in the sun.
After hiking through Devil’s Throat and back, we drove for a few minutes to see
Pucara – remains of a pre-Inca settlement which was restored back in 1930s in
an entirely anti-historic manner with modern masonry. The archeologists who
worked on the dig have even erected a pyramid monument to themselves in the
middle of this restored settlement at the very top of the hill. Next to Pucara
we visited a small garden with various species of cacti, which was very nice
and even had a few pink, red and orange cactus flowers. Then we jumped back in
the car and drove to Purmamarca to visit the Seven Color Hill – a mountain with
mineral deposits producing stripes and sections in various hues of yellow, red,
green, and black. We had to scramble up a mountain on the other side of the
road to get the best view. Then we came down to Purmamarca town at the foot of
the Seven Color Hill, had an unremarkable lunch, and shopped around for scarves
and pottery. Nick talked us into a walk around Seven Color Hill – about a mile
or two through dramatic rock formations.
 |
| Garganta del Diablo |
 |
| Pucara de Tilcara |
 |
| Seven Color Hill at Purmamarca |
 |
| Back of Seven Color Hill |
Back on the road and heading west via Rt. 52 now, we started climbing up across Eastern range of the Andes. The road was busy with large fully loaded car carriers traveling in the opposite direction – bringing mostly used cars from Antofagasta port in Chile to Paraguay. In about an hour we were at Salinas Grandes – a large flat plateau with salt deposits remaining from the time when this area was at the bottom of the ocean. To mine salt, they cut deep rectangular holes about 2x10 feet. These holes fill up with water, and salt then crystallizes on the surface. It is then loaded into trucks for transport to processing point.
 |
| On the road crossing Eastern range of the Andes |
 |
| Salinas Grandes |
After spending a bit of time at Salinas Grandes, we continued west on Rt. 52 driving up into the mountains again and finally reaching the town of Susques, elevation 3,600 m. The entire town seemed built completely out of red mud, like something straight out of Blood Meridian. We stopped by the church, but it was closed, so we headed straight to our hotel Pastos Chicos. For dinner Leon hunted down so-called Milanesa Napolitana (flat-pounded beef with cheese and ham on top), and I had tasty ravioli with pumpkin and goat cheese.
Wednesday, Dec 7 [Leon]
Last night was noisy with people's voices, strong wind gusts, incessant dogs' barking and stench of fuel from nearby gas station. After a quick breakfast, we drove up to Susques to look at adobe church with cactus wood roof, adobe floors and unique primitive frescoes on the walls. This was the second oldest church in Argentina, built in 1598 during the time when Susques was a major mining and trading post on the road to Chile. Then we started south on Rt. 40 through the Altiplano (high mountain plateau) known in Argentina by its Quechua name La Puna. On the way we saw a variety of wildlife – rheas (large grey flightless birds that look like ostrich), Andean geese, small green birds, llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, and feral donkeys. We took a short walk through the rocky landscape of rugged beauty crossing a stream in one place because the road was blocked by a large puddle. Then Nick caught up to us in his truck and we continued on, spotting more wildlife, finally arriving under the arch of the huge railway bridge spanning a gorge – La Polvorilla viaduct. It was getting quite hot, so we decided not to climb up to the bridge and instead continued on to the town of San Antonio de los Cobres (elevation 3,775 m). This small town was important during the mining boom of colonial period. Now it's just the terminal of the Train to the Clouds – a tourist train from Salta, which is currently operating only a couple of days per week. It also houses Argentinian army base for high-altitude infantry training. We picked up some bread, cheese, salami, and tomatoes for lunch and continued up the mountain switchbacks and blind curves of Rt. 40. We stopped in a few places to take photos and finally arrived at the highest point – Abra del Acay mountain pass 4,995 m above sea level. Our plan was to have a picnic lunch here, but at this elevation it was very cold and the wind was howling. So we just took a few pictures and moved on a bit lower to a somewhat protected area for a quick lunch. Then we continued our descent via Rt. 40 switchbacks towards the town of Cachi. Soon the view started opening up and we saw Rio Calchaqui and the lush green valley below. As we descended, the road followed the river into the valley. On the way we saw several groups of colorfully dressed adults and kids on horseback heading to a local festival. We also made a brief stop to look at ancient Inca grain storage caves.
 |
| Susques church |
 |
| Susques church interior |
 |
| Driving through La Puna |
 |
| La Polvorilla viaduct |
 |
| Vicuna road crossing |
 |
| At Abra del Acay mountain pass |
We
finally got to Cachi around 5 pm, pretty tired after a long day on dirt roads
and still recovering from spending last 24 hours at high altitude. Cachi is a
neat little colonial town with a pretty main square and church. We took a walk
around, had ice cream, checked out a few stores all selling similar souvenirs,
and had Nick drive us to our hotel La Merced del Alto a couple of clicks out of
town. The hotel was very pretty, with whitewashed adobe walls, red terra-cotta
floors, and nice landscaping all around. After walking around the grounds and
relaxing a bit, we had drinks and dinner at hotel's restaurant and called it a
night.
 |
| Hotel La Merced del Alto |
Thursday, Dec 8 [Sofia + Leon]
Today
we are heading out to Cafayate through Calchaqui Valley. The weather cleared
out nicely, sunny and warm, even though the forecast was for rain. Since we
already visited Cachi the day before, we drove out on Rt. 40 towards Seclantas.
This small town is known for its poncho weaving artisans and a school of
weaving. Poncho weaving is done on big looms by hand and is a very labor
intensive process. It takes about 4 days to make one poncho. We bought a little
table runner with cactus and llama pictured on it and moved on.
 |
| Poncho weaver in Seclantas |
In
the town of Molinos we visited the church – one of the oldest churches around
built in 1692. Today is the festival of Immaculate Conception, so all local
people were headed to church with cheerful sweet hymns playing in the
background. Several families were carrying the statues of the Virgin from their
villages. Two little boys in white robes climbed the bell tower and started
ringing the bell calling everyone to the service about to start. Next we
stopped by the former colonial governor's mansion, now converted to a hotel. It
had whitewashed adobe walls and a nice wide courtyard with big shade trees. Then
we visited a farm for vicuñas where we could see them up close – cute slender
brown-eyed deer-like animals with long necks, big ears, and incredibly soft
fur.
 |
| Molinos church |
 |
| Vicunas at the farm |
We
decided against visiting Bodega Colome – a famous winery owned by Swiss
billionaire Hess family – since that would entail a 2-hour detour. Continuing
down Rt. 40 instead, we drove through a stunning mountain landscape of Quebrada
de las Flechas. It reminded us of Petra – big reddish eroded rock walls which looked
like gigantic columns, arrows, and other shapes. We took a short hike to the
top of a hill for a great view and some pictures. There was a new winery on the
way whose owner allegedly played polo in the UK with Prince Charles. We tried some
Torrontes but weren’t all that impressed. We continued to the next town where
the procession just finished and people were crowding in restaurants – not a
good place for lunch. So, we pressed on, and in the town of San Carlos found a
tasty lunch of humitas (big tamales with corn and cheese) and empanadas. The wifi
connection was pretty good as well, with us sitting right under the router, so
we returned back to the car full and caught up on all the latest news.
 |
| Quebrada de las Flechas |
Back
on the road and right before entering Cafayate, we stopped by Bodega Piattelli
– a new winery established by Malinski family from Minneapolis. The place is
huge, in a faux Mediterranean style with a big restaurant. The architecture and
overall style somewhat reminded us of the Cheesecake Factory. The wine
production here is done by big shiny industrial machines. We tasted a few
different types of wine, which were ok but not great. Then we drove into
Cafayate and visited Bodega Nanni, only two blocks from our hotel. This winery
has been around for over 100 years. The tour was in Spanish, and we needed to
pay a bit for tasting, however the wines were quite good.
 |
| Bodega Piatelli |
Afterwards,
we checked into our little hotel in Cafayate – Portal del Santo. The room was
small, but the location good – only two blocks from the main plaza. We went for
a walk around this fun bustling square, which was already full of people, both
locals and tourists. Then we went for dinner to Pacha Resto Bar – a new place
already very highly rated on TripAdvisor. The restaurant had an open stainless
steel kitchen (always a good sign) and a very attentive chef who took our
order. For appetizers we had pulpo and homemade sausage with pork, nuts and
fennel; and for main course – fried surubi fish with quinoa and pork of
boliche-like tenderness. We also ordered a bottle of red Mugron blend (Malbec +
Tannat + Cabernet Franc) – a fine complement to this excellent dinner.
Friday, Dec 9 [Sofia + Leon]
Today
we are driving south on Rt. 40 from Cafayate through mountains and vineyards to
Ruinas de los Indios Quilmes – the final stronghold of indigenous Calchaqui resistance
to Spanish conquest. This was a large settlement built into a hillside on
multiple levels. There were over 3,000 people living here in around 1600. The
structures they lived in were partially dug into the ground with the top walls
built out of large rocks topped with cactus wood roofs. The area had a few
dozen of these structures of various sizes – living quarters, places for
ceremonies, grain storage with double walls to make it cooler, etc. Several
layers of curtain walls and a few observation points up on the mountain on each
side provided for effective defense. The sad story with this settlement was
that people here were besieged by the Spaniards in 1666 and eventually starved
out, killed or captured. This abandoned half-destroyed mountain fortress had a
sacred airy Masada-like feel to it.
 |
| Ruinas de los Indios Quilmes |
Then
Nick talked us into going to Museo Pachamama built entirely by artist Hector
Cruz, which hosts his art works, tapestries, and paintings, as well as an
indigenous culture museum. The landscape, buildings and sculptures on multiple levels
overlooking mountains were all designed by the artist himself in an amazing
native culture inspired style with multi-color rocks, wrought iron, and cacti.
It was a really unique and special museum, and we spent a good amount of time
exploring it. As we were leaving, we saw Señor Cruz himself – reading a newspaper
at the gift shop exit.
 |
| Museo Pachamama |
On the
way back to Cafayate, we stopped by Las Arcas winery that makes Siete Vacas (7 cows)
wine. The building itself was very interesting – constructed by copying
principles of termite house design borrowed via African Mali Soma architecture.
They had a very good dessert Torrontes wine, and we chatted with a young couple
from New Zealand who have been traveling in South America on a little red van
with South Dakota license plates for the last 5 months.
Then
we got back to Cafayate and went for lunch of humitas and assorted empanadas at
Casa de Empanadas. After lunch, we tried to stop by a couple of small local family
wineries, but they were all closed for siesta. So, we started driving north on
Rt. 68 through Quebrada de las Conchas with its distinctive red rock landscape,
stopping at various points to enjoy the views, walk around, and take pictures.
Then the valley opened up and we started seeing more greenery and familiar
tobacco plantations. On the outskirts of Salta, Nick pointed out his house and
his dog sitting in front of it. And then we were back in Salta, at Legado
Mitico hotel. After saying bye to Nick and re-packing a bit, we went out for
dinner at El Charrua again. It was not as great as last time – the restaurant
was packed and the steak was not as thick and juicy. The Don Pedro Malbec was
still excellent however.
 |
| Quebrada de las Conchas |
 |
| Quebrada de las Conchas |
Saturday, Dec 10 [Leon]
Our
flight to Mendoza was scheduled for 1:45 pm, so we had a free morning in Salta.
We had a leisurely breakfast and went for a walk to main plaza, looking into a
few shops and artisan stalls and buying a couple of small things. Then we ran
back to our hotel, checked out and caught a taxi to the airport. After a quick
lunch of unremarkable airport empanadas, we boarded our flight and arrived to
Mendoza slightly ahead of schedule. Caught a taxi to our Diplomatic Hotel,
which was very nice and centrally located on Av. Belgrano. Our room was very
large and comfortable, with a modern bathroom and mountain views.
After
resting and unpacking a bit, we headed out to explore Mendoza. The city is
built around Plaza Independencia and four smaller plazas – San Martin, España,
Italia, and Chile. We visited a couple of them, observing a strange bike
obstacle derby at Plaza España – teenagers on bicycles doing all kinds of
tricks and flips while listening to 90s rap and R&B. Then we had excellent
ice cream at a corner shop and headed to Mercado Central – a market selling all
kinds of meats, sausages, vegetables, and other foods. One stall had 7
different types of fresh chorizo! Another held several large tongues!
 |
| General San Martin monument |
 |
| At Mercado Central |
Getting
hungry, we went back to our hotel, changed and walked around the corner to the
highly rated restaurant Azafran. The place was great, with a separate wine
cellar where you could go and pick your bottle of wine. Instead of ordering a
bottle, we settled for a flight of 3 local whites for Sofia and 3 Malbecs for
me. We also got a glass of espumante (local sparkling wine) each, compliments
of the house. We ordered appetizers of baked quinoa with quail eggs and fried
goat cheese with beets and crispy fresh leaves, and main courses of pansotti with
butternut squash and trout and pork loin wrapped in bacon, followed by a
dessert of flan with dulce de leche. The service and atmosphere were excellent,
and the food simply delicious. Azafran was a definite repeat.
 |
| Azafran wine cellar |
Sunday, Dec 11 [Leon]
After
a very decent breakfast at our hotel, we met our Andes Vertical guide Rocio and
driver Hochi. We drove with them towards Cordon del Plata mountain range that
shone brightly against deep blue cloudless sky. After about an hour, we reached
Vallecitos and another 20-30 minutes later (going slow on unpaved roads) we got
to a small lodge (refugio) where hikers going to or coming from a longer
multi-day trek can stay for a day or two. Here at 2,800 m elevation, we started
our ascent of Mt Lomas Blancas (3,650 m). Rocio guided us up the trail which
intersected a small stream a few times, so we had to find good places to cross.
She told us it snowed really hard a couple of days ago, that's why there was so
much water. Apparently, a 25 year old hiker from Buenos Aires got stranded and
separated from his group up in the mountains in the snow 2-3 days ago. Rocio
and several other guides went searching for him, but visibility was very poor
and conditions generally atrocious. The lost hiker and his two friends really
should not have gone out in that weather... Now for our hike the weather
couldn't have been better. The sky was clear, the wind relatively calm, and
despite being up above 3,000 m, it was warm enough to hike in a t-shirt. The
mountain views were absolutely amazing, made even more beautiful by abundant
fresh snow. Once we got about halfway to the top, we had to walk through the
snow, which was a lot of fun. We made a few stops to take pictures, but still
reached the top in about 2.5 hours. At the top it was a bit colder and windier,
but the view was great. We had a quick lunch, rested and chatted a bit, and
headed back down.
 |
| Hiking Mt. Lomas Blancas |
 |
| Hiking Mt. Lomas Blancas |
For
our descent, Rocio picked a different trail which mostly avoided snow but went
over sections of loose gravel and rocks. Since we were going down the other
side of Lomas Blancas, we got to see the surrounding scenery from a different
angle. Further down, we were descending alongside a little stream, which then became
a medium-size waterfall. And then we were back at the refugio, where we rested
a bit, and drove back to Mendoza while listening to a very animated radio
broadcast of a football game.
 |
| Descending Mt. Lomas Blancas |
 |
| Descending Mt. Lomas Blancas |
Afterwards,
we went for dinner at Anna Bistro. The setting in an outdoor garden under
starry sky was beautiful, however the food was unremarkable. I have no idea how
this place got rated higher than Azafran on TripAdvisor.
Monday, Dec 12 [Leon]
After
a quick breakfast, we met our Trout & Wine tour guide Ricardo in the hotel
lobby and headed out for the tour of Lujan de Cuyo wineries. The group was
small – only 3 other couples on a nice comfortable van. Lujan de Cuyo wine
region is right outside Mendoza, so we were getting ready for our first drink
of the day around 9:30 am. Our first stop was Dominio del Plata winery founded
by Susana Balbo – the first woman winemaker in Argentina. We tried 4 different
wines with experimental food pairings. Then we headed out to Bodega ReNacer
(meaning “rebirth”), which was founded by a Chilean winemaking family looking
for a fresh start in Argentina. Afterwards, we went to Casarena for a long
relaxed 6-course lunch with wine pairings in a beautiful glass-enclosed room
with vineyard and mountain views. The tour concluded at Bodega Alta Vista,
where we tasted wines in a lab-like room equipped with a long glass table with
sinks.
 |
| At Dominio del Plata winery |
 |
| At Bodega ReNacer |
Getting
back to the hotel, we stopped by the gym to check whether we could go for a
Pilates session. The instructor was there and we agreed we would change and
come right down. What followed was 45 minutes of fairly unconventional Pilates
exercises, including trapeze which we’d never used before. In any case, it felt
good to stretch.
Then
we went for dinner to Maria Antonieta restaurant right next to our hotel. This
was a fun place with baskets of fresh vegetables on tables, wine cellar visible
above, and a great creative menu including Hokkaido pumpkin, which Sofia of
course ordered. I had excellent pasta with salmon and asparagus. Despite it
being Monday, the restaurant started filling up pretty early, and many visitors
were clearly locals. After a full day of wine tastings, we decided to take a
break and drank beer. And while we were waiting for our food, a guy brought in
a whole pig in a plastic bag, contributing to general entertainment.
 |
| Kabocha squash with humita at Maria Antonieta |
Tuesday, Dec 13 [Leon]
Met
our Trout & Wine guide Cecilia in our hotel lobby and drove out for the
tour of Valley de Uco wineries. The group today was even smaller than yesterday
– just us, a Swiss electrical engineer Frank also staying in our hotel, and an
Irish guy Kevin who recently quit his job at Morgan Stanley in London. It was a
beautiful sunny but cooler day, with snowcapped mountains shining bright
against deep blue sky. First we visited Pulenta Estate winery in Agrelo, on the
border of Lujan de Cuyo and Valley de Uco. Pulenta family apparently also owns
Porsche dealerships in Argentina, and used to own a Ferrari dealership. Hence, three
car engines showcased in the wine cellar. We had our tasting outside enjoying
views of the vineyard and mountains. Taking a break from Malbec, we tried
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and a blend, which were all quite good. We
also conducted an experiment trying to identify different scents in each wine
with our eyes closed. Then we proceeded deeper into Uco Valley and visited
Finca Sophenia, where we tried Chardonnay, two different vintages of Malbec,
and a Cab Sav. Finally, we had an excellent 6-course lunch with wine pairings
at Andeluna, sitting outside and enjoying vineyard and mountain views.
 |
| At Pulenta Estate |
 |
| At Andeluna |
 |
| At Andeluna |
After
getting back to Mendoza, we packed for tomorrow’s flight, relaxed a bit, and
went out for a walk. We strolled through Av. Aristides Villanueva – a street
not far from our hotel lined with all kinds of bars and restaurants. The street
ended at the huge park – Parque General San Martin. We walked in the park a
bit, but started to get hungry and turned back. As we walked back toward Av.
Belgrano through Aristides, we noticed how much livelier the drinking
establishments got in the last half-hour – full of mostly young locals enjoying
this nice summer evening. We went back to our favorite Azafran for dinner and enjoyed
it as much as last time. We shared a ceviche and quinoa appetizer, and then
Sofia had her pansotti with butternut squash and trout again and I had another
trout dish. And of course flan with dulce de leche for dessert.
Wednesday, Dec 14 [Leon]
Getting
up at 6:00 am, we had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and took a taxi to
Mendoza airport. Our flight, already rescheduled for 40 minutes later, was
delayed by another 20 minutes. At this point, it became clear that we aren't
making our connection to Punta del Este in Buenos Aires. However, once we
landed in BA, we were immediately met by a very polite and helpful Aerolineas
Argentinas employee who produced boarding passes for a 14:10 flight to
Montevideo and promised a free taxi from there to PdE. Our adventures weren't
over however. Proceeding to luggage carousel, we found only my bag there.
Apparently, Sofia's bag somehow made it onto Punta del Este flight. So, now we
would need to pick up my bag in MVD and Sofia's in PDP. Anyway, we went to grab
a quick lunch of roasted chicken, and then found out that the flight to MVD is being
delayed as well, until 15:00. Finally landing in Montevideo around 16:00, going
through passport control, and picking up my bag from the carousel, we were met
by another Aerolineas employee who directed us to the luggage claim office.
There, a very business-like manager helped us fill out a claim for Sofia’s bag
and assured that the bag will be delivered directly to our hotel within 2
hours. Then she called Avis in Punta del Este and re-directed our car
reservation from the airport to downtown office. As she explained, the airport
office will be closed when we arrive. This was a bit of a mystery, as my
reservation said that Avis airport office is open 24 hours. Jumping ahead a
bit, it all became clear 3 days later when we dropped of the car at the
airport… Anyway, then she went outside with us to get us bus tickets from MVD
to Punta del Este, overriding our weak protests that we were promised a taxi by
Buenos Aires staff. However, after 10 minutes of animated negotiations with the
bus dispatcher, it turned out there were no bus seats available, and she did
put us in a nice comfortable Mercedes taxi.
Driving
from Montevideo towards Punta del Este, we couldn’t help but notice modern
highways with proper signage, clean well-maintained houses, and general signs
of stability and relative prosperity. If we didn’t know we were in Uruguay and
if not for Spanish language signs, this could have been Florida. After about 90
minutes, the driver dropped us off directly in front of the Avis office in
downtown Punta del Este, where we picked up our car. We opted for a wifi
device, so we could use our mobile phones for navigation. Drive to our Grand Hotel
on Playa Brava took only 10 minutes along the ocean, and we passed by a huge
Trump tower construction site one building over. The service at check-in was
superb and Sofia’s bag was already waiting for us at the reception. Grand Hotel
is shaped like a wedge facing the ocean, so most rooms have ocean view. Our very
large and comfortable room was just one level away from the tip of the wedge,
so we had an excellent view of now darkening wavy Atlantic.
Feeling
hungry but wanting to take a walk after being stuck in airports for most of the
day, we went on foot towards Punta Shopping mall and El Palenque restaurant. It
was surprisingly cold in the evening, and apparently it had been a chilly day
overall. Oh well, at least the half-day we missed because of delayed flights
wasn’t perfect beach weather. While walking, we saw clear signs of a real
estate boom – multiple high-rise condo buildings at various stages of
development, real estate ads, etc. The mall was large, clean, and well lit.
Currency exchange office was likewise professional, with clearly posted rates.
None of that haggling with random guys on a street corner, like in Argentina.
Uruguay was looking more and more civilized with every step. After exchanging
some cash, we went for dinner at El Palenque parilla and ordered too much food
– pulpo, sausages, ribs – all nicely seasoned, with meats prepared on a huge open-fire
grill. After paying with a credit card, we noticed a mysterious discount that
wasn’t on the original bill.
 |
| El Palenque parilla |
Thursday, Dec 15 [Leon]
Waking
up refreshed, we had a great breakfast and went to check out the Playa Brava beach
right in front of our hotel. It was sunny but still a bit too chilly to sit on
the beach, and Atlantic felt downright cold. So, we borrowed towels and beach
chairs from our hotel and decided to go explore beaches on the Rio de la Plata
bay side. First however, we drove over to Museo Taller Casapueblo about 20
minutes away in Punta Ballena. Casapueblo is a private museum of Uruguayan abstract
artist Carlos Páez Vilaró. The building itself is a work of art, like a
multilevel whimsical white sandcastle overlooking the sea, with exhibition
rooms, open terraces, and little shops. The paintings were also very
interesting, especially those of cats. There was a photo of the artist himself with
a smoky gray cat with very blue eyes, and then we saw that cat walking around.
 |
| Museo Casapueblo |
 |
| Museo Casapueblo |
After
spending some time at the museum, we came out and drove a bit further to Playa
Portezuelo. Here on the bay side, ocean was mixing with fresh water from Rio de
la Plata. So the water was calm, shallow, and warm. I went for a swim and then
we walked down the beach a bit. It was very pleasant – not deserted but not too
crowded either – just a few families with kids. Then we drove back towards
Punta del Este, stopping by several other bay side beaches along the way –
Playa Pinares, Playa las Delicias, and Playa Mansa. Most were fairly deserted –
things don’t really pick up here until after Christmas… We went to Isidora
restaurant next to the port for a nice relaxed lunch, and noticed unmistakable
groups of cruise ship passengers walking around – a Costa ship was at anchor
offshore. And again, there was that strange discount for paying with a credit
card! After lunch, we walked around downtown a bit and did some shopping at the
artisan market on Plaza Artigas, buying very nice warm shearling gloves for
both of us. Then we headed back to our hotel and relaxed by the pool with
tropical drinks.
 |
| Playa Las Delicias |
Later
we drove back to Museo Casapueblo and Punta Ballena to watch the sunset, which
was beautiful. Then we went downtown for dinner at a Basque restaurant Leonardo
Etxea. The food was excellent – pulpo and scallop appetizers and brotola fish
and zarzuela de mariscos main courses – and we had the whole place almost to
ourselves at this early hour of 8:30 pm.
 |
| Punta Ballena sunset |
Friday, Dec 16 [Leon]
Today
is warm and sunny – a perfect beach day for my birthday! We headed in the other
direction up Atlantic coast – to La Barra – a small beach town about 15 minutes
away from luxury high-rises of Punta del Este. La Barra had a very different
feel from Punta – more relaxed and laid back. Apparently it’s a big party scene
during high season, but we were about 2 weeks too early for that.
First
we stopped by Playa del Cangrejo, where supposedly you could rent stand-up
paddleboards. However, although there was a sign advertising a surfing school,
there was nobody to rent boards from. Then we drove through La Barra to Playa
Bikini. This is where celebrities hang out during high season, but now the
beach was quiet, almost deserted. We spent some time on the beach watching
surfers and dogs. Then we visited a couple of other beaches – Playa La Barra
and Playa Montoya – and I went for a quick swim in cold rough Atlantic.
Afterwards, we went for lunch at a fun place called Pura Vida, where the
waitress – a French girl from Chamonix of all places – finally explained the
meaning of credit card discount to us. Apparently, in a bid to encourage
tourism, Uruguayan government refunds VAT on restaurant meals paid for with
foreign credit cards. Then we lazily strolled through La Barra town, which seemed
gripped by a frenzy of construction and clean-up activity in preparation for
the influx of tourists. We bought very nice Uruguayan handmade scarves, ate
berry and dolce de leche ice cream, and headed back to our hotel.
 |
| Playa Brava |
Before
going to the room, we had drinks at Grand Hotel beachside bar, where a gaggle
of servers – mostly young kids – were preparing for Friday night sushi. We
looked at the sushi menu and seriously considered staying here and offering our
services as sushi consultants and chefs. Of course, the main constraint was
lack of sushi-quality fish variety, but perhaps with some extra creativity we
could work around that. Afterwards, we went to visit Trump tower sales office
next door and discovered prices almost reasonable (given direct ocean views and
celebrity factor) and finishes and décor very much to our liking. But the place
wouldn’t be finished until fall 2018, and who wants to wait that long!
 |
| Punta del Este Trump Tower |
Back
in the room, I discovered a small chocolate “Happy Birthday” cake and card from
the management of Grand Hotel. This is seriously going to be my new favorite
place! After taking a shower and packing for tomorrow’s long day of travel, we
came downstairs for management’s reception. We had some sparkling wine and hors
d'oeuvres and chatted with the hotel’s manager, commending him on the superb
quality of his establishment. Then we drove downtown for dinner at Lo de Tere
by the port. The dinner was excellent – I even finally got to try Uruguayan
steak.
 |
| Steak at Lo de Tere |
Saturday, Dec 17 [Leon]
Today
we were flying to Buenos Aires at 1:10 pm, and then back home at 11:50 pm. In
the morning before breakfast, we drove to Playa Mansa on the bay side and took
a nice long walk. I went for a quick swim, and we talked to a group of stand-up
paddle-boarders gearing up for a paddle to Isla Gorriti and back. During high
season, boards will be available for rent on Playa Mansa at Parada 1. Getting
back to our hotel, we had a nice late breakfast, checked out, and drove to
Punta del Este airport only 30 minutes away. Now it became clear why the nice
Aerolineas lady in Montevideo had to talk to Avis on Wednesday. The Avis rental
counter inside PDP airport was open, but not staffed. All other rental car
offices had people behind the counter, except Avis. So, we went to check in our
luggage and then back to Avis counter. Finally at 12:10 pm, when we were about
to just leave the car keys there, three Avis bros showed up. Apparently, they
are only there when they know somebody is dropping a car off or picking one up.
Makes perfect sense, right? But perhaps then Avis should not describe this location
as open 24 hours?
Anyway,
our flight to Aeroparque in Buenos Aires was on time. Upon landing and quickly
clearing passport control yet again, we caught our luggage and found Tienda
Leon transfer service, as planned. We took their bus to their terminal,
centrally located in Retiro district only 15 minutes’ drive from Aeroparque.
Stored our bags in a locker and headed out in search of lunch. Our first choice
– a highly-rated restaurant called Elena in Four Seasons hotel – was about to
close for lunch. So, instead we went to Dada Bistro only 10 minutes away, and had
a typical Buenos Aires meal of mozzarella and tomato salad, guacamole, and
steak. The place had a fun quirky urban dive bar atmosphere, but the food and
service were excellent. Then we visited a nearby church – Basilica del
Santisimo Sacramento – very richly decorated inside, celebrating its
centennial. It was already 5:00 pm, but it was still very hot. So, after
walking by Plaza San Martin, we caught a taxi to Recoleta. The cemetery was
closing, but we didn’t really plan on going inside. Instead we just walked
around the neighborhood, trying to see if we remembered anything from our last
visit 12 years ago, when we celebrated New Year’s in Buenos Aires. Surprisingly,
we remembered quite a bit – I even found the Ulysses Hotel off of Av. Alvear
where we stayed back then. The heat was beginning to subside, so we took a
leisurely walk down Av. Alvear, checking out ornate residential and hotel
buildings, and looking into a couple of stores. At a small square Plazoleta
Carlos Pellegrini we found ourselves only a few minutes’ walk from Four
Seasons, and decided to go take a look. The interior was very nice – cool,
dark, and comfortable. After a quick time check, we decided to stay at Elena’s
Pony Line bar for drinks and a charcuterie plate, which included smoked duck and
kobe bresaola. We spent a nice relaxing hour there, and then walked along Av.
del Libertador back to Tienda Leon terminal. Picked up our bags, and boarded the
8:30 pm bus to Ezeiza airport.
Bye
Argentina! Until next time!
