Monday 15 February 2010

Goodbye to El Calafate



On Tuesday we left El Calafate and our wonderful local guide, Laura, and flew back to Buenos Aires. We stayed at the Sofitel, which was extremely comfortable and very handy for shopping ! We variously went to visit some of the highlights, like the Eva Peron Museum, and La Boca, and Tricia and Mike went tango'ing ! before joining us for our final dinner, fittingly, huge steaks !

The journey home on Wednesday (well Thursday actually ) was interesting. In a tropical storm, our aircraft developed a technical problem and our 10pm Wednesday flight turned into a 2.30pm Thursday take off ! Some chaos with baggage reclaim, bussing to hotels back in Buenos Aires, and eventually back to the airport. The flight went smoothly second time around and we landed in Madrid and transferred to Gatwick. A few missing bags notwithstanding, we survived and arrive home safe and sound !!


Top 10 highlights (from Andrew !)


Buenos Aires
Tango
Argentinan Golf Course (notably NOT Brazil)
Iguazu Falls
Bariloche (spectacular scenery)
Calafate
Argentinian People
Our Guides
Great Company !!
Barry's Golf Lessons.

Very special Thanks to Janet and Andrew for the photos and blogging for El Calafate !!

Bye for now - till next time,

Kate.



Iceberg Expedition !!



Today, we split into two groups and while the keen golfers took to the fairways, we boarded a catamaran for a trip around Lake Argentino to visit some more glaciers.


We set off for the Upsalla Glacier which has the biggest surface of them all (595 sq. Km. !!), 60 km long, but we couldn't get to the glacier as there were too many icebergs blocking the way. We sailed around the vacinity marvelling at the size, shape and wonderful blue colour of the icebergs.



We then headed off to the Spegazzini glacier, which can measure up to 125 metres tall ! Here we didn't have the errant icebergs and could get very close to the face. Afterwards we went back to see the North Face of the Perito Moreno, as we had seen the South Face yesterday. The other face was equally impressive and we spent some time gazing and marvelling at the awesome sight.



When we left the boat we met up with the golfers at a local Estancia, a large sheep ranch. Here we given a very impressive afternoon tea, followed by a tour of the ranch and sheep shearing demonstration. Here too, Janet found a 4 legged friend .. a horse to ride ..

We continued the evening with a Lamb Barbeque and tango show .. not quite as spectacular as the one on Buenos Aires, but all good fun nevertheless. We finished up with a
'Calafate' nightcap at the hotel (So we're definitely coming back !).

Magnificent Perito Moreno Glacier


Today, we visited the wonderful Perito Moreno Glacier. It was a truely spectacular sight on approach with huge cliffs of ice about 60 metres high. The glacier is about 30 kilometres long and 5 kms wide with a surface area of 195 sq. km.

The Perito Moreno sometimes experiences a Glacier Rupture. This happens when the glacier moves forward until it reaches the Magallanes Peninsula, creating a natural dam which blocks the flow of water between the two arms of the lake. The ice bridge that has been formed by the dam eventually collapses under the pressure of the water and the weight of the ice, creating what has been described as one of nature's most awesome spectacles ! We didn't see this unfortunately ! but we did see experience lots of loud cracks and bangs which resulted in many large icebergs crashing into the lake.

The glacier displayed some amazing hues of blue, depending on the compression of the ice.

The Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers said to be in 'Equilibrium'. This means that the rate at which the falling snow adds to the ice field, which feeds the glacier, is matched by the blocks of ice detonating off it's face .. so it remains largely the same size.

Our recreations of the famous Titanic scenes brought some puzzled looks from the other boat trippers ! And so to dinner in El Calafate - a lovely meal, where large Gin and Tonics all round were needed to absorb so much ice !!

Tomorrow it's out on the lake in a boat to see the icebergs first hand !

Off to El Calafate ....

Hi,

Blogging duties are now being taken up by Janet and Andrew, to cover the extension to El Calafate. First and foremost, there are NO penguins in El Calafate ..I had asked them to bring back some nice penguin photos .. so we have a photo instead of some cousin penguins from South Africa !!!

The flight to El Calafate followed the Andes southwards with some spectacular views. El Calafate is situated on the Lago Argentino (Lake Argentina) and surrounded by harsh rolling steppe and of course the Calafate bush which gives the city it's name. Local legend says that visitors who eat the jam from the Calafate bush will return (El que come el calafate volvera).

El Calafate has expanded hugely in the past 10 years due to visitors coming to view the magnificent Perito Moreno Glacier. However, the afternoon was not spent viewing glaciers or eating jam, but sampling and confirming the quality of the local ice cream !!

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Adios Asuncion

I was very sad to leave Paraguay today. I tried hard to bring my best friend with me. I even got him an Irish passport, but No, Sylvana wouldn't have it and Conor stays at home.

Today was another scorcher ! The sign on the street as we drove to the airport said 42 degrees. Although it's tough now, I'm sure I will soon be longing for the heat when I get back to London !

We arrived at the airport and check in was straight forward. Just time for a quick coffee and then away. Adios Asuncion and Muchas Gracias to Alberto and Celeste and family for a wonderful time in Paraguay.

Wonderful Farewell Dinner

Thursday was my last evening in Paraguay and we had a lovely family dinner to say Adios. Here's I am with the family (and Conor !). The Ireland and Ulster Rubgy Shirts were a theme of the evening ! Both Alberto's and Celeste's Mums came along too, which was wonderful. I felt very privileged to be part of a lovely family gathering.

We had a lovely meal in the wonderful new dining room. Celeste, who is an architect, designed the extension to the house, which includes 2 beautiful big reception rooms, a lovely luxury lounge and a magnificent dining room, where we had dinner tonight.

Tomorrow it's back to reality and probably snow in London !

Asuncion

Today, Thursday we explored Asuncion. Here's Alberto and Celeste at the Government buildings, at the port on the river. We visited the oldest house in Asuncion, which is now a museum. We strolled around the port and through the city centre. As the local attractions were closing for siesta, we headed for lunch at one of the most established cafe / bars, on Star Street. The Paraguay flag has 2 different emblems, one on each side. One of the has the Star and the Palm, and the other has the Lion. Here's the Lion emblem from the museum we visited this morning. The other emblem, the Stars and Palm gave their names to 2 of the major streets in the city, Star Street (where we had lunch) and Palm street nearby where the other old established bar is. The meal was lovely, more Surubi for me ! It's very much a local bar with no tourists.

After lunch we visited the Cathederal, which boasts one of the side altars taken from the Franciscans Church at Yaguaron.

Then we went to the Pantheon (like in Rome) where many of the national heros are buried. One of the most prominent was Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez, whose father Don Carlos Lopez was the first President of Paraguay.

Before Lopez senior, Paraguay was ruled by the dictator Gaspar Rodriges de Francia (Dr. Francia) who defeated the Spanish on 15th May 1811, and ruled as the distator until he died.

Mariscal Francisco Lopez led Paraguay against the joint forces of Argentina, Brazil and Uraguay. The war ended when he was killed in 1870, with Paraguay a much small country than it had originally been before the war with it's neighbours. Before this war, Paraguay had been the second biggest country in South America after Brazil.

Mariscal Lopez's lady escort was Madame Lynch, originally from Cork in Ireland. Madame Elisa Alicia Lynch had already been married in France, so they never married, although she travelled with him and supported him to the end. They had 8 children together, one of whom died as a baby and is buried close to her mother in Asuncion's Recoleta cemetery (same name as the famous cemetery in Buenos Aires where Evita is buried).

We stopped at a market in one of the city squares where the native Indians come to sell their wares, mostly leather and lace, and we bought some souviners. Then we went to the Recoleta cemetery to see Madame Lynch's grave. The cemetery is very similar to it's namesake in Buenos Aires, with very elaborate mauseleums built like small houses. This is Madame Lynch's grave on the right.

Afterwards, we went to see Alberto's Mum who lives closeby. I was delighted to see her. I had met her in London.

We came home via the supermarket, where we found some K-Zero chickens ! I got a nice welcome home from my new best friend Conor ..

Natan's Farm

We called in to see Celeste's brother in law, Natan and his family on their farm. It's a big farm with Soya crops, cattle and lots of fruit trees. There are also plenty of dogs !

We sat around under a tree with the family chatting and drinking Terere, my first taste of the local delicacy. Drinking Terere is very much a social ritual where the cup (the Mate) is passed from one to another and the refreshing drink is shared among friends and family. Terere is made from the Yerba Mate leaves, the same leaves that are used for Mate, which is made with hot water. Terere is similar but made with iced water. Natan made his with iced water, lemon and mint. It was very refreshing in the heat.

Natan and his family are of German descent and definitely look more European than South American. Natan was a very gracious host and spent time showing us around the farm. Here he is pulling leaves from a Yerba Mate tree. This is how they are harvested .. by hand.

Natan has some areas of forrest where the native Guarani live and work for him. The trailer above, in the main picture is used for transporting tree trunks. It's huge. The wheels are taller than him and he's over 6 foot. It takes 6 bulls to pull the cart.

Natan also pulled some mendioca for us to bring home and we also picked some grapes .. It was a really lovely time at the farm, relaxed and sunny as a guest on a real live farm .. certainly not a tourist trail !

A Day out in History ....

Today, we drove about 300 kilometers to Itapua in the South of Paraguay to see the Reductions. These were small towns built by the Jesuits in the 1500's. The were called Reductions because they were small and integrated. All of the buildings and services were close together in the centre of the town.

Celeste told me to bring extra clothes and plenty of sun cream as we were going to Scotland ! - the distance to Scotland, definitely not the temperature of Scotland ! It was about 40 degrees today too.

On the way we stopped off to visit another National Treasure, the Chapel at Yaguaron. This was built by the Guaranies, under the direction of the Franciscans in the early 1600's. It's a magnificent building with a hugely elaborate alter carved of wood and painted with gold and vegetable dye, which is remarkable as the Guaranies had no experience at all of this kind of construction before the Franciscans came. It's still a working church and there was a funeral coming in just as we left.

We drove on to the Reductions. There are 2 close together, one called Trinidad (the Trinity) and the other is Jesus. The Reductions are extremely well preserved and the sites are very well looked after. Originally, when the Jesuits came, they learned the local Guarani language and taught the local people in their own language. The Jesuits were very well respected by the Guaranies, and in fact created a huge area of influence, almost like an Empire. The Spanish, who had always kept the Guaranies as slaves, felt threatened by the partnership the Jesuits built with the local people and this contributed to the Jesuits being expelled by the Spanish in the 1630's.

The Reductions are a big tourist attraction, although there were not many visitors today, probably because of the heat. We only saw two other visitors, two French guys. We had to try and find shade to walk around in all day, but shade was scarce, particularly in the Trinidad reduction, as there is a lot of open space. This one is the most complete with the ruins of all of the buildings and areas well preserved. We visited the terraced houses where the Guaranies lived, the school, the Church and the Bell tower. The Jesus Reduction, just has the Church still standing, but again very well preserved and looked after. We had a guide at Jesus, who brought us around and explained the history.

After our long journey and visit to the Reductions we went to look for lunch. The guide recommended the Orange House, at Jesus, which we had seen on the way in. This was a little cafe, absolutely in the middle of no where, opposite the bus stop. I thought I'd wait for the bus for a while ! It comes once a day, and when it did come, our 2 French friends were aboard. We didn't quite figure out where it goes ..

We had a lovely local lunch at the Orange House and I got a big surprise when we went inside to find an Irish Flag and some smaller ones from Dublin.

The owner explained that a team from Habitat for Humanity in Dublin had come last year to build houses. This is the global charity that I work with and have been away building with a few times. I was amazed at the coincidence that we came across some of their work here, in the middle of no where in Southern Paraguay.

After lunch we left Jesus, to visit some of Celeste's relatives who live close by before we'd drive home to Asuncion.

Monday 8 February 2010

Golf as it should be ....




Today, Team Ireland took to the fairways at the Paraguay Yacht and Golf club ! We had a wonderful time. The course is absolutely beautiful and very well cared for.

Other than one other playing lesson with the pro behind us, there was no one else on the course and we played millionaire's golf !

Apart from Alberto and Celeste and myself, we had Fabrizzio, Sylvana and Stefano playing today, all of whom take lesson every weekend at the club and showed off very nice golf swings ..



The game was very relaxed and in the 40 degree heat there was even time for a Terere break under a tree. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze today, which wasn't great for the golf, but absolutely vital for survival ! We stopped for a drink after 9, and then had a very nice lunch before we tackled the back nine.

It was so hot that the iced water we'd brought with us from the 10th, was soon boiled, to the extent that you could almost make tea with it !

We struggled through the heat, but finished with the wonder, tricky island green of the Par 3 18th - a lovely finishing hole.

Tonight, we went out to dinner in a stylish city restaurant. We all had Surubi, the local fish caught from the River Paraguay which flows thru the city. It was wonderful. Here's the Surubi at the fishmongers .. I think he looks a lot better on the plate !!