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Only got one more day before heading back to New Zealand so thought I ought to have a go at a final blog entry.
Was down in El Bolson last time around, laid up with a stomach bug. Now back in Buenos Aires, in between went out to the northern Patagonian coast before some long bus journeys had me up in the steamy heat of Argentina`s far north.
On my last day in El Bolson, having barely seen the town and finally feeling almost one hundred percent, I volunteered to help a girl in my hostel with a puppy adoption. Genevieve had decided a puppy would make a good travelling companion for a cycling trip south through Patagonia. Hearing there were pups being given away somewhere outside town we took a bus in that direction. Stopping the bus on a deserted stretch of highway, the driver pointed down a vague path disappearing into a pine plantation. Following it rather aprehensively we came across a sort of alternative-homeless community all built from rough sawn logs.
When we eventually found the right house, our timing couldn´t have been worse. We arrived as the couple with the pups were in the middle of a rather intense domestic despute. For ten minutes we stood outside pretending we were somewhere else while screaming and shouting eminated from inside, her worldly possesions were forcefully ejected from the front door and he became a target for various airborn household objects. Feeling somewhat awkward about being witness to all this, we found the pups cowering under the building, Genevieve picked one and we made a rapid departure.
Last I heard Genevieve and `Gaucho` were somewhere near El Calefate. He was becoming increasingly adventurous and taking great pleasure in throwing himself from the basket attached to the front of the bike, a behavioural problem that can no doubt be attributed to the disfunctional environment of his puppyhood.
Deciding to flag away any more walking in the mountains, I headed from there to the coast. Famous for the wealth of animals to be found on land and in the surrounding waters the Peninsula Valdes was a must see for an wildlife geek like myself. With a few days in the nearby town Puerto Madryn I gave myself a few days to explore.
Number one on the to-do list was seeing the sights around the peninsula. First up was Punta Norte, a sea lion colony made famous in BBC documentaries as the place where orca beach themselves deliberately in order to enjoy an annual banquet of naive and delicious young sea lion pups. It was the right time of year and orca had been doing their thing regularly for the last couple of weeks so I was hopeful of seeing some action. Unfortunately after a few hours of staring intently out to sea, no orca appeared and the crowd of hopeful spectators drifted back to the carpark, cursing those cute baby sea lions for living to see another day.
Even without orca the Peninsula was an impressive place for wildlife spotting. The land was teeming with guanacos, patagonian hares, armadillos, and foxes, while along the shore there were elephant seals, Magellanic penguins and more piles of snoozing sea lions. Despite being constantly (and frustratingly) reminded by our guide that the wildlife is much better at other times of the year it was a worthwhile trip.
The following day I checked out the penguin colony down the coast at Punta Tombo. The biggest colony in South America, during peak season there are three quarters of a million penguins here. Being outside peak season, there was now a mere three or four hundred thousand. Stretching across a couple of kilometres of desert-like patagonian coastline the place had an almost unreal feel to it. When first arriving you just noticed the penguins immediately around you. It took a few minutes to notice that the colony continued further to the next rise. Eventually you realise that the tiny specks you had mistakened for rocks in the distance are black and white and do in fact have feathers and beaks. The colony really was enormous.
While we humans kept to a path we were given in order to give the birds space, in true penguin fashion they made a point of completely ignoring such an imposition. There were just as many, if not more, bored and sleepy penguins standing within the painted stones that marked the path as there were on either side. We were constantly stepping over or around dozing penguins.
A night bus up to Buenos Aires was next on my schedule. Being in a big city was a change from the wilds of Patagonia. While useful for keeping out the Patagonian wind, my lovingly nurtured travel beard had me feeling a little out of place amongst the carefully dressed and groomed folk on the city`s streets. It was interesting to be back here eight months after my first visit. Having seen big cities in other parts of South America, Buenos Aires now seemed a lot less intimidating, much cleaner and more organised than it did when Gemma, Guin and I arrived here from New Zealand. A couple of nights out and some time wandering the streets and I decided to find somewhere warm and sunny for my last week before returning to a New Zealand winter.
Iguazu Falls in Argentina`s northeast seemed to meet the requirements so it was off to the bus station yet again. Eighteen hours later I stepped off the bus in hot sunshine and immediately began to sweat in the humidity. Ideal. Finding a hostel with a big pool, I began what I`d decided was to be my `holiday from a holiday`. A few days up here lazing by the pool, with good food and drink, and nothing more stressful than relaxed visit to the waterfalls themselves. The Iguazu falls are described by the Footprints guidebook as the `most overwhelmingly magnificent in all of South America`. I was somewhat skeptical about the whole thing, I mean sure they may be big, but still they were surely just a waterfall.
I was wrong. After seeing them first from the Brazilian side of the river you got an idea of just how big they really were. Made up of 275 different falls spread along a 2.5km long precipious, they were vast. The following day visiting the Argentinian side you could get up close to the falls and look down into the `Devils Throat`, where the bulk of the river tumbled through a notch in the rock. Despite the crowds and the themepark atmosphere it was truely impressive.
After a slack day by the pool I had one more day to fill before a night bus back to BA. Decided a visit across the Argentinian and Brazilian borders into Paraguay was a good way to kill some time. Taking the bus I was stamped out by Argentinian immigration while the Brazilian officials didn`t bother as I was coming back that afternoon. When the bus made it across the bridge into Paraguay we stopped and there was no immigration in sight. Figuring they take a relaxed approach to immigation here I didn`t bother looking any further. The city, Cuidad del Este, is reputed to be one of the most currupt in South America. With Paraguay lacking any sales taxes and being so close to the Brazil border, the city has grown into one enormous market where Brazilians come across the border in search of a bargain. Drug running into Brazil is also big business.
It was the sort of crazy, chaotic place where every inch of pavement and open space is devoted to selling anything and everything. Bought some clothes and other crap but politely declined the handfuls of mysterious coloured pills that people in every second stall shoved into my hand.
Not quite sure how to leave without stamps from either Paraguay or Brazil in my passport, I just walked back across the bridge hoping not to catch the attention of any officials. Was straightforward in the end. On the Paraguay end of the bridge the official presence consisted of a single bored looking soldier who made a point of ignoring everyone that walked by, while at the Brazilian end I strode purposefully thorugh a que of bus passengers waiting to get their passports stamped without anyone giving me a second glance. Then onto a bus, through Argentinian immigration and back to Puerta Iguazu in time for the Buenos Aires bus.
So now got tonight here in Buenos Aires before flying out at some uncivilised time in the wee hours of monday morning. Strange to leaving South America after eight months here, seen and done a lot of incredible stuff. Sad in one way, but will be good to be home at the same time.
Hasta Pronto Nueva Zelanda!
Mike
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