The north was wonderful
"I just wanted to tell you how much we appreciated your efforts in making our trip quite memorable. Memories come back every day.
Ushuaia warmed my heart by the empanadas from Martinica Bar De Lomos. They were the best empanadas we’d eaten on the trip and the owner is very kind and fun.
I would suggest that for anyone going to the end of the world.
I also think our hotel may have been a bit too far from restaurants, 3.5kms, but overall, I did warm to the place!
I feel like I’m going backwards on our trip starting with Ushuaia! The tours we did there were all very interesting and fun except we could have done without the Beagle Channel boat ride. Having the morning off would have been great but we could have cancelled as well.
We loved the atmospheres of Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas. The former had a cool, hippy vibe. Punta Arenas was interesting except it was Sunday. Still, we wandered the streets to see all the architecture and ended up at Wake Up, a very cool breakfast and lunch place which I highly recommend as well. A bit limited for dinner on a Sunday but whatever. Hotel room was clean, breakfast was uneventful.
Our time in Torres del Paine was amazing. The hostels were fantastic and the hiking and touring were crazy! The weather cooperated with us as well. Transportation was easy and we were confident with everyone getting us, and our luggage, to where we wanted to go. The funny thing was, when I was reading about staying in a hostel I didn’t think much about it because we normally stay with our kids in the hostels so, when I found out that we’d be with strangers the first thing that crossed my mind was, I better get some pajamas!! Turned out to be so great. We had great conversations with whoever we met and the hiking was beautiful.
Very impressed with anyone who finished the ‘W’.
El Chalten was strangely a really cool place. It makes everyone feel young again! We hiked up to Mt FitzRoy and then to Laguna Torre the next day. So beautiful. That La Lenga scent was encouraging us on! The hotel in El Chalten was just right.
El Calfate was cool and we did our best shopping there except for Zoe’s sweater which we found in La Boca with Florencia. It reminded us of a similar town in Alberta, Canada. By the way, all the glaciers we saw were super and mind blowing and sad of course because they are melting so quickly. The refugio was perfect.
Our time in the north was wonderful although maybe a bit too much driving. At the same time, that can’t be helped. Salt Flats were neat and I recommend taking the extra time to take the tour. In hindsight, we would have loved to have stayed in Purmamarca for another night. We really enjoyed ourselves in one restaurant where there were three boys playing their guitars and drums for us and singing, what I think were, folk songs. The hotel in Purmamarca was exactly what Jack and I love because it was beautiful and had a separate sitting area. We just might go back for some hiking in the area and then stay there so that we could cook our own meals. If we had done the trip backwards, we would have spent more time there.
Gerardo did a fantastic job guiding and driving us safely around. It’s a lot of driving for him too but all very interesting.
Lastly, we fell in love with Buenos Aires. Florencia gave us a wonderful tour and we really learned a lot about the city. The following day, we felt quite comfortable getting around and Florencia's recommendations, the Hyatt for lunch, for example, were bang on.
Thank you so much for helping us with our trip. We have already recommended you to a friend although he is arriving on Saturday so little time, but you never know. Our many friends on facebook and instagram couldn’t believe what we saw so we will be recommending you to all of our friends.
Gracias
