Peter Anderson - One Man Went To Mow » Argentina

Mission Beach and Cairns

Peter — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:01:44 +0000

Just a really short update. We spent 3 nights at Mission beach staying in a really lovely B&B spending most of the time just reading or taking bike rides. Cairns was a really nice city, and we spent 4 nights there. We visited the Rooftop rainforest where Friedi got to hold a koala, but apart from that we just spent most of our time relaxing and wandering around.

111 hours by bus!

Peter — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:18:40 +0000

We have covered a lot of distance in the last 4 months, most of it by bus. Starting at the equator, and criss crossing the Andes all the way down to Buenos Aires is a long way to go. I thought it might be interesting to work out just how long we have been sat on a bus.

Turns out it is 111 hours (4 and a half days!). We also had a 9 hour train ride, plus all the various tours which I didn’t include in the calculations (some of the trips took 6 hours by mini bus). It would have been even longer if we hadn’t taken the 2 internal flights (managed to save 40 hours there!).

In conclusion, I have decided that my 8 gigs of music is just not enough to see me through these long bus trips, and have now signed up for a free trial at audible.co.uk (affiliate program on CJ). My free download is “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, which totals around 18 hours. Never listened to an audio book before, but it could turn out to be the perfect way to help pass the time!

Boca Juniors (ARG) 3 – Deportivo Táchira (VEN) 0

Peter — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:17:46 +0000

Just got back from a great Boca game (Copa De Libertadores)! The stadium, supporters, atmosphere, performance, goals and the whole evening was just fantastic! Managed to get myself a Boca shirt before the game with Palermo (captain) on the back. He then went on to score his 199th and 200th (bicycle kick!) goals for the club. The game finished 3-0 to Boca, which sends them through to the next round having finished top of their group.

Photos:

and a video:

**UPDATE** Just found the goals on youtube. Check out the 2nd goal, Palermos 200th for Boca!

Beunos Aires Pt1

Peter — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:58:13 +0000

Having spent over a week in Buenos Aires it’s about time we uploaded some photos. So far we have visited the Japanese Garden (full of fish), the Botanical Garden (full of cats), Recoleta Cometary, taken a walk downtown and around the docks, watched Tango at San Telmo.

We have also been enjoying having our own place for the first time in 4 months. The flat is in a lovely district of Buenos Aires and although small, it is very nicely furnished. (You can see photos of the flat here)

Later on today we are going to a Boca Juniors game (very excited!) and for our last week here we are thinking of making a day trip to Uruguay, visiting a fancy steak restaurant and trying some tango ourselves.

Iguazu Falls

Peter — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:49:38 +0000

Our 6 hour bus ride from Posadas didn’t treat us to any cockroaches, but we were lucky enough to watch 3 Jean Claude Van Damn films in a row…. in Spanish!

The falls were amazing. We spent 2 days viewing them from both the Argentinian side (loads of angles and close ups) and the Brazilian side (great panoramic views).

Posadas and plans

Peter — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:30:29 +0000

Since i last updated the blog we have been sat on different buses for over 28 hours!

Cafayate -> Salta (4 hours)
Salta -> Resistencia (12.5 hours)
Resistencia -> Posadas (5.5 hours)
Posadas -> Puerto Isguazu (6 hours)

All the buses have been great apart from the 12 and a half hour cockroach infested pleasentry of the El Norte night bus to Resistencia!

In Salta we watched the amazing Chelsea 4, Liverpool 4 game as well as planning out the rest of our South American trip. We were only in Resistencia for 1 night, a nice enough city but nothing really to write home about. In Posadas we stayed for 2 nights, and went on a tour to some of the Jesuit Missionaries located round about. We visted Santa Ana, Loreto and San Ignacio all of which were very interesting. Some of the pictures might need a little explanation…

* The fussball table players are painted in the strips of Boca Juniors (blue and yellow) and River Plate (red and white). The biggest 2 teams in Argentina are playing each other on Sunday (19th) of April, and i am really hoping we can watch the game.

* The picture of me standing next to a tree in a row of pillars (near the end), is actually a pillar that has become completely engulfed by a tree!

* The following picture is of a termite hill. They are apparently very tough, and we have seen many in the fields around Posadas.

Plans for the rest of South America…

19-22nd of April – Stay in Iguazu and visit the falls.
22nd of April – Fly to Buenos Aires (it’s an 18 hour bus ride, and we really can’t face anymore at the moment!)
23rd of April – Move into an apartment in Recoleta where we will stay for our final 2 weeks in South America
30th of April – Go to a Boca Juniors game!
7th of May – Take our boat tour
9th of May – Fly to New Zealand!

Cafayate

Peter — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:58:00 +0000

In total we spent 6 days/5 nights in Cafayate, a small town about 4 hours south of Salta. We took a tour through the Cafayate gorge, seeing ghost towns, amazing landscapes and some great rock formations (the iguana, the frog and the titanic). Cafayate is famous for it’s wine, and the Torrentes grape in particular so we spent alot of our time cycling to different bodegas (vinyards). We also visited a place that produces goats cheese, and had an interesting ride back when our dirt road turned into a river thanks to a burst pipe!

The hostel (Rusty-k) was one of the best we have stayed in so far on our trip, mostly because the owners were so friendly. We got invited to bbqs, and to play 5 aside football with the locals.

Finca Los Los

Peter — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:48:55 +0000

Last week we spent a couple of days at Finca Los Los. An amazing farm/ranch in the North Argentinian countryside. The spent a great couple of days relaxing by the pool, horse riding and fishing for our lunch with a gaucho (cowboy).

Salta

Peter — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:51:18 +0000

Very quick update…

After our 12 hour bus ride form Chile to Argentina we spent a few days in the very relaxing city of Salta. We visited a few churches and museums and spent some time with a very nice couple from Canada.

Here are the photos…

Quick Update – Argentina

Peter — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:01:19 +0000

Just a quick update to let you know we arrived safely in Argentina. We spent the last few days in the lovely city of Salta and are now at Finca Los Los (a ranch). Tomorrow we leave for Cafayate where we will be staying for 5 days.

Photos of Salta to follow shortly.