South America Round-up

We spent 2 wonderful months in Argentina, with brief detours into Chile and Uruguay. Now that we've fled to Europe, here's a quick roundup of our impressions of our time in a small slice of South America:

Best Food
Rachel: The asado we made one night in El Chalten. But really, the lamb and beef all throughout the country were awesome.
Tom: Parilla La Cabrera in Buenos Aires. Amazing steak, made even better by the 40% discount if you dine at the absurdly early hour of 7PM.

Best Ice Cream
Rachel: Jauja's, El Bolson. Specifically the Tiramisu or Coco flavors.
Tom: McDonald's Oreo cone.

Chill little El Bolsón

Favorite Town/City
Rachel: El Bolsón. It was so chill and we met some really friendly people. Colonia de Sacramento in Uruguay comes in at a close 2nd.
Tom: La Colonia, Uruguay. Cobblestones everywhere, beaches, and great biking.

Best Hike
Rachel: For views, the hike up to El Pitriquitrón was the best. For the full experience, I preferred the W trek in the Torres del Paine.
Tom: Fitz Roy Range, El Chalten.

Favorite Quirk
Rachel: Everything is served with dulce de leche.
Tom: Empanadas are everywhere--breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Least Favorite Quirk
Rachel: The siesta's ever-changing hours. In some places, the siesta was from 2 - 5, but in others, it was from 1 - 4, or 3 - 6... and some places didn't observe it at all! It made running errands incredibly difficult.
Tom: See Rachel's favorite quirk.

Favorite Wildlife
Rachel and Tom: Penguins, hands down. There's no kind of wildlife that can beat the little penguins we saw at Punto Tombo.

Best hostel/hotel
Rachel and Tom: La Barraca Suites in Bariloche. It was small but cozy, with great views of the national park. The owners were awesome and it was such a great value.

View from our hostel in Bariloche

Worst hostel/hotel
Rachel and Tom: We stayed one night at a very odd hostel in Puerto Natales, Chile. It smelled pretty bad there and we're not sure if the eggs at breakfast were really eggs. We left very quickly the next morning.

Next time in South America, I will...
Rachel: Stay on an estancia and spend a week riding horses with some gauchos. And improve my Spanish!
Tom: Hike the Lost City route in Colombia. And Machu Pichu in Peru.

If you could change one thing about Argentina, it would be...
Rachel: Making the roads more pedestrian friendly. Or somehow shrinking the country so as to avoid 25-hour bus rides.
Tom: I'd ban instant coffee.

If you could take something from Argentina and bring it to the U.S. it would be...
Rachel: A penguin. Amazing views. Or, the general laid-back vibe around the country.
Tom: The glacial water of Torres del Paine... nothing beats drinking from a stream without the need for iodine tablets or filters.