Argentina was a little pricier than the rest of South America but we managed to save a ton of money by exchanging dollars on the informal market. You can save up to a third by bringing dollars into the country and exchanging it there instead of withdrawing at the normal rate from an ATM or exchange bureaus. Transport is quite expensive but the quality of the busses are excellent. Always ask for their discounted tickets as they are about 25% cheaper and if you pay in cash you also get another 10%-15% discount. You can save by cooking at home rather than eating out, as food in restaurants can also be pricey.
To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:
Chorripan from a food truck = ARS25
McDonald’s Cheeseburger = ARS25
Steak at a restaurant = ARS150
Pint of beer at a restaurant = ARS40
Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$82 for the two of us.
Argentina was good to us! We just had the best time with the best people. It’s also very similar to South Africa in that they are famous for good meat and good wine, so we felt right at home! It is so well run and easy for a tourist to enjoy the good things it has to offer.
We would highly recommend Couchsurfing in Buenos Aires for a couple of days to get a better idea of how the city runs from a local perspective. This was the best thing we did as we really were set up nicely to explore the city as locals after we met Guga. People are very friendly in Argentina though, so even if you don’t Couchsurf people on the street are often very willing to help.
Like Chile, Argentina is noticeably more expensive than the rest of South America, however if you bring US dollars into the country you could get away with spending about a third less. There is an informal dollar market that allows you buy pesos at an exchange rate of $1 to ARS14. This is a much better rate than you will get at any ATM, bank or currency exchange which quote the official rate of $1 to ARS9.30. Bring as many large notes as possible, as a $100 note will get you a better rate ($14.50) than $20 or $50 notes ($14.00).
Transport in Mendoza and Buenos Aires was a dream. You can basically get to anywhere you want to go by public transport. Long distance busses are also extremely comfortable. On one overnight bus we were served lasagna for dinner! We signed up for EcoBici cards while we were in Buenos Aires, which allows you to use the bicycles from any of the almost 50 bike stations around the city for free for one hour (two hours on weekends). Go to www.buenosaires.gob.ar/ecobici to register and then you can collect your card from any information store close to you. If you have a cellphone with Internet you can also just use their app at the bicycle stands to collect a bicycle but we didn’t have Internet so we needed the card.
Many people in Beunos Aires speak English but it is still a good idea to know the basics of Spanish if you are going on a long distance bus and need to speak to bus drivers, etc. Tour operators and hostel staff normally speak English.
So now that we’ve done it what would we say were our top experiences? In no particular order we enjoyed the following:
Wine tasting in Mendoza
Rugby match in Buenos Aires
Empanada cooking class in Buenos Aires
Hanging out with locals and stretching the limits of our Spanish!
Exploring Buenos Aires (details on the Buenos Aires post)
Iguazu Falls
If you would like to see all our photos from Argentina follow the link below:
We took an overnight bus from Buenos Aires to Iguazu falls (ARS760pp, 19hrs) and arrived at about 10am. We checked into our hostel and headed straight for the falls. We took a backpack with some water and snacks as we heard the food at the falls was quite expensive. Busses run from the bus station in Puerto Iguazu every half hour to the falls. It takes about 30mins and costs ARS50 each way. We arrived and purchased our tickets (ARS260pp) at the gate and then went on to the kiosk inside to buy our boat tickets (ARS270pp).
When you enter you get a free map that shows all the marked trails that you can walk. We decided to start with the blue trail, which runs past some smaller waterfalls and to the docking area where we would take the boat at our allocated time. The trails are all on nice paths and its mostly in the shade, which is nice in the heat of the day! We stopped at one of the viewpoints to have our picnic lunch and enjoy the waterfalls from a distance.
Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side
Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side
Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side
We then went down to the boat docking area and packed all our valuables into waterproof bags that are provided. I was lucky to get a rain poncho from someone who had just gone on the boat, which ended up being a great score! You get sopping wet on the boat so bring a poncho or pack a swimming costume as it’s not great to walk around wet afterwards. Also take off you shoes when you get on the boat and pack them in the bag too. The boat ride is 12 minutes long and took us to both sides of the waterfalls. It is thrilling as it goes right up close and basically under the waterfall!
About to go under the falls
Sopping wet after going under the falls!
Afterwards we walked up to the train station and took the free train to Devil’s Throat which is this platform overlooking the incredible, thunderous Devil’s Throat section of the falls. We bought some beers and empanadas (ARS100) and enjoyed the 15min train ride through the park. We first enjoyed a beautiful walk crossing the very wide river on the footbridge before arriving at the Devil’s Throat. One can hear the roaring water as you approach but you can’t see the falls until you get up close. The water just seems to disappear off the edge of the world! It is an absolutely breathtaking view and the thunderous sound of the water plummeting down is almost deafening. One could just stare at the water falling into that cloudy mist all day!
On the train to Devil’s Throat
On the walkway to Devil’s Throat
Devil’s Throat – Argentinian side
Devil’s Throat – Argentinian side
Devil’s Throat – Argentinian side
The whole trip from taking the bus in Puerto Iguazu to getting back into town took us about five hours. It was a great day out! That night we treated ourselves to our last Argentine steak and went to bed early.
The next day we woke up bright and early and caught the bus from the bus station to Foz du Iquazu, the town on the Brazilian side of the falls (ARS15pp). The trip takes about 20mins to the border where we stamped out of Argentina. Then the bus continued and dropped us off on the Brazilian side to stamp into the country. They left us there with our ticket and told us to wait for the next bus, which they said would be coming in 30mins. It only came an hour later but nevertheless we were excited to be back in Brazil! From here the bus took us on into Foz du Iguazu town.
Once we were in town we walked five blocks from the local bus station to a travel agent to buy bus tickets for that night to Bonito. They advised us that the quickest way to get there was a 6pm bus to Dourados (R$97pp) that would arrive at 4:30am and then to take the 6am bus to Bonito (R$75pp, 6hrs). We bought the tickets and headed to the Brazilian side of the falls for the day.
Bus 120 runs from the Terminal Terrestre, through the center of town to the falls (called “cataratas”) for R$2,90 and takes about 30mins. We arrived with all of our luggage and so rented a locker just outside the gates for R$30 which was big enough to fit our large backpacks, two day packs and an extra souvenirs bag. We bought our tickets (R$52.50pp) and got on the open-air bus which takes you through the reserve and to the falls. We jumped off at the first viewpoint and marveled at the magnificence of the falls. It’s a completely different experience from the Argentinian side as here you see all the falls from a distance and can see how they all connect.
There are three main viewing points, the last being the viewpoint to see Devil’s Throat. Again the misty falls left us in awe! We got all our money-shots and headed back to the bus stop to get the bus back to the entrance. The whole trip took us about 3hrs. We got back to the bus station in town and took another bus to the regional bus terminal (Rodoviaria) to catch our overnight bus to Bonito.
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
Devil’s Throat – Brazilian side
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
We weren’t sure if we should do both sides of the falls but read that both sides are beautiful and should not be missed. We are so happy we did both! The Argentine side of the falls offers a close-up experience (you literally go under the falls) and the trails are fun to explore. The Brazilian side gives you the overall perspective with views from afar, which is spectacular to look at. After seven months of travelling and some amazing sights we aren’t so easily impressed anymore, but the Iguazu Falls were just spectacular!
Now on to Bonito to explore the famed natural springs and the Pantanal!
We have been looking forward to Buenos Aires for a while now! One of the main reasons was that we planned on staying put for a couple of weeks, which we were craving after going quite fast through Bolivia and Chile. We rushed to get to Buenos Aires mainly because we wanted to watch the rugby match between the Springboks and the Pumas, which for South Africans is very exciting! We arrived in Buenos Aires after a 16-hour bus ride from Mendoza. For the first two nights we stayed with a Couchsurfer, Guga, who had organised us tickets to go see the game. That day we just relaxed, got some Argentine-style pizza and then we headed to the stadium – Estadio Jose Amalfitani. Our tickets cost ARS250pp and could also have easily been purchased outside the stadium just before the game. The final score was 26-12 to the Springboks. The game was awesome as our team won! It was also a very unique experience to watch the match in such a foreign environment, where there were probably only 50 South African supporters in the sold-out crowd of 50,000! We have a newfound respect for our players going overseas and performing in front of an away crowd!
Springboks vs Pumas
At the rugby with our couchsurfer
Springboks vs Pumas
Springboks vs Pumas
The next day Guga kindly took us on a sightseeing trip around the city. Our first stop was Boca where there is a market with lots of little restaurants with people dancing tango in the streets. Here we had our first taste of the delicious Choripan – a hot dog with Chorizo sausage! We then headed to Puerto Madero, which is an area of reclaimed land and looks like a waterfront. There are many high-rise buildings and it feels very modern. Afterwards we visited the famous San Telmo market where there is an antique market with all sorts of random treasures every Sunday. It was a great fun filled day out.
Boca
Boca
Boca
Churipan
Boca
Boca
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero
San Telmo Market
San Telmo Market
San Telmo Market
San Telmo Market
The next day we headed to Monserrat, the area where we had rented a flat for nine nights. We booked our flat through Airbnb and were so surprised with what we got and how little we paid. Any hostel in Argentina will charge at least ARS300 for a private room. We got the entire flat for ARS277 per night. We were very lucky and thoroughly enjoyed the privacy and freedom the flat allowed us. If you would like to check out a flat for yourself if you are also travelling use the following link www.airbnb.com/c/rbotha4?s=8 and you will receive $25 off your first stay. We also get $25 for every successful referral so please book away!
Bedroom
Kitchen
Lounge
Bathroom
We spent the next nine days exploring the city as locals. We even got ourselves EcoBici cards, which allowed us to swipe our cards at any bicycle station and use the bike for one hour for free (two hours on weekends)! Needless to say we made use of this great service quite often as well as the well-organized Subte (Metro), which was only one block from our flat. One day we took the bikes from Jardin Zoologico (the zoo) to Parque 3 de Febrero. They close the roads around this Parque over the weekends so cyclists, runners and skaters can enjoyed the roads in peace. Jardin Japones is also right there, which is a really peaceful Japanese style garden (entrance is ARS50pp). We then had a picnic just outside on the lawn. We also cycled back to San Telmo market the following Sunday and down to Puerto Madero where there was another food market.
Riding around Parque 3 de Febrero
Riding around Parque 3 de Febrero
Parque Japones
Parque Japones
Parque Japones
Parque Japones
Picnic in the park
One night we decided to go for a cooking class that came highly recommend on TripAdvisor. We have wanted to do a cooking class the whole trip and decided it would be great to learn how to make Empanadas. The class was three hours long and included a wine tasting of three different organic wines. We learnt how to make two different types of empanadas, flan with caramel and dulce de leche. It was such a great night out with great people. The class is $68pp and their website is www.tierranegragourmet.com.
Cooking class
Cooking class
Cooking class
Cooking class
Cooking class
Monserrat is very close to the Obelisco, a needle-like statue right in the middle of Avenida 9 de Julio and an icon of Buenos Aires. We also decided to do the touristy thing and visited Evita’s museum (ARS50pp, ARS25pp with student card) and her grave. Her museum is near the Jardin Zoologico. It was interesting to see some videos with her giving speeches, some of her possessions which are on display and to understand the impact her and her husband had on Argentine politics. We then went to the Cementerio de la Recoleta where many high powered, rich people are buried, including the humble Evita. The graves are all small buildings with ornate statues all around. It was quite something to walk around and explore. Evita’s grave is definitely why most people visit the cemetery and there are still people who leave flowers and letters for her, including a letter in Spanish thanking Evita for helping them buy their house.
Obelisco
Evita Museum
Evita’s grave
Letter to Evita at the her grave
Recoleta Cemetary
Building with coffins
Another monumental place we visited is Plaza de Mayo where many workers protested for the release of Juan Domingo Peron, who later became president and married Evita. In 1955, in an attempt to overthrow Peron, the plaza was bombed, killing 364 people. Casa Rosada (Pink House) is in front of the Plaza, which is the House of Government.
Plaza de Mayo
Casa Rosada
Casa Rosada
While we spent our days exploring the city, at night we tried as hard as we could to act like Argentines and participate in their late-night antics. Although we never went to an actual club, we did manage to stay out well past midnight a couple of times (we are not late night people so this is an accomplishment for us!). Porteños (people from Beunos Aires) do everything 3 or 4 hours later than normal. Dinner will always be at 9/10pm, sometimes even later! We had Guga over with another Couchsurfer for some pizza one night and we went to his house for a Arg-Mex night of Argentinian style Mexican. It was great to spend the night with locals and girls from Mexico and Venezuela. We all ended up dancing in his lounge, showing each other what dances are typical from our respective countries.
Arg-Mex night at Guga’s
Our stay in Buenos Aires is one we will never forget! We loved every second of it! We have definitely also gained a few kilos, as the food here is just amazing! We totally overindulged but that is what holidays are for!
Our top places to visit, or things to do, while you are in Buenos Aires are:
San Telmo Market on a Sunday
Boca waterfront on a Sunday
Puerto Madero to see the waterfront and the reserve
Palermo for Parques 3 de Febrero, Jardin Zoologico and Jardin Japones
Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada
Visit the Evita museum and her grave at Cementerio de la Recoleta
Do an Empanada cooking class
Go to a rugby or football match (rugby is easier and cheaper!)
We are now heading up to Iguazu Falls which we are also super excited for, so there’s no time to be depressed about leaving this beautiful city behind!
After 34hrs of travelling from Chile to Argentina we were super excited to be in Mendoza! As we got off the bus we heard a man shouting out “cambio” which means change. Finally we found somewhere to change our dollars! For our $100 notes we got ARS14.50 per dollar and for the smaller notes we got ARS14. Just be careful if you change money at the bus stop. Wear a money belt and be aware of your surroundings when going into town.
We checked into our hostel, Campo Base International (private room with bathroom ARS300per night) and had a long awaited shower. Once we felt human again we braved the cold and headed straight to the nearest steak restaurant. To say our mouths left earth and went to heaven is an understatement! Wow, the meat was just out of this world! Mouthwatering, melting goodness! We both went for the buffet option and filled our plates with all the different types of meat, from ribs to fillet to chorizo sausage. The sides were also good, but not the star of the show! We also sampled some of the famous Mendoza Malbec. The whole meal with two bottles of wine was only ARS350, crazy value for money!
Wide streets of Mendoza
Delicious steak!
The next day we had a night bus to get to Buenos Aries in time for the Springboks rugby game against the Pumas, so we only had the day to explore the wine region. Most wine farms are not actually in Mendoza but in the neighbouring suburb of Maipú. You can get there by doing a day tour through any hostel, by taking the train or by local bus. We decided to take the local bus, which costs ARS5pp and takes between 1-1.5hrs (bus number 171, 172 or 173 from just outside Terminal Sol). You need to buy a bus card inside the terminal as the busses don’t accept cash. We decided to first visit Trapiche Wine farm and luckily arrived just at the end of a Spanish tour, as we otherwise would have had to wait an hour for the next tour. As we arrived late though we didn’t get to see the wine making process but we did participate in the wine tasting (ARS50pp), which is what we were really interested in doing anyway! We also got a free bottle of wine to drink afterwards as we missed out on the tour – score!
Wines we tasted
Wine tasting
Wine tasting
Trapiche Wine Farm
We took longer than we realized at the tasting so ran out of time to go to another farm. We ran to the Cerveceria and enjoyed some craft beer and pizza before we had to bolt for a bus back to the terminal to get our night bus. We realized there was no way we would make it in time and decided to hitch-hike back to Mendoza in the hope we wouldn’t miss our night bus. We got lucky and a very friendly Argentian picked us up and took us straight to Terminal Sol with an hour to spare before our bus! We loved seeing the wide streets of Mendoza and the vineyards in Maipú. As it is currently winter in Argentina it wasn’t very pretty though! We can just imagine how beautiful it must be in summer when everything is green and lush. We took the 4pm overnight bus to Buenos Aires (ARS700pp) and arrived at 9am.
Chile is more expensive than the rest of South America but the quality of the services and food is worth it! We didn’t hold back when it came to food and drink as we had just come from Bolivia where the choices were rather limited. We did try and save some money by Couchsurfing for 5 days in Santiago. If you want to save even more money you should make your own food at home as groceries are really cheap in Chile.
To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:
Hotdog (Completo) = CLP1000
Fast food meal = CLP4000
Seafood meal at a restaurant = CLP6000
Small beer at a restaurant = CLP1800
Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$94 for the two of us.
We loved Chile! The country is beautiful, the people are so friendly and we have done some amazing things! Also coming from Bolivia which was not a good experience for us we think the stark contrast just set Chile up for success! We stayed with the most amazing Couchsurfer, who was so passionate about his country and culture that we couldn’t help but fall in love too.
You will pay noticeably more in Chile than in the rest of South America but if you are a little smart you can get away with saving some money here and there. We chose to Couchsurf to save some money on accommodation. As is always the case, eating out can get quite pricey, but groceries are really cheap and so is street food like hotdogs (Completos) and hamburgers.
Transport in Chile is just luxurious. We didn’t have one bad bus experience! The prices for most buses were cheaper than what the Lonely Planet quoted, which was a nice surprise. Taxis are expensive and local transport is cheap, so stick to local buses and the metro. Walking from one side of town to the other is also very common; we got quite a work out while we were staying in Santiago!
Most tour operators and hostel staff speak English but it is always good to have some basic Spanish to get by on long journeys.
So now that we’ve done it what would we say were our top five experiences? In no particular order we enjoyed the following:
The day we arrived in Santiago the Los Libertadores border crossing to Mendoza, Argentina, closed due to heavy snowfall. We didn’t think much of it and thought it would open again in a few days once they cleaned the road. We continuously checked the Pasos Fronterizos webpage and Twitter feed (@UPFronterizos), where they keep you up to date with the status of all the border posts in Chile. The last Twitter feed we got said that the border was closed indefinitely! The snow just kept on coming!
So after extending our stay by 3 days, we had to make an alternate plan to leave the country. The closest border to Santiago that was open was Paso Pino Hachado, which is 800km south of Santiago. We took a 10pm bus from Terminal Alameda in Santiago to Curacautin and arrived at 6am the following morning. We then got the 9:30am bus from there to Neuquen in Argentina (9hrs, CLP18,000pp). We arrived in Neuquen at 6pm and booked the 8:30pm bus to Mendoza (ARL660pp, 12hrs). Note that if you want to exchange your dollars on the informal market in Argentina, Neuquen is not the place to do so as the best rate you will get is ARL10 per dollar. We had to bite the bullet and change some dollars at that rate though as we had no Argentine Pesos on us.
We arrived in Mendoza at 8:30am making the total trip just over 34hrs! The buses were all great though so we managed to sleep the majority of the way.
Santiago has been amazing! We have been staying with a couchsurfer – Leo, who has been the greatest host. He has shown us around the city, taken us to eat delicious local dishes and he showed me how to make the famous Pisco sour cocktail! He really made Santiago special for us, so much so that we didn’t want to leave! We were only meant to be in Santiago for 2 days but we ended up extending our stay with Leo by an extra 3 days!
We arrived in Santiago at about 10am from La Serena and took the metro (CLP660pp) from the central bus station to Leo’s apartment. He had kindly left a key with the security guard, so we let ourselves in and made ourselves at home! Leo lives in the best area in our opinion – Bellas Artes. His apartment is surrounded by trendy bars and restaurants; and is right by Santa Lucia Hill. Once we had both showered and relaxed a little we walked to the Central Market where they sell all types of seafood. We had great fish and chips at one of the stalls. That night we met Leo after work at home and had some wine and then walked to get some pizza just down the road.
Central Market Seafood
Central Market
Central Market Seafood
The next morning we had the best sleep in! Chile has recently decided to drop day light savings, so it is still dark at 8am. This really takes some time to get used to, and we have often only woken up at 9am as we don’t realise how late it is! Nothing really opens until 9am in Santiago though and the streets are dead quiet at that time. We finally managed to get out of the house at 1pm and decided to go to Santa Lucia Hill and then the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos. Santa Lucia Hill was closed due to a private function though so we just went to the museum. The museum focuses on the dictatorship of Pinochet and the human rights violations during this time. We didn’t even know about this part of history in Chile so it was very interesting. So many people were tortured and killed, it’s horrific. The museum is free but it is highly recommended to hire a telephone-like device that explains everything in English, which costs CLP2,000. If you bring headphones you can share one between two people.
Taking the metro
Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos
That night we met up with Evelien and Rikke, the Dutch couple we met in El Salvador and bumped into in many other Central American countries. Leo took us all out for a local dish called Pastel de Choclo, which is made from mashed corn, different meats and olives. It was so good! Then we went to a famous local bar and drank the infamous Terramoto (Earthquake). It’s a deadly combination of cheap wine, grenadine and pineapple ice cream. The first one tasted disgusting but got us very tipsy and then surprisingly the second one tasted great! We got home and drank lots of water as we knew we would have headaches the next day! The next day we went to the coast which we wrote about in our previous post. Click here for more info.
Pastel de Choclo and schop (beer)
Terramotos!
Enjoying the Terramotos
On Sunday Leo suggested we walk up San Cristobal Hill. We invited the Dutchies and all set out for the walk from Leo’s apartment. We skipped the train that takes you to the top of the hill and opted to walk the road that gives you a 360 degree view of the city on your way up. The walk took us about an hour up and about 20mins down. The views from the top are great, with the city spanning out as far as the eye can see and mountains framing the city on the outskirts. After the walk Leo rewarded us by making us home-made Pisco Sour cocktails which were delicious!
River running through Santiago
View on the way up San Cristobal Hill
The tallest building in South America is behind us
San Cristobal Hill
View from San Cristobal Hill
On Monday we finally got to go skiing which we have been looking forward to for quite some time now. The weather has been a bit temperamental since we’ve been in Santiago, with it raining everyday, but this meant that there was a lot of snow fall on the mountains. We booked a ski day tour through SnowTours (CLP87,000pp includes transport, equipment hire and a day ski pass. If you need to hire clothes each item is CLP8,000 and gloves/glasses are CLP5,000 each). We got up early and met at the tour agency at 6:30am. The shuttle left at 7am and stopped at a ski shop on the way for us to get our equipment and hire extra clothes for the day. The weather had gotten worse overnight so unfortunately on the way up we found out that the road to Valle Nevada was closed, which was the ski resort we had hoped to go to. We then had to go to Colorado, which is another resort close by. We arrived a bit later than expected and after a mix up with our ski pass tickets we only got on the slope at 11am. Once we saw all the snow and clipped into our skis though, all the frustration went away and we just enjoyed the whole experience! The day was so much fun! I skied often as a child but Chris has only skied once before, in Lesoto, which only really has one slope, so this was really next level stuff for him! He did so great and at the end of the day was skiing like a pro! We left the resort at 4:30pm and arrived back in Santiago at 6:30pm. That night we went to Evelien and Rikke’s new apartment that they have rented here in Santiago, as they want to try and live and work here for a while. We all went for a little housewarming and enjoyed the company and wine.
View from the top
Skiing at Colorado Ski Resort
Selfie on the chairlift
Chris aiming a snowball at me
Chris after one of his falls
Above the clouds
Popping bubbly to celebrate Evelien and Rikke’s new apartment!
Today we tried to figure out a way to get out of Chile as many of the borders are closed due to heavy snowfall! We can’t stay with Leo forever even though we would love to! After figuring out which bus to take we met up with the Dutchies for one last lunch before we catch the night bus to Southern Chile and hopefully on to Argentina.
We have loved our 5 days in Santiago and getting to know Leo. He really made the whole experience for us so great. It was also so nice to meet up with the Dutchies again and see where they will be settling down for a bit. Hopefully we will be writing about how we got to Argentina in our next post!
We are currently staying with the most amazing couchsurfer in Santiago – Leo. On Saturday he kindly took us to the coast in his car for the day. We visited Valparaiso, Viña del Mar and Con-con. In the car the drive was an hour and a half out of Santiago. The weather in Santiago and at the coast is not great at the moment as it is winter in Chile, so when we arrived in Valparaiso we arrived to an enormous storm! The sea was so rough that the waves were spilling over onto the coastal road – it was crazy! Luckily when we arrived in Valparaiso it was not raining yet, so we managed to walk around the beautiful town for about an hour and a half. The whole town is covered in murals by various artists and really gives the place such character. The shops and restaurants all have an artsy feel and people who dwell here have a cool edge to them. We walked around admiring the art and sampling treats along the way, including a chocolate dipped cookie and deep-fried pumpkin fritters. On our way home we stopped at a candy shop where we got to see them making popsicles. It was so cool watching them stretch out the caramalised sugar ,otherwise known as multicoloured goodness! Eating it slightly warm is so good!
Walking with Leo through Valparaiso
Street art
Street art
“Use the bike!”
Street art
Street art
Making candy
We then got back in Leo’s car and took a daring drive along the coast to the next town of Viña del Mar. This town has beautiful beaches and apartments along a promenade very similar to Seapoint in Cape Town. The storm at this stage started to pick up so we didn’t dare get out the car! We carried on driving further along the coast to Con-con where roads were shut down due to the rough sea spilling over onto the streets. The storm was so strong that the sea had moved concrete dividers in the street and windows had fallen from apartment buildings! We took side roads to reach Con-con where we stopped and had a delicious seafood lunch. We ate Chupe, a fondue-like dish with mixed seafood, cheese and bread. It was amazing!
Rough sea due to the storm
Chupe
With full stomachs we headed back to Santiago. It was a great day out and a real adventure in the storm. Luckily we had the luxury of going in Leo’s car, which was so nice and warm in the storm! More on what we got up to in Santiago in the next post.
Chris and Ro go... 