December 2019
We always wanted to go to Patagonia, but the tour packages seemed to cost thousands of dollars. Because it’s remote & expensive, we assumed. When we finally organized our own Patagonia trip around a reasonably priced cruise(about $1500pp for a balcony room with fees/taxes/tips included) from Los Angeles to San Antonio, Chile, in November 2019, we were pleasantly surprised that things did not seem to cost a lot in Patagonia.
Traveling with 2 other friends, our total local costs(flights, housing, tours, admissions, buses, cabs, and meals) for 20 nights in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay came out to be about $900 each. Our flight back from Montevideo to LAX was $496. Flying to Santiago from Los Angeles & coming back from Montevideo to Los Angeles cost about $800 for YS. Bill was already in South America when we met up, and he stayed on when we parted. We found places to stay through house swapping site, HomeExchange.com, when possible, and this helped reducing the lodging costs. Over all, though, most housing and restaurant costs were quite reasonable in all of Patagonia and the cities we visited.
Pat had knee pains, thus, we opted out of any serious hiking. But there were plenty of awe-inspiring scenery and sites that we could enjoy without that. And Patagonia did not seem that remote: there were numerous sizable towns and cities in and around the area. People were nice, and we did not notice much effort to gouge tourists.
Dec. 6: Chilean Lake Region(3 nights)
Walked off the ship, got on a shuttle(about $50pp) arranged by the cruise line to go to Santiago Airport, 2 hours away. Took a 100 minute flight(LATAM Air, $56) to Puerto Montt. Rented a car(about $70 for 3 days from Econorent) and drove to the house we rented through HomeExchang.com. Originally, we planned to spend 3 nights in Puerto Montt & visit the natural attractions in the area plus Chiloe National Park. Instead, we ended up in a tiny town called Puelo 2 hours away & loved it! [blog link]
Dec. 7: Following the recommendation of the house manager, we drove 30 minutes to a beautiful, serene, Lake Tagua Tagua & got on the ferry(under $2.) Once we arrived at the other end in about 90 minutes, we drove around a bit. Not a whole lot going on, and, I guess, that was the point.
Dec. 8: Drove to Petrohue Falls, a natural wonder you don’t want to miss. Lunch at Petrohue Lodge about 10 minutes away. Then we drove to our Airbnb house in Puerto Varas, checked out the town & had dinner. [blog link]
Dec. 9: Puerto Natales (2 nights)
First we flew to Punta Arenas(Sky Air, 2 hours, $55,) then caught the bus($12) from the airport to Puerto Natales, 3 hours away. Taxi to Airbnb 3 bedroom house. Walked around town & had dinner. [blog link]
Dec. 10: Got picked up by the guide/20-person mini bus(all day tour: $55.) Drove to Torres del Paine National Park. A full day of magnificent scenery! [blog link]
Dec. 11: Bus to El Calafate(4 hrs., $25), Argentina. Border crossing was relatively painless. The bus load of people lined up to get the exit stamp & got back on the bus. Drove another 5-10 minutes to Argentina side & got the entry stamp. Once we arrived in El Calafate, we took a cab to the rental car agency(Budget) in downtown. Rented a car($32/day) & drove to the Airbnb house. Lunch in town. Drove to the Glacier National Park to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, but it was closed for the day. I had read that the park would be open till 10PM & the late afternoon could be the best time to go there to avoid the crowd. Turned out, the park was open from 9AM to 6PM. [blog link]
Dec. 12: We got to the park before 9AM & waited for the park to open(entrance fee: about $20, credit card accepted) There was almost nobody there at the Perito Moreno Glacier observation area while we were there, and that was magical! [blog link]
Flew (80 minutes on LATAM Air, $77) to Ushuaia, the southernmost city of the world. Rented a car from Sixt(about $200 for 3 days) & drove to the Homeexchange house. Had lunch at a sea food restaurant recommended by our host, walked around downtown, and visited the Prison Museum. Then we went to the port area to book a boat tour of Beagle Channel the next day. There were a dozen or so booths each selling a slightly different tour. We chose the all day tour(about $15) that covered the habitats of sea lions, cormorants, and penguins. [blog link]
Dec. 13: We went to the tour booth at 8:30AM & were led through the port gate to the boat. It was a comfortable boat with bathrooms and a cafe selling drinks and warm snacks such as empanadas and sandwiches which were decent enough and not outrageously expensive. We were promised lots of animals to see, and there were! [blog link]
Dec. 14: Drove out east climbing up the mountain range and had grilled lamb lunch this area is known for. Came back to town and walked around downtown.
Dec. 15: Buenos Aires (5 nights) [blog link]
Flew 3 hours(LATAM, $111) to Buenos Aires after a lunch at a hotel restaurant on the Beagle Coast. Stayed 4 nights at an artsy Homeexchange house right in the center of the city.
Dec. 16: We hired a private walking tour($17pp) through Airbnb site, and our guide Esteban was quite wonderful. He took us around 3 hours in the older settlement areas of Retiro and Recoleta & gave us great historical background of the city and people. His personal knowledge in tango and mate tea drinking added more texture to the tour.
After dinner, we visited Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookshop housed in an old theater & is considered to be one of the greatest book stores in the world. We went to a tango club that Esteban told us about hoping to catch some live tango music, but the action did not start till after midnight. We did watch some dancers and came back.
Dec. 17: walking tour on our own – Caminito Street in La Boca, National Congress to the Pink Palaca, Cathedral, Florida Street
Dec. 18: Iguazu Falls Day Trip from Buenos Aires [blog link]
80 minute flight(Aeolineas, $98) to Iguazu. 10-15 minute taxi ride(about $15) to the Park. Reserved a return trip with the driver. Admission ticket price(about $12) included the shuttle trains within the park. We went up to the Devil’s Throat trail first to see the most dramatic view of the falls. Then 3 of us went to the Upper Circuit trail. YS, the plucky here, did all three including the Lower Circuit. The restaurant in the park was decent and not outrageously priced with a discount coupon distributed to the visitors.
Dec. 19: Moved to the Palermo neighborhood, a hip and artsy hood of Buenos Aires. Checked out murals and a gallery. In the afternoon, we went back to Plaza de Mayo to witness the weekly demonstration held by the mothers of young activists disappeared 40 years ago.
Dec. 20: Took a ferry(75 minutes, $36) to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. Explored the town in pouring rain. [blog link]
Dec. 21: Montevideo(4 nights) [blog link] Bus(2 hours, $12) to Motevideo. Checked into the 3BR Airbnb apartment.
Dec. 22: Joined a free walking tour that covered the old town area. Went to the Sunday flea market called Feria de Tristan Narvaja, which was kind of fun but did not have a lot of items that tempted any of us.
Dec. 23: Went to a colorful housing project area, a food court in an renovated old market, and some monuments. Walked along the beach near our apartment.
Dec. 24: Rented a car and drove out east to their major beach resort, Punta del Este , which was like a smaller scale Miami. After lunch, we visited an architectural gem(or anomaly) known as Casa Pueblo. That was a fun place! [blog link]
Dec. 25: Flew out to Lima on LATAM Air(5 hours/$209.) Visited Larco Museum – an excellent museum with a wonderful restaurant. Thank god it was open on Christmas!
Dec. 26: Flied back home through Mexico City(Interjet, $287.) To kill time comfortably in transit, we walked over to the Camino Real Hotel at the MEX airport, which was connected by a walkway to Terminal 1, and had a long, leisurely lunch & checked all the emails. What a brilliant idea that was!
Small Wide World 
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