25.4. - 7.5. - El Calafate - Bariloche - Osorno - Valparaiso - Santiago - Salta

25.4. - Puerto Natales – El Calafate
We got up early at 6:30 ad had some breakfast. Just one bread each as on some of the pieces there was mold. At 8 we walked to the bus to El Calafate which left at 8:30. It was very cold. The border crossing was without difficulties soon after we started. Really nice very wide landscapes and again great weather. A nice bus trip. We arrived at around 13:30 and one guy who traveled with us on the bus asked us if we want to go to the glacier right away and share a taxi for 400ARG. We took the chance, as it was even cheaper as the “public bus” tours. So we went there together with Brent (US) and Francisca (Peru), a nice couple. They are traveling for one year as their honey moon. There were also three other US who shared a taxi but in the end we did not really travel with them but rather as two teams. First we drove to an ATM and then towards the park. We had a funny driver from Dominican Rep and a lot of fun talking in a creative mix of Spanish and English. The ride took something like one and a half hours. Then we had to pay 100 each to enter the national park. The first view of the enormous glacier Perito Moreno was a real wow for all of us. We missed the last oat tour but in the end did not regret it as it is possible to get quite close anyways and most people say that it isn't worth the money. So we went along all the viewing path and platform and enjoyed the glacier for 2,5h. It was great! The others were very busy taking hundreds of photos with their nice big cameras. To be honest I was also taking quite a lot. The glacier is really impressive. A 60m high front and we could see the glacier calving several times. Once a really big piece fell down. On postcards we could see how the glacier was once connected to the piece of land where the viewing platforms are now. Back then there were no such platforms and 32 people got killed by pieces falling down during the years. After the tour the taxi dropped us off at our hostel America del Sur where we had a reservation an were luckily upgraded from shared to private bathroom. We had maybe the best room ever on our journey! It even had a nice view! :) We planned on taking part in the assado hosted by the hostel but unfortunately the chef was ill. We met again Jana, a German girl we also keep meeting here. Later we went to the restaurant El Pichon near the hostel where we had a nice view and a nice steak and really good ravioli with pumpkin filling at a really high price of course. Back in the hostel the amazing Maria... at the reception, who manages to do 10 things at the same time – multi tasking at its best – booked us tickets for the next day, reserved the hostel for the next day and booked us tickets for the next bus on to Bariloche which is the one but last bus of the season that operates the route 40 between El Vhalten and Bariloche.

26.4. - El Chalten
We walked to the buss station in the dark and left at 8am. It was a nice scenery with fog over the lakes and rivers. It was very cold again. We also had really nice views of the mountains. And in the early morning sun Fitz Roy was glowing yellow far in the distance. At 11 we arrived in El Chalten. A very very small town. We checked into our Hostel Condor de los Andes and again got a nice room. We went to the supermarket which was very small and very empty and bought some lunch for out hike. Everything seems to shut down here, even our hostel closes in a few days. At 12 we started walking towards Laguna Torre. It was a nice hike but very cold in the shadow. We had great weather and very nice views of Cerro Torre, A beautiful and spectacular mountain. Up there we talked to some Israelis for some time, who were on their typical after-army-journey. We also met Artyom again at the view point. It was funny to meet him again! We took a photo together and realized we will take the same bus towards Bariloche. We stayed quite a while at the lake in the sun before we walked back. Back in the hostel we cooked maybe the worst Ravioli I ever had, and this for 5 Euro for the package in the quite expensive supermarket. At least the beer was ok. :) Later we met a Arturo, a Peruvian, in our hostel and decided to hike together the next day.

27.4. - El Chalten
While breakfast we could enjoy views of the Fitz Roy in the morning sun. Really nice! We started to walk together with Arturo at around 10am. It was again a very nice path which was sometimes completely covered with ice, so sometimes also a bit of a challenge. Before getting to the mirador there was a steep 500m ascent and finally we reached the mirador after 3:15h. It was breathtaking! It is really such a beautiful mountain and it is really a massive wall of rock in front of you! The scenery was also nice with some light clouds. Unfortunately the lake was frozen, wo we could not take the famous picture with the reflection. We had some kind of picknic there together with Arturo. It was fun! Arturo, soon had to leave to catch his bus, but we stayed longer and enjoyed ans also climbed a small hill nearby which offered views of another glacier plus lake. We then also met a Czech guy, Frantisek, who is already traveling for 2,5 Years! And an Indian-English girl, Visha. It was nice to talk with them and we walked back together. On the way we also met a Canadian girl who camped at a lake alone and was just very relaxed, preparing her dinner. We talked to her for a while and also took some nice mirror photos with the lake. Soon it went dark, pretty fast. We arrived in the village in the dark and went shopping. This time we cooked potatoes with vegetables and chorizos. Very nice. We met Jana again in the hostel. Then we had some wine and later talked to Frantisek for quite a while. He told us crazy stories from his travels and also that the Czech police was searching for him because his ex-girlfriend apparently sued him. We did not have our room anymore so we were staying in the lobby. Later I took the time to catch up a bit with the blog and had some mate. At 3:30 am we finally walked to the bus. The terminal was closed and so we had to wait outside together with all the other tourists in the freezing cold. We met Artyom again and left at 3:50.

28.4. - El Chalten – Bus Ride
Soon the road changed to unpaved and it was a bumpy ride for a few hours. The bus was very narrow spaced and was rather a semi-semi-cama and this at a very high price. I did not sleep very well and was awake at 8 again. The bus was suppoded to be con comida but until 10am we did not get anything. Finally, at 10:30 we got a desayuno-minimo. Even the guy from the bus called it like that. Later I talked to Artyom for about an hour before he got off in the town Perito Moreno to go on hitch hiking from there. From there we went on a 2h detour to Los Antiguos just to arrive in Perito Moreno again after this. Everybody on the bus wondered why they could not solve this with an extra bus and save all of us 2h. At our next stop 2h later we again met Artyom. He got a ride until there but as it was getting dark decided to camp there next to the gas station. The night o the bus was again not very relaxing. First too hot and still not much space. A funny guy was traveling with us. He had a green punk Iroquois and was very tranqui-tranqui (relaxed).

29.4. - Bariloche
We arrived in Bariloche at 6:45 and after looking around in the dark and not finding any signs for orientation decided to take a taxi to our hostel. A good idea, because it was quite far. When we arrived there at 7:15 it was still dark and in the pub in front there were still a lot of people partying. We were first welcomed by the enormous Saint Bernard dog (Bernhardiner) of the house before we had to wake up our hosts. We got the room right away, which was nice! Sp we had the chance to catch up some sleep and take a shower. We checked in and the guy there gave us some hints what to do. We went downtown for breakfast and ended up at a place called Tante Frida. It was very good there. Then we took a bus to Cerro Campanario, a small hill which offers nice views of the area. The bus ride was nice along a lake. We walked up the hill instead of taking the chairlift and arrived on top 30 min later. We walked together with 2 French and an Argentinian. On top the view was really nice. Mountains and lakes in every direction. We had a coffee in the cafeteria and relaxed a bit there. We walked down and took a bus to the bus terminal. At least we thought we were there. Actually it was just one companies office. Anyways we got a ticket for the next day and walked back downtown. We bought some lunch for our journey and went back to the hostel. There we met a nice US-English couple and talked for a while. Later we had a red and a black beer which were home made by our host. Really good beer! :) While drinking we sorted out some photos for the blog and managed to upload some. We had some bread, sausage and cheese and skipped dinner as it was already quite late.

30.4. - Osorno
We got up at 6 had some fast small breakfast and took the pre-ordered taxi to the bus terminal where we left at 7:30 towards Puerto Montt. It was a great scenery! It was still dark, the sky was covered with dark clouds when they were suddenly turning in an intense but dark red. It looked like Mordor. Again we had far too much food for the 1,5h ride to the Chilean border and spent a lot of time eating a lot of food. I was so full, I was almost sick. Unfortunately the kid in front of me was really sick because of the winding road and did not make it to the toilet in time. Outside it was still lakes and mountains, really nice! We passed the border without problems. We also got to see a so-so movie and a really bad one. While on the bus I realized that going to Puerto Montt we would make an almost 4h detour. So we got off in Osorno. We managed to get tickets to Valparaiso in the evening which left us with 7h in this place we knew nothing about. We left our big backpacks at the luggage storage and went downtown. We found a kind of German restaurant called Wufehr where we had a good lunch. Later we found the tourist information and went to the municipal museum. There they had a mummy from the San Pedro de Atacama culture – really nice! We also learned that the region was colonized by Germans starting in the mid. 19th century. Then we went to the concrete cathedral and into a cafe at a big hyper market. We also had a cake there which was very sweet and quite heavy. We bought some batteries for my headlight and my watch and had a beer in a place near the bus terminal. On the way we also had some chicken grilled on a spit in the street. Very good! Then we were waiting for the bus but it did not arrive. I asked and was told that we were one hour early. Just two days ago Chile switched to winter-time. Lucky enough in the right direction! :) So we had another beer in the bus station cafe and boarded the bus at 20:30. We took the comfortable cama as it was quite a good price, so we will hopefully get some good sleep! :)

1.5. - Valparaiso
The night on the bus was ok and we arrived in Valparaiso at around 10. We went to the tourist information and a very helpful guy gave us a lot of useful information. We took a bus to the center. All the streets were quite empty as it was the first of may. We had to get off at a Big Ben like clock but were told by the driver a bit too late, so we had to search a bit until we were able to find the ascensor (a funicular) to take us up on the hill were we wanted to take a hostel. There are many of this old ascensores in Valparaiso, unfortunately many of them are not operating any more. Up on the hill we took a room in the hostal “La Maison du Filou”, run by a nice, relaxed french guy who fits to the name. The room had a nice view and I really liked it, however, it had a strange smell. Then we walked around on Cerro Conception, the hill on wich our hostel was located. Valparaiso streches over something like 45 such hill. That's why they built the ascensores. We checked out a laundry which was closed and went on to the main square and around. Back at the hostel we asked for a cheap and good place to eat and went on to “Mi Casa”, one of the suggestions. The place was decorated in a strange but interesting way, so it was not boring when we had to wait for the food for a long time. We got a instant soup, chicken with rice and some kind of fanta-like jelly as desert. Well it was cheap. We wanted to do a guided city tour based on tips but were too late and had to move it to the next day. So we went to the harbor instead. We also took ascensor Artilleria where we had a nice view on the harbor and the city. As the night on the bus was not as relaxing as one in a bed we went back to the hostel to catch up some sleep. We got up once more and met two Belgians in the kitchen and talked with them for a while and had a bottle of wine and chips instead of dinner.

2.5. - Valparaiso
In the morning we had to wait for a while for the breakfast as we found out that it starts at 9:30! After that we went down the hill to the lavanderia with almost all our cloth but the door was locked although it was supposed to be open. We waited for 15 minutes but nobody came. So we took one of the famous old trolley buses for a round trip. When we came back the lady was there and we could get rid of our plastic bags full of laundry. On our way to the Valparaiso house of Pablo Neruda, the Nobel prize winning Chilean poet, we got some really good empanadas. It was a really nice walk up the hill passing by a lot of street art. Valparaiso is also famous for its street art and graffiti. The Pablo Neruda house seemed to be kind of a museum already when he still used it, because he was a collector of almost anything. The best thing about his house however is its location. Really great view! After the tour we went to the main square to catch the tour4tips. Just before it started we had some really nice ice cream and a coffee. Matt, our guide, who is actually from the US and just since four month in Valparaiso, was a really great guide and very motivated. He told us a lot about the history of Valparaiso and Chile. We were ten people in the group and walked around for three hours, passing all the main sites and a lot of interesting street art. At the end of the tour we got a Pisco Sour, kind of the national drink in Chile. We went to the lavanderia to pick up our laundry and brought it back to the hostel. We went on to a roof top bar with a really cool view and had another Pisco Sour there. We took another ascensor down the hill and went to a place called “El Pimentom” famous for its Corillada, a plate full of fries, above meat and onions and on top fried eggs. We had some artesanian beer with it, one of them a really good one from Valparaiso, called Trolley. Later we went on to another place were they had Kunstmann drought beer, which is one of the best in Chile and by chance they even had live music.

3.5. - Valparaiso – Santiago
Again we had a quite late breakfast and went to a small gallery with some really nice paintings. After that we went to a place where they were developing photos on textiles. Looks really cool! We also bought a small textile-photo there. Then we walked along a nice street through the hills, av. Alemania, to the Centro Cultural, which had just opened a month ago. There was a small exhibition on one of the floors. The building is also quite nice! Then we wanted to visit the cemeterio de disidentes but as it was closed we just walked through cemeterio #1 which was also nice. After that we went to a place our guide had suggested for lunch, called Color Cafe. It was really great! We had a salad, a pea soup, a pancake filled with meat and cheese, and bananas with caramel as desert. Really delicious! It took a bit longer than expected, so we missed the Belgians at the hostel. We picked up our stuff and took a trolley bus to the bus terminal. We went to a ticket counter and got tickets for 5 minutes later and left at 16:30 to Santiago. The bus was bad but the ride took not even two hours. In Santiago we bought tickets on to Salta via Mendoza for Sunday. As the difference between Semi-Cama and Cama was only about 3 Euros we invested the money. :) We took the metro to a hostel we wanted to take. Unfortunately the hostel had only a quite expensive room left and only for one night. So we went on to look for a different place. In the third hostel, Providencia, we finally took a room which was fair. We wrote some Emails and went to bed.

4.5. - Santiago
At breakfast we met a nice British guy who had worked in Santiago for 13 years and now returned to buy a house by the beach. He told us about a market near by where we went to buy fruits and vegetables. Radka had a headache and so we went back to the hostel and grilled some corn on the cob on the gas stove which worked very well. We had to change to  room with shared bathroom, which was good, as it was much nicer and cheaper. :) In the afternoon we went to Plaza de Armas, the main square, to join another free guided city tour. Filipe, our guide, was also quite amazing. He was the kind of story teller who could guide a midnight tour on a cemetery. He told a lot about the history of Chile, starting with the natives until todays politics. Very interesting, to hear it from a Chilean and very critical but not one sided. We were almost 20 on the tour, among also a Czech girl to whom Radka talked a lot. Filipe also introduced us to a traditional drink available in the streets called mote con huesillos. It is cold peach juice with wheat and dried peach in it. Very good and refreshing. We also tried caramelized peanuts, which are quite popular pretty much everywhere we had been until now, sold by a kind of street vendor chain called Nuts4nuts. We had a break in a Cafe and had a Pisco Sour. After the break we went on to Bella Vista neighborhood where the tour ended at Pablo Nerudas Santiago house. We went to eat nearby at a place Filipe recommended. Radka had a traditional bean dish and I had a Pastel de choclo, a dish consisting of corn, chicken, eggs, raisins, rice and olives. We also had a nice beer with it, red and blonde. Very nice, but a lot of food. After that we had to walk around for a while, also to a nice gallery, and then went to another recommended place, La Casa en el Aire, for a Pisco Sour and some live music. Unfortunately, the music wasn't that interesting and very loud, so we decided to go home.

5.5. - Santiago
At breakfast we met a funny guy who also introduced us to his friend Mickey Mouse on the cover of a cartoon. He also talked to Mickey from time to time. And we also had a nice conversation with him. We started off to cerro San Cristobal, on top of wich a virgin Mary looks a bit like the Christ statue in Rio. We arrived too early for the funicular, which just startd operating 45 min later. So we went on to the nearby Pablo Neruda house where we also had to wait until 10 for it to open. We wanted to take the English tour, but then we would not have been able to pay the student price. I did not get why, but we decided to take the Spanish tour for the student price. The tour was good and we actually understood almost everything and the guide was also very concerned to explain us so that we would understand. We also liked the house! :) After that we took the funicular up the hill and walked around up there. The view was nice, however, there was a lot of smog, so some of the mountains in the background were barely visible. We had some not so nice empanadas and a better mote up there and met our Mickey Mouse friend up there. We went down and on to the museo de belles artes. There Radka decided to go back to the hostel to get some rest, because she was not feeling so well. I went on to the Museo de arte contemprano (modern art), where I also went in. The most interesting were some light and laser installations in the basement and the building itself. I went on to the mercado central, a big fish market with also a lot of restaurants. In one of the outer restaurants, packed with locals, I had the traditional Sopa de Mariscos, a seafood soup, mainly sea shells. It was good! A local joined me on the table waiting for his family and let me taste his mussel drink, very strange. It was a fun communication with him and then with his young son. I went on to Plaza de Armas where a big parade was going on. Some, if not all, were Bolivian folclore groups, dancing in tradidtinal colorful dresses to very loud drum/brass music. Really cool! I also went into the cathedral, which is also nice. Then I went on to the cerro Santa Lucia a hill in the city with gardens and nice views. I returned to the hostel where Radka was feeling a bit better, so we went to find a McDonalds as she felt like something like that. We also planned on going to the cinema, but the movie started very late so we went to a nice pub instead and had some Kunstmann beer before we went home.

6.5. - Santiago – Mendoza - Salta
We got up at 7 and had breakfast together with Samia, a Brazilian girl we met on the tour the day before. We also met Daniel a waiter we met in a cafe the day before who also stays in our hostel and who wants to go to Europe soom to learn about European cuisine. We took the metro to the bus terminal and used the waiting time to buy some flip-flops or hawaiianos how they call them here. The bus left at 10 and we had nice seats to enjoy the scenery, crossing the Andes. We went up a spectacular pass and arriving at the Argentinian border we were a bit stressed. We had a lot of lunch with us and saw that the Argentinians, who never ever checked anything the last 7! times we were crossing into Argentina, were checking a bus in front of us very thoroughly. As we had to wait we started to eat our Avocados in a hurry, but then had to stop for getting out to the migration. No one ever asked us if we had fruit or anything with us and even though they checked the bus they did not confiscate our lunch which was in there. So finally we were lucky and could keep our food. It's somehow really stupid because it does not really make any difference if we eat it 2h sooner or later if the garbage stays on the bus anyways. We went on and still the landscapes were spectacular and there were also old railroad tracks besides which looked really cool. In Mendoza we thought about taking a bus downtown, but leaving the luggage at the bus terminal was so expensive, actually the guy asked for more than usual, but did not let talk with him, plus bus tickets for finally maybe only one hour of walking around in the city. Well, we decided to invest the money in coffee and then beer in a local cafe. We moved on at 8 in a luxury bus. The whole upper floor was cama (only 3 seats in a row) in leather and the lower floor was exicutivo where people were welcomed with champagne. We had great seats on top in the front. We also got a really nice hot dinner and also some red wine. Unfortunately, they played two such stupid movies that I had to get my MP3 player and write the blog to distract myself from these extremely stupid movies. I wrote until after midnight and went to sleep.

7.5. - Salta
After a small breakfast with real espresso on the bus they played the first movie which was ok, Slum dog millionaire. I also watched the scenery which was nice but not spectacular. It was also very hot in front, so we were happy when we finally arrived at 2pm in Salta. Many people approached us with their hostel plus free taxi offers, but we only took their cards and decided to walk to the center to check out a hostel of our guide book. Unfortunately, the guide book was wrong again and the hostel was not where the mark in the map was. So we asked at two hostels nearby and actually took one of those, the hostal Lituano. We took a shower which was great after the journey and then started to read about Bolivia and had some Mate in the relaxed court of the hostel. Later we went to a supermarket which refused to sell us a retournable bottle of beer unless we bring an empty one. So we did not buy beer. We went to La Cefira almost next to our hostel as our nice hostel-woman recommended us for pasta. The pasta there is all home made and was really good! I had pumpkin, nuts, curry Ravioli with a similar sauce. Delicious! Then we went back, to find an aerobics class, or something like that, taking place on our roof top terrace. Soon we went to bed.