Argentina -- the second leg of our South American trip
We had a wonderful trip to South America!
(The first leg of our travels -- in Chile -- is detailed on a seprate web page.)
After finishing the first leg of our trip on the MV Australis, we disembarked in Ushuaia...
Ushuaia -- One night.
Buenos Aires -- three nights.
Iguazu Falls, Iguazu -- three nights.
First stop in Argentina: Ushuaia...
We arrived at Ushuaia during the night. (Pronounced u'-swai-eh, BTW.)
Our hotel for the night is up on the mountainside -- the building just to the right of the red and white pole on the dock.
Looking off to the right (northeast).
And a ship on the other side of the dock.
Which was about to set sail...
Casting the line.
Ushuaia, Argentina
After our disembarkation, we took a short day-excursion from Ushuaia
Sea view, near Ushuaia.
A short hike through Bahia LaPlata, Parque Nacionale, Tierra del Feugo.
A view inside the Ushuaia "Maritime Museum, Prison at the End of the World."
A long exposure image of the Saint Christopher.
Lupines, near our hotel.
Fall colors, on the grounds of our hotel.
Then on to Buenos Aires...
Lots of walking and exploring today. Starting out on our own. Exploring "new" (to us) cities on foot is great fun!
The elegant Buenos Aires Cathedral.
City sights.
Lots of retrofitted ACs in Buenos Aires!
The pedestrian-only Florida Street. One constant call we heard here was "cambio! cambio!" ("change! change!") by currency traders on the street offering "grey market" currency exchange. (At much better exchange rates than the official rates.) A weird situation, well described here.
The (to me) overwhelming feel of Buenos Aires is faded glory (some call it faded elegance; also a good description), which shows in the tattered awnings of this magnificent old building. It's more French in feel than anything else -- and definitely not Spanish colonial.
This view up caught my eye...
Looking across the very wide Aveneda 9 de Julio -- the widest avenue in the world (!), according ot Wikipedia.
Teatro Colón, which we toured the following day with our group.
An elegant building.
... but, a close-up shows its glory to be a bit in the past.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Casa Rosada, the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina.
The colorful La Boca neighborhood.
A bridge by Calatrava. (I took this photo during quick photo stop on the drive back from La Boca. We walked back here later in the day to explore this area. More photos of the bridge are below...)
A few images from the rather amazing La Recoleta Cemetery.
This fellow, Agustin Luna, was playing at Plaza Dorrego. He was great! We came home with one his CDs -- a nice find!
Back to the hotel, and then lots of walking on our own, which we enjoyed. These old structures are in a park along the old dock area.
Back to the Calatrava Bridge, here on Google Maps.
And some city scenes....
Buenos Aires, Argentina
A tour of the Teatro Colon. From Road Scholar's description, "Since 1908 visitors have marveled at the imposing seven-story Teatro Colon, a truly world-class center for opera, ballet and classical music." I'll post some photos "soon"...
Lunch with the group at an Argentine meat restaurant -- a tasty abundance. And goodbyes.
Then on to our next adventure, the spectacular Iguazu Falls! To the regional airport in Buenos Aires, and then off to Iguazu. Here's an iPhone shot from the airplane, taken a bit north of Buenos Aires. (Here's roughly the same view in Google Earth.) Processed in-phone with Snapseed.
Here's the view from the balcony of our "Jungle view" room at the overpriced Sheraton Iguazu. (But, it's right in the park, so the overcharging is not surprising. It was pleasant, comfortable, and -- did I say it already? -- right in the park! And a short walk to the trails and the falls.)
Toucans!
We explored the trails around the falls -- a treat! I took quite a few photos, but I think the photos from the following days are better. So none here...
Iguazu, Argentina
On the groupds of the hotel.
A little bit of the falls. (The plume way in the background is from the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish), which we visited later in the day..)
These plush-crested jays are a bit too used to being fed by tourists, I'd say. But they're beautiful, in any case.
Views from Garganta del Diablo (the Devil's Throat). Here on Google maps.
Back at the hotel in the evening. More Toucans!
We noticed some folks with a spotting scope, intently looking up into the trees. Turns out it was a couple with their personal birding guide, who had spotted this interesting Toucan. They moved on, and we got to admire this beautiful bird (with its serated beak!).
I love taking "long exposure" photos, which blur the water and clouds. (Here are some on my photography website, stevesickels.com.) They require a bit of time to set up, though -- and a tripod. Because we were staying within the park (at the Sheraton), we could get out to these vantage points in the morning before the park gates open (and, therefore, before the crowds), so I wasn't in anyone's way with my equipment.
We took a jungle hike on Sendero Macuco (Macuco Trail). Saw quite a few black-capped capuchin monkeys, crossing the trail overhead. Hard to get good photos of these fast-moving creatures through the trees, though! These two youngsters were a bit less active, though. Cute!
Back on the trails around the falls in the late afternoon (after the park gate "closes" at 5:00 pm, and only hotel guests have access. (But only till 6:00 pm, though, when the trails close as well.)
The toucans seem to be active only in the morning and evening. A few more images of these glorious creatures!
Iguazu, Argentina
A bit of morning exploration before our early-afternoon flights.
I think this is a violaceous euphonia. Beautiful!
And another long exposure shot of the falls.
To the Iguazu airport, and back to the Buenos Aires regional airport. A taxi to the international airport (a long ride in rush hour, but we had just enough time). And then home
Home
Arrived home in the early morning. A wonderful vacation!