It finally happened...we made it to Argentina. We have been planning this trip since before we were married so it has been a long time coming. It took about an hour to download the 600+ pictures and videos we took while traveling through Patagonia so each day there should be a new post with new pics and hopefully videos chronicling our trip as we moved south from Buenos Aires. Hope you enjoy.
Buenos Aires is a huge city that mixes the people and culture of Western Europe with indigenous South Americans. Thus every neighborhood's architecture seems to come from a different part of Europe, each with its own unique vibe. Below is a picture of us in La Boca. A neighborhood settled by Italian immigrants that sits at the edge of a small port. Walking through this part of the city, it looked very much like the small streets in Florence or parts of Rome. They sell a lot of Italian food at cafes with patios spilling into the street. This neighborhood is famous for its multicolored houses.
This is some sort of a crows nest that is bolted to the ground next to the harbor. There is a street market with different vendors circling below.
Our hostel in Buenos Aires sat on the corner of what I think is the biggest and widest street in the city. It is an 8 Lane street called Avienda de Mayo. It runs through the heart of the city and leads down to Plaza de Mayo which is shown below.
This is Plaza de Mayo which has many streets which converge on it and then circle around. With this city being so big this is about as close to a city center as you can get here.
At one end of Plaza de Mayo there is the "Pink House". This is basically the White House of Buenos Aires. I'm not sure if it is just for show or if anything still happens inside. There were a couple of big protests that happened in the city while we were there. They all started somewhere else and ended up outside the Pink House, so there is fence around it and we couldn't go inside or get close.
Liz has had her heart set on going to have tea at this famous hotel in Buenos Aires since she found it on the internet over a year ago. It was a very fancy place and we had to make a reservation. So fancy in fact that my shorts and Chacos were not appropriate and they offered me some black slacks to wear while we were there. We each got to pick a tea which was served in silver teapots by men in white gloves. Then this great tri-level server with great sandwiches and desserts came out. We weren't sure it was going to be enough food but everything was really rich and we barely finished it all. At the end we were offered each another dessert to take home. Of course we chose the ones with Dulce de Leche...our new favorite treat. Liz looks very pretty here as she enjoys luxuries not found in Dominica.
We went to the most famous cemetery in Buenos Aires in a "barrio" neighborhood called Recoleta. This cemetery is filled with some of the most impressive graves and mausoleums we have ever seen. Anyone who is anyone in Buenos Aires is buried here but securing yourself a spot can cost upwards of 1-3 million dollars. Each small mausoleum can hold one person or a bunch of family members within it.
Here is Liz in from of the most famous grave in Recoleta....EVITA PERON. Although the cemetery is a few blocks wide, it was easy to find her because there is a steady stream of people winding their way to her, all taking pictures and leaving flowers.
Another picture inside Recoleta's cemetery.
This is from inside one of the coolest bookstores I have ever been inside. It is called El Ateneo and it is a former theater that used to have plays and operas performed. The place is huge and the stage is a coffee shop with great food and couches. Unfortunately there were no English books there but is was great none the less.
The trail moves in and out of these great beech forests that block all the wind and are so quiet. These forests are very old and haven't had a fire in so long that huge dead trees lay everywhere with plants and moss growing all over them. 
This is the third of the valleys we needed to cross during this hike. It is nothing but rock rubble left behind from the glaciers that moved through this valley. The geology in this area is so diverse, between the granite, shale and lava rocks it only added to the uniqueness of this place.
As usual the clouds were covering up the Cerro Peaks when we got to the lake but within 10 minutes a window of clouds opened up and we were able to see the peaks from the west. You can walk around the left side of the lake and cross the glacier to approach Cerro Torre.
Up by the lake the wind was blowing pretty hard and it got much colder. There were pieces of the glacier that were floating in the lake which had blown over to our side. Some other idiots at the lake were pulling the ice out and trying to take it with them because it was thousands of years old.
Obviously Liz was cold.
There were these hawks that kept on flying around us catching the updrafts coming off the lake.
A log path leading through the swamp areas.
As you come out of the mountains the landscape and plants change quite drastically. The river splits and one cuts through the canyon below and the other runs high then waterfalls down the mountains.
Liz being the good woman she is made sure that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent out of our 6 person to a room hostel and in a nice private hotel room. The hotels are not big, they are the same size as the hostels but they are very nice inside with private rooms, big beds, nice bathrooms and continental breakfasts. This was Christmas morning after Santa came, luckily he brought mostly silver and dulce de leche.
