The Beautiful Beaches of Uruguay

Hola amigos!

Well this is it... the last post of our epic south american adventures!  We just spent the last 10 days of our trip along the coast of Uruguay.  What a beautiful country! We took the ferry from Buenos Aires across the murky brown waters of Rio de la Plata to a quaint colonial town called Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay.  We spent the day riding bikes along the coastal road, taking in some sun on the many beaches, and walking through the historic downtown area.  The weather all day was clear and sunny and we decided to spent the night camping just outside of town.  However, the weather that night took a turn for the worse and we experienced the most intense thunderstorm of our lives!  Luckily our tent kept us (mostly) dry in spite of waking up with our tent floating on 6 inches of water! We left Colonia the next day for the capital city of Montevideo to dry off at a nice hostel and see some of the city.  

Marsh in Colonia along the beach of Rio de la Plata

A colonial building in historic Colonia del Sacramento

The harbor in Colonia

After less than a day in Montevideo, we took off to the small coastal town of Punta del Diablo, close to the Brazilian border.  We had a couple days of rain, but luckily the sun came out on day 3 and gave us a great beach day.  We checked out the Santa Teresa National Park and walked the 7km back to town along deserted beach. 

Shaina at Santa Teresa National Park

Punta del Diablo

Marsh ready for the beach at Playa Grande in Punta del Diablo

Our final destination, Cabo Polonio, was one of our favourite places from our whole trip.  The town sticks out on a cape and you can see the sun rise on one side of the point and the sunset on the other side!  Along each coast of the cape were beaches as far as the eye could see. The area also had big sand dunes and a sea lion colony! It is very remote and quiet place, as there are no roads (a big jeep shuttles you into the area), and there is no electricity (except for a few small wind turbines and solar panels).  We passed our time soaking up the sun, swimming in the ocean, and walking the beaches and dunes.  It was a perfect spot to relax at the end of our trip!

The lighthouse at the tip of Cabo Polonio

Sea lions hanging out on the rocks below the lighthouse

Cabo Polonio from the top of the lighthouse and the eastern beach and sand dunes in the distance

Shaina making tracks in the dune

View of Cabo Polonio from the dunes

A gorgeous sunset on the western beach

After 4 days in dreamy Cabo Polonio, we started the long haul back to Buenos Aires for our flight home. On the way, we had one night in Montevideo and spent the afternoon biking along the coastal boardwalk, checking out the nice city beaches.

Marsh biking in Montevideo

One of many city beaches in Montevideo

The sunset ferry ride to Buenos Aires

Our flight home took us through Santiago (Chile) and then north over Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.  It really made us realize how far we had travelled!

That concludes our amazing 8 months in South America!  It was the trip of a lifetime and we can't believe all of the things we were able to see and experience.  Hopefully you enjoyed following our travels and seeing some pictures.  Looking forward to catching up with all of you soon! Adios!

Love,
Marsha and Shaina
xoxo

Cordoba - river beaches and rock climbing

Hola amigos!

After spending 2 weeks in luxury with mom and dad, we had to go back to our old ways (buses, hostels, and camping).  Since they left us in Mendoza, we spent about a week in the Cordoba area, in central Argentina.  We spent a few days exploring the city, (the 2nd largest in Argentina), with lots of nice museums, parks and outdoor art.  

Shaina in 1 of 200 rings at the Bicentennial Park in Cordoba city

The area outside of Cordoba is known for its rivers flowing down from the  nearby sierras (large hills).  Thus, we spent 2 nights in Mina Clavero (a small town 2 hours outside of Cordoba), where we relaxed on the river's beaches, swam and cliff jumped in the river, watched some gorgeous sunsets, and had another asado BBQ at our hostel.

The municipal river beach in Mina Clavero

A swimming hole and good cliff jumping spot on the river in Mina Clavero




The sunset at the 'elephant' rocks in Mina Clavero

Cordoba's surrounding area is also known for great rock climbing.  When we got back from Mina Clavero, we went climbing with a local guide for a day near the town of Tanti.  It was just us and our guide, so we had lots of time to climb different routes on a technically challenging wall (as well as time to drink mate and swim in the river!)  All in all, a fabulous day!

Shaina all geared up to climb

Shaina climbing a tricky spot

Marsh at another challenging section

Shaina rappelling down after a successful climb!

From Cordoba, we headed back to Buenos Aires for a night and then off to Uruguay for our last 2 weeks on the beach!  You'll hear from us one last time before we're back in Canada!

Much love,

Marsh and Shaina

xoxo

Meet the Parents....for two weeks in Argentina!

Hello Everyone!

We last updated you while waiting for our flight from Ushuaia (in Tierra Del Fuego) to Buenos Aires (the captial of Argentina).  Much to our dismay, we ended up waiting much longer than anticipated, as there were technical difficulties in the control tower and they closed the airport!  We were re-booked on a flight for the next day meaning that we had to spend one more night in our tent (our 20th night camping in a 30 day span!) and in the cold weather of Tierra Del Fuego.  This also meant that our much anticipated reunion with Shaina's parents in Buenos Aires (BA) would be delayed by half a day.

When we finally did arrive in BA the next day, we were greeted by 37 degree heat and two very happy parents!  We had 3.5 days to explore BA together and we were eager to show Lynn and George a taste of Argentine culture.  As such, the first thing we did together was go out for an amazing steak dinner!....at 11:30pm!  (Eating beef and eating late are both Argentine traditions)

Over our next three days, we introduced Lynn and George to Argentine ice cream, dulce de leche (an amazing milk caramel spread they put on everyting), and alfajores (chocolate covered cookies with a layer of dulce de leche in the center).  We also managed to take in a tango show and to explore several of BA's neighbourhoods and sights on foot, such as the San Telmo Sunday market, and the Recoleta cemetery where Argentina's rich and famous lay in extravagant graves.  On our last day in BA, we took a day trip to Tigre.  Tigre is a town just outside of the capital that sits on a river delta that we explored by boat and by foot.

George, Lynn, & Shaina at the San Telmo Market in BA

The Obelisk in downtown BA (it sits on the median of the world's widest road)

One of the rivers that form the Delta in Tigre

From BA, we all flew to Puerto Iguazu.  Puerto Iguazu is located at the meeting point of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.  However, everyone in Puerto Iguazu is there to see the Iguazu falls, which sit 20km south of the town and form part of the Argentina/Brazil boarder.  The Iguazu Falls are considered one of the natural wonders of the world and consist of 275 falls that span a 2.7km horseshoe!  The highest of the falls is a massive 82 meters!

We spent two days exploring the falls (on the Argentine side of the boarder) and took in the views from all the different catwalks and pathways that are set up for tourism.  The falls were absolutely stunning and the power of the water was overwhelming.  The highlight of our time at Iguazu was a boat ride that took us up close and under the falls for a unique experience and much needed shower in the extreme heat!  

The view from a restaurant in Puerto Iguazu at the meeting of 3 countries - we were standing in Argentina looking at Brazil (on the right side of the river) and Paraguay (on the left side of the river)

The highest and most aggressive of the Iguazu Falls named "The Devil's Throat"

Looking down the Iguazu River from a viewpoint at the top of the Devil's Throat - Argentina is on the left side and Brazil is on the right

Us at the top of "The Devil's Throat"

A beautiful viewpoint looking at the Argentine falls

Shaina!

The Argentine side of the horseshoe 

The boat we took heading towards the falls

The boat under the falls!  A very fun and wet ride!

The four of us nice and cool after our boat ride!

After our two great days at Iguazu, we flew west across the country to the city of Mendoza where we would spend a week.  The city sits just east of the Andes and is famous for the amazing wines produced in the region.

When we arrived at our lodging in the small town of Chacras de Coria (15 minutes outside of Mendoza) we were blown away!  It was a 2 acre villa complete with swimming pool, soccer field, volleyball court, and three outdoor grills for barbecues!  It was like a private resort just for the 4 of us!  

The week in Mendoza flew by.  We spent our days touring and tasting at the local wineries, driving and hiking around the highest mountain in the Americas (Aconcagua at 6970 masl), exploring the city of Mendoza, trying our hand at Argentine barbecues (asados), and spending our down time at the pool!

The two highlights were a 5 course gourmet meal and wine tasting at the Ruca Malen winery, and Shaina's birthday party barbecue that was cooked by a private chef!

Relaxing at the pool of our private villa!

Getting the grill ready for our first "solo" asado (BBQ)

Ruca Malen Winery with the Andes in the background

The second course of our amazing 5 course lunch and wine tasting at Ruca Malen Winery

Us with Aconcagua (6970 masl) behind us in the clouds 

Shaina at Tempus Alba Winery on her birthday!

Shaina's birthday BBQ! Everyone at the grill with our chef Raul

After 2 amazing weeks with George and Lynn, we said goodbye as they flew back to Buenos Aires to catch their flight back to Calgary.  We are leaving Mendoza tonight on a bus to Cordoba (Argentina's second largest city).  We want to say a big thank you to Lynn and George for making their two week visit so special and for spoiling us rotten!

Hopefully everyone is doing great at home and we will see you before you know it! (Only 3 weeks)

Love Marsh & Shaina

xoxoxo

The End of the World!

Hola amigos,

Welcome to the end of the world! We are in Tierra del Fuego, the furthest south you can go before getting to Antarctica!  The island is split between Chile and Argentina; we visited the Chilean side as a day trip from Punta Arenas (on the main land) and then took a bus to the Argentine side, to the city of Ushuaia.

Our Chilean Tierra del Fuego day trip was mainly to see a small colony of King Penguins (~35)! We took a ferry across the Straight of Magellan from Punta Arenas to the small town of Porvenir.  We had lunch there and then drove for two hours along the coast of Bahia Inutil (Useless Bay) until we arrived at the colony.  It was a beautiful drive through the flat grasslands, which are typical of the northern part of the island. Wildlife included lots of sea birds, ducks, a flamingo, sheep and guanacos (a wild relative of the llama).  

The quaint town of Porvenir on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego

King penguins are the second largest penguin (next to the Emperor penguin of Antarctica).  They are almost waist-height, whereas the Magellanic penguins were about knee-height, and Galapagos and Humboldt penguins were smaller still.  They have beautiful colouring, similar to Emperor penguins, with a hint of yellow on their heads and chest.  We spent about 2 hours at the penguin reserve just observing them.  The colony of about 35 penguins lives there year-round.  The highlight was watching one penguin leave the group at the riverbank, and walk (very slowly) about 400m along the beach, to meet 2 other penguins who were hanging out only 5 meters away from us!

The King Penguin colony in Bahia Inutil (Useless Bay)

A King penguin going for a stroll on the beach to meet his friends

Two King penguins waiting for their buddy at the other end of the beach

The reunion - they weren't as emotional as we were!

Us with the King penguins - they are about 5 m away!

After a great time (and great weather) on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego, we took a 10hr bus across the border to Ushuaia, Argentina.  Ushuaia's claim to fame is the most southern city in the world.  We have to mention that Puerto Williams in Chile is further south, but you can't call that a city.  We camped for 3 nights at a lovely campground just at the outskirts of town.  We had one horrible day of rain, wind, snow, and hail - everything we'd been warned against.  Luckily, the next day, it cleared up a bit and we went for a day-hike in the nearby National Park. This part of Tierra del Fuego is forested and mountainous, with lots of small islands in the Beagle Channel.

The City of Ushuaia among the mountains and Beagle Channel

Marsh in the Tierra del Fuego National Park

Coastline and mountains in Tierra del Fuego National Park

Winds are strong enough to make trees grow sideways

Now we are anxiously waiting for our flight to Buenos Aires, where we'll be back into 30 degree weather!! Shaina's parents arrive tomorrow and we'll spend 2 weeks in luxury with them!

Hasta Luego!

xoxo Marsh and Shaina