A global ramble - RTW 2017

[JohnM]

OK, resuming transmission. Rooflyer has quite extensively covered our Skorpios II cruise and drive across to Argentina and back to SCL in his TR: (http://www.australianfrequentflyer....circum-andean-drive-81094-17.html#post1588413) but I’ll add some into mine for the sake of continuity and completeness.

RF eyeing my departure pisco sour; Capitan’s welcome (in Espanol) at lunch. The fare included all drinks (including spirits). The wine selection was not top-shelf but was certainly good commercial wines with a good variety (they tended to serve one brand’s white and red at lunch or dinner) and the chosen brand changed at every meal. There was only a little re-cycling of brands over the course of the 5-night cruise. IIRC, and as might be expected, all wines were Chilean.

Picking our way through the many islands. We were bedevilled by heavy cloud for most of the cruise.



First stop was Puerto Aguirre. Some idea of the size of the vessel. Fuchsia is native to S America and is abundant in the region with plants approaching small trees in size.



Chilean national flower: Chilean bellflower (‘copihue’), Lapageria rosea, a monospecific genus. RF in action prior to lunch. Also gives an idea of the style of meals. Launching one of the tenders for an excursion.



A lot of cormorants. Narrow channel to our Glacier San Rafael target. Confluence of different waters with a tiny glimpse of the glacier at 11 o’clock.



Gathering the larger glacier-viewing vessels that were kept moored up a side-creek. Getting closer and readying for the excursion.

 

[JohnM]

Time for some ice and glacier viewing.







RF in the thick of it.



Collecting ice for the scotch on the (old) rocks…

 

[JohnM]

Formalities over, time to get a little closer to the glacier and a few more ice blocks.







Then it was out of the glacier lagoon and steaming overnight to wake up to a glassy still morning at the Skorpios private reserve, a fishing and fish processing site in the deep past and the origins of the company.



A little cruising around the shoreline and a chance to soak in the hot springs before an onshore asado and parilla lunch.

 

[JohnM]

Nobody does a BBQ quite like Chileans and Argentinians. First, the asado with lambs skewered on their asadores. Carving the Sunday roast will never seem the same…



Next the parilla. No wimpy Webers here… The old steam engine is used as a very effective and rather neat room heater. The passenger complement of Skorpios II is around 100 and we were close to capacity.



RF burning off lunch with a hike up the hill into the rainforest. I think he was still smiling at the top…

Then it was continuing to steam north with next stops Dalcahue and Castro on Chiloe island (Isla Grande de Chiloe – the second largest island in South America), noted for its World Heritage-listed wooden churches and unique wooden-shingled buildings.





Then the final night on board and the ‘Capitan’s Dinner’ – fairly formal and rather reminiscent of a wedding reception, with dancing after dinner.

 

[RooFlyer]

Chileans do a decent BBQ too .

RF not smiling at the top. Hill climbing wasn't in the cruise brochure!

JohnM apparently ' cut a rug' with the after dinner dance. I was tucked up in bed, so safe from the predations of the dinner dance set. :shock:

 

[JohnM]

Chileans do a decent BBQ too .

Oops - Chileans it should have been .

 

[QF WP]

I was wondering which of the two of you were going to lead....so probably a good thing you didn't witness JohnM's skills...

 

[JohnM]

Heading NE from Puerto Montt, it wasn’t too long before we were seeing cloudless skies approaching Argentina – very welcome after a week of pretty much solid cloud in Chile. It’s quite scenic near the border.

That grey thing in the middle of the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] pic was our chariot – a Ford Explorer. Now, I’ve had experience of one of those in Australia and they can be reasonably good in cruisy sorts of conditions and can handle a bit of mild off-road. But I’ve not had one with a third row of seats – and that, indirectly, was going to prove part of a problem for us in time to come. The large size was also a little challenging in cities and towns at times – but it kept us on our toes.



The main border marker – it has ‘Argentina’ on its other side. A nice volcanic plug (I was listening to the geologist that I brought along just for moments like this… ) and a few sweepers.



Some chunky rocks (see - told you I was listening…) then, uh-oh - what have we here at the border crossing? We could barely see the checkpoint from the end of the line. Anyway, long story short, after some time the queue began to move quite quickly and we got to the border post. Following some confusion about which (ill-defined) line to join and a zoo of a crowd (it was school holidays) we eventually got through with one stamp each for us humans and a myriad of stamps and checks on the multitude of papers and certificates for the vehicle. Humans easy, vehicles tough for border crossing here. But relief to see the border post in the rear view mirror!

Time for a scenic drive through the Lakes Region to Bariloche and the true start of our Argentinian foray.



After squeezing the vehicle into the very small drop-off zone at our central Bariloche hotel, unloading, checking in and a bit of running around getting an overnight parking spot in this crazy-busy place, we were settled in and ready for a drink and dinner. A 7-course degustation at a restaurant high on a hill a short walk away and with a craft-beer pub next door looked the goods – and it was.



And when in Patagonia – slurp the wines of Patagonia, I reckon. From around Neuquen, on the Rio Negro – to the NE of Bariloche and specialising in cool-climate wines like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Too far off-track to visit on this trip but it revived memories for me of a trip there a few years back.

 

[JohnM]

The scenery around Bariloche is spectacular.





And up the hill for lunch at the revolving restaurant. The main part of Bariloche is in the right background of pic 3. Bariloche is on the eastern edge of the Andes and the country to the east (right) soon levels out and is very dry, being in the rain shadow.



Then it was the start of our northwards trek, first stop the smaller alpine-style town of San Martin de los Andes.



Very enjoyable dinner at cute El Meson. Trout is a specialty in the region. And some Patagonian and Mendoza whites to round it out.

 

[JohnM]

A detour west to into Parque Nacional Lanin and a backdrop of beautiful Volcan Lanin. Not smoking, just cloud forming. Gorgeous monkey puzzle tree forest is a feature of the park. There was a Chilean border crossing up the road with a 1km queue – a sight to be repeated and making me a little nervous about how much time to allow on our final run back to SCL for my flight to MAD in about a week.



Heading north once more.





And the run into Chos Malal, an uninspiring town (but choice was absent in the back-blocks) that was to be our base for two nights over the weekend – and, as we were to find out, festival time that meant a long weekend running through both Monday and Tuesday.

Sunday was planned to be a drive into the mountains to some hot springs. That plan evaporated after about, IIRC, 80 km. The punctured tyre was the start of our problems. First, we discover that the spare is a temporary wheel – a consequence of the third row of seats (which we don’t need) taking up the wheel well space. Dang! Why didn’t we think of that possibility?

But the bigger problem was that the existing wheel was fused onto the hub with dirt and corrosion. No amount of kicking, bashing, levering or abuse would move that thing. And a Sunday… in the middle of nowhere where the chances of English speakers happening along were remote.

Anyway, long story short (and well-covered in RF’s TR), we managed to get a mechanic who had a large lever that freed the wheel and we limped back to town on the temporary spare. Fortunately, a small tyre repair shop was open (although we almost missed it) and the tyre repaired. A day lost, but it could have been a lot worse.



Northbound again. The ever-changing vista never ceased to amaze.

 

[JohnM]

Some of the volcano remnants are so cute… (professional geological terminology ). We’re on the famous Ruta 40 – 5,000 km, measured from S to N, and running predominantly along the eastern side of the Andes for almost the length of Argentina. A mixture of very good sealed and good dirt road.

I’ve previously driven quite a stretch of it south of Bariloche and in southern Patagonia, but I’d love to travel the whole thing - although we did have a fair bite at it (highlighted section on map).





I can’t get enough of the big vistas along the way.





And then into Malargue, a larger town to be our base for two nights. A jumping-off point for ski fields in winter. Pleasant enough, but basic – the offerings further suffering from the extended festival holiday. Even the reputed ‘best’ restaurant in town was closed.

Next day was up into the mountains to the skifields area and beyond.

 

[QF WP]

You're making me want to go JohnM, but maybe without the car hire (or being a pax in those crazy buses).

 

[JohnM]

This turned out to be a great day. Our tyre woes were behind us (although there was always the lingering worry about getting another puncture – or the repair of what was a significant gash in the tyre would fail), the weather was perfecto and the vistas, as we headed up and west to die for.



Las Lenas ski village and beyond.



Eventually we got to about 2900m and called it quits. Chile lies somewhere not that far away over the hills. RF waving, not falling… Another rough day at the office… Fascinating lake on the way back.



Out and around into the next valley – which went forever. The scale of the mountains is so immense that it distorts the sense of distance. After going ‘just around the next bend’ several times and watching some campers trying to pitch tents in a howling wind, we called it quits for the day.



Next day and Mendoza province, here we come! We had an interesting wildlife occurrence around the vicinity of the third pic. An armadillo scuttled across the road in front of us. Unfortunately, it dived under a very thorny bush and dug itself in before I could grab the little critter.

 

[JohnM]

You're making me want to go JohnM, but maybe without the car hire (or being a pax in those crazy buses).

Actually the buses (talking the inter-city coaches) are phenomenal in Chile and Argentina. But driving is fine - in fact, it's by far the best way to go in such a vast place.

Our biggest bugbear, apart from the puncture, was the bureaucracy involved in taking the rental car (it probably applies to all cars) cross-border. I guess it's to do with making sure they aren't being exported. It was just (an unpredictable amount of) time.

 

[JohnM]

With perfect timing, we arrived at the sensational O. Fournier winery in the southern part of the Valle de Uco, the cool-climate wine region about 100 km SW of Mendoza at noon. My previous visit was in September 2009, just before budburst but with plenty of snow on the Andes backdrop. It was a long-held ambition to go back in summer for the contrast in vine growth, vineyard activities and the scenery – not to mention another lot of scraps for lunch…

I think it’s fair to say that little did RF know what sort of treat he was in for! This winery defies superlatives. The underground section is enormous, linking all facets of the production process and connecting to the restaurant (pic 4), our meeting point for the personal English tour.



The back of the main building. Under the canopy, looking from the back, with labs, mini-winery and the winemaker’s office in the suspended glass sections above the floor with the tops of the large vats visible. From the front on the main deck at the top of the seeping ramps by which the grapes are delivered to the portable crushers that are set up here during harvest. The R ramp is visible behind RF. While harvest was in its very early stages at some wineries, that was mainly earlier material for sparkling wine. O. Fournier doesn’t do sparkling and was yet to start harvest.



The mini-winery and the laboratory. I could almost be persuaded to take up chemistry for a gig like this! The lab was on the west side, so staring at the Andes would be the view all day long.



The lab view. Chief winemaker in his cubicle… Meeting room opposite. Fairly ordinary view from the top of the ramp for the workers handling the crush…



Concrete (some inside the four massive pylons supporting the roof), stainless steel (a couple recently decorated by an artist-in-residence) and oak fermentation vats.



For anyone interested in the comparison, here’s my short TR on the 2009 Mendoza winery experience: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....malbec-magic-but-don-65183-2.html#post1172810

IIRC, the winery was built in about 2007.

 

[JohnM]

And the doors automatically swing open to lead into the inner sanctum – the massive barrel vault. And on to the owners’ tasting room. A montage showing construction.



Tasting time and lunch time.



Morning view from our hotel. Some morning views around the area.



Another iconic Valle de Ucco destination for today’s winery tour and lunch – Bodegas Salentein. The tasting room and wine sales, restaurant and art gallery building from the back as we walk to the winery. They are big on art and sculpture at Salentein – looking out to the main entry of the main building. The winery.



Harvest getting under way. Handpicking for upper-level red wines. A large vineyard over the road was for sparkling wines and whites, which are machine-harvested. SS fermentation vat area and the huge barrel vault.

 

[JohnM]

Into the cavernous interior and tasting time. They do things in style here...



Next day was the drive back to SCL. Erring on the side of caution, given the unpredictability of the border crossing, the 5 h drive and me having a flight that night, we made an early start. As it turned out, we were quite comfortable for time despite the endless stamping of the vehicle papers at the border. We also wanted to be sure of having enough time to take in the scenery going through the mountains.

Yikes! Spaghetti ahead!



After hitting the bottom, it was a mundane run into SCL to drop the rental car, bid farewell and bon voyage to RF who was overnighting at SCL before meeting his friends and heading to Easter Island.

Meanwhile at the LA lounge I was prepping, reflecting on a great couple of weeks and watching the world go by before a run up to MAD on an LA B787 later that evening and on to AMM the next day…



Next: Jordan.

Going bush tomorrow for the rest of the week; transmission will resume after that.

 

[QF WP]

Tasting time and lunch time.

View attachment 96171


Another iconic Valle de Ucco destination for today’s winery tour and lunch – Bodegas Salentein.

This TR seems to be missing some things - no notes on the tastings and where are the lunch photos with paired wines from both? Come now JohnM, I want the whole glass, not just 15ml .

 

[JohnM]

Rooflyer covered the food and wine pretty well in his TR.

 

[JohnM]

OK, resuming transmission after last week’s WA Goldfields bush-bashing interlude.

SCL-xMAD-AMM on a LA B787 and an RJ A320. Both in 1A, natch. Late arrival into AMM and… bag gone AWOL. Best guess is that it failed to get transferred from LA to RJ in MAD and it follows that it’s likely to come in on the same MAD-AMM flight tomorrow night. The two nights in AMM should see it back in my hands before heading south (and that turns out to be the case).

Nine nights in Jordan and the map shows the plan. First two nights in AMM, with a day trip to the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Jerash and then to the Dead Sea on day 1, then along the King’s Highway to Petra for two nights via Madaba, Mt Nebo and Karak. I can say right now that for anyone considering going to Jordan, two full days in Petra is essential. It’s sensational - but you need to hike into the hills to get the full experience.

Also, up front, my experience of Jordan was sublimely peaceful; the people are warm and friendly, harassment by touts is limited and ceases if you say no. Just an all-round fabulous place!

After Petra, a night at a ‘Bedouin camp’ in the Wadi Rum of Lawrence of Arabia fame was fun but it is confected for people like Brits who have never been in an ‘outback-style’ situation. Then a night in Aqaba on the Red Sea before a direct drive back on the Desert Highway to AMM for the last two nights.