Today, all of Argentina went on el paro: strike. We saw some signs on the train yesterday, but we didn’t fully grasp the scale of what would be happening today. Across the entire country for 24 hours, ports, trains, buses, airplanes and other modes of transportation stopped. Businesses and schools were closed, non-emergency health services shut down, and garbage sat out on the street uncollected. Based...
Tigre is a town north of Buenos Aires and a popular porteño getaway. It was recommended to Chris’s mom by two separate people, so we decided to make the trek. From Retiro station downtown, the suburban metro train will get you there for US$0.75 round-trip, per person. The trip is an hour, but honestly could be halved if the train went more than 30km per hour....
Still behind on blogging. Today’s #TravelTipTuesday is what my wise friend, Justin Adams, once told me: when you’re traveling, you just go with the flow and be flexible. So we’re actually quite zen about not blogging, because we’ve been busy with other things. We’ve been hitting up all the must-sees with Chris’s mom. The highlights? 1. Antiques in San Telmo On Sundays around Plaza Dorrego,...
Wow, I think this is the longest we’ve gone without updating the blog. Nothing’s wrong — just needed an internet break, I suppose. And we’ve been exploring Buenos Aires. We’re staying in the Palermo neighborhood, which is like a city in and of itself, and spent several days just wandering around. Chris has been ramping up his new job and I spent a lot...
Holly is a real trooper. She toughed it out with us on the 20-hour bus ride from San Martín de los Andes to Buenos Aires. Above is a photo of the scenery along the way, and below is the sunrise from somewhere in the middle of Argentina. We had a stop in Neuquén about 6.5 hours into the trip so she was able to take a...
The Ruta de Siete Lagos is a scenic drive — 110km, mas o menos — between San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura. While we took the drive by bus shortly after arriving in Argentina, we wanted to do it on our own so we could stop along the way. So we hopped in a rental car, grabbed a picnic (and treats for Holls),...
A friend of ours who’s thinking about taking a leap year of his own recently asked us, “Any words of wisdom on how to get started on budgeting?” Yes! Setting a budget for a leap year, career break, gap year — whatever you want to call it — can at first feel like a steep climb, but it’s easy when you take it piece...
It’s our last week in San Martín de los Andes. We’ll soon go from this quiet mountain town to a humming urban metropolis: Buenos Aires. The time always goes too fast. We’ll miss being nestled in between green mountains and we’re sad we’ll miss the colors of autumn. Some of the trees are starting to change, but they’re supposed to be really red-orange and spectacular...
San Martín de los Andes has a couple different miradors overlooking the city and Lago Lácar. Yesterday’s weather was spectacular, with a high of 75 and only a gentle wind. So we shed our jackets and made our way up the hill to Mirador Arrayán, where the photo above was taken. Arrayán is a Mapuche word, which apparently means “place where we see the last rays...
A couple people recently asked, “How’s Holly holding up?” So we caught up with Latin America’s favorite Cairn Terrier in an exclusive interview. How’s your health, Holls? “Every time I cross an international border I have to go to the vet first. I pretend to hate it so I get lots of treats. I’m a sturdy girl and the vet says I’m healthy. The...
I take back what I said the other day about lack of growth. I am 100x more mellow than I used to be. I didn’t realize it, until I listened to my conversation on the Launch Yourself podcast with host Melissa Anzman about our leap year: I’m also, apparently, now uninhibited enough to confess some of my darkest fears to strangers listening to...
No, this isn’t the island where Dumbledore was buried — even though it bears a striking resemblance. It’s La Islita, a small island in Lago Lácar. We’d been looking forward to kayaking today ever since we checked the forecast last weekend. We patiently waited out the cold by hanging out around town and working on our projects (my book got a cover makeover!). We...
These kayaks — they mock us. They stare at us as we pass by bundled up in our jackets; their bright cheerful colors reminiscent of summer. “Don’t you wish you could rent us?” they whisper. “Don’t you wish it wasn’t too cold?” Kayaks, you need to quit rubbing it in. What a cruel irony that we are just a couple blocks from a beautiful...
The sun is shining again! So we took the opportunity to get outside and get some fresh air. Not that the indoor time was bad — we got a lot of stuff done. But it was nice to feel the sun on our faces. We found a place to stay in Buenos Aires, which was a bit of a challenge since it’s tough...
Brrr! It’s cooled down here, which means it’s the perfect time for some hot chocolate. In San Martín de los Andes (and in Bariloche too), you’ll find a chocolate store or cafe on every block. They’ve got it all: chocolate ice cream, chocolate fudge, chocolate liquor. Very delicious and very dangerous. So far our favorite place is Abolengo on San Martín and Drury, which is where...
It’s a bit of a gloomy day, but rain is good and makes things green. When I’m emailing with friends, many of them ask me things like, “What else is going on that’s not included on your blog?” So here’s some behind-the-scenes commentary. On the non-gloomy side, we had a fun dinner last night with our hosts, Harry and Ivana — and their cute...