One Last Order of Business

On my last night in Argentina, my good friend Jann (and most active blog reader) tasked me with a very important assignment. A very serious, important assignment. And to prove I am a diligent student, here's my finished work:



I hunted down the best glass of Malbec wine that I have yet tasted in Argentina (San Felipe), ordered what turned out to be a ridiculously thick steak (at least 4cm thick-crazy!) and celebrated my travels. I even managed to nail down a complete salad (this is a feat in itself).

My steak was great- not quite par with the blissful steak I had in Bariloche, but given the short supply of quality meat in Argentina at the moment, it was fantastic. I savoured every last bit of that glass of wine, toasting whatever I could think of each time I lifted the glass (much to the amusement of my server) and then, stuffed to the gills (with half the steak still left to conquer), I waddled back to the hostel.

Mission complete :)

Argentina Full Circle (Day 55)

Today, I find myself back in Buenos Aires, where this adventure began almost two months ago. I can't believe how easily the time has slipped by. I was fortunate that today was a national holiday in Argentina- a commemoration of the beginning of the Malvinas war. I'm a little confused about how this is so significant given all the historical controversy in Argentina over the Malvinas war. Guess that's something I'll have to read up on. Regardless, the quietness in this big city was a win for me, since it would have been a huge culture shock after weeks in small mountain towns. It also gave me a chance (and different perspective) to notice some of the prettier green spaces and parks that I had overlooked here the first time. Still not the most beautiful place, but better than I remembered. At least for today.

I'm back at the same hostel too, Extremo Sur. I love this place- it's the perfect size and Diana and Ezequiel (hosts) are fantastic. Case and point: they were both extremely polite when I handed over my nasty, smelly bag of laundry. No one should have to be exposed to that. But, they scurried off (probably gagging slightly) to deal with them. That's client dedication!

As I'm sitting here thinking about all the amazing places I've seen and people I've met on this trip, it's hard to believe that it has only been two months. I would love to stay longer, of course, but there's a lot of people and places I'm missing at home too. I think I've gained a lot of perspective on this trip- about myself, my strengths, my challenges, what I'm capable of; about travelling, meeting different people and learning about new cultures. I have a little taste of a new language and lots of experiences that I know will shape my future paths. I'm sure I've changed a lot more than I realize right now, even over a short two months. And all for the better, I'm sure ;)

More than anything else, I'm really, really pleased that I took this leap. Striking off on a solo adventure was really daunting at first and travel definitely has its ups and downs for sure, but it's been such a rewarding adventure. And I have a LOT of people back home, and now abroad, to thank. And celebrate with on my return! Yup, I've spared some room in my backpack for a few bottles of vino and some treats to share.

As for my next adventure, Dan and I have both secured a summer job with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in....wait for it.... Whitehorse, YUKON! I can't wait! I've always wanted to see Northern Canada and this will be a great opportunity to do it. We're also going to drive to Whitehorse so we can use the time for a cross-Canada road trip. So, I may end up on your doorstep sooner than you think. But don't worry, I come bearing Argentine gifts!

Thanks for reading, everyone. It's been a lot of fun writing and sharing all of my adventures with you. Although you've all basically been travelling with me, if you get the chance to visit Argentina for yourself- DO IT. This is a beautiful country, full of warm and gracious people. My Lonely Planet book (*shudder*) did say that when asked why choose to travel here, Argentines would say it was for the food, and travellers would say it was for the people. ........I guess Lonely Planet was right about one thing.

Gracias y suerte a todos

Unexpected Treasures (Day 54)

I woke to another clear day, which afforded me the luxury of tearing down camp for one last time while everything was dry. It also helped my slightly damp (but now slightly cleaner) shirt to be not quite so cold and clammy when I put it on.


I enjoyed a great batch of mate for breakfast and I was feeling pretty confident that I would conquer the Camino de los Artesanos today. I packed everything up and headed back to Benitz Avenue (the direct route this time!) to start the Camino.


I made it back to Jardin de los Yaya and gave a quick wave on my way by. I did in fact soon come upon the next shop, a only to discover that it was closed.



As was the next shop,



and the shop after that,



and the shop after that.



I finally did get a good view of the Cordoba sierras though and they reminded me a lot of the rolling green range in Newfoundland.



I stopped to have some lunch and continued on to more closed shops.

I'm pretty sure the homemade icecream shop was open, but I dared not go in for fear of a feeding frenzy!


Seeing that it wasn't siesta time, I imagine that either the shops had closed up for this season or in preparation for Wednesday's feriado (holiday). Either way, I was outta luck. I was feeling a little resigned and disappointed about this whole Camino de los Artesanos when I stopped outside a very modest little house where an sweet older lady approached me. We struck up a conversation and I discovered that she, Alicia, was the artist in residence. She invited me in to have a look and promise to talk with her about Canada.


She had all kinds of little bone carved treasures and hand-spun wool and knitted things displayed around her very simple home. She made me a cup of tea (served in likely the best china she had) and I sat with her in her kitchen while we chatted about all kinds of things- life, love, happiness, politics...all the doozies!


She was so incredibly genuine and truly tickled just to sit and chat with me. It was a lovely visit. Before I left, I went and retrieved one of the Canada pins I have been toting around with me. For Alicia, I chose the little disc of maple wood with the maple leaf and "Canada" inscribed on it. She was thrilled with it- and she knew exactly what it was right away, what tree is was from and the significance of it. To me, it was just a little pin, but I knew that I had completely made her day. She kept saying that she was sorry that she didn't have anything to offer in return, but I hope that I assured her that the fact that she would welcome me into her home and show me the Argentine warmth and hospitality I have enjoyed so much here, was plenty in return. I went off into the sunshine completely revitalized and reminded of why I had made this trek.



After leaving Alicia's home, I was in such a good mood that I did go into the next open shop. It was a cooperative of artists with handmade ceramic bead jewellery, wireworks, silver art, clothing and lots of different wood carvings.

My tour guide was a little too "proactively selling" for my taste, so I only had a quick look and then made an exit. By now, the time was getting on and I still had no idea how far I was from the town centre (Villa Giardino) and the shuttle bus that would take me back to La Cumbre to catch my bus to Cordoba. I asked around and was told only about 45min more, so I set off.


Over two hours later, various directions from a lot of nice strangers and growing time-anxiety, I finally made it to the town. Even still, Villa Giardino was a lot bigger (read: longer) that I had though and it was another hour before I made it to the bus station. With only 2hrs to get back to La Cumbre and no idea how often the shuttle goes or even if today was a working day, I was getting pretty tense. Lucky for me, I no sooner walked into the bus station than a shuttle bus came along and whisked me back to La Cumbre.


Almost five hours of walking (albeit very pretty and some very enjoyable parts) just to hop on a bus and in twenty minutes be right back where I had started. Ha. Oh well- seems as though the Camino had the last laugh. Maybe the next time I'm in these parts, I'll rent a mountain bike and do the Camino up right. And I'll pick a time of year when the shops are actually open :)


My ride back to Cordoba was very uneventful. I got bumped from my original reservation back to Buenos Aires onto a later bus, but a cama bus- the equivalent of business class service. Sweet! At least the last bus ride I have in Argentina will be in style!

Camino de los Artesanos of La Cumbre (Day 53)

The weather has finally changed here in La Cumbre- at least enough to see around a bit. My gear has also had a chance to dry out a bit, which definitely helps with the damp smell on top of the not-so-clean smell :)

Since it was a nice sunny day, I decided to wander around the town of La Cumbre a bit. I considered going back up to the Jesus lookout, but I wanted to leave it with the memory I now had of the missionary and her service at the secret cross. Instead, I headed off in search of the Camino de los Artesanos (Artesans Walk)- a road where artists open their homes for viewing all their crafts. Sounds pretty cool, right?

I thought I understood (herein is the rub..) from the camping owner that the Camino started on the street just blocks away from the camping ground. I had also checked at the Information Centre and the nice lady seemed to agree and indicated that the whole Camino itself was about 9km long. So, to make sure I would get a full day of walking in, I decided to take the long route around town, circumnaviating the golf course to start the Camino from the far end. I took me about 1hr to get there, so I was a little surprised to see the sign that indicated that I was in fact at the start of the Camino, not the end...

Hmmm. I sat and had some lunch outside a very pretty farm and then decided that I was in store for a good walk anyway so I might as well wander off in the direction from the sign and see where it got me. From the map on the sign, it seemed like there should be a smattering of stops within only a few kilometers from the start. So, when almost two hours later I only just came upon the first stop, I was a little confused. But, it was a great shop to start at.

This shop, Jardins de los Yaya, was actually an organic, biodynamic farm with the most impressively imaginative variety of every jam, chutney, spread and pickled anything you could think of. So many fantastic things! Thank goodness I don't have much souvenir room in my pack because I could have done some serious damage here. The farm also gives tours and workshops, although I happened to be here on a day outside the tour times. Something to organize for my return visit :)

By the time I left I was getting tired and a little hungry, so I decided to head back. Still curious about the original street the camping owner and info lady had been talking about, I attempted to find said street on my way back. That turned out to be a lot more of a challenge that I bargained for. Turns out La Cumbre isn't renowned for its town maps. Or at least I hope not. The street I was looking for was Benitz, which on my map should be a poker-straight major road due north from the Camino. Not so. It starts out pretty straight, and then turns into a really rough dirt road, and then starts curving, twisting and winding around. I got so lost. On the bright side, I think I walked down every single street in this area of the town. And it was gorgeous- there are some serious estate homes in La Cumbre. Immaculately manicured lawns, sprawling adobe mansions and impeccable landscaping. When I finally did make it back to town, I went to talk to the info lady again to sort things out. Seems I was exactly where I was supposed to be. She assured me that Jardin de los Yaya was the beginning of the line and that all the rest of the shops where clustered right after it. The Camino was just a little longer than I expected. Fair enough. She also let me in on the tidbit that there was a shuttle that runs from La Cumbre to Villa Giardino, the neighbouring town where the Camino ends, so I could walk the Camino and take the shuttle back. Too bad she had neglected to mention that before...

I went back to camp and sat with the owner while we listened to the press conference the president of Argentina was giving in response to the escalating agriculture protests and increasingly tense road blocks. Nothing new, just pleas to open up the roadblocks and keep negotiating. At day 20 of the protest, I doubt that everyone's just going to go home at this point. When I got up to go back to my tent, I was so completely pooped that I had to decline the owner's offer to join them for an asado or even a glass of wine. I felt bad to turn down a good Argentine feast, but all I was starting to mumble incoherently and figured I probably wouldn't be much company. Especially with a glass or two of wine in me!

I'm still curious about the Camino, especially now that I know where it is and how to get there (I think). I have the whole day tomorrow before I catch my bus back to Cordoba to head to Buenos Aires, so maybe I'll venture back and see what else there is. Assuming I can find my way back...