Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes III

 

After "Cascada Vullinanco" there were another three "Miradores" before Lago Lacar, but its literally down hill for the last 20 clicks before arriving in San Martin.

So enjoy the ride cuz literally you don't have to pedal the last 20 clicks so you can actually count 108 minus twenty on this part of the trip.

When you finally see "Lago Lacar" you will rejoice and be glad you made the trip, the acces to San Martin de los Andes brings you right there.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes

So, after resting for a day (sort of) in Villa La Angosture I departed to my next destiantion on the seven lakes route, which is San Martin de los Andes, a larger city compared to La Angostura.

I left La Angostura at first light and found the road covered in a beautiful morning mist.

First stop was Lago Espejo (Mirror Lake) which greeted me with all its morning splendor, there would be 10 sight seeing other stops with equal beauty to complete the 106 km trip.

Next stop was Lago correntoso which also seems so calm in spite of its name (current lake).

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Bosque de Arrayanes III

At the end of the trail you will find the Arrayanes forest, which used to be bigger and without other native species in the past.

a series of walkways takes around the forest, not much to see but tall trees, nevertheless they are majestic in their own way.

Definitely worth visiting, specially on a sunny day.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn

1500 km south- west from Buenos Aires sits the city of Bariloche in the Province of Rio Negro. Right on the shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake one of the largest Lakes in Argentina.

Bariloche is a year round Tourist destination being cooler than the rest of the country during the summer and having snow during the winter.

The city is spread mostly on the lake shore and has many nearby mountains that can be hiked or skied on and also several edifices built by famous Argentine architect Alejandro Bustillo.

Long Weekend in Cordoba, Argentina

 After four months of laziness and Covid travel restrictions I´m back with some travel tips, this one about a trip I took to Cordoba province here in Argentina during the carnival week end.

I normally stay at a hostel in The Capital city, That´s also called Cordoba, and from there I take buses that bring you to all the nearby cities and towns that have attractions.

Long weekend in Tandil - Visiting Balcarce - The Cemetery

The Balcarce cemetery was also designed and built by Francisco Salamone and is located south of the city in opposite direction from the slaughterhouse.

 

Entering beyond its Monumentalist style gate it houses many monuments and graves from Balcarces most important families.

all bearing testimony from a more prosperous past of the city of Balcarce.

Long weekend in Tandil - Visiting Balcarce - Postre Balcarce

Definitely a Must eat in Balcarce is the "Postre Balcarce" a cake invented in the city which has its namesake, The "Postre Balcarce"is a luscious cake filled with meringue, dulce de leche and cream which you will find in any resto, bakery or cafe in Balcarcee.

Long weekend in Tandil - Visiting Balcarce - Saint Joseph´s church

Another building you will not miss is The "Saint Joseph parrish" located also across the main square in Balcarce.

Also worth visiting due tu its beautiful architecture and relaxing atmosphere far from the outside heat.

Long weekend in Tandil - El Castillo Morisco

Another sunset attraction is the "Castillo Morisco" at the "Parque independencia" was a donation of the Spanish community in Tandil, which sits at the top of the hill in the park.

It is a great spot to watch sunsets and sunrises and easy to climb.

Long weekend in Tandil - EL Calvario

Be it that your a religious person or not the "Calvario" or "Via Crucis" as the people call it is an interesting place to visit and is conveniently located in a central area of the city.

Created in 1943 it features the stations of the cross from the passion of Jesus, it is an easy walk that might take you 15 minutes unless you stop to take pictures of the beautiful sculptures.

depending on the time of the year it might be crowded or not, but even in the summer it is covered by trees that give a nice shade.

Weekend Getaways - Capilla del Señor - Museo del Periodismo Bonaerense

The Journalism museum in Capilla del Señor located at one of the edges of the main square on Rivadavia 284 is worthwhile visiting not only for the objects it houses.

but also for the historic value of the property it is in being one of the oldest houses in town. It contains various objects concerning printing and journalism and also some historical pieces related to the history of the city.

Weekend Getaways - Capilla del Señor - Antique stores

If you like vintage stuff get ready to indulge in Antique shop visits, since there are several in the town,

There are all sorts of vintage items probably recuperated from the golden times of the "Estancias" in the Buenos Aires province.

They are all in the same area of town so you will not have problem finding them.

Weekend Getaways - Capilla del Señor - Where to eat

Actually there are several very good restos in Capilla del Señor. We checked out "Capilla Pampa" for a taste of good countryside "parrilla", the food is good and abundant and prices are fair.

Weekend Getaways - Capilla del Señor - What to do

Now this is a very tranquil town that might be pretty empty on Sundays unless you go there when there is a Fiesta and bump into crowds. I went there to relax.

There are things to see if you walk the lazy streets, there are a couple of museus, parks and restos to check out, and if you bring a bike there are trains in and out of the city.

Weekend Getaways - Capilla del Señor

Capilla del Señor is a Picturesque town located 82 km Northeast of Buenos Aires. You can go there by bus, Car or Train.

We decided to do the train experience which may be interesting in a group but kinda boring to do alone.

By Train you should hop on to the Mitre Line (Ramal Tigre) in Retiro or any other station before "Victoria" where you get off to catch the diesel train that takes you from "Victoria"station to "Capilla del Señor", total travel time 3 hours, so it can be tiresome to do the back and forth in one day, but during the summer it can be done.

The trip to Colombia - Cartagena - Heading to Santa Marta and Tairona

Now when asking around in Cartagena on how to get to Santa Marta and Tairona beach, several people told me that there were two options one called "Berlina and another called "Sol Mar", but some insisted that Solmar was best, even though the price was nearly double.
So I opted for going to Santa Marta via Solar and returning with Berlina.
Solmar offers pick up, but I decided to walk to their terminal that is right at the edge of the walled city, not far from where I was staying, the service was good and they left me right downtown Santa Marta in 4 hours.
Returning I used Berlina only to find that they depart and arrive from the Bus terminal that in both cities are way outside the city and require you to grab a taxi, that in the end ads up to more that the Solmar price and takes more time to get back and forth from the terminal. The service is also good on a bigger bus than Solmar.

The trip to Colombia - Cartagena at night

I would say that colonial cities render most their mystique at nighttime with their lamps reflecting on cobblestones on an empty street.

But in crowded touristic spots you might find it complicated cuz you´ll have people wondering around till very ungodly hours.

My recommendation is to get up early one day to catch the sunset and do an hour or two of nighttime pics with your tripod.

The trip to Colombia - Hotel de la Opera

Right beside the Cristoval Colon theatre in the Centro histórico de Bogota you will find the "Hotel de la Opera" a Colonial manor turned Hotel.

If your budget allows you it is a magnificent place to stay in Bogota.

If not you can allways have a drink or a meal at the resto that sits on its terrace and take in the spectacular view of the old city, I tried the picada bogota which is a selection of finger food treats.