The Southern Right Whale: beautiful, enormous, astonishing, and definitely not shy. When you travel to Peninsula Valdes you will witness just what I mean aboard one of the daily whale watching tour boats. The whales seem to appreciate the tourism just as much as we appreciate visiting them. All on board and full of emotion, our boat of tourists headed out into the Atlantic waters. Whales, as we learned from the well-informed guides, are highly vocal and rely on a variety of different sounds for underwater communication and navigation. Among the chatty sounds of the calls, clicks, buzzes, and water blowing that they produce, the sound of a boat motor is distinct. The other sounds may be used to communicate about where to find food, or when its time to change locations; but when they hear the boat motor, it can only mean one thing…it’s show time.
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Sometimes a good hostel recommendation can go a long way. Most travelers have experienced those scary-to-sleep-in sheets, those refuse-to-be-barefoot bathrooms, and those sleepless-night beds at some point on our travels. It’s part of the life of a backpacker, but hey, if you can avoid it, you may as well. So if you are heading to El Calafate at some point in your Argentina adventures, a few nights at Hostel del Libertador are the way to go.
Sitting aboard my cozy LAN flight from Buenos Aires, I enjoyed some of Argentina’s famous chocolates, a nice cup of tea and anxiously awaited our arrival into Bariloche. With each turn of the engine my inner outdoorsman began to emerge and I could feel us approaching those beautiful Andes Mountains. When the wheels finally touched the runway I rushed out of the plane, eager to catch that first sight of the Andes and Lake Nahuel Huapi bordering Bariloche. One glance was inspiration enough to quickly get to a hostel, drop off my bags, and head out into the rugged outdoors.
It’s difficult to fathom the extraordinary quantities of water that flow over Iguazu Falls and into the deep unknown. Words can only do so much; it is one of those places you have to see to believe.
Remember those days at summer camp where you stepped onto campus and the biggest problem was trying to decide what activity to do first? That is exactly the sensation I got when I first arrived at Aguas Calientes in Puyehue Chile. Right across the border in the lake district of Patagonia this community has been formed for the travelers looking for a way to get into nature, experience a fun and friendly atmosphere with an endless number of activities, and of course relax in the soothing hot springs.
