When I think of Patagonia, one image that comes to mind is cypress wood, such as shown in the featured image.  This door is the entrance to a private home on a hillside in San Carlos de Bariloche.  My decision to take a 1,000 mile, 24 hour bus trip from Bariloche back to Buenos Aires…

Patagonia is a vast land of mountains, lakes, glaciers, forests and deserts. It has attracted dreamers, exiles, outlaws as well as those seeking legitimate business opportunities. The early European settlers (German, Swiss, Austrian) came after WWI hoping to improve their lives economically. Located in the "Lakes District" on Lake Haupi,  Bariloche  has a distinct Alpine…

The featured image is the top of a sculpture in the Plaza Espana and is my favorite work of art in Mendoza.  On the left  is Spain, symbolized as the older, more motherly woman, reaching out and holding on to securely her new daughter, Argentina, by way of the Santa Maria, which brought them together.…

What  I enjoy most about travel is recreating my daily routine in an environment that may or may not be compatible. Since I retired, I arise at 7:30 and go to bed at 11.  I eat breakfast at 8, lunch at 1 and dinner at 7:30-8.  If I lived like a Mendoza local, I would…

The featured image is a view taken while walking around in General San Martin park.  The  nearly 1000 acre park was built in the early 1900s and has something for everyone - a zoo, an anthropology museum, a rowing lake, a boarding school for poor children and orphans, an elite country club, football stadiums, a…

The  featured image shows a vineyard in Mendoza wine country with the Andes mountains as a backdrop.  I've not been on a vineyard tour before so did not know what to expect.  Since the tour started at nine am and was scheduled to last all day, I imagined we would be on the road for…

The featured image is of a mate (pronounced mah tay) gourd. Drinking mate is an indigenous ceremonial practice among friends  to promote conviviality, similar to passing a peace pipe or marijuana. Mate comes with its own paraphernalia: yerba mate, a strong herbal tea loaded with caffeine, the gourd, a bombilla (straw) that is made of metal and…

Mendoza is not a flat out desert, but it is first cousin to one. Nestled at the foot of the Andes, Mendoza is arid and subject to earthquakes.  The entire city was destroyed  in 1861.  Yesterday I took a walking tour of the New City, which is designed to minimize  earthquake damage to people and property. Arches are a central feature in most structures as a place to seek shelter during a quake. So how can this desert city that has little rainfall support lush greenery? Pebble lined canals flank the streets where enormous trees are planted.  The water comes from snow run off from the city's close neighbor: the Andes mountains. My tour guide said the last winter was not cold enough to produce the needed  snow melt and that the city was very worried. Not only do trees line the streets, but there are five city parks, in a relatively small central business district, that are beautifully planted.  My favorite of the parks is Plaza Espana, which celebrates Argentina's relationship with Spain.  The sidewalks and benches are decorated in Spanish tiles:

The weather  in Buenos Aires was perfect todsy:  80 degrees and sunny wirh no humidity. I have had weird banking issues I will not bore you with but my day was dominated by getting my money situation resolved.  I had to stay in the neighborhood since I could not get cash to go anywhere.  But…

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