(Jan 1-2) Jim Potochick,Danette Potochick, and Deb Anderson left the US on New Year’s Day and landed in Santiago, Chile on January 2, 2015. Chile has 2,650 miles, along the Pacific coastline, and is the longest and narrowest country in South America. The main territory is about twice the size of Germany. In the far south, the land has hundreds of islands and fiords. The Chilean people are generally a blend of Spanish and European immigration. Only 8% of the people speak fluent English.
After settling in, we had a privately arranged city tour which was split between driving and walking. We saw the Government Palace, Plaza de Armas, and the Santa Lucia hill which is were the Spanish founded Santiago in 1541. We had our first hot dog in Chile which has avocado, tomato, and a mayo cream on top so Jim and Deb were very happy and they continued to taste test these throughout our trip!
The next morning we rented a car and drove to Mendoza, Argentina. We drove through the Andes mountains and stopped at the La Portilla ski resort. Crossing the border was interesting as it was like a funnel of cars going through a narrow passage. Cars line up to go through border control of Chile (to get out or in) and then Argentina (to get in or out). Border control is an old system of stamping paperwork, filling out forms, long lines, and few people working to pass through hundreds of cars. We crossed five times total on trip and waited anywhere from one to five hours.
(Jan 3-5) Mendoza is a wine region that has over 1000 wineries. Boutique wineries bottle 100,000 or less. Oak barrels can cost up to 1000 Euro and are used six times. The first usage is the Grand Reserva, then Reserva, and on down to your table wines. Malbec is the acclaimed wine of Argentina. We noticed the vineyards had some vines that were more in narrow rows and some where the vines lay across the top. We found out that the rows are for wine grapes only and the grapes that lay out on top of rows are for eating grapes. We visited some wineries, tasted the wine, and ate the Argentina beef which was fabulous.
It is amazing that this area only gets about 6 inches of rain per year. The area has a vast network of aqueducts and dikes that run through the vineyards and even the city.
The city of Mendoza had great restaurants, a large park area, and was easy to get walk around. The park area had street musicians and local vendors selling items. We learned when we got gas to be sure to go to the proper pump. The stations also have natural gas and many vehicles have been converted because it is cheaper to run.
After two days, we returned to Chile and went to the coastal town of Valparaiso. The trip across the Andes was an adventure because we drove Highway 52 through Villavicencio Natural Reserve and the road has 365 turns on a gravel road. It was an old road that was used by the San Martin and his army. At the top of the Andes we saw some Inca ruins.
This border crossing was five hours. We met a couple young men while waiting who gave us an education of Argentina, its corruption, and the heavy tax they put on people wanting to travel, and heavy tax on tourists. We also learned that the black market for money exchange is the norm because of the economy. People want Euro or US dollar as they feel this currency will hold its value.
In Valparaiso we stayed in a wonderful B&B home with eight rooms. It was located on top of a hill in and area with beautiful old architecture. The buildings were painted in varied bright colors and the city had a multitude of murals painted on buildings and fences. In various cities throughout our trip we noticed the fabulous murals or “street art”. The streets were steep in the area we stayed and they led to the main port area. During the colonial era this was a significant port in South America.
(Jan 6-8) We drove to Santa Cruz, which is in the Chilean wine region. We drove along two lane roads through valleys and hills. In addition to vineyards, this area is a great growing region for fruits and vegetables. Our hotel was located in a vineyard, had a swimming pool, two restaurants close by and a wine tasting room. Deb and Danette spent the day visiting wineries and enjoying a leisurely lunch at Vina Vie Manet, while Jim spent the day biking.
(Jan 8-10) We flew from Santiago to Temuco drove to Pucon, Chile. We met a man, Collin, while standing in line at the airport who was originally from Minnesota. We offered him a ride to Pucon and he became our first of many people we transported along this trip. We picked up hitchhikers from US, Italy, Germany, France, and Chile. It was fun to listen to the stories, background, and experiences that every hitchhiker shared with us.
While in Pucon we visited the Volcano Villarrica, Ojos Del Caburga Falls, hiked Parc Nacional Huerquehue, and saw thermal springs.
(Jan 10-13) We crossed the border to Argentina and stayed in San Martin. We crossed the Andes and the scenery changes from farmland and forest to the dry Argentinean Pampa. The hotel looked like a German or Swiss chalet. This location is a ski resort area in the winter months and a trekking area in the summer. We went during their summer and also note that the water also rotates down the drain opposite then the northern hemisphere. The city had a street art show with music in the afternoon and fireworks late in the evening.
Sunday we drove through the lake region which has two national parks and is part of Route 40. Route 40 is the longest route in Argentina and one of the largest in the world (3100 miles long). We stopped in Villa Angostura which is like a ski resort village you would find in the US, but with German and Swiss influence. We stayed in Bariloche, Argentina, for two nights.
Bariloche is a larger city but we were close to the main street and it came alive at night. Many Germans settled here after the war, in addition to other areas like Buenos Aires. The town is known for their chocolate factories, and they have several shops selling chocolate along the main street.
We drove what is called the Circuito Chico which is a three-hour drive around the lake region with scenic views of the lakes and Andes mountains. We stopped and had lunch at a panoramic viewpoint area and also had locally brewed beer.
(Jan 13-17) We drove back into Chile to Puerto Varas. The pass is about 4290 above sea level. After crossing the border, we stopped at a thermal springs facility, Termas Aguas Clientes in Parque Nactional Puyehue, and relaxed in the pools of warm water. Puerto Varas has about 30,000 people, is located by a large lake, and the the Osorno Volcano is a short drive.
Part of our route was along the Pan-American Highway which is a 30,000 mile road that links almost all of the mainland nations of the Americas.
If anyone watches CNN and knows who Anthony Bourdaine is, we went to a restaurant that Anthony Bourdaine had been to on one of his shows. We met three other Americans and sat with them for dinner. They had just ended a six-day kayak trip. The next evening Jim had a great night because he stayed in while Deb and I went out for a nice dinner!
We took a ferry to Isla de Chiloe and stayed in the city of Castro.
We took a boat tour to some little islands where we were able to see penguins. The island is mainly gravel roads with pastures and vistas where you can see the Pacific and gulf water. We drove part of the island and saw fish markets, artesian stalls where they sold a lot of knitted sweaters, and visited one of the oldest churches (1730).
(Jan 17-24) We took a flight from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas, southern Chile in the Patagonia region. We stopped at the Otway Penguin Colony and saw the Magellan Penguins. Peguins live 25-30 years and always come back to the place where they were born for mating season. They usually have 1-2 offspring and the male and female take turns watching and feeding the little ones. They swim for food every 8 hours and dive 30 meters (90 ft) deep. Only couples come back as no single penguins return. They arrive in mid September from the southern coast of Brazil and the Falkland Islands. Offspring are born in late November to early December and by mid March they return to Brazil and Atlantic Islands.
We spent the night at Puerto Natales which is a fading community of fishing and meat-packing enterprises. We were impressed with the hotel in having a chef that created a varied and different menu, from what we had been having, so we were satisfied. The view from the room was great as you could see Torres Del Paine.
We spent two nights at a hotel right outside Torres Del Paine National Park. The area was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978. It’s granite peaks rise up to 9184 feet, and was formed some 3 million years ago. We drove the entire park and saw waterfalls, lakes, and jagged mountains. It was great to see all the hikers of varied ages. It gave us a sense of increased energy to watch them with their backpacks as they set off on their hiking adventures which could last from a couple days to a week or more. 
The weather was great as we had low wind and clear skies. This area is known for high wind and varied weather and just a couple days before the winds were at 50-60 mph and rain. We took the Lago Grey Glacier boat tour. It was spectacular to get near the glaciers and see the massive size and varied colors of the ice. 
We left Chile and had a last crossing back into Argentina and the city of El Calafate. We went to the Los Glaciers National Park and saw the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is one of the few advancing glaciers in the world. This is part of the Patagonian Ice Field, from which 13 glaciers descend. We walked a massive catwalk and got close to the glacier. It is 55 meters high, 10 km wide and 14 km in length. We could hear the ice cracking, which sounded like a boom or gun shot, and we could hear the sound as chunks fell into the water.
Our last stop in the Patagonia region was El Chalten, Argentina, which is the area of the famous Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters/11,175 ft.) in Los Glaciares Nacional Park. On our drive to El Chalten we passed several estancias/ranches. 
This area is a climbers paradise. We met two French men who were going to climb to the top as soon as the weather cleared, and we gave a ride to two Americans who were going climbing. We also met a woman who went climbing and then dove off a ledge and opened her parachute. We walked a ten mile trek where we had a fabulous view of Fitz Roy.
(Jan 24-29) We flew to Buenos Aires and spent several days in a great boutique hotel. Argentina is the second largest country in South America and eighth largest in the world. BA has a population of 13 million. We took a half-day private tour of the city. We saw San Telmo, Recoleta Cemetery (where Eva Peron is buried), Plaza de Mayo, La Boca and other districts. After our tour, we asked the woman to drop us off at a famous Sunday market. We saw live music, people selling antiques, and a Tango show on the plaza. Walking back toward the hotel we found several more areas with street markets and music.
We took a tour of the Teatro Colon which is a center for opera, ballet, and classical music. One evening we went to a Tango show at Gran Cafe Tortoni. We walked the city every day and saw things like a famous Japanese garden, Alvear Palace Hotel, and stores that sold fine leather goods.
Jim, Danette, and Deb had spent a month together sharing rooms with three separate beds, sharing bathrooms, and sharing car space with Jim and Deb as drivers and Danette as navigator. As we reflected on the trip, we all agreed that we had a great time going to a new country that none of us had been to and will treasure forever our shared experiences and love for each other.
