In South America

And there we are, after three months, back in B.A! This time we have chosen to rent a small flat in a quiet neighbourhood, which is cheaper and more comfortable than spending a week in a hostel.

Leafy streets of Palermo district

Berlinesque Buenos Aires

Whose cocktail's the hottest?

Recoleta

This week we don't cook, we grill! (As every self-respecting Argentinian does)

Villa Crespo sunset from our balcony at the 8th

Centre

Galería Pacífico

Hi-tech lunch in San Telmo

Oh, what legs..

El Calafate is the tourist town of Patagonia. People come here to eat expensive food and to buy expensive clothes and expensive souvenirs in expensive shops. There is also something to see: a glacier, which is indeed worth seeing.

The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world;

icey,

big,

and blue

Our last night of camping, in a static electrical tent

After Torres del Paine, El Chalten is the Other Hiking Mekka in Patagonia, mainly because of its proximity of the famous mountain Fitzroy. It's not the easiest place for tourists; half of the time strong winds make hiking impossible, while clouds block the view on the mountains.

Voila monsieur Fitzroy in good conditions

Local Indians called the mountain 'Chalten' (Volcano) because there are always clouds around the top

Another mountain

Lost hiker

And a woodpecker pecking wood

Puerto Natales is a small town, located some 250 km north of Punta Arenas. There is nothing to see, nothing to do, but functions as the gateway to the world famous Torres del Paine National Park.

New year's eve '08-'09: Fanny's microwave cheesecake (with local calafate berries)

When there would be no clouds, you could see the tower-shaped mountains to which the park owes its name, on the right

Luckily there is more to see in the park, as ñandus...

guanaco's...

glaciers...

If it would be warm, it would be a nice refreshment

Somehow Patagonia is always windy

These are the Cuernos del Paine, in the same park, as you see it on all postcards

Transport in Patagonia is complicated. Roads are mostly unpaved and buses don't go where you want to go. So we have chosen to make a flight from Coyhaique down south to the city of Punta Arenas; a bus trip would last two days. According to some (Chilean) definitions it is the southernmost city on earth. For a place in such a remote and forgotten corner of the world, it is a surprisingly big and modern city. In the surrounding pampa landscape is not much to see, except...

Penguins!

Coming back from lunch!

Digestive walk

Gone with the wind

If not the southernmost, Punta Arenas is definitively the windiest city on earth

After 24 hours of water and waves we arrive finally in mythical Patagonia. Known for: untamed wilderness, steep mountains, endless plains and weather that is even worse than on Chiloé. Coyhaique, our first stop, is the capital of Aysén, northern Chilean Patagonia. Aysén is derived from the Spanish way of pronouncing English ice end. And indeed, the southern part of the region is completely covered by two giant ice fields, the biggest of the southern hemisphere outside Antarctica. Who wants to travel further down south has to take a boat or airplane, or make a detour through Argentina.

Our rustic hostel in Coyhaique

Landscape in Valle Exploradores

Approaching the ice

View on the edge of the Campo de Hielo Norte, the northern Patagonian ice field 

The sandy edge of the glaciar

More snow & ice

Cerro Castillo. This mountain is supposed to look like a castle

Boat trip on Lago General Carrera, the second biggest lake of the continent

To visit this Capilla de Marmol, where nature shows its creative side

We planning to travel down south to Patagonia, but the Carretera Austral is still blocked due to the Chaitén Vulcano eruption. So, we take a boat (ferry Puerto Montt, Coyhaique). Moreover, what better place is there to celebrate Christmas?

Christmas dinner 2008: crepes à la Hollandaise/Française

24 hours through a labyrinth of canals and fjords.

Chonchi, on the southern half of Chiloé, is our last stop on the island

With a typical Chilote church

And plenty of fruits de mer on the beach

That finishes on our plates

We decide to immerse in rural life by sleeping a few nights at a agro-tourism farm

Hake for every lunch (merlan)

Ultra-fresh king crabs

Normandie?

The village of Tenaún

Boat trip in genuine Chilote weather

brr..

Neighbour preparing dinner (I)       Neighbour preparing dinner (II)

Vultures like sea lions too

Time to work (Rejane's montecaos...)

Yes, fresh from the garden (as the framboise jam,the rhubarb jam and anything eaten here, homemade)

Castro is the capital at the island and has, as far as I know, nothing to do with Fidel.  (hum i bet JC appreciates..)

Palafitos at the waterfront

The difference in tides is big in this region

So be careful were to park your boat

Isla Quinchao is known for its giant oysters

Let's be brave

and see if they are really so delicious as experts say

Gloups

Local houses entirely constructed of alerce wood

We arrive on the island of Chiloé. A big island in the pacific, known for its myths and superstition, its seafood, its wooden churches and its bad weather. First stop is Ancud, the biggest city on the island.

Our hostel with view on the sea

Trip to a nearby penguin watching spot

Pacific beach

And there they are. Chiloé is the only place where Humboldt and Magellan penguins coexist

Voila those see lions on a nearby rock

They can weigh up to 500 kgs

Onk onk onk!!!

Look at those lovely ladies

Going out for lunch

Locals looking for seafood

Another type of sea lion. But it still makes "onk onk onk!" on rocks

Some people say it looks like Ireland

Santiago, big city. Nothing special to see, but its big city atmosphere is pleasant. Positive points are its weather, its dramatic setting among snow-capped mountains and its impressively good restaurants.

Happy girl shopping and wearing dresses again

Exposition of contemporary Chilean design

In the basement below the presidential palace

Barrio Brasil

Kind-of-trendy restaurant, Barrio Brasil

Santiago from Cerro San Cristobal

Church in the eastern outskirts

Central market

Plaza de Armas

Absorbing culture at the Visual Arts museum

From the outside

Cerro Santa Lucia

Kind of Flatiron building

Coca-Cola christmas tree. Christmas doesn't fit here, it's 30 degrees!

Escape to nature in the nearby Cajon del Maipo

Alpes? No, Andes

Quite common lizard

The mountains are too big for the picture

View down the Canyon

Why going to Santiago? I would say that restaurants is a sufficient reason.
This is a description of the 3 best of this city, you can start to salive...

Update: It seemed obvious for us but maye not for everybody, those great restaurants might not be affordable in europe but here they are... An average excursion costs the same as a diner, everything is about choices and we made ours.

Restaurant Europeo.

The two starters, for Geert a home made smoked cerf/hert.
For Fanny, an octopus and scallops salad with candied paprika (that made her fall in love with this sticky animal, now the goal once she is back in corsica is to take a fork, jump in the water, catch this animal and make it grill...)
Accompanied with a Patagonia king crab and curry sauce.
The third is a simple but tasteful shrimps and coconut salad.

Geert's meal, beef filet stuffed with black truffe, served witn an amazing foie gras, kind of fried, i have never eaten such a fondante texture... and to make it really perfect, an echalottes/sjalotjes chutney on top.

Fanny's meal. A bar de ligne sauvage over a paprika fondue with champagne emulsion, black ink ravioli with shrimps filling. Just reading this makes hungry.

Undecent desserts...

Restaurant Astrid y Gaston

Known as the kings of the peruvian cooking. So we just had to try the degustation menu with the specialities of the house... The 4 starters are, from left ot right:
Potatoe stuffed with raw white tuna and herbs
Grilled jumbo shrimp in a quinoa crust, with lucuma purée and sesame
Fresh scallops in a spicy broath/bouillon and oignons fondue
The cebiche of lotte/zeeduivel with lime and a piece of sweet potatoe

First meal, the pasta: Pumpkin gnocchis in an herbal sauce with grilled shrimps and a delicious shells juice.

Second meal: The fish. Filet de congre with orange condiment

Third meal, the meat. Beef as the japanese community of Lima

Toetjes: a not so special riz au lait (rejane fait nettement mieux) but amazing ice creams, like biting in fresh fruits. here strawberries and mango.
A delicious and really sweet cream of dulce de leche
A toffee banana doughnut with crumbs and vanilla cream

Restaurant Puerto Fuy (sooo amazing but never never forget your camera there if you dont want to wait two weeks to have it back....)

Amuse bouche

Starters: Abalone capuccino

Langoustine/Lobster canellonis, texture of eggplant, tomatoes, goat cheese. Tomatoes espuma.

Mi cuit de foie gras with mango mousse

Meals: Bar de ligne with artichoke and tomatoes

Turbot with sesame foam, scallops cream, and japanese seeweed/algues with soy

Lamb in three ways: cotelette, cote et filet, served with sweet potatoes mash, and an amazing onions creamy compote.

Poppy seed parfait / parfait de graines de pavot, with a pineapple carpaccio, lime ice cream, basil ice cream and pina colada fragrance.

To finish, declinaison of chocolate... White, dark, bitte, milk. Mousse, parfait, fondant, glace, gateau, soufflé.
Il y en a pour tous les gouts. Add to this a really raffinée physalis ice cream and paradise is reached

Valparaíso might be the most beautiful city of Chile. Chaotic, but oh so picturesque.

View on the harbour

Suburbs are creatively built on the hills surrounding the centre and the harbour

Just went up one of the many ancient ascensores; elevators that take you from
downtown up to the hilly suburbs

Murals are a popular form of art in Valparaíso

Garbage bins

Paint must be cheap in Valparaíso

This house belongs to the Pablo Neruda foundation (Chile's most famous writer) but Fanny wants to buy it

Downtown

La Serena is located halfway Iquique and Santiago. As one of Chile's oldest cities it has a lot of old colonial architecture, but still the city didn't look interesting enough to picture it.

But, luckily for Fanny, shopping can be done. Together with Afghanistan, Chile is the only place in the world where Lapis Lazuli can be found

La Serena lighthouse

As in Iquique, La Serena is located in the desert. The Elqui Valley is a kind of oasis. It's famous as a place to grow papayas, avocados, pisco grapes and to observe UFOs. This part of Chile is said to have the clearest skies in the world, hence the presence of many astronomical observatories.

Pisco (grape brandy) factory. The cocktail Pisco Sour is the national drink of both Chile and Peru. They are still arguing about who was first.