Argentina

This April and May, my oldest son traveled in South America, mostly in Argentina. When we said goodbye at the airport, it seemed to me that two months would be endless, but they passed quickly. He regularly reported from the trip on messenger, sending us interesting photos and videos and talked about his adventures. Here is a short version of the trip written by himself for my blog.

V aprilu in maju letos je moj starejši sin dva meseca potoval po južni Ameriki, večinoma po Argentini. Ko smo se poslovili na letališču, se mi je zdelo, da bosta dva meseca neskončno dolga, vendar sta hitro minila. Iz potovanja se je redno javljal preko messengerja, pošiljal zanimive fotografije in videe ter poročal o svojih dogodivščinah. Čisto na kratko je napisal tole za moj blog.

Even as a student, I always wanted to go on a long trip, somewhere on another continent, discover new places, meet new people. When I finally managed to get enough free time and raise the funds for a trip I simply had to make my dream come true. I decided between several destinations and in the end I chose Argentina. Before leaving, I was mainly thinking about the fact that this is a very large and diverse country. Now I also know that very friendly people live there. It is a safe and very interesting country and they cook delicious food.

I traveled in April and May, when it is autumn there. There weren't too many tourists at that time. Just a few quick tips about traveling in Argentina:

• They speak Spanish, so it is good to know at least a few words. I’m happy that I managed to improve my Spanish significantly during the trip.

• It is most convenient to exchange euros for their currency in Western Union, although many services can be paid with payment cards

• I mostly arranged my overnight stayings in hostels and booked them online in advance.

• Argentina is supposed to be a safe country, but I followed the rule of not walking outside in the cities at night. Otherwise, I had no problems.

• Since this is a very big country, I traveled partly by plane and partly by bus. A full-day trip by bus is tiring, but cheaper than traveling by plane. I have booked almost all of the tours online in advance.

• I had an argentinian sim card for easier and cheaper communication.

• Argentinians are known for preparing good food, of course I tried their beef steak. If you are a little careful when choosing a restaurant, there are no problems with food.

I started my trip in Buenos Aires.

Že kot študent sem si vedno želel oditi na daljše potovanje, nekam na drugo celino, v čisto nove kraje, med nove ljudi. Končno mi je po uspelo dobiti dovolj prostega časa in zbrati finančna sredstva, da sem se lahko odpravil in uresničil svoje sanje. Odločal sem se med več destinacijami, na koncu sem izbral Argentino. Pred odhodom sem razmišljal predvsem o dejstvu, da je to zelo velika in raznolika država. Sedaj vem tudi, da ima zelo prijazne ljudi, odlično hrano in da je varna in zelo zanimiva država.

Potoval sem v aprilu in maju, ko je v tam jesen. V tem času turistov ni bilo preveč. Samo nekaj kratkih namigov za potovanje, če bi vam Argentina poslala všeč:

• V Argentini govorijo špansko, zato je dobro, znati vsaj nekaj besed. Sam sem med potovanjem znanje španščine precej izboljšal.

• Eure je najugodneje menjati eure v njihovo valuto v Western Union, večino storitev je možno plačati s plačilnimi karticami

• Nočitve sem si večinoma uredil v hostlih in jih vnaprej on-line rezerviral

• Argentina je načeloma varna država, vendar sem se držal pravila, da ponoči nisem hodil po mestih. Sicer pa nisem imel nobenih težav.

• Ker je to zelo velika država, sem deloma potoval z letali, deloma z avtobusi. Celodnevno potovanje z avtobusom je sicer naporno, vendar ceneje kot z potovanje letali. Skoraj vse prevoze sem v naprej rezerviral na netu.

• Za lažjo in cenejšo komunikacijo sem imel argentinsko sim kartico.

• Argentinci so znani po pripravi dobre hrane, seveda sem poizkusil njihov goveji zrezek. Če si malo pazljiv pri izbiri restavracije, ni posebnih težav s prehrano.

Svoje potepanje sem začel v Buenos Aires-u.

From there, I also did a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, a boutique city in Uruguay, to get away from the city’s crowds.

Da bi pobegnil stran od mestne gneče, sem se od tam sem se odpravil na enodnevni izlet v Colonia del Sacramento, butično mesto v Urugvaju.

After flying to Ushuaia

Po pristanku v mestecu Ushuaia  

and checking out Tierra del Fuego, I spent my time hiking through Patagonia, visiting Torres del Paine, El Calafate and El Chalten. I saw centuries old glaciers, some lakes and a lot of majestic mountains. There are endless possibilities for hiking in these hills.

in po obisku Tierra del Fuego, sem svoj čas porabil za pohod po Patagoniji, obiskal Torres del Paine, El Calafate in El Chalten. Videl sem stoletja stare ledenike, nekaj jezer in veliko veličastnih gora. Možnosti za pohodništvo v teh hribih je res neskončno.

To change the scenery, my next destination was Iguazu waterfalls, which were bursting with life. You could see coatis, spiders, lizards, different species of butterflies and more. Iguazu waterfalls stretch on a large area, which makes them even more amazing. 

Moj naslednji cilj so bili slapovi Iguazu, ki so kipeli od življenja. Tu lahko vidite koatije, pajke, kuščarje, različne vrste metuljev in še druge živali. Slapovi Iguazu se razprostirajo na velikem območju, zato so še toliko bolj osupljivi.

Patagonia is best known for delicious lamb.

Patagonija je najbolj znana po okusni jagnjetini.

From Iguazu, I continued my way toward the desert, stopping in Ibera wetlands, which had kaymans and capybaras.

Iz Iguazuja sem nadaljeval pot proti puščavi in ​​se ustavil v mokriščih Iberie, kjer so bili kajmani in kapibare.

In Salta, my favourite sights were the colourful mountains in the vicinity. They got their names after the colours as well. 

V Salti so mi bile najljubše pisane gore v bližini. Po barvah so dobili tudi ime.

San Pedro de Atacama, the driest desert on earth was astounding. Since it’s on a high altitude, mornings and evenings are cold whereas middays are very hot.

San Pedro de Atacama, najbolj suha puščava na svetu, je bila osupljiva. Ker je na visoki nadmorski višini, so jutra in večeri hladni, opoldnevi pa zelo vroči. 

From San Pedro, I took a three day tour into Bolivia, where I saw a lot of flamingos.

Iz San Pedra sem se odpravil na tridnevno turo v Bolivijo, kjer sem videl veliko flamingov.

Last day of the tour began with sunrise at the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. Somewhere in the middle of the salt flat is also an island, where you can see 10 – meter high cactuses and hummingbirds.

Zadnji dan ture se je začel s sončnim vzhodom na Salar de Uyuni, največji slani puščavi na svetu. Nekje na sredini soline je tudi otok, kjer lahko vidite 10 metrov visoke kaktuse in kolibrije.

I finished my trip with a weekend’s visit to Valparaiso, where you can find a lot of colourful graffiti’s and relaxing in Santiago de Chile.

Svoje potovanje sem zaključil z vikend obiskom Valparaisa, kjer lahko najdete veliko barvitih grafitov.  Sledil je počitek v Santiagu de Chile.

In Argentina I saw many animals, llamas, various birds, seals, whales. Unfortunately, my wish to see penguins did not come true. I was surprised with the hospitality of the people I met on the way. Patagonia is beautiful, there is still unspoiled nature there. The landscape, wildlife and feeling of freedom impressed me the most.

V Argentini sem videl veliko živali, lame, razne ptice, tjulne, kite. Žal se moja želja, da bi videl pingvine ni uresničila. Spoznal tudi nove prijatelje in videl, kako živijo. Patagonija je čudovita, tu je še veliko neokrnjene narave. Pokrajina, divje živali in občutek svobode so me najbolj navdušili.