The gang at Cocina Sunae
If there is any wisdom I could pass along to other backpackers travelling the world, it is to MAKE FRIENDS!
It seriously will change the entire outcome of your trip in the best ways imaginable. Interacting with others will be stimulating and enriching. It will also allows you to do things during your travels that you may have not even known about or may not have done without friends to share the adventure with.
Since arriving in Buenos Aires, Tony and I have met some extraordinary travel buddies such as Michael from Art of Backpacking, Stephanie from Twenty-Something Travel, and Leanne and Leah from Start Somewhere.
It is through them that we learned about (and experienced) the city’s infamous drum rave, La Bomba del Tiempo, ate the best tacos in Buenos Aires (and possibly the world), laughed our asses off at a gringo comedy club, stuffed our faces at an indoor Argentinean Asado, and (my personal favorite) dined at the closed door restaurant Cocina Sunae.
Another piece of wisdom I will give you: If you are ever in Buenos Aires, DO NOT miss the opportunity to dine out at one of the city’s many closed door restaurants.
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If you have been actively reading our blog, you are probably well aware by now that the way to my heart is through my stomach…
… And Buenos Aires has me head over heels in love.
Being the lucky girl that I am, this love affair started within the first 24 hours of arriving in this magical city. Now, I may not be a believer in love at first sight, but love at first bite is a whole different story!
On the second day of our trip, Tony and I were graciously invited to attend a day of eating and drinking our way through the city via Buenos Aires Food Tours. This seemed too good to pass up!
Before I start divulging into the gluttonous day we spent with Buenos Aires Food Tours, I will give you a little background on the company:
Buenos Aires Food Tours was started up by ethnic dining expert Graciela (whom also founded Miami Culinary Tours) roughly a year ago and provides culinary walking tours around the San Telmo, La Boca, and Recoleta neighborhoods (a.k.a. Barrios).
This unique tour group, however, is not just about food. Aside from pigging out on all the regional delicacies, they also want their customers to gain knowledge about the local community, the history of the city, and the beautiful architecture that defines Buenos Aires.
In addition to the distinctive approach on their tours, Buenos Aires Food Tours got exceptionally good TripAdvisor reviews. After everything that I learned and read about this company, I was dying to see them in action.
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Would you let this guy into your country?
With no plan and no agenda, I often find myself surprised (sometimes painfully, but mainly pleasantly) at the places I am in.
And so it was with El Calafate, Argentina.
While in Torres del Paine (in Chile), backpackers would tell us of the beauty of Southern Argentina and that it was “not to be missed” since we had already made our way so far south.
Only needing a few words of encouragement to try anything once (somehow I survived college), I convinced Meg of El Calafate’s epicness and we were heading across the Chilean border.
So what is in El Calafate, Argentina you ask? You might regret asking me that…
El Calafate – The Perito Moreno Glacier
Please bare with me while I nerd-out. Just remember that when you do not even begin to understand what I am about to write… you were duly warned.
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Meg enthusiastically mocks me everytime I say it, but since getting off of the plane in Punta Arenas, Chile, I can’t help but be overwhelmed by the remoteness of Patagonia… We are at the very end of the world!
There, I said it. Maybe now I can try and get past it.
Yeah… it’s wayyyy down there. And yes, that is Antarctica just below us.
Catching up on the news
After a brief coffee break in Punta Arenas after we landed, we hitched a ride on the last bus to Puerto Natales, which was going to be our launching point into Torres del Paine.
You might have recently heard of about Torres del Paine as a good chunk was burned in a savage forest fire only 3 weeks ago, with many parts still closed to the public. Newsflash: Don’t burn your TP when in a forest… as an Israeli tourist just learned.
While fairly new to me as a must-see destination, it quickly grabbed my imagination as the land that time forgot. For hundreds of miles in any direction, it is mountains, rivers, and shimmering blue lakes.
Torres del Paine – The Towers Trek
Those three peaks to the right are just 5 hours of trekking away....
With the high expense of getting to the park and our aversion to renting camping gear to stay overnight, we thought it best to get the most bang for our buck and do the route to Las Torres (AKA The Towers) as a day hike.
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