We docked at Ushuaia Argentina overnight and prepared to leave the
Stella Australis behind.
Ushuaia was a beautiful little city nestled between the
mountains and the sea. It was just a stepping stone for us however, as we
headed for Buenos Aires to complete our Patagonian trip.
In addition to the memories documented in our previous
postings, we found:
Santiago was a large modern city of 6 million people, and
even though we didn't bike there, it had a modern transportation system and appeared
to be quite bicycle friendly. Also, it has more days of cloud than sun due to
its location between mountains.
Buenos Aires was a large city too, about 3 million people.
The Argentineans seemed to be quite intense. When attempting to cross an
intersection with a walk light, we repeatedly had to step out in front of
moving cars to make our claim. At the 2 restaurants we ate at, the employees
were very efficient, but seldom broke a smile.
Their customer service seemed to mirror their national dance, the Tango.
They appeared to very disciplined and efficient, but at the expense of being
friendly.
Chile appeared to be cleaner than Argentina, congratulations
to them, but they both had equally good and cheap wine.
Our total trip including Easter Island, spanned 16 days and 30,000 kms. Of course, most of that mileage was racked up during 8 flights and involved 8 different airports. However, we also hiked, biked, cruised, bused and rode by car. So to say the trip was diverse, would be an understatement.
We thank those that helped make our trip safe. In
particular, American Airlines and LAN Airlines (Chile's national airline),
their pilots and crews, and also the crew of the Stella Australis.
In all, we feel very fortunate to have had another great
trip of a lifetime. And, thank you for coming along.
