(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XXIII - Show's Over

We awoke in BA, fairly well rested, nearly all packed, and ready to set out on our final day in South America.  The glorious ride of the pre-wedding honeymoon, slowly coming to a gradual stop.

Our plan for the day was to wander Palermo, do some shopping, have a good meal or two, relax and then head off to the airport to being our long journey home.

I'm happy to say, we accomplished all these items.  The spoils of the day included...

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XXII - The Longest Day Ever...

445am wake ups on your honeymoon are not so fun.  We slowly peeled ourselves out of bed, finished the packing and got dressed for an excursion that promised freezing cold morning conditions at the Geyser and bathing at the hot springs.  Tough packing.

We met up with everyone at 530 and made sure the guide knew we had to be back by 12:10 to catch the transfer to our flight.  They did not say no problem right off the bat which made us a bit nervous.  But we forged ahead regardless.

The trip to the El Tatio geysers, at 4400M elevation, was about 2 hours.  GG and I dozed en route.

We arrived into a field with tall plumes of steam escaping all over the place – the releasing of magma-heating pressure with the cold air above (at sunrise it's actually only in the upper 30 degrees Fahrenheit). 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XIV - Argentine Wine Extravaganza continues...

Up and at em!  945am Diego showed up to take us on our tour for the day…we were hitting both Lujan de Coyo and the Uco Valley.

We would begin things at Catena Zapata – one of the most acclaimed vineyards in Argentina and the only one who decided to have their bodega emulate the Mayan Pyramids.

The wine was excellent.  No surprise as I had brought home several bottles of theirs from the BA airport my last trip to Argentina years before.  So it was fun to see where they were made and hear more about the story.  The vineyard had been in the family for over 100 years.  The Malbec, not surprisingly, was excellent.  We only opted for the most basic tasting – after all it was 10:30am!

From the roof of Catena Zapata's Faux Mayan Temple...

From there we visited Belasco de Baquedano. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XIII - Wine Country! Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza!  We made it!  Normally not a big fan of major chain hotels, we were very happy to be in a real city in a real hotel with amenities and English speaking staff.  It was only one night in PA and one night on a LAN flight since our last luxe stop but those 48 hours felt like an eternity.

We checked in to the Park Hyatt Mendoza around noon and passed out.  Slept the day away in a great way.  Awoke at 4p and went downstairs for a snack and I went for a swim – they had an excellent outdoor pool.

For dinner, we visited Ciao Cuoco at the recommendation of our chef friends at Casa Felix.  A restaurant recommendation from a great chef seems a sure bet.  Well, not so much....

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part III - Iguazu Falls

After a lovely and unexpected 6 hours of wifi-less time at the BA domestic airport, we finally arrived in Iguazu.  Our taxi was awaiting us and we were off into the jungle!

After about a 40 minute drive we arrived at our destination - the Sheraton Iguazu - the only hotel located inside the park.  From what we were told this is a huge advantage and makes the not inexpensive price tag and the somewhat outdated facility worthwhile.  Having no frame of reference, i'll agree that is was very convenient to be able to walk out of our hotel and into the jungle and all the tours.  And, as an added bonus, thanks to our friend, T-Bone who has connections to Starwoods, we got upgraded to a falls view room - we could actually see and hear the falls crashing in the distance from our cozy bed.

Our view - devil's throat off in the distance...

We also were in striking distance of the local monkeys...

(Pre-wedding) Honeymoon, Part II - Buenos Aires Continues!

Great success on dinner last evening…although San Telmo was a bit seedy and filled with strange antique shops, we did manage to find a chihuahua trivet made by a local Argentine designer for $6.

Before dinner, we walked across the river to visit Puerto Madero, a former warehouse/industrial district that has been aggressively developed as a new arts district care of the Phillip Starck designed Faena Hotel + Universe which just opened during my first visit to BA in 2005.  Now, the area has become highly developed with an entire waterfront eating plaza and walkway and tons of high rises that did not exist when I was last there.

We enjoyed a poolside cocktail and a snack of nachos while we stared at the infinity pool that had a big crown plopped right in the middle (I would never be able to swim laps in that piece).

Then we wandered back to San Telmo and the restaurant at a leisurely pace to arrive just in time for our 9p reservation (for which we were a few mins early still)...