(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 XXI - Salty Lagoons and Salt Flats

Today we were up early for our 16KM mountain bike ride to Laguna Cejar, a very salty lagoon where we could attempt to swim but would really just float at the surface due to the high salt.  Allegedly it's got a higher salt concentration than the Dead Sea.

The bike ride was a long one and a challenging one – at least more so than we expected.  The real tricks were several stretches of sand dunes on the dirt roads that you had to drive over perfectly in the right gear or you would definitely fall.  And falls did happen in dominoes – if the person before you goes down, you go down.

We made it!

 Upon arriving at the lagoon, it was worth it.  A random, deep crater, filled with clear blue water that had been heated partially by the sun, but still quite chilly.  I ran in, goggles on, and floated about. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XX - Back in the Saddle...

Time for our morning horseback ride.  This was sold as an excursion that would allow for beginners and experts to go together and break up over some long stretches.  Seemed perfect for us.  

Unfortunately, with a group of 8 people of mixed skills and one guide and one gaucho, we weren’t getting far in two groups.  We walked a lot.  There was a brief moment where they let us trot and canter but I had no idea how to stay stable so I was hanging on for fear of falling out of the saddle.  GG was a bit dismayed as well since the expert break off ride never happened (probably because of me and my scarily limited skills).  For the moments where I wasn't focused on how to survive the ride, I looked around and reflected.  It truly was amazing to be riding this beautiful Arabian horse around a surreal desert.  Unfortunately, those moments were fleeting as reality set back in and I had to not fall off my horse.  Tough morning.

I look much more in command than i actually was...

Our afternoons were lovely – plenty of time to swim, nap, eat lunch, email, etc as the afternoon excursions don’t go out until 5p at earliest.  Any earlier and the desert heat, sun, and wind would ruin us.

That afternoon, we did the “Cactus” hike – it was special as we would be hiking along the one main valley that has a supply of Andean water and therefore has green bushes, trees, and, unsurprisingly, many cacti. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XIX - Atacama Desert: Our Final Frontier

En route to Atacama, the driest desert on earth, via a flight a 2 hour flight to Calama.  We didn’t know what to expect but felt quite comfortable that the Explora experience would take care of us.  The flight was easy – about 2 hours to Calama – and the transfer to Explora was only about an hour and 15 minutes to San Pedro – the town outside of which the Hotel de Larache is located.

On our shuttle we were joined by a couple from Boston – scientist/academics who had done both Patagonia and Easter Island Explora on this trip and another couple from Germany.  A much different group than we had en route to Patagonia.

We blazed over dirt and paved roads in the middle of nowhere - a crazy desert with mountains, volcanos, salt flats, oases, cacti, and pink flamingos.

Unlike Patagonia where there are set enter and exit days, in Atacama guests come and go daily. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XVIII - One Day in Santiago

Our one and only full day to explore Santiago and we were in the business center approving proofs for our invite.  From there (and after some sniffing around on chowhound with a corroboration from our concierge), we took the subway over to Mercado Central – the central seafood market.  One of my favorite ways to see a city is to explore their local food market and this was the place to do it.

The cleanest part of the market...

The lovely sites and smells...

Our friend, the Congrio

Unfortunately, we were utterly spoiled by our royal treatment and experience at Tsukiji Market in Japan (more on that at another point) so this was a bit of a disappointment. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XVII - Goodbye Wine, Hello Big City

We awoke and soon were greeted by Oswaldo and a maid from the vineyard who proceeded to the kitchen to cook us breakfast – eggs, fresh bread, juice, etc.  Also, cocoa puffs.  An al fresco meal on our patio seemed perfect, until the swarm of bees descended upon us, so we finished up inside.

Pre-Bee Swarming

After packing up, we headed back to Matetic for our horseback lesson/ride.  We were not sure what to expect, but upon walking back in, we met Emilio, our guide and we were off. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XVI - Chilean Wine Country Continues...

We awoke to an al fresco breakfast served outside our door on the patio which was lovely.  Then we relaxed, enjoyed the setting and did nothing until our 12:30p tour of the Matetic Vineyard.

Breakfast by our porch...

10km down the road was the actual vineyard.  We arrived and had a private tour, learning a lot about the vineyard – a Yugoslavian couple started it in 1990 and the entire facility is biodynamic and organic.  It was an exquisite setting and they even had horses and alpaca running around the grounds.

Alongside the winery...

Matetic horses...

We had our tasting with another couple visiting for a tour and, surprise, surprise, they were from NYC.  The upper west side. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XV - Cruising the Chilean Wine Trail

Time to head to a different wine country – Chilean wine country. We flew to Santiago, grabbed our rental car (a Mazda with automatic steering) and headed west to the Casablanca and San Antonio valley – a little bit different from the more famous wine country to the south but with many interesting and up and coming vineyards.

Through some research, I found two different vineyards that have guest houses. Our first night, I booked us in Matetic Vineyards. Once we finally found it, we were overwhelmed by its beautiful grounds, plus we were the only guests that evening out of seven guest rooms, so we had the entire place to ourselves – our own vineyard!

(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 XII - Bring on the Penguins!

We slept in and it felt great.  Our tour was not until 4p so we pretty much had nothing to do.  There was a looming dread throughout the day of our 330am flight that night out of PA to Mendoza via Santiago where we essentially had to kill 6 hours in PA from 8p until 2am in a town where nothing is really going on.

Around 2p we ventured out to grab a bite.  At the recommendation of the hotel, we went to a fast food style cafeteria called Lomit’s.  I think it was an American style diner, but I’m not sure.  Everyone had big sandwiches on round rolls so we got one that was chicken and cheese (seemed safe) and one called a Lomito – we figured that’s the one the restaurant is named after so let’s go for it.  We thought is was steak of some sort.

Everyone loves Lomit's...well, almost everyone.

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part X - On the (Patagonian) Lamb

So, after our full day excursion experience, we were back to half days, preferably not too draining half days.  GG left me to take an experienced horseback ride through the country while I went on the “easy” animal hike – some ups and downs while we observed guanacas, flamigos, rheas, and possibly a puma in their natural environs.  We would then rendez-vous at the estancia for a traditional Patagonian lamb bbq – I was very much looking forward to this.

That "easy" hike - not so easy!  Not contemplated in that intensity level assignment was the 120 km/hr winds blowing that day.  However, miraculously, this was the only hike of our stay where I did not take a fall!  We did spot all of the animals cited, except for the elusive puma.

Here are some of the highlights…

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part IX - Bringing the Paine!

We awoke for our first full day excursion – we were cocky after our Ferrier triumph and opted for the most difficult full day hike offered – the famous French Valley continuing up to “The Plateau.”

Our group included the NJ family as well as a young lawyer couple from NY who were around our age and very friendly.  They live on the UWS and have a one year old son who’s home with the nanny and parents.

There was a 45 minute van ride to a lake where we then took a 40 minute boat ride to our point of departure.  I put our pack on my back (not so light!) and we were off.  We began our day in full long johns and then the sun came out.  It was brutal.  During our first stop we stripped down to just trekking pants.

This outfit was short-lived - GG would not be seen even in the middle of nowhere with me looking like that.

The hike to the plateau was long.  Very long. 

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part VIII - Conquering the Paine!

We awoke early and after a quick breakfast we headed off with Miguel, our guide, and only two other guests – a couple from San Diego – who also had the guts to sign up for Ferrier - the difficult hike, day 1, morning 1.  We found out soon along the hike that both of them are actually quite fit, marathoner/equestrians.  Yet, somehow, GG and I kept up the pace.  The first part of the hike was steep and rocky and afforded us amazing views of the icebergs that broke off the gray glacier.  

yes - those are icebergs - just the tips...

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part V - Bariloche, continued! Conquering the Rainbows!

This morning our fly fishing guide, Nico, arrived at the hotel and whisked us off to our first ever fly-fishing expedition.  Along with his cousin, we hopped in their van, pulling along a raft and headed to the Limay River with a stop at the local convenience store to get our fishing licenses for the today.

Nico told us all about nymph versus dry flies (dry ones sit on the surface) and how 90% of the eating happens underwater which is why we’re using nymphs – to maximize our chances of landing a fish.  At minimum, he hoped we’d get at least 2 strikes by the end of our half day together.  Our expectations were appropriately set.

We put on our gear and set out near the mouth of the river, the outflow of Nahuel that headed to the Atlantic Ocean.

(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part IV - Bariloche

We checked out of the Sheraton Iguazu yesterday morning with a pleasant surprise - they found my memory card totally unscathed!  Well, almost totally unscathed as we discovered later.  Strangely enough there was one new picture on the card and we weren't too thrilled with the location of the photo but we'll pretend it was some innocent moment that just happened to happen while viewing our memory card in someone else's camera hovering near a toilet in the Iguazu Sheraton.

Very avant-garde photography skills...

We had a connection through our favorite airport - Newberry Airport - the domestic BA airport where we spent much too much time trying to get to Iguazu.  At least on this go around we got corrent information and found wi-fi, some good wine, and a pretty solid empanada.

Our flight to Bariloche proceeded smoothly and we headed out to our hotel, The Design Suites Hotel, just outside of the city center.

(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 I - Buenos Aires!

Exciting news - Grits Girl and Have Palate, Will Travel are finally tying the knot!  Hurrah!

To celebrate, we both decided to become unemployed and spend a month traveling around South America.  We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to pick the perfect place for this once in a lifetime opportunity - go somewhere really far, really difficult to see on a shorter timeline, and really not conducive to a junior grits girl toddling around.  Therefore, we selected South America - namely because of adventures in distant areas like Patagonia and the Atacama desert in Chile (the driest desert on earth).

We flew in to Buenos Aires on Wednesday via St. Louis to qualify for my annual executive platinum status - unbelievably inefficient but worth it for some premium class amenities for another year!  Check out how happy GG is here!

Since arrival, we've been exploring one of my favorite cities...