A very quick one ‘cos we’re using free wifi from a nearby restaurant and it’s pretty painstakingly slow.
We’re in Argentina – crossed the border yesterday afternoon. The Chilean side was fine, the Argentinian side was complete chaos … cars, trucks, people everywhere, huge queues to go through Immigration and then Customs. It took us about 90 minutes, but all our papers were in order (thank heavens for that!), and we finally got through at around 6.45pm. The border crossing closes at 7pm, and cars and people were still arriving, so we’re not sure what happened to them, whether it actually stayed open longer, or they had to stay there overnight. We have found that saying ‘no habla Espagnol’ – I don’t speak Spanish – at the start of any potential conversation, makes it easier for everyone, and usually makes for a quicker transaction as there’s no chit-chat.
We stayed at a campground by a glacial lake north of Bariloche last night. Argentinians are keen campers and love lighting fires! A bit like South Africans. We’re in Bariloche at the moment, it’s Sunday and we’re not sure what’s open, but we’ll find out soon.
My Airbnb account was hacked a day or so ago, and the hacker had made a booking at a (probably non-existent) LA apartment for 2 days at the princely sum of AUD$4k! The host’s account was also hacked. Airbnb were quick to refund me and cancel the booking, so it all worked out okay. Anyone reading this with an Airbnb account, make sure your password is good, or change it.
For Ron: sorry there are no songs, the internet is far too slow, but I’d probably add ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’ to this post if I could!
The photo of the lake is beautiful .Pleased you got everything sorted , although we had never heard of Airbnb!!Just watching a new series of Call the midwife (1950-1960) Rather different to what I remember. Take care x
Good morning Margaret! We love Airbnb – we use them a lot for accommodation, as an alternative to staying in hotels when we travel. We can rent a whole apartment for less than the cost of a hotel room, with the added bonuses of having a kitchen, often a laundry, and we get to see how the locals live. We started watching Call the Midwife when the first series came out, but haven’t kept up with it. Could be winter-time TV watching for us xxx
With all your knowledge of travelling and getting the best deals you really ought to set up your own travel company.
Last weekend the Call the Midwife was all about Therlidamide ( don’t know if this spelling is correct) babies being born . This was at the time I gave birth, as did many of our friends . There but for the grace of God we all said.. Was this a problem in Australia Judy ?x
Oh yes! I know of a few people who were born with missing or shortened limbs. And interestingly, when I worked as a midwife I nursed a mother who had shortened arms (sorry, poor internet, can’t look up the correct medical term) and she gave birth to a baby with shortened arms …. so Thalidomide actually changed DNA. After I left midwifery and worked in oncology, it was used as an anti-emetic for patients having chemo, with great success. It’s an excellent drug, just not for pregnant women.
Our own travel company? No, I’d rather just do the travelling myself!
The lakes look like Scotland . The snow covered mountain photo is wonderful , but it mustn’t be that cold as you’re wearing a tee shirt ? x
They are glacial lakes, so were probably formed in a similar way to Scottish lochs. Not cold at all, except in the mornings. It got to about 37c yesterday! Interesting that on the Chilean side, public access was almost impossible – private properties had totally shut access off. But in Argentina, it’s all open to the public, and yesterday (Sunday), there were cars and people wherever there was a good place to swim or kayak or launch a boat. ‘Beaches’ were pretty crappy, full of pebbles and rocks, but that didn’t deter anyone. It snows here in winter, so the locals must just get out and enjoy the lovely summer weather while they can!