First Month in South America and some New Zealand leftovers

Hello all. We are updating our blog from beautiful Salta in Argentina just before we return to Chile tomorrow. The first month in South America has been really wonderful and the highlights so far have been:

In Chile:

• Going to Chiloe where we have spotted some Dolphins, enjoyed the biggest and best hamburger ever (for less than 4 quid including fries and salad), had a massive Curanto (local dish) and spent a great time with Regina from Switzerland. We stayed at Martin´s Hostel Mundo Nuevo (www.newworld.cl) which we would recommend to anyone;
• In the Chilean lake district: a farm stay at Ruka Rayen (www.rukarayen.com) with Margot, her daughter Charlotte and all the animals (pigs, chickens, cows, dog, cat etc). Despite the challenging bus trip up there, a recommendation for everyone travelling to that area;
• The bus trip from Chile to Argentina (with the exception of the 2.5 hours at customs and Rose being regarded as a high-risk swine-flu carrier) through the Andes!

In Argentina:

• A daytrip to a few of the hundreds of vineyards in Mendoza Lujan region: the scenery is spectacular with the Andes in the background and we learned a lot more about winemaking at bodegas Norton, Tapiz, Ruca Malen and Carmine Granata (with our private chauffeur Christian). Oh yeah and the amazing though slightly rushed lunch at Cava de Cano;
• A stay at Estancia Los Potreros (www.ride-americas.com). A bit more luxurious and pricey than flashpackers like us can actually afford, but after a few days we were both horseriding (cantering/galloping), played some polo and had a wonderful time, meals and drinks with our hosts Kevin and Louisa and guide Sara. So this was our special treat and it was worth it;
• Salta and Cachi: too much to mention but worth the visit - photos to follow in the (hopefully near) future!

Tomorrow we will continue our trip by going to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile through another Andes pass at 4000 meters just before we travel on to Bolivia!

We also uploaded loads of pìctures from New Zealand, Chile and some first ones from Argentina! More from all of those destinations to follow in the future.

Post-visit notes on New Zealand

New Zealand was a country to visit and if it was up to Micha he´d move there tomorrow to buy his own vineyard. Some interesting experiences from the All Blacks country:

• despite the cold weather shorts are the rage in New Zealand: usually they are accompanied by big boots or ugly shoes and raincoats - very fashionable;
• campervan experiences: bad nights of sleep on a thin cushion, a crappy camper from Happy campers (it was leaking, had bad curtains, was cold, missing fuel cap amongst others), our free upgrade to a better class camper from the same company, best gourmet meals ever made in a campervan (made with really fresh and flavorsome local produce and accompanied by high quality cheap wines from Blenheim esp. some amazing wines from Fromm: www.frommwinery.co.nz), wild camping in the middle of the sounds region without any facilities, etc. etc. Rose is not so sure she ever wants to do that again unless next time we go for a more upmarket campervan: apparently she is a diva;
• going to a Super 14 rugby game in Wellington´s Westpac stadium to see the NZ teams Hurricanes and Blues playing some proper high quality rugby;
• all our adrenalin and other adventures: paragliding, tramping, skydiving, mountain biking, helicopter to the glacier, vineyard visits and last but not least diving at the Poor Knights;
• all the other cool experiences can be directly seen in all the great pictures!

New Zealand rocks!

Hope to speak to you soon and keep those messages flowing on the message board as we enjoy them very much!

Laters