The ever-unpredictable Mother Nature had her own plans for Frank and Edna during Chile & Argentina: The Andes to Patagonia—but would they do it again? "You bet your Andes Mountains" they would—and here’s why.
By Frank & Edna Calenda, 17-time travelers from Indian Harbour Beach, FL
Okay, now you’re in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires. You’ve taken the Overseas Adventure Travel’s Chile & Argentina: The Andes to Patagonia trip. You spend several days in this fascinating city finding shopping and friendly people, but mostly seeing its beauty. While strolling down one of their famous avenues you might sit at a sidewalk café, ideal for people-watching, sipping on a cortado (coffee with milk) and enjoying some medialunas (croissants). You’ll get a lesson in the fine art of tango and also be able to watch the experts while they weave this dance with its sensual movements. We did all this and more, enough more to make this one of our more memorable trips with O.A.T.
Frank and Edna enjoyed the vibrant ambiance of Buenos Aires before the surprises began.
On this adventure, we were to fly location to location and boat from place to place amongst the beautiful Andes Mountains. How much more excitement could a couple of avid travelers take? Well, let us you tell you more of this very unusual trip.
On our fifth day, we were to fly across the continent to Bariloche, a flight time of about two hours. That would be it. Up for a great breakfast buffet, a quick suitcase pack, and short trip to the airport. In a couple hours we’ll be on the Pacific coast of Argentina.
Well, not for us on that day—or for several of the days that we continued this wonderful trip. It seems that nature decided to make some changes to our itinerary. There were some heavy volcanic eruptions which grounded every flight in most of Argentina. The final word to us that morning was that, if O.A.T. and our Trip Experience Leader could arrange it, we’d be going to Bariloche by bus. By bus? BY BUS? How long will THAT take?
Would you believe 21 hours? Oh no … 21 hours on a bus? We wanna go home. Well, actually, we didn’t really want to go home—and since the middle name of the acronym O.A.T. is "adventure," we all boarded the bus with, of course, some heavy trepidations.
Your chariot awaits!
As we climbed into the bus, we found that it was well-appointed and the seats proved very comfortable. Pillow soft, plenty of leg room, and a lot of recline. It was a double-decker vehicle and had two bathrooms on board. Several hot meals were served along with beer or wine … thank you O.A.T.
Frank and Edna didn’t need to search nearly as hard for a meal as this Andean condor.
We crossed the great Pampas where we watched hundreds of dust devils winding their way across the plains and some of them even dangerously approaching the bus. Several times we saw the famed gauchos on horseback, herding large groups of cattle. Looking to the sky, we’d see soaring condors looking for one of those cattle that didn’t make it. We stopped at several little "middle of nowhere" gas stations and grabbed some snacks, stretched our legs, and had a great time trying to interface with the few locals that were there. Back on the bus, we were all challenged to sing "God Bless America," and it was surprising that most everyone knew all the words. And, of course, there was the quiet time when everyone snoozed, listening to the wind-whipped sounds of the bus traveling on surprisingly good roads.
The onboard accommodations were suited for sightseeing … and snoozing.
It did take us the full 21 hours, but we experienced something that was a highlight in our trip. To this day, my wife and I would do it again. We have found, in our travels with O.A.T., that they always manage to turn a potential disaster in to a great experience.
But did it end there? No, not really. On this particular trip, we were to fly next to Puerto Varas, Chile. The flight restrictions had been lifted but, as luck would have it, everyone that was waiting for a flight at the airplane origin airport were now taking all the seats, leaving no open seats for other stops. We had gone to the airport at 5am that morning only to find no seats available. The next flight was the following morning. With the help of O.A.T., we were able to book seats on that flight, but what will we do in Bariloche for the rest of the day? We had all seen about all there was to see by that time.
The group busied themselves preparing an American meal for their hosts.
Well, coincidently, our Trip Experience Leader’s home was in Bariloche. He made a plan. Back to the hotel for some coffee and then some early morning shopping. Following that would be a trip to his home for mid-afternoon lunch. What to eat? Someone, I think it was me, said, "Let’s have an American burger-burn." Everyone thought that was a good idea. Each person was given a list of foods to buy at the local grocery store, all paid for by O.A.T. of course. We came together at his home around 1pm to the complete surprise of his wife. She didn’t expect 14 people for lunch. Never mind, she was a fine hostess and warmly welcomed us all. We were all given separate jobs. Some made potato salad, some made coleslaw. Some set the tables while others made drinks. I made the hamburger patties (big ones) and our guide took care of heating up the outside cooker. Lots of laughter and merriment going on the whole while.
Around 3pm we were all ready to "dig in," with the personal stories and laughter continuing. Of course, the liquid libations helped with that. With the meal finished, everyone was tasked a clean-up job and by 6pm we were ready to return to the hotel for a good night’s rest.
Fortunately the Andes Mountains displayed their beauty as planned.
Did we have a good time? Would we do this again? You bet your Andean Mountains we would. This is typical of the personal touch O.A.T. offers when things don’t go as they should. We saw, and did, things we’d have never experienced if the trip had gone perfectly as planned. The afternoon at the guide’s home was the best home-hosted meal we’ve ever experienced … and to think, it was all unplanned.
The remainder of the awesome trip did go as planned, and every bit of it was fantastic.
Whether or not your adventure goes as planned, experience scenic beauty and warm welcomes during Chile & Argentina: The Andes to Patagonia.
