Complete Circle

Photos: The journey started out in Buenos Aires during election time. Christina Kirchner was elected, above. From there it took us through most of the country, up to the more indegenous Salta (photo by JMH), across the Straight of Magellan, through the vineyards of Mendoza and under the pink flamingos of Patagonia in El Calafaté, below top to bottom.

Three days ago, the circle was completed. January 17th, exactly three months after we landed in Buenos Aires for the first time, we were again wandering down Avenida Santa Fe gazing into the endless shops and cafés. This time, the city looked different. It was not as overwhelming, the language wasn´t as foriegn and the city itself seemed more romantic as we strolled, more at ease with our surroundings.

We had good reason to stroll, hand in hand without care. In the three months since we had last been in El Capital, we had seen nearly the entirety of Argentina and some of Chile. We had been north to Salta and Humhuaca, mere kilometers from the Bolivian boarder. We had been west along the Andes - through the vineyards of Mendoza and along the lakes of Bariloche. We had been south to the glaciars of El Calafaté and the mountains of El Chaltén. We saw a flock of pink flamingos take flight. We had been through the Patagonian grasslands and across the Straight of Magellan and the barren plains of Tierra del Fuego to El fin del mundo and Ushuaia. We had seen the penguinos in Puerto Madryn and we had mingled with locals in the heartland of Córdoba. We had taken the trip through the Andes, passed Acongagua, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, to Santiago, Chile and swam in the Pacific Ocean. We had tasted beef, lamb and Malbec until we grew tired of it. The circle had taken us counter clockwise around the country, with a couple of detouring time changes. We had had some adventures and we had relaxed. And now, with just over a week left in the trip, we have completed the circle.

Even with such a grand circle coming to a close, the journey is still not over. We´re off for a week at the beaches of Uruguay tomorrow. When we get back it´s down the coast to Mar del Plata for a Boca Juniors / River Plate game and then we close it all out with a night in the luxurious Pan Americano for some last minute photos of Avenida 9 de Julio at night and a celebration before making the long flight back home.

- AC