Full Moon Walk – Logistics and Pictures

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Kristin

After we had booked our flight to Argentina, I was researching things to do and found out about this Full Moon Walk that is offered 5 nights a month (two days before, day of, and two days after the full moon). I was nervous to check the timing for October, but was pleasantly surprised to find that our trip fell within the window for the night visit! I used this site to get information on the dates, cost, and times for the tour.

The moonlit road to Garganta del Diablo

I sent an email to make a reservation and was sent three attachments – two info sheets (one in Spanish and one in English) and a booking form, which was only in Spanish. Here’s the general info for the walk – it’s $500 pesos for the walk, plus $200 if you want to add dinner at La Selva, the restaurant in the park. Transportation is not included in that cost. There are three walks per night – one at 7:45pm, one at 8:30pm, and one at 9:15pm. If you decide to add the dinner and you choose the earliest time, dinner has to be after the walk. If you choose the middle time, you can eat either before or after, and if you choose the latest time, you have to eat dinner before the walk.

We chose to go with the middle time, and to eat dinner (after the walk – although we didn’t have to specify on the form). Once I sent off the completed form, they charged my credit card, and I didn’t deal with the company at all until the day of the walk. For transportation, I contacted our hotel, since we were staying in the park. I didn’t know at the time, but the Sheraton isn’t actually at the main entrance. In fact, we never went to the main entrance during our park visits. So we arranged to have a taxi bring us to the front (it took just a few minutes) and also pick us up after the walk + dinner. It seemed that most people, even those staying in Puerto Iguazú, arranged for a taxi ride with the taxi point services.

We got to the main entrance a bit before 8:30pm (the tour start time). We didn’t have a voucher (I think if you book the trip while you’re there, in the park, you can pick up an actual voucher). But our names were on the list, and we were brought in front of a shop to get our vouchers for the tour and for dinner. There were a few stores still open, so we browsed while we waited for the tour to start. Nothing happened until 9pm, when they gathered everyone around and explained a bit about the park (there was a Spanish and English group). The group was about 100 people large, and we finally piled into the train around 9:20pm. The walk to the falls was very peaceful. We had just done the walk that afternoon, but for some people on the tour it would be their first time seeing the falls.

The Garganta de Diablo was magical at night. The pictures don’t do it justice. The waterfalls were flowing at a tremendous rate, so sometimes the mist would almost completely cover the falling water. We were so lucky that we had such a clear night. In fact, they will cancel the walk if it’s too cloudy, since there are no lights to guide you other than the moon. We had about 25-30 minutes at the actual platform (it takes maybe 15 minutes to walk out there), and there were no issues getting great views from all angles, even with 100 people.

I’m so glad I found out about that walk, and that it worked with the timing of our trip. I chose the first available night (the second night of our trip) in case bad weather caused the walk to be canceled. That way we could potentially rebook for the following night. As I already mentioned, we were ver lucky and had a clear night for our visit.

Dinner at La Selva was pretty good. Nothing great, but it was a buffet and had a meat station (I didn’t try anything, but Ryan did and enjoyed it). Since we were staying at the Sheraton, I’m glad we ate at La Selva instead of driving into town, but if you’re staying in Puerto Iguazu, I’d opt to do the walk at 7:45 or 8:30 and then head back to town for dinner afterwards, since there are many dining options that are superior to La Selva.

I’m so glad this all worked out – I was a bit skeptical since booking the visit seemed a bit too easy, and didn’t require any follow-up. It was a fun way to spend our second night in the park, and a great way to appreciate the falls without as much of a crowd. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to rearrange my trip to plan around the full moon walk, it’s a bonus if you happen to be visiting at the right time!

Sheraton Iguazú – Parque Nacional Iguazú, Argentina

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Kristin

We’re back from our two-week trip to Argentina! We had a wonderful time and can’t wait to share what we loved best. We started our adventure in Iguazú National Park and stayed inside the park at the Sheraton (only hotel in the park in Argentina). This was the only hotel on the trip that there was no debate about – it was a Starwood property that could be booked with points (so it was “free”) and it was inside the park. There was nothing else for us to consider, and we booked it as soon as we booked our flights!

A view of the hotel (yes, the exterior is a bit outdated) from the entrance to the park. It was THAT close! Better than we could have imagined.

Price. As I mentioned above, we were luckily enough to book our hotel using Starpoints. For this time of year (late October), it was 16k points per night, for a total of 48,000 points. (When we were originally thinking of visiting in early September, the rate was 12k/night.) I’m not sure how much it would have been if we had paid for it, but rooms seems to start around $300 (give or take, depending on the time of year).

Location. In the national park! Just a quick walk from our room (5 or so minutes) to the lower circuit trail of the park. We could see (and hear!) the waterfalls from the hotel, and it was amazing. You could also be the first and/or last people in the park that can be found through straight from the source. We wandered into the park on our first afternoon, and we were surprised with how empty it was (it was about an hour before closing) and how close we were to the falls!

For us it was worth it to stay in the park, but it is about 30 minutes away from the town. We took a taxi a couple of nights to eat dinner in town, which wasn’t a big deal for us. One more logistical note – we had to pay the $260 (pesos) each to enter the park as we were driving in. We had read that by getting your ticket stamped, you can then pay half price for the park entrance the following day (but on the third day, you would pay full price again). Well, one perk to staying at the Sheraton was that we paid the entrance fee once, and never had to pay again (even though we left the park several times during our stay).

This was a surprise for us – we went on a quick walk from the hotel on our first afternoon there, and ended up walking the lower circuit!

Room. Since we booked with points, we had the standard room, with a view of the jungle. A few days before the trip, I received an email saying we could upgrade to a falls view room for $50/night. I jumped at the opportunity. As luck would have it, we ended up getting a free upgrade when we got there! Our room was second from the end, so our view of the falls wasn’t that great. But it was still neat to see the mist from the falls and hear the falls!

Dining. Honestly, it was a bit subpar. They do have a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner, but we decided to skip it for everything except snacks. Many of such restaurants, get help from Clarity Voice website for different kinds of services. The food was just okay, and the service was really lacking. Breakfast was better – it was a buffet with eggs, meats, potatoes, cheeses, fruit, cereal, and an omelette bar. They even had champagne! Breakfast was open from 6:30-10:30, so guests can get a very early start (the park doesn’t open until 8am, though).

Amenities. The hotel has a pool (which we used everyday), a gym (which we never used), and a spa (which we tried to use, but it was booked). It really is set up so you don’t have to leave the hotel to go into town for anything. They even had a little gift shop that seemed to sell most things you’d need for your trip. As mentioned above, there is also a bar in the lobby, and a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner. The hotel also serves drinks and food at the pool, but the bar was being repainted while we were there, so it was closed. They did have people taking orders, but the service wasn’t consistent and we were never able to get anything ordered.

Transportation. Usually this would go in a city overview, but since we didn’t actually spend much time in the city (Puerto Iguazú) and I won’t be writing a city overview, I’ve added it here. For the Argentine side of the park, there is no transportation needed. You walk to the start of the lower circuit and upper circuit trails, and to get to the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat), you take the free train that runs in the park. For everything else, we used taxis arranged by the hotel – to go to the Brazilian side, to go to dinner in town (25-30 minute drive), to go to the front entrance of the park for the Full Moon Walk, and to get to the airport. This was so smooth – the hotel has their own taxi service, so we were able to get a taxi at a moment’s notice. Even to cross the border and go into Brazil! And in all cases (other than getting dropped off at the airport), it was arranged so we had a roundtrip ride. All rides were paid in Argentine pesos.

While the hotel wasn’t perfect, it was great for our stay! I would definitely plan to stay here on a return trip. I would also consider staying on the Brazilian side at the hotel inside the park – the Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas. Apparently the rules are a bit relaxed on the Brazilian side, so you can actually enter the park before it opens or after it closes (not the case with the Argentine side). If you are looking for nightlife, it may be best to stay in town – either Puerto Iguazú in Argentina or Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. Through the grapevine we’ve heard that Foz is better for restaurants and nightlife, but we didn’t even drive through the town, so I can’t really comment on that. No matter where you stay, Iguazú Falls should be considered for any trip to Argentina (or Brazil)!

South America Round 2: Argentina!

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Kristin

We’re going to Argentina! We’ve been wanting to go back to South America ever since we got back from Peru, and we’re finally able to make it happen this year. We’ve booked our flights into and out of Argentina and one of our hotels but other than that, nothing is set in stone. That doesn’t mean we haven’t been thinking and planning, though! We have a very good idea of things to do and places to stay, but just haven’t finalized or booked anything yet.

We have about 2 weeks in Argentina, and here is the high-level plan:

So, we’re starting up north in Iguazú Falls, and I’ve already booked the Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa, which is actually inside the national park. It worked out great for us because I was able to book free nights (16,000 starpoints/night), and we will hopefully be some of the first people in the park both days. The rate includes a free buffet breakfast (comparable rate for booking 3-4 months out would be $264-$330 USD, depending on whether you wanted the flexibility to cancel and pay upon arrival). We’ll fly in on a Friday, and spend Saturday on the Brazilian side and Sunday on the Argentine side before flying down to Patagonia on Monday.

We are planning to spend about one week in Argentine Patagonia, splitting time between El Calafate and El Chaltén. I can’t wait to see the glaciers, go hiking, and explore the southern part of Argentina. We haven’t quite figured out the split between the two cities, but we are leaning toward 3 nights in El Calafate and 4 nights in El Chaltén. We plan to take a one-day cruise in El Calafate, as well as trek across one of the glaciers, Perito Moreno. In El Chaltén we plan to hike several day hikes, weather permitting. Just for fun, here’s a view of the glaciers that we will (hopefully) see on our cruise in El Calafate:

This picture is from the MarPatag site, which is one of the companies we are considering for the cruise. They have two-night cruise that looks very luxurious and has been tempting us, but right now we’re sticking with the full-day cruise because it’s more practical (and a lot more cost effective).

Our last stop will be in (and around) Buenos Aires. Right now we are looking to spend 5 nights there and fly out late on Saturday night. One of my good friends just spent 3 months in South America and she advised us not to spend too much time in Buenos Aires. However, we plan to do a couple of all day side trips, so I’m hoping that we won’t be bored after only 5 days and nights. Plus, our research so far gave us a lot of good ideas for activities to do in Buenos Aires, so I’m confident we’ll enjoy our time here.

That’s all we have for now – since we do like to plan ahead, I’m sure we will be booking some things (like our activities in El Calafate and any day trips from Buenos Aires), but we’ll try to leave in some flexibility in case we change our minds once we are down there. I’m looking forward to our second trip to South America!

Hotel Review: Second Home Peru B&B, Lima, Peru

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Kristin

Once we chose Barranco has a home base, we quickly narrowed in on Second Home Peru as the place to stay. It was a great choice! The owner, Lilian, was so helpful and not only provided fantastic restaurant recommendations, but helped us with transportation – she gave us her card to use for the bus (which we just had to load with some money). We truly felt like we were visiting someone’s home, but also had the freedom of a hotel guest.

Price. We paid $115 for each room (we stayed in two different ones). I believe that all of the rooms in the main house were $115, except for the suite, which was $125. The rooms with the great ocean view were a bit more, around $135/night. Very reasonable and well within our normal budget for hotels. Admittedly, Peru is much cheaper than other destinations, but we still felt that the price was great.

Location. In the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. I shared my pre-trip assessment of the neighborhoods, and I’m so glad we chose Barranco as our base for the three nights. There were a lot of options for dining, and it felt a lot smaller than other areas of Lima (in a good way!). With taxis and public transportation, we really didn’t have any issues getting from one place to another, so staying in Barranco didn’t keep us from visiting other parts of the city. We were also rewarded with amazing views of the Pacific.

Room. We stayed in two rooms – No. 1 and No. 4 (if you are looking at the website). Unfortunately, the rooms with ocean views were all taken up. A bit about how the house is set up: rooms No. 1-5 are in the main house, all on the second floor. Rooms No. 1 and No. 2 are on one side – No. 1 overlooks the front garden that needs tree trimming services to be done now (with a very small balcony) and No. 2 faces out toward the ocean. No. 3-5 are on the other side of the house, with 3 facing out toward the ocean. No. 3 and 4 each have a door out to a shared terrace that provides a view of the ocean. Room No. 5 is in the back of that side and is a suite (I believe it has a double/queen bed and a twin), Their walls is like Manchester moveable walls . And there is also a nice terrace on the second floor that faces out toward the ocean. And there is also a nice lawn with additional (and closer) views of the ocean, which all guests can use. People need to go here if they need the best gardening services.

Long story short – I don’t think it’s necessary to have an ocean view room, at all. We really enjoyed our first room, and it had a closed off bathroom (this was room No. 1, pictured above). Room No. 4 was also very nice, but while the bathroom area was sectioned off, there wasn’t actually a door (not an issue for us, but may be for some travelers!).

All that said, there are three additional rooms that are closer up to the ocean and have balconies overlooking the Pacific. These would be my top pick (they are a little more expensive), but I would stay in any of the rooms again.

Dining. Breakfast is offered daily (I think it was from 7am-noon). Instead of the normal buffet you see at many hotels, the breakfast at Second Home Peru is just like home! Lilian greets you in the kitchen, which has one large table and a smaller one off to the side. We were provided orange juice, toast, and cereal upon arrival. She then served us tea or coffee and made eggs to order! It was a wonderful time to chat and learn more about her background, while also getting tips for our time in Lima.

Amenities. This B&B has many amenities to help make you feel at home: free wifi, TVs in each room, common areas with seats and views, hot tea available 24/7, breakfast, and even an outdoor pool (it was a little too cold while we were there, but it’s great to have the option). One of the most unique amenities is the art studio of famous Peruvian artist, Victor Delfin. His daughter, Lilian, runs the B&B and offers daily tours of the studio between certain hours. Unfortunately we were not able to take advantage of this (next time, for sure!) but we were still able to enjoy Mr. Delfin’s art throughout the house, including paintings each room and sculptures throughout the property.

Second Home Peru in Lima is a gem, and Lilian definitely makes you feel at home. It was so hard for us to leave after three short nights. The property is beautiful and we could have spent much more time just relaxing on the grounds, enjoying the view, while sipping tea (or wine).

Cooking in Cusco

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Kristin

We had an opportunity to cook a few of the popular and traditional dishes of the Andean region. Through our hotel, Encantada, we booked a lunchtime cooking class for two for $100 (before tip, but this did include the lessons and the food). The restaurant is A Mi Manera, and it’s worth a visit even if you don’t take the cooking class.

We started out in the bar and we were provided with two menus. We thought we would have to choose one, but they had each of us pick the one we wanted to do, so we did it all! Here’s what the lineup looked like:

Drinks: Chicha Morada (Kristin), Pisco Sour (Ryan)
Starter: Quinoa Atamalada con Arroz (Kristin), Cebiche (Ryan)
Main: Rocoto Relleno (Kristin), Lomo Saltado (Ryan)
(Good news: some of the recipes are on the restuarant’s website!)

I started with my drink, the non-alcoholic chicha morada. The base was pre-made, and it’s created by boiling purple corn and chilling the resulting mixture. This made my part very simple: I cut up some pineapple, added juice from one juice, an ounce or so of simply sugar, and blended those with the purple corn juice in a blender. Ryan’s pisco sour was a bit more complicated, involving an egg white and alcohol, but the result was delicious!

Once our drinks were prepared, we moved over to the kitchen to start the real work. The ingredients were already out and some of the early steps were pre-prepared for us. I went to work on one side and Ryan on the other. I started with the rocoto relleno (stuffed pepper) dish and Ryan with the cebiche.

For my dish, I started with a mixture of egg, milk, and cheese, which would eventually by poured into a dish with my pepper and potato. I wish I knew what I stuffed the pepper with (it was pre-made by the chefs), but it was ground meat with veggies. The potato was already boiled, so I just had to peel the skin and place it in the dish alongside the stuffed pepper. Add a little sliced cheese on top, pour the egg/milk/cheese mixture in the dish, and it was done (well, after simmering on the stove and then baking in the oven).

Ryan’s cebiche (the recipe is on the site), was made with the expected fish (he used pejerrey), red onion, hot peppers, limes, and cilantro. However, there was one surprise ingredient (missing on the recipe online): milk! Since Ryan made this dish first, the fish was able to sit in the acidic sauce and cook for the remainder of our class.

The lomo saltado and quinoa atamalada recipes are also on the website. We had a lot of fun with this and we were able to mostly prepare it on our own (except for the rice and french fries). We even shaped the rice into a pyramid and half sphere! Ok, so we had some help with rice molds (here are a couple I’m thinking about ordering: pyramid and half sphere) – these were used for all dishes we ordered that came with a side of rice.

We ended the class by sitting down to enjoy our food (the finished products are pictured above)! We dug right into the cebiche, which had already been sitting out for a good 20 minutes. Neither of us were brave enough to try the “tiger’s milk” (ok, I wasn’t feeling well, otherwise I definitely would have), but we did enjoy the spicy result of the fish. The quinoa was creamy, cheesy, and thick and perfect for a cool fall or winter day. The lomo saltado tasted like the ones we had in Ollantaytambo at the restaurant – I think this is definitely something we’ll be able to recreate at home with little difficulty. I do wish I had the details about the meat mixture that was stuffed inside the pepper. It was much more flavorful than any stuffed pepper I’ve ever made. I’m sure the Andean cheese on top helped that!

I would highly recommend this class to anyone who enjoys cooking and learning about a new type of cuisine. It made the Peruvian dishes seem less intimidating, and I’m excited to try a few of them out at home! Nati and her team were very sweet and helpful.

SuitcaseJournal

Travel experiences and insights from a young couple

Tag Archives: South America

Full Moon Walk – Logistics and Pictures

Sheraton Iguazú – Parque Nacional Iguazú, Argentina

South America Round 2: Argentina!

Hotel Review: Second Home Peru B&B, Lima, Peru

Cooking in Cusco