Beers of Chile, Argentina and Brazil.....well mostly Chile

In my last awarding winning posts I discussed where I was.  This post will be mostly about what I drank when I was where I was.

 Having a few beers abroad always reminds me of the first time Barry traveled to Belgium as seen above.  It's always a rush for the senses.

 Mestra....Average

 Austral in all forms is the best day to day drink I found...not pictured is the lager which is a beer that would occupy my fridge space any day of the week.

 A very fuzzy picture of Cristal, not to be confused with the expensive rapper champagne.  It's OK but, it's like the Budweiser of Chile.

 Kunstamann is a flavorful dark beer which is a nice departure from the lagers....tasty

 A local beer from Iquique, refreshing after a 5 hour ride....

 Yes! Pacena....No! to remembering the beer...not memorable at all

 The best example of micro brew in Santiago, it's a unfiltered....tasty in my books.  Szot!

Escudo is the filtered cousin of SZOT.....nice and germanic

 Errrr....Royal Guard in Chile's TGI Fridays....not amazing....not bad either

 First Beer in Buenos Aires Airport....goes great with Ham and Cheese sandwiches.

Antartica's beer....it's foreign to me...and not really worth mentioning after many Caiparinas

 This was the only beer to be voted, I will not drink this again.  It's a mix of sweet and forgettable.  Brahma Black....

Leonardo da Silva Moura, and little time in Buenos Aires or Rio

It's a shame that when I post this I have very little to show in the way of photos for either Buenos Aires or Rio.  All the good food in Argentina would turn out to be little more than a ham and cheese sandwich and a strange beer due to the time available.

The flight I thought would get me beyond Buenos Aires to Brazil......WRONG!

 Lot's of retro cars on the road in Buenos Aires....on a side note I was happy that I could now communicate with the Taxi driver beyond the usual "How to get to the hotel..."  We carried on heated discussions about the merits of Messi and Maradona and how I thought Tevez was basically a Mercenary.

 This shot is from a walk outside the hotel.  I didn't have time to ask so if you know of this area....send me a message.

 This one is also from the walk...again...no clue the name.

 Eating in a very fancy sandwich shop that had many varieties of ham sandwiches ranging from Cheese and Ham or Special Cheese and Ham or the one I chose....Special Cheese and Special Ham on Special Bread.  Why would you choose anything else?  The beer was special, the sandwich was of the variety that if you woke up in the middle of the night with the munchies you would of constructed it in an exact replica.

 Got a lot done at work but, due to the short week....the Brazilian flag just about sums up the time I had for photos.  Until, I tried my hand at being Paparazzi in Brazil.

 Leonardo Moura showed up with the rest of Flamengo.

 Just shoved my way up to the front....

 Then got tired of taking photos because I don't watch Flamengo play....

I'll end with a place holder for the next time I am in Rio.  Christ the Redeemer....meet Buddy Jesus.

 

Chile - Santiago, Antofagasta, Calama, Iquique and San Pedro

When traveling to Santiago Chile, you can do a lot worse than staying at the Marriot.  You could place this in any location in the world and be completly satisfied with the level of service.

Hotel Lobby...

Rooms are clean and welcoming...

25 floors give you a great view of the city....

A little hazy in the morning upon arrival...it cleared up completly by lunchtime.

Lunchtime at El Otro Sitio a Peruvian resteraunt in Santiago.  Specializing in Cerviche and a new drink which has become a new favorite Pisco Sour which I believe can clean engine parts.  Matt, Manuel and I.

Cerviche....yes, I know what you might be thinking I am back eating meat.

After this, for the next 5 days I would travel from the ocean to 4300 meters above sea level and witness what can only be described as the surface of the Moon or Mars while traveling 1700 Kilometers by car and wearing gear that would make Darth Vader jealous.

Salt Mines outside of San Pedro....it is blindingly white as far as the eye can see.

Another mine.  Notice the lack of anything that resembles life.

Salt as hard as rock and as sharp as razor blades.

Along with bathing in Sunscreen, this was the typical Star Wars looking safety gear we required. Edguardo in this photo.

Every now and then, you will see pockets of life.

and a memorial to where life had ended.  In 1700 Kilometers of highway you are constantly reminded the dangers of the road.  I counted at least 200 of these.  This one was about average, others are as ornate as a small home.

After hours of driving sometimes you realize how far you are away from home.  Matt and I at the Tropic of Capricorn.

After a visit to the mines a two day stop over was at Hosteria San Pedro de Atacama.  Beds were clean, nothing fancy but, well positioned for our trips to see customers.

The grounds are a throw back to a couple of hundred years ago and are withing walking distances of everything in the small town.

Great town to get away and relax.  Tons of visitors from everywhere on the planet.

Dirt streets and lots of people backpacking.  Many good resteraunts and outside cafe's.  Recommend checking out Adobe.  This resteraunt has an open ceiling to the stars and an fire pit.  I guess you can have an open ceiling when you live in the desert.

  On our trek from San Pedro to Iquique the terrain began to change into more and more hills and mountains.

Indiana Jones would be at home...

or a Bedouin tribe.

In the background....snow capped mountains....an extreme in every view.

A pitstop outside of Iquique....Empanadas.

One of the most amazing views I have seen.  Ocean to the left of our car, mountains to our right and clouds pouring over them.

another shot of the mountains and clouds...

When staying in Iquique, make sure your reservations are for the correct week, that you at the correct address or your only hope is the Hosteria Cavancha.  Bugs will welcome you to the room and carry your bags up 3 flight or possibly 4 flights of stairs, outside with no elevator.  Notice the lovely 70's decor and fold out bed.

The view out the back door however, was something more inviting.  I kept the sliding door open all night and slept like a rock to the sounds of waves and the singing of cockroaches.

Right outside the hotel parking was a huge chess set.  I imagined cockroaches after having a few beers went to show off their prowess while we slept.

You haven't breathed until you have been over 4000 meters.  Not to mention that we ended up around 4300 and were told about people dying while panting around taking photos.

Llamas on the other hand dance and laugh at this height.  The locals decorate them very ornately.

This Llama seemed to be requesting a Coconut Cookie, it however did not like the fact that the cookie struck him in the rear, causing him to gallop away.

One Fancy Llama

One very pregnant Llama.

Some other Llama relatives....the Vecuna.  Look like deer, run like a cheetah.

3 men smiling in front of a smoking Volcano.

A local lizard...posing for the camera.

A last look at the smoking Volcano and the salt flats at 4300 meters high.

A final photo from Santiago....Is this Gringots Bank from Harry Potter?

Thanks for reading.