Birthday, Bahamas, and Baseball: 2016 In Travel Begins!

After a long winter slumber, Travel Matt begins another year of travel this week! My 2016 travels begin with a whirlwind trip to South Florida to see Spring Training Baseball, and go to Nassau, The Bahamas for the day!  This trip, which was enabled by a number of opportunities/deals lining up nicely, is a three-day action-packed adventure to see the New York Mets, eat Cuban food in Little Havana, and spend the day on Cable Beach in Nassau with an awesome person and her family (who are also awesome as well).

Lots of travel in a short time! But totally worth it!

Originally, I had planned this week (potentially) going on a week-long cruise out of Baltimore this week, but unfortunately this plan did not work out. I still however wanted to do something travel-related, and after some strategic use of Google Flights  (so much better than Kayak) and a number of birthday related coupons and rental car/hotel miles, I was able to plan a trip where I am able to meet up with my lady friend and her family (who are on that cruise) in Nassau while they are in port, and see the New York Mets in Port Saint Lucie, Florida the next.  

Now you would think a trip like this would be crazy expensive, but because of a number of Hilton hotel miles, Hertz rental car miles, Stubhub Rewards points, and a coupon for the resort I'm staying at in the Bahamas overnight, I was able to keep the costs for this trip down to my airline tickets and the cost of the hotel in the Bahamas (which is all-inclusive, whatever that means).  I love a good travel deal and am excited that this deal worked out in my favor!

 My trip beings with a flight down to Miami late Wednesday afternoon, where I'll stay at the Hilton Miami Airport overnight and potentially take a trip over to Little Havana for dinner using some of the ride credits I got for signing up for Lyft last week. (Note: if you sign up for Lyft and use referral code MATT739939, you too can get free rides!)

I'll then get up very early and return to the Miami International Airport to catch a quick international flight to Nassau, The Bahamas, to stay at the Meliá Nassau Beach Resort, located on Cable Beach. My lady friend and her family were able to get Day Passes to the resort to spend the day  with me at the resort. I've been to Nassau before, but stayed last time (a very long time ago) on Paradise Island, so I'm excited to spend the day at a different part of the island pool and oceanside on what is apparently one of the best beaches in the world. Apparently the beach also is great for snorkeling as well, which is always awesome. Expect lots of photos from my day there!

After a day in another country, I'll fly back early the next day to Miami, where I have a nine hour layover before returning home to DC. During that time I'll drive up for the day to Port Saint Lucie, Florida, the winter home of the 2015 National League Champion New York Mets to see their first Spring Training home game. While the drive is a little long, I will have plenty of time to get to and fro the game using a free rental car that I was able to get using some of my Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points I've accrued being the official driver of my family on vacations. 

If you're interested in following my trip (which I admit is crazy, but awesome), check out my Instagram Account (@mattcarnavos), Twitter (@mattcarnavos) or this blog for updates and photos! 

I enjoy eating...and traveling to do it.

Photo by theblackfatcat/iStock / Getty Images

So while I've focused most of my attention and energy in planning this trip on my planning for adventures in Patagonia, I'm also going to Buenos Aires at the beginning and end of my trip.  In total, I'll be in the Argentine capital for three days, and while that doesn't seem like a lot of time, I am planning some interesting activities for my brief time there (also it will be the August-like warm there, so that will be exciting!)

In talking to everyone who I know who has gone to Buenos Aires, the one thing they tell me to do while there is to eat, and more specifically to eat steak.  While I've had several recommendations for meals, it's always a little weird to eat a fancy meal alone.  Additionally, in my short time in the city, I'd like to experience as much of the city as I can, and that includes more than the "traditional" tourist areas/restaurants. 

After much research, I think I've cracked the code on how to do this: Food Tourism! For the uninitiated, food tourism is exactly what it sounds like, guided tours through a city highlighting local specialties. And in Buenos Ares, there are some great food tours that are also neighborhood based. According to the travel end all and be all website Trip Advisor, Buenos Aires Food Tours seems to  fit the bill in what I'm looking for: interesting local food-based tours through both known and off the beaten path neighborhoods and restaurants. Also they schedule their food tours in the mid-afternoon, which is perfect for my schedule both at the beginning and end of my trip! 

So look forward to some awesome pictures/accounts of my adventures in Buenos Aires food! Coming this time next week!

This time next week I'll be in Argentina...

This is an actual true fact!  Hopefully I'll be exploring Buenos Ares after a very long flight this time next week. I'm pretty much ready to go! I have a few little things to take care of (such as my itinerary/planned tours and excursions once I get to Ushuaia). Additionally, I can finally see what the weather is going to be like, which will greatly aid in packing.  February in Southern Patagonia isn't too different than February in D.C. (well normal D.C., and not subzero D.C we've had this year), but Buenos Ares will be more like early August and Northern Patagonia will be just delightful.

One thing that has made this trip much easier to plan thus far was turning some of the logistics over to a local travel agent down in Patagonia.  By using a local travel agent however I was able to arrange a variety of busses and airport shuttles to get from my flight to Punta Arenas to the airport in El Calafate, Argentina.  After doing plenty of research, I decided to work with South Road, a company that was highly recommended by travelers online who wanted to pre-book busses between a variety of towns (many of which I'm visiting) in Patagonia.  

Dealing with them was was incredibly easy and there were no language barriers (many of which I know I would have dealt with if I waited to buy bus tickets until I arrived in Patagonian Chile).  I communicated with one of their travel specialists via email who helped arrange logistics for me and was able to pay ahead of time in USD via PayPal.  South Road even refunded me back some money immediately they realized that the bus company they were using to get me from Puerto Natales to El Calafate did not charge a specific tax! Overall, the costs of things were not much more than if did everything myself. 

While the verdict is still out of course if these bookings worked as well as the planning did, but as of now I am very satisfied with their services.  It was much easier than trying to figure out how to purchase tickets at the last minute!  The company also arranges/organizes tours in Ushuaia, and based on my experiences thus far with them I may use them for future adventures in the Southernmost City in the World!

Change of Plans, but probably for the best.

Perito Moreno Glacier. By Wikisanchez (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

So the best laid plans always get always are subject to change. Today while doing some serious Argentina planning I decided that not only did I absolutely want to see the Torres de Paine National Park in Chile, but I also wanted to see  the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina. Both are reasonable close to Punta Arenas, Chile, where I had planned to visit to see penguins and other natural wonders on my way to Ushuaia.

I also was finding it logistically crazy to get from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia.  There is one bus a day, and the trip takes nearly twelve hours, or really a whole day of my action-packed Patagonian Adventure.  Additionally, if I wanted to go to Torres de Paine, I would have to either cut a day out of Ushuaia, or hope that all the buses would be on time through Patagonia.  Additionally, while I had planned out my trip to Iguazu Falls for the three days after I returned from Patagonia, I also was a bit concerned that I would have to pack clothing for a completely different climate than the rest of my trip. Plus, because of tight connections in Buenos Ares, I would have little slack between the flight back from the Falls, and the flight back to the U.S.

So considering this, I made a decision. I could go along with my original plan and miss out on two sites I absolutely wanted to see, try and do it all and risk doing nothing, or focus my energy on getting to Ushuaia as fast as I could.  I decided that I would go with option one, and go to Torres de Paine and Los Glaciares National Park. Plus, the cost of airfare from El Calafate to Ushuaia was less than either a night of hotel at the Falls or the roundtrip airfare. I would also solve the "How to get from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia" problem. 

Just for some context: Torres de Paine is reachable by a (relatively) short bus ride from Punta Arenas to the town of Puerto Natales.  From there it is an easy bus ride across the Argentinian border to El Calafate, which is the gateway city to Los Glaciares National Park. From there, it is actually (albeit further away that Punta Arenas) easier to get to Ushuaia via a short plane ride.  With these logistics in mind, here is my updated travel plan:

Some front of the envelope travel calculations right here. So many moving awesome parts on this trip.  PS: If your my parents, there's even more complex machinations at the end of that envelope involving layovers and being a good son.

I'll still arrive in Punta Arenas, and stay overnight. Next day, I'll wake up and see Penguins! as well as some of the historical sights in town.  That evening (thanks to summer, I'll board a bus to Puerto Natales, located approximately three hours north for two nights. From this town I will go on a bus tour of Torres de Paine National Park (hopefully with some time for hiking).  The next day, I'll board another bus and cross back into Argentina to stay in El Calafate for two nights. From this town, located on the shore of Lago Argentino (the largest freshwater lake in Argentina) I'll go to Los Glaciares National Park.  Many photos will be taken. I'll then fly the next day to Ushuaia, where I'll then explore Tierra del Fuego until I fly back to Buenos Ares, do some final shopping (wine will be procured) and then later that evening fly back to the U.S.  

Does it sound crazy. Of course. Amazing, you bet! 

So they say it is a trip of a Lifetime...

My route by plane, boat, and bus around Patagonia.

The main motivation for creating this website was not only to share some of the many photos I've taken while traveling so far, but to chronicle what will probably be the largest scale. epic trip I've ever taken....I'm going to Patagonian Chile and Argentina

On this trip I'm going some amazing sights, epic mountains, crystal clear lakes, and Penguins! Also its summer! Although at the bottom of the earth, that doesn't mean it will be warm!

My trip begins in Buenos Ares, where I'll spend a few days exploring as much as this South American capital can offer.  I assume I'll be eating some awesome steak as well.

I then fly nearly 900 miles southwest to San Carlos de Bariloche, a city located in the foothills of the Andes that looks more like a town out of Germany or Switzerland than South America.  While there, I'll be going on at least one or two hikes, eating some local foods, and taking lots and lots of photos. 

Then things get interesting. I'll be traveling over the Andes by bus, boat, bus, boat, bus, and boat and into Chile. This day long journey takes me through two national Andean parks, the Pérez Rosales in Chile and the Nahuel Huapi in Argentina as I “sail” through the Andes through lakes and rivers, to Puerto Varas. This Chilean town also appears to be more at home in Germany and I'll spend a day there exploring the city's unique architecture and beautiful surrounds before boarding a flight from neighboring Puerto Montt to Puenta Arenas,  the southernmost city on the South American continent!

Punta Arenas, Patagonia's largest city, is located on the Strait of Magellan, will be my base of operations to see Penguins (and baby Penguins) at the Monumento Natural Los Pingüinos and Pingüinera Seno Otway, as well as many other natural wonders and historic sights related to  Magellan's journey around the world.

After at least three-four days in Punta Arenas, I'll be heading back to Argentina (by bus and ferry) to the southern-most city in the world Ushuaia.  This city, located on Tierra del Fuego will be my base to explore the Beagle Channel, and ride on l Tren Del Fin Del Mundo, a narrow gauge steam train that takes visitors to the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. I'll also no doubt see some more amazing wildlife and take lots and lots of photos. I may even take a short trip across the Beagle Channel back into Chile and see 

So you would think after going to the end of the world, I would be done with my trip...but no! After flying back up to Buenos Ares, I'm going to keep going north and into the Jungle, for a two day visit to Iguazu Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  I originally wasn't planning on going here, but every person I talked to about Argentina told me I would regret not going. So now I am!

While this sounds like a totally planned trip, there's plenty of things to still figure out. For example, how will I cross the Andes? Where will I stay? How will I get from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia? What should I pack for a trip to the very deep south? These topics and many more will be explored over the next few weeks, so climb on explorers!