Travel Top 3: February

Two months down, and this second one has included Chile and Argentina. Without further ado, the awards go to...

Supremely Useful

1. Before our trip I spent more time than necessary researching shoes that could 'do it all' - something we could run in, hike in, walk in cities in, that weren't too heavy, that were good in dry and rainy climates. There is no perfect shoe, but eventually we landed on Topos, a trail runner, for our adventure. Mine started out a bright turquoise, but after over 300km are now a dusty turquoise. They are so lightweight, comfortable, hardy, and neither Jacob nor I got a single blister while wearing them on the O trek. 

Runners up:

1. Powdered soya milk. Before we came to South America, I'd heard that peanut butter was hard to find here. Surprisingly, peanut butter has been pretty ubiquitous in supermarkets, but soya milk is another story. Apparently it used to be more common, but tastes have changed - people prefer almond or coconut milk, and while a country like Argentina is the world's third largest producer of soya, most of this is used for animal feed and not much goes into delicious things like soya milk or tofu (imagine if more of the world went vegan...) The powdered soya milk we bought in Singapore was such a nice treat to have in our oats during the hike. 

2. Sounds boring but - a length of rope we brought with us from Singapore. We've had very few places that include free washing services or a washing machine, and this rope has been a makeshift washing line for our handwashing so that even if we're a little grubby, our clothes have stayed mostly clean!

Supremely Joyful

Sitting in the garden in El Bolson. El Bolson was an oasis after hard days - it was where we landed after hitch hiking over 1300km, and came after El Chalten where we did long hikes. The town itself felt like a balm: fruit trees laden with stone fruit, a bulk store with reasonable prices where we stocked up on oats, soya mince and raisins, and even vegan empanadas! One afternoon, we had nothing planned and we spent it reading and writing. I sat in the garden on a small wooden ledge under an apple tree. The sun was warming my legs and my face, and I put my book down, tilted my head up, and basked. I felt perfectly at peace.

Runners up:

1. Watching men play chess in Chile - sunlight, people having fun and revelling in the thrill of strategy, what's not to love? It reminded me of one of the best compliments I heard; someone once said of my family: "I admire your commitment to play."

2. Tasting spreads in Huertana, Mendoza. We arrived when it was closed but the owner of the business kindly showed us around anyway, naming the different flavours on offer in English and Spanish and letting us try lots of them. He'd punctuate our tasting with: "This is on the pedestal of my top three." (the apricot jam), and "This - now this is my favourite!" (the fig jam) Passion and joy just oozed out of him, and it was infectious. We couldn't resist the spreads either and bought their house salsa made with pickled aubergine, courgette, tomato, and red pepper. 

Supremely Tasty

Santiago was replete with incredible fresh produce, and Jacob was eager to cook something that would make vegetables sing (so to speak!) We picked up green beans, potatoes, aubergine, red pepper, courgette, mushrooms, lentils, and olives from the Mercado Central and roasted/boiled them with a little oil, salt, and pepper, but altogether they tasted heavenly! The cherries and strawberries (but especially the cherries) from the market were also incredible.

Runners up:

1. After a 30+km cycle ride in Bariloche, we stopped by Mamushka for ice cream. We picked (predictably) dark chocolate with candied almonds, and (unusually) champagne and cassis. They went surprisingly well together; the chocolate rich and decadent yet creamy and light at the same time, and the champagne and cassis was refreshing and sparkly. Both were ridiculously tasty, rivalling even the chocolate hazelnut ice cream we had in New Zealand!

2. For Jacob's birthday meal in Mendoza, we made a delicious pasta with mushrooms, soya mince, green beans, roasted aubergine and courgette, onion, and the Huertana spread I mentioned. Perhaps it was eating it after a day of wine and cycling, but it tasted like something you'd eat in a restaurant with candles.