In search of America...

Some key dates for the South American part of our trip:

8th of September 2016: Arrival in Buenos Aires, from Miami airport

4th of October 2016: Arrival of the motorhome in Zarate harbour, near Buenos Aires

5th of October 2016 to 5th of February 2017: Driving about 10000 km through Argentina and Chile with the motorhome

6th of February: Sale of our motorhome in La Serena, Chile

6th of February to 22nd of February 2017: Traveling with bus or car from La Serena to Buenos Aires

22nd of February 2017: Departure for Paris, from Buenos Aires airport

Some key dates for the North-American part of our trip:

15th of March 2016: Arrival in New York, from Oslo airport

20th of March- 25th of May 2016: Le Bic, small village along the Saint-Laurence river where we rented a house

25th of May- 7th of September: Driving about 15000 km through Southern Canada and USA in our motorhome

8th of September: Departure for Buenos Aires, from Miami airport

Fra Puerto Montt der båten fra Chiloe hadde annkommet kjørte vi litt og ble på en camping i tre dager.

Grunden til at vi var så lenge der, var at 1 det var en varmebølge planlagt og på campingen var det svømmebaseng, 2 vi skulle snart selge bobilen og vi måtte vaske den og 3 det var veldig store skogbrann mer mot nord der vi skulle passere og vi ville vente. Etter campingen kjørte vi raskt gjennom brannene. Brannorådet passert kjørte vi roligt opp helt til byen der kjøperne Eduardo, Greta og Angelina bor, la Serena. I la Serena ble vi 5 dager, tiden for å ta oss av papirarbeidet og besøke det fantastiske området.

8. mars kjørte Greta og Angelina oss til en stor og veldig farget by, Valparaiso. I Valparaiso ble vi 5 dager helt til vi tok en buss til den veeeldig varme byen, Mendoza. I Mendoza ble vi 3 dager der vi leide en bil for å dra til en liten by litt høyere opp i fjellene der vi hadde leid et hus. Der gikk vi en tur for å se et av de høyeste fjellene i verden, Aconcagua!! Dagen etter kjørte vi til et sted der det var varmtvann-bassenger. Der ble vi et par timer før vi tok en 14 timers buss til Buenos Aires Etter 5 dager i Buenos Aires tok et fly til  Sao Paulo og dermed PARIS!!!

De Puerto Montt ou le bateau de Chiloe avait accoste, nous avons conduit un peu et nous sommes restes dans un camping pendant 3 jours. Pourquoi si longtemps? Car, (1) il y avait une vague de chaleur prevue et dans le camping il y avait la piscine, et (2) nous allions bientot vendre le camping-car et il avait bien besoin d'une douche et (3) car il y avait des enormes incendies vers le nord ou nous allions passer. Apres le camping nous avons roules rapidement a travers les incendies. Les incendies passes, nous avons roule tranquillement vers la Serena, la ville des acheteurs, Eduardo, Greta et Angelina. Nous sommes restes 5 jours a la Serena pour nous occuper des papiers et visiter le fantastique coin. Le 8 mars Greta et Angelina nous ont emmenes dans une ville grande et tres coloree, Valparaiso. Apres 5 jours dans la ville, nous avons pris un bus pour la tres chaude ville, Mendoza.

A Mendoza, nous avons passe 3 jours avant de louer une voiture et de partir en montagne ou nous avions loue un gite. La, nous avons fait une promenade pour voir une des plus hautes montagnes du monde, le legendaire Aconcagua! Le jour d'apres, nous nous nous sommes reposes dans des thermes avant de prendre un bus de 14 heures pour Buenos Aires. A Buenos Aires, nous sommes restes 5 jours avant de prendre un avion pour Sao Paulo et ensuite PARIS!!!

 Svømmebaseng på camping.

Piscine du camping.

 Skogbrann på veien

Feux de forets sur la route

Vulkan Osorno

Volcan Osorno

Barbecue i la Serena

Barbecue a la Serena

 Observatoriet på la Serena

Observatoire de la Serena

 Kjøpernes Svømmebaseng

Piscine des acheteurs

Valparaiso

 Buss til Mendoza

Bus vers Mendoza

 Vi møtes på en vei!! De var sammen med de andre Eduardos barn.

On se rencontre sur une route!! Ils etaient avec les autres enfants de Eduardo.

 Hus vi leide på fjellet nær Mendoza.

Maison en montagne pres de Mendoza.

 Varmtvann basengene

Thermes

Buenos Aires

 Svømmebaseng i Buenos Aires.

Piscine a Buenos Aires.

 Charles de Gaulle, Paris!!!

12 February: This time it is by bus that we are travelling! From Valparaiso to Mendoza, an 8-hour drive takes us over the Andes and through the border at more than 3200 m of altitude. The high altitude doesn’t make the road less busy, and we wait more than two hours to cross to Argentina.

Incredible landscapes and the hairpin turns climbing to the Argentinian border.

Beautiful lights as an evening storm forms over the mountains.                        

13-14 February: Two days to hang around in Mendoza, a green city with plenty of parks and big trees providing shade along most of the streets. We will carefully stay in the shade as the temperature has risen drastically now that we are far from the Pacific Ocean.

Cerro de la Gloria: San Martin and its army crossing over the Andes in 1817 to free Chile and Peru from the Spanish empire.

A visit to La Rural winery and its interesting wine museum…                        

We head next to Uspallata, a beautiful village about 2 h west of Mendoza where we rent a cabin for a few days. Lovely surroundings, scenic walks and even a brand new foal born during our stay!

16 February: we meet with the giant…the Aconcagua Mountain, 6962 m high and the highest mountain on earth outside Asia, is only a short drive from Uspallata. A nice walk offers great views of the summit and allow the kids to experience their first “high-altitude” hike!

17 February: we indulge ourselves at the “Termas de Cacheuta”, a big water park with thermal water, of course but also water slides, swimming pools, etc. A nice way to use energy before the 14-hour bus ride to Buenos Aires!

18 February: The circle is complete…we are back in Buenos Aires. We rent a flat in Puerto Madero, the newest area of the city. Nice views of the capital from our balcony and, on the ground floor, a huge swimming pool…very appreciated after a walk in the hot and humid city!

A poker game in the apartment turns the kids into gambling addicts, playing from morning to evening.

Despite the pool and the poker game, we still manage to take them out for a few walks: a visit to the Fragata Sarmiento, a training ship for the Argentine Navy in the 1890s.

A trip to the nearby wildlife reserve, on an incredibly hot day. We were hoping to see iguanas, after some friends had told us there was some in the park. Indeed, as we were nearly at the end of the path, we got to see one from quite close…making the trip worth it despite the unbearable heat!

Showering to cool down after the walk!!! Fortunately, a huge storm falls on the city in the evening, refreshing the atmosphere for our last day in South America.

Moving sidewalks in Charles de Gaulle Airport: we reach Paris on February 23 after an uncomfortable flight from Buenos Aires. Happy to meet with our family and friends…even if we know this will be our last stop before going home.