Travel Tidbits: Bariloche, Mt. Everest, Helsinki ATMs

Mt. Everest was the highlight of my trip to Tibet in April ’04. I will never forget watching the sun rise over the mountain. I learned that, with the altitude, we needed to take it slow when touring the monasteries and temples; there were a lot of steps to climb. Also, we found that most roads outside of Lhasa were dirt, some more hard-packed than others; some travel days were dustier than others. The Tibetan people were extremely friendly and always said “Hello.” Even if they did not speak English, they all had huge smiles for us. We felt welcome everyplace we went. — MARY-PAT PARKER, Gaines, MI

Our Patagonian lake crossing from from Chile to Argentina one December ended in Bariloche. I took the tour up a mountain by chairlift. This is supposed to be one of the world’s greatest views, and I can well believe it. Bariloche also was my introduction to great (and inexpensive) Argentinean steak. — BRITA BISHOP, Dallas, TX

In Helsinki, Finland, I found two kinds of ATM machines. Look for the one that says “OTTO.” That’s the one that takes U.S. debit cards. Both kinds of machines are in the airport and around Helsinki. — MARY K. TAYLOR, Rockport, TX

There are over 1,500 OTTO machines in Finland. Each has a blue slot and a yellow slot for inserting your card. If you’re using a card foreign to Finland, use the yellow slot. ATM service is provided in English if you’re using an international-brand card such as Visa, MasterCard or Cirrus.