Viaje Loco: A quick briefing...

So like I said in the end of my last post, I left Emily and Dan, went home to pack my backpack, and then caught a bus to our meeting point at my friend Kellie's.  Since our plane wasn't until 6:00AM Kellie had called for a taxi at 2:00AM. We all met around 12:00 in order to make sure we had everything we needed (or so we thought) and to say some goodbyes to all the friends who were leaving the following week. At this point I felt like I had been saying too many goodbyes lately and was ready for our trip to get underway.

Here is a quick rundown of the trip:

1. Start by traveling by plane (our one and only of the trip) to Lima, Peru
2. Bus to Cusco, Peru
3. Van and then train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu)
4. Train then van back to Cusco, Peru
5. Bus to Puno, Peru (Lake Titikaka)
6. Cross the border (just barely) into Bolivia and bus on to La Paz, Bolivia (Death Road)
7. Bus from La Paz to Uyuni, Bolivia (Salt Flats) 
8. Train to border of Villazon, Bolivia into La Quiaca, Argentina (home home home!)
9. Bus from La Quiaca to Salta, Argentina
10. Say goodbye to Kellie, bus from Salta back to BsAs

So in an orderly numbered list those are the steps of our crazy Viaje Loco. Now to try to blog about it all...this might not be so orderly,  just a heads up.

P.S. These are my travel friends! Sam is on the left, Kellie on the left

Sista and Brotha in town

I know I’m a little behind on blogging, sorry about that.  The end of June was pretty busy with finals (passed all my classes by the way J) and then on the very last day of the semester I had a wonderful visit from my older sister Emily and her husband Dan!  I won’t lie, even though I was taking finals in Argentina I still got a little stressed at times and the visit from Emily and Dan was a perfect way to celebrate the end! They were only supposed to be here for four days from June 23^rd-26^th, but due to volcanic ash from Volcano Pueyhue in Chile, their flight was delayed until the 27^th. Unfortunately I already had a flight scheduled to Peru in the morning on the 27^th.  I know, so complicated! But anyways the time that we all did spend together here was so great!

On that Thursday I patiently waited by our meeting place, in front of Casa Rosada in Plaza de Mayo by pacing back and forth and constantly swiveling my head to make sure I hadn't missed them walking up. After what seemed like hours I saw Emily and Dan walking towards me!

Emily and I reunited at Casa Rosada. Missed her so much!

After the hugging and bit of tearing up we went to get out of the cold and find some food. I swear the weekend Em and Dan were was some of coldest weather we've had yet here in Buenos Aires. All the same, we made the most of it and had fun. That night my program CEA was having our last farewell dinner.  Since this was one of the last times I would see many people in my program Emily and Dan told me they wouldn't mind going. So after some INTENSE shopping on Calle florida (Em found her own porteña leather boots) we got ready and caught the subte to Calcio. This was Dan's first subte ride ever and I wish I could say it was more enjoyable.  We left during subte rush hour with everyone going home after a day a work. So that means a 40 min ride with absolutely no personal space at all. Dinner was delicious though and made up for the uncomfortable ride there.

Dinner at Calcio

The next day I tried to be a good guide and bring them to some of the big tourist areas of the area.  However, since I've been here a while and don't really do too many touristy things myself anymore we didn't get to quite as many places as I had hoped. I brought them to Once, a big shopping district in BsAs. It's also really cheap. Emily and Dan took advantage of this and bought some souvenirs for home. For lunch we went to Siga La Vaca, which is a very popular restaurant due to their amazing parilla buffet.  I definitely succeeded in making sure they had a taste of the Argentine beef. We all left Siga La Vaca stuffed. Then we went to a bar in Plaza Serrano, Palermo for a before dinner drink and then to my host mom's for a wonderful traditional Argentine dinner. Hebe also had her friend Susana over and we ate locro, a dish of white corn, veggies, sausage, all together like a stew. Hebe is a fantastic cook so of course everything tatsed wonderful. This was definitely one of my favorite things we did. I love that parts of my two families got to meet each other and that everyone got along so well. Emily dazzled us all with her spanish skills and even though Dan doesn't speak spanish, he was still as funny as always. Over all the dinner went really really well.  We left for a much needed food coma nap and then to a friends for an Argentina house party.

The aftermath of parilla buffet at Siga La Vaca

Hebe's wonderful locro

Probably right before they all started chanting "DANNY! DANNY!"

Saturday we hit up Museo de Bellas Artes and the market in Recoleta. Emily and Dan bought some souvenirs and then we had some down time at the hotel before the dinner and tango show.  We went to calle Carlos Gardel where of course there are statues, building art, and cafés all dedicated to the legendary tango singer. The dinner and show we went to, Esquina Carlos Gardel, offered a shuttle service to and from the hotel to the show which was really convenient. Dinner was delicious, complete with appetizers, a main course, dessert, and bottomless wine.  The service was also amazing. Not once did a glass or bread basket go empty.  Like the meal and waitstaff, the show was incredible.  I think it was the highlight of their time here for all of us.

Doing the tango with brooms

Ema nd Dan with the main course

Esquina Carlos Gardel

My dessert, Recuerdo Malevo

The weekend they were here just flew by and before I knew it we were saying goodbye in the hotel lobby.  Like I said their flight got delayed untilt he following night, but I had a flight to Lima bright and early at 6:00AM.  So after leaving there I hustled to the subte and back home.  I hadn't packed anything for my trip yet and had planned to meet at my friend Kellie's at 11:00PM.  This brings me to the next blog post Viaje Loco...vamos.

Exploring Palermo, don't forget your bum bag!

If you read or even glanced at my last post you know I went to Bariloche a few weeks ago. What you might not know is that while there Sam and I hung out quite a bit with Lina and Lauren from England. They're doing a two month trip around South America before they begin their lives as lawyers back home. After Bariloche they ended up following us back to Buenos Aires. OK, well not actually "following" us, but since we all got a long so great in Bariloche, they changed their bus tickets so we could all go to Buenos Aires together.  So now they're here and we're here so all hung out this weekend to continue this beautiful friendship!

Friday was a day of exploring the gardens and food of Palermo. We all met at the Plaza Italia subte stop then continued to the Japanese Garden.  I got there a little early (the green line is so fast!) and had time to walk through the Palermo botanical garden. Opposite of the heat Wisconsin has been hit with lately, the leaves are changing here and it's starting to cool down.  I do miss the hot summer weather i'm used to in June, but at least fall makes for a great day to explore parks!

Jardin Japones

So many koi fish

Lauren being oh so zen, ommm

Yerba plants in the Botanical Garden

After the gardens we moved on to the food part of our day.  First we stopped at Mexican restaurant close to Plaza Italia.  Sam and I both had fajitas, which were great.  We were going to walk around a while more after lunch, but the cold got to us and we ended up stopping at the first café we saw for hot coffee and tea.  The fact that this café had heavenly cakes in the window may have had something to do with it too :)

Carne Fajita Lunch

Rainbow Cake: Vanilla cake, cream cheese frosting
 with a hint of coconut. Amazing.

Saturday we met up with the girls again for some quality Recoleta Fería time.  Sam and I introduced the girls to pan rellena, bread stuffed with cheese and other toppings of your choice. While we sat on the grass eating lunch, we got to laugh at some little boys palying around the area.  It doesn't matter where you are, little kids will play by pretending to be supped-up flying robots or chasing each other with rocks and sticks. Afterwards, we went to a coffee shop nearby. I took this opportunity to order my first submarino! It's like hot chocolate, but made differently. It is hot milk with a melted chocolate bar stirred in. So yeah, delicious.

Submarino

Through out the weekend Lauren, Lina, Sam, and I were noting the words we use and how they vary in the U.S from England.  Here are some of the different words we use to describe the same thing:

U.S                         U.K
Chips                     Crisps
French Fries           Chips
Fanny Pack            Bum Bag


I know there are more, but will have to add them when the girls get back from Iguazu and can remind me.  Until then, besos!

Trading in skyscrapers for mountains: Bariloche, Argentina

Even though I love living in the city of Buenos Aires, sometimes the constant traffic, non-stop social life, and university classes wear a person out.  So needless to say, I was really looking forward to a trip far away (about 22 hours by bus away) to the mountain-surrounded-town Bariloche.  We didn't have class on Argentina's independence day, May 25th. My friend Sam and I decided it would be a good week to go on a trip since we would only miss three days of classes instead of the usual four.  We arrived in Bariloche around 1:15 on Sunday the 22nd or May and stayed for a week.

Down by Lake Nahuel Huapi on our first day in Bariloche

On our first full day, Sam and I jumped on a bus to a bike rental shop.  The buses in Bariloche cost much more than in BA. To the bike rental it was 12 pesos per person there and back! Usually in Buenos Aires one way is 1.25 max. Anyways, that day we biked 25 K, stopping for great views at Lago Escondido, Punto Panaramico, and Hotel Llao Llao. We also stopped for fresh mountain water at a spring fed stream and Gilbert's Brewery for some beer samples.

The path to Lago Escondido (Hidden Lake)

Lago Escondido

View at Punto Panaramico

Beer from Gilbert Brewery

Through out our trip we had two rainy, colder days. The first one was conveniently the day after the bike ride. Sam and I decided to reward our exercise from the day before by checking out the chocolate and ice cream shops downtown.  Bariloche is known for it's chocolate, among other things.  Personally though, I was really impressed with the ice cream. So far it's been the best I've had in South America

Mamuschka, one of our favorite chocolate shops

On second day the clouds took over, I went with Tessa, another girl who goes to University of Belgrano and just happened to be traveling solo and staying at the same hostel as us (small world, right?) for a hike through Bosque de Arrayanes. It was a cold hike, but even with a cloud covered sky it was really awesome to see. 

Can you see the mountain?

Our third day there I went with Sam and our new friends Lina and Lauren to Cerro Campanario. At the top there is a magnificent 360 degree view of the area.  The hike up only takes about 30-45 minutes, but it is a STEEP trail. The chairlift that takes you up and down for about $50 pesos was tempting, but we decided to tough it out and stick to the trail.

There's a smaller town about 2 hours outside of Bariloche called, El Bolson.  The town has a very well know artisan fair on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays and is also the home to some home-brewed artisan beers.  Sam and I planned to explore there on Thursday and a couple other girls from the hostel came with as well.

Tessa and I with our Artisan beer

We got to El Bolson a little early and we had time to do a short hike while the fair was getting set up. We stopped at the information office, got a map, and went to hike Cerro Amigo. 

View of El Bolson from Cerro Amigo

We booked our tickets there through the ViaBariloche bus company.  We went through the same company on the way back, but almost had to stand for the 2 hour journey since ticket for seats go quick!

On our last full day Sam, Lina, Lauren and I went on a super-flat hike to Cascada de los duendes.  Along the way we met some stray-dog-friends (of course) who walked with us there and stopped with us for lunch at Lago Gutierrez. They left soon after the food was gone though..

Sam and our "loyal" dog friend at Lake Gutierrez

We were fortunate enough to book a FANTASTIC hostel, Hostel 41 Below. The staff there is amaizng and know everything there is to know about Bariloche. They helped us with the bike rental and patiently explained bus routes and hiking options through out the whole week. They were all really friendly and we didn't mind hanging out watching movies or talking with them at night or on those rainier days.

Hostel 41 Below- aka the greatest hostel

Our trip came to an end too soon and it was time to leave for the big city. We got back to BA a couple hours later than expected because along the way our bus broke down for about an hour and we had to take a small detour due to a protest in the street.  This caused us to miss class....rats. Luckily we have enough school work leading up to finals that it's making up for getting a few days off from class...  Finals are done on the 24th, just in time for my sister and brother-in-law's arrival! And then the day after they leave, I fly out to Lima for a trip that includes Peru, Bolivia, and a few stops in Argentina too. It's going to be a busy and exciting last couple of months!

Tigre: The fiercest city around

The title might be a little bit of an exaggeration for this slow moving, river city, but since it translates to “tiger” I couldn’t resist.  I had the opportunity to visit Tigre, Buenos Aires a couple weekends ago with my program CEA.  We all got onto the train (1.10 peso/ticket) and took the 45-minute ride there.  It was gray, cloudy, and little cold so not the greatest day to be visiting a city built on waterways.  Despite this though, we had a great time. First we took an hour boat ride through the waterways, which act as roads through a lot of the town. On the tour we saw gas station along the river for boats, old boats half sunk into the water, and unique buildings like the Tigre Art Museum and Sarmiento Museum.  Even though some of the buildings were beautiful, the murky brown water we floated on was not.  You can see the difference in water color the closer you get to the main “port” area because of pollution. This is pretty obvious from the dead fish floating along (even though I’m sure there are some live ones too).

Tigre

Sarmiento Museum

After the boat ride we walked to the main attraction of Tigre, the fería. They have a huge open market with anything from bubble machines to cow hide throws to the cheapest mates around.  My roomie and I hit up the waffles on a stick stand right away, me getting a waffles with lomo and cheese on the inside and smeared with cheese and basil on the outside. Delicious. Then we wandered around the fería finding earrings, mates, and much more.  After about an hour it was time to meet up with the group and head back to BA. On our way to Tigre we were graced with the live performance of a “folkhop” band who combined, yep you guessed it, argentine folk music with hip-hop.  We were treated to some music on the way back too.  A man walked around with a boom box playing music comparable to a ‘Now’ CD from the States, but with Argentina hits and selling the CD’s. so not quite as cool as folkhop, but better than nothing.

Rule: If riding a bike with out a helmet, it gets taken away. And put here.

There's also a theme park! Looks like Valleyfair's Mad Mouse right??

If you’re planning to visit Buenos Aires any time in the future and want to take any day trips, I would definitely recommend Tigre. It’s a unique city and you can’t find deals like they have at the fería in other places. Maybe just try to pick a day with nicer weather J

Until next time, chau!

Weekend Wanderings through BsAs

I was determined to make the most of the long Easter weekend since I hadn’t planned a trip outside of the city.  Luckily, I have some friends who are very knowledgeable about Buenos Aires and the different events going on in it.  So I tagged along with them and saw many different places through out the weekend!

1. Club Niceto

The clubs here change their names and venues depending on the day.  We went to Club Niceto on Wednesday night solely because it was free and conveniently close to our friend’s house.  When we got there we were greeted with a congo line of boliche-goers and members of the band Babel Orkesta who was playing that night.  It was really fun dancing to their music since it isn’t typical boliche music. It is hard to describe though, so here’s the link for you to hear for yourself.

Babel Orkestra at Club Niceto

2. Saverio

Mmm yup!

After a long night on Wednesday we decided for something a little calmer and went for ice cream at Saverio.  Little did I know that the sundae I ordered, complete with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, apples, oranges, cherries, mangos, kiwis, and chocolate sauce, would be a portion big enough for two. Still too good to not finish though..

3. Plaza Serrano…during the day!?

Plaza Serrano, a very happening Boliche scene at night, is also packed with people during the day too it turns out.  On Friday we walked through the fería in the Plaza and saw they turn the boliches into clothing stores in the daylight. In one of them I even found the perfect fall jacket (yeah it’s fall here, weird right?)

4. Buenos Aires Capital Mundo del Libro 2011

Following our shopping adventure we walked towards what has to be one of the biggest book fairs EVER. I don’t really have much to compare it to, but really the line went on for blocks, finally turning around a corner and it’s held in multiple convention centers.  We spent the most time exploring books specific to different areas of Argentina and looking at very cool body art.

Merritt, Me, Laura, Sammi

5.  Borges Cultural Center

We didn’t explore here too much, but we did get to see two cool exhibits. I also found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone en español in the bookstore J I will definitely have to go back too see all that the center has to offer.

6. Recoleta Fería

This is a market I have been to twice before, but it has so many stands to visit that it never gets old. We were all hungry at this point so we bought pan relleno or stuffed bread (mine had mozzarella, green olives, basil, and tomatoes) and then ate them while drinking mate. After we watched Coperistas perform.  My knowledgeable friend Laura informed us that this type of a performance is a combination of dance and martial arts moves and originated in Brazil. Also they can flip over really high ropes!

Coperistas in Recoleta

7. Rose Garden of Palermo

First off, Happy Easter! Easter in Buenos Aires away from my family wasn’t quite the same, but it ended up being a fun day. After lunch with some friends we all went to the Rose Garden of Palermo, El Rosedal.  The park around the garden is huge and packed with people using the biking/running/rollerblading lanes, cruising the artificial lake in paddleboats, or joining in on free aerobics.  We walked through the park as it was closing, taking pictures of the different colored roses and ducks swimming by on the lake.  You can’t actually sit on the grass in the garden without having someone blow a whistle at you and many of the benches were full, so just walking through is fine. Just find a grassy spot in surrounding park for some mate.

Just around the river bend...GIANT waterfalls!: Iguazu Falls, Argentina

My third trip outside of the city of Buenos Aires was great! The main part was going to Iguazu Falls, but we also got to stop at a few other places along the way. We left on Thursday the 14th and traveled the 13 hours by bus to our first stop in Posadas, the capital of Misiones. 

Friday, April 15th

Cows taking a bath

Technically our first stop was at bus station to switch buses to one that could hold the entire group of about 45 people.  After we all met we traveled a short way to Estancia Santa Cecilia, which is a gaucho farm.  We were led to an open pavilion for breakfast of mate cocido (which is a type of mate served cold) and a pastry that was like fried bread with sugar.  Soon our guide for the day showed up with the three gauchos that work the farm.  Gauchos are comparable to the North American cowboy.  From what I've been able to understand in my classes.. They originated in the Pampas and lived off the land, moving with the cattle. Those at the Estancia showed us how they round up the cattle and then the process of injecting some of them with a medicine to get rid of parasites.  After, they had the cattle go through a scale to check their weight and then gave them all a "bath."  I guess I don't really know the best way to wash 50 cows, but theirs seemed to work as good as any.  Basically the process was to have them jump down to a walkway that was filled with water. They had to swim a little then were able to touch and walk/run and slip out.  When they finished showing us the LIVE cows we moved on to look at the process of making leather.  They showed us leather that was drying, leather that was stretching and then the finished product, leather ropes, reins, and other gaucho gear.  Some people were a little turned off after seeing the cute beef cattle taking a bath and then the stretched out leather, but what we saw next might’ve made their stomachs turn—lunch.  The estancia started us off with choripán and lots of veggies.  Then they brought out a huge cut of beef and after that some freshly cooked ribs.  The ribs were cooked between spokes and then they stuck the spokes into the ground and cut portions off for anyone who wanted some right there.  So it was a little rough for some people to see the cattle and then eat who might have been their friends, but honestly, it was worth it. 

The three gauchos who work the farm

After we left for the Jesuit Mission Ruins called San Ignacio Mini.  The Jesuits founded the mission around 1970 and lived there along with some Guaraní natives whom they taught the catholic gospel too.  We walked through the various parts of the ruins, including a massive church, a cemetery, and different houses.  It was strange to imagine people really living and working there at one time and to think about those who found it after it was abandoned.  When we left the ruins women and children selling random handicrafts and plants greeted us.  I passed up the chance though and headed for the bus, which then took us the four extra hours to our hotel in Iguazu Falls.

our whole group

We arrived at the Hotel Saint George where upon check in, they gave us fruit smoothies. During our stay we also had dinner and breakfast buffets there. They also offered a chilly pool and lukewarm hot tub as well as a ping-pong table.  The next day we were headed for the falls!

Saturday, April 16

We woke up early excited for what was said to be a real “North American breakfast.” However, we were all a little disappointed when the eggs turned out to be hard-boiled and the sausage was really hot dogs cut up and put into some sort of sauce. They did have cereal, milk, pastries, and a lot of fruit though, so still a good breakfast overall.  

Afterwards we left for the waterfalls (cataratas) of Iguazu.  It wasn’t long before we were there, seeing toucans, coaties (a member of the raccoon family), and tons of butterflies.  We started on the Green Trail and it wasn’t long until we heard the waterfalls.  When you first see them, you want to take a million pictures, trying to capture every part of what makes them so amazing (this is impossible to do, by the way).  But then you walk a little more, get closer, and feel like you have to take a million more pictures because they’re even more impressive from that view.  The waterfalls are hard to describe and my pictures don’t do them justice, but hopefully you all get an idea of how incredible they are to see.  So incredible actually that Iguazu Falls is in the running towards becoming one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature (click here to vote!).

We walked to different areas of the falls, at one spot getting close enough to be drenched by the huge waterfall above us.  We were also given the opportunity to go on a boat ride around the falls.  After getting fit with life jackets and waterproof bags we loaded onto boats and headed towards the first waterfall.  We drove near the bottom of two separate falls, getting drenched by their mist. At one waterfall it was difficult to actually look anywhere but down because of the water falling onto us.  We got off of the boats drenched and in my case with out a change of clothes or shoes.  So, soaking wet, I walked back with the group for some lunch and then a short train ride to the start of a trail leading to The Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo). Sounds ominous right?? To get there you walk on a metal walkways over water and the occasional small island.  I really don’t know how to explain how awesome and impressive it is, so here a couple extra pictures and a video to give you a better idea..

At the Devil's Throat

La Garganta del Diablo

(Not the best video recording, sorry!)

Sunday, April 17

You can catch an armadillo with that!

With a check out time of 10:45 we were able to sleep in a little more before packing up and heading down to our last Hotel Saint George breakfast.  After eating, we went to the local Guaraní community.  We took big safari trucks (which reminded me of Cabo Polonio) to navigate the dirt roads of the village.  When driving in we saw some women and children swimming and washing clothes.  The kids all smiled and waved as we drove by.  Our guide Luís started by showing us their most popular crops and then led us to a woman’s hut.  The hut was small consisting of only a small fire pit and a roof.  We all felt a little strange and intrusive coming onto these people’s land and viewing the way they live.  Especially after hearing they are generally very shy and timid.  However, Luís told us that they have to give tours and sell handmade crafts in order to support their community.  They used to be able to move with the animals they hunted, but now they have to rely on local supermarkets.  They realize that in order for the tribe to survive they have to adapt in certain ways.  The children are taught Spanish as well as their own native language and they have a medical practitioner visit weekly.  It’s a sad reality, but they are still holding onto their own customs and traditions as well as learning how to function in other societies.

We ended our tour first by hearing the Guaraní children sing some songs in their native language. Luís told us that they really enjoy doing it and it shows; they all did a great job.  We had a chance to buy some of the hand made crafts and then loaded back on to the trucks, passing more smiling, waving kids on our way out.

Luckily, we skipped the hours of traveling by bus and flew back to Buenos Aires. That night Hebe’s family came over and we had empanadas for dinner, so great way to end the weekend. All in all, it was a very fun trip and maybe my last for a little while.  I’m hoping to travel to El Calafate some time before it gets too cold, but that’s still up in the air.  In the mean time I’ll be living the life in Buenos Aires and maybe posting entries about the little things I do around here. This week being Semana Santa is a big one (the biggest in Argentina) and most people go away for the long weekend.  I however, am not, but plan on putting my time to good use and getting to know the city better.  Until next time, ¡Felices Pascuas!