Dia de Madre October 17, 2010

Mother´s Day is definitely a spring holiday therefore it is very fitting that here in Argentina it is celebrated in October. On this particular sunny day we decided it would be best to celebrate at the weekend house in Tigre, this is the house that is most commonly referred to by the Beraza family as the Quincho. We all piled into cars and headed out. Naturally, I was in the car with Juan who is to date, the scariest driver I have ever been in the car with. I know many of you may be saying to yourselves, wait, she is the daughter of Bob Conlon, a man known for what he calls his ¨offencive¨ driving skills. It has become a habit of mine to pray for protection from Juan´s driving every time I enter a vehicle... sad, I know. But in his defence, it isn´t all him. There is absolutely no observance of standard rules of the road in this portion of the continent. So his ¨style¨of driving fits in just fine alongside the rest of Argentina´s finest.
As always, the holiday was celebrated with a fine feast! Today, we were graced with the flesh of several octopi. Yum... No really though, I tried, I really tired to like it. I covered the rubbery stuff in as many different, fancy sauces I could find but only managed to get down five or six bites. Thank goodness for Juan! He came to my rescue and ate the remainder of the bouncy flesh that sat, covered in sauce on my plate.
Earlier in the week, my Spanish teacher, Maria, and I had gone on a field trip of BA. Somewhere along this adventure we stopped in a shop that sold what Maria said were known as the best chocolates in Buenos Aires. I figured fancy-pants chocolates were a gift I would gladly receive any day of the year so I bought Ruth some as a Mother´s Day gift.
The remainder of the day was spent eating various cakes, the chocolates, locally made ice cream and a mojito cook-off... I am sure that isn´t what you call it but both Juan and Carly were determined that their recipe was the best so we needed to put it to the test. In the end Carly won with her odd but seemingly effective mint-slapping technique!

Pictures of Carly´s 25th Birthday in Buenos Aires

Carly Turns 25! October 23rd 2010

Carly, I love you dearly and you wrote such a great account of the goings-on of your 25th b-day that I decided to post the thing in its entirety.

For all you reading the credit of this post is due to Miss Carly, the photos, as usual, are mine. Enjoy.


¨So my birthday went great. Juan and Erin woke me up in the morning with a blender they had bought me for my birthday which was really sweet of them. I dragged myself up to get ready and went with Jose and Erin to the supermarket to get some food and beer for the party. It is a good job Jose had his car because otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to carry all of the beer home that we bought! There were about 30 huge bottles of beer (they don’t sell beer in cans here). I couldn’t even get the trolley up the kerb when we came out of the supermarket.

Juan made hummus, nachos and guacamole and we did cheese and salami with crackers. Simple but good. Loads of people came including two of the guys from the hostel America del sur that we stayed at when we first got here. There were about 30 people here including some American girls that the boys met at a bar one night and a couple of Aussie guys, Marlon and Alex that I met in the first week here also came. There was Juan’s sister Margarita, Juan, Jose, Pedro, Alegro (one of Juan’s friends who had cut his lip shaving and was bleeding everywhere. It was going for hours. We tried putting ice on it, tissue and even sugar but nothing worked. We just ended up with a few bloody fingerprints on random objects throughout the apartment). Alegro speaks very good English as he went to a catholic school in Buenos Aires when he was a kid. There were so many Irish kids there that he spoke the same level of English they did at 12 years old…not that that is saying much ((sorry Irish kids but it’s true)) so he is really easy to talk to). Jose brought one of his friends, I know he was a doctor but I can not remember his name. Kevin brought the Mexican girl he has been seeing for the past few weeks. Ben came with ONE beer. Typical. Julian came. Pretty much everyone I wanted to be there.

Pedro had organised entry into a club called Terrazzas so we left the house at about half one and jumped in a few cabs there. The queue was huge and I needed to go to the bathroom so Erin volunteered to go with me to the bushes [I must amend this portion because it was actually me, Erin, who was the lookout and Kevin the one using the bushes as the bathroom, thank you just the same]. Kevin came to so we got him to keep a lookout. I was not going to put that in the blog but Adam asked me if anything happened that I wouldn’t write in the blog and I said no so ta daaa, there you are.

It was great to have everyone that I really liked out on my birthday, it made me feel a little less strange about turning 25! The club was really nice, big with different rooms and different variations of the usual generic music that they play here. I think it’s a certainty that your going to here Pan Americana and Lady Gaga wherever you go though.

It transpires that Marlon the Aussie is actually friends with the guys who made Pan Americana doncha know.

Alex the little Aussie may be small but his elbows are pretty darn sharp. They love their violent dancing the Aussies do! Anyway after breaking into groups, losing and finding and losing and bumping into each other again (such as what happens in clubs there was always great celebration on finding another member of the group, as though they were a long lost friend not seen in several years)…and after the skilled avoidance of several determined guys, also after finding the roof and climbing onto a little Terrace with Marlon, Pedro and David (Alex never made it to the end of the night as he was thrown out for the same offence, little known to us) we went home.

Marlon, Pedro, David and I got a lift back with Pedro. We pretty much finished all of the food that was left and tried to get some sleep on the sofas. Pedro and I on one and Marlon on the other (Marlon is really tall).

David put Pan Americana on the speakers (there was NO stopping him) at least five times and was dancing round the room with a pillow on his face. Maybe it was because he didn’t manage to bring a girl back for once and was feeling a bit restless but he was determined to keep everyone else up. After Pedro and I joined Kevin in the bedroom to try and get some sleep, David came in to drag Pedro up. I got up to tell them to turn the music down to find Pedro dancing round the living room and on the sofa with a blanket over his head and David standing on the sofa over Marlon waving his bum in poor Marlon’s sleeping face. How Marlon was actually sleeping through this I will never know. Marlon then woke up to express his annoyance that this was all happening to him to the tune of his friends song (which is how we found out about the Pan Americana thing). In the end Kevin had to get up to make David turn off the music.¨

Broken Flippy

There I was just minding my own business, walking around with Ben and Carly, trying to digest another delicious and fantastically healthy meal from Tea Connection when my flip-flop broke. Stranded. I was stranded. It was not an option to continue the walk home sans one flippy, not with the filth and who-knows-what growing on the streets of Buenos Aires. Ben eventually offered a piggy-back ride (not that he was thrilled with the idea) the rest of the way to the apartment or at least until we could spot a cab or bus that would get us closer to our destination. Poor, sweet Ben, I think I nearly flattened the kid. I suppose I will now have to highly consider laying off the empinadas...

Blister Sister

So I decided to run a marathon here in BA and this was my consolation prize! No, that isn´t true at all. This beauty is from walking the sunny streets of Buenos Aires in a pair of ill-fitting sandals... lame... I wish I had a cooler story but decided I should share these pics with you anyway.

Pics from Our Non-brunch in Palermo

A Day in Palermo NOT for Brunch

From Carly´s blog again:

Yesterday Ben, Erin, David and I went to explore Palermo and get some brunch. Ben had read on gringoinbuenosaires.com about the ten best ‘bruch’ spots in Buenos Aires (I guess the blog is written by an American). Olsen, the place we went to look for turned out to be closed on Mondays so we tried one further down the road in Palermo Soho. It was called Meraviglia (no I do not know how to pronounce it either) and was an organic vegetarian cafe. We had a great ‘brunch’ there and some lovely juice. I forgot how nice things tasted when you know they are healthy. It was only about $30ARG.

The Apartment Situation in Latin America

Credit must be given to Carly Klineberg for this post entirely!

Posted on October 13, 2010 by carlyjk

So whilst I was away in Cordoba the agency e-mailed me going on about the rent. We were a day late paying and they were being really rude. This is an example

Carly; you are putting yourself in problems. The owner is very upset and she wants the apartment back.
Please contact with us intermediately. On Monday we do not work….

El 8 de octubre de 2010 13:26, .:: SanTelmo 1887 ::. escribió:
Dear Carly:

Nobody was answer yet…we are closed at weekend. The total amount have to payid TODAY!

Please call us as soon as possible! we are until 18:00hs.

Regards, Agustina.

This was not the worst of it. The maid had been saying that there were 5 people living in the apartment and we had to pay more, that we had broken the washing machine (we hadn’t it had come loose from the wall on its own) and that we had broken a plug socket.

This is what I sent back…

Hello.

I hear the boys have been in to pay the rent. As I have just got back the office will be closed by the time I get the bus to San Telmo so I will have to come in first thing on Tuesday.

The boys tell me that you said there were five people living in the apartment. I would like to assure you that there most definately is not five people living here and in fact there is usualy less than four of us. I do not know where this unreliable information came from but it has obviously not been thoroughly checked.

The apartment is clean and tidy at all times and we look after it very well. We have done well not to break the chairs as when we moved in two of them were extremely unstable. We have to make sure that no one sits on them. The lightbulb in the entrance area needs changing as it does not work and there is a plug socket that is actually hanging off the wall and has been since we moved in. It does not look safe at all. The clothes washer is also not working properly. We usually use the laundry service in San Telmo so it is not due to heavy loads that it has stopped working.

I do not know why the owner is upset. I am upset that we have no chairs, are being accused of having five people living here, can not see when it gets dark and can not wash our clothes in the apartment that we rent.

I rent my own houses in England and I have had problems one hundred times greater than this and that is when I make sure all the services are running correctly.

I will see you on Tuesday morning

Regards

When I went in on Tuesday morning they were lovely. What a suprise!

Pictures from Crobar

Crobar Night

Again copied from my gal pal Carly Klineberg

¨Everyone had planned to go out to Crobar again on Friday for Kevin’s birthday. We had the afternoon to sleep and at 00:00 got up to start getting ready. I had to drag Erin out of bed but once she was up, she blow dried her hair, put on a dress, wore her favourite red lipstick for the first time and came out looking like Jessica Rabbit! I was proud of her!

Jose and Santiagio came over with another friend from Brazil (a girl) and the seven of us squeezed in Santiago’s car to drive to the club. Erin, Kevin, David and I in the back with Kerry sat on David’s knee, then Jose and his girlfriend from Brazil in the passenger seat, Santiago driving. Santiago is probably the world’s worst parker (yup, worse than me) and was the cause of much hilarity as we all watched him take five whole minutes to get the car into a reasonable position.

We found a great spot at the front of the club and danced non-stop until 5.30 in the morning. We danced with each other to everything from “it’s only rock and roll but I like it”, “Jump around” and “put a ring on it”, even the boys (who are all great dancers!). I think we all easily had one of the best nights here so far. Ben even turned up with a few friends for the last few hours so there was a really good group of us.¨

Keep in mind, when Carly says one of the most fun nights here she also means THE SWEATIEST night ever! Just take a gander at the pics and take note that I appear to have just emerged from a pool... This, however, was not the case. Nope. Simply sweaty Betty here. Thank you very much.

Out of Our Front Door

I totally copied this entire post from Carly. This in collaboration with the pictures I have taken should give you a feel for the neighborhood of Recoleta in our lovely city of Buenos Aires.

¨Maybe I was getting so wrapped up in how I was feeling and just trying to get everything that was happening down I forgot to describe the things that are starting to become part of everyday life for me.

I step out of my huge apartment block door and onto the paved sidewalk (as the Americans would say). The pavements are punctuated with small trees every ten metres or so and give the area a congenial feel, like you might just want to go for a stroll and window shop in the glamorous glass fronted boutiques. Every other shop is a shoe shop. People know how to organise things here and minimalistic window displays are the norm, Mary Portas would find nothing to do here. There are elegant cafes with pies displayed behind glass counters, bakeries and pastry shops with floor to ceiling window displays of icing sugar dusted crumblyness. I always end up walking behind extremely well dressed older women (all wearing completely matching, often neutral if not, paradoxically turquoise outfits) sporting doddery heads of perfectly coifed, dyed hair complete with thinning patch.

I pass fashionable dressed and attractive young women wearing the better pick of last month’s fashions. Cool slightly baggy T’s or sleeveless tops and skinny or slightly baggy jeans. Cool jewelery worn casually, nothing obviously matching, amazing leather boots that finish at the knee complete with a long zip from bottom to top, maybe Doc Martin style.

So I walk past the fancy chair shops selling various different chairs with various different coverings and the handmade jewellery shops and the hundreds of shoe shops and I never stop to go in any of them. I walk past the marble fronted apartments with the smart porters standing at the doors or sat inside at the desk. I watch the smartly kids in uniform walk arm in arm across the roads and the gorgeous well behaved dogs prancing down the roads looking happy with their little tails wagging.

Then I have to get on the bus…¨

Asado at the Quincho Pictures

Asado at the Quincho

http://carlyjk.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/escape-from-the-city/

This entire blog entry has been amended from one Carly posted on September 20, 2010.

The guys had gone to some kind of weapons store that day with Erin and had bought themselves two of those metal police man style truncheons that cannon out into a long metal stick if you flick it out violently with your wrist. They were very amused with these and for every ones entertainment (mostly theirs) they got them out to play with for a whole. We thought it would be a good idea if Ben got one just in case he got mugged again but in all likely-hood that would probably prove more of a risk than a deterrent. It would really hurt to be hit with one of those batons but the guys kind of did look a bit like stacked Harry Potters wielding their wands around.
After quite some time being stuck in the city it was time for us to escape and sample some fresh air and perhaps see a bit of greenery. So it was decided that we would head out to Tigre for an asado (massive Argentinian BBQ). Juan’s mum’s house took just over half an hour to get to. When we got there about fifteen dogs ran barking up to the cars, the cutest little black puppies were everywhere. The house was beautiful. It was only small but his mum had furnished it with reclaimed objects like big wooden rope wheels used as tables and charmingly mismatched chairs and furniture. It was hot and the whole place smelled of the asado.There was a big patio and a covered pool and a huge garden with a trampoline, cute little shed, some trees and a massive pile of logs (which I assume Juan’s sisters chopped) and a big brick wall barbecue. Some more of Juan’s friends turned up, Nelson (an independent film director) and another girl whose name I can’t remember. We found a guitar so Julian and I played that for a while as some other people turned up and the boys went out to get beer.
I felt so happy just being out of the city and relaxing with really nice people in such a beautiful place. I don’t think that there was anything else I could have added to the afternoon to make it more perfect. Puppies, loads of food, great people, really cold beer, ping pong and countryside….amazing!
After eating more meat in one meal than I have ever had in my life (including a bit of a gland called ‘sweetbread’!) we went and chilled out for a couple of hours on the huge trampoline in the field next to the house. Ben climbed the tree and took some cool photos and Iris had to go back home to the hostel to work but the rest of us stayed playing ping pong and drinking beer and tea till about seven. Pedro tried to give me some English tea but it actually turned out to be apple and vanilla. I didn’t want to tell him that it wasn’t really typical English tea as he was so nice so I just agreed and drank it. All of Juan’s friends were really funny and between Spanish and English we spent most of the day almost crying with laughter.

Please keep in mind that this is being told from Carly´s point of view. I still do not and have no intention of changing my vegetarian ways!!!!!

Bikram Yoga Buenos Aires

Bikram you stole my heart and have fixed my body! Everything feels better when I am practicing regularly! Now with that in mind, I had to buy the unlimited month package that would force me to go at least five times a week so that I felt I was getting my money´s worth. As good as I feel when I get done practicing, it still takes quite a bit to get my buns in there several times a week. Oh how I love you and wish that I had some Mika to wear next time I went to class! http://www.mikayogawear.com/

Juan´s Birthday

September 14, 2010

Birthdays in Argentina are about as important as weddings, or so it seems. Today Juancito turned 25, just a baby. hahhaha. David, Kupcake (a.k.a. Kevin) and I went to his house around 9 PM and I guess we were a bit late as the house was already full of people. We are still terrible with the timing here... if you want to go out at night you don´t bother showing up to a friend´s house until 11:30 PM or 12 then go to a bar and around 2 or so you go to a club until the bright daylight hours of the next morning, i.e. 6 or 7 AM. It is a bit ridiculous if you ask me but we are working to assimilate with the local culture. Anyway, the party was at Juan´s mom, Ruth´s, house. We ate, drank and were merry then at midnight we sang ¨Happy Birthday,¨in Spanish (ohh how my heart ached for someone to sing along with me our family version of the song), after the singing and candles everyone hugs and kisses the birthday boy. I love that about the Latin culture! I am enchanted with how physically affectionate people are on a daily basis. Kisses are given every time you come or go, when you first meet someone before you have even been introduced, even if you are just seeing them in passing. I especially like it when big, giant men give each other man kisses. hahahaha

The Absolute Best Thing Carly Has Ever Written

Again directly copied from Carly´s blog.

¨ Ben’s sandwich face
Posted on September 14, 2010 by carlyjk

Just remembered about the face Ben was pulling when we stopped to get the biggest sandwich I have ever seen during the bike ride. It was like a luxe Subway, ten times bigger than a regular one with extra relish. I looked over at Ben whilst I was eating mine and he had his glasses on, one eye screwed shut and the other kind of fixed on the sandwich like the thing had a gravitational pull on his eye. He was chewing it like a dog chews a meaty bone. I had to look away so I wouldn’t choke on my sandwich laughing.
¨
maybe it will help you to imagine it if you look at a picture of Ben. hahhahaha

Bike Ride? Nope, Not for Erin

September 13th, 2010

All the rommies and Ben went on a bike tour of the city today. Since Juan and I had been doing quite a bit of driving and bus riding about the town I felt like peddling through puddles on a cloudy and potentially rainy day didn´t sound particularly appealing, so I declined. In all the chaos of everyone leaving the apartment, Ben left his sweatshirt... surprise. David gave him the keys so he could run back in and grab it. Somehow Ben managed to lock me inside the apartment while I was sleeping. When I awoke, I ate breakfast and got ready to go to yoga (I have started practicing Bikram yoga here in BA) then tried to leave, you know by opening the front door, like normal people do. I am not new to opening doors but this was impossible. I tried and tried. I used every key combo to get that door open but to no avail... Juan called several times that day to offer no more assistance than to laugh at the fact that I couldn´t open my door. Thanks. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that we recently decided our apartment was haunted. (A few days earlier our friend Julian saw a man in a blue shit wave and smile to him as he walked by the kitchen toward the bedroom. This would have been just fine except for the fact that only he and Carly were home... eeeeeeeeeeee creepy. It gives me the heebe jeebies). Back to being locked inside my own home. I tried everything possible and had no clue that the issue was due to a semi-broken lock. Eight hours later my friends returned from the bike ride to find me near death due to sheer boredom. Apparently, you are not able to lock the top lock from the outside because there is no way to escape... Lucky we learned this now and now when there was a fire in the apartment!

Ben

I copied this directly from Carly´s blog. Oh Ben, sweet, young, innocent Ben. What about you is screaming ¨mug me?¨ Carly and I think we should buy him some pepper spray for fend off potential attackers.

¨Ben managed to get mugged again the other day. I can’t remember if I told you that he was accosted by a few 12 year old kids a few days ago for his money but it happened to him again in Palermo. The guy ran up to him asking for money and tried to grab his backpack. Ben bravely (or foolishly however you want to look at it) fought back. The guy ended up hanging on to Ben’s backpack trying to get it off whilst Ben screamed for help in his strange German accented Spanish. The mugger was obviously not very experienced, got a bit scared and in his panic punched Ben in the ear. (Ben says of this…’WHO punches people in the EAR?!?!?). Wannabie mugger then hung around whilst Ben retrieved his glasses that had gone flying onto the pavement before running off. Ben was not sure who was more disturbed by the encounter.¨

Life in Bs As

Official Temporary Residents of Buenos Aires

We Have an Apartment!!!!!

After living at the hostel America del Sur for about two weeks and I developed some solid friends. I asked the two boys from Arizona if they might be interested in living with me for a couple weeks in Anabella´s house. This started the wheels turning. The boys were definitely interested but as it turned out, the apartment was located in an area called Caballito, which is the literal center of the city but in reality is far from the happening areas of town. We decided to decline Anabella´s offer and search for something closer to all the action. The boys and I had also been sènding quite a bit of time with Ben (the German kid) and a girl named Carly, from England. It was decided that we would all search for a place together as to get the best rate. Well, this turned into a major undertaking... In the end our group was too large and since Ben already had another housing offer, we split ways.

Now, here is where things get interesting. I am clearly posting about events that took place during the very first days of September despite the fact that it is December... So for the sake of ease I am linking to my dear friend Carly´s blog. White I have been snapping away and recording our adventures via photo Carly has become the one responsible for providing the written word of our activities. So here you have it, the link to Carly´s blog, well at least the link to the day we moved into the new place. Keep in mind that she is English, they always use the silliest spelling possible! hahhahaha

http://carlyjk.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/bad-food-fast-times-and-the-new-apartment/


Bad food, fast times and the new apartment
Posted on September 7, 2010 by carlyjk

So we moved into our new apartment today! The door is probably the largest thing I have ever opened with a key. It is black and massive…I feel sorry for the poor key straining away (even though the key is also the biggest thing I have ever opened anything with save a crowbar). There is a 24 er…hall watcher and lift opener guy and the lift is just like the ones you see in American movies with the sliding concertina black metal grilled doors that you can watch the apartment floors go by through. (See ‘Inception’ [2010] for more details).

I love the apartment. It is great to have a base and to actually put all my stuff away in drawers. The area is lovely and really safe and you can go at least 500 yards or more without seeing a dog poo. After getting the keys and walking to about ten different ATM machines around Recoletta trying to get money out we sorted half the cash and surrendered our passports to a monkey working for the agency who seriously looked like he would be more at home on a horse with a bow and arrow, not looking after my passport.

Kevin has moved the top bunk bed into the bit room with Erin and I leaving Dave in the small room. It’s probably fair because the small room is friken tiny and the bunk beds looked pretty weak. Two months of sharing a room though…should be an interesting experience.

Lagos de Palermo (Lakes of Palermo)

There I was, minding my own business in my dorm when in walked Ben. He was a tall, thin, little German fresh out of high school. After chatting a bit I discovered that he had just arrived and obviously had no friends. I could tell that he was kind of itching to get out and see something, after all he had just spent the past day and a half in a plane... I offered for him to accompany me to the massive park in the barrio called Palermo. He immediately agreed and off we went. Below are the pictures of our cloudy day in the park and all the creepy things we came across. Oddly enough, I have since returned to this park countless times and have yet to see as many objects appear so creepy. Hahahaha.

What Next?

After Krista left I decided to stick around in BA for a bit longer. I was getting a great rate at the hostel America del Sur and had met some lovely friends. Unfortunately. Both Vanessa and Britten were at the tail end of their trips when I met them so after a few, short but fun-filled days, we said goodbye. I shared a dorm with two guys from Arizona, Kevin and David, and got along with them really well (even though I had requested an all female room…?) Britten´s friend Juan and I had also been hanging out quite a bit. The city of Buenos Aires was growing on me more and more every day so when I got an email from Leonie saying that her gal Anabella was offering to rent me her apartment for two weeks at whatever price I could consciously pay. My thoughts drifted from hopping from hostel to hostel every couple days to establishing myself in one location for a few weeks where I would be able to learn Spanish. It would be great to be in a setting where I would be able to practice daily. I didn´t have a plan for my next move but the more I thought about it the more inclined I was to stay for a while.

Saying Goodbye to Krista

After a few days spent in Palermo it was time to explore a bit of San Telmo. This is a barrio largely populated with young, artsy university students and young families. And is quite obviously a lower income area. We had been winging it without a plan ever since Krista got here and with just a few days until her departure we saw no need to change our routine. Online we found the perfect hostel, America del Sur, in the heart of San Telmo, hopped in a cab and headed over. Things were running smooth as butter, they had a private room, everything was so clean and new and the staff was the best ever, so friendly and chipper! Just as we were about to start to settle into our new digs, there was a knock at the door. There had been a mistake at reception and the hostel actually had no vacancy... they called a hostel around the corner and made reservations for us as we sadly packed our belongings and headed for the door... the staff clearly felt quite badly for the mistake and reassured us that there was space in a private room for the next night and we would be given a hearty discount! The hostel around the corner definitely left something to be desired and begrudgingly we settled in but not without serious debate on whether or not we should stay. Krista and I meandered around the streets of San Telmo, checking out the various antique shops, street vendors and of course the food. This is the area that is so known for Tango and has a heavy Italian influence so there are about a million pizza joints in this neighborhood.

San Telmo antique fair is also another major draw for tourists and takes place every Sunday. Here Krista was able to find a fair few gems amongst to take home as souvenirs. After a long day wondering the cobbled streets of our new neighborhood we retired to our hostel. In the dark the place looked much better than it had that afternoon and we even made friends with a couple girls in our dorm, Britten from Montana and Vanessa from Ireland. One night one of our new gal pals, Britten, invited us to go out with her and her friend Juan, a local of BA. Being that it was Krista´s last night we agreed that it would be best spent at our favorite local pub, The Red Door. This tiny joint served tasty food, great beer, had English speaking staff and was conveniently located directly across the street from our hostel. Juan and his friends were really nice and we all had a lovely time. The next morning, entirely too bright and too early, Krista left… sad… It was so much fun to have her with me as we explored these two countries. It was an awesome trip and I look forward to our next traveling adventure together!

Back in Buenos Aires

Krista and I took a looong overnight bus ride from Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires. We wanted to change up our neighborhood from our previous hostel what was located in the Microcenter to the trendy hood known as Palermo. Our first night we stayed in Palermo house... who ever wrote the positive, glowing review we read about the place was clearly blind because everything was covered in mold, ehh nasty... nice staff though. She and I spent the next several days wondering around Buenos Aires, sampling delicious vegetarian restaurants and chatting. We found the cutest and cleanest hostel in Palermo called the EcoPalermo, thus far Palermo was one of our favorite areas in BsAs, it is more artsy and clean than the Microcenter where we stayed for our first few days in the city. The shopping, restaurants and night life are awesome here! Though we have seen a few odd sights... for example, the other day we were just walking along the street, minding our own business when a man walked around the corner with precisely one-half of one cow draped over his shoulders. So, I guess it is normal to deliver meat by hand here... Now, I am not a meat expert by any means but how sanitary is it to carry around a carcass on one´s back? Check out pics from post entitled ¨Frist Days in Buenos Aires,¨ for a visual of cow-man.



I have only been in Argentina a short time but it feels good. The city of Buenos Aires has a comfortable vibe, peaceful despite the 3.3 million people who live in the Capital Federal (and the nearly 13 million live in the province of Buenos Aires). Perhaps it is just my love of big cities that draws me to this place but perhaps there is more. From the little that I know of the area, the Latin culture is strong though it has been thoroughly integrated with many European cultures. The resulting amalgam is truly unique and has helped Buenos Aires earn its nickname of the Paris of Latin America.

Iguazu Falls Pics

Iguazu Falls

The town around the falls doesn't really offer much other than a few decent restaurants and typical touristy junk. We stayed at the Stop hostel where the staff was pleasant but the rooms left something to be desired... well, unless you are particularly fond of the smell of wet carpet... no thanks.
From the town you take a 15 minute bus ride to the gate of the park, this area is far too reminiscent of the entrance to a theme park... but it is nice to see that the money you pay to visit is actually utilized by the park... there is a little train that runs from the entrance to one of the larger falls, here you really feel as though you are in Disneyland... The pictures don´t do this place justice and I lack adequate words to fully disclose the beauty of this natural wonder. If I had to recommend something to see before you die, it would be Iguazu falls. It is absolutely astounding to see all that water! Krista and I decided to splurge a bit and pay for the 15-minute boat ride that facilitated a truly intimate experience with the falls. Soaked from head to toe, we made our way back to the main entrance..
Day two of Iguazu was awesome, the views were still spectacular and breath taking. We saw loads more of those cute little rodent guys- (I think they are called coatis) who have become far too accustom to being around people... They nearly crawl into your lap in hope of charming you out of whatever bit of food you possess. Strange little creatures but definitely cute in their own unique way…

Crossing Border from Uruguay to Argentina and a Few Towns Along the Way

Krista and Erin in Uruguay part 2

In Montevideo we stayed at the Red Hostel. It was super cozy with its big living room area and massive fireplace that provided ample heat for the entire living space and surrounding rooms. One night after dinner Krista and I attempted to go out, we were told that it was still early, given it was only midnight but we figured we would give it a go anyway. As we walked through one of the major plazas in the city, Krista and I huddled close together and chatted. Perhaps we were not paying enough attention to our surroundings because out of nowhere I felt a violent tug at my purse. It was so strong that it knocked me down, I stared in amazement at the 14 year-old boy who had tried to grab my purse. Krista helped me up from the ground but just as she did so another little turd ran passed me and gave a second go at my purse. This one was successful as the beautifully tooled leather strap of my purse (just recently purchased while I was in La Paz, Bolivia) broke. The two of us just stood in total shock for a moment then quickly decided that it would be best if we left as soon as possible for eventually the boys would get someplace and open my purse only to discover that it was completely empty except for a couple maps of the city. Something in my head had told me to put my wallet into my pocket, not my purse, when we left the restaurant that evening. I hope you like my empty purse you little turds.

The next day we scheduled a bus that would take us to the city of Salto. This was a long haul, another overnight bus that was more or less comfortable. Arriving far too early in the morning we had to take a super spendy taxi to get to the other side of town where we were hoping to be able to just jump into the thermal baths and have a day of relaxation. No. That would have been far too easy. Given the early hour, nothing was open, we finally found a hotel diner where we could get in from the cold and eat some breakfast. Finally the sun came out and we spent the remainder of the day enjoying the public thermal pools. Ahhh so relaxing. The little town is pretty funny as everyone just walks around in their bathrobes as they wonder into various restaurants, then back to their hotels and back again to the numerous thermal baths for which the town is known.

From here we continued on our slow and steady path up to the north of Argentina toward Iguazu falls. We took our time and spent a few extra days in various little towns along the way. It was so nice to be able to spend time with such a good girlfriend, someone who has known me for ages and knows me well! I am so happy that she came to visit!

Montevideo, Uruguay

Colonia & Montevideo, Uruguay with Krista August 2010

First Days with Krista in Buenos Aires

Krista Visits Part 1

After the long but not devastating 22 hour bus ride from Salta to Buenos
Aires I checked into Millhouse Hostel, showered and waited for Krista to arrive. Around 4:30 PM she walked in the door and walked right passed; she didn't recognize me with dark hair. We settled in then went out in search of a vegetarian meal. It is so nice to be with someone of a similar mindset, who craves the same foods that are on your mind. We found (with the help of those at the front desk) La Escuina de la Flores, a delicious restaurant with organic wines and a solid selection of veg entrees. We loved it!! Then retired for an early evening. Thankfully, I booked us a private double room for her first two days so we were able to relax and sleep in amongst the silence until we decided it was time to get up.

Day two with Krista was spent with numerous layers upon layers in an attempt to escape the chill. We wondered around various neighborhoods in BA sampling a bit of the local cusine and doing our best to stay dry despite the on and off showers. We spent a good amount of time trying to decide our next move as she only had less than two weeks before she had to head home. We finally settled upon going to Uruguay for a couple days then making our way to Iguazu falls. The next day we were up at 7 and at the ferry by 8 in an attempt to procure tickets to Colonia, Uruguay. Due to the previous day´s storm there were major delays. We were finally to get tickets for the 12:30 Buquebus (the massive ferry), too bad it didn't leave until 2 PM... Colonia was a cute little town without much going on, We walked around took a few photos and attempted to avoid the rain. Then found a yummy veg place, shared a bottle of wine then hopped on a local bus for the hour journey to Montevideo.

Mega Bus Adventure Across Argentina

Longest bus ride!!! A solid 22 hours from Salta to Buenos Aires. The bus company promised vegetarian food about 400 times and then never delivered. I must have looked devastated when the conductor brought the meaty food around because I could tell he felt badly. He kept making me tea and bringing me snacks of crackers and cookies. Not exactly a veg meal but it was a nice gesture.
I met a really sweet Mama and daughter on the bus and hung out with them. Maria (mom) is from Bolivia but now they all live in Sweden. Cool folks. Amanda (daughter) is only 16 and knows about 5 languages- so awesome. They were my pals along the long venture and even requested movies in English (they said they were too corny when dubbed over in Spanish). Mama Maria even bought me an ice cream at one of the stops! The people truly make the place and these lovely people made all the places from Salta to Buenos Aires lovely!

Salta, Argentina August 2010

Finally, a much needed shower with piping hot water. I met all the folks staying in my dorm room before I took off to wash, after I was clean but before makeup, one of the boys re-introduced himself to me. Weird, I thought but ok. Later he confessed that he didn't recognize me at all because when I first came in he though i was a hippie chick with dreads... WOW! Dude, it was a really long and hard journey for us but from now on I will really make it a point to cleanse myself more often than the point which my hair may be confused with dreads... Bad…
The hostel was supposed to have a rad BBQ and great veg food so my buddy Rauld and I agreed to head upstairs to participate. Unfortunately, there was some confusion and no veg food was offered. After all disasters with veg food in the Salar, I was no longer willing to fight. Instead, I
drank wine along side the lettuce and tomatoes I was served... After a glass or so and a bit of nasty fernet (the nearly official drink of Argentina) we decided to go out. As we were an entire dorm room of people there were far too many of us to fit in a cab so (thanks to Rauld) we got a man in a pick-up truck to haul the lot of us to the club and dump us off right in front of a heap of cops (who could have cared less). The first bar was crowded but fun, good Salta beer and convo. Then to club XXI, mega fun, dancing loads with locals and my little German gal pal, Veronica. Finally made our way home in the wee hours of the morn around 5:45 AM.

First taste of Argentina

En Route to Argentina

After a solid seven hours of bone jarring and teeth rattling in the Land Rover, our trip to the Salar came to a conclusion and we arrived back in the lovely pit also known as, Uyuni. I hadn't wanted to spend more than a couple hours there the first day and was certainly not keen on hanging out for any additional leisure time. On our way back from the Salar we picked up a little French gal who told us that the protests and roadblocks were significantly worse than a few days prior and that there was no way our bus to the Argentinian border would be able to leave Uyuni tonight. The sassy little wench was so adamant about the lack of possibility that she nearly had my friend Rould hoping on a combi to Chile so as to avoid the mess all together. This would have left me to brave the situation alone, something that I wasn´t terribly excited about. We spoke to several locals who had just come from the area the girl said was blocked and all refuted her information. Frenchi was not too thrilled on being wrong and thus the sassiness was only exasperated by these replies. We decided she was full of crap and that we would stick to the original plan. Immediately upon arrival back in Uyuni we checked in with the bus office and discovered all was a go!!! Momentary relief ensued. At this point I should mention that we were about to embark upon another tour of the silky smooth Bolivian country side but this time via a public bus (at the time of purchase tourist bus tickets didn't appear to be an option). Promptly, at nine PM we loaded up and took off, my first punctual experience in South America! Due to the fact that we were still cruising through the Altiplano in the dead of winter, I decided to don five pair of pants and equally as many tops, including several coats, a scarf, a couple hats and gloves. I looked hot in every sense of the word. We also found a stash of alpaca blankets provided by the bus company in an effort to protect against the cold. After wrapping my legs, I prayed the thing wasn't lay den with small pox or some other delightful disease... As it turns out all was completely necessary as the driver repeatedly insisted upon opening the windows to let the chill in... My layers were also beneficial in providing cushioning from the shock of the bus bounding down the pock marked road. Buses here soar down roads that appear to be comprised mainly of speed bumps with little regard for the ill effects such jarring may have on machine or mammal. The concussion your body receives each time the bus actually touches down is probably equivalent to that inflicted by shaken baby syndrome. Roughly ten hours later Rould and I rolled into the border town of Tupiza at the glorious hour of 7 AM. A quick walk of 5 or 10 blocks and there she was, Argentina, in all her glory! I don't know what it is about this country but it has been calling my name for months, maybe years... Agh a fresh breath of air, I was finally there. The border crossing was easy as pie and Rould and I could hardly contain our excitement, EVERYTHING was cleaner, nicer and better developed here and we had only come 50 yards into the country! At this point I was lugging wayyy too much crap with me (I had collected souvenirs for Krista to take back with her) and was struggling beneath my forty layers of clothing and copious bags as we made our way to the bus station in La Quaca??? or something like that, the border town on the Argentinian side. Being Saturday morning and all, the one and only bank was not open and we were left without enough cash to purchase our necessary bus tickets! Positive thoughts and prayers helped immensely as we arrived at the station we met a man willing to exchange our few Bolivianos for Arg. Pesos (albeit at a very poor rate) and then were able to buy bus tix on a credit card ($20 for 7 hours) Woo hoo! We only had to wait about five minutes until we boarded our bus to Salta, Argentina. Rould bought us some nasty fried dough for breakfast, a sweet gesture though... The bus was lovely and spacious and the roads in Argentina are actually paved!
About two hours into our seven hour journey to Salta, I woke from the first bit of real restful sleep I had in days because I realized we were stopped and people
were all a bother with something. I waited it out for about 20 minutes by watching some terrible Nicholas Cage movie about the end of the world. Then finally asked some girl what was up and can you even imagine my astonishment when she said there was some sort of political protest and the road was blocked? Yeah, not surprised... After about an hour or so we managed to somehow make it passed the mess in the street and continue on our way to Salta. Finally, a few hours late and really dirty, still wearing the four pair of pants I'd been in for the past several days, we made it safely to Salta! Raold and I looked at each other and both exclaimed in glee that we were "finally in Argentina!!!" Raold and I attempted to find a hostel based on the guide book's outdated recommendations which only resorted in a useless cab ride and subsequent 45 minute with all our crap on a mission to find another hostel... We finally found Terra Oculta, a tiny joint with only dorm space available. I was over walking and gladly accepted! Woo hoo my new home for a couple days!

Salar de Uyuni

After several days in La Paz I decided it was time to move on… sadly, this was easier said than done. Once again the country was up in arms and there were massive strikes blocking nearly every road leading out of the capital city. My friend, Berenice, and I spent the better part of the next several days running back and forth between various travel agencies, bus companies and hostels looking for developments in the strikers situation as well as a potential way out of the city. Eventually, we just booked a bus and prayed that the rumored alternative route to Uyuni would actually come to pass and we would be able to leave. Uyuni a small town in the southwest of Bolivia that is the last civilized stop before the Salar, the worlds largest salt flats (greater than 4,000 sq miles).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni

Our positive thoughts paid off and last minute we were told that our bus would leave that night would probable be the only night in the next week or so that the secondary route would be open. Berenice and I jumped on it! Soon enough we were bumping along another unpaved and heavily rutted road in Bolivia. We had chosen to go with a ¨tourist bus,¨which was said to provide comforts such as hot dinner, warm blankets and a climate controlled cabin. Too bad they forgot to mention that the temperature was to be controlled at a balmy 32 degrees Fahrenheit. So, once again I had the opportunity to sleep next to a bus window with a thick layer of frost on the inside. Thrilling, as you know how much I thoroughly enjoy the cold… Bright and early, we rolled into the lackluster, brown, little hole of a town, Uyuni. I made friends with a few other travelers and we quickly set off to book our excursion to the Salar. Somehow I was elected to be head communicator and negotiator because I possessed what appeared to be the best Spanish skills of the group. Said ¨skills¨ were somehow mistaken my keen aptitude for miming and piecing together bits of Spanish and a falsified self confidence that those with whom I was speaking actually understood me. Regardless, I got the job done and we went with a sly tour operator who appeared to be about a half-step more honest than the rest. Prior to paying anything I confirmed in both Spanish as well as English that there would be no more than the members of our group plus our driver in our vehicle and that adequate vegetarian food would be provided each day. Happy to have all of our demands met, we went to eat lunch and find a place to stay for the night. At half nine the next morning we met the tour operator so we could set off on our journey. I really shouldn´t have been terribly surprised when we arrived and there was another man waiting to jump in our 4runner. This, of course, was arranged by our tour operator… I lost it and nearly ripped off his head… now, please keep in mind that I had just spent another night freezing in a hotel with walls that were probably made of cardboard; the insane cold and incredible altitude were really starting to get to me… Unfortunately, all my piss and vinegar wasn´t enough to get the man to stick to his word. So after a few final scathing looks shot in his direction, I pasted a smile on my face and warmly welcomed our new group member, Alex from Spain, into our truck. He quickly assimilated with our group that now consisted of 6 members, Roald from the Netherlands, Sarah from England, Elisha and Ursula from Ireland and of course Alex and myself. Within a few short minutes we were all very grateful for Alex´s presence not only for his charming attitude but also for his Spanish speaking abilities. Phew the pressure to be the sole communicator with our Spanish speaking driver was now shifted… My miming abilities would be shelved for another day. The drive was incredible, the great white plane of the salt flats appeared to stretch to the end of the earth. Beautiful. This backdrop was not only lovely but also provided ample opportunity to pose for cheesy, trick photography photos (see previous post for the hundreds of pics we took with this backdrop). We stopped for lunch at Fish Island, a literal island in the sea of salt that is nearly covered in cactus.
The journey across the flats was really quite enjoyable aside from the music selection provided by our driver. Apparently, he didn´t get the message that the Backstreet Boys are kind of the opposite of cool… either that or he was confused and thought that he was toting around a group of 13 year old American girls in the late 90s. What made this situation even more enjoyable was the fact that he kept that one CD on repeat for the full three-day adventure. Our first night was spent in a salt hotel, actually just a freezing cold, tiny home made of salt bricks, a cool concept but one better left for observation than tested. We played cards for hours in an attempt to entertain ourselves before dinner, which was of course, a meat-fest. Oops they forgot that I was vegetarian, again… Solution? Surprise; a fried egg and potatoes. Yum. Not. That night we expected insane cold because of elevation so we donned nearly every layer of clothing available then the ladies and I pushed our beds together in hopes of conserving body heat… Success! We were warm and toasty all night!

Day two was full of even more incredible sights, pink flamingos, coloured lakes, amazing rock formations... and then we continued up and up and up! This night was INSANELY cold because we were at such a high elevation (every time someone describes the Salar they will tell you how incredible the salt flats are, the lakes, the birds and how they have never been so cold in their lives!). I was wearing so many layers of tights I had a hard time sitting down. Once again they ¨forgot¨to make veg food for me and came out with a plate of hot dogs, eggs and onions. Wow imagine how tempting that looked... it was really hard to turn that plate away...

Day three was ridiculous. Our 5 AM wake up call came far too early and despite the fact that the jeep had been on and running for quite some time the inside was about what I would expect to feel if I took my clothes off and ran around the north pole. Ohh how I love the cold... lies... all lies... We stopped someplace that looked like Mars to take a few fotos of the geysers then a few hours later we arrived to the hot springs where we would be having breakfast. I guess if I were insane I would have taken off all those layers of clothes that I had worked so hard to warm, donned a bathing suit and jumped in the hot springs but here is the thing, I am not crazy and I know that even though that hot water probably feels really good while you are in it, you will eventually have to get out and then your soggy, nearly naked body will be exposed to the elements and you will be much worse for the wear... I mean honestly, that is nuts! I watched a guy climb out and in the time it took him to layer up ice had formed in his hair! Ummm no thank you.

So, remember the aforementioned strikes that had closed down several roads leading away from La Paz? Well, three days later things had apparently gotten worse and now we were hearing rumors that after we returned to Uyuni we would not be able to get out of the town because not only was the train stopped indefinitely but now all roads leading to Argentina had been blocked as well. Oh for the love! I just needed to get out of Bolivia! Normally, I would have just chilled and waited it out but I only had a few days to get to Buenos Aires where I was to meet my friend Krista from home.