Salta...First stop in the Northwest

This first bus ride was the worst of the trip. It was the longest, about 24 hours, and we also had to get the lowest class tickets. The heat was broken, so it was either boiling hot or freezing cold. The food was horrible as were the movies they showed. But, we made it to Tucumán alive.
When we got off the bus in Tucumán, at about 7 pm, we went to go pick up our rental car, only to find out that the road we were planning to take to Cafayate was closed to do snow and ice, which changed our plans completely. We had dinner at an amazing empanada place as we figured out a new plan of attack. We decided to find a hostal in Salta and head there that night, to at least get some driving out of the way. One thing we learned, quickly, is that it takes about an hour or more longer to drive anywhere than what any local person tells you! We arrived in Salta at about 2 am, and checked into the worst hostal of the trip, Corre Caminos. The hostal was freezing, had no heat, and did not meet our cleanliness standards. In the morning, there wasn’t enough hot water for all of us to shower, so I got an ice cold rinse. We were so glad to leave that place!We spent the afternoon walking around Salta, checking out some gorgeous cathedrals and colonial architecture. We went to a very interesting museum where we saw some of the best-preserved mummies in the world. The mummies were children that the Inca people sacrificed. They still had their hair, clothes, everything intact.

The Big Trip with Scott & Bree...Starting at Iguazú Falls

The big moment came…we couldn’t believe it was already here. The trip with Scott & Bree was something we had most looked forward to since the beginning, but we also saw it as being the end of a great time down here in Argentina. We had been planning the trip for so long and we so excited that it was actually here. We only had about a week and a half to travel, and Argentina is such a large and diverse country, it was somewhat challenging to decide what we wanted to see and do in such a limited amount of time. We decided to start in Iguazú Falls, travel to the northwestern regions of Salta and Jujuy, rent a car, and spend a few days driving around that area, and then heading south to Mendoza and San Rafael for vineyards and snowboarding. We then would head back to BA for a couple of days in the city. Since we did so much, I'll divide the trip up into several blog posts, so you guys can read parts at a time!

About two hours after Scott & Bree arrived to BA, we dragged them onto another flight to Puerto Iguazú, which is in the northeast of Argentina. The highlight here is Iguazú Falls, one of the largest in the world stretching 1.6 miles along the border of Argentina and Brazil, surrounded by tropical forests. Well, the day and a half we were there, it was anything but tropical. All last week when we had looked at weather forecasts, the temperature for Igauzú was in the 80s and sunny. When we were there, it was about 50 and cloudy. But, we did not let the weather put a damper on our fun! We checked into Hostal Bambu, had a few cervezas at the bar, and went out for appetizers and dinner in town.
The first thing we did when we got to the park the next morning was the boat and truck tour. Gabriel, the guy that worked at the hostal, told us we had to do the combination tour because it was incredible and definitely worth the extra money. Turns out, it wasn’t, but we still had a good time. We got on a big truck that took us on a 5 minute ride through the jungle, as a guide talked about different species of trees and wildlife, which we didn’t see. One interesting thing that we did learn was that the palm trees that produce the delicious hearts of palm are becoming endangered, as it takes one whole tree to produce just one small can of hearts of palm. They love them in Argentina. While the truck ride was unexciting, the boat ride itself was a great time, minus the freezing temperature. It took us down the river and then for an up close and personal look at the falls. It felt like we were going right up to the falls, as we were completely drenched. When we saw other boats go up, we realized that we just barely got to the edge of the spray. The falls were incredible. Every view gets more and more beautiful and you feel like each picture you take is better than the last. We hiked the upper and lower circuits, getting to see the falls from below and above. The Garganta del Diablo is the highlight. It’s a horseshoe shaped fall that has more power than any of the other falls. It was amazing. Lunch at the park was an adventure because we were attacked by coatis, these annoying, raccoon-like animals that had no fear of humans and would do anything to get their paws on your sandwich, including jump on the table and grab it right out of your hands. Not much appetite after seeing that! After a full day at the park, we headed back to town, starving, for a nice dinner. Afterwards, we got on the first overnight bus of the trip and started out for Tucumán.

Another Stamp on the Passport- Uruguay!

This past weekend, Steve and I crossed the frontera and added one more stamp to our passports! woo! We took the ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay. It was actually a very organized system…you go through both Argentine and Uruguayan customs before even getting on the ferry. Because our initial plans of renting a car in B.A. and driving to Uruguay changed (as you can’t take a rental car across the border!) we bought our tickets somewhat last minute and ended up having to be first class…boo hoo! hehe On the way there, we were on the fast boat, and it only took about an hour. We sat next to a very interesting man from the U.S. and his Argentine son. Steve chatted with them the whole time, and I took a nap! When we got to Colonia, we picked up our rental car (which was an upgrade from what we booked because they gave our car away!) and headed towards the estancia, La Sirena which is near the town of Mercedes. The drive was absolutely beautiful…farm after farm with cows grazing in bright green field under blue skies. They looked like the happiest cows in the world, because unlike many in the U.S. they have so much space! The weather Saturday was perfect, and we really enjoyed the drive.

We arrived to La Sirena Saturday afternoon, just in time for the asado (barbecue). An estancia is basically a cattle ranch. Rural tourism is becoming popular in Uruguay and Argentina, and people who own these ranches are opening up their homes and inviting tourists in to live the life of a gaucho. The owners of La Sirena were an older couple, Rodney and Lucía. As it’s the off-season, there was only one other tourist couple there, from Australia. Rodney and Lucía were so welcoming- it felt like we were staying with family. It was apparent that they love what they do and where they live, and were full of stories to share from their 30 years of having people stay on their farms. They also were very knowledgeable about the history of their country, and were quite proud to share it with us- turns out their estancia dates back to the founding of Uruguay. The house itself is about 200 years old, and one of the first owners of the land and the house was Bernardino Rivadavia, the first president of Argentina.

Back to the food I mentioned earlier- the asado. Argentines and Uruguayans alike love their beef and have a very particular way of preparing it. They use these huge grills, parillas, that are over open flames. The one in Uruguay actually has a basket above the grill rack where you burn the wood. The ashes fall down under the grill and you can then spread them out, however you need, to control the heat. The first part of the asado is usually some sausages- morcilla (blood sausage- sounds gross but is delicious), chorizo, and other various parts of the cow, such as chinchulin (intestine). I was brave and tasted the chinchulin and found it to be as chewy and unappetizing as it sounds- I won’t be ordering it at a restaurant any time soon, but am glad that I tried it! After those initial appetizers they serve the main portions. At the estancia, we had chicken as well as beef. They also served delicious potatoes that were prepared right on the parilla as well as an ensalada mixta (typical salad served with asados that has lettuce, tomatoes and onions). There was plenty of wine to share and they even brought out a cake. Every meal at the estancia was delicious and they definitely fattened us up!

After lunch, we got to partake in some real gaucho activities. They had some men coming to look at some of the cattle before purchasing it. Rodney and Lucía are in the business of selling calves. They had to ride horses into the fields to bring in all the cattle. Once they brought it into a corral, they had to separate it into two groups- the ones to be sold and those that would stay. They do this just by getting in the corral with the cattle and chasing them around- quite interesting and a little funny to see! We got to partake- my job was to guard a corner to make sure none escaped. I have never been so close to so many cows- it made me a little nervous at times!

After the men came and looked at the cattle, Steve and I were able to go on a little horseback ride before it got dark. It was really cold, but we wanted to fit one in because we knew it was going to rain the next day. That night and Sunday were both freezing, and the estancia (or most places down here) didn’t have the central heat that we have in the U.S. We all had to go sit by a fire in this tiny room just to keep warm. By the fire, we ate dinner and then passed a guitar around and sang songs lol. Rodney then got out his collection of Uruguayan liquors and was very excited to let us all sample them.

Sunday it poured all day. Steve and I left the estancia and drove back to Colonia. We arrived after dark, and after searching the city for a restaurant we wanted to try but then couldn’t find, we ended up getting wine, pizza and a chivito (sandwich with steak, bacon, ham, hearts of palm, lettuce, tomato, etc.) at a cute little place. Sunday morning we got up and went out into the rain to explore Colonia. Colonia was one of the first towns in Uruguay, founded by the Portuguese in 1630. It’s very historical and the cobble-stone streets and colorful buildings make you feel like you are back in time. Despite the cold and rain we had a great day exploring, shopping and eating, before heading back to Buenos Aires on the night ferry.

It was a great trip and I was very impressed with Uruguay- from the little bit that we saw, it is a beautiful country, full of history, culture and welcoming people.

Club Unión de los Pibes!

This week I started doing some volunteering at an after school program called Club Unión de los Pibes (Kids´ Club). It´s a program for kids in a lower-class neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The club used to be associated with a charity organization in the U.S., but they dropped the funding when the economy started to turn. Now, it´s funded only by donations by the people who volunteer there.

The goal of the club is to give kids in this rough area a safe place to go after school, where they can be productive and feel loved. It´s an alternative to growing up on the streets.

Today was so much fun. Kate, a girl from London that we met here in BA who goes with me, and I were with the younger kids, around 5 years old. They were so cute! We played with play-dough, colored and did a mini English lesson. When they saw my camera they went crazy and loved taking pictures! This first picture is of me with the two little boys, Alexis and Nico. The picture belowe is of Kate with one of the little girls, Katy.

Madres de la Plaza de Mayo- a history lesson!

On this wonderfully sunny Thursday afternoon, I ventured downtown and had an emotional, historical experience that I will never forget.

I had learned about the Guerra Sucia (Dirty War) in my History of Latin America class at MSU. I was appalled that such horrific events had taken place in such recent history, and even more appalled that until my junior year of college, I had never even heard of them. The Guerra Sucia took place in Argentina between 1973 (possibly earlier) and 1982. It was not a war fought between two countries, but a period of government-sponsored violence against any sort of opposition. During this time, up to 30,000 innocent people were kidnapped in the middle of the night by government forces, taken to concentration camps, tortured and then killed. Many bodies were thrown from helicopters into the Atlantic Ocean so they could never be identified. These people are known as the desaparecidos (the disappeared ones). Most of the people disappeared were students and young professionals, in their 20s or 30s. Most of their bodies have never been found.

During this terrible period, an organization was started by some mothers of the disappeared…Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. They started organizing protest marches in the Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Casa Rosada, where the government was run. They carried pictures of their sons and daughters that had been taken and wore white handkerchiefs with the names of their missing loved ones on their heads. Initially, their goal was to find their sons and daughters, alive. Later, this goal changed to find those responsible for the atrocities and bring them to justice.

Thirty years later, these mothers, grandmothers, friends and family of the disappeared still march in the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday afternoon. Thirty years later, those responsible have not been punished. The mothers are fighting now for the rights and ideas that their children had believed in, and lost their lives to, and, I’m sure, to make sure they are not forgotten.

Mendoza...tierra de vino! Mmm

Steve and I had a great trip to Mendoza last weekend. We took the bus, which was a 15 hour ride, but not too bad. The buses here are way different than what we think of...way nicer than planes because the seats recline so much farther, you can actually sleep a little! They served dinner, which was pretty gross but did include endless wine and coffee liquor which was delicious!

We arrived at a bad time becuase the soccer game was just beginning, which means that the city was completely shut down! The receptionist at our hostel wouldn't even check us in until half time, so we watched the first half with people staying at the hostel. At half time we checked in and decided to start our vineyard tour since despite the game going on because we only had one day to do it! A taxi dropped us off at this little bicycle rental business named Mr. Hugo's in this small town near the wineries. Mr. Hugo and his wife were the nicest people ever! We watched the end of the game with them and a couple guys from Australia and England, while drinking homeade wine, and then started on our bike tour of the wineries!

The vineyards were so much fun and way different than those in Napa and even Leelanau. They are all small, family-run places. As this is winter, we were pretty much the only people there! One of the places we went to was a family that made their own dips made from olives and their own liquors, including absinthe...which is disgusting! We had perfect weather and riding bikes around to these tiny places was the perfect way to see them! We're thinking it would be a good idea to open a bike rental shop in Napa... :-)

Speed Dating!

Last night Steve and I decided to try something new in order to practice our Spanish and meet some people in the city. Online, we found a program called Spanglish, which is very similar to what we all call Speed Dating! Never would I have thought I could do such a thing, but that is why we are here…to step out of our comfort zones and have new experiences! It’s not actually a dating program, but rather a group of people that want to practice their Spanish or English. We met at a bar and there were about 25 people there…half Argentine and half native English speakers. We were assigned table numbers to start at and began the rotations. Ten minutes talking to a native Spanish speaker…5 minutes in English, 5 in Spanish. It was actually a really cool program…after a couple of Cervezas I was feeling pretty confident in my Spanish and this was exactly what I needed to bring it back! We met some very nice people, both from Argentina and from all over the world. We even ended up going out to dinner (at 10:00 PM which is considered early for the Argentines!) with a guy from Argentina…speaking in Spanish the whole time.

Tonight we are leaving for Mendoza, which is the wine region of Argentina. We’re taking an overnight bus and the ride is about 13 hours…the buses are supposed to be great, with seats that recline completely into beds, movies, dinner and wine. We’ll see. In Mendoza, we are planning to rent bikes and do a tour of the vineyards. Hopefully we can still ride in a straight line by the end of the day! Will plan to post pictures on Monday!

Besos!