Despite very long segments of flights, my mom showed up at the airport fresh as a daisy and ready to get to business! We headed back to town and went straight for lunch at El Federal (I know, but this place is sooo good). We had a tapas platter and a bottle of wine which inevidably got her tipsy. Lets just say the walk back to the hostel was filled with my mom making random bursts of delight noises and laughing while I pulled her across streets to dodge traffic. Mothers.... so easily delighted.
Our days in Buenos Aires were filled with visiting good restaurants, cafes, wine bars and lots of window shopping along the way. We even hit up an underground Tango club one evening after lots of wine and a big steak dinner. We got our bus tickets for a 16hr trip to Iguazu AND it was the first time I got the executive class Ticket. While my mom wasnt totally impressed with fully reclining leather seats big enough to curl up in and meals that didnt consist of day old cheese sanwiches, I was so happy I would have stayed on the bus for another few hours.
We stayed at Los Troncos Bed in Iguazu and it was fantastic! The woman that runs the place couldnt be nicer, our room had a loft with a deck and there was a pool! It was so nice to be in a tropical climate again - even though I got plenty of mosiquito bites. My mom discovered the Caparaina (a brazilian drink) and fell in love. All those in Portland, be prepared for a tropically themed house warming!
The falls were even more spectacular then I imagined. We walked down to the first set of falls,snapped some shots, then took a boat across to an Island that had a lookout point right under one of the falls. Later we took a power boat ride that actually went under the falls. I dont think Ive ever heard my mom scream like that before, it was hilarious! Afterwards we took an open canopy trunk ride thru the jungle. We saw some monkeys and this little rancoon-anteater looking animal. Next we took the train to Devils Throat (the main falls). Words cant describe the grand scale of this fall and the pressure of the water right under your feet. Amazing! After being misted by the falls for a little while we headed back to town to eat our leftover steak, drink some beers and watch some TV in our big comfy loft bed.
We flew back to Buenos Aires and moved to a botique hotel in San Telmo called Telmoho. Very chic and cute with an awesome breakfast. We toured around the sunday markets the next day and hopped on a ferry headed for Uruguay.
Montevideo was like a ghostown. Nothing was open, the ferry ride had made half the boat seasick and the wind on land was chilling to the bone. Brrrrrr. We FINALLY found our hostel after wandering around empty streets, ate dinner and passed out. The next day we took a bus to Punta del Este! Beach time! We arrived with enough time to walk the beach down to the docks where we drank a Caparaina while sitting in the sand and watched the sunset. We went to dinner at a nice steakhouse and overall had a pretty nice day.
The next day we rented a car and drove up the coast as far as Punta Diablo, hitting al the fishing villages along the way. Since its off season there wasnt much open, but it was still nice to tool around the coast. My favorite towns included this surfing village called Jose Ignacio (some of the cutest beach huts Ive ever seen) and also Punta Diablo with its vibrant colors and little antigue fishing boats lining the beach.
We left the next day for Buenos Aires, had a wierd encounter with a drunk italian, but made it back to San Telmo in one piece. We had one more afternoon in Buenos Aires then headed to the airport and flew off to Peru!
*PICS ARE COMING SOON*
Friday, April 24, 2009
My Birthday...Quarter Century!
I arrived in Buenos Aires a few days before my birthday and it was pretty strange to be back in Argentina again. I also discovered that all my clothes smelled worse then I had previously suspected (probably cause everyone in Peru starts to smell the same after a while) and was feeling pretty grungy next to all the freshly arrived backbackers in Hostel Estoril. I was glad my mom would be arriving shortly with some new shirts and products to make me feel civilized again.
My birthday was a very very busy day. I got up in time to snag a pastry for breakfast before they were all gone and headed out to the Recoleta market with Ian (he thought he was going to study spanish in the park but was convinced otherwise). I shopped around for a new silver ring, got a fresh fruitcup with fresh squeeed OJ and then headed back to the hostel to meet Miriam. We walked to the Microcentro for a Tango lesson. Kat and Miriam were sporting some amazing tango shoes and I had to dance barefoot standing on my toes (my shoe choices are flipflops, crocks or hiking boots). The lesson was awesome, very difficult but I understand why its the forbidden dance...sheeesh. The best part is that I realise now its a dance of feet flirting. Your feet are essentially flirting with little taps, rubs, slides and teases in a totally unchoriagraphed way. Not to mention there is no space between you and your partner in order to anticipate their next move since again...unchoriagraphed.
Next I headed to San Telmo with Kat where we watched some Afro-Cuban dancing and went to a tapas restaurant called El Federal for some wine and cheese. I had a big Argentinian BBQ at the hostel for dinner and went clubbing that night! The techno music inspired some very unique dance moves that evening which have resulted in embarrassing pictures of Facebook now...oh wells.
It was a pretty awesome birthday, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes - you guys are the best!
My birthday was a very very busy day. I got up in time to snag a pastry for breakfast before they were all gone and headed out to the Recoleta market with Ian (he thought he was going to study spanish in the park but was convinced otherwise). I shopped around for a new silver ring, got a fresh fruitcup with fresh squeeed OJ and then headed back to the hostel to meet Miriam. We walked to the Microcentro for a Tango lesson. Kat and Miriam were sporting some amazing tango shoes and I had to dance barefoot standing on my toes (my shoe choices are flipflops, crocks or hiking boots). The lesson was awesome, very difficult but I understand why its the forbidden dance...sheeesh. The best part is that I realise now its a dance of feet flirting. Your feet are essentially flirting with little taps, rubs, slides and teases in a totally unchoriagraphed way. Not to mention there is no space between you and your partner in order to anticipate their next move since again...unchoriagraphed.
Next I headed to San Telmo with Kat where we watched some Afro-Cuban dancing and went to a tapas restaurant called El Federal for some wine and cheese. I had a big Argentinian BBQ at the hostel for dinner and went clubbing that night! The techno music inspired some very unique dance moves that evening which have resulted in embarrassing pictures of Facebook now...oh wells.
It was a pretty awesome birthday, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes - you guys are the best!
Peru
After Machu Picchu I decided to stay around in Cusco for a few more weeks working in the Loki Hostel. I worked mostly reception which resulted in having to give some tours of the hostel in Spanish, which was embarrassing enough much less when some Argentinian guys who also thought it was funny decided to video it as well. Argentinian men...grrrrr.
Days in Cusco went by fast and all of a sudden Id been there for 3 weeks and decided that I couldnt take the cold anymore and took off for Arequipa (central peru)! The day before I left I wasnt feeling very well and decided to talk to a Doc, who informed me I needed to be on antibiotics for a bacterial infection in my stomach caused by....who wants to guess?! A Parasite...the grand prize of south america. So I left on antibiotics and antiparasite medication for some sunnier days.
Outside of Arequipa is the Colca Canyon, the second deepest Canyon in the world. I ended up doing a 3 day Canyon trek with Land Adventures. The trip began with a 4am bus ride out to the Canyon to watch Condors 3x as big as me soar about 3000 meters over the Canyon. We then headed for some lunch (Alpaca meat and soup) and began the 3 hr trek down into the Canyon. It was stunning. Cactuses, wildflowers and jagged rocks slowly turned into lush terraces as we reached the river running thru the Canyon. We had a little stop to dip our feet into the ice cold river (the river tried to steal my sunhat but did not prevail - just made my hat smell like river). Then headed through gardens and small farms, passing avocado trees and various weird looking pumpkin things. We scaled the ledge of a irrigation channel and hiked to a small village where we spent the night with a local family. I decided to skip the ALpaca meat for dinner which I watch being tendorized with a large stone and instead ate some fried sweet potatoes and avocados with lemon. Very delicious!
The next morning we got a little tours of various huts (including the Guinea Pig hut the locals keep for eating these little fellows on special occasions). I tried to help the Guinea Pigs make a prison break but they were more interested in eating grass. We met a man who was over 100 yrs old and survives on eating coca leaves. We hiked down into an Oasis which was a much needed stop since it was soooo hot at the base of the Canyon. We ate lunch and swim a bit before heading out of the Canyon. The hike out looked like more then my unhealthy stomach could handle, plus I has a blister the size of a quarter on the pad of my foot, so opted for a mule ride out. The beginning of that trip was terrifying with the mules fighting over who would be in front by jumping off the gravel rock path and pushing the other mule out of the way at EVERY corner. Eventually the order was established and the man who rented us the mules was very entertained (the look on our faces said otherwise).
I spent another day in the white city (Arequipa) eating tons of Turkish food and left for Lima. I only had about 10 hrs in Lima before my flight to Buenos Aires. I did a little tour bus ride through Miraflores, made dinner with some travelling buddies and headed to the airport for my 1 am flight (which I had thought was 1pm until the day before - good thing I discovered that mistake). I had spent exactly a month in Peru when I was stamped out at immigration, but Ill be back!
Days in Cusco went by fast and all of a sudden Id been there for 3 weeks and decided that I couldnt take the cold anymore and took off for Arequipa (central peru)! The day before I left I wasnt feeling very well and decided to talk to a Doc, who informed me I needed to be on antibiotics for a bacterial infection in my stomach caused by....who wants to guess?! A Parasite...the grand prize of south america. So I left on antibiotics and antiparasite medication for some sunnier days.
Outside of Arequipa is the Colca Canyon, the second deepest Canyon in the world. I ended up doing a 3 day Canyon trek with Land Adventures. The trip began with a 4am bus ride out to the Canyon to watch Condors 3x as big as me soar about 3000 meters over the Canyon. We then headed for some lunch (Alpaca meat and soup) and began the 3 hr trek down into the Canyon. It was stunning. Cactuses, wildflowers and jagged rocks slowly turned into lush terraces as we reached the river running thru the Canyon. We had a little stop to dip our feet into the ice cold river (the river tried to steal my sunhat but did not prevail - just made my hat smell like river). Then headed through gardens and small farms, passing avocado trees and various weird looking pumpkin things. We scaled the ledge of a irrigation channel and hiked to a small village where we spent the night with a local family. I decided to skip the ALpaca meat for dinner which I watch being tendorized with a large stone and instead ate some fried sweet potatoes and avocados with lemon. Very delicious!
The next morning we got a little tours of various huts (including the Guinea Pig hut the locals keep for eating these little fellows on special occasions). I tried to help the Guinea Pigs make a prison break but they were more interested in eating grass. We met a man who was over 100 yrs old and survives on eating coca leaves. We hiked down into an Oasis which was a much needed stop since it was soooo hot at the base of the Canyon. We ate lunch and swim a bit before heading out of the Canyon. The hike out looked like more then my unhealthy stomach could handle, plus I has a blister the size of a quarter on the pad of my foot, so opted for a mule ride out. The beginning of that trip was terrifying with the mules fighting over who would be in front by jumping off the gravel rock path and pushing the other mule out of the way at EVERY corner. Eventually the order was established and the man who rented us the mules was very entertained (the look on our faces said otherwise).
I spent another day in the white city (Arequipa) eating tons of Turkish food and left for Lima. I only had about 10 hrs in Lima before my flight to Buenos Aires. I did a little tour bus ride through Miraflores, made dinner with some travelling buddies and headed to the airport for my 1 am flight (which I had thought was 1pm until the day before - good thing I discovered that mistake). I had spent exactly a month in Peru when I was stamped out at immigration, but Ill be back!
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