Enero 30th - Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
So, we arrived in Ushuaia, which is the southern most city in the world (or at least the Americas, we are not sure which, but have heard both). It is in the province of Tierra del Fuego, which means land of fire, and it is generally called el fin de mundo (the end of the world). It is a spectacular place located on the Beagle Channel (named after Darwin`s ship when he visited here), completely surrounded by jagged, snow capped mountains. The town itself feels a bit like a ski resort in the Alps, with a lot ouf tourist shops and resturaunts, but the surroundings are amazing.
Our first day here it was sunny and warm, and we decided to go out on a the channel in a sailboat. Everyone was telling us how unpredictable the weather is here, so with nice weather in the morning we decided to go out on the boat while we could. Our itenerary was to sail out to three different islands to see sea lions and cormorants, and then to stop on an island to get off for a quick walk and learn about the indigenous people that lived there, and finally head back to the port. The sail out to the islands was great, we were soaking up the sun in t-shirts and taking in the amazing views of all the surrounding mountains. Once we got to the islands, the clouds rolled in and it got quite chilly and windy. We were able to see thousands of cormorants (birds that look like penguins, but can fly), and many sea lions. As we started heading towards the final island, the winds picked up even more, and the waves started breaking over the bow of the boat (it was a 35 foot sailboat). At that point everyone besides Jen and myself and the skipper decided to go into the cabin. We reduced the sail to about a quarter of its full size, and the waves kept getting bigger. They were crashing over the bow and the water was flowing over onto us. The wind was howling and the boat was crashing up and down over each wave like a roller coaster. We put on our many layers of clothes (fleeces, wind and waterproof jackets), hung on tight and watched the skipper battle the waves over to the next island where we were protected from the wind. We were both thrilled to be having an experience like that, at the end of the world sailing where the great explorers once ventured in the same conditions. It was really exciting. After we got through the rough weather and the clouds began to lift, just as we were nearing the shore again, the biggest and most amazing rainbow we have ever seen stretched from one side of the channel to the other. It was a complete half circle with brilliant colors. It was a perfect ending to a trying, but very exciting day. We got off the boat wind burnt, wet and cold, but it was well worth it. On the boat we met a guy from Minneapolis who had just arrived in Usuhaia that morning from a motorcycle journey that began in Minnesota. It took him four months, and one crash, but he made it. Luckily he had the same camera we do, so when our battery ran out just as the rainbow appeared, he gave us his battery so we could capture it.
The next day we hiked out of town and up the mountain directly behind the city to a chairlift, that took us to a glacier up at the top of the mountain. It is a 7K hike up to the chairlift on a road, and another 2K after the lift to the glacier. The walk up the mountain was nice, we set out in a light rain, which turned into light hail, and by the time we we reached the top it was a blizzard. We were about half way from the lift to the tip of the glacier (which is on the side of the mountain near the peak), when the blizzard came through the pass. Luckily we had all our warm clothes, and it only lasted about 30 minutes, but it was fun to have the snow coming down on us, and made for some great pictures of the moutain tops after they were dusted with snow. We eventually made it to the glacier, which was nothing spectacular (it actually made us wonder what the definition of a glacier is, is it just snow that never melts?), but the hike itself was spectacular. From the top we had an amazing view of the city below and the channel and surrounding mountains. We had four Israeli girls trailing us, and we asked them to take some pictures of both of us with the channel behind us. Then once we returned to the chair lift we had a glass of hot spiced red wine and went back to our guesthouse.
Today we went to Tierra del Fuego National Park, and did a hike along the coast for 7K to a beautiful lake (Lago Roca). It was a beautiful hike along the coast through stunning, windswept beechwood trees. The trees would creak as the wind blew, like an old rocking chair, and they sounded a bit spooky. There were more great views all along the way, and we saw many streams, inlets and birds. Another great day.
This evening we are having dinner with a Norwegian girl we met on the boat named Gro. She has been living in South America for 3 years, and in Argentina running tours for 2 years. She is going to give us tips about where to go and what to see on our way, and has been a great source of knowledge so far, as well as very nice and interesting. We want to get king crab before we leave Ushuaia, but are waiting for the right time. In two days we get back on the bus and head to Puerto Natales, Chile where we are going to hike in the Torres del Paine National Park for 5 days. We will be out of touch until we return to civilization again, so we will report on our trekking experience in Torres in a week or so.
24 del Enero - Patagonia - Punta Tombo
Yesterday we woke up at 6:30am to go on a tour to see a magellanic penguin colony, as well as some uniquely-colored dolphins and a Welsh village. As we were eating breakfast in our guest house, we looked out the window and watched groups of kids walking past us. At first we were not sure what they were doing awake at that hour, but then it struck us, they were all coming home from the clubs. The clubs open at 2am, and most people stay until 7am. It was really interesting to see all the kids coming home after a long night. They did not appear to be drunk, stumbling home, or bleary eyed from being up all night, they just looked like normal kids walking down the street. It was a different picture from what we might see at home under the same circumstances. The 7am crowd is much more civilized here. I think the youth here live a pretty spoiled life. Nobody seems to care that they party all night, and sleep all day. And all the Argentines seem to take at least a month off every summer to lead this luxurious life.
Anyway, after watching the first part of the tour from our guest house (the Argentine party colony going back to their dwellings), we headed out to Punta Tombo, which is about 2.5 hours south of Puerto Madryn. We arrived in Punta Tombo to see an enormous penguin colony, there are over 800,000 penguins there this time of year. We were allowed to walk among them, and it was really fun to see them up-close. Their colony is like a village in which each male has his own home, a hole in the ground covered by a scraggly bush or tree, and there are trails in certain places (like highways) where they exit and enter the ocean to fish for food. We followed one male home after he exited the ocean. We just walked behind him as he waddled for about 500 meters down the paths, and finally he got to his home. When he walked up, he had two young babies that started crowing when they saw him, and he stood tall and let out a huge yell of a bird call, and the family all gathered together. He then fed the children by regurgitating his catch from the day. The parents usually go fishing for 2 to 6 days, and then return to feed the children. We considered him our friend after the experience. Our bus driver kept talking about his amigo, the penguin that he sees every year in the same place, named 26883 (after the tag on his arm, they track some of the penguins year round to learn more about their migration patterns). We thought that sounded strange, but now we understand the relationship, they are very friendly little guys. They are comfortable around people, because some of them have been in contact with tourists since they hatched. These penguinos are only found in the southern hemisphere and they swim to Brazil every year when they are finished mating and raising their young.
After that we jumped on a boat to go look for some dolphins that inhabit the waters here. They are strikingly colored black and white in a pattern that is not like any dolphin we´ve ever seen before. It was rainy and very windy and choppy on the water, but overall a fun trip, and we did see some of the dolphins playfully swimming under and around the boat. We departed from the harbor and went to a small Welsh Village nearby called Gaiman. The Welsh came over to Argentina in the 1850´s to start their own country, but the Argentine government was very welcoming, so they just settled and became Argentines. The village was old and very quaint, and we had a traditional afternoon tea Welsh style. Our visit to Gaiman was like being in a different country for an hour or so. On the way home we discussed the biology of the animals we had seen with the bus driver, who continually asked us if anyone on the bus was a biologist, we think he was making a lot of stuff up and didn´t want to get caught. He did tell us a funny story about how they have named some of the sea lions with the biggest harems, his favorite being Julio Iglesias. He also told Billy that he need only know three words in Spanish, cerveza, lomo, y mujeres (beer, beef and women).
We finally met some fellow backpackers from the US and England on this tour. It was great to exchange traveling tips and stories with them.
The whole day was about 13 hours, so when we got home and had some food, we went to sleep.
22 de Enero - Puerto Madryn & Peninsula Valdez
¡Hola Chicos! (means hey guys)
The water is beautiful here. It is the most beautiful jewel blue. I still think that the water in Fiji and the Caribbean is more brilliant than anything else I´ve seen, but we are in Patagonia, so I´m impressed. I didn´t expect the beaches here to be this inviting, especially because it is known to be windy and cold down here. We are further south than Austrailia in this part of Argentina. We got lucky yesterday with great weather and took a tour of the Valdez Peninsula to see an entire peninsula of pampas that butts up to the wild Atlantic...it´s desert-like reserve land that is home to all kinds of wild life and not-so-wild sheep. We saw armadillos and guanacos, which are relatives of the llama. We saw a couple thousand lion seals on the beaches with their harems and babies. The sea lions are very interesting. Each male has a harem of between 6 and 10 women. Only the larger most developed males get a harem, the smaller and younger males are relegated to an island away from the bunch because they are not strong enough to protect a harem. The beach we went to was totally full of male with harem after male with harem, all living on top of eachother. It is a constant struggle between the males to make sure one of their harem is not stolen by another one of the dominant males. This competetion plus the close living quarters makes for constant tension and battles. We saw many fights as the males stand up and scream at the top of their lungs before lunging at the would be lady stealers that encroach on their women, and then they go over and rub necks with the female that was being eyed by the other males. It is really hilarious, and kind of tense. We think our dating scene is tough, this is impossible. Anyway, we think the sea lions are closely related to pimps, because they act very much the same way. After that, we snorkeled in the cold water, but didn´t see much other than jellyfish. We saw elephant seals, and as we sat on the beach observing them, we prayed that an orca would sweep in and gobble one of them up (which happens from time to time here). I never thought I would be such a blood-thirsty animal lover. We didn´t get lucky enough to see prey and predator in action, nor did we see any whales, which come here for mating season in June, July and August. I thought for sure that yesterday afternoon´s weather (wind whipping, grey cumulus clouds overhead) at the mouth of the river on that Peninsula was perfect for orca sightings...but maybe next time. Anyway, tomorrow we are going on a tour of Punta Tombo, where there are thousands of Magellanic penguins that come here to breed this time of year, and then we stop at a Welsh pioneer town called Gaiman to have a traditional Welsh tea time experience. Who would´ve thought that you could have authentic Welsh tea and cakes in Argentina?
19 de Enero - Leaving Bahia Blanca
Today we are killing time before we get on the bus for Puerto Madryn. Bahia Blanca is definitely not a tourist destination, but it has really nice architecture, all from the mid 19th century, which is very ornate and spectacular. Otherwise, this is a port town that is more geared toward fishing and a large naval base than anything else. It is much quieter than any other place we have been. It will be nice to move on and get to the next place.
One of the most surprising things to both of us about Argentina is how similar it is to the States in many ways. The food is very similar (pizza, pasta, steak, hamburgers, etc.) and the people all look like they could be walking down any street of any city in the States. It just feels a lot like home here. We have both been other places where it seems very different, even in Europe, but here it is very similar. There are a few differences as well, like we have not seen a single homeless person yet. On our way out of BsAs, we drove through the shanty towns that outlay the city, and the poverty there is worse than anything we see at home, but when walking around, we have only once been asked for spare change. I am asked 10 times in three blocks in San Francisco. People also love to shop here, and the clothes are cheap, and people dress very stylishly. Any time of day there are tons of people swarming the shops in every town, and in some spots people are still shopping until midnight.
There are not a lot of foreign tourists that we have run into. There is a vast system here for tourism, but it appears to be mostly Argentines on vacation. It is nice to be off of the backpacker track a bit. The rooms we are staying in continue to get smaller as our travels progress. We have both had minor injuries in the shower, if you drop the soap and try and pick it up, you will definitely hit some part of your body on something sticking out of the wall. There is just room enough to stand up, and that is it, even moving your arms to wash can be dangerous. We have both exited the tiny showers bleeding from such injuries. In the place we are staying here in Bahia Blanca, you can actually sit in bed, wash your hair, and open the front door without moving...that is how small the room is. We have grown accustomed to it, and actually like living simply. One of our favorite money saving techniques is to self-cater one meal a day, when we can. Last night we had a $1 bottle of fine Argentine Malbec, with some bread, cheese, salami and fruit, as well as some amazing desserts we bought at the local bakery (we are finding one of the best values anywhere are the amazing sweets that are very expensive at home, but cheap here) for about $4 dollars total. The prices are becoming normal to us, and we scoff at paying over $5 for any entre or for a bottle of wine. We did, however, almost splurge and buy a bottle of Diego Maradona wine from a fancy wine shop. Diego is Argentina´s Michael Jordan, he helped them win the World Cup (soccer) about 20 years ago. It was funny to see his face on the label of an expensive bottle of wine.
18 de Enero, Bahia Blanca
We are in Bahia Blanca now, which is really not much of a tourist destination, but we are here for a few days because we weren´t able to get bus tickets to Puerto Madryn until Wednesday. As we are learning, January is the busiest travel month in Argentina. Everyone takes vacations in January, much like how August is the big vacation month in Europe. So, we are at the mercy bus ticket availability, because everything esta completo, which means booked. However, we don´t mind having a day or two to stretch our legs in Bahia Blanca and get the blood circulating again before we hop on another bus. The bus journey from Villa Gesell to Bahia Blanca was a 10 hour ride. We thought it would be about 6 hours, and the driver told us it would be 8 hours when we boarded. We are trying to figure out how to get on a bus that doesn´t make as many stops, so that we can get from place to place a bit quicker, but we are enjoying the vistas out the window in the meantime. Central and northern Argentina is covered with Pampas in the low lying areas. The Pampas are grasslands, an expanse of gold and green fields as far as the eye can see...dotted with black cows and white sheep. There are few trees, no mountains...just flat, semi-barren land. The emptiness and absence of anything else is beautiful and tranquil. You can smell the country outside. The golden grass is illuminated beautifully when the sun hangs low in the sky. We look out the window of the bus and the view is divided into two parts, split at the horizon. The top half is blue sky and the bottom half are these golden fields that go on forever and engulf us. Every once in awhile we will see a field of blooming yellow sunflowers, but other than that it is perfect land for cattle grazing...which must be why the beef here is so plentiful and tasty. We leave for Puerto Madryn on Jan 19th. We take an overnight bus ride, which is nice, because it saves us from having to pay for accomodations for one night. They say it`s a 10 hour bus ride, so we should arrive in Puerto Madryn in the morning. Puerto Madryn looks beautiful. There is an amazing array of wild life to see, and the Valdez Peninsula is near where we will be staying. They say that there is great scuba diving and marine life in this area.
January 15th- Villa Gesell - Argentine Atlantic Coast
We arrived this morning in Villa Gesell, which is about 6 hours south by bus down the coast. We left at 5 AM, and haven`t really slept yet. The pronunciation of Villa Gesell is very hard, and nothing like what we would say in English, so when we said where we were going at the bus station, all we got were strange looks. Then someone finally figured out that we meant, ¨Bija Hesey¨ is how they say it, and helped us get the right bus. It is a small beach town, and where Che Gueveras first stop on his motorcycle journey around Latin America about 50 years ago. Che is a huge hero in Argentina (he is Argentine), and from what we have heard, a hero all over Latin America. He was a medical student, who decided to take a motorcyle journey with his friend across all of Latin America (as seen in the movie Motorcyle Diaries), and when he confronted all the poverty of his America, he decided to dedicate his life to changing what he could by empowering the people and promoting violent means to do so. Many years later he joined Fidel Castro and was instrumental in the overthrow of the Cuban government and the beginnings of Communism there. He is looked at here as a revolutionary who had given his life for the people of South America. He was killed about 30 years ago with the help of the CIA in Bolivia.
In all of our converstaions with people here, Che is often mentioned, and his cause is always talked about. The Latin Americans have a deep and complicated history, and are very much anti-American poltically. However, they are nice to us on a personal level, but our politics and American hegemony has left deep scars here. We stayed up last night all night before our bus speaking with an Italian guy who now lives in BsAs, who works at our guest house, and he told us a lot about how Argentines view the world and particularly Americans. They are unhappy with our corporations and how they have taken so much of the natural resources of their land and profited themselves, but given very little back to the people here. They are also keenly aware that our government has supported multiple repressive regimes in the region to secure those natural resources for American companies at cheap costs, and therefore have helped lead to the suffering of the masses. Anyway, the more we talk to people, the more we learn about their thoughts and views. The Latin American view of the world is very different than the American world view, and it has been interesting for us to get inside their heads and see things from their viewpoint. We both hope to continue to learn as much as possible about the people while we go further along the journey.
One thing about Villa Gesell is that it is a bit of a party town for younger Argentines, about 18 to 21 years old. It is buzzing with familiar music and kids looking to have fun. We were told in advance of this, and that the girls here are ¨hysterical.¨ Not knowing what that meant, we asked, and that is the word Argentine guys use to describe young women as teases. Not sure about that, but it was a funny story, at first we thought all the girls in the town would be running around screaming and crying or laughing hysterically. That does not seem to be the case.
The Italian guy that we talked with (Fabio) has been in Argentina for over a year now. He doesn´t have residency to work and live here, but he can stay in Argentina by leaving the country and returning every 90 days. He goes to Uruguay for the weekend every 3 months to get his passport stamped, and this allows him to remain in Argentina for another 90 days. Anyway, now we know how foreigners manage to live here, and we plan to continue dreaming up our own schemes while we go south and explore the rest of the country.
Jan 13th - Back in Buenos Aires
It is wonderful to return to Buenos Aires, because we are familiar with the city and it is like our home away from home. We also enjoy coming back to Casa Amarilla to visit with Raul, Andrea, and Raul´s mother, who have become like a surrogate family to us. We think of ourselves as Porteños Nuevos, since we have spent so much time in Buenos Aires, so we want to use this entry in the blog to jot down some things we have learned about this city and it´s neighbor Uruguay...a practical guide and an opportunity to record memories of our experiences so far.
Some notes about the comida y bebidas--
-Dulce de leche is a carmel spread that people put on toast, like jam. It´s like candy. It means sweet of milk. It´s similar to the European Nutella, but it´s carmel flavored instead.
-Picadas are small bites (the word literally means small insect bite). These are great snacks that you can get between 5pm and 10pm. Picadas usually consist of a platter of cheeses, proscuitto, olives, marinated veggies, and other finger foods. The dinner hour is at around 10pm, but until you get acclimated to the late dinner schedule, you´ll find yourself hungry at around 6pm or 7pm and picadas are just the thing to tide you over.
-Empanadas are the hot pocket of South America. They are a pastry that is filled with meat and cheese or veggies. Good for an on-the-go meal (para llevar).
-Pomelo soda is delicious. It is a grapefruit flavored soda...much better than 7up or Sprite (Jen´s old favorites).
-A cortado is a must in the afternoon. It is a short cup of expresso and milk, and it is a great pick-me-up. With everyone drinking cortados in cafes, it´s no wonder the people of this city are up all night.
-In Uruguay (and maybe in Argentina too) a chivito is like a hamburger. A chivito completo is a hamburger topped with ham, cheese, and a hard boiled egg and a few fries on the side. Jen loves them.
-Medialunas (half moons) are the breakfast of champions. They are croissants at home. If you go to a bakery in the morning they will give you warm, freshly baked medialunas topped with some kind of sweet syrup. They even deliver these by the dozen. They remind me of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but better.
-There is a ton of pizza and pasta eaten here, because of the Italian influence.
-Clerico is a white wine sangria that is not to be missed.
-In Uruguay they have a drink called medio y medio that is half white wine and half champagne...another beverage that is worthy of mentioning.
-The beef here is amazing. You can go to a Parrilla (steak house), where they cook meat on a grill and order a lomo (fillet) or lomo de chorizo (another cut of meat that is not as lean as the fillet, but really good). You can get just about any kind of sausage or cut of meat cooked on an open fire at one of these parillas.
Shopping in Buenos Aires--
-On Sundays there is a feria (open air market) in the main plaza in San Telmo. The vendors sell many antiques and handcrafted wares.
-The best boutiques are in Palermo Viejo. The shopping here is phenomenal. I wish I had room in my backpack for all the beautiful couture and shoes that I´ve seen in the shop windows. This particular part of Palermo Viejo (Palermo SOHO) is similar to Hayes Valley in San Francisco, but everything is 1/3 the cost of things at home. A lot of the shop owners are designers that studied textile or fashion design and then opened their own stores here in the most chic part of Buenos Aires.
Getting around town in Buenos Aires--
You can ride the bus anywhere in the city center for 80 centavos per person (about a quarter at home). The underground railway (Subte) is another alternative for traveling within the city center and it costs 70 centavos per viaje (ticket). There is a small commuter train that carries passengers to the suburban areas outside of the city center. You can catch a train to the suburbs from the Belgrano station. The main train station is called the Retiro and here you can catch a bus or a train to other parts of Argentina.
Sights in Buenos Aires--
-Recoleta is worth seeing. When you go there, you will understand why they call it Recoleta...it is the richest part of the city. Here you can sit in a cafe and watch the dog walkers with 15 dogs strapped to their legs...it`s quite a sight to see.
-They say that the Teatro Colon (the Opera House) conducts tours, and we have attempted to go there three times to see it. The first time we tried to find the elusive Opera House, we went to the most beautiful building in Buenos Aires (we were sure this place was the Opera House), but it turned out to be Aguas Argentinas instead. We think Aguas Argentinas is the city´s water treatment facility, but we are not sure. The second time we got into a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the Opera House and we ended up at the wrong place. He took us to a lesser version of the Teatro Colon...like the Curran Theater in San Francisco. The third time we set out to find the Teatro Colon, we made it there just before a huge downpour of rain. We were so proud of ourselves for getting to the right building, but when we went inside they told us that there would be no tours of the facility until after Jan 17th...foiled again. We have yet to see the Teatro Colon. Perhaps we will make it there one day.
About the Porteños--
They don´t speak any English, but if you stumble through conversations and try to talk to them in Spanish, they appreciate it. Today we went to a hardware store to buy a converter and as we forged our way through the description of what we needed, we apologized for our broken Spanish. We admitted that we didn´t know very much Castellano, and the storekeeper responded with, "Claro!", meaning clearly, but he said that he appreciated us trying. At lunch we met a guy who has family in both LA and Buenos Aires. When I asked him where the bathroom was in the restaurant, he said he didn´t have any brothers, and that he was an only child. The people here are extremely warm and welcoming and we have appreciated their patience with us as we learn by trial and error.
Accomodations (Alojamientos)--
We have enjoyed our stay at Casa Amarilla and would highly recommend it. The cost is $35 per day (fairly steep), but you get an air conditioned room (very crucial in the summer), your own private, attached bathroom, free internet access, and a tremendously friendly (English-speaking) staff.
http://www.laamarillita.com.ar/
Another nice guest house is Che Lulu (recommended to us by Danny and Erica). http://www.luluguesthouse.com/ingles/bienvenido.html
The rooms there are a bit less expensive and it seems that they offer the same thing without air conditioning.
In Colonia we stayed at Posada del Rio. Simple rooms. Nice staff. Quaint dining room overlooking the bay.
http://www.colonianet.com/delrio/
In Villa Gesell we stayed at Posada del Sol. They have a plethora of animals (goat, bunnies) and birds (flamingos, parrots, ducks, a toucan, roosters) on the property. It is in the central part of the town.
In Punta Del Este we stayed in a crappy hotel that was really expensive. Punta is gorgeous, but I wouldn´t recommend going to Punta in high season.
January 9th - Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay
So, we left the heat of BsAs for Colonia yesterday morning. Colonia is a 3 hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires (on the slower and less expensive ferry), and is a small and quaint old colonial town on a peninsula. It is nice to get away from the hussle and bustle of the big city. The town of Colonia is really small, and a lot of Porteños come here for weekends in summer because it is a bit cooler and quieter than their homes, so there is some tourism that makes Saturday nights more lively. We arrived in the afternoon, and met an Aussie couple on the ferry. They are on a trip around the world and got engaged in Hoi An, Vietnam a few weeks ago. We went to dinner with them at an outdoor restaurant right around the town square where there was some live music and tango dancing going on while we ate. It was a really nice place, and it was fun to see how the people here spend a relaxing weekend outside of the city.
Today we went to arrange bus tickets to Punta Del Este and then rented a little car that is more like a golf cart to drive around town and out to the beach. On the way we picked up two Uruguayan hitchhikers, who were either drummers or firemen, we were not sure. They were very nice, and we stumbled through some Spanish with them, and they were very appreciative for the lift. We are both getting better at Castellano, which is Latin American Spanish, but it is still difficult. The Argentines use a lot of Italian words, and they say things very differently than Spaniards or Mexicans (they have more of a Brazilian accent), so sometimes it takes a few repeats to understand what they are saying. We are enjoying getting better though, it feels like a real accomplishment when we can have a conversation and both parties understand each other the whole time.
We are heading east down the coast a bit more towards Punta del Este, we will spend a few nights there, and then head back to BsAs.
January 5, Muy Caliente en BsAs
We are still exploring the city and getting to know the people we are staying with very well. They are a very interesting couple, and incredibly nice. We have been having geo-political conversations almost every day. It is interesting hearing what makes Latin Americans so generally unhappy with us Americans. I thought that a lot of it would have to do with Bush and our recent politics, and although that has definitely made things worse, people here resent Americans for being so environmentally unconscious, making all the poorer counrties deal with our emissions and garbage. They also blame the US for the drug trade that has crippled so many countries down here with violence. They see it as more American consumerism at the expense of their poorer neighbors to the South. We have also had a lot of time to talk to people about the economic collapse of Argentina in 2001. Back then, Buenos Aires was one of the most expensive cities in the world, now their money has devalued by a ratio of 3 to 1, and a lot of people lost all of their savings. Particularly the older people have been hardest hit. This country has seen so much turmoil and instability, that people here do not really beleive in their economic system. Even money in a bank is not secure. It is sad that they truly do not have that fundamental belief in their system that we have been blessed with thus far in our system. Anyway, talking to the people here you really understand how much they have been through, and even though they have struggled so much, they still have a healthy outlook and are just happy to be making it day to day. They do not think about tomorrow as much as we do in the States.
So, tonight we are going to see Tango at a local restaurant, I hope they do not expect participation from the audience. The day after next we are going to head across the bay to Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay to escape the heat, it is a little cooler there because the town sits on the water. The heat is getting harder to deal with. Now we understand why people escape to the beaches or to Patagonia during January. We have also mastered the bus and train system, and yesterday went to a pool in the rich suburb of San Isidro, where the homes put Atherton or Winnetka to shame. It was nice to stroll the shady streets and relax around a pool in the heat of the afternoon.
January 3rd, Buenos Aires
Today we went to see Recoleta, a very upscale part of the city, which is famous for housing the mausoleum where Evita was buried. We went to the cemetary and took photos like good little tourists and we checked that off the list. We tried to visit an art museum nearby, but it was closed. Then we wandered around in the neighborhood and got lost among the expensive shops and hotels where the people with money mingle. We had lunch and then spent time at a cafe to do some people watching as we sat outside drinking cafe con leche. We are constantly trying to figure out how we might be able to get visas or some sort of temporary residency to live and work here. It is incredibly tempting. Everyone has a dog, they live at such a wonderful pace (the siesta during the hottest part of the day is genius), they speak with an intonation and melody similar to the Italian cadence. There is a real feeling of community and importance of family here. The people are so friendly and willing to help or answer questions. We poke our heads into the real estate shops and our jaws drop as we see how affordable homes and flats are in the city. We are excited to see the wine country in Mendoza and the coast at Plata Del Mar. Uruguay is just an hour-long ferry ride away and there are three places that we hope to explore there. I am beginning to think that one could travel non-stop throughout South America for a year and still not see all there is to see. For now we are enjoying Bs As. It is so much like home in San Francisco that I sometimes forget that I am on a different continent, that is, until I try to speak. Even the hot (C for Caliente) and cold (F for Frio) on the faucets are in Spanish. I am not sure why I expected South Americans to speak English, but they surely do not. They assume that you speak Spanish and when you tell them that you don´t speak Spanish very well they say that they don´t speak English very well. End of story. It´s interesting to me, because even in remote places in SE Asia, they at least try to speak English...maybe because they know it is good for tourism or business. Some say that there is a self-depricating nature about Argentines (this is the plastic surgery capital of the world and the people are physically beautiful), but I think that their refusal to learn English is part of a pride and preservation of their culture. Anyway, the language makes it challenging, but we are easily able to take buses and trains to get from place to place (which builds confidence)...and each day we get to practice our Castellanos (who knew that they have a different name for the Spanish language?), so it is starting to come back to us. New Year´s Eve was a bit lackluster. We had dinner at a really nice local restaurant, but there was not much going on in the city because people everywhere were in mourning for the 175 people who died in a nightclub inferno the night before. We read that it is customary for people to shred all their papers and records from the year prior and throw them out of the window at midnight to signify the year´s end. We didn´t see this take place, because we weren´t in a residential area at midnight, but the next day we walked around town and saw bits of paper littering the sidewalks and streets. A big thanks to Steve for helping us set up this blog. We love having an on-line diary in addition to the diaries we are keeping the old-fashioned way. More to come...
January 2- BUENOS AIRES
We are still in BA, and have just moved to a different hostel in the same neighborhood. This one has AC and is cheaper, so we are much happier. It is really hot here this time of year. It is a muggy 90 degrees F during the day. The more we experience the city, the more we really like it. We are both amazed at how livable it is. We were both expecting something a lot closer to Bangkok or Saigon, but the truth is that it is more like Milan or Paris. It is not as big, loud, overcrowded or dirty as we expected, it is very livable and there are many nice neighborhoods that are quiet and relaxing. The language continues to be an obstacle, but we are pretty good at getting the info we need to get around, and we are getting better at ordering food and drinks. "Una mas cerveza, por favor" works great. Jen is doing most of the talking, but I am trying to get involved in the coversations as much as possible. Jen´s big threat to me is that she won´t talk for me anymore, and that threat has teeth, because I would be lost without her.
We are still trying to figure out the schedule of the locals. Everyone is out late at night, even elderly couples are seen walking home from the resturaunts at 2AM. The only problem is that it seems like people are awake early too, so we are not sure when they sleep. The people that live in BA are called Porteños, which means people of the port. The porteños definitely live a full life, night and day. We are drinking and eating very well. Dinner is usually pizza (we are in Palermo, the italian part of town) or filet of steak, and a couple of glasses of Argentine Malbec. The total cost for a good meal for both of us is about 10 US dollars. The price allieviates some of the guilt for living the sweet life (la vida dulce). We will be here for the next week or so exploring the city. We went to the street fair in San Telmo today, and will see other parts of the city one at a time the rest of the week. I do see why a lot of people leave the city in January for the cooler Patagonia because it is hot. We will be happy to follow them South once we make our plans to see more of Argentina.
