South America here we come!

Just wanted to start off with a shot of us with our backpacks (we're leaving our Salta hostel)

Well, you probably think we fell off the map, but actually we’ve been traveling across it! I know my last entry said we’d be back in a week or so, but we decided (spontaneously) to extend the trip a little more—approximately two weeks more.
Our friend, Melissa, was already out traveling and shot an email asking if anyone would like to join her, since Ame and I finished classes and no longer had visitors in BsAs, we said “porque no?” We purchased some backpacks, because we thought that our rollies wouldn’t cut it for this type of trip, and figured out the best route to Jujuy.
Since the bus ride to Jujuy is 22 hours (mas o menos), we decided to splurge and get cama suite seats through the company Flechabus. Cama suite means that you can lie down completely—like you’re in a bed! And the service was great: movies the whole ride (in English), decent food that was included in the price, and only so overall it was a really comfortable day long ride. Amy and I thought this was the good life, little did we know that from this point on the busses we would get drastically worse!

Amy all cozy on Flechabus on our way to Jujuy, AR.

Well we arrived in Jujuy, AR on September 1 and met up with Melissa! It was great to hear all about her travels and it basically cemented the idea in our heads that we were going to go on to Bolivia and Peru after Jujuy and Salta. Our first few days of traveling were great: we saw some incredible scenery and stopped at some really interesting pueblos throughout the province of Jujuy. We visited Humahuaca, Tilcara, Purmamarca and two more I cannot remember…too much traveling! Check out some photos below.

Day two we went to Cafayate, AR, the second largest wine region after Mendoza. Before getting to Cafayate, we got to stop at La Garganta de Diablo (Throat of the Devil) which is sort of like a canyon that was formed throughout the years by wind, water and erosion. We were told that it was once completely covered by the ocean and this is what was left—a really cool place for tourists to climb, and climb is what we did. It took us awhile to get over the first cliff, but after that it was smooth sailing. It was probably the most fun I had during the trip.

Amy and Melissa climbing up the throat of the devil!

View from the top of the throat.

When we finally arrived to Cafayate, we could immediately tell that it was an economically well off town, so obviously the wine had to be delicious and we obviously had to taste it for ourselves! We stopped at about 4 vineyards to taste their white and red. We learned the main grape of the region is the Torrontés- it is a really nice tasting grape. So before leaving, we purchased a really nice Malbec (I know not Torrontés, but the Malbec grape is also too good to be true over here) to enjoy when we arrived to our hostel; however, when we arrived at our hostel there was a huge sign that said alcohol is prohibited. Well, good thing we had the foresight to ask the vineyard to open the bottle before we left, because we drank the wine out of the bottle before dinner like we were freshman in college.

In front of a vineyard in Cafayate.

Day three we explored Salta, rode the teleferico, and ate some lunch. We then said our good-byes to Melissa. Melissa headed back to BsAs and Amy and I headed for the Bolivian border. We took a 4 hour ride to La Quiaca and were introduced for the first time to food people selling homemade foods on the bus. Basically, women come on the bus at the various stops to sell their goods. The women walk up and down the aisle yelling whatever good they are trying to sell, for example: ensalada de frutas and sandwich de jamon y queso. Amy at first did not realize what was happening, and being that the last lovely Flechabus gave us food for free she assumed that these ladies were giving out our snack. Fortunately, I was able to tip Amy off to the fact that she had to pay for the sandwich before she grabbed one from the woman’s tray. When we got to La Quiaca it was dark, I was scared, but fortunately Argentina has really great signs that show you whether or not you are going in the right direction. So we headed down Calle Belgrano towards some hostels and I swear to you, an angel was waiting for us at Hospedaje Frontera! He opened the door and we got a great meal of soup and tortilla de papas and then afterwards we were shown to our room where we were to retire for the evening. So for $12 each we got dinner, a room with TV (we were able to watch Dr. House), and we ate our leftovers for breakfast…best deal in town. I felt as though this was great start to our journey!

So on the fifth of September, after two bus rides and three hostels, we finally bid hasta luego to Argentina.

A view of our hotel room in La Quiaca-- looks sort of like a cell, no?

Jesse in BA, by Jesse!

After many hours of Skype and several hundred e-mails, Amy and I were reunited in an airport in the lovely South American country that has been hosting her for over three months.  Not unlike star crossed lovers, things got off to a pretty confusing and frustrating start.  They changed the arrival terminal on us and Amy was waiting for 30 mins at the wrong terminal.  I nearly sped off with Cesar, my driver from the hotel, but I decided to wade through the crowd and indeed I found Amy on her tippy toes trying to find me.  Besides seeing my Pato (that’s what I call Amy) I had very few goals for my 8 days in Argentina.  I wanted to experience how people lived in a new continent.  I also wanted some time to live the carefree café lifestyle, sipping a warm drink and watching the day go by.  Finally, I mostly wanted to replace as many of the cells in my body with those of grass-fed Argentina beef and Malbec grapes from the Mendoza region.  Mission accomplished!  Imagine the most gorgeous welcoming and charming café that is both elegant and laid back that guarantees you will get a superb and interesting meal in any city in The States.  You feel like this is “your” spot, and you’re so glad no one really knows about it.  Now put 3 of them on every block, and then put 2 steak houses that would be the finest and most crowded in that same city.  Then make the prices about 40% of what you’d pay in the states.  Finally, fill them with really attractive people who you don’t mind being around, who aren’t texting or yapping on their cell phones the whole time.  Now you have Buenos Aires.  And take your time eating.  Even if you finished your wine 45 minutes ago, there is a line forming (it’s 11pm – so naturally people are beginning to show up for the dinner rush) and are staring at glasses of water, the waitress won´t so much as give you a glance to move.  I liked this place. Other highlights included best birthday ever because we went to an awesome dance and performance art show called “Fuerza Bruta”.  We also got to see all the sights in BA and walk around all the interesting neighborhoods like San Telmo.  What else?  We went on bikes for a whole day and got to get our legs going in the nature reserve.  We took a yoga class with some other ex-pats who seemed really nice.  We went to an awesome town in Uruguay called Colonia Del Sacramento which was really gorgeous and old and rivaled any old port town I have ever seen.  We stayed in such a gorgeous hotel there.  We went to a pretty interesting once in a lifetime place called Tigre which was sort of a waterworld but also a ghost town!   Yes - we all wished I was there in summer (it is winter there), but the company could not have been better.  The food could not have been better.  And I left feeling great - knowing that Amy is in such good hands in that lovely, safe city.  I haven’t a doubt that she will make lasting friendships with quality people there.  Hers will be the experience of a lifetime and we’re all super jealous!  Everyone should visit her!!!  JP (from Amy: I will post pictures when I return to BA - in 2-3 weeks!  Hasta pronto). Finally, some pics!  Also, blog posts on the last 3 weeks to come asap. :) Jesse's bday dinner and first taste of delicious Argentine carne!                                    Jesse at Fuerza Bruta                                                Tigre, AR.                                     In Colonia, watching the sunset. At an awesome Peruvian sandwich counter                       At awesome La Cabrera where we had a tremendous amount of food!                                   Biking around the nature reserve

Guest blogger: Mayen Ma!

For the mere delivery of a jar of peanut butter and a few facial products I got the grand tour of Buenos Aires. My Spanish speaking skills are way below par, so to say I was overjoyed to hear Caitlin speaking like a native would be an understatement. The arts are alive and well in BA. We were able to see great music almost everywhere we went. My first night there, Caitlin found a tango performance and I found myself being serenaded by an Argentine Bruce Willis. He sang tango music and was accompanied by his very talented band that included an accordion player. The art of accordion playing is probably one of the best-kept secrets in Argentina, along with folk dances.
The folk dance is a complex, emotionally charged art form. I would know, since I experienced a lesson first hand…in Spanish. The steps were not hard, the routine was not hard, what was hard was putting it all together…and being pulled to the men’s side at the last minute. My other male dancers and I commiserated over our poor dance skills. Or at least that’s what I thought they were saying. I got by with a shuffle here and a foot stamp there. I think the instructor was VERY impressed.

The Bruce Willis look alike from the tango band, Rascasuelos. They were awesome!

Another highlight of my private tour was a graffiti tour of the city. I got intimidated by one of the other members of the tour, a Frenchy who I am quite sure is putting together a photography book of the tour. I tried to match him shot for shot. Even though I nearly filled my memory card with pictures, I lost. Hard.

Caitlin and a new friend-obvio!

Sadly, my trip had to come to an end. I wish I could have stayed longer. I think if I could have stayed my Spanish would have improved ten fold and my ride to the airport would have consisted more than just “Que? Si.”

I am so grateful for Caitlin and Amy for opening their apartment to me and letting me invade their lives for a week. Chicas - don’t get to comfortable now that I’m gone because the next vacation week I get I may or may not be knocking at your door. Consider this your warning!
PS – Don’t worry if Caitlin refers to you as “Asia” while speaking with a taxi driver, she calls all the girls that. (side note: "asia" as Mayen referred is really "ella" the Spanish word for "she" with an Argentine acento.)

So it's been awhile...

First off, sorry for the delay in posting. I think Amy and I have just gotten so accustomed to BsAa life that we forget to share! I finished classes the week after Ame and then my dear friend from college and former post-college roommate, Mayen Ma, came for a visit! So I got to be a tourist in the city all over again. Mayen arrived Saturday morning and had a smooth taxi ride in with Ricardo. We eased in to touring the city by starting off with an alfajor. I don't know if I have told you about the afajores down here, but they are totally delicious and are usually composed of some sort of cookie, dulce de leche and chocolate combination. In my mind, it’s hard to go wrong with those three ingredients! After the first alfajor, I promised to aid Mayen in the quest of finding the best one so we had one alfajor a day! I think my favorite was the Jorgito and Mayen liked the Conito alfajores so much that she bought them back to share with her office mates!

There were two tours that I have been wanting to do, but hadn't found the time with classes and what not. Mayen's visit was a perfect excuse to go on these tours. The first one was the BA Free City Tour. The tour lasted for about 2.5 hours, which is a little long, but you cover a lot of ground and you learn a lot of interesting facts. And yes, it is free, but you are expected to tip at the end of it. One interesting site pointed out, as you can see in the picture below, was a house on top of a building alongside the widest street in the world* Avenida 9 de Julio. The story goes that the owner of a factory who worked in the city was too tired to go home to the country at the end of the day, so he decided it would be easier to build a house on top of the building to shorten his commute.-pretty clever if you ask me.

The house atop the tall buildings.

The other tour that I had heard good things about, but was reluctant to go on because of the AR$75 fee was the graffitimundo tour. However, I am glad I paid the AR$75 (US $18.75) because we saw some amazing street art. What I found most interesting about the street art is that it is not illegal and its sole purpose is to make communities more beautiful. Many times restaurants commission street artists to paint their storefronts to make their restaurant more inviting. Another interesting point the tourguide made was that since street art isn't illegal here, negative connotations such as gangs and violence are not associated with it, which is why I think it has become such an acceptable art form in Bs As. A few of the artists have become so popular and well known that they have had art shows in Europe, which were very well received in the art world. One really positive movement associated with street artists is that because the artists use a lot of recycled material from the street it has led the government to think about mandating a recycling program here in BsAs, which would be awesome because recycling is practically non-existent down here! Also, I found it really fascinating that these artists are sort of pillars of their communities and are strong examples for young people, which is the complete opposite of how graffiti artists are viewed in the States. (FYI: I took around 200 pictures of the street art, so if you're interested in seeing the album let me know and I will email it to you.)

Mayen standing in front of one of the street artists who uses stencils as his medium.

So all and all we had a really great week, besides these tours I introduced Mayen to the 5 food groups of Argentina: Parilla (beef and more beef), empanadas, pizza, Malbec and of course alfajores! It was so great seeing BsAs through a new set of eyes! I miss Mayen already!

Amy and I are off to the Northwestern part of Argentina. We leave on Tuesday and then we'll be back in a week or so! We'll have more to share then. Chau!

*denotes a secret we learned on the tour, but you'll have to come to Argentina to learn what it is!

Quick Amy update

Today was my last day of Vamos Spanish classes.  Sniff sniff!  I mean that sincerely ... we arrived in BsAs on a Thursday and began lessons that Monday, so it's pretty much what our days have been filled with since we got here (btw, Caitlin still has another week).  Luckily, my wonderful boyfriend Jesse arrives early tomorrow morning and I can pretend to be a tourist all over again.  We're mostly going to stay in BA, but will take a couple overnight detours - one to Colonia in Uruguay, and one to a cute little boating town just outside the city called Tigre.  


So, while I am very sad for the Vamos chapter to be over (seriously, I love that school!), I am so happy Jesse will be here as of tomorrow!  


Here are a few pics of my last day at Vamos ...

                                                            Mi profesora, Estefania

      The fabulous Vamos staff (well, most of them!):  Marlo, me, Ingrid, Ivana, Caitlin

                                        
Cait and I have both made a ton of progress with our Spanish, but when we came across this video on another blog, I couldn't stop laughing because of how true it is.  Watch and think of us speaking Espanol in the same funky way.  Hehe. 

You ate what???

Last night Cait and I went with a bunch of friends from school to an all you can eat/drink parilla that we had heard good things about.  It didn't disappoint!  The best part about it was that we got to try body parts we never dreamed of eating.  In no particular order:


-heart
-kidney
-intestines
-pelotas (feel free to look it up)
-black pudding (called "morcilla" here)


Interestingly enough, the intestines topped the list for both Cait and I.  They were excellent!  A salty piece of meat with a consistency that reminded me of a lot of fried chicken skin (sorry if that is gross sounding).  The heart wasn't half bad either.

Also, totally unrelated but here are pics from our visit to the Floralis as a supplement to my McDonald's post from the other day.

           

We did the hash!

So we did it. We woke up gathered our plates and utensils and set out for a Hash. Of course, neither Amy nor I had any idea what a hash was, but we were pleasantly surprised with our findings. In short, a hash is race that is typically organized by expats and the participants of the race do not know what the exact path of the run (click here to learn more about the history of how hashing got started). Before we started we got a brief introduction of the rules, which were you run until you find the first marker and by marker they mean a small pile of flour and/or a chalk arrow. You have to follow the piles of flour and chalk arrows until you come to a checkpoint. At each checkpoint you have to run in various directions until you find the next marker, and then you yell something out so that the other runners know that you found the path (I didn't quite catch what they were telling us to yell). At one of the checkpoints you had to wait until 7 women arrived- you will be happy to know that Amy and I were in the top 7 women- so all of us women set out in different directions to find the next marker. Of course, my direction was where the marker was, but I completely missed it and the person who constructed the course told me to go back and look harder. Alas, it was there. Once the marker is found you leave a marking at the checkpoint so that all the runners behind you know which direction they are supposed to go. There was one more checkpoint after the women's one and then shortly after that checkpoint we had to choose whether we wanted to be Macho or Wimpy. Amy, who never runs and had been running the entire 5k chose the wimp path, so in total she prob ran 7k! Way to go Amy! I chose the Macho path, which was in total around 11k- for someone who hasn't ran since March, I did fairly well, but I did walk in the last 2k or so. Of course I chose to walk because I wanted to be social and talk to the other expats (not because I was dead tired). This one Irish guy, Liam, had run in 20 marathons all over the world, it was awesome to hear his stories. He had also been hashing for about 15 years or so. Every time he goes to a city he looks for hash runs, apparently it is a great way to meet people and get to know different cultures.

After the race, they have a traditions where they get in a circle and sing songs , chug beers, and hand out awards to those who have run 10 races, 150 races, etc. We were not aware that they made the hash virgins go into the middle of the circle, too. Once we were in the circle we had to say our name, where we were from, our marital status, and how we heard of the hash run. (Apparently, it is sort of like a secret society, but not really because we learned of it through one the girls that runs our school.) Anyway, after we introduced ourselves we had to chug our beers. We were told that the first person to finish chugging their beer won a prize. Neither Amy nor I won the contest, but our friend, Melissa, did- and she won another beer. I was releived to lose that competition, because as we all know I cannot chug a beer to save my life. After the "awards ceremony" we went for a lunch, which included grilled pizzas and ice cream cones filled with dulce de leche. Muy rico! Ame and I had great fun and we are even thinking of making this a regular thing....apparently they run every other Sunday. (Mayen, you might need to bring your running shoes.) And one sweet Argentine women assured me that there are usually a lot more younger men who run the hashes, they just weren't there this particular Sunday...

Happy to be back in the virtual world!