Tomorrow I head off to Bolivia - the sixth and last country in South America that I plan on visiting this trip. I am excited for Bolivia and the true authenticity of what an undeveloped country is like.
I have loved Argentina - the Andes, the wine, the ice cream, the lakes, the mate, the siestas, Patagonia etc. It is an incredible country!! I have met so many great people here who have made this journey so incredibly special. Thank you to all my fellow volunteers at Valle Chacabuco (I know that was in Chile but Patagonia gets blended between the 2 countries), Dylan, Pete, Charles, David from Montreal, Danielle, Helen, Shannon, Neil (otra vez),Yuuko, Katja (otra vez), Garreth and Stephanie, Ruscio and Cesar, David from France, Martine and Phillipe, Tanya and the many travelers that are on the northbound trek to Bolivia. We all truly make it a fun loving adventure!
So as I head into Bolivia, I do not know what the amenities will be. I will try and continue blogging but I might have to add the pictures later. We will see.
I also want to thank all you readers.... your support and your comments are so encouraging and keep me writing on. I love you!!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Iruya
The beautiful town of Iruya
Gosh I took an unexpected detour and had quite the adventure. I had never heard of the town Iruya until Salta because it is not on any of the maps in my Lonely Planet guide. In Salta, 2 fellows/vendors told me about it. Then I heard about it on the bus to Tilcara, then at the hostal in Tilcara and finally from a french couple, Martine and Phillipe, in Purmamarca. So I decided to go the 50 km out of the way. Must I say, eventhough it was only 50 km out of the way, it was world's away. And what an adventure it turned out to be!!
So I get on a early bus to Iruya from Tilcara. It is overbooked and not only is there very little room for bags but people as well. So a group of gap year students from England decide to sit on the floor of the aisle. They take it all in good humor - laughing and taking pictures. I felt so inspired by their willingness and good humor to make lemonade out of the lemons handed to them. I know from my own past events that these type of experiences are far more richer, sweeter and puckery than I could have imagined prior to the event, when people work together and make the best out of a situation. Tough experiences when shared seem to compound and exponentially create stronger bonds between people, let alone a great story to tell later on.
With a grateful heart, I turned my head to look out the window at the incredible views. I remembered being a kid, sitting at the back sliding door with my head against the glass, just wanting to go outside and play, always, SIEMPRE, wanting to go outside - especially when it was snowing! (some things never change) I remember dreaming of all the adventures possible on the other side of that door, underneath an umbrella of a sky filled with the sun, moon, stars and clouds. Now here I am some 30 years later with my head against the glass but this time it is a glass window on a bus that is in South America exploring this incredible Andean landscape. Dreams really do come true!! With tears in my eyes, gratefulness flooded my heart, body and soul. I am soooooo lucky!! So as I am flooded with gratefulness, in awe of adventure, teamwork, the earth, the Andes, a total new adventure was headed my way.
But first I must tell you about my ski trip back in the late 90's, to Colorado with some of my family. My brother, my cousin Tom and I went on my cousin's Jim ski trip from the University of Chicago. It was to be the first of many annual family ski trips. We rented a car for the 4 of us and went to Summit County. We skied at several resorts and had a great time. It was time to leave and we were packing up the car`when 2 guys asked my cousin Jimmy for ride back into Denver. Now my cousin Jimmy has a heart of a gold and is a true Eagle Scout through and through. So of course he could not say no eventhough we already had a car full with 4 people and all of our ski gear. So Jim decided to squeeze two more people in with all of their ski gear - I had to sit on my brother's lap in the front seat, 3 people sat in back with bags on top of their laps and their were skis in the middle from the back to the front seat. From the outside you cuold not even see all 3 of their faces. When we were all squeezed in, Jim and the remaining group members thought we were so hilarious they decided to take pictures. Now it is one thing to take a few pictures and it is entirely different when people sit there and laugh at us all squeezed in and then go and get more people in the house to come and look at us. Of course these newcomers wanted to take some pictures as well. So after about 10 minutes we finally get to leave for an hour and a half car ride back to Denver. It was quite the ride as well with my cousin driving about 80 - 90 miles an hour in these steep and curvy canyons and all of us (minus Jim of course) scrunched. Luckily fast driving runs in our family from much practice.
So back to my current trip in northern Argentina.... We pull into a small town terminal and the bus driver gets out and goes to the back of the bus to look at the engine. Well it turns out the bus is not drivable anymore. It is leaking water. But he tells us that 2 buses will be coming in 40 minutes. So we all get off the bus and wait. The first bus arrives an hour later but is not going to Iruya and instead is returning to Humahuaca. The second bus arrives 20 minutes later and is from another bus company. They did not want us on their bus, eventhough we were willing to give them cash. So here we are, about 25 of us, stranded at this bus stop in the middle of nowhere. It is now 11:30 and the bus driver tells us the next bus, from their company, will arrive at 6:30pm. Great!!
When 2 people from Argentina went out and tried to arrange other transportation. A woman from Iruya was able to rent out a truck for 350 pesos. So 15 of us walk over and boy oh boy were we surprised to find out that it was a regular Ford pickup truck. 11 of us were backpackers and had one big and one small backpack each. Needless to say we did not think we would fit. But when push came to shove, we all fit in the truck - 2 in front with the driver and the rest of us WITH all the gear in the bed of the truck.
I love how they filled the gas tank! And of course they checked the engine, oil and gas after all of us were all packed in the back of the pickup and ready to go. Granted I am grateful they checked everything BUT couldn't they have done it before we all squeezed in ??!!
We rode an hour and a half stuffed in the back of this truck with one stop at the 4,000 meters viewpoint. We were very lucky that not only we had a good driver but a very conscientous one, who watched out for the bumps and grooves of the road. But must I tell you, it was an incredible journey! We saw condors soaring through the skies, nests of condors and felt and smelt the incredible mountain sir. It was one of the best rides yet!! We rode through these rural mountains and then to come to a tiny town situated in the middle of absolutely nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time - WOW! Quite the ride and quite the bonding experience!
Martine, Phillipe and I talked along the way and decided to walk to the next town over - San Idrecito. We got into town and within and hour and half, ate lunch, hired a guide, reorganized our packs and were off to a town that had only just gotten electricity in the last year. It was incredible!!!! We stayed the night in this tiny town filled with almost as many animals as people and walked back the next morning. I loved the enormous views alongside a few scattered homes that had fields of corn and flour.
The town itself was a few blocks in size, with 6 or 7 different hospedajes and 1 or 2 mini stores/markets. But there was electricity, running water and a roof over our heads. It really was quite amazing to see how people lived and the views were incredible!
Our 68 year old guide, Celestino
Gosh I took an unexpected detour and had quite the adventure. I had never heard of the town Iruya until Salta because it is not on any of the maps in my Lonely Planet guide. In Salta, 2 fellows/vendors told me about it. Then I heard about it on the bus to Tilcara, then at the hostal in Tilcara and finally from a french couple, Martine and Phillipe, in Purmamarca. So I decided to go the 50 km out of the way. Must I say, eventhough it was only 50 km out of the way, it was world's away. And what an adventure it turned out to be!!
So I get on a early bus to Iruya from Tilcara. It is overbooked and not only is there very little room for bags but people as well. So a group of gap year students from England decide to sit on the floor of the aisle. They take it all in good humor - laughing and taking pictures. I felt so inspired by their willingness and good humor to make lemonade out of the lemons handed to them. I know from my own past events that these type of experiences are far more richer, sweeter and puckery than I could have imagined prior to the event, when people work together and make the best out of a situation. Tough experiences when shared seem to compound and exponentially create stronger bonds between people, let alone a great story to tell later on.
With a grateful heart, I turned my head to look out the window at the incredible views. I remembered being a kid, sitting at the back sliding door with my head against the glass, just wanting to go outside and play, always, SIEMPRE, wanting to go outside - especially when it was snowing! (some things never change) I remember dreaming of all the adventures possible on the other side of that door, underneath an umbrella of a sky filled with the sun, moon, stars and clouds. Now here I am some 30 years later with my head against the glass but this time it is a glass window on a bus that is in South America exploring this incredible Andean landscape. Dreams really do come true!! With tears in my eyes, gratefulness flooded my heart, body and soul. I am soooooo lucky!! So as I am flooded with gratefulness, in awe of adventure, teamwork, the earth, the Andes, a total new adventure was headed my way.
But first I must tell you about my ski trip back in the late 90's, to Colorado with some of my family. My brother, my cousin Tom and I went on my cousin's Jim ski trip from the University of Chicago. It was to be the first of many annual family ski trips. We rented a car for the 4 of us and went to Summit County. We skied at several resorts and had a great time. It was time to leave and we were packing up the car`when 2 guys asked my cousin Jimmy for ride back into Denver. Now my cousin Jimmy has a heart of a gold and is a true Eagle Scout through and through. So of course he could not say no eventhough we already had a car full with 4 people and all of our ski gear. So Jim decided to squeeze two more people in with all of their ski gear - I had to sit on my brother's lap in the front seat, 3 people sat in back with bags on top of their laps and their were skis in the middle from the back to the front seat. From the outside you cuold not even see all 3 of their faces. When we were all squeezed in, Jim and the remaining group members thought we were so hilarious they decided to take pictures. Now it is one thing to take a few pictures and it is entirely different when people sit there and laugh at us all squeezed in and then go and get more people in the house to come and look at us. Of course these newcomers wanted to take some pictures as well. So after about 10 minutes we finally get to leave for an hour and a half car ride back to Denver. It was quite the ride as well with my cousin driving about 80 - 90 miles an hour in these steep and curvy canyons and all of us (minus Jim of course) scrunched. Luckily fast driving runs in our family from much practice.
So back to my current trip in northern Argentina.... We pull into a small town terminal and the bus driver gets out and goes to the back of the bus to look at the engine. Well it turns out the bus is not drivable anymore. It is leaking water. But he tells us that 2 buses will be coming in 40 minutes. So we all get off the bus and wait. The first bus arrives an hour later but is not going to Iruya and instead is returning to Humahuaca. The second bus arrives 20 minutes later and is from another bus company. They did not want us on their bus, eventhough we were willing to give them cash. So here we are, about 25 of us, stranded at this bus stop in the middle of nowhere. It is now 11:30 and the bus driver tells us the next bus, from their company, will arrive at 6:30pm. Great!!
When 2 people from Argentina went out and tried to arrange other transportation. A woman from Iruya was able to rent out a truck for 350 pesos. So 15 of us walk over and boy oh boy were we surprised to find out that it was a regular Ford pickup truck. 11 of us were backpackers and had one big and one small backpack each. Needless to say we did not think we would fit. But when push came to shove, we all fit in the truck - 2 in front with the driver and the rest of us WITH all the gear in the bed of the truck.
I love how they filled the gas tank! And of course they checked the engine, oil and gas after all of us were all packed in the back of the pickup and ready to go. Granted I am grateful they checked everything BUT couldn't they have done it before we all squeezed in ??!!
We rode an hour and a half stuffed in the back of this truck with one stop at the 4,000 meters viewpoint. We were very lucky that not only we had a good driver but a very conscientous one, who watched out for the bumps and grooves of the road. But must I tell you, it was an incredible journey! We saw condors soaring through the skies, nests of condors and felt and smelt the incredible mountain sir. It was one of the best rides yet!! We rode through these rural mountains and then to come to a tiny town situated in the middle of absolutely nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time - WOW! Quite the ride and quite the bonding experience!
Martine, Phillipe and I talked along the way and decided to walk to the next town over - San Idrecito. We got into town and within and hour and half, ate lunch, hired a guide, reorganized our packs and were off to a town that had only just gotten electricity in the last year. It was incredible!!!! We stayed the night in this tiny town filled with almost as many animals as people and walked back the next morning. I loved the enormous views alongside a few scattered homes that had fields of corn and flour.
The town itself was a few blocks in size, with 6 or 7 different hospedajes and 1 or 2 mini stores/markets. But there was electricity, running water and a roof over our heads. It really was quite amazing to see how people lived and the views were incredible!
Our 68 year old guide, Celestino
Tilcara
After spending 2 days in the city of Salta, I left and continued my travel north up to Tilcara. As I was getting off the bus, I ran into Cesar and Rucio from Spain and David from France that I had met on the Quebradra de Cafayate tour. It was a blessing because they spoke Spanish. Granted they also know some English but all of our conversations were in Spanish. The hostals we stayed in were predominantly spanish speaking as well. It was awesome practice and boy oh boy do I need more practice. I still talk like a 5 - 7 year old but at least I can get my point across. The owner of the hostal asked me to translate and help some english speakers out. I was psyched for all the practice!!!!
I love Tilcara! I am seeing more indigenous people. There are open markets again with fresh produce, meats, and folklorica music. I love it!! It feels good to get back to a more south american culture where I buy my food on a daily basis at open markets instead of from supermarkets. It is definately a bit rawer and maybe does not have all the creature comforts. I can forget about movies on buses, reclining seats, and being pampered. But I can learn from a culture which lives off, cultivates and protects the land and which just lives more simply.
We spent 1 day hiking up to Garganta del Diablo and the next day we went on a day trip to Purmamarca, a pueblo which is infamous for Cerro Los 7 Colores (the first picture). It is a real small village with a plaza and a few blocks of store fronts. After you walk the few blocks, you find yourself amidst a beautiful colorful mountain landscape with nothing but open land for kilometers and kilometers. It was quite special.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Quebrada de Cafayate
Central Argentina, near Mendoza and up to the northwest part of Argentina is desert. It is wild to see cacti on mountain ridges. I went and did an overnight west of Mendoza near Provincial Parque Aconcagua. I wanted to backpack up to one of the base camps of Cerro Aconcagua, the highest peak at 6962 m (22841 ft) in the western hemisphere and outside of the Himalayas. but unfortunately the park closes right after Easter until mid november. So I settled for camping and hiking nearby and seeing the snowy tip of the mountain instead. I did get to see Puente del Inca - a natural stone bridge spanning the Rio Mendoza. As you can see by the coloration, underneath it are some thermal springs and remnants of an old spa.
From Mendoza, I have traveled north through the towns of Tucuman, Tafi del Valle and Cafayate. Cafayate was a wonderful small town of about 12,000 people and with wineries within blocks of where I stayed which made it quite handy for the wine tastings. There was also an ice cream place that made both a red and white wine ice cream that minors would not be able to eat in the states because of the alcohol content. The town itself was growing rapidly. Whereas according to one of the guides, 10 years ago they were no streetlights and the town only went 2 blocks in each direction from the main plaza.
But outside of the town, there was an old, old landscape that used to be under water. The Quebrada (gorge in english) de Cayafate was incredible. Amazing sculpted landscapes, vivid colored lines on mountainsides from the oxidation of the elements copper, iron, cobalt, sulphur and a beautiful winding road on which I rode a bike. It was a treat for all of my senses!
The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth... the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need - if only we had the eyes to see.
Edward Abbey
From Mendoza, I have traveled north through the towns of Tucuman, Tafi del Valle and Cafayate. Cafayate was a wonderful small town of about 12,000 people and with wineries within blocks of where I stayed which made it quite handy for the wine tastings. There was also an ice cream place that made both a red and white wine ice cream that minors would not be able to eat in the states because of the alcohol content. The town itself was growing rapidly. Whereas according to one of the guides, 10 years ago they were no streetlights and the town only went 2 blocks in each direction from the main plaza.
But outside of the town, there was an old, old landscape that used to be under water. The Quebrada (gorge in english) de Cayafate was incredible. Amazing sculpted landscapes, vivid colored lines on mountainsides from the oxidation of the elements copper, iron, cobalt, sulphur and a beautiful winding road on which I rode a bike. It was a treat for all of my senses!
The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth... the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need - if only we had the eyes to see.
Edward Abbey
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Mendoza
Mendoza is a beautiful little city. It has tons of little parks in the neighborhoods with fountains and sculptures (some even have some beautiful tilework), wide sidewalks where the cafes set up tables and chairs with umbrellas. Some of my friends has said it reminds them of Barcelona. There are lots of people always sharing time (and of course mate) together. There is a beautiful park within walking distance from the centro with a zoo, a manmade lake, sports facilities and a soccer stadium.
Mendoza also, as most of Argentina, love their siestas. A lot of things close in the afternoon from about 1:30 til 4pm or so and then open for the evening. They have an artisan market set up in the main plaza in the evenings from Thursday through Sunday. It think it is because of the afternoon siestas that they eat their dinner around 10 or 11 at night and the nightlife and dancing really does not start until around 2 am. they party all night long!!
Shannon, Danielle, Helen and I went on a wine and bike tour. We got a great tour with a horse and carriage ride through the vineyards from the wine company Tapiz (it is sold as Zolo in the states). We drank some good wine and saw some snowy peaks on the horizon. Argentina is slowly becoming a front runner in the wine industry besides being known for their steak/beef and ice cream. It has been a close race for what I have consumed more - ice cream or wine. I even tried and ice cream that had wine in it. Eventhough it sounds pretty scary, it was surprisingly good.
But must I say, my favorite thing to do here in Mendoza was to go to a futbol match. WOW!!! So much fun! So much passion! The crowd sang cheers throughout the match, clapping, whistling and waving of arms.
Godoy Cruz, the home team, played the Tigres from Buenas Aires. It was a high scoring match with Mendoza winning 6 - 2. In the first part of the first half, I think I watched the crowd more than the actual game. Highly entertaining. When goals were scored, square pieces of paper and balloons were tossed into the air, people hugged and kissed. There were 3 older men sitting a few seats down from us. After every goal, they hugged each other, blew a kiss to us and did the ever famous hand and wrist flick. Kids were tossed in the air, cheers, arms waving. It was quite the spectacle. We were definately in the minority being women which was somewhat surprising because they had to pay double the price for the tickets. When I bought the tickets for the four of us, the woman asked me 3 times to make sure they were only for women. But what was really nice was there were a ton of boys with their dads present. The Argentinian pride starts right here at the futbol games.
They sure decorated the stands gracefully with lots of banners. The Tigres had a huge banner which took up the entire stand behind the goal. They unrolled it several times throughout the match.
But the security was intense. At the gates, I got patted down more thoroughly than I do at the airports. There is no alcohol allowed at any of the futbol matches throughout Argentina. They had riot police outside the venue both before and after the game and the riot police came onto the field once the game was finished. I am not sure what has happened in the past but they definately take the security very seriously.
Dan and Shan learning the ever popoular flick of the wrist.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Argentina Rocks!!
Argentina - what an incredibly beautiful country and what kind and soft hearted people!! I am loving the Andean range in this country. There are so many beautiful landscapes - mountains, hills, open and vast countryside (for hours at a time) lakes and even bigger lakes, rivers etc. and so much clear, sparkling AND drinkable water abounding. RICO!!! I cannot speak enough of it!! At times, it reminds me of Oregon, of Montana, and of British Colombia but always at a much grander scale.
Katja and I traveled together to Bariloche - the chocolate capital of Argentina, which must I say, was perfect for Easter!! It is such a pretty city because it is right on the banks of Lago Nahuel Huapi. This lake is huge - 529 km2 (204 sq mi). Here are two pictures from our hostal.
We met up with my Australian friends, Shannon, Helen and Danielle. They are soooo much fun to hang around with. We are hiking a whole bunch ( 6 - 8 hour day hikes) which is just how I love to see the countryside. We hiked in Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi , hiked up to Refugio Frey, and went camping in Parque Nacional Lanin. Refugio Frey is near the top of Cerro Catedral which is one of the biggest ski resorts in South America. My to see chairlifts (aerosillas) again....aaaahhhhhh...... I definately wanted to ski, to slide down a hill, to have boards on my feet..... if there were only snow. Nonetheless it was wonderful and we had a great day hike.
All five of us decided to travel to Junin de los Andes, a small pueblo and launching point to Parque Nacional Lanin. The vistas during this 3 1/2hour bus ride were spectacular. There were scarcely any towns, just wide open spaces. Here are a few fotos from the journey.
We arrived in Junin de los Andes only to find out there are buses every other day to Parque Nacional Lanin and today was one of the days. So we headed out for another short bus trip after a quick bite to eat and a food shopping trip. Parque Nacional Lanin was stunning. The centerpiece of the park is the Volcan Lanin at 3776 meters.
We set up camp at a primitive campsite across Lago Huechulafquen from Volcan Lanin where Felipe, a 67 year old Mapuche, rowed us and all of our stuff across. It took 2 trips because of the size of the boat and the amount of our stuff but he did it. I hope to be as fit and strong as him when I am 67!!
The monkey puzzle trees, (Araucaria araucana), were abundant. They are a conifer tree with pine nuts, which only the native Mapuche people can harvest. They are native to the central regions of Chile and Argentina. Some of the trees were like big old oak trees. When they are younger, the trees also have the spinelike "leaves" on their trunk.
Katja and I traveled together to Bariloche - the chocolate capital of Argentina, which must I say, was perfect for Easter!! It is such a pretty city because it is right on the banks of Lago Nahuel Huapi. This lake is huge - 529 km2 (204 sq mi). Here are two pictures from our hostal.
We met up with my Australian friends, Shannon, Helen and Danielle. They are soooo much fun to hang around with. We are hiking a whole bunch ( 6 - 8 hour day hikes) which is just how I love to see the countryside. We hiked in Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi , hiked up to Refugio Frey, and went camping in Parque Nacional Lanin. Refugio Frey is near the top of Cerro Catedral which is one of the biggest ski resorts in South America. My to see chairlifts (aerosillas) again....aaaahhhhhh...... I definately wanted to ski, to slide down a hill, to have boards on my feet..... if there were only snow. Nonetheless it was wonderful and we had a great day hike.
All five of us decided to travel to Junin de los Andes, a small pueblo and launching point to Parque Nacional Lanin. The vistas during this 3 1/2hour bus ride were spectacular. There were scarcely any towns, just wide open spaces. Here are a few fotos from the journey.
We arrived in Junin de los Andes only to find out there are buses every other day to Parque Nacional Lanin and today was one of the days. So we headed out for another short bus trip after a quick bite to eat and a food shopping trip. Parque Nacional Lanin was stunning. The centerpiece of the park is the Volcan Lanin at 3776 meters.
We set up camp at a primitive campsite across Lago Huechulafquen from Volcan Lanin where Felipe, a 67 year old Mapuche, rowed us and all of our stuff across. It took 2 trips because of the size of the boat and the amount of our stuff but he did it. I hope to be as fit and strong as him when I am 67!!
The monkey puzzle trees, (Araucaria araucana), were abundant. They are a conifer tree with pine nuts, which only the native Mapuche people can harvest. They are native to the central regions of Chile and Argentina. Some of the trees were like big old oak trees. When they are younger, the trees also have the spinelike "leaves" on their trunk.
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