From Iguazu to Uruguay and the Buenos in between...

To be honest I keep searching for the right time to sit down and type out a little update on my life in the “New York of the South” (as the San Francisco Chronicle has recently dubbed Buenos Aires). Each day “Write in Blog” waits at the bottom of my to-do list, waiting to be checked off. I hate to admit that it is such a tedious task for me, but to be honest I have started to feel the anxiety of the last days in the city. To be truthful I have well over a month left, but the city still appears untouched and undiscovered to me.
That being said, allow me to update you (meaning whichever of my faithful readers have hung around this long- probably only my Mom and Dad!) on the parts of this city and other cities that I have ‘touched’ and ‘discovered’.
(Warning: I started to write the following portion weeks ago so if the tone doesn’t match up it was because it was from a different time and mood…)
I have traveled over thirty-six hours by bus (in total), to “las tres fronteras” or the three boarders. Well actually that is a lie as I stayed solidly on Argentine ground and only saw Brazil from a distance, and also I should probable mention that the reason I traveled so far was not “las tres fronteras” but the Iguazu Falls. (My mom is most likely wiping sweat from her brow as she repeatedly warned me of the dangers of the three boarders…)
Anyways returning to the falls (and I must mention that everyone should make it to these falls- right after that trip to Machu Picchu), which were enormous by all standards. I left Friday after my long classes (good notas/grades on all midterms for all the teachers/family members reading my blog) my apartment mate, her friend from Claremont and I headed to the Retiro bus station. Armed with the standard stack of magazines and snacks we boarded the bus. Traveling all night we arrived to find ourselves surrounded by red dirt and NATURE! The greenery was a sight for our city-eyes, and I marveled in the butterflies, birds and brush freely scattered about the town. We checked into our natural/Eco hostel and set off for the falls. It was early afternoon by the time we got there, but we packed the day with wandering the lower falls and a boat trip into the falls. The boat trip was thrilling and well thrilling. They speed the boat directly next to the falls and the strong downpour pushes you back away.
Our evening after our boat adventure was spent unwinding in the small town, exploring what few restaurants Puerto Iguazu has. The next day we visited the GIANT falls that boarder Brazil and Argentina. I am not quite sure how many other adjectives I can pull from my diminishing English vocabulary (I find English words get kicked out to make space for the Spanish words-) but I hope you get the idea that these falls were well worth the long trip.
The falls however were weeks ago and since then I have encountered a flurry of exciting new things that I am afraid I will forget to record. Most recently (last weekend) I jetted off with the program to Colonia, Uruguay. It is little more than an old “colonial” (hence the name of the town) beach town. We explored the entire city (via Moto or moped, which was one of my favorite experiences thus far) in less than an hour. Major sites included an old bull rink, an old trail line and the millions (correction, hundreds, as it was a VERY small town) of Uruguayans drinking their Mate. I must explain that mate is a tea much like green tea that is very popular in Argentina. However Uruguay seems to be the experts of mate drinking as every single inhabitant of Colonia was sipping on their mate, be it while driving a moto, walking the dog or just watering the plants.
A highlight from the city had been the rooftop terraces that have opened for the summer months in restaurants which are great for the warm evenings. Also the Ecological Reserve is a great portion of the city that I have recently explored. My friend Alisa (from UCLA) and I took our towels and class reading and walked around, finally relaxing on the grass so far and yet so close to the big city. Kelsey (my apartment mate) had a friend visit, so we re-explored the San Telmo antique fair where we happened upon a great tango show, and eclectic antiques. My last painting class was yesterday, so I just have the final left where I show the professor all my paintings. Keep your fingers crossed that the shading in my bowls and fruits will pass with flying marks.
I must admit that the anxiety is once again settling over me (as my clock seems to be ticking loudly telling me that my time here is passing, which is by the way very UN-argentine) so I must head out. I hope all is well in the states (especially with all the incendios or fires in California…)
\

Ceviche & Machu Picchu

First and foremost, I would like state that Spring/Summer is literally right around the corner. Despite the fact that it rained today, I can feel the city switching gears and trading the winter coats for lighter wear. I saw my first glimpse of watermelons at a fruit stand, and a new swimsuit store had its grand opening two doors from my apartment.
Speaking of my apartment and the happenings below- after I had finished up my last midterm (I believe that was a week ago) I stumbled home around five to find my neighborhood transformed. It was the last Friday of the month, which signifies “Gallery Night.” I am lucky to live right above an art gallery, so my doorman informed me of the happenings for the evening. Armed with a map of the galleries and my apartment mate, Kelsey we hit the streets of Recoleta (my neighborhood).
Tagging along with a group of “intellectual-art” types (more like 20 something’s dressing the part…) we took in the official Buenos Aires art scene (free champagne and wine included). Although my painting I class has yet to bring my art skills up to say the ranks of my siblings, I was able to appreciate the works before me. An added plus was the jazz musician stationed outside our apartment, and the surplus of free food.
Following the gallery night, I had the weekend free before jetting off to Peru to catch the marvelous sights of (pause for effect) Machu Picchu! It ended up being Morgan and me and a whole gaggle of middle aged tourists (very few “jovens” have a week in October free to explore Incan ruins. I’ll speed over the inane travel details (lots of planes, trains and buses) and focus of the important aspects. Lima (the capital of Peru) was very much a city-little else to say. We visited the main churches and tourist areas, more using it as a stop before heading to Cusco (or Cuzco, depends on who is spelling it!) Cusco is a pretty amazing little city. It is high up in the mountains (for this it is absolutely necessary to drink the Coca tea, a local “secret”). There are Incan ruins scattered around the city, and the center is very picturesque and colonial. Since no blog post is completely without one mention of food, I must say that the ‘comida’ in Peru is scrumptious! Now that being said, I really shouldn’t have eaten the majority of the things I did eat (due to the bad water) but sometimes a girl must throw caution to the wind. I had amazing ceviche, that rivals the ceviche from La Bodeguita (the restaurant in Palo Alto) and food that was actually “picante” or spicy. Side note: In Argentina restaurants will claim that a dish is picante and it will barely fall under the title of mild.
A few other highlights include a very spectacular old converted monastery that we stayed in, and some extensive markets and an over dose of churches (so maybe not exactly one of the highlights…) This brings us (you are now officially traveling with me) to the backpacker’s train that we took up to Aguas Calientes. It was very much a backpacker’s train, including the interesting people we met on it. The great thing is that everyone is from all over, so we carried a conversation in Spanish, with a guy from France (who spoke French and a little English), a girl from Columbia (the country not the University) and her family all while traveling in a train in Peru.
Now this rickety train has brought you to Aguas Calientes, a town below the great Machu Picchu. From Aguas Calientes everyone boards the same type of bus for the 30-minute trip up to Machu Picchu. The bus winds back and forth and back and forth and…before dropping you at the most impressive Incan ruins (unless of course you count the lost city, but since it is “lost” I won’t count it). The first day we toured with a guide, but the second day we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the sunrise through the clouds. Around 7 a.m. I found myself at the base of Waynapicchu, the massive mountain that looms behind Machu Picchu. (Whew this blog is getting long, before climbing this massive mountain, and reading the rest of the blog a snack is necessary. Okay I’ll stop with the cutesy language.)
Waynapicchu was a great way to see the whole of Machu Picchu, and it took my breath away (after an hour hike straight up these old Incan steps it was difficult to breath, combined with the altitude, equals a recipe for taking your breath away. Those clever Incans). After our long morning we feasted on another amazing meal from a really good Peruvian-French restaurant called “Indio Feliz.” Mmm there is this Peruvian trout that is pink and tastes like salmon and their use of Garlic was much appreciated.
With some more traveling and a day back in Cusco, that brings me back to Buenos Aires, where like I said Spring/Summer is right around the corner. That being said, there are a few more mosquitoes and even less incentive to be indoors typing away on my laptop…

Chau.