Buenos Aires

9 days in to the Argentina leg of our trip and we are still loving it here in Buenos Aires. We´ve been taking it easy most days, exploring the city at our own pace. Eric has been a great resource here, both in pointing out great spots to eat and enjoy the city, but also in facilitating transactions when our spanish doesn´t quite cut it. He´s taking off with us today for our southerly journey through Argentina stopping first in Puerto Madryn for some whale/wildlife viewing, before heading further south to El Calafate and Puerto Mareno for some glacier hiking (apparently we haven´t had enough hiking after the 4 days in Peru). After that, its up to Bariloche to meet Camilla and Erik who are joining us for 3 weeks at the end of our trip. Mendoza for some wine after that, then back to BA sometime around Christmas to see anything we missed there before heading to Uruguay for New Years.

(On the terrace at our home base in BA ¨Casa Jardin¨)

Brunch w/Eric our first day in BA.

The streets of Palermo Viejo

I´m convinced there can´t be a better steak restaurant in BA than this one (¨La Cabrera¨)

The best steak meal I´ve ever had. 6 small tapas style sides with one gigantic steak. The menu reccomends you share. 2 got 2 meats for 3 of us. We´re going back here even though its a far cry from our backpacker budget. That said, all that beef including the sides ran 56 pesos or just less than USD 20. Not a bad deal. But, considering my lunch costs just under $3 (including a liter of beer) that´s a little pricy.

Plaza de Mayo, where the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo walk, protesting the ¨disappearances¨of thier kids in the 70´s. The military junta captured dissodents, tortured them, then dropped them out of planes in the Rio de la Plata outside BA. Argentina has somewhat of a tumultous history.

I counted 19 lanes on this road leading to the Washington Monument...errrr...Obelisk.

Typical ¨Parilla¨where all the meat gets cooked. There´s steak restaurants literally on every corner, and one of these grills on every terrace in BA.

Casa Rosada (Pink House) where Pres. Kirchner lives.

Protests close to Plaza de Mayo. People protest here contstantly. I think they´re teachers demanding more pay, since its tough to keep up with 25% inflation.

Argentina

Everything everybody told us about this city is true. It was love at first sight, or should I say first steak? Anyways, we love Buenos Aires! The city is an interesting mix of Paris and Italy but in South America. Sometime it even feels like Charleston with cobblestone streets and outdoor seating everywhere (with the big difference that BA is cheap).

We got to the hostel around 8 pm last night after traveling all day from Cusco, Peru. We are staying at http://www.casajardinba.com.ar/english.html in the Palermo Viejo district and are enjoying a spacious patio and an apartment feel close to tons of bars (steak) restaurants, clothes and designer stores and parks. Like true Argentinians we went out to dinner around 11 pm last night and met up with Brad´s buddy from Charleston, Eric, who has been living here for the last 8 months. Enjoyed an awesome steak dinner with some Malbec wine, spontenous tango music and singing by the waiters and patrons and hit the sack around 4 am.

It´s really warm and beautiful here with it being spring in this part of the world. We are hanging out in BA for about a week and then taking the bus to Iguazu Falls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls) before making our way down to Patagonia. Eric is done with work and will be traveling with us for a while as well. Pictures later.

Hasta luego,

Cec

Cusco and the Sacred Valley

So we´re on our last day here in Cusco, Peru. Its a beautiful city, if not a bit too touristy. What can you expect from the biggest city closest to one of the worlds wonders though. We spent the first couple days not doing a whole lot as Jaseon and Way-Jam were getting acclimated to the altitude change before heading off on the Inca Trail.

While there are many routes to take, we booked long in advance and took the most popular route that takes you past multiple ¨lesser¨ruins on the way. In all, its a 4.5 day hike, covering about 26 miles and about 3 miles in altitude change. The 26 miles over 4.5 days isnt the challenging part. Throw in vertical hikes of 1,200 meters in a day and it gets rough (especially if you are fighting a stomach bug which Jaseon and C were). That on top of the fact that all four of us came to the realization that we don´t really like hiking the day before the trek and one completely overpacked backpack you have all the makings for a miserable trip. That said, the scenery was amazing and reaching Macchu Piccu was all the more gratifying for the difficulties.

We´re off to Buenos Aires (BA) tomorrow where we´ll be for about 4 days before heading up to Iguazu falls. Then back to BA to regroup for our overland trip down south to Patagonia for some more hiking at Parque National Torres Del Paine (http://www.torresdelpaine.com/ingles/secciones/02/c/galeria.asp) for some more natura wonders. Looking forward to meeting up with Cecilia´s college buddy Camilla and her boyfriend Eric in Mendoza around the 15th of December and Russ from Seattle around Christmas before heading to the Uruguay coast for New Years.

Later,

B


(Signs we were picked up at the airport in Cusco...¨Jaseon and WayJam¨


Jaseon took the liberty of making our sign as they arrived a couple hours before us...Ceece and Brad ¨the Donkey¨Albright

Insane halloween festivities the first night in Cusco. If you had candy, you were a target.


Amazing fresh juice stands at the market in Cusco.


Happy before the trek. I won the biggest bag of the group award. Not the award you want to win before a 4 day hike.





On the trail the 2nd day.



Llamas passing us on the way.


On the trail....

Well deserved mini bottles of wine after the 1st day.


Day 1.

Our guides at 5am last day of the hike, 1 hour from our first sighting of Maccu Piccu (MP).



The group at the MP. We hiked with a group of 16, some Americans, Brits, Aussies, a Frenchie and Quebecois guy.

i
7am at the Sun gate, our first sight of MP.

On the bus from MP, exhausted from the hike.

First day in Cusco, Peru

Just got to Cusco, met Jaseon and Wayjam (explanation to follow) and experienced a halloween like no other. For those of you who have been to London and experienced the pigeons at Trafalgar Square...it was like that. Only the pigeons were little kids reaching into your pockets yelling ¨Halloween!!¨and taking candy. Pictures to follow. Like everything in South America, all sights are bittersweet. Amazingly cute kids dressed up, but some are just a little too eager for the candy, and that includes the 40 year old women that will join in the mob for a piece.

Just a quick post while the rest of the group is crashing early. Jaseon and Wayjam traveled 24 hours and are guarding against altitude sickness (we´re at 3,300 meters and they had a bad experience in lhasa a year ago) and Cecilia, well she can sleep any time.

Lates,
B

Last day in Quito, Ecuador.

The plan was to head to the coast after the jungle but after eating some bad chicken we spent a few days going back and forth between the bathroom and the bed instead. Will hit up a beach in Uruguay instead. Decided to stay in Quito for the remainder of our stay in Ecuador and we have covered a couple of museums, amazing churches (including a wedding), the presidential palace, Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world), enjoyed some amazing food and view over Quito´s old town at cafe Mosaico. If ever in Quito, don´t miss it. We have also learned past tense and a bunch of verbos irregulares so we no longer have to constantly speak in present tense. "Yesterday we eat at restaurant" just doesn´t sound good. Last night we also went to a really cool wine bar, Pobre Diablo, and listened to a Latin jazz band and had too many glasses of red wine for Spanish lessons at 8.30 this morning. Spending today packing our (growing) back packs and running errands before our 7 am flight to Cusco, Peru tomorrow where we are meeting up with Wei-Jean and Jason. Can´t wait. The Inka trail is next. Keep your fingers crossed that we make it. Should have spent more time at that gym back in Seattle, what´s it called again?

Inside La Compania de Jesus. Seven tons of gold was
used to gild the walls, ceilings and altar

Don´t visit the botanical garden in October,
the flowers are dead and they still charge you $3.50

Brad managing to balance an egg on a nail at the Museo
Solar Inti Nan (ekvatorn)

Quito with Cotopaxi in the background

Brad checking out Guyasamin´s amazing art
at astounding Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man)

Casa de president Carrea

Me where the last version of the new constitution
was drafted.

Ecuadorian Jungle

We´ve heard alot about busses in Ecuador enough to make the decision to be wusses and not take them at night, or not go to the north by the Columbian boarder. If you are going to get hijacked, it seems a night bus in FARQ country is the best place for it. So, we decided against the more adventurous jungle trek which takes you deeper into the jungle to see more potentially deadly fauna (and quite possibly flora for all I know). To get there requires either a night bus into FARQ country, a plane ride (mucho dinero), or a night stay in some FARQ/Oil country outpost that the guide book didn´t speak to highly of. We opted for the trek which is described by the tour company as being for travelers "who seek a little more comfort in their rainforest experience". I like to think that by "a little more comfort" they mean "not getting all your crap taken from you at knife point by Columbian rebels in the middle of the night".

So that decided, we went to the main bus terminal to get our tickets for the trip. Our spanish is coming along nicely (Cecilia speaks in all transactions of any importance), and we purchased our tickets for the 7am bus, assuring ourselves a seat. Upon completion of the transaction the so far gentle Ecuadorian ticket lady glared at us, arched over the counter, wide eyed and told us sternly to watch our bags in the morning and not to get robbed. At least that was what we think she said. We´re not entirely sure if she meant just at the bus station or on the bus as well. If it was the later, it doesn´t serve as a very good marketing material for her bus company, but that´s probably why she waited until after the tickets were paid for.

Friday morning, a 6 hour bus ride from the Quito highlands, down to the jungle. I´m not sure how busses make more than about 3 of these round trips a piece because almost half the roads were unpaved and extremely bumpy. The scenery was remarkable, as around every turn there was another view of the expanse of jungle below us. We arrived in Tena, the closest town to the jungle lodge we booked and made the short trip to the lodge via taxi. All taxis are 4WD pickups due to the road conditions noted above. Conditions are so bad that one night we were there, protesters took to the roads and were throwing rocks and shaking passing cars in an effort to raise awareness to their conditions. Apparently money does flow into the region from the petro companies, but rather than use it to improve roads and schools, local officials are pocketing it. Hence the protests.

Highlights included "canyoning" which amounts to climbing up narrow cravases in the rocks. I´ve never seen Cecilia so petrified, the view from the lodge while sitting in hammocks having beers, eating fat white grubs, and the last day of climbing waterfalls. Here´s a collection of photos. Oh and we made it back without being robbed ;)

(Roads on the way to Tena...this is a bus coming the other way)


(Enjoying the hammocks, the view and a beer)


(Reading...I´m plowing through books like its my job...at the expense of my ukulele practice)


(It´s humid in the jungle)


(Queen of the Jungle)

(Never seen my wife as scared or dirty, but she made it up the wall)


("Sexy lips" of the jungle)


(Collection of insects/spiders we encountered at the lodge)


(Mother tarantula living by the staff quarters...protecting a nest of 20 eggs. Glad we were here now and not a couple months later)

(I think once they get to a certain size you can´t call them grasshoppers anymore)


(In the house of an indigenous tribe with our guide Alex in the cammo shorts)


(How to Eat Grubs pt 1: Collect them from the forrest and put them in a giant palm leaf)


(How to Eat Grubs pt 2: Cook in fire for 10 - 15 min)


(How to Eat Grubs pt 3: Remove from fire)


(How to Eat Grubs pt 4: Try not to vomit on your hosts. Most difficult step by far)


(True story: That kid gave C a beetle which she found to be alive and promptly dropped it. He picked it up, said, "Comida" (food), and just as promptly, peeled off the legs and ate it. That´s the beetle in his hands there.)


(Short hike from the lodge)


(Fruit used as a natural paint/dye)


(Said fruit in action on our faces)


( Da da da DAAAAAAAAA da da daaaaaaaaa. Da da da DAAAAAA da da DA DAA DAAA!! (Indiana Jones theme))


(Cecilia in a waterfall)


(Brad in a waterfall)


(Water hurts dropped from that height)


(Both of us in a waterfall)