Bariloche Dreams

When I was in Buenos Aires, I met an Argentinian guy that described Bariloche as á dream´. And he was right. We arrived at the train station in Bariloche and the first sight was snow capped mountains and beautiful crystal blue lakes. It was also really cold! It hadn´t really gotten cold back at home before I left, so I was actually grateful for the brisk weather. We took the bus to our hostel, the Marco Polo Inn which was very nice with a nice bar and free dinner! Since I am traveling for 5 months, with one pack and through cold climates, desert, rainforest and beaches, I couldn´t pack a lot. So I was basically wearing my ´cold weather´outfit everyday while we were there. Makes it really easy to get dressed in the morning.

Beautiful Bariloche.

We decided to go kayaking and our friendly guide Pablo had some transportation issues, so he had to pick us up in his Ford Falcon. We didn´t mind, we were riding in style...

The Ford Falcon, an American Classic.

Kayaking on the windy lake was not as easy for me and Jules. Let´s just say we were zig-zagging along the lake as Stef glided gracefully with Pablo. We stopped for a break and enjoyed tea and croissants with Pablo where he described to us the pride of the Argentinan people, their land and their meat. He was telling us all these things we should try and we kept answering, ¨But that´s intenstines right?¨Don´t think about what it is!¨ was his reply. For someone who has been told that ¨I eat what food eats¨, this country full of meat has been a bit of an adjustment.

All geared up.

Enjoying our tea and history lesson from Pablo.

The next day we decided to hike up to Campanaro which was supposed to be one the best views of all the lakes in Bariloche. It was stunning. We couldn´t stop taking pictures. Just such a beautiful place.

What a view.

On the bus that day we ran into 2 dutch guys Bram & Tijman. They were traveling Argentina for 6 weeks on holiday. Both were going to Med School in Amsterdam and were so much fun. They were going to rent a car and go the 7 lakes tour on the famous Route 40. So we tagged along and spent 9 hours the following day touring the entire lake district with a nice stop for some tea and frambuesa tarts. It was a good way to see a lot in a day but we were definitely packed into that car!

Nice license plate eh?

Those Dutch, they are so friendly.

Argentinian road block.

Entering Wine Country

It´s been a busy week since we left Buenos Aires! We arrived in Mendoza on Tuesday morning and after checking in at the Mendoza Inn, a cute little hostel with a nice backyard, a hammock and a pool we tried to book a wine tour. But we missed it so we decided to lay low and then walk around the city. We decided to do our own wine tasting and sat on a rooftop bar that overlooked the city for hours drinking Torrones wine and watching the sun set. It was fabulous!!

Our hostel in Mendoza.

If there´s a hammock, I´m happy.

Stef and I enjoying our wine.

So the next day, we decided to book a tour through the hostel to go trekking/rappelling & to the hot springs. It was a great day. Driving out to the mountains was really beautiful, with rolling hills and mountains everywhere you looked. It was quite arrid which I wasn´t expecting but apparently as we were later told, this weather is ideal for wine.

The hike was straight up!

Looking cool in camo helmets.

Me headed down the 45 meter cliff.

The hot springs were more like a natural
water park.

The next day, we decided to do our own wine tour. We try to avoid tours unless they are really necessary since it´s usually a lot less expensive and more fun. So we took the local bus into the town of Maipu and rented bikes. The locals were very friendly and we got a lot of, ´Hola Chicas!´as we rode by. From there we toured about 3 different bodegas and a chocolate factory. It was picturesque and perfect weather.

Biking in the vineyards!

One of the many bodegas.

¨Hola Chicas!¨ The locals liked us...

Vino! Vino! Vino!

Bingo Bus

Stef, Julie & I left Buenos Aires on Tuesday night and set off for Mendoza. We booked a ticket on the Andesmar bus and soon realized we were riding in style. I would like to make you all think that we are roughing it on the buses of South America but it just ain´t the case! Leather seats, movies (although usually the cheesiest of American ones) dinner, and get this...B-I-N-G-O. Yep! It was a little hard to keep up since it was all in Spanish... none of us won but the person who did got a bottle of vino! Ahh Argentina. The dinner they gave us was either beef or pork milanesa, which is breaded meat that is served everywhere here. I don´t care for it much and this one was particularly nasty. It´s either that or ham & cheese. Our lunch consisted of 3 different variations on ham & cheese. We of course found all this very amusing. Hey, it´s a 13 hr bus ride...



Ahh the milanesa....



Stef loves milanesa!

*More pictures to come later. I am in Bariloche now and it´s too beautiful to be stuck in here.

Bonita Buenos Aires

Everything you´ve probably heard about Buenos Aires is true. It never sleeps, portenos (what people from BsAs are called) are beautiful, tango fills the streets and the city revolves around it´s cafe culture. Everywhere in the city you will find tables outside with people enjoying a cafe, gaseosa, or cerveza with friends. People here are very affectionate. Not just the couples you will see making out and cuddling all over the city, but the men kiss each other on the cheek. It´s a very warm greeting anytime you meet someone here. I really liked that. The past week was a very leisurely week. I certainly felt as though I was on vacation. Julie and I would sleep in, take showers, read in the common area of the hostel (just finished Eat Pray Love - an excellent book ladies) and then go grab a factura or pastry, grab some lunch and then head out to explore one of the neighborhoods of BsAs. After a week though, I was ready to go. I was just antsy to get going, to see the landscape of Argentina that I had heard so much about. Nevertheless, Buenos Aires is a fantastic city with a lot of energy, warmth and beauty. And I had a great time there. Stef arrived on Saturday and we bummed around the city, going to the Palermo and San Telmo markets and visiting the Recoleta cemetary which is where Evita is buried. Here are some pics of the city:

Streets of La Boca

La Boca - working class neighborhood of BsAs


San Telmo Market


Old perfume bottles at San Telmo Market


Cute Argentinian men.


Stef arrived safely!

We´re in Mendoza right now which is the wine country! We are doing a trekking/rappelling tour tomorrow and renting bikes to ride through the vineyards or botegas Thursday.

Hiking to the Cascadas

On Sunday, we decided to go on another day trip from Cordoba, also recommended by a girl at the hostel. We hiked to a small town which had a national park called Parque La Quebrada. There was supposedly a nice waterfall somewhere around there. Eventually we found our way, the hike was beautiful. We hiked along the road, through some people´s yards, through the woods and along the creek until we came upon the waterfall or las cascadas. Along the way, we encountered wild horses, donkeys and cows. There were lots of Argentinian families & couples swimming in the pools of water and waterfalls. When they would hear us talking they would ask us where we were from. Most were surprised and asked us how we found this place, which was kind of cool because it was not full of tourists but a local spot that you can´t find with your Lonely Planet. And in my opinion, those are the best kind.

A pre-hike snack. Look Mom, I´m eating bife!

Parque La Quebrada

¨Donde estan las cascadas?¨

Setting off on our hike

Over the river...

and through the woods....

...to the cascadas!

So refreshing after a long hike.

Jules and I above the falls. She´s a great

travel partner!

A great day in Argentina.

On the road to Cordoba

I arrived in Buenos Aires early Thursday morning and Julie and I set out to walk around the city. We took the Subte (Subway) downtown to Palermo and walked around the botanical gardens and through the neighborhoods. Our walk didn´t last long though because it started to pour. Well it started to trickle, then spray, then POUR! We were absolutely soaked, it was pretty funny. So we headed back to the hostel, showered and hung out until dinner which in BsAs is anywhere from 9:00 - 11:00. You cannot get dinner any earlier. Needless to say, everything runs later here. We met up with some friends that Julie met in her previous hostel at Des Nivel, a parilla or steakhouse. The wine was flowing and after dinner we made our way to another bar, and a discoteque. When we left the disco it was 7am. I walked out of the door and was in shock to see daylight. So, the next day when we decided to take the bus to Cordoba, which is a town Northwest of Buenos Aires, I was not feeling so hot.....

Dinner at Des Nivel. I did not order the bife de
lomo but I tried a bite of Jules´ - not bad.

Julie, our Colombian friend David and I arrived at Cordoba at 2am after a few mishaps - the bus ran into a fallen power line and was delayed 45 minutes. The bus also broke down for another 40 minutes, not sure why. Not the most reliable form of transportation, but cheap and surprisingly comfortable. We had a late dinner around 4:30am at a little cafe and went to bed around 6:30 am. Day two of seeing the sunrise....still not used to this.

We asked the girl at our hostel for a cool place to visit and she recommended a nearby town called Carlos Paz. It was a really nice little town on the river. We didn´t do much. Had some lunch, walked along the river, had a few beers. It was a nice, relaxing day.

Jules & I in Carlos Paz.

Rough life I know!

Me, David & Jules enjoying some beers at a

local kiosco. 2 cervezas = 8 pesos = about $2.70

A Long Trip to Buenos Aires

Let´s just say that getting here to Argentina took a little longer than expected! I arrived at Dulles on Tuesday around 3:00pm for a 5:30pm flight. Flight boarded as usual but we were informed that we would be delayed because of storms in the Atlanta region (where I was connecting). We ended up getting to Atlanta around 9:30, my flight to Buenos Aires was supposed to leave at 8:40pm that night. I ran down to the very last terminal to see if I could catch my flight but it had already left. After waiting in a line with many other disgruntled passengers, I was informed that I would have to wait until tomorrow for the same flight at 8:40 pm since there is only one flight a day to BsAs. I was given a voucher to stay at the Ramada Inn (still had to pay $45). Let´s just say this was the worst possible hotel I could have stayed at. It was under renovation so there was no pool, no lounge, no business center. So I arrived there around 12am, had a nutritious dinner of gingerale and doritos and called it a night.


My survival kit for the next couple months.


I awoke at 9am with a full day ahead of me, but it was raining so that didn´t offer much. I flipped between Food Network, Travel Channel and the ridiculous reality shows on VH1. When I found myself watching "America´s Most Smartest Model" I felt it was time to get going. So I set off to find something to eat in the lovely town of College Park, GA. Apparently, I didn´t fit in there, because every other car felt the need to beep and hoot at me. Awesome. After seeing the sights which included: numerous title pawn shops (a sign you are in the South), the Dollar Tree and every fast food establishment known to man, I decided to have lunch at a little thai place called HOT CAFE where I had a delicious plate of Pan Se Ew. I effectively killed the rest of the day reading and writing in my journal (when you start including a time with your journal entries, you are really bored!). In retrospect, having a day to kill wasn´t that bad. The days before I left were hectic and emotionally very hard. So having a day to myself was probably what I needed. My flight was great, met a nice woman named Helga and her daughter Carla who grew up in Argentina and went to Med School there but now lives in Kentucky. Big change eh? She gave me lots of great tips and was really sweet. I arrived in Buenos Aires right on time, 24 hrs later. I met up with Jules at the Milhouse Hostel in BsAs and was excited to be there, finally!


Helga, Carla and I on the plane.


Julia & Teen back together again.
It poured down rain on our walk
around Palermo.