Welcome to the Good Air - Parte Uno

ALRIGHT, OK, OK! I like it here. Let's be honest, it doesn't take much to make me happy.

Good people, nice weather, cool things to see, cheap and delicious food, incredibly fast Spanish. These can be found in a lot of places. Like, a LOT of them. I've seen em. But upon arrival in Buenos Aires (aka BsAs), I started thinking "there's no WAY it can really have all these things". Traveling and talking to people for 5 weeks, I got a lot of opinions on big cities and cultures. Never know whose to trust, but I had a good feeling about fun times in this place. 

I first checked into Muz/Mark's old stomping grounds at Hostel Ostinatto in San Telmo. BIG hostel - 5 floors, lots of rooms, all kinds of visitors and one big Z dining table to meet folks at breakfast. They offered free Spanish lessons, Tango lessons, Yoga classes and even had a multi-purpose theater room complete with bean bag chairs galore. Also, a bar with a 5-hour happy hour and some cool folks to sip on quilmes or fernet with. I schooled some folks on how to slap the bones and played a lot of dominoes with international folks.

One of the first things I did in BsAs was hop on the Subte (subway) and interview with eColonias for an English Immersion Camp Counselor position. It took me about 90 minutes to research my route, but I was there in a jiff. And unfortunately, I learned they just doubled the fare of the of the subte in the past year - a whopping AR$2.50 (about USD$0.65) each way. I wasn't complaining, it was still a STEAL to get all across town at USD $1.30 round trip. Luckily my interview went well and I was able to grab the last slot (Sorry Bri and Mark) for the season. Work starts May 1! 

One of the highlights of my first week in BsAs was to just walk around and stare at the beautiful girls and take pictures of the sights. I spent an entire Saturday just walking around random parks in Palermo (one of the upscale/hipper/greener areas of the city) and watch people on rented vehicles have a great time enjoying the sun.

Fountain near the zoo

Choripan - Chorizo sausage split in half and served on a roll. Add chimichurri and fried potatoes and live the dream.

Lagoon in the park

The Rose Garden

Rollerblading is in full effect. The exercise of choice for Palermo's younger ladies.

You can rent basically anything: Bikes, trikes, weird toy bikes for kids, scooters, rollerblades/rollerskates, skateboards, ANYTHING YOU WANT. Great stilo.

On Easter Sunday, I took a chance and hit up the closest church for Catholic Mass...in Spanish...in shorts and a dri-fit shirt. The typical Easter Sunday look and feel. I messed up on my military time somehow and only caught the last 15 minutes of mass, but I did my best. 

Weekends are famous for markets in BsAs, particularly the San Telmo Antique Market on Sundays. And Easter is no exception. Me and my friend Mary from Colorado went for a casual stroll from the hostel out to Plaza de Mayo (where the President lives and lots of famous protests happen). 

San Telmo Market

Goin wild at la Casa Rosada (The Pink House - Where the PdA lives)

Dragon Ball Z is still big here. I found some VHS tapes and figurines everywhere. If only my backpack was bigger.

My specialty: ANTIQUES! I liked the cameras though.

Post-Market snack with Mary and Doug from Delaware: Waffle topped with Bacon, Eggs, Cheese and Salad.

Later on that day, met up with Maria, my portena homie that I met in Rio, who wanted to show us around a little bit. Me, Mary and Dougie joined her to hit up Recoleta, an even ritzier area of town, for an artisan fair.

We ended up spending more time at the Centro Cultura Recoleta, a smaller museum with frequently changing displays and exhibits: one of Maria's personal faves.

Here she is: Ms. BsAs herself!

Definitely one of my favorite exhibits: A painter paints one small (about 4"x4") canvas everyday for one year. These little arts packed a punch and I spent time looking at each one. CultureTaste!

Stopped into the recently renovated El Ateneo (sorry U.P. fans) Bookstore in Recoleta: A converted theater where the balconies are reading rooms, the seats are shelves and the stage is a cafe. 

I also went with Doug out to the Jardim Zoological (Zoo) in Palermo a few days later. This is not what I was expecting. They sell "animal food" that you can hand feed to these loose-running animals and throw at anything - llamas to lions - to see if they'll eat it. Also, people like to feed the monkeys with crackers and apples. Call of the wild making a major move. 

These little critters looked like a mix of rabbits and deer - and they were EVERYwhere. Calm as could be, just hanging out, feeding on "animal food" and having a stressful life.

Peacocks roamed FREE all over this place. These bells were fearless and I got up close and personal with a lot of the animals.

One of the cooler things about this place was that each of the animals were put into their habitats with interesting buildings that supposedly matched their country of origin's architecture. I was a fan of the elephants and su casa.

The California Flag (in the mirror)

Closest I've ever been to a zebra

Salute Your Shorts taught me that a giraffe's tongue is black.

On my last day traveling solo (for a while), I went for a "finer things" kinda day: Museo de Latinamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) - The Museum of Modern Art - free for a "current SDSU student" traveling abroad on Wednesdays. One thing I didn't know about: no pictures in the museum galleries, except for in the hallways. Definitely got stopped by security at least 3 times telling me not to take pictures. Suckers!

Major fan of the benches. They go on and on and on and on....

Puerto Madero is the place to be...if you're a real or wanna-be model. Or like to try and take pictures of them while they're being shot. I stopped here after another lunch at McDo (The McChicken Lives on in Argentina!) to soak in the D yet again. This area of Buenos Aires is within walking distance from the Microcenter (downtown) and San Telmo. It's newly renovated and considered to be one of the more touristy, expensive areas to grab dinner or go out by the waterside. 

El Puente de la Mujer - The Women's Bridge

One of the wannabe's showing why it's called the women's bridge, and also looking good to my eyes.

More walkers, runners, rollerbladers and stray dogs.

Marina that sits right in the middle

On the walk back to the hostel, I happened to see a guy with a big telephoto lens standing on a corner somewhere. So I stopped near him and started shooting at what he was shooting: El Obelisco just so happened to be sitting smack dab in the midst of the sunset.

Solo No Mo'

HE'S HIS MAN! Moved my own self out to Palermo SoHo to the Eco Pampas Hostel for the greeting of a lifetime. Waited for 3 hours for Brian Bautista, Mr. "I Miss My Cubicle", to arrive but he decided he was done with fun...for at least a few more hours. Stepped out to do some laundry and pick up some SPEED (a local red bull-ish drink) and suddenly hearing "AWOO!" in the streets of Palermo. And then there were 2! A big beer and a bigger steak later, we were already making the dream moves and credit card swipes to get to REI Lovers paradise - Patagonia.

BUT FIRST: Weird Night 2.0! This one was more observational than participatory, but it was a GREAT time. Searching for a while up and down the street for CLUB 69 (where we supposedly were on a guestlist?) but we just couldn't find it. It ended up being just another name for Club NICETO (know you!), and immediately it got weird. All sorts of costumes and entertainers literally doing WHATEVER they wanted on stage and in the crowd. Read about it and the rest of his adventures on Brian's Blog) AND sudden switches to HIP HOP/RAP acts including some of the best live breakdancing I've seen.

 Cheering for the girls in bikinis (or shirtless guys, I couldn't tell).

The next day, our last full on in BsAs for a while, Bri and I went for the adventure of a lifetime: Friday the 13th at Recoleta Cemetery. Consistently listed as one of BsAs's top attractions (a CEMETERY?), this place is a mini city in itself. Most famous resident: Evita Peron. Tons of stray cats walking around this place contributing to the EEEEEK factor.

And did I forget to mention STEAK? It's FLAVORTASTY here (go to Palacio de las Papas Fritas), especially with chimichurri and fries. Didn't have a ton of it during the first week, so I'll save the FlavorFlicks for another post. Empanadas were consumed in rapid fashion over the first few weeks, helping me to pack back on my pre-food-poisoning weight and get my body ready for the freezing cold of PATAGONIA.

Next stop, EL FIN DEL MUNDO (unless you're Chilean) - USHUAIA, PATAGONIA!

Why do they call them "waterfalls" anyway?

Oh, probably because there's water falling everywhere. OR...because they're called "cataratas" en espanol, which means "cataracts". Not sure which one is more logical, but I'll take it.

WHAT A PLACE. I’ve never been to Niagara, but from what I’ve seen and heard, I might not need to after this. If you read my last post, you probably figured I arrived in Iguazu Falls feeling sad having to leave Floripa. But then again, most everyone I talked to gave me the whole “must-see” spiel about Iguazu. As if I like fun or something. Come on, guys. AYEEEEEE!

Day 1: Foz do Iguacu – Brazilian Side

There are 3 countries that border Iguazu Falls: Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The falls act as a border between Argentina and Brazil, so they have their own National Park in each country. The Brazilian side is a great for seeing the falls from a distance in a panoramic fashion. Argentina is more about “up close and personal” with the falls, as they have metal walkways that allow you to walk above and below the falls, as well as jungle and speed boat tours that take you through the river to get soaked by the cataracts themselves.

At the bus station, I got off and waited for a city bus. And waited. While I waited, I ran into those girls from the Floripa beach (told you to remember them). Turns out we were on a similar trajectory, and I randomly saw them again. Coincidence or meant to be? Either way, they hopped in a cab, and I got tired of waiting and did the same. Got the to hostel, dropped off my bags, and hopped on a bus headed for the falls. What I didn’t realize was that I got there at the very beginning of Holy Week, a major holiday/vacation time for Brazilians, Argentinians and Uruguayans. AND it’s hot, like really hot with tons of moisture from the falls creating humidity hot. YES! Crowds and really, really hot: a winning combo for me! Thankfully, I was so impressed with the surrounding falls that I still had a great time.  

You get to the park, you get your ticket, you hop on yet another bus, and you don’t know what’s happening unless you did some research. I did what I always do in this situation, follow the crowd and hope they know what they’re doing. The whole trail from beginning to end is not very long, I got through it in less than 2 hours and I was taking my time. There’s tons of coati’s (Racoon-ish looking things) walking around, which everyone seems to be excited about at first but then realize these guys are very persistent and like to come right up to you and claw/bite for food. I saw an Asian woman jump up and scream when a coati came within 2 feet of her, and her husband YELLED and shook his finger at the coati for scaring her. Ahh, nature.

The trail culminates with a huge group of waterfalls in a spot called “devil’s throat”. If I thought it was crowded along the trail, I was being naive. This place was like trying to walk through a Vegas club, except instead of holding drinks and dancing, everyone’s holding cameras and shoving each other to get a decent picture. Basically, it was crowded. And hot. But WOW! I liked this place. I tried my best to just soak it all in, regardless of the shoves and bumps and “can you take our picture please’s”. It was an awesome sight to behold, and I was thankful for having the opportunity to be there. More than anywhere else on the trip, I felt humbled and in awe at the sight of these falls.

Since it only took about 2 hours, I had plenty of time and sunlight to head over to Parque de las Aves – Bird Park, just across the street from the park. This place was very serene when I had my headphones in, but if I took them out, I got some high volume SHREIKS from parrots, toucans, flamingos and whatever else was in earshot. Then, immediate headphones back in.

First time I’ve ever seen these tropical beasts up close. In certain cages, they let you in to walk amongst the birds and they generally will fly right into you or sit on the ledges as you zoom in on their beaks. Very cool feeling to be amongst these little dudes.

After the birds, I was spent. Headed back to Hostel Bambu (red telephone stairs) in Foz do Iguacu and showered up. Knowing this was my last day in Brazil, I knew I had to make sure and do something AUTHENTIC Brasiliero: Went to McDonald’s for my last McChicken. Unfortunately, they forgot to put the bottom bun on, and I had to convert it into an interesting taco. Great way to say goodbye to Brazil - Flavor taste!

Day 2: Puerto Iguazu – Argentinian Side

Woke up and packed up, and got detailed directions on how to get across the border to Argentina for the first time. Bus station sold me a ticket to the falls as well as one for a Jet Boat. Hopped aboard and prepared for a customs dealwid to get out of Brazil and into Argentina. For some reason, the driver didn’t stop at the Brazilian border and drove straight across to the Argentina side (meaning, no exit stamp from Brazil. Hm.) In the Argentina office, they stamped me through right away (meaning no $140 arrival fee that you get when you fly into the country) and hopped back on the bus to the falls.

Cataratas de Iguassu is a much bigger National park. Like I said, they have metal walkways all over the place, and there are about 5 trails/trains to take to see the whole thing: Upper, Lower, Devil’s Throat, Island and Boat tours. I got here kinda late and had to move fast to get through all the attractions. Even though it was blazing hot, everyone seemed to be carrying around their Mate (yerba mate herbs in a cup with a filtering straw, Argentina’s favorite bebida) and thermoses of agua caliente. Also, we ran across these monkeys and people decided to throw candy bars at them. Nature, baby!

I started off in Devil’s throat, where the train is so small you have to interweave knees with the person across from you. I did get some amazing shots of the river as I walked across. Also I got that uncomfortable feeling in my "lower region" as I got used to the heights and see through grates I was suspended on. AWOO!

 

The Devil’s Throat was even more impressive from this side, and (SUPPLIES!) just as crowded. It was hard to spend time on the rail and appreciate the view as not only tourists but professional souvenir photographers would ask and then YELL at you to get out of their shots. Still, I found a place to stare and be thankful for being able to experience the power of this natural phenomenon. It was sick.

I then went through the lower trail (which takes you around the bottom of the falls), hopped on the jet boat, then powered through to get through the upper trail (bird’s eye view over the falls). I won the title of “last man on the trail” as there was a ranger following me and closing the trails behind me. An exhausting, but very worthwhile 5 hours. Boots yah.

 Me with "Cataratas Dos Hermanas" (Sup Mo-Linda!)

I got back into town (much smaller city than the Brazilian side) and went for the shower move (gross). Then I went for a little exploration of the main strip, and began trying to relearn some Spanish phrases and get the Portuguese out of my system. A couple empanadas, a pear juice box and an alfajor later, I was in bed and ready to see the city of Buenos Aires.

Woke up the next day, walked through airport security wearing belt, shoes, jacket, hat and drinks in my carry-on (they’re strict here) and boarded the plane to see my first Argentine beauty burst. I like this country.