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Name: j summer
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Interests: Traveling, Strategizing Sessions, Family and Friends Time, Snowboarding the World, Photoshop/Graphic Design, Outdoor Adventures, Vanilla Icecream, Wine + some cold Beer, Philippines, Prague + Germany, Photography, Acrylic + Oil Painting, Making Collages + Scrapbooks 'n more
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07/09/09 - Thursday, LAST DAY SALTA
9 de Julio, Independence Day here in Argentenia. It´s supposed to be a national holiday.
Our plan was to go Bungee Jumping. Cost is about $22 USD. The telephone number in our lonely planet book was incorrect. We looked up the number on the internet and yes, they are opened.
The two American law students showed up at Corricaminos in the morning. We told them we´re going bungee jumping, and they quickly changed, and off we went!
On our way (about 1 hour drive out of town), while in car, a man on the street (a busy fast street, somewhat similar to Queens Blvd) was selling 3 large knives (how random!), leather cowboy hats and miniature disco balls.. what a combination. The boys thought it´d be fun to buy a hat, so they can bungee jump with it. The man offered it for 40 pesos, but he took 20 pesos. It was a quality leather cowboay hat too! (btw - I end up keeping it, which means I´ll be lugging it around till the end of the trip).
On the road to bungee jumping, we ate Empanadas on a street corner. A lady was sitting down making the empanadas, while another lady was selling them. It looked as if though they got some charcoal and cooked it on the street. Three types: carne (beef), pollo (chicken) and queso, 1 pesos each. They were delicous! (The farther we were away from the city, of course, the nicer the people).
When visiting Argentenia, it feels as if though lots of cars are from the 70's. There are so many beautiful classic cars throughout this country. Perhps fixing/maintenance of cars is cheaper vs buying here.
Bungee jumpng was by the water. Basically it was a truck with a ladder sticking out of it, and it hangs over a bridge.
07/08/09 - Wednesday, SALTA
Arrived into Salta at 10am. This time an Arab looking guy (I guess Argentenian though) man approached us and said, "you need a hostel? I speak English".. These are the exact guys that are the ones who are professional schemers. After two curt 'No's'.. He got the idea we weren't going to budge.
Taxi's in Salta are the color red. Popcorn and candy apples seems to be on almost every street corner in the center of the market.
7 pesos took us to Hostel Correcamios. For 90 pesos, we got the private room. Quickly, we left our bags at the hostel and left to check out the city. Hanging with Bart equates to: no time to be wasted. (There is good and bad to this.. what if I just had 4 hours of sleep the night before, and I need my full 6-7 hrs?).
Took pictures at this famous church called San Francisco, the outside color was red and gold/orange.
Took the cable car up to the mountains. 10pesos up, 10 pesos to come down.
Ate a hotdog, 4 pesos, they put corn on it, and think stick potato chips with olives right before heading into the Arcaheological museum, 30 pesos (!) entry fee.. and the museum was tiny! The main attraction was to go see the body of a 6 year old kid they found high up in the mountains (during the Inca time) struck by lightning.
After the museum, we rented a car, so we can drive it to go bungee jumping tomorrow.
07.07.09- Tuesday
Went to bus Terminal to purchase bus tickets to leave for the city of Salta tonight, at 8:15pm. Then took a local bus from the terminal to go to the 'Che Museum'..a Revolutionist. Took bus from this Terminal for about 45 minutes out of town. We went with a Holland/Netherlands girl, named Elise (19yrs old and looks much oldr, blonde hair, very tall, pretty. she took a 4-month intensive course in Madrid before, and she was practially fluent).
On the bus ride, we ran into a Mexican named Carlos. He is 22 yrs old. We all became a group of 4 and toured around.
Checked out another museum.
Then went to eat at a restaurant. Bart and I, we were so hungry, we ordered 2 grande pizza's. It was only 2 bucks more to get this grande pizza anyhow, so we each got one. Between the two of us, we had half a pie left over. We suddenly see e young boys (aged 5-8) walk by the restaurant, holding fish poles, looking at the menu. We gave them the leftovers, and they ate the whole thing. As a kind gesture, I gave them a $1usd each, so they can buy candy. The two older boys seemed skepical, but the younger one was loving it. He was so adorable! I´d have loved to single out the little kid and give him more pizza, but that´s not right, so I didn´t.
Left Cordoba on the 8:15pm bus. Ate a 'hamberhesa completa' which had an egg in it. Came with fries. And ordered fresh orange juice. Bart with his radars and paranoia kicking in again, did not like how I needed to grab a seat near the front of the cafe because I had to recharge my phone. He also didn't like how he ordered 2 lasagna's, we waited fo 10 minutes, only to discover, when I went to ask, they didn't have any pasta at all (even when the menu says they had it).
07.06.09 - Monday, CORDOBA
We arrive to the city of Cordoba at 7am. I had a terrible time trying to sleep on my semi-cama (bed that only partially goes back). What didn't make things better was the waitress/server. She was not a nice person. She would spatter something out in Spanish, and in quick annoyance, she'd say something again, and then walk away. She didn't even make the effort to explain.
When the 10hour bus ride was over, I see Bart (Aussie) again. He had a scowl on his face (then again he looks like that often at esp. bus terminals). Surprisingly, he experienced the same terrible service from the lady bus server. She even brought his breakfast a few minutes before we reached our destination. We both initally wondered it we did something wrong which is why she was behaving that way, but now we realized it's just her. We went back to the lady (after we grabbed our bags), and while I asked her what her full name is, Bart read it off her name tag.
7 pesos taxi ride to the hostel called Corrientes. For a private room, we paid $26usd. It was about 8am, and met a drunk guy drinking wine, total idiot, from Turkey who's been in S.A. for about 5 months and he says he can hardly speak Spanish. The only thing I learned from him, while he was in conversation with a German guy named Christian (Christian is 25 yrs old from Germany, and is a student in Cordoba), is that there is quite a huge population of Turkish-Germans living in Germany, and that Germany is having a huge problem because, for example in schools, children of the Turkish don't bother adopting to the German language.
Walked around the streets of Cordoba with Bart and Christian. We all felt quote safe in this city, and later learned that it is home to about 6 universities, so people are a bit more educated here.
In the evening time, we all stayed in the hostel for homemade empanadas. Here, we met 2 American law students from Oregon who were studying in Buenos Aires, 2 snooty German sisters and 1 19 year old blonde haired girl from Holland.
July 5th, 2009 - Sunday
Bus leaves at 9pm to the city of Cordoba tonight. Because we pretty much did what was needed to be one in Mendoza, and most stores were closed, we decided to just relax and take it easy today, until we catch the bus.
San Martin Hotel had an excellent 3rd floor facility where we just used the Internet and sit on the comfy chairs, and not be bothered much by any body. It was a good thing we had this place because late checkout was 11:30am, and we needed a place to comfortably rest till our bus ride at 9pm.
Around 1:30pm, we went out because we were hungry. Last night, we saw a buffet place and thought we'd go and check it out. For the word buffet in Spanish, they call it, "Tendedor Libre" aka Free Fork. Per person, it was 37 pesos. We had a good meal. They even made fresh apple crepes with icecream on top.
Then we walked to the supermercado and picked up things like orange juice, bananas and Bart bought some facial lotion. I took some really nice pictures inside the supermercado. We were lucky in the fact that we took quite a number of pics inside (amusing things, that's why), and then when I was about to snap one more when we got to the register, the cashier gave us that look, and said that pictures are not allowed.
The cashier was quite unfriendly altogether even while she was ringing up our items. She said something rapidly in Spanish and not in a way where she made an effort to make us understand. Bart (Aussie) did not like that, so he handed a young boy 20pesos, so he can show off, in front of the cashier (because the boy yelled out in English - 'Get a dictionary'). Bart apparently thought that was a cool thing to do. I have my opinions about this, but anyway.
Across the street from the supermercado was a little artsy fair, with some strips of tables lined up selling items. Btw, Argentenia is definitely known for its abundance of art throughout. I purchased a handmade pink copper bracelet by an older couple. Bart purchased one for this 19-yr old blonde-haired chick he's seeing back at home. He said he only dates and likes white chicks. Also it seems he likes girls that are all pretty young in age.
Then we came back to San Martin Hotel, and went back to the 3rd floor to relax for a bit, before heading back to the bus terminal to head to Cordoba. As somewhat of a test, I had left my brown scarf I had purchased from Laos/Thailand on the chair in front of the computer. I bought it for less than $5. And yes, came back, and of course it was gone.
July 4th, 2009 (Saturday)
Started the day being pretty tired, because we all went out last night, and came back around 5-530am and late checkout was 11:30am. The fellas met a couple of Argentenian women (really ugly I thought) and then had plans to meet them late morning, so I hung around the hotel and caught up on some emails, etc. About an hour later, they came back and was told they got stood up.
(btw - Bart (Aussie) friend invited me to Australia and said I can stay at his place. He has 3 roommates including himself, where one girl is Indian, which he thinks we'd get along well. The Korean/Asian population is quite large there and I am thinking it could be a good idea to visit in possibly September.)
Was to leave for the city of Cordoba tonight, but we missed the 21:00 bus, because there was a glitch in either of our brains and somehow saw it as 10pm.
Positively speaking, and looking at the big picture, maybe there were unforeseen circumstances.
(Side note: this is the first time I've traveled with another I've met on a backpacking trip for this length of time. So far, it's been pretty ok. The ONLY downside I must say are the couple of times when Bart and I, we are at the bus terminal or anywhere on the street of Argentenia, alone. Why? Because people automatically supposedly assume we are American... (they see an Asian person and a gringo walking together). It causes a lot of heads to turn our way. It was an easy ride walking along the streets when our friend Manu was still with us, because Manu, even though he is UK-iranian, he blends in as a Hispanic or even possibly a local, because of his darker skin. Manu left today, because his trip is shorter than ours. So with Manu leaving, I'd say Bart and I, we learned to become somewhat of a team. I am to wear my hood on and cover my head, while Bart has grown a messy beard, wears a beanie hat).
So anyway, going back to what had happened, we had purchased our bus tickets in the late morning at the bus terminal. Because the lockers at the terminal were broken and we really needed a place to put our bags, The Cata Bus Line was kind to let us put our luggages in their office. After hours of having walking around the streets of Mendoza (also dropping Manu off to his 7pm bus), Bart and I, we come back to the office at 9:25pm aka 21:25pm. The workers looked at us with 'that' look. W/o them even saying a word, I knew something was not right.
Cata Bus Lines were nice to exchange our tickets for tomorrow night. Only thing was they only had 1 seat left, with the Total Cama (chair turns into a flat bed).
Since it was technically my fault for everything, I let Bart take the last one of course, with me taking the Semi-Cama.
We took the taxi (7 pesos) from the bus terminal back to the hotel we stayed at last night: San Martin Hotel (located directly across Plaza Independencia, which is the main part of Mendoza)(2 beds: 190 pesos). We originally discovered this place because the 'Independencia Hostel,' (pretty famous hostel in Mendoza) which was around the corner did not have 3 beds for all 3 of us.
It was already about 11pm when we checked in. We went out to get pizza and a couple Andes Beer (really good beer here in Mendoza), and took it to go.
Basically stayed in the Internet room the whole night, to wee early hrs of the morning, and uploaded pictures, play around with the computer and just relax.
July 1 - July 3, 2009 (Wednesday - Friday), LAS LENAS
My travel-size-mini hair dryer's fuse blew up yesterday. There are two types of converters I have- one converts the wattage and the prongs, the other only converts the prongs. My laptop, camera batteries and phone doesn't require the wattage converter (sometimes it refuses to even convert and the wattage converter device gets really HOT and starts to smell), but apparently the hair dryer needed it. It was a lesson to be learned.
I still am carrying the hair dryer-- is it gone? Do you know if it is something I can fix when I get back home? Has it seen its day?
The UK-ian (Manu) will be parting from us starting tomorrow. Nice guy, and at many times talks a bit way too much, and has some bossy tendencies, but overall he is a nice, very good guy, who seems to be a deep thinker.
The Aussie (Bart) is a really cool guy, he's currently a Paramedic who is studying medicine, and plans to make or will make about $400k/yr. He is an Aboes aka Aborigean (it's like the native Indian of Australia), and there is supposedly only 87 of this ethnic group of Dr's in Australia, where he's supposedly getting a full scholarship. He also said he sl3pt with more than 200 girls in the past. Eek.
Met a number of Argentenian men in Las Lenas. I agree that having my own cell phone would be the ideal way to go. I may do that on this trip or maybe not. The hangout spot at Las Lenas, a bar/club, strangely begins at 2am. A lot of the locals asked me if I was coming out that night. I didn't because 2am is too late, and I was on a snowboarding schedule, which requires one to be on the mountain early.
The downside of hanging in a group, as I have these past few days, is it'd be harder to get to know any of the locals. But these two new friends are really great. They really look out for me, and I the same for them.
Aussie friend (Bart) and I, we may hit up Bolivia, to hit up the city called La Paz. Backpackers we've run into tell us how great it is. Also, I may take a 6-hr bus trip to Santiago, Chile too. The scenic ride is to be amazing. As for La Paz, the only thing holding me back, right now, with that one is that I'd need to research about it (and it takes time and my guidebook is only for Argentinia). I have to see.
As for snowboarding, it was great! I can now say I've tried snowboarding in South America, on the Andes! In total, we were able to put in 3 full days. The conditions were overall very nice. Day #1: the visibility was close to none, because it was snowing, and it was windy, but the snow was so powdery, it was alright. Day #2: it was clear throughout the day. Day #3: (yesterday) was snowy in the morning, but cleared up for the rest of the day!
The only thing I realize now is that I didn't know there was a higher point on the mountain, and I was snowboarding from the middle-point only. Boohoo! Oh well, bummer. My plan wasn't to go to Las Lenas anyhow, and for sure, I would have read previous adventures on the Internet (like you said), but I didn't. Information and time, for sure, is Power.
The quality of the rental equipment was quite CHEAP compared to Northern America (includes Canada). The service was quite exceptional though. I even ran into a man who worked there, who called himself: Renaldo, and he said he was the CEO of Las Lenas, and that he graduated from Harvard Business School in 2001. He was very professional, and kind.
Nothing is given away for free in Argentenia, it seems. i.e. As a favor for the Aussie friend, I went to first aid to ask for a couple alcohol pads and band aids. The lady at the front desk requested me to buy them. I've never been injured (knock on wood it never happened to me) on the slopes, but from my memory of friends who have, I don't recall this type of scenario. When I responded to the lady at the front desk, in Spanish, with a, "You charge for THAT???" .. She replied, "Are you from America?" Heehee. Also this first aid charges 30 pesos just for consultation (or for a dr to just look at it). We all thought this was ridiculous. Either way, the lady did me a favor and put some alcohol on a pad with tape on it.
This is again, of course, a reminder for all of us on how fortunate we are to live in the USA (or Australia or the UK). Btw - UK-ian (Manu) said there is now a new requirement for the people in the UK to submit paperwork (like an essay?), on why they are visiting the USA, etc. In other words, it's just so much harder to get in. (Btw- it seemed very strongly to me that a number of UK-ians would rather not live in the UK).
A random fact the Aussie told me is that unemployment is under 5% there. Interesting. I'll have to find out for myself. And in the UK, it's not so bad. Too bad USA's (ours) is quite high!
As for spending money, I feel like I've been quite fortunate. I'm able to always ask for cost upfront, and I always ask for a discount. Even if I may not get the discount, the other person knows I am about the bottom dollar, and will not be interested in being ripped-off.
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06.30.09- Tuesday We wake up at 5:50am today, because one of the large bus drivers hinted to us that their buses pass through around 7am-ish. We hurry out at 6:45am and try to jolt out of this dingy hotel, only to discover the front hotel doors are LOCKED. Aussie/UK-ian, we all start yelling out for any of the workers and no one, absolutely no one is anywhere. We knew we had to catch the bus that was supposed to be coming. We just wanted out. We search the whole 1st floor to see if there would be an emergency exit. We cannot find anything. We (or they) think that because we put our foot down, and was completely unhappy (and didn't pay tip for the dinner the night before, because his service was so poor to us, relative to another table next to us, who came 10mins after us), Pablo intentionally did it. (I personally don't think so, but anyway). I was put to task to go into the office/reception area and look for the keys to the front door. Magically, very quickly, I found a box of about 50 keys. The front door hole resembled an old key hole, and after about 3 tries, we got the front door unlocked! Quickly, I was to put the keys back, and leave everything like it was never touched. It was such a scary feeling, while such a relief leaving this place. We walk outside in the pitch dark (I've rarely seen a sky lit up with SO many stars.. maybe in Pennsylvania? But this was quite brilliant). We decide that standing in front of this so-called hotel would not be a good idea. What if that Pablo runs after us? So we walk up the road. For 25 full-straight minutes, only 1 truck/lori (Aussies call them a Lori?) pass us. Whenever we saw a small flicker of light, we were ecstatic, but again, nothing for 25 minutes. Finally, we see light approaching, and what we thought was another truck/lori, it was the bus we were waiting for! We could not have been happier. We arrive to Las Lenas about 15mins later. We shop around for apartamento's. The information desk said none is available till 4:30pm. We go to a hotel on the facility called Pirius, and they asked for $150/pp, a night. We call another apartment, and they ask for 650pesos/night. After one last attempt, we luckily found an apartment for 400pesos/night. Only thing is, we had to wait till 4pm-ish. The guy named Manilo, his family owns a number of properties on the site, and he was super nice/helpful and spoke some English. We put our stuff down at reception, and we go to snowboard. We get back and we discover a really awesome apartment. It has 5 beds, extra closet space and a kitchen for us to cook. We were very happy! Today, I experienced 4-5 little Argentenian little kids, aged about 5-6, perhaps see their first Asian. It was hilarious. They all stood there and gawked at me. It was so much fun. I could have scared them with a Boo!, but intead I smiled and said Hola to them. They hola-ed back, but all just stood there again, frozen, looking at me. For dinner, we went to the supermercado, and stocked up on a Lot of groceries. Considering this place being on the property of a ski resort, the prices were quite reasonable. Ok, will try to write more! : )
06.29.09-Monday 5 hours later, in a super uncomfortable bus (not like the other bus I took to Mendoza, from B.A.), while I'm in the yucky/dingy bus toilet (light is broken in the toilet, so thank much goodness to the super-special-mini- flashlights), I'm told our stop of Los Molles is here. Here I am on a toilet, feeling like I have semi-diarrhea, and I'm told we need to leave NOW.
I hurry out.
It's quite WINDY with snow mixed in the air, there is hardly ANY light outside at 8:10am (spooky!), pitch dark (many brilliant stars up in the sky though), and snow/ice covering the ground. We are left on the side of the road of dirt. There appears to be no civilization anywhere by us.
I almost couldn't believe this was real.
So on the road, we walk where we see some light ahead. We trek through the dark, the wind and the snow. First large building (size of say, half a block!) we pass is not a hotel. We look at the building and we were tempted to go into it, and ask for some cover, until the sun comes up. As we pass the building, the entrance was quite far away, with what looked like the road to the entrance was snow covered, and it didn't look friendly.
We continue to walk. The next large building, just miraculously happens to be what we were looking for: los molles hotel.
We enter, and no one is at reception. Inside, it was dark, chilly and spooky. Was this really a hotel??? A guy (I later learn his name is Pablo) appears about 3 minutes later, and we all pay 95 pesos each for a night, with a room with 3 beds (2 is a bunk). We all knock out, and wake up around 1pm.
At reception (Pablo), we ask what the schedule to the buses are to Las Lenas Ski resort because we wanted to be ready for our runs tomorrow. He tells me (since I'm the designated translator for our group) there are no buses except once a day! I ask for taxi, he said no taxi. We were not happy. It seemed the only way to get anywhere was to hitch a ride by flagging down a car/bus on the side of the road (since this dingy place is on the main road to Las Lenas).
As we head out, we speak to an older man named Julio, who after 30mins of random conversation, I guess he liked us, so he offered us a ride for free. We gave him 50 pesos anyhow.
We are now at Las Lenas, and we find out we can rent out an apartment there, and we also buy as much food as we can at the supermercado, because when we head back, there will be nothing.
As for our ride back to the dingy hotel, I ask around, and got us all a ride back in the large buses (called Iselin-lines) heading back for 1.50 pesos each. Cheap. It was a nice bus too.
As for myself speaking Spanish, the Aussie and UK-ian, we are all benefiting from each other's presence. Me, to help lead the way for all translations and pesos bartering, and them helping to keep the Argentenian men away? We are also able to split the costly accommodations at Las Lenas Ski Resort too. And they are good people to be with.
So we are now back at the Los Molles spooky hotel. Aussie/UK-ian put me to the task of getting the 2nd night pay back. (I almost never pay for 2 nights in one shot, but the guys wanted to, so I made the mistake by tagging along with this one). And oh boy, was it a challenge (I expected this of course).
I put my foot down and said I need my money back. Pablo kept talking, but again, I put my foot down and made my point clear- I said I was unhappy, and having no transportation, nor hot water 24-hours will not work for me. No supermercado either. He was trying to sell me on top of what we paid. I was okay with him taking money out for dinner though (since again, nothing exists in the area).
An hour later, I got us our money back. Whew. 06.28.09 - SundaySunday was "Electional National" Day. Most stores/restaurants were closed. That also meant no liquor was to be sold yesterday evening. Random fact... I've never in my life had steak 5 days/night in a row before in my life. Now I can say I have. In addition to the Aussie (Bart), we now added one more person to the group. His name is Manu (Manocher), and he is from the UK. Manu is originally from Iran, and has been living in the town of Portsmouth in UK, for about 14 yrs. He said he is Kurdish/Iranian, and his family even used to live in Iraq. He considers himself as someone from the UK (and not so much Iranian). I learned that beer is not allowed in Iran. Interesting. He is a good looking guy, with a great smile and is 26 yrs old. He is on a 17 day vacation, and does IT back at home. A very good guy, and is now our new friend. We all connected well and decided to head over to Las Lenas together, to snowboard/ski. Las Lenas is supposed to be the largest resort in South America. The bus we needed to take which would leave at 2:30am, was to drop us off exactly where we needed to be: Los Molles (a town over from Las Lenas, which is the one we wanted, because our travel guide said that accommodations are Super expensive if we stayed in Las Lenas, because that is where the ski resort is), for our 5 hour bus ride. So we all decided to go have some dinner before we catch the bus. (Met an Argentenian police officer on our way to dinner. He spoke hardly any English, and doesn't even have an email address. He said he works 6 days a week, 12 hrs per day. He gave me his home telephone number). I ordered steak, like I have the past 4 nights. Because vegetables seemed to be pretty hard to come by, I scavenged the menu and found an arugula salad to add to my order. A couple of hours later, my stomach started churning, and then I had to puke. I felt very sick. (I was just hoping it wouldn't turn into a 4-day diarrhea session like I had experienced in Thailand). With the taxi driver waiting outside our hostel to drive us to the bus terminal, my teammates (the Aussie and UK-ian) helped pack my last items and then we were out of the hostel in a jiffee. Took the local bus on the Cata line for 50 pesos and off we went. | | |
| 06.27.09, Monday
The bus ride the other day went well, and nope, didn't turn into rubber. Whew. I got in 10 full hours of rested sleep, and by the time I woke up, breakfast was served and we were pretty much arrived in Mendoza.
The waiter/server told me that he has a 10 month son, and is separated from the mother of his child.
Hmm, good point about making the notation under each picture. It'd be nice if cameras had a program, where one can be adding notes, right after the picture is taken. I'll do my best to get the description and put it under each pic. It'd be time consuming, but so worth it.
Good point, about the life of actors/actresses. It sounds depressing.
As for McDonald's considered to being a luxury meal, very interesting! I never knew that. But it all is making much sense to me now. I still remember the outrageous $12 value meal I once paid in Switzerland.
As soon as I got off the bus, at the information booth, I met a fellow backpacker who is an Aussie, who's 27 yrs old, and arrived in B.A. the same day I did. He did not have a place booked, so he came along with me to the hostel Chimbas, where I booked.
His name is Bart, and in the past, he's traveled throughout Europe for 10 months, and has been to SE Asia, and has been to Thailand 3 times. Unfortunately, he got mugged in his last day in B.A. at Florida Street (I was there before too), and he gave up 500 pesos. (He said the way it happened was on a busy street, and he suddenly felt a sharp object pinch him hard from the back). I can understand him being super cautious than ever when we hung out yesterday, but because of his behavior, it made me feel freaked out and very nervous just hanging with him. I almost felt that if we were to get mugged, it'd be because he'd be the bait they're after and not me. When we were walking through the bus terminal, I had to ask him to zip up his jacket, to cover his bright t-shirt, and later I asked him to put his hood on. I definitely know I am not walking around anywhere with a label of "American Idiot", anywhere on myself. Or at least I hope not. Anyway, altogether, he is a cool fella, and he loves taking photos of me/himself, and has lots of energy.
Steak is very good here in Argentina, and I've been eating steak for dinner each night. I don't eat this much back at home, nor do I plan to, so I think I am okay about the cholesterol concern.
I love hot sauce, like Tobasco, but restaurants don't have anything hot here, it seems.
Went to a wine tour yesterday, and it included visiting two wineries, and an olive oil factory. I found olives fallen under an olive tree, and picked one up to try and taste it, for the experience. It was of course, super bitter, but what was so nice about it was the ooze of luxurious oil seeping out of it. As for the wine tour, it was a Very good experience. I got to try the Malbec red wine, which is what Arg is known for. I saw humungous barrels of wine. It was quite fun. Passed by a Privo Cara (Jewish Winery) and was told that because it needs to be Kosher, it loses most of it's taste and aroma.
On this tour, met a couple other fellas. One was from Panama, and he spoke very good English, and recommended to go and visit there. He said his sister lives in NY. And then met an Irish fella, who has been traveling for 6 months in S.A., was in Brazil for a month and a half, and he got mugged 3 times in Brazil. He said it's so bad there at times, that after being there for that length of time, he'll know who the thugs are, and they'll let him pass/go, because they already got him before. I also felt he may have been walking around with an "irish idiot" on his forehead. But that's just my opinion (knock on wood nothing happens to me, of course). He was also in Colombia and said he absolutely loved it. But he said he got mugged twice there (especially at, I think it was El Salvador?).
06.26.09, Sunday
I'm very excited. Right now, I am sitting inside this 2-level bus, on
the top level. And guess what! I am sitting in what I call the VIP
seat. It's the "front", where I see EVERYTHING -- it is like I am the
driver, but only sitting from the 2nd-level. I love my seat. Funny
thing is, I didn't know there were seat assignments (though I got the
'cama total' which is the high class), so I went to the front and
plopped in the seat. The French girl sitting the aisle across me said
there are seat assignments. She helped me look at the ticket, and what
do you know, I'm sitting in that seat the ticket agent assigned me :)
:) :). What coincidental luck. A little while later, the camerero
(waiter/server) of the bus requests the French girl and I to wear our
seat belt. So if this bus makes a sudden stop, or worst, the driver
falls a sleep, it could get messy. Either way, I love my seat. And
yes, of course I have my seatbelt on!
12-hour Vip bus ride, costing about $66usd, here I come!
The waiter/server also just came by to distribute some candy. My
flavor is orange and it is very delicious. I will try to pick up some
extra to bring back for all of us to NYC.
I hear some American-speaking college students coming from behind the
bus. Hmm.. I shall go say hi a little bit later, when I feel like
using the restroom.
Am very sad to hear the news about Michael Jackson today:(. It's funny
how the public really scorned down on what he was turning into, but as
soon as he passes, he is really well-remembered for his greatest
accomplishments. He will be well remembered. R.I.P. Michael Jackson.
During the day, I mostly stayed in. I just felt so sleepy the past
couple days. Also, all the Spanish-speaking happening in the hostel
began making my ear hurt.
Oh, today, I discovered or experienced 'The Argentinian Pizza' ..this
pizza was a completely different class in itself. Super thin crispy
crust, and then it had this once inch layer which consisted of spinach
and cheese. The strange, different thing about this topping/layer was
it was copletely mushy and was like pudding when entering the mouth.
It was a magical-tasting pizza. It was a family owned restaurant,
where the very cute-good-looking boy/guy (22-24yrs old?) was serving
the pizza. The dad was also very kind. I learned that their roots are
from Spain. Took a pic with them together.
The waiter/server of the bus, his name is 'Ale' and he just handed out
a small plastic cup of vino/wine. He also just winked at me. He just
asked came by again to ask what we'd like to drink with our dinner.
Btw, I feel quite safe here in Arg. I must be one of the worst dressed
person, compared to the average Argentian. Of course I don't mind.
Many of the banks I saw in B.A were HSBC and also Citibank.
'Ale' just came by with our dinner's and then he winked at me again.
What a flirt.
Okay, time to eat :).
| | |
| I'm glad I picked up 100 new spanish words prior to my trip, because
not only have I used plenty of them, when taxi drivers or bus drivers
speak, a handful of times, I have no clue what they are saying. Their
accent almost sounds Italian. Those who appear to be about 50+ yrs of
age don't speak an inkling of English, but those who appear to be
younger speak some words here and there. The people here seem to be So
proud of their language, that even if they could speak some English,
they may pompously speak their Spanish.
My day started a bit late than I had wanted today. I thought getting a
full 7-8 hours of sleep would have been important (considering my lack
of full sleep on the plane), and then was on the phone with At&t for 1
hour and 10 mins, discovering that they were having technical problems
porting my phone into my new device. They recommended I should do a
master reboot, which would entail having blackberry desktop on my
computer, and that I'd most likely lose all my information. I refused,
because not only do I not have the wiring cable for my device (to port
to my laptop), I have most of my contact numbers, etc. stored in it. I
think I am pretty okay with checking email via the gmail app on my bb
for a month.
The magicjack works wonders too. It's so great knowing that I can make
local nyc phonecalls w/ such ease, and no concerns of a huge bill!
Sometimes, the connection is in-and-out, but for the most part, it
works Great. I Love it.
Went to a famous touristy site called the Cementario de la Recoleta
today. Basically, it's a Huge pimped out cemetary, filled with
headstone houses, or more like castles, with statues/monuments on top.
Presidents and famous people (and their families) are buried here. I
peered into a few and I liked the mysterious staircases leading to
some place downstairs. If I was allowed to, I'd want to check it out
below. While I was strolling down one aisle, I suddenly saw this
Argentenian man come out from one of those castle-like structures.
Many thoughts ran into my head at that moment. Could he be one of the
family members? Heehee. As a joke, I asked him if that is his house,
and if he lives 'downstairs' .. he thought I was funny. Anyhow, he was
pretty cute, and had a nice smile, so I took a picture of him :). Now
I can show what a local Arg person may look like.
Eating at a restaurant/bar in Palermo (another part of Buenos Aires),
called Malasartes. Originally, I had wanted to go eat at La Cabrera
(recommended by some U.S. students, studying abroad, that I ran into,
at the Fine Arts Museum), but when I arrived, it seemed most of the
restaurants close at 8pm (I got there at exactly about 7pm). I went
next door, and it was the same case. I looked at my travel book, and
it says to come here on the weekends, that it is also like shopping
fashion central. So far, it feels a little bit like the meat packing
district. My plan is to come back here and also San Telmo, on the last
week of my trip to do some shopping.
This restaurant Malasartes is interesting. On their chairs, there is
like a plastic latch (a clip). I asked the waiter what it was. He said
he traps woman (chica's) there. He was kidding. It's for bag theives.
Interesting. I took a picture.
People here are mostly all 'stand-off-ish' here, and keep mostly to
themselves. Maybe countries where it can get cold, people are like
that? It's definitely not like the people in warmer places like DR, or
the Philippines (California too). where people are just warmer in
their hearts. People are eventually nice whe you ask them questions.
They like to help.
There is parking on some streets, but not really. In busy touristy
areas = no. There are a lot of lots though. MANY of the one way
streets are like the size of a two way street here. They are Very
wide. Cars go super fast and there are always a lot of cars, hustling
and bustling, on the streets.
One of the things I really like about Buenos Aires, is the feeling of
Old, everywhere. Often, one would see statues prominently standing
throughout.
Most bus rides from point a to point b within the city is about 1.25
pesos (that's like .35 cents). After finishing dinner in Palermo, I
was taking the bus and sat down. A few seconds later, I jolted in my
seat, realizing I didn't pay. A passenger thought that was funny and
giggled :). Fun.
Met a local on the bus on my way back to San Telmo, from Palermo. Hung
with him, most of the evening. Boy, did he talk non-stop. He just
Loved to talk, and tell me the whole history and everything he knows.
He appreciated my company, and even asked me if he can pick me up
tomorrow. I told him I'm not available, that I may be off to Mendoza.
I appreciated his company, but again, he sure talked a Lot! Was very
serious and passionate about his country. Again, non-stop chatter.
Pasta frola, riccota dessert..the local ordered it here for me. It was
not super sweet, it tasted very good. Not rich.
Napkins on the restaurant/cafes are not like in the usa.. it's
basically real paper that comes out of the dispenser here! I had to do
a double-take, and had to feel it again. Very interesting.
Chairs are super uncomfortable. There is a raised ridge circling the
whole chair, on the edge. I noticed it at the restaurant I was eating
at today, and when I was sitting at that cafe.. again, that same
uncomfortable chair. The local told me it's a tradition.
Quilmes is the national beer here. Supposedly the beer was named after
what we'd call the Indians in the USA.
Saw an alligator-leather-ish-type bag on the street floor, on a side
street, by my hostel. The local here told me it's probably a bag that
was stolen, and was emptied and left there. I thought a bag like that
was put there as a trick. It made me walk faster. Either way, I'm
consistently being careful with my belongings, of course. Sometimes, I
wonder if I look like I'm giving dirty looks to people as I wam
walking. I'm just making sure I carry a look of being super Alert.
Like any big city, of course one would need to be smart. It's like
saying, one would not be walking through Brownsville or Harlem, with a
large camera up in the air.
Pics to come! Currently being edited! = )
| | |
| It's 11am est in NY (12noon in ARG) , and I am now comfortably sitting
in bus #8 (internet was incorrect, because it said #86), on my way to
San Telmo in Buenos Aires (2 pesos).
I was thirsty and wanted to pick up some water before I boarded the
bus, and the only place they sold it was at McDonald's (8pesos, about
$2usd). Eek.
As soon as I left customs, there were plenty of guys asking if I needed a taxi.
Chilly here and very sunny. Not super cold though. So far it's all very nice.
The hostel Sandanzas is actually pretty nice, compared to other
hostels I've been to in the past. The owners are a bunch of creative
artsy people and they really ornamented the whole hostel, I.e. Some
parts of the building has clear empty glass bottles molded into the
wall via cement. The cost of a private room, which includes a full
size bed (sleeps 2 people), is 140 pesos. I cut it down to 110 pesos.
I felt I could have bargained it down to 80-90 pesos, but the
atmosphere which presented itself at the moment didn't make me do it.
The only downside to this place is it's pretty small, so there aren't
as many new backpacking people I'd be interested in speaking with.
I'd say the only thing I left at home, and will now be adding to my
ultimate packing list is my mouse, to my laptop computer. And one
thing I'd take out for sure is my travel camping pillow. I used my
pink blowup pillow on the airplane and it helped me fall asleep pretty
quick. The other pillow was difficult to maneuver to my liking. It is
just eating up more precious luggage space. Maybe I'll come to
appreciate it when I'm on my long bus trip in a couple of days :).
Today, as I walked around in San Telmo, there were those illegal
vendors selling items, (such as what I've been eyeing: pretty silky
feminine scarves) on top of their blankets. A sign said it costs 10
pesos (about $2.75usd). I chatted with one of the vendors and I asked
him what he pays for it, he said about 6-7 pesos. I said I'm doing my
shopping in the last leg of my trip and walked away. As I walk to the
corner, I see a police officer getting a street vendor (with items on
a street corner, on a blanket) to go away (possibly distributing a
ticket as well). I do a favor for the friendly
street vendor I was chatting with, that an officer was on his way. He
quickly thanked me and packed away. Funny thing about Argentinians, so
I've noticed, is that a considerable number of them look quite 100%
Mexican. Or I learned that Peruvian's can also look very Mexican too.
My left ear has been ringing all day, since I left the plane. The air
pressure must have done something, because it sounds like a slight
siren in my head repeating inside. The feeling is similar to when one
gets water in their ear. Mine's been going on all day.
As for safety here, I feel Very safe here. Nobody really bothers you.
Vendors on the street pretty much stay to themselves. Everyone is
dressed really nicely. Many neighborhoods and streets to discover and
am appreciating the beauty of the old buildings on street, and some of
the graffiti strewn throughout.
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