Today I spent most of the day researching where to go for my last two weeks in Argentina. The choices are vast. Originally I wanted to go to Patagonia but a plane ticket is over 600 dollars and a bus ride would take 50 plus hours. Soooo, I think I have decided on the NW region, either Mendoza or San Juan, 12 hours away by bus.
I also tried to find some cheap hiking boots but they were all priced astronomically. Columbia boots were 700 pesos, because they are imported. I will continue to look tomorrow, I believe I have everything else I need. Except maybe the courage, I am nervous about setting out across a foreign country by myself, however its something I feel I must do.
lunes, 28 de abril de 2008
domingo, 27 de abril de 2008
Day 18 Iguazu
Day 18 - Less Disney, More Animals, Downpours, and Cow Guts.
My father and I headed back to the park for our second day of exploration, unfortunately my mom couldn't accompany us because she had come down with a cold. We left the bus station about noon on a very empty bus -- a good sign. This colorful scene was unfolding across the street at the shell station:
After the 30 minute bus ride we arrived to a almost deserted park, I was very happy to see that we would have most of it to ourselves. Today we planned to hike the lower trails and visit Isla San Martin, accessible by ferry (Yesterday we did the upper trail and train ride to the Gargantua Falls, for those not paying attention).
We decided to walk instead of taking that stupid train. When we reached the central station a Coati, (Argentine version of a raccoon) was kind enough to pose under the sign warning you about them:
The lower trails were far more physically demanding and far less like an amusement park, I felt a lot more connected with the rain forest. They also offered much better scenery.
Cacti
Salto San Martin
Fig Tree
Salto dos Hermanos
Old fire watchtower
Neon orange fungi
We then caught the free ferry over to the island. Then we walked up these grueling uneven steps that you would never find in an American National Park (liability). The island was incredible, chock full of lizards, vultures, and other birds.
It was also the only place I have ever seen a rainbow on flat ground, about 10 feet away. You could almost reach out and touch it.
We ate lunch in the valley of the vultures (my name). It was very similar to what you would find in Eastern Oregon.
Those lumps in the trees are the vultures, we counted over 100 of them.
On the way back we encountered an excellent view of the Iguazu river, sans all the waterfalls.
The sun was low in the sky by this point, creating even more amazing light effects.
I spent a long time on this rock, taking in the view (be sure to click for full effect).
If you bug me enough I will post a video of this spot, otherwise I am not going to bother.
On our way out of the park I saw these manicured fields of grass through the trees. What the hell? We continued and came across the abomination known as the Sheraton hotel. The only hotel located inside the park. It has all the accoutrements of any resort hotel built in 1970 as is just as ugly. I was disgusted by this destruction of beauty and felt like spitting on the immaculate pool area. This hotel is inhabited by lazy ass rich people with decidedly american B.M.I.s
We then came across a much more pleasing structure, Hotel Viejo, completely abandoned, and far more aesthetically pleasing:
I suggested we go peek in the windows and my dad agreed. As we walked up we were rewarded with the sighting of one of the park's more elusive creatures: the toucan. A very shy bird, it flew away before I could get a picture. I bet there is no toucans flying around the Sheraton.
Once we arrived back in town ominous clouds had began to creep across the sky, slowly obscuring this beautiful sunset.
I have seen clouds like this before and knew what came next:
After the rain, we went to a restaurant known for its cow products. This is their outdoor asado (grill).
My dad had expressed a desire to get some cow guts, given i had spent most of the downpour drinking it sounded like a good idea to me.
so....
Needless to say it was not that great. The normal cuts were fairly decent but the intestines and kidneys were blech.
Nasty!
My father and I headed back to the park for our second day of exploration, unfortunately my mom couldn't accompany us because she had come down with a cold. We left the bus station about noon on a very empty bus -- a good sign. This colorful scene was unfolding across the street at the shell station:
After the 30 minute bus ride we arrived to a almost deserted park, I was very happy to see that we would have most of it to ourselves. Today we planned to hike the lower trails and visit Isla San Martin, accessible by ferry (Yesterday we did the upper trail and train ride to the Gargantua Falls, for those not paying attention).
We decided to walk instead of taking that stupid train. When we reached the central station a Coati, (Argentine version of a raccoon) was kind enough to pose under the sign warning you about them:
The lower trails were far more physically demanding and far less like an amusement park, I felt a lot more connected with the rain forest. They also offered much better scenery.
Cacti
Salto San Martin
Fig Tree
Salto dos Hermanos
Old fire watchtower
Neon orange fungi
We then caught the free ferry over to the island. Then we walked up these grueling uneven steps that you would never find in an American National Park (liability). The island was incredible, chock full of lizards, vultures, and other birds.
It was also the only place I have ever seen a rainbow on flat ground, about 10 feet away. You could almost reach out and touch it.
We ate lunch in the valley of the vultures (my name). It was very similar to what you would find in Eastern Oregon.
Those lumps in the trees are the vultures, we counted over 100 of them.
On the way back we encountered an excellent view of the Iguazu river, sans all the waterfalls.
The sun was low in the sky by this point, creating even more amazing light effects.
I spent a long time on this rock, taking in the view (be sure to click for full effect).
If you bug me enough I will post a video of this spot, otherwise I am not going to bother.
On our way out of the park I saw these manicured fields of grass through the trees. What the hell? We continued and came across the abomination known as the Sheraton hotel. The only hotel located inside the park. It has all the accoutrements of any resort hotel built in 1970 as is just as ugly. I was disgusted by this destruction of beauty and felt like spitting on the immaculate pool area. This hotel is inhabited by lazy ass rich people with decidedly american B.M.I.s
We then came across a much more pleasing structure, Hotel Viejo, completely abandoned, and far more aesthetically pleasing:
I suggested we go peek in the windows and my dad agreed. As we walked up we were rewarded with the sighting of one of the park's more elusive creatures: the toucan. A very shy bird, it flew away before I could get a picture. I bet there is no toucans flying around the Sheraton.
Once we arrived back in town ominous clouds had began to creep across the sky, slowly obscuring this beautiful sunset.
I have seen clouds like this before and knew what came next:
After the rain, we went to a restaurant known for its cow products. This is their outdoor asado (grill).
My dad had expressed a desire to get some cow guts, given i had spent most of the downpour drinking it sounded like a good idea to me.
so....
Needless to say it was not that great. The normal cuts were fairly decent but the intestines and kidneys were blech.
Nasty!
Day 17 Iguazu
Day 17 - Waterfalls, Butterflies, and Walt Disney. (4/24/08)
Note: Iguazu has an accent over the "u" but I can't figure out how to insert it.
I awoke to a beautiful 80 degree day, with the sun shining and the lush greenery glimmering all around.
This is where we were staying: Resedencia Noella. Rooms cost 20 USD a night, versus, say the Sheraton which was 150 USD a night (more on that later).
The hotel was guarded by this weird poodle mix, probably the most off-breed poodle I have ever seen.
When we reached the park it wasn't quite what I expected. It bore more resemblance to Disneyland than a rain forest. The first 500 feet were covered with souvenir shops, fast food restaurants, and Guarani Indians selling bracelets, necklaces, and bow and arrows. The Disneyland similarity continued as we boarded "The great train of the jungle" (the parks transport system). After being shepherded through most of the park we arrived at the main attraction: Waterfall Gargantua Diablo. This was packed with tourists from every first world country you can think of. Nevertheless the falls themselves were breath-taking. They made the waterfalls of Oregon look like a small child pissing in the wind.
I highly recommend clicking that picture to get the full effect.
And for your further enjoyment, a video as well:
There was also a wide variety of butterflies inhabiting the park. More like swarming the park, as there were thousands. They would not think twice about landing on you to hitch a ride. Here a some I managed to get pictures of:
Number 88
And my personal favorite: big greeney, who was more than happy to show off his colors for the camera.
This one was iridescent, those blue stripes changed to green depending on how you held him:
There were also these guys, who, when we first saw them appeared exotic and rare, but after two days of observing their behavior I realized these are just the South American equivalent of blue jays. One pulled a whole bag of crackers out of the trash and flew up into a nearby tree to eat it, it seems he had been doing this for awhile, as the tree was littered with other food wrappers.
Note: Iguazu has an accent over the "u" but I can't figure out how to insert it.
I awoke to a beautiful 80 degree day, with the sun shining and the lush greenery glimmering all around.
This is where we were staying: Resedencia Noella. Rooms cost 20 USD a night, versus, say the Sheraton which was 150 USD a night (more on that later).
The hotel was guarded by this weird poodle mix, probably the most off-breed poodle I have ever seen.
When we reached the park it wasn't quite what I expected. It bore more resemblance to Disneyland than a rain forest. The first 500 feet were covered with souvenir shops, fast food restaurants, and Guarani Indians selling bracelets, necklaces, and bow and arrows. The Disneyland similarity continued as we boarded "The great train of the jungle" (the parks transport system). After being shepherded through most of the park we arrived at the main attraction: Waterfall Gargantua Diablo. This was packed with tourists from every first world country you can think of. Nevertheless the falls themselves were breath-taking. They made the waterfalls of Oregon look like a small child pissing in the wind.
I highly recommend clicking that picture to get the full effect.
And for your further enjoyment, a video as well:
There was also a wide variety of butterflies inhabiting the park. More like swarming the park, as there were thousands. They would not think twice about landing on you to hitch a ride. Here a some I managed to get pictures of:
Number 88
And my personal favorite: big greeney, who was more than happy to show off his colors for the camera.
This one was iridescent, those blue stripes changed to green depending on how you held him:
There were also these guys, who, when we first saw them appeared exotic and rare, but after two days of observing their behavior I realized these are just the South American equivalent of blue jays. One pulled a whole bag of crackers out of the trash and flew up into a nearby tree to eat it, it seems he had been doing this for awhile, as the tree was littered with other food wrappers.
miércoles, 23 de abril de 2008
Day 16 Airports
Day 16 - Airports again, and smoke.
The smoke is rolling back in, I am glad we are leaving. The fire is still burning strong, but we will be north of it, so it probably won't be an issue.
I was a bit worried about our plane, an MD-80, the exact same one that American Airlines had grounded 300 of for maintenance issues (note: this isn't a picture of it).
The 70's era fuel truck didn't ease my concerns.
It was also the first time since the 90's I have walked out on the tarmac to board a plane.
However, we reached Puerto Iguazu without incident. It is a small town with cobblestone streets and a sharp divide between the tourists and the generally poor locals.
The smoke is rolling back in, I am glad we are leaving. The fire is still burning strong, but we will be north of it, so it probably won't be an issue.
I was a bit worried about our plane, an MD-80, the exact same one that American Airlines had grounded 300 of for maintenance issues (note: this isn't a picture of it).
The 70's era fuel truck didn't ease my concerns.
It was also the first time since the 90's I have walked out on the tarmac to board a plane.
However, we reached Puerto Iguazu without incident. It is a small town with cobblestone streets and a sharp divide between the tourists and the generally poor locals.
Day 15 San Telmo/La Boca
Day 15
Dear lord, I took one hundred and thirty six pictures today.
Today we returned to San Telmo to see what it was like without the weekend market and tourists and went to La Boca, Buenos Aires' oldest neighborhood.
Ok this isn't either of those places, its the congress building and its about two blocks away from my house on Callao, a busy one way 4 lane street. But its a good picture so I included it anyway.
And across the street is this abandoned Cafe/Building that is slowly rotting away, I would really like to get inside this one. At the base is this crazy bum house this guy constructed right on the sidewalk. For some reason this is tolerated, but only from him. I will try to get a picture of it one of these days.
I have already posted pictures of San Telmo, so I will just add this one. This lady, in pseudo-Gaucho attire, and everyone else, are looking down the street where someone just set off what sounded like an M-80, for no reason of course.
I also broke down and purchased that knife I spoke of earlier. I just couldn't get it out of my head and had to do it.
Onto La Boca, this is the first thing I saw when I got off the bus: a hotted-out fiat.
These are two bridges (old and new) that cross what was Buenos Aires' main shipping channel in the 1920's. They have changed it twice more since then.
River Riachuelo. I have never seen a more polluted, stinky-ass river. When the local soccer team The Boca Jrs. play their arch rivals, the Rio Plate, the Rio Plate fans love to rub this fact in La Boca's faces by wearing surgical masks to the games.
Still its quite scenic.
This is La Boca proper, the bright colors were the idea of an artist (Quinquela Martin) who encouraged everyone to paint their houses this way to give the neighborhood character.
Other neighborhood shots:
Notice the makeshift barbwire on the wall: broken glass mounted with cement.
We also went to the Museo de bellas Artes de la Boca, housed in the space where Quinquela Martin lived and worked.
Despite many signs warning that no photography was allowed I snuck this shot of a great painting by Nicolas Menza, there was a whole room full of these, all following the same theme.
You can also walk out onto the Terraza, which offers excellent views of the river and Lo Boca proper. Note the layer of black sediment accumulated in the middle of the river.
This is one of the many convertible tourist buses that roam the city.
Tomorrow, I am going into the jungle, albeit a tame and touristy jungle, complete with hotel (the real jungle comes next week, hopefully).
So this will be my last update until this weekend.
One more thing, Feliza the neighbor cat is apparently a natural lolcat, I need a good caption for this one:
Dear lord, I took one hundred and thirty six pictures today.
Today we returned to San Telmo to see what it was like without the weekend market and tourists and went to La Boca, Buenos Aires' oldest neighborhood.
Ok this isn't either of those places, its the congress building and its about two blocks away from my house on Callao, a busy one way 4 lane street. But its a good picture so I included it anyway.
And across the street is this abandoned Cafe/Building that is slowly rotting away, I would really like to get inside this one. At the base is this crazy bum house this guy constructed right on the sidewalk. For some reason this is tolerated, but only from him. I will try to get a picture of it one of these days.
I have already posted pictures of San Telmo, so I will just add this one. This lady, in pseudo-Gaucho attire, and everyone else, are looking down the street where someone just set off what sounded like an M-80, for no reason of course.
I also broke down and purchased that knife I spoke of earlier. I just couldn't get it out of my head and had to do it.
Onto La Boca, this is the first thing I saw when I got off the bus: a hotted-out fiat.
These are two bridges (old and new) that cross what was Buenos Aires' main shipping channel in the 1920's. They have changed it twice more since then.
River Riachuelo. I have never seen a more polluted, stinky-ass river. When the local soccer team The Boca Jrs. play their arch rivals, the Rio Plate, the Rio Plate fans love to rub this fact in La Boca's faces by wearing surgical masks to the games.
Still its quite scenic.
This is La Boca proper, the bright colors were the idea of an artist (Quinquela Martin) who encouraged everyone to paint their houses this way to give the neighborhood character.
Other neighborhood shots:
Notice the makeshift barbwire on the wall: broken glass mounted with cement.
We also went to the Museo de bellas Artes de la Boca, housed in the space where Quinquela Martin lived and worked.
Despite many signs warning that no photography was allowed I snuck this shot of a great painting by Nicolas Menza, there was a whole room full of these, all following the same theme.
You can also walk out onto the Terraza, which offers excellent views of the river and Lo Boca proper. Note the layer of black sediment accumulated in the middle of the river.
This is one of the many convertible tourist buses that roam the city.
Tomorrow, I am going into the jungle, albeit a tame and touristy jungle, complete with hotel (the real jungle comes next week, hopefully).
So this will be my last update until this weekend.
One more thing, Feliza the neighbor cat is apparently a natural lolcat, I need a good caption for this one:
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