AWOL! Em and Chris in South America

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Actually, we had a good amount of time in the city. We stayed a week in Buenos Aires which was about perfect. But it did feel like we could have spent a lot more time there. It was probably our favorite city just to visit. Due to its size and the hot and muggy summers, it was not a prospect for us living there, and as such we were able to enjoy it simply as turistas – and as such it was our solemn duty to enjoy ourselves.

So we did. We looooved Buenos Aires. Transportation was simple, just hop on a subway and go. Taxis weren’t too expensive if something lay off the subway routes. But we didn’t need them much, there were usually subway lines within a few blocks of the main places that we wanted to be. Buenos Aires often reminded us of San Francisco. One of my major beefs with San Francisco, however, is its sucky transport system. Maybe I’m just not familiar with SF’s system, but Buenos Aires definitely has it beat hands down in this area. Which is sad. I really wish I could spend more time in one of the greatest cities in the world, but the traffic and parking are horrendous at best (well, that’s not true, driving through San Francisco at 4 in the morning is great!). Buenos Aires reminded me that subways make me very happy….you avoid all street traffic and usually they are very easy to understand and get you were you want to go quickly. If only SF had a good one! Mmm yes, so where was I? Buenos Aires. Right.

Perhaps the most memorable afternoon was when we walked down to the San Telmo neighborhood, where they shut off one of main streets once a week and people flood the area. In other places with these types of events, the usual thing is to have a bunch of booths filling the streets. It was different in San Telmo, there are musicians, artisans and performers all along the streets. There are booths and vendors down the side streets but the main attractions are the music and dance. There is nothing like tango. The music and the dance are mesmerizing. And I have a new found appreciation for accordions and their players. Growing up, the only association I had with any accordion music was this somewhat pathetic blind man that played melancholic Christmas tunes at the events in Grass Valley and Nevada City. Well, that image got turned on its head…let it be known that accordion players can in fact be cool and amazing! I have never seen anything like it. I was familiar with tango music via the “Waking Life” sound track, but hearing it come alive in the streets was something else entirely. The music has an enchantingly eerie quality that is inescapable. Throughout our stay in Buenos Aires, the songs kept going through my head, even long after we had seen the performances.

(Emily) It seems like a lot happens in the streets of Buenos Aires. One evening, we were trying to find the art museum when we walked by a street that had fun music playing loudly and people milling about everywhere. We were curious, but the museum was about to close, so we stayed on track. It was definitely not my favorite museum, but it had some interesting pieces. After we were kicked out with all the other late comers we wandered back over in the direction of the music. It seemed like some kind of fancy shindig. It wasn’t just music, but DJ’s and spotlights spelling out the names of things and red carpets, champagne being handed out like candy, and all kinds of expensively dressed people mobbing the store fronts. The first store we came across did have something special going on. A famous Argentinian artist had designed some pieces for their store and she was there signing autographs. I tried to go in the store, but I got stopped by a very polite but firm man who wanted to know if I was “on the list”. It wasn’t just that store though. The red carpet continued down the street to all kinds of designer stores some that we could actually go in. Although it is a little scary to touch a tank top that costs almost $500.

Then at the other end of the street we noticed a row of policemen and TV cameras everywhere. There were picket signs poking out amongst the gathering crowds. I couldn’t figure out what it all meant. I asked a couple of people in Spanish and got varying bits of information that basically amounted to there was some political figure there, but I didn’t know who or what he was doing there. Finally, I stopped an elegant looking lady who was scowling at the group. She spoke English and explained that he was a man who frequently spoke out for the poor people of Argentina. He often shows up in places where the rich folks are and tries to use the contrast to further his cause. She didn’t seem too impressed with him and proceeded to tell me about how the Shanty towns being built up around the city are basically a blemish and are causing embarrassment. I found her next comment amusing though. She said that many people were concerned that the informal housing would deter tourists from visiting their city, but now there are tours set up specifically to take tourists there to see that part of Argentinian life. She concluded, “Apparently tourists will go look at just about anything!” We also found out from this lady, that this was not some special event. They do this every week.

I loved the fact that there is this crazy world of people and companies that have so much money that they can do whatever they please with it. I also loved how there were people protesting it and reminding everyone that there are many people who have a lot of needs and in light of that, these extravaganzas are absurd. I love that the politicians are allowed to say things like that and that the elegant lady scowled but listened.

(Chris) Well, we saw a lot more in Buenos Aires, but rather than drag this on forever, here is a very very brief summary of the things we liked about Buenos Aires: cool clothes (funky, fashionable and cheap!), steak and grilled meat in general – very tasty and comparably cheap, tango (we saw a formal show and street performances – sexy!), varied food – Chinese, Indian (very good) and Italian (actually, we weren’t so impressed with pasta in Argentina, also, don’t bother getting pizza it seemed to be universally disastrous), did I mention the subway?, dog walkers with 7+ dogs, artists abound, cemetery (imagine a city of the dead…woooo.), art museum, the waterfront. All of those things could use a whole little section to describe our experiences…..But that’s all for now, you’ll just have to trust that we enjoyed ourselves. Except that our hostel room was too hot and did not have air conditioning as advertised. Hrrmf. Life is so tough sometimes :p. It was good actually, because it forced us to spend more time in the city rather than holing up like a hermit like I might be inclined to do.

More pictures of Mendoza and Uruguay: Click Here

Uruguay, not exactly the first country that comes to mind when thinking of places to visit in South America. However, it turned out to be one of the places that we really enjoyed. We had just crossed Mendoza off our list because of the lack of work for Emily. A friend of Emily’s (thanks Marie!) told her that Montevideo was one of her top picks for places to stay in South America. So, since we needed to make a decision pretty soon, from Mendoza we skipped through Buenos Aires on an overnight bus and landed on a ferry to Montevideo that morning.

As it turned out, of all the places to stay, Uruguay is one that we wanted to stay the most in. There really isn’t a lot of wizbang stuff to say about Uruguay itself. It’s a very small country, and has been very peaceful ever since a violent political upheaval in the 80’s. So that may have been a big factor in why we wanted to stay there, we just felt safer. We didn’t feel like we needed to stress about our stuff all the time. Also, the people of Uruguay are some of the most helpful and kind people that we have met anywhere in the world. If we asked a question, complete strangers would go out of their way to try and figure things out for us or to help us. It was almost like being in a small town, even when in the large port city of Montevideo.

One of the more amusing moments we had was in an Italian restaurant in Colonia (about the cutest little town ever) that has one of the craziest waiters ever. Michelle and Neal, I think you would have absolutely loved this guy. He was very loud and random and would burst into song frequently. But the best part of his whole persona was his collection of hats. He had these crazy, crazy hats that he would switch from time to time. At one point we overheard him mention mate (pronounced mah-teh) and our ears perked up. The whole time we had been in Uruguay I had wanted to try this mate tea that I had seen people drinking. There were people everywhere in Uruguay with these thermoses and mate cups…this whole special ensemble they have to drink this tea. But oddly, no restaurants or cafes or any place like that actually sold the drinks individually. So we asked him if they had mate in the restaurant and he said no but would I like to try some. Absolutely! At this point the restaurant was mostly empty, so he was able to show us the whole mate preparation process and how special and healthy it is and everything. And finally I got to try some. Whoa! It’s pretty stiff stuff. He was telling us that mate is like a companion, and is sort of a solitary thing. I thought it was an interesting contrast to the more social coffee culture in the States and Europe. Anyway, it was fun hanging out with this guy in his restaurant.

Sadly, however, the whole living situation didn’t quite work out. Again, Emily was hard pressed to find work that started immediately. Also, the cost of living seemed to be just a little too high for us to make it work.

The Highlights of Uruguay:
Steak: I had the first real good steak in all of South America! Even in the parts of Argentina (renowned for its beef) we had been, their steaks were…well…odd. If you order ‘lomo’ what you will get is a thin steak topped with ham and a fried egg. Mmmm. Cholesterol lovers and heart attack seekers rejoice! So, it was a delight to finally sink my teeth into a nice juice perfectly prepared steak.

Montevideo: Like much of Argentina, the buildings are gorgeous colonial style buildings, apartments, whatever. It’s very pleasant to just walk down most any street in the city. The city is surrounded on three sides by water, a river on one side and the Atlantic on the other. The weather was perfect spring weather. For some reason I had a very strong urge to go fishing while in Montevideo. I don’t know why. Sadly, it was very hard to find an apartment or small house with a yard that was affordable, so that was a major setback for staying there. Also, we felt a bit claustrophobic when thinking about living because a lot of it was high-rise apartments/condos in the central part. And the houses with yards were too far out.

Punta del Este: It is kind a beach resort town (replete with high rise apartments and hotels), where many Brazilians and tons of Argentinians come during January to flood the beaches and rent apartments at ridiculously expensive rates. The rent and hotel prices double for one month. It is an extremely touristy place, but it is also quite beautiful and we enjoyed our few days there. It was the place we would have liked to live had we stayed in Uruguay. But again, no solid work prospects :(…So, it looks like we’ll be heading back to Cuenca as had been the original plan.

Colonia: I stated it before, but I have to say it again. This town is adorably quaint. It has cobblestone streets and from many parts in the town you can catch glimpses of the water that surrounds the town. It is a perfect town for spending a day shopping, relaxing and in general just spending time being the sad, soppy tourist type of person that I grew up despising in Nevada City. Our lunch with crazy hat man was very memorable.

Next stop, Buenos Aires. Uruguay we’ll miss you!

We returned from the Salar exhausted and filthy. Dust was everywhere, our clothes and hair were caked with it and our bags now had a very travel worn look. It would have been heaven to crash into a nice, soft bed. However, we had a train that night to the border of Argentina and a bus the next day, so even though we desperately needed a break, it would have to wait.

That night the train took us out of one of the poorest South American countries and into one of the richest. The difference wasn’t apparent the second we crossed the border, but by the time we had reached our destination for the night it felt like we had stumbled out of the wastelands of the Salar and into another world entirely. We had left South America behind and gone to Europe somehow. Argentinians are primarily fair skinned, the buildings are beautiful colonial structures and well cared for, the cars were newer models and very numerous, the streets were clean, there were wi-fi signs in some cafe windows (for Chris that was the clincher – civilization at last!), so it just didn’t feel quite like we were still on the same continent.

The only strange thing is their store hours. I decided to look for some shoes I needed after we ate lunch. That was a big mistake as all the stores were closed by the time we got done. Many places in South America close up shop completely for 1-2 hours at lunch time, so we just figured they would open back up at 3 pm like we were used to. 4 pm rolled around and the stores were still closed. We finally asked someone at our hotel about it and they looked at us like we were the crazy ones trying to shop in the middle of the afternoon. Apparently, the stores close from about 12:30 to 4:30 or 5pm. Everyone goes home and the streets are completely empty. It almost feels like we were in a ghost town or something. But, by evening the streets are flooded with people and all sorts of activity.

The next day we moved on to the city of Mendoza. It was an amazing place. We had heard good things about it, so it was one of the places on our list to consider staying until July. It is Spring right now, so the temperature was hovering around 80 F. All the streets are lined with shady green trees that stretch over to the other side. The side walks are paved with bricks and tiles instead of concrete and there are Spanish style plazas and parks everywhere with fountains and children playing and people eating ice cream. They eat a lot of ice cream in Mendoza. It seems like there is an ice cream shop on every other corner. I was in heaven. It was just such a pleasant peaceful place to be.

I looked into staying and working there, but we found that the school year is on a different schedule. School starts in March and goes until the beginning of December. So, they are about to finish out their year before their summer vacation. From what I have learned since we have been here, Argentinians are big on their summer vacation. Nothing gets done the entire month of January. So, the schools said I would have a guaranteed job in March, and maybe starting in February, but nothing until then. March is a long time from now and I’m not too good at just sitting around twiddling my thumbs. So, we decided Cuenca is probably our best bet for a place to return to.

I still didn’t have the shoes I needed since all the stores in Salta were closed. So, I tried again in Mendoza. These stores were actually open, but they had a system that I didn’t understand at first. Shoe stores have very large display windows with tons of shoes crammed inside. There are hardly any shoes actually inside the store. It took me a while to realize that you look outside. Then, if there is something you want to try on you have to go inside, bring the clerk outside and point to which shoe you would like. Then they will go get it – or sort of. They never seemed to have the shoe I wanted in my size. So, they would bring me “similar” shoes. Similar could mean anything. Sometimes they were completely different colors, styles, or purposes than what I had originally pointed out. I finally gave up on shoe shopping.

(Chris) Since Mendoza is THE major wine region of the South America, we went on a wine tasting tour. The Argentinians are very proud of their wine, boasting that it is better than Chile’s, and in fact one of Chile’s major wineries is in Mendoza ironically enough. Apparently Chile has better connections with the United Sates and Europe and so has established a strong wine trade while Argentina has not been able to get “in the game” with their wine. Argentinian wine is all over South America, but apparently Chile has been better at getting into the richer markets. The wine tour was interesting, but the best part came at the end of the tour. The tour ends at a restaurant. I have never seen a restaurant like this one, I think it’s sole purpose is to serve large groups of people and it probably does its main business with these tour groups. There are several small buildings, each with its own dining area, kitchen, chef and wait staff. We walked into our reserved room and before us was the most amazing spread I have ever seen in my life. It was beautiful. And good! The lunch lasted for a few hours. While we snacked on what was laid out, they brought out hot dishes, soup, and finally desert. It was quite luxurious and very tasty.

We chilled in Mendoza for several days. We were both very tired from the Salar trip and our whirlwind tour of Bolivia, so we really needed the rest. Or I did at least, I was snappy and grumpy and tired of traveling or doing anything. If it had been up to me, in Mendoza I would have just sat in the hotel room all day and read books or something totally boring like that. Emily and my travel speeds and preferences are quite different and so it tends to cause tension at various points….and this was one of them. Emily has a very different idea of what resting is…somehow shopping and sight-seeing and ‘doing things’ are part of her definition, while sitting around like a useless, unmoving lump of a person is more closer to my definition of resting. It pains Emily to be in a new place and do nothing. While I may not like it all the time, it’s good because we see a whole lot more of the places then I would on my own. But it can be a bit much for me sometimes. Oh well. So, in Mendoza we did a little of Chris type resting and a lot of Emily type resting much to my dismay :p

I have pictures of the amazing lunch on my camera, but all the batteries are dead right now so I can’t transfer them at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when we the pictures have been added. I’ll probably just include them when we do our next post. So, until next time!