Vamos Chile!

So far we've spent 3 amazing weeks in Chile. Should have known that the gorgeous drive from Mendoza into Chile was a foreshadow of things to come. The bus ride through the Andes was definitely a highlight and should be done in the day time when you can see the massive expanse of the mountains, the clear blue skies and the winding snow capped peaks. Then we got to our friend, Pablo's parents' apartment on the 23rd floor overlooking the city of Santiago - Fantastic, we were smack in the middle of downtown and within spitting distance of all the major tourist attractions!

First impression - Awesome! We jumped off the bus and got into the subway, which is brand new, efficient and clean. We took a look around and were met with the gorgeous Santiago night-scape.
Second impression - Even better! Santiago is like South America with a system! It's organized, the people line up, the shopping is better and the infrastructure of the city is oddly very North American.

Highlights:

• The walking tour - we did a free/by donation walking tour of the city, which was wonderfully informative and we met the most amazing Belgian Couple!
• Pablo Neruda - He's a Chileno poet/politician that had the knack for collecting the most random things from around the world. We got obsessed and saw all 3 of his houses in Santiago, Valparaiso and Isla Negra. Superb and his poems are great too!
• Pisco Sours, Terremottos and Carmeneres - All dangerously potent drinks that are pleasurable in their own way! All worth trying and consuming in vast quantities!
• The Views - From, well, everywhere it seems! Cerro Santa Lucia, San Cristobal, the apartments...
• Valparaiso - It's a gritty, artsy port town by the coast that has amazing colored houses and graffiti everywhere. It's beautiful and dark and worth visiting.
• Hanging with Pablo and getting a great feel of Santiago and Vina Del Mar.
  

Things we've learned:

• It's crazy fun to be in a city when they win a World Cup match. The city literally comes alive! Chi-chi-chi Le-le-le Viva Chile. I guess this is the best they've done in ages and boy, are they celebrating! Avenida Alameda, their main road (which was right outside the apartment) was closed down and thousands of people poured down waiving their flags and cheering like mad!
• They love being in pictures. The Chilenos will literally pose for you even if you don't want them to!
• There are lot of avocados and onions here. Like you get guacamole with every single thing you order!
• It's on the expensive side, Chile is definitely not cheap, but the quality of everything is much better than anywhere else. The cutlery doesn't break and the serviettes work.
• It is a long, long country and we have to take more buses!
  

Currently, we're heading up northern Chile to go to San Pedro de Atacama, one of the driest desert regions. We took a pit stop to do some start gazing! We wanted to do something a little different and seeing stars and the moon from a super telescope was fantastic. We're in La Serena, one of the best places in the world for astronomy - apparently, there are only 4 places and Chile, has the biggest and the best of them all. Plus, you see different constellations from the Southern Hemisphere and it's all upside down compared to the north. Yup, we're astronomers now, and randomly, it is the time for Scorpios...

The view from the Mandiola's residence! That's the Andes!!

Pablo Neruda's house in Isla Negra - our fave new poet!

Pisco Sours and lunch with la familia.

Amazing grafitti in Valpo

Our awesome host, Pablo.

Chi-chi-chi Le-le-le. Viva Chile!

La luna...from the super telescope. Soooo beautiful.

4 Months and counting!!

We finally made it to our 4th country in 4 months! Currently chilling in Vina del Mar, a wonderful coastal city in Chile. I'll write more about how impressive Chile is but in the mean time - to commemorate our 4th month. Here's a list of some things we've learned, what we're confused by and stuff we love.

Things we've learned:

• Travel tip -Don't go with the cheapest bus option and pay for the cama suite - it's either too hot, too cold, has no food or is filled with crying babies.
• They deliver everything here - there is ice cream delivery (Cordoba) !!! And you can order as many flavours as you want. That is impressive...
• Warning - Do NOT expect North American service anywhere...Eat well before you are starving.
• Efficiency is not high on the list of business practices here.
• Hot sauce is not hot in South America.
• Fashion - Mullets and rat tails are back (why oh why!?)
• Safety Tip - Always carry your backpack in front.
• Travel Trick - Pack your dirty laundry on top of your mochilla.
• Burger King is alive and kicking, jean shorts are not dead, MC hammer pants are making a comeback, Converse makes a killing here.
• Life Saver - Don't trust pedestrian lights - just cause it's green shouldn't mean you should walk.
• The drive from Mendoza to Chile is one of the most beautiful ones out there!
  

Things we are confused by:

• Business hours. We are still not sure how and when this continent actually works...seriously.
• How Yuko can get groped during a wine bike tour on a moving bike! hahahaha
• Babies on motorcyles (that is not a car seat!)
• Watching a stray dog getting out of a public bus alone in downtown Santiago
• Serviettes that don't soak up anything & how there can be a monopoly on crappy cutlery
• No concept of food cost - you will find a jar of mayo in your sandwich and a full block of cheese in your empanada
• Why clubs start at 2am and people have dinner at 11pm!
• How you can have pickles but no relish, peanuts but no peanut butter and soy sauce that doesn''t have salt.
• How women can walk in high heels - between looking out for dog poo, ditches, potholes and uneven pavement...my feet have seriously changed shape and I'm in runners!
• Siestas during winter. Isn't the concept of closing during the afternoon because it's too hot?
  

Stuff we love:

• 4 generation family asados in Argentina are awesome! You don't have to be a meat lover to enjoy the goodness of this.
• Speaking Spanish with the Malanos ;) and only being quasi understood but still have great conversations! Muchas gracias!
• A bicentenial celebration in the capital city is the best experience ever - gigantic parades, fantastic floats, open air concerts and thousands of people out in full force celebrating. Thanks BA!
• Brazilien Cachaca, Argentinian Malbecs and Chilean Merlots and Cab sauvs follow a close second.
• We're still great friends. It's true folks - after 4 months, we still like each other!
• The sexiness of the Braziliens, the beauty of the Argentinians and we've only gotten to Chile!
• The Brazilian Portuguese is wonderful to listen to - it's like they're singing a song when they talk.
• Corner stores that sell everything and we mean everything!
• Alfajores with dulce de leche - they are basically suped up wagonwheels :)
• Pedestrian only streets
• Traffic lights turn from Red to Orange then Green - it's like advanced warning that you're about to get hit.
• Bakeries/Panadarias everywhere and 24 hour pharmacies (with little windows that open like in a gas station to take your order)
• Hooks on tables so your bag won't get stolen
• Ice cream and food by weight, fresh fruit from Brazil that melt in your mouth
• Listening to our MP3 player in the subte/bus while people watching

Some fave moments in the last 4 weeks:

The most amazing drive ever. Mendoza, Argentina -- Santiago, Chile

Thanks for the Bicentennial party BA!

We love Argentinian wine.

We all managed to say on the horses!

The best Cordoba experience.

Our life in Buenos Aires...and our little jaunt to Uruguay

So I began writing this in the peaceful calm of Colonia, Uruguay about a week ago trying to reminisce about what it was like living in BA for a month. No need since, ironically, we're back in BA. Long story short, after a week in Uruguay we were suppose to make it to Cordoba - But, there is ALWAYS some sort of funny situation with us and buses...so after lugging all our stuff to the bus station from the port we never got our tickets despite there being like 6 different options...something about a bus strike/fog/sold out/nothing till 9 am - not quite sure what the real reason is - our Spanish classes never covered that and there are always multiple truths depending on who you ask.

No worries, we're pretty happy and getting a free night from our hostel to stay longer just means BArgentina Round 2 is well under way. We have completely fallen in love with BA. In fact, we can actually imagine ourselves living there... And for the past month, it really felt like home. We made some amazing friends and really had a great time.

Tally of BA:

The touristy stuff:

• Tigre - We took a day trip to the Tigre, which is the largest river delta in the world. It's only about 15 km away and it's ridiculously accessible by train (which costs 15 cents)! Once there, you need to take a boat to get anywhere (and by anywhere, I mean, the little plots of land that can hold resorts, restaurants, beautiful summer homes that are all seperated by lots of water. There is an icecream/grocery/flower/local taxi boat for everything. The houses are built on stilts and it seems that everyone owns either a jetski/boat/canoe/kayak or some sort of thing that floats to get you from point A to B. I wish we had more time to go around there. Oh and we had the most amazing chocolate dipped waffles on sticks there!
• Recoleta Cemetery - It's one of the must see tourist attractions and was only about 3km away from our apartment. It's eeriely beautiful with it's maze like rows and rows of beautiful crypts, caskets and sculptures. I suppose seeing Evita Peron's was pretty cool but we ended up freaking ourselves out a bit after a while and had to get out of there as the sun started to set. We're no Buffy.
• Palermo - Our neighbourhood had some of the coolest looking restau-lounges everywhere. I need to take some pictures of them!
  
• San Telmo - Grander architecture, antique fairs everywhere but what made us love the area the most - was our favorite coffee shop - La Poesia - with the best cappuccino in town and Bar Seddon - which, surprisingly enough, had the best pasta for Yuko and the most amazing steak for me!
• La Boca - Glad we finally made it there...it's colourful and really only spans 2 blocks but it's lively and beautiful. It's pretty darn touristy but ya, people are attracted to brightly painted houses, funny statues of Maradona, Eva Peron and pretty people dancing for you at restaurants. Total kitch but a great way to spend an afternoon. Just don't go down on the wrong corner.
• Feria de Mataderos - It's a great fair with local artisans. The cool thing is that people walk around in costumes not for tourists but cause I think they just really like looking like gauchos. The locals just get in on the action and start dancing to the live music. Had some yummy Humitas, empanadas and choripans.
  

Noteworthy acknowledgements:

• People - Hands down, some of the best looking men and women in the world! Oh and they were unbelievably nice too.
• Nightlife - Legendary. Actually epic. Admittedly, I have not gone out that much ever! But if you're going to do it, apparently BA is the place to discover every single type of bar/lounge/pub/club possible - which, I think we did a great job on. By the way, props to my girl Priya :) Go to a gay club in BA for their shows - I still have New York, New York and other Broadway tunes running in my head! As an aside, I'm still not over how many men tried to pick me up and follow me around at a gay club...so random, I really don't understand. I understand why people laughed when we said that we were going to Buenos Aires for R&R - they're right, this is not the city for it. I've had more energy drinks in the last 2 weeks than I ever have in my life. The drink of choice here is apparently Speed (their version of RedBull) y Vodka.
• Public transportation - Impressive. Between the Subte, 24 Hour bus/colectivo system, the trains and the taxis that are everywhere, I've never been to a more accessible megacity in the world. The grid like urban planning of the city, means that you can literally walk everywhere. I can't begin to tell you how impressive Buenos Aires is.
  

Uruguay - It seems almost a shame to write about Uruguay in the same blog entry after raving about BA. So, the Lonely Planet describes Uruguay as a "Great hidden secret" - We've decided not to believe everything they say... As a prelude, yes, perhaps it's because it was off season and it is winter. Maybe it was because we only went to a total of 3 cities. But honestly, the best way that we can describe Uruguay is Unremarkable. I feel unbelievably bad saying that, but honestly, we were there for 6 days and it was ridiculously expensive for what we got out of it.

• Colonia - Cute little UNESCO heritage city. It's tiny but worth the day trip. Only go a day! We love walking tours and took some cool pictures of old city with its rich history of what 16th century brothels were like, what the differences between Portuguese and Spanish roofs were and rented a fun triciclo to get around. We drove every road twice in 3 hours...
• Montevideo - Yuko has a really dramatic quote describing it as a city with it's soul dying. But ya, it kinda was. You could tell that it had a hayday at one point, only to have it crumble. I suppose it didn't help that it was apparently a long weekend and can you believe it, everything and we mean everything actually closes during the weekend!! It is apparently, a time of rest...great concept, but honestly, I have no idea how an economy can run that way. It completely wierded us out.
• Punta Del Este - We took a day trip to this cute beach resort town about 2 hours east... It was pretty in a non-descript in the sense that the city could have been in Europe, Cancun, Florida - really odd.
  

We met some really cool people in the hostels that we stayed at...the Chivito (Uruguayian Steak sandwich was great) and I think that's pretty much that...

Punta Del Este - Lighthouse

We were obsessed with this hand sculpture on the beach.

Our little Triciclo. 200ccs of good times...yup, I drove ;)

Training for Buffy at the Recoleta Cemetery

Tigre and their boats (surprisingly they follow passenger capacity - something has to be safe - at least on water)

Muy bien ;)

Ahora, nosotros aprendemos espanol en escuela. Nosotros conocemos mucho agente que es muy amable! Nuestro departamento es muy luminoso y cerca mucho restaurantes y cafes. Tenemos un poco frio por que es otono aca. Pero, nosotros estamos felices!! (Not sure if that's the greatest Spanish - but hey it's only been 2 weeks. Translation: Right now, we're learning Spanish in a school. We're meeting tons of nice people. Our apartment is really bright and close to a lot of restaurants and cafes. We're a little bit cold cause it's Fall/Autumn here. But, we're really happy!)

Haven't been too regular with the blogs cause we've been trying to explore the city and be good students...not so sure about the good part, but we have been trying to study! So far, I'm really really loving Buenos Aires, it's quickly become one of my favourite cities in the world. There's a vibrancy about it that is great and thoroughly enjoyable. Maybe it's cause we're meeting/have met amazing people and been having a great time, maybe it's because it really is a beautiful city that has so much to offer. There is something for everyone here. There's so many cute and quaint cafes, cool bars, thumping clubs, delicious restaurants, interesting museums, great architecture to be seen everywhere! We take the subway all the time and everyday is like a mini adventure. There's something wonderful about being part of the throng of Portenos (locals) that makes us feel like we're part of the city. Sometimes, musicians play beautiful music, which makes it even more fun. Other times, you're reminded that you're in a big city when everyone has there backpacks in front of them, women are clutching their purses and there are blind people selling gum in the trains. Oh, and am not a big fan of the packed sardine feeling I get when it's rush hour. Aside from that, every corner you turn is like a picture waiting to be taken. In fact, the pictures I'm adding are the sites that I see walking to school and the jogging route that I have. It's amazingly gorgeous.

Staying put for a little while, means that we get to experience the city like we're actually living here. We've had our new friends come over for a dinner we all cooked, we've gone to an Argentinian guy's birthday party, gone to see a movie in the theatre, eaten Chinese at China(town/street)...you know, things we'd actually do back home. However, when they say that BA is nocturnal - they were NOT kidding! Everything starts so late here I don't even understand how people do it. It's not just the going out, but they have dinner here at like 10pm! I mean I'm on vacation and I'm exhausted. That said, no complaints whatsoever! Life's good and BA helps make it better everyday!

The park I run at.

I particularly love Brujas and the Chickas Catolicos posters!

I walk by the Congreso building on my way to school.

We see little markets/fairs at every single plaza!

Making dinner with new friends at our apartment :)
(Guacamole anyone?)

The monument on the way to Yuko's school on the world's widest avenue.

This rose garden makes me want to run everyday!

Buenos Aires so far...

It's been a few weeks and life in Buenos Aires is coming along great! The first week was:

• Spent with Jan, whom we miss terribly!
• Figuring out that BA really is Europe in South America.
• Finding a favorite coffee shop in San Telmo - this quaint, completely Italian joint with fantastic Americanos and Cappuccinos.
• Doing the Tango thing - took a class, had a great 3 course dinner and watched a fantastically cheesy and awesome Tango show.
• Discovering that Puerto Madero is like Yaletown.
• Running the Ecological Reserve
• Did the Pub Crawl (a couple of times thanks to Emily) and made lots of new friends!
• Apartment hunting...we were hoping that it would be miraculously easier in BA than it would be back home, but I gotta tell you, trying to rent an apartment in Spanish is challenging to say the least. But good news - it was successful!
  

So now, an impressive week later, we're out of the hostel and in this wonderful apartment in Palermo (google it - it's a cool little area that's kinda like a combo of Robson, Kits and Commercial all rolled into one!). We're 2 blocks from the subway station, we're within walking distance to absolutely everything, we're right across from the Botanical Garden and the jogging and scenery is fantastic!! We're completely stoked! Doesn't matter that the sink leaks right now, or that the door gets jammed and there's a trick to opening it, or the fact that the elevator makes wierd noises...cause location, location, location and we are feeling pretty good about life! We'll be here for a month and use it as a base to do some weekend trips (send us an email if you want our Argentinian phone number!)

We've been pretty busy...We've signed up for Spanish classes and start on Monday. We've made some friends, checked out the National Art Gallery, watched a movie during the BA International Film Fest and have even had a girl's nite in. We've tried to go shopping (a couple of times, which is a feat considering we both hate it) and gotta say - not so impressed. But, it is fall here and we're definitely needing some more clothes rather than beach wear...

In any case, am trying to get caught up on blogging and emails. I'm finally putting up some much needed pics up on Facebook - give me another day or so since uploading is so much fun (yup, sarcasm intended). So if you want to have more of an idea what we've done and seen, check out my profile soon! PS - Am really starting to miss hearing from people. We want emails!!! Don't care if it's mundane or whatever, it would just be nice to touch base!!

Foz De Iguazu/Puerto Iguazu/ Cataratas de Iguazu = The Most Amazing Waterfalls Ever.

After a tremendously long and uncomfortable bus trip, we finally made it to Argentina. I got to tell you, after taking buses after buses, time and distance all blurs into one big haze. Our first day was a bit of a write off - apparently there was a strike which meant people couldn't go to the falls so it was filled with having our first Malbec and Argentitian steak with the British boys and of course a few games of Shithead. Day 2 - after transfering hostels and following Jan for city number 5 I think - we ended up at the Hostel Inn aka Holiday Inn. I love, absolutely love hostels that like look resorts. I fell completely in like with that place and the people there. There was so much to like about this place - the gigantic pool = ground zero, the amazing people we met, the bar... cons - um, we had the noisest room in the whole place. Imagine what it would be like to be at the room closest to the mega speakers off the little disco they had. This began day 1 of 9 days were I averaged 2-4 hours of sleep per night...also why I held off on writing, cause apparently, you do lose coherency with that little sleep. But I digress...

You have the option of seeing the falls from the Argentinian and Brazilian side. We had every intention of doing both but this is actually how it panned out:

Day 1 - Argentina. Let's see, it could have been the tremendous hang over I had after the 3rd bottle of Malbec (you know who you are...) or the fact that it was the busiest day of the year (ugh Easter) or the intense and almost unbearable heat but we basically stood in lines and just barely saw the Garganta de Diablo - beautiful but overshadowed by the thousands of others that were there. It was like the Disney land of natural wonders...

Day 2 - Argentina again. Thankfully an amazing day that made up for all the wrongs of the day before. We got there early, took our time, trekked through the Lower Trails and took lots of pictures of the amazing butterflies that inhabit the area. They came in all colours and sizes - I think we have enough butterfly pics to actually have its own folder (so beautiful that for a split second I almost understood why so many people have butterfly tattoos). We took the speed boat to falls, where I swear, they break every single safety violation - cause really, you just can't get that close to millions of gushing gallons of water and be that safe can you?? Either way, it was amazing and awesome and the best shower ever!! Then there's the upper trails where you view the water crashing down over the rocks. I looove waterfalls. What is it about water flowing over rocks that makes you speechless? Maybe it's the unstoppable force of the water, so strong that it forms clouds on impact or multiple rainbows. Maybe it's because it's so calming and emotional all at once just to see the sheer magnitude of those falls. Either way, it was spectacular.

Day 3. It was suppose to be Brazil. Thanks to our roomie at the dorm, we had this wonderful chance to see it from above. Instead, we flew over the falls on a private 4 seater Cesna!! For those keeping track, we saw the falls by land, water and air!!! Unless you've been there, it's really difficult to describe how awe inspiring these falls are. Imagine Niagra Falls exponentially until you are really really impressed and you've just had a glimpse of Iguazu!

I could go on for a while trying to recapture our experiences there, I'm not really sure I'll ever be able to encapsulate our experience there but here are some pics...they pretty much speak for itself!!

Finally Pics of Rio

Ok, so it's been a few weeks - but we're finally in our rented apartment in Buenos Aires!! It took us only about 4 days to find this gem on the top floor, that has a supposed doorman (who we've yet to meet), is a mere 2 blocks away from a subway line and across from the Botanical Garden. Tonight as we were walking dowto our apartment with had this completely awesomely cool feeling walking down Avenida Santa Fe which groceries - most importantly the bottles of Malbec, wine and baguette - towards our apartment! But I don't want to digress cause there is still pics of Rio and then of course the awe inspiring Foz de Iguazu that needs to come first.

Please note my big bike and Yuko's little one... ;)

Pao de Azucar

Yup, they actually recommend different SPFs depending on your skin tone!

The view on the way up Pao de Azucar. That's Rio baby!

We stayed in both places!

This was the Favella Funk Party...

We watched an awesome football match. Go Vasco go!

We biked all of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

Sunset at Ipanema