Monday, May 26, 2008

Don´t Cry For Me Argentina

So Mendoza is the last stop for us in Argentina, and as a result we have decided to get that Evita song in your head. You are most welcome. As a town, Mendoza is a more affluent, more touristy version of Cordoba. The main attractions all center around the looming Andes mountains. But, because we are cheap bastards and cheap bastard serendipity is on our side, we showed up in the very small sliver of low season. Too early for skiing. To late for rafting, skydiving, zip-lining, fly fishing, full contact parasailing, or whatever else the kids are into these days.

But the slight chill in the air did not stop us from doing the tourist thing. We decided on a whim to do a bit of rafting despite the river not being at its full awesome level. Off-season made it affordable and the fact that all of the companies that offer rafting were around the corner from our fabulous hotel made it an easy decision. So I have been rafting a few times but it was Kristi´s first go. The fact that the rapids were basically a class lower than normal meant that we would not be doing the crazy-dangerous stuff, but it would still be a fun intro.

So early one morning, we woke to find our goggle-wearing guide Jose standing in front our hotel waiting for us. Apart from being a wonderfully dopey guide, Jose sported a look that seems a bit too common in the southern hemisphere. It combines the worst of the mullet with the worst of the white-guy-dreadlocks. Not good on anyone. After a drive through the slopes of the Andes and a brief hauling of the raft down to the river, we were off.

Jose quickly made up for the diminished rapids by forcing our boat of five people to stand on the edge of the raft while going down some small riffles, making us nose the boat underwater and fill it right before we hit a rock, try over and over again to get me soaked while keeping Kristi miraculously dry. Apart from the cold, rafting was absolutely great.

The rest of the time in Mendoza we spent enjoying the region´s abundant and cheap wine (for those wishing to win a free something-or-other, count the number of times we have used the word ¨cheap¨on our website, and if you get it right, you will receive the whatsit), playing some backgammon, checking out craft fairs and shopping for a lasso. Only two people will understand why, the rest of you can just live with the possibility that K and I are rustling some ´pacas down in Chile right about now...

Farewell, Argentina and happy independence day! Vaminos Chile!

-d

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Cordoba, Thanks for the Hippies

Perhaps it is the fact that our trip is 17 days from finishing, but we are both starting to tie up our experiences and connect everything we see to something we saw earlier. To wit, Cordoba reminded me of Nelson, New Zealand. Both towns are full of younger folks, with quite a bit of hippie influnce. The difference is that Cordoba is bigger and not filled with Kiwis. But, after days of bad pizzas, the presence of hippies meant that vegetarian food was to be available. One of the happiest days we´ve had on the trip was eating at a vegetarian restaurant which was the best place we have eaten all trip and knowing that there was no ham or beef in any of it. Much like getting to the top of Kili, I almost wept.


Anyhoo, the town itself has a rather compact central area with loads of pedestrian streets crowded with people at all hours. Spending a few days just roaming around with no have-to-dos was quite nice. Cordoba, the original capitol, has a 400 year history of Jesuit influence resulting in a load of old churches in various stateds of disrepair. Plus, nuns aplenty roaming about. But, to balance the religious with the earthly, Cordoba also boasts the most undergarments stores with giant billboards of ladies and gents in various states of undressedness. Sin and salvation, I tell ye.

On the subject of sin and redemption...okay, I have no real segue. In any case, the other main drama concerned our accommodation. The reviews of our particular residencia mentioned that the woman that ran the place was a bit cantankerous. Upon first meeting her, it seemed to be the case. But that only made us want to chat with her more. What made her tick? And what made that ticking sound like a time-bomb? All we can say is that with a little perserverance, we were able to have a few conversations that went well. She ran hot and cold, but there was no clear reason. So having to fill in the gaps, here is what K and I decided: She was a flamenco star, and met the man who was to become her husband. They danced together, got married. Then, he screwed up (maybe in some sort of competition, say) and she has been living on anger and regret ever since. Now it may sound like a movie, maybe even one that came out about a decade ago, but we are pretty sure it's probably, could be, might be right. Right?

-d

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Iguazu Falls Spectacular

OK, before actually describing the falls themselves, I have to say a word about how we got there. From Buenos Aires, it´s a 21 hour bus ride up to northeastern Argentina, where the falls border Brasil, with Paraguay not too far off. While we were initially dreading the long overnight bus trip, we had heard good reports of the buses in Argentina, so we never thought about cancelling the long-haul trip. The bus definitely exceeded all expectations and was not only better than every other bus we´ve taken, but better than many of the hotels we´ve slept in along this trip. Picture, if you will, being greeted at your seat with your choice of hard candy and whiskey or chocolate liquer, then reclining in a huge cushy seat with foot rest, pillow, and blanket in order to watch movies and eat dinner, then drift into sleep. Ahhh.

After dragging Dennis off of the bus, we swore we would take at least two more overnight buses in Argentina, which happens to work out really well for our tight schedule here.

Of course, the main attraction, Iguazu Falls, was amazing. We woke up early and spent an entire day walking the trails to catch the many different views of the falls. It was really wonderful experience because the falls are enormous and surrounded by dense forest and many smaller waterfalls, so we got to see a lot of birds, including the flocks of sparrows that dive through the falls to their nests, and the cute, popular, and trash-eating coati mundis. Sadly, we didn´t encounter any jaguars or capybaras while wandering through the forest. Many of the walking paths are elevated over sections of the river, so we also saw a lot of giant fish in the shallows and a crocodile that seemed content staying perfectly still for nearly an hour.

The park isn´t all about pristine nature, however. It has a few free amenities, like a narrow-gauge railway that runs through the park. We also took a small boat to an island downstream from the falls and in the middle of the river, which had some nice views of the falls and a beach where a few brave folks were swimming. We decided to stay dry, and because we were here in Autumn when the water volume isn´t super high, we mostly succeeded.

After a pretty exhasting but energizing day (go negative ions!), we headed back to the cute tourist town of Puerto Iguazu to eat some more pizza (sigh). I could imagine staying here for several days to just relax, see the falls some more (maybe even from the Brazilian side if visas weren´t an issue), or try some of the rafting and hiking available in the huge park. But alas, our plans have us pushing ahead to Cordoba, which is reportedly ¨the second most important city¨in Argentina, and trying our hand at a second overnight bus trip.

-K

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Hola, Buenos Aires

So after three relatively cushy weeks in Spain filled with all the cults, cookies, and coffee we could manage, we arrived in Buenos Aires. We got to feel like ¨real¨travellers again by opting to take the two hour public bus from the airport for thirty cents instead of a shuttle or cab for thirty bucks. We arrived at our Diego Maradona-themed hostel room feeling tired from the long overnight flight and pretty self-satified. For those that don´t follow football (soccer), Maradona was one of the greatest players of all time, and is literally revered as a god throughout Argentina (yes, there´s even a church of Maradona). Sadly, he´s not the most romantic of icons, so falling asleep surrounded by posters and paintings of him was a bit discomforting.


One nap later and we were ready to tackle trying to get some vegetarian food, which we heard would be nearly impossible because steak, steak, and more steak is the name of the game in Argentina. What no one told us is that there are more pizza joints per capita than any place we´ve ever been. After some tasty empanadas and pizza, we were sucking in our guts and wandering our new ´hood,´ a laid-back little neighborhood north of the central city which oddly reminded us both of parts of Chicago. After hearing our first ¨car backfiring¨ some hours later, we really felt at home. Nobody´s got the guns like the Americas!


Since we only had a few days in Buenos Aires, we decided to hit the pavement and do some major sightseeing. We went to the excellent Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires and fell in love with a couple of artists we never knew existed. We also wandered through a park silly with cats, two of whom looked just like Maxine and Ruby and were sitting together near an empty bench. After sitting a while and wishing we had bought some food, we moved on look at some of the cool colonial and post-colonial architecture in central B.A.


We spent a day exploring the working class La Boca neighborhood, home, of course, to Maradona and the Boca Juniors football club. Although we were hoping to see a match to experience 80,000 crazed and caged-in fans, they weren´t playing a league match while we were there. Instead, we checked out the local artists and colorfully-painted metal homes that lie near the harbor. We also enjoyed the Museo de Bellas Artes de La Boca, housed in the old studio and home of painter Benito Quinquela Martin, with great views of the harbor and the city. On the way back, we stopped in at a sidewalk cafe to have a beer with an enormous, life-sized (?) Homer Simpson and listen to tango music. Strangely, the only things more popular in B.A. than Homer Simpson are the colors blue and yellow. What´s not to love?


-K

Monday, May 12, 2008

Vale Vale Madrid!

It may be unfair to compare any city to the likes of Barcelona and Istanbul, but sadly Madrid was put in that position. And while it didn´t measure up to some of the other cities that we have visited, the city does have its charms. First off, Madrid is more of a business center it would seem than other cities. The effect is that there are large portions of the city that seem deserted during the day and other parts of the city that seem to be tourist theme parks. Of the tourist haunts, we dug The Prado, the Museum of Ham, and the huge park with a statue of Lucifer that is across the street. A full day was spent looking at paintings and watching ducks and turtles cavort. Sure beats working.

Perhaps the best thing about the first time that we were in Madrid was the neighborhood of our hotel. Sandwiched between the tourist section and what people in Madrid consider the ¨seedy¨part of town, our hotel was along a street filled with record store and silly goth clubs. Funny seeing a bunch of morose, black-clad kids shopping day and night.

Our second time through the city, we made the mistake of believing that cheap hotels would be a dime a dozen. At the start of the high season. On a weekend. As you might suspect from my poor grammer, that was not the case. After hours of searching, we were forced to treat ourselves to a 4 star hotel. I promise it was the cheapest available. For the first time in months, the chance of getting the tell-tale line of bedbug bites seemed only a distant possibility. This might explain why both K and I slept for twelve hours the first night.


The next two days, we got to hang out with my old college friend and roommate Andrew and his wife Anna and two cute kids. Doubt their cuteness? Check Flickr. After wandering around their neighborhood, failing to get a glass of blessed water a couple of days before a saint´s festival and being treated to the best tortilla in the world (thanks to Anna´s mother), we turned in at our hotel. Did I mention that we liked our hotel?

The following day, we prepared for our 13 hour overnight flight by wandering the Madrid streets and meeting up with Andrew, Anna and the kids for the ultimate Madrid treat: Churros and Chocolate. For those not in the know, Churros are a fried pastry that you can, and should, dip into the thick chocalate syrup that often comes with it. Being blessed by local chaperones, we were able to sample the delicacies at the preeminant location in Madrid. It´s good to have friends all over the world...

Sadly, we had to bid goodbye to the brood and head for the airport. Stay tuned for all of the (the next part of this sentence is dripping with sarcasm) wonderful experiences that Iberian Airlines added to our trip. Jackasses!
-d

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Barca! Barca! Barca!

We left Quentar knowing that all was well with Citi Riti and Efendi and that our friend Sean was meeting us in Barcelona the next day. After a short flight on the hippest airline (Vueling) we have ever seen, and a short metro to the Gothic quarter we moved into the first hostel of our stay. The hostel was perfectly located in the middle of many of the main sights and was housed in a fantastic old Gothic building. The downside? The room which was to house Kristi, Sean and I had just enough room to pull off the feat. The placing of a third mattress in the room effectively rendered such features as the door and window inoperable. No big deal, who needs to open the door?

Sean was due the day after we arrived, so we spent the afternoon getting to know our hood and, for me, remembering why Barcelona is one of my favorite cities. It has all of their architectural highlights, museums and people that make a city enjoyable. Plus, it is the home of my ultimate comfort food: the tortilla bocadilla. Apart from being an annoyingly fun rhyme, the combination of a potato and egg omelet and a baguette is unhealthy heaven.

Day two we set out to meet Sean at the metro station and get on with walking the city streets. Mistake one, we did not write down which metro stop it was. Mistake two, we only staked out one of the two closest metros. The upstart was that we stood on Las Ramblas for two hours while a jet lagged Sean stood at Jaume One for two hours. Not an auspicious beginning. After collecting him and apologizing profusely, we set off for a wander around Guell Park, one of the many Gaudi imprinted landmarks that dot the city. Apart from affording a panoramic view of the city, the terraced park is replete with the amorphous shapes and intricate mosaics that make Gaudi´s architecture so recognizable. Caves are turned into strange cathedrals and benches are turned to psychedelic tile canvases. Perhaps a good way to introduce Sean, who hadn´t slept in 40-odd hours to Barcelona.

The next few days flew by in an enjoyable slew of sights, funny conversations, an unfortunate allergic reaction for Sean and a punishing cold for me. After a few days we moved to our new hostel that lacked the ambiance of the first place but had the advantage of beds that allowed us to move about. Plus free mints! Highlights of the next few days included wandering for hours through side streets looking for food, going to Sagrada Familia, seeing some mediocre flamenco dinner theatre and not seeing some wierd fusion flamenco at an upscale bar, being called a little girl by a drunk Spanish/Greek/Italian kid when I refused to take part in a game of footie, having drinks at a bar called the Manchester that played an upbeat combo of The Smiths and Joy Division, and spending a few hours staring at the Mediterranean.

After a few days, we sadly had to bid Sean adieu and soldier on without him. The combination of my cold and the utter joy of Barcelona led us to change our plans. Rather than hop yet another bus to Bilbao and feel like we were moving too fast, we decided to wander the city some more. After a morning of recovering and Kristi going to the Picasso museum, we decided to make a pilgrimage to Montserrat. Montserrat is a 19th Century monastery on a set of hills on the outskirts of Barcelona. The hills are a wonderful combination of sandstone forms and dense forest that allowed us to hike around for a few hours prior to visiting the monastery proper. Atop one of the hills sits a small chapel and about 500 meters away a hermit´s hut. Perhaps a well paved and traveled path isn´t the best place for a hermit to construct their hut, but who am I to say?

We finished off the day by visiting the basilica that is the spiritual home of the Catalan people (as well as supporters of Barcelona Football club). Seeing the Catalan flag flying over the basilica and the names of many civil war veterans (sweet anarchists) was quite cool. The church itself is a massive structure with soaring stained glass. Perhaps the highlight of the space is the Black Virgin that looks out over the alter. A short climb up the back stairs brought us to the Virgin where many people were praying while touching the globe in Mary´s hand. Do I sense some paganism? Hmm. Finally, we took a brief detour to see a small room where people have left all sorts of objects related to the miracles that the Virgin has visited upon them. Everything from beat up motorcycle helmets, baby pictures, wedding dresses and packs of (empty) cigarettes are piled along the walls of the alcove.

After a week in Barcelona, it was hard to say goodbye to a city that rivals only Tokyo in the Sophisticated Alpaca´s heart. But Madrid, and South America are calling. Until next time...

-d

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Village Life, Quentar Style

So we left Sevilla for Granada with a heavy heart knowing that we were leaving new friends and the most amazing homemade bread we have ever had. But Granada and the Alhambra were waiting for us. We decided to try our hand at some more couchsurfing--this time with a group of people in the small village of Quentar, in the hills outside of Granada. After waiting for the bus that leaves on a limited schedule on Sundays for Quentar, we arrived and were greeted by our host, Axel. We were quickly ushered back to town for some tea, cake, and falafel with the leader of the group, Efendi. It was a nice caffeine and sugar-fueled introduction to Granada, as well as the spiritual beliefs of the mostly German and Latin American community that was hosting us. For one, they hold a reverence for Brian Adams that even I never would have dreamed of as twelve year old feverishly requesting his latest songs on the local radio station. They also practice some Sufism, but unfortunately we weren't there on the right day to see the whirling dervish-in-training whirl.


The next day, we learned that Axel and Merwa´s dog, Citiriti, had been found trapped in a crevice on the side of the mountain. He had been missing for 5 days and assumed stolen, but some children heard him howling and the local firefighters were mounting an expedition to free him. We got to accompany Merwa to retrieve the emaciated but incredibly happy hound, who´s now the heroic subject of much local gossip. Welcome home, Citi and thanks for accompanying us on our own hike in the mountains! We also got to practice speaking Spanish a lot during our stay, which was really fun and easy thanks to the lovely and more recognizable Latin American accent.


Besides experiencing life in Quentar, we spent a lot of time in Granada, wandering around the historic Muslim quarter of town and visiting the Alhambra, an enormous and well-restored fortress/ palace/ village/ garden complex that contains some great examples of Islamic and medieval Christian architecture. The highlight of the Alhambra is most definitely the 14th century Palacio Nazaries, with its intricate geometric tiles and carvings on nearly every surface that somehow manage an over-the-top and understated beauty all at the same time.

But after a few laid-back days, it was time to leave Andalusia and move on to big city Barcelona and a rendezvous with our friend, Sean.

-K