ESTAMOS EN BOLIVIA

Have just arrived in Tupiza, known as the American Wild West of Bolivia. This region was the setting for the final scene of ¨Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid¨. Home to the Cordilleras de Chichas (Chichas Mountains), this small dusty town is surrounded by a picturesque landscape of canyons, painted hills and cacti-filled valleys. The Bolivianos are more indigenous-looking, wear traditional altiplano dress and are more humble than the average Argentine. And it´s cheap, cheap, cheap. Tomorrow we are going on a 3-hour horseback riding trip through the region and set off on Friday morning for a 4-day tour of the southwest region.

From South America Random

Some highlights over the last few days:
-Saw the mummified body of an Incan child who was sacrificed to the gods at the museum MAAM in Salta, Argentina. Disturbing yet intriguing.
-Trekked through the Hills of Seven Colors in Purmamarca, Argentina and had a great 3-hour talk with El Cactus Bailarin on a hilltop about anything and everything.

From South America Random

-Tried llama meat in Tilcara, Argentina. Pretty delicious actually.
-Dealt with bureaucratic inefficiency today when we tried to cross the border into Bolivia. The Argentine side had an unnecessarily long line to receive our exit stamp (over an hour). The Bolivian side was more efficient but did not ask for any of the 8 ¨required¨ documents needed to cross the border.

El Cactus is gone- it was great to have his company but Los Gauchos don´t cross borders with strangers. Bolivia is very exciting and am looking forward to the last 2/3 of the trip.


Besos!!

Lazy Sunday in Salta

Spent the day relaxing and taking care of errands. Needed a chill day after enjoying a real Argentine night out with the boys and the newest addition to our group, Fede, who will now be referred to on the blog by his nickname which is El Cactus Bailarin (the dancing cactus). He will be joining Los Gauchos until he gets sick and tired of us, which might be soon.

Also, FYI, El Gringo Loco will now be called by his newest, less generic and more appropriate nickname, El Pollito Sin Cabeza (The Chicken without a Head). Chad gets two thumbs up for for the two aformentioned names. One thumb up to me for translating the names into Castellano.



We had quite an evening last night. We went to a peña, a folkloric dance show, in the happening part of town. The performers danced different regional dances in traditional costumes and, true to form, Pollito was the star of the evening. He was selected out of the crowd to dance with one of the beautiful performers and had the entire audience eating out of his hand for the rest of the night. Very comical and he had Los Gauchos in hysterics the entire evening. Pollito and I tore up the dance floor-we got a standing ovation at the end of our dance. After the ovation, the MC told the audience that ¨we danced like we were on 600 mm of Rivotril¨(according to Wikipedia, it is a common prescription for epilepsy, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, mania and restless legs syndrome, among other things). Don´t think it was a compliment but we had fun!!! El Cactus received the adjective in his nickname (bailarin) after impressively dancing to some Cumbia. We had a great time dancing to his favorite songs. Chad eventually got on the dance floor after a few Salta beers and charmed a 60-plus woman with his fiery rhythm and moves. We ate an amazing parrilla but there is a severe lack of vegetables in this country.



Went to a live music show and enjoyed some Fernets with Coke. Fernet is a bitter and aromatic spirit made with herbs and spices. Pollito was the band´s most spirited groupie and we all chatted it up with the band after the show. Pollito and I split a choripan at the end of the night after we resolved a brief lover´s quarrel. We hugged it out!

Great fun had by all. One of the highlights of the trip so far.

Tomorrow morning at 6:30AM we will head to Pumamarca, farther north and on our way to Bolivia. It will probably be our last stop before we cross the border. Argentina is AMAZING!!

Besos,
La Princesa Magica

Hikes, Wine Country and Lots of Maté

Tafi del Valle was so picturesque. A small rural mountain village inhabited by indigenous people. One day, we hired a 14 year-old boy named Pancho to guide us to the waterfalls, Cascada Rio de Los Alissos. We hiked up to about 3000 meters to see the 60 meter drop from two rock faces. It was covered in ice and when Chad climbed closer to get a look, a big sheet of ice fell from the top of the falls and shattered pretty close to his head. Terrifying but funny after we saw he was okay. The hike was certainly made more difficult by the altitude. It was in Tafí that we picked up an extra travel buddy, Fedé, a porteño (from Buenos Aires). He is chill, nice and funny, but his sense of humor is a little inappropriate for my taste. The guys seems to enjoy his potty humor, however. He is still traveling with us but I think we will part ways after Salta. We shall see.



Since Tafi, we have pased our time in Cafayate, Argentina´s second biggest wine town after Mendoza. Gringo went for a 50 km bike ride yesterday while Chad, Fedé and I walked through the hillside and visited a few bodegas. Being in wine country brought me joy and it was great to taste some wine and learn more about the wine-making process. Fedé cooked us dinner last night-delicioso.


Today we are in Salta- not much to do here but the main square is full of beautiful 19th Century buildings. I was Gringo´s arm candy today while he played the slots. We ate empanadas and tamales for lunch. We will probably go to a boliche (dance club) tonight after we eat at a parrilla (grill house). Not sure where we will head next but spontaneous nature of this trip is exhilirating.

The trip is awesome. We all travel really well together and we have nicknamed ourselves Los Gauchos (the cowboys).

Besos
Teeny

La Empresa Almirante Brown = Caca

Chad and I had a mediocre bus ride last night with Almirate Brown. The bus was an hour late and I was running around like a crazy person trying to figure out when it was leaving. The bus terminal did not have any information and the bus company´s ticket office was closed. It was stressful. We finally got on and we were seated right in front of the bathroom, which was quite unpleasant. Äs Chad said on the ride, ¨That is a rich aroma¨.



Arrived in Tucuman at 2 and are staying in a beautiful 100-year old house in the center of the city. Tucuman was where Argentine independence was declared. The Plaza de Independencia is full of old colonial buildings and, of course, protestors. El gringo arrives this evening and we plan to go paragliding tomorrow. plan to watch the Copa de Libertador tonight. Then off to Tafi de Valle for some hiking in the mountains.

Besos,
Teeny

Ideas, Quotes and Happenings from La Rio de Plata

Chad is concerned about the world-wide depletion of fisheries.
La vida es buena.

From a soft-spoken Texan-raised expat who currently lives in Colonia, Uruguay:¨If God saw fit to put cannabis on this earth, no man or government has the right to say that I cannot smoke it¨ His life´s dream is to start the ¨New Jerusalem¨ and he believes that the government is ¨the beast¨.

From Jhon, a Colombian I met at the hostel, who spoke to me about visiting his home country: ¨el unico riesgo es que te quieras quedar.¨ (The only risk is that you will want to stay)

Argentine slang: ¨Ay, Manzana¨ (Literal Translation: Oh, Apple. Slang Translation: DUH)



Fui a boliche hasta las 6 con tres porteños y un colombiano. Bailé, bailé, bailé. Ordenamós cervezas del litro alli y no usamos vasos. Muy divertido. Had to change rooms because of a hairy fifty-something year old snoring man in my dorm room. Took a ferry to Buenos Aires in the AM. Lunch, cafe and laughs with Julieta and Maruja. Tonight going to a dinner party at Laura´s house. She is a friend of Vero´s. Tomorrow is flag day, a national holiday- I will go to the feria in San Telmo with Julieta before we hop on a 18-hour bus ride to Tucuman to meet up with Gringo. Julieta said we will get off the bus with ¨really fat asses¨ because they serve so much food on the trip.