We are sad our trip has come to a close yet look forward to what lies ahead. As a look-back on our trip, we made a summary of fun facts:
We spent 75 days in South America
Traveled approximately 25,826.17 miles
Visited 25 cities
Ate 15 (delicious) Argentine empanadas
Used up 5 rolls of campers toilet paper (personally bought for use on trek and public bathrooms)
Traveled through 6 countries that were celebrating their 200th Anniversary (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina)
Obtained 20 new stamps in each of our passports
Spent 121.5 hours on bus rides
Met 5 couples who were moving to Australia after traveling South America for 3 months or more
Didn't shower a total of 12 nights (non consecutively!)
Visited 44 Oscar Niemeyer buildings
Ate 9 whole fish
Ching Jen did laundry 10 times, while Jon did laundry 4 times
The coldest temperature we were in was 14 degrees F and the hottest was 104 degrees F
For Jon, the average number of photos taken per day is 56, but he took 140 photos in Recoleta Cemetery alone!
We visited 14 markets and 34 churches
Our cheapest hostel cost USD$9.37 per person a night; our most expensive boarding was USD$76 per person a night (it was a hotel)
We ate 4 meals in a foodcourt
Encountered 22 different modes of transportation
Witnessed 24 panoramic views
Accidentally stepped in 3 dog poo piles (which is a good percentage considering Chile had a LOT of dog poo!)
Thanks for reading and coming along for the ride, we promise some photos later on!
Ciao/Hasta Luego,
Ching Jen and Jon
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Up, up, up, at the Belly Button of the World
October 12th we started to celebrate Ching Jen's birthday with travel
on 4 flights, through 3 countries, in 2 hemispheres, and ending at 1
secret garden. We flew from Ushuaia, Argentina through Buenos Aires
and then Cordoba. The next flight was from Cordoba to Panama City,
Panama and then backtracking on our connecting flight to Quito,
Ecuador. We arrived in Quito a bit delayed, which foiled our plan to
go straight from the airport to the equator. Instead we went to our
hostel, the Secret Garden, a really wonderful hostel on an eastern
hill above the old town. The hostel itself is a labyrinth of
buildings, to get to our room from the street you have to go enter, go
up 4 flights of stairs, cross through an apartment, and then go down 3
flights of stairs. The reception is at the very top, on the 5th floor
where there is a terrace and a restaurant with absolutely stunning
views of Quito. All of this I should say is at the elevation of 9350
feet.
Quito is a sprawling city built in a valley on the side of a still
active ash volcano. The city is very, very narrow, only about a 10 or
15 minute drive east to west and then about an 45 minute to an hour
long drive north to south. It is an incredibly scenic city with many
look out points and attractions that provide panoramas of the city,
valley and mountains. There are four main parts to Quito, the Old
Town and the New Town at the center and then the southern and northern
districts stretching from the center. The Old Town is by far the more
interesting and safer place to stay. It is the largest preserved
historic colonial area in the world with a realistic mix of
preservation, restoration, and revitalization.
We had only 36 hours in Quito so once we checked in we headed out to
see as much as we could. Our first stop was a little bit across the
old town to the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a HUGE gothic spired
church with a beautiful stained glass interior complete with a 20 foot
diameter rose window and local animal gargoyles. The church is
located on a hill at the northern end of the old town and from the
plaza outside we already had pretty amazing views of the city.
However, the roof and bell towers of the church are open to the
public, even in its run down, graffiti, almost ruinous state. We
ascended, first by elevator to the roof of the nave and then by iron
ladder up 4 stories within the stone structure. It was awesome
although a bit spooky because of the brooding architecture, the ladder
climbing, and the fact that we were already out of breath just to walk
around at this altitude.
From the basilica we walked up and down the roller coaster streets of
the Old Town toward La Merced, another church with an interior ceiling
painted carnation pink and artwork depicting erupting volcanoes and
fire-y landscapes of Quito. Sunset mass was just beginning so we just
peeked and walked around for a little while. Outside the streets were
flattening out a bit. They were also getting more and more crowded as
people were getting off work and doing their shopping. The sidewalks
in the Old Town are very very narrow and the vehicle traffic is fairly
heavy mixed with buses and light rail. Unfortunately the next stop on
our walking tour of the Old City, the Church of San Francisco was
closed for restoration, but we did poke our heads into the side
chapel, which was a blaze in gilded flourishes. Outside, the plaza is
a small oasis of sloping cobblestones amongst colonial arcades and
three storey buildings. The topography is so hilly in Quito that
anywhere the Spanish or developers since the 1500's wanted to build a
large building, they had to move earth to get enough area. Therefore,
the Church of San Francisco like many other buildings and churches has
a stair leading up to it and an entire street level arcade beneath it.
These spaces are now occupied by businesses and restaurants. Across
town we saw a different strategy at Santo Domingo where the church was
actually sunken below the plaza. The sun was beginning to set and we
wanted to make it up to another viewing spot so we worked our way back
through the streets of the Old Town to San Blas, the hill near our
hostel and then up a very steep flight of stairs. I guess flight of
stairs doesn't clearly describe it. It was a 20-storey building on
incline up hill. At the top though the view left us breathless. We
grabbed a seat at the edge of the balcony of Cafe Mosaico, a greekish
restaurant cantilevered out from the hillside. It was a wonderful
birthday dinner with the lights of Quito twinkling below us.
The next day, our last full day of the trip, we woke up and had a full
breakfast on the terrace of the hostel. The morning sun had already
burnt off most of the fog and the haze of pollution had not yet rolled
in to cloud the view of the distant hills. We left the hotel and
walked on foot to the Central Market. This was the most modern and
sterile market we saw of the whole trip. The previous market had been
destroyed in an earthquake so this one was constructed in the 1950's
with the intention that there would be a few fruit, vegetable, and
seafood vendors mixed with a larger number of butchers, and then a
majority of tiled stalls for restaurants. It was a bit of a
disappointment not to see the hub-bub of other South American markets.
After the market we walked to a bus line that took us 12km outside of
town to the equator. It is funny to think that the equator, an
invisible line that circumvents the entire Earth is represented in a
single point at a single site here in Ecuador. We don't know what
other equator sites are like elsewhere in the world, but here in Quito
it is a touristy complex of artisan shops and restaurants and a
3-storey stone monument with an orange line going through it. We had
our fun jumping back and forth between north and south. Next door to
the Middle of the World complex is another museum where scientists
determined the actual equator to be. It is 240 meters away from the
line in the previous site. Here there are science experiments to
demonstrate the various phenomena. We watched water spiral clockwise
in the southern hemisphere and then spiral counter clockwise 6 feet
away in the northern hemisphere. On the line itself the water didn't
spiral at all. We also balanced an egg longways on the top of a nail,
observed sun dials and our own shadows for changes. It was
instructive, but again pretty touristy and also ironic to think that
tourists from all over the world, like ourselves, travel here to the
equator, a place that exists in the same way around the entire world.
While standing on the line one can look up at the street of houses
built right down the equator. It would be just as cool to visit the
neighbors house and walk from their living room to the kitchen
crossing the equator.
After the equator sites we took the bus into Quito's New Town to the
Teleferiqo, an aerial lift that travels 2500 meters up the side of the
Volcano to a lookout point 4100 meters in altitude. The total trip in
the gondola took about 30 minutes. Our ears were definitely popping.
The view of course was incredible. There were airplanes flying below
us. Clouds were blowing through beneath our feet. The land was
essentially a spring like tundra providing ideal conditions for
mountain biking and running. We walked around a bit checking out the
panoramic views. Before heading down we split a humita, a steamed
ground corn snack cooked in a leaf. From the base of the teleferiqo
we took a taxi across town to Bellavista, a hillside neighborhood
overlooking the airport. We went to the Chapel of Man, a non-profit
museum and foundation, established by the Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo
Guayasamin, dedicated to raising awareness about human rights abuses.
Guaysamin is a world famous artist whose portraits are known for
deeply emotional expressions and backstories. The work is sobering
and uplifting at the same time with subjects as diverse as indigenous
people in South America to victims of the Vietnam War, Bay of Pigs and
images of domestic violence. Sounds heavy, but there were many works
celebrating tender and heartfelt moments. After our visit, we enjoyed
an ice cream with a view of the modern part of Quito and airplanes
landing amidst the skyscrapers.
We headed downtown to the Old City as the sky was darkening and a
storm was fast approaching. We made it to the Plaza Grande, the main
square, to see the Cathedral and Government Palace in time before the
rain. For dinner we went to a local restaurant and had a shrimp dish
and a chicken dish served like an open burrito. Then we returned to
the hostel for a drink and relaxation on the terrace. At 3:30am the
next morning we met our cab for transport to the airport. Our flight
flew from Quito to Houston and then onward to Denver. Overall it was
a sad feeling to be heading "home." 75 days of travel and it felt
like we were just getting going.
on 4 flights, through 3 countries, in 2 hemispheres, and ending at 1
secret garden. We flew from Ushuaia, Argentina through Buenos Aires
and then Cordoba. The next flight was from Cordoba to Panama City,
Panama and then backtracking on our connecting flight to Quito,
Ecuador. We arrived in Quito a bit delayed, which foiled our plan to
go straight from the airport to the equator. Instead we went to our
hostel, the Secret Garden, a really wonderful hostel on an eastern
hill above the old town. The hostel itself is a labyrinth of
buildings, to get to our room from the street you have to go enter, go
up 4 flights of stairs, cross through an apartment, and then go down 3
flights of stairs. The reception is at the very top, on the 5th floor
where there is a terrace and a restaurant with absolutely stunning
views of Quito. All of this I should say is at the elevation of 9350
feet.
Quito is a sprawling city built in a valley on the side of a still
active ash volcano. The city is very, very narrow, only about a 10 or
15 minute drive east to west and then about an 45 minute to an hour
long drive north to south. It is an incredibly scenic city with many
look out points and attractions that provide panoramas of the city,
valley and mountains. There are four main parts to Quito, the Old
Town and the New Town at the center and then the southern and northern
districts stretching from the center. The Old Town is by far the more
interesting and safer place to stay. It is the largest preserved
historic colonial area in the world with a realistic mix of
preservation, restoration, and revitalization.
We had only 36 hours in Quito so once we checked in we headed out to
see as much as we could. Our first stop was a little bit across the
old town to the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a HUGE gothic spired
church with a beautiful stained glass interior complete with a 20 foot
diameter rose window and local animal gargoyles. The church is
located on a hill at the northern end of the old town and from the
plaza outside we already had pretty amazing views of the city.
However, the roof and bell towers of the church are open to the
public, even in its run down, graffiti, almost ruinous state. We
ascended, first by elevator to the roof of the nave and then by iron
ladder up 4 stories within the stone structure. It was awesome
although a bit spooky because of the brooding architecture, the ladder
climbing, and the fact that we were already out of breath just to walk
around at this altitude.
From the basilica we walked up and down the roller coaster streets of
the Old Town toward La Merced, another church with an interior ceiling
painted carnation pink and artwork depicting erupting volcanoes and
fire-y landscapes of Quito. Sunset mass was just beginning so we just
peeked and walked around for a little while. Outside the streets were
flattening out a bit. They were also getting more and more crowded as
people were getting off work and doing their shopping. The sidewalks
in the Old Town are very very narrow and the vehicle traffic is fairly
heavy mixed with buses and light rail. Unfortunately the next stop on
our walking tour of the Old City, the Church of San Francisco was
closed for restoration, but we did poke our heads into the side
chapel, which was a blaze in gilded flourishes. Outside, the plaza is
a small oasis of sloping cobblestones amongst colonial arcades and
three storey buildings. The topography is so hilly in Quito that
anywhere the Spanish or developers since the 1500's wanted to build a
large building, they had to move earth to get enough area. Therefore,
the Church of San Francisco like many other buildings and churches has
a stair leading up to it and an entire street level arcade beneath it.
These spaces are now occupied by businesses and restaurants. Across
town we saw a different strategy at Santo Domingo where the church was
actually sunken below the plaza. The sun was beginning to set and we
wanted to make it up to another viewing spot so we worked our way back
through the streets of the Old Town to San Blas, the hill near our
hostel and then up a very steep flight of stairs. I guess flight of
stairs doesn't clearly describe it. It was a 20-storey building on
incline up hill. At the top though the view left us breathless. We
grabbed a seat at the edge of the balcony of Cafe Mosaico, a greekish
restaurant cantilevered out from the hillside. It was a wonderful
birthday dinner with the lights of Quito twinkling below us.
The next day, our last full day of the trip, we woke up and had a full
breakfast on the terrace of the hostel. The morning sun had already
burnt off most of the fog and the haze of pollution had not yet rolled
in to cloud the view of the distant hills. We left the hotel and
walked on foot to the Central Market. This was the most modern and
sterile market we saw of the whole trip. The previous market had been
destroyed in an earthquake so this one was constructed in the 1950's
with the intention that there would be a few fruit, vegetable, and
seafood vendors mixed with a larger number of butchers, and then a
majority of tiled stalls for restaurants. It was a bit of a
disappointment not to see the hub-bub of other South American markets.
After the market we walked to a bus line that took us 12km outside of
town to the equator. It is funny to think that the equator, an
invisible line that circumvents the entire Earth is represented in a
single point at a single site here in Ecuador. We don't know what
other equator sites are like elsewhere in the world, but here in Quito
it is a touristy complex of artisan shops and restaurants and a
3-storey stone monument with an orange line going through it. We had
our fun jumping back and forth between north and south. Next door to
the Middle of the World complex is another museum where scientists
determined the actual equator to be. It is 240 meters away from the
line in the previous site. Here there are science experiments to
demonstrate the various phenomena. We watched water spiral clockwise
in the southern hemisphere and then spiral counter clockwise 6 feet
away in the northern hemisphere. On the line itself the water didn't
spiral at all. We also balanced an egg longways on the top of a nail,
observed sun dials and our own shadows for changes. It was
instructive, but again pretty touristy and also ironic to think that
tourists from all over the world, like ourselves, travel here to the
equator, a place that exists in the same way around the entire world.
While standing on the line one can look up at the street of houses
built right down the equator. It would be just as cool to visit the
neighbors house and walk from their living room to the kitchen
crossing the equator.
After the equator sites we took the bus into Quito's New Town to the
Teleferiqo, an aerial lift that travels 2500 meters up the side of the
Volcano to a lookout point 4100 meters in altitude. The total trip in
the gondola took about 30 minutes. Our ears were definitely popping.
The view of course was incredible. There were airplanes flying below
us. Clouds were blowing through beneath our feet. The land was
essentially a spring like tundra providing ideal conditions for
mountain biking and running. We walked around a bit checking out the
panoramic views. Before heading down we split a humita, a steamed
ground corn snack cooked in a leaf. From the base of the teleferiqo
we took a taxi across town to Bellavista, a hillside neighborhood
overlooking the airport. We went to the Chapel of Man, a non-profit
museum and foundation, established by the Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo
Guayasamin, dedicated to raising awareness about human rights abuses.
Guaysamin is a world famous artist whose portraits are known for
deeply emotional expressions and backstories. The work is sobering
and uplifting at the same time with subjects as diverse as indigenous
people in South America to victims of the Vietnam War, Bay of Pigs and
images of domestic violence. Sounds heavy, but there were many works
celebrating tender and heartfelt moments. After our visit, we enjoyed
an ice cream with a view of the modern part of Quito and airplanes
landing amidst the skyscrapers.
We headed downtown to the Old City as the sky was darkening and a
storm was fast approaching. We made it to the Plaza Grande, the main
square, to see the Cathedral and Government Palace in time before the
rain. For dinner we went to a local restaurant and had a shrimp dish
and a chicken dish served like an open burrito. Then we returned to
the hostel for a drink and relaxation on the terrace. At 3:30am the
next morning we met our cab for transport to the airport. Our flight
flew from Quito to Houston and then onward to Denver. Overall it was
a sad feeling to be heading "home." 75 days of travel and it felt
like we were just getting going.
Marching with Penguins at the End of the World
The night at the airport wasn't very comfortable and the floor was cold, but we were too excited to care much since we were headed to the end of the world. We arrived in Ushuaia and out of the airplane window saw the beautiful snow capped mountains. The airport was a neat small building built like any other ski cabin, lots of wood and a steep pitched roof. After settling in our hostel we quickly figured out our options for the day, we really wanted a tour of penguins and luckily there was one leaving in the afternoon. So we booked the tour and then went out to find some lunch at an Irish pub. Jon had a burger and Ching Jen had a toast sandwich. Little did she know that it would really be more like ordering four regular sized sandwiches because the slices of bread were about 8" by 8 ". The town was small, only several blocks long, and filled with souvenir shops, and they weren't open that early on a Sunday so we just window shopped. We headed to the pier to check in for our tour and look out at all the shipping vessels that are probably making their way around the tip of South America.
For our tour, we had to take an hour and a half van ride out to a ranch, where they have a restaurant, but also a research center on penguins. We then took a bumpy ride on a zodiac out to Isla Martillo where the penguins have arrived to build their nests, lay their eggs and nurture their young. We stepped on to the island and the penguins immediately came towards us. They were adorable and too cute. They waddled, sticking out their chests and wings stuck out behind them, their head angled up in the air, and waddled/ran towards and past us. One came as close as three feet of us and we went crazy with the photos. There are two kinds of penguins on this island, one is just black and white, or the Magellanic penguin, and the other has an orange beak and feet, or the Gentoo penguins (they probably had a different name for them in Ushuaia). We took a walk around the island checking out their nesting areas. We learned that the Gentoo males, build a new nest each year out of pebbles, while the Magellanic males make one nest and maintain the same one each year by making a burrow under ground. The males wait for their female partner for life and they lay the egg, and wait about 45 days for the egg to hatch. Baby penguins stay with their parents for two months when they are then ready to be on their own. Male penguins must wait five years before they are of mating age and then they will build a nest and wait for a female to approach him and be his mate. We had a blast and could not get enough of the penguins and their waddling. We got back on the zodiac and the van and made a quick stop at a famous tree that is a hundred years old and has twisted branches. We was late when we got back, though the sunlight was still out, so we found dinner where Ching Jen had ravioli and Jon had beef milanese with cheese and tomato.
The next day we went to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. We caught a van to the park where it dropped us off at the beginning of a trail. It was a 3-hour trail along the coast, into the woodlands, and past several open fields and beaches. We had beautiful views of the snow capped mountains and the bay. It reminded us very much of our trip to Maine and our hike in Wolf's Neck Woods State Park. When we finished the trail, we took a break at the visitor center, where we had our ham and cheese sandwich with wild rabbits at our feet. We waited for the van to pick up up here and it took us back into town. We learned that it was a long weekend here in Ushuaia, with a federal holiday on Monday and a city holiday on Tuesday. The shops therefore, were only open for a few hours in the afternoon. We were just in time for the opening of many stores so we did a bit of shopping before heading back to the hostel. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the top floor of the hostel (the common room) with panoramic view of the bay. We sipped hot coffee and played Battleship and cards until the sun set at around 7:30pm. We went to a pub that was popular with the locals and Ching Jen had a steak with fries and Jon had 103 mussels. We did some packing when we got back to the hostel and we learned that there was a firework show at 11pm. We rushed upstairs to the common room and got front row seats to a great firework show in the bay. It was a special treat knowing that this was a pretty intimate firework show for the small town at the end of the world.
The next morning we walked around the neighborhood looking for a lake but never found it and had a quick lunch of Ching Jen's leftover steak (made into sandwiches) before heading to the airport. Ahead of us we have a long journey to Quito, Ecuador--24 hours of travel and four flights!
For our tour, we had to take an hour and a half van ride out to a ranch, where they have a restaurant, but also a research center on penguins. We then took a bumpy ride on a zodiac out to Isla Martillo where the penguins have arrived to build their nests, lay their eggs and nurture their young. We stepped on to the island and the penguins immediately came towards us. They were adorable and too cute. They waddled, sticking out their chests and wings stuck out behind them, their head angled up in the air, and waddled/ran towards and past us. One came as close as three feet of us and we went crazy with the photos. There are two kinds of penguins on this island, one is just black and white, or the Magellanic penguin, and the other has an orange beak and feet, or the Gentoo penguins (they probably had a different name for them in Ushuaia). We took a walk around the island checking out their nesting areas. We learned that the Gentoo males, build a new nest each year out of pebbles, while the Magellanic males make one nest and maintain the same one each year by making a burrow under ground. The males wait for their female partner for life and they lay the egg, and wait about 45 days for the egg to hatch. Baby penguins stay with their parents for two months when they are then ready to be on their own. Male penguins must wait five years before they are of mating age and then they will build a nest and wait for a female to approach him and be his mate. We had a blast and could not get enough of the penguins and their waddling. We got back on the zodiac and the van and made a quick stop at a famous tree that is a hundred years old and has twisted branches. We was late when we got back, though the sunlight was still out, so we found dinner where Ching Jen had ravioli and Jon had beef milanese with cheese and tomato.
The next day we went to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. We caught a van to the park where it dropped us off at the beginning of a trail. It was a 3-hour trail along the coast, into the woodlands, and past several open fields and beaches. We had beautiful views of the snow capped mountains and the bay. It reminded us very much of our trip to Maine and our hike in Wolf's Neck Woods State Park. When we finished the trail, we took a break at the visitor center, where we had our ham and cheese sandwich with wild rabbits at our feet. We waited for the van to pick up up here and it took us back into town. We learned that it was a long weekend here in Ushuaia, with a federal holiday on Monday and a city holiday on Tuesday. The shops therefore, were only open for a few hours in the afternoon. We were just in time for the opening of many stores so we did a bit of shopping before heading back to the hostel. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the top floor of the hostel (the common room) with panoramic view of the bay. We sipped hot coffee and played Battleship and cards until the sun set at around 7:30pm. We went to a pub that was popular with the locals and Ching Jen had a steak with fries and Jon had 103 mussels. We did some packing when we got back to the hostel and we learned that there was a firework show at 11pm. We rushed upstairs to the common room and got front row seats to a great firework show in the bay. It was a special treat knowing that this was a pretty intimate firework show for the small town at the end of the world.
The next morning we walked around the neighborhood looking for a lake but never found it and had a quick lunch of Ching Jen's leftover steak (made into sandwiches) before heading to the airport. Ahead of us we have a long journey to Quito, Ecuador--24 hours of travel and four flights!
Coney Island of Buenos Aires
After breakfast, we checked out, stored our bags, and headed out to Tigre, a small town an hour and a half from Buenos Aires. We read that many portenos (local Buenos Aires residents) love going to Tigre on the weekends, and this was indeed true. The train ride out to the town was packed with locals. And we quickly found out why. Tigre is where our ferry from Colonial del Sacramento dropped us off so it is a town with access to the river and the Delta de Parana. It is kayaking, rowing, boat house club town. And it is a serious hobby of those that come out here. All along the river there are docks with tracks leading to the boat clubs (that cross the road) so that moving the row boats from the boat house to the river and back is easily done. All day we saw people go up and down the river in kayaks, row boats and small speed boats.
If you're not part of the water culture, you're then in Tigre for the amusement park filled with roller coasters and up-turning rides, or you're there for the market. After walking along the river for a little bit, we followed the crowds away from the river, not quite sure where we were going. We figured there must be something to see since a lot of people were headed in the same direction. we arrived at the Mercado de Frutas, but no longer only sells fruits and vegetables. The mercado took over number warehouses along the docks and turned them into artisan markets. You can find practically anything for you home here, from rattan furniture, kitchen and bath ware, to decorative elements like dried and fake flowers and wall decorations. There are also a lot of other kinds of crafts and gourmet food items. We wandered a bit before we got hungry so we at our leftover cheese, bread, crackers and pickled vegetables before hitting the rest of the shops. It seemed like it would never end! We found a gift or two and then it was the afternoon so we took a break and had an ice cream snack before heading back to the river and walked along the other side. We watched the rowers and was still amazed at how strong the boating culture is. We sort of equated Tigre as the same idea as going to Coney Island for the day on the weekend.
We headed back to Buenos Aires and noted that passengers rely heavily on the people who sell goods. There are a number of people, usually men who walk up and down subway cars and train cars selling all sorts of goods to the passengers, anything from socks, candy, stickers to portable sewing machines and thumb drives. The seller makes a presentation to the passengers, describing the good he is selling and describes the good qualities of it, how it is used and why you need it. Then he passes it out to those who are interested in examining it closely and then makes a second round to collect money or collect the good if someone decides not to purchase it. We found this fascinating. This is actually a competitive business we decided. Each seller has to decide what to sell, how to sell it and based on the prices of each item, determined that it was pretty lucrative. The sellers all know each other and even are friends with the train operators. They seem to have a courtesy culture where if one seller is in one car peddling his goods, another seller won't try to sell his good at the same time.
When we got back to Buenos Aires we found a place for dinner in the Barrio Norte/Palermo neighborhood. Ching Jen had a delicious casserole of rice, mushrooms and cheese and Jon had six different kinds of empanadas. We went back to the hostel to gather our bags and headed to the airport. We have to spend the night at the airport since we have an early flight to Ushuaia.
If you're not part of the water culture, you're then in Tigre for the amusement park filled with roller coasters and up-turning rides, or you're there for the market. After walking along the river for a little bit, we followed the crowds away from the river, not quite sure where we were going. We figured there must be something to see since a lot of people were headed in the same direction. we arrived at the Mercado de Frutas, but no longer only sells fruits and vegetables. The mercado took over number warehouses along the docks and turned them into artisan markets. You can find practically anything for you home here, from rattan furniture, kitchen and bath ware, to decorative elements like dried and fake flowers and wall decorations. There are also a lot of other kinds of crafts and gourmet food items. We wandered a bit before we got hungry so we at our leftover cheese, bread, crackers and pickled vegetables before hitting the rest of the shops. It seemed like it would never end! We found a gift or two and then it was the afternoon so we took a break and had an ice cream snack before heading back to the river and walked along the other side. We watched the rowers and was still amazed at how strong the boating culture is. We sort of equated Tigre as the same idea as going to Coney Island for the day on the weekend.
We headed back to Buenos Aires and noted that passengers rely heavily on the people who sell goods. There are a number of people, usually men who walk up and down subway cars and train cars selling all sorts of goods to the passengers, anything from socks, candy, stickers to portable sewing machines and thumb drives. The seller makes a presentation to the passengers, describing the good he is selling and describes the good qualities of it, how it is used and why you need it. Then he passes it out to those who are interested in examining it closely and then makes a second round to collect money or collect the good if someone decides not to purchase it. We found this fascinating. This is actually a competitive business we decided. Each seller has to decide what to sell, how to sell it and based on the prices of each item, determined that it was pretty lucrative. The sellers all know each other and even are friends with the train operators. They seem to have a courtesy culture where if one seller is in one car peddling his goods, another seller won't try to sell his good at the same time.
When we got back to Buenos Aires we found a place for dinner in the Barrio Norte/Palermo neighborhood. Ching Jen had a delicious casserole of rice, mushrooms and cheese and Jon had six different kinds of empanadas. We went back to the hostel to gather our bags and headed to the airport. We have to spend the night at the airport since we have an early flight to Ushuaia.
Dante Fanatics and Symbolism
The next day we retraced some of our steps from the previous day: first, we went back to Plaza de Mayo and checked out Catedral Metropolitana. The Catedral contains the tomb of liberator Jose de San Martin and is flanked by two living guards--we were surprised to see actual persons guarding a tomb in a church-it must be a worthy expense! We checked out Casa Rosada again, but determined that it was indeed true that tours of the building were not available. We walked by a random lunch place that had a few select items and random cowboy paraphernalia. We went in and Jon ordered a choripan (chorizo sandwich) and Ching Jen had beef milanese. The owner was very friendly and asked us how we enjoyed our food. After we said we liked it, he elaborated and said that his restaurant is popular with policemen, somehow implying that his food must not be bad if policemen like it.
After lunch we walked down Avenida de Mayo to Palacio Barolo, an office building dedicated to Dante. We had to wait for the tour of the building so we walked to the other end of Avenida de Mayo where the Plaza & Palacio del Congreso resides. The Palacio is inspired by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C., and it really looks similar! All of a sudden, a sweeping rain storm came right over our head and we ran for cover. We waited for the downpour to pass before it was time to head back to the Palacio Barolo. The architects and owner of the building were major Dante fanatics and built the building with lots of Dante symbolism. The lobby represents Hell-with dragon and snake lamp fixtures and 9 domes to represent the 9 hells. On the floor, rosettes in gold represent fire. The owner intended for Dante's ashes to be placed in the center of the building, but complications with the Italian government prevented this to occur. There are 7 old style elevators with iron cages and manual sliding doors. On the 4th floor, we looked down into the lobby from a circular balcony. Here, floors 1-14 represent Purgatory and there are only rounded corners everywhere we looked. The circular balcony represents pi or 3.14. This is derived from the fact that there are 22 floors (representing the 22 verses in Divine Comedy) and when divided by the number of elevators in the building (7) you get 3.14! We went up to the 14th floor and walked up to Heaven. We were in a round tower with small balconies that provided us with a panoramic view of the city. We climbed a few flights up to the lighthouse. It's glass enclosed and has a rotating light (the lamp had a mirror in it that reflected things upside down--it was very LOST feeling). We learned that there is a corresponding building and lighthouse tower in Montevideo which we missed somehow. On certain evenings, the two towers communicate with each other. After the tour we found a spot to have some tea before walking to the Obelisco at the end of Avenida 9 de Julio. It looks much like the Washington Monument.
In the evening we found a restaurant had had a live music show. First for dinner, Ching Jen had an empanada and a traditional stew dish (cazuela) if corn and mashed pumpkin, while Jon had a different stew with beef, fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and eggs cracked directly into the stew to cook. The band that played consisted of 1 singer, 4 guitarists and 1 drummer. They were a folk song band, having learned the folk songs from a master, some songs taking as long as 2 years to learn. It was great to have some traditional foods along with traditional live music making it a good night of culture and food.
The next day we didn't really have an agenda so we decided to go to Recoleta Cemetery again where Jon took more photos of mausoleum doors and sketched. We then had a picnic near Avenida Santa Fe of bread, cheese, olive oil and pickled vegetables before doing some shopping on Ave. Santa Fe. For dinner we went back to San Telmo and had chicken and mashed potatoes and a Spanish omelet.
After lunch we walked down Avenida de Mayo to Palacio Barolo, an office building dedicated to Dante. We had to wait for the tour of the building so we walked to the other end of Avenida de Mayo where the Plaza & Palacio del Congreso resides. The Palacio is inspired by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C., and it really looks similar! All of a sudden, a sweeping rain storm came right over our head and we ran for cover. We waited for the downpour to pass before it was time to head back to the Palacio Barolo. The architects and owner of the building were major Dante fanatics and built the building with lots of Dante symbolism. The lobby represents Hell-with dragon and snake lamp fixtures and 9 domes to represent the 9 hells. On the floor, rosettes in gold represent fire. The owner intended for Dante's ashes to be placed in the center of the building, but complications with the Italian government prevented this to occur. There are 7 old style elevators with iron cages and manual sliding doors. On the 4th floor, we looked down into the lobby from a circular balcony. Here, floors 1-14 represent Purgatory and there are only rounded corners everywhere we looked. The circular balcony represents pi or 3.14. This is derived from the fact that there are 22 floors (representing the 22 verses in Divine Comedy) and when divided by the number of elevators in the building (7) you get 3.14! We went up to the 14th floor and walked up to Heaven. We were in a round tower with small balconies that provided us with a panoramic view of the city. We climbed a few flights up to the lighthouse. It's glass enclosed and has a rotating light (the lamp had a mirror in it that reflected things upside down--it was very LOST feeling). We learned that there is a corresponding building and lighthouse tower in Montevideo which we missed somehow. On certain evenings, the two towers communicate with each other. After the tour we found a spot to have some tea before walking to the Obelisco at the end of Avenida 9 de Julio. It looks much like the Washington Monument.
In the evening we found a restaurant had had a live music show. First for dinner, Ching Jen had an empanada and a traditional stew dish (cazuela) if corn and mashed pumpkin, while Jon had a different stew with beef, fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and eggs cracked directly into the stew to cook. The band that played consisted of 1 singer, 4 guitarists and 1 drummer. They were a folk song band, having learned the folk songs from a master, some songs taking as long as 2 years to learn. It was great to have some traditional foods along with traditional live music making it a good night of culture and food.
The next day we didn't really have an agenda so we decided to go to Recoleta Cemetery again where Jon took more photos of mausoleum doors and sketched. We then had a picnic near Avenida Santa Fe of bread, cheese, olive oil and pickled vegetables before doing some shopping on Ave. Santa Fe. For dinner we went back to San Telmo and had chicken and mashed potatoes and a Spanish omelet.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Empanadas, Empanadas
This morning we walked to the old port area, Puerto Madero, which is now completely renovated turning industrial warehouses into loft spaces and a place to go for shopping and eating. The Catholic University even transformed a number of the warehouses for their facilities. Here also lies a bridge by Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect. It's a sleek, thin, white bridge with one pylon keeping the bridge suspended. We crossed over the bridge and past the other side of shops and restaurants filled with people milling about, a very evident sign that the port revitalization is a success. Just past the port is the Ecological Reserve, Costanera Sur, which is right next to the river. We took a short walk into the reserve and found a place to sit under the shade. We had brought our own food to picnic: prosciutto and cheese sandwich and 1/2 a roast chicken. We noticed that there were a lot of people who seemed to be on their lunch break, running, but in their work clothes. We wondered how long their lunch break is and if they shower before going back to work. We hung out playing cards before walking the rest of the pathway around the reserve, past marshes, ponds and a beach.
Upon exiting the park, we realized how close we were to San Telmo, the neighborhood of the street fair we went to on Sunday. It was nice to be back in the neighborhood when it wasn't crowded with tourists. We stopped at an ice cream parlour, Freddo, for a quick snack before headed back up to Florida street to buy a few items from those street vendors. We bought groceries on the way home and made another round of pesto pasta with canned veggies and hotdogs.
The next day we first went to MALBA, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, the leading contemporary art museum in South America. There was a fun video installation of a fly buzzing and the attempt to swat it. After the museum, we went back to the hostel to eat our leftovers. We came back to find that all the long term students who are staying at our hostel also come back to the hostel to eat their lunch. Our leftovers weren't enough for a full meal so we decided to go on an empanada tour. We had found a New York Times article, written in 2000 about empanadas in Buenos Aires. Conveniently, two of the places mentioned were located in Palermo. First we wandered in Palermo Viejo, popular with young people and has the feel of the Lower East Side in New York. We found the empanada location, but it had been replaced by a cafe. So we went in search of the other location, but when we reached it, the restaurant space was up for sale. So we ended up at a bar and ordered drinks and carne empanadas, which were very delicious. Something about the pastry makes it so good, oh, that would be butter! We then wandered to Palermo SoHo, also a hip place for food and nightlife. We found another bar that served empanadas and ordered another round. It had been drizzling all throughout the day so we decided we would see a movie at a cinema. Jon agreed to watch Eat, Love, Pray featuring Julia Roberts and this was very exciting for Ching Jen. We had a snack before going to the theater. In Buenos Aires, they give you seat assignments and ushers escort you to your seat. It was an enjoyable movie with many gorgeous shots in Italy, India and Indonesia.
Upon exiting the park, we realized how close we were to San Telmo, the neighborhood of the street fair we went to on Sunday. It was nice to be back in the neighborhood when it wasn't crowded with tourists. We stopped at an ice cream parlour, Freddo, for a quick snack before headed back up to Florida street to buy a few items from those street vendors. We bought groceries on the way home and made another round of pesto pasta with canned veggies and hotdogs.
The next day we first went to MALBA, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, the leading contemporary art museum in South America. There was a fun video installation of a fly buzzing and the attempt to swat it. After the museum, we went back to the hostel to eat our leftovers. We came back to find that all the long term students who are staying at our hostel also come back to the hostel to eat their lunch. Our leftovers weren't enough for a full meal so we decided to go on an empanada tour. We had found a New York Times article, written in 2000 about empanadas in Buenos Aires. Conveniently, two of the places mentioned were located in Palermo. First we wandered in Palermo Viejo, popular with young people and has the feel of the Lower East Side in New York. We found the empanada location, but it had been replaced by a cafe. So we went in search of the other location, but when we reached it, the restaurant space was up for sale. So we ended up at a bar and ordered drinks and carne empanadas, which were very delicious. Something about the pastry makes it so good, oh, that would be butter! We then wandered to Palermo SoHo, also a hip place for food and nightlife. We found another bar that served empanadas and ordered another round. It had been drizzling all throughout the day so we decided we would see a movie at a cinema. Jon agreed to watch Eat, Love, Pray featuring Julia Roberts and this was very exciting for Ching Jen. We had a snack before going to the theater. In Buenos Aires, they give you seat assignments and ushers escort you to your seat. It was an enjoyable movie with many gorgeous shots in Italy, India and Indonesia.
Tangoed in Buenos Aires
Our first day in Buenos Aires was a Sunday, which is perfect timing for the giant antique fair and street Tango in San Telmo, an old colonial neighborhood. We arrived in San Telmo at the top of Defensa a cobbled street that is closed to car traffic for vendors and pedestrians. The vendors are a mix of hippie artisans, craftspeople, and antique dealers. Many many of the shops in San Telmo are antique shops and as we learned throughout our stay in BsAs, the portenos love to shop and collect. It was fun and fascinating to wander the booths and stores - stamps, gaucho gear, post cards, lamps, silverware, furniture, knives, glass bottles, sinks, jewelry, clothing, typewriters, old appliances, costumes, music, books and more. Disappointingly either it was an off Sunday or a case of overhyped tourism because we didn't find much street tango. There were a couple of really great musical acts, but inky one group of dancers. Like a lot of things in BsAs increasing tourism is institutionalizing some of what was natural culture and also raising prices. In the last year and a half the prices in Argentina have increased by about 75% in most cases. Still it is pretty inexpensive.
If this sounds like a downer it wasn't the neighborhood was packed with locals and tourists enjoying the fair and the atmosphere. We wandered for a couple hours before finding a seat around 3pm at an infamous restaurant and have our first steak in Argentina.
After lynch we decided we still had time to head down to La Boca, the old port and heart of Tango and culture. We walked down past the stadium for Boca Juniors one of the most popular futbol clubs. People were in the streets drinking and gathering for a game. We arrived at La Boca and El Caminito just as the sunwas getting low in the sky. The buildings in La Boca are a mosaic of corrugated facades painted in a rainbow of colored patches. Traditionally, the buildings were painting with the leftover paint from ships, hence the colors. El Caminito is a short diagonal street famous for impromptu tango and artists. It was beautiful in the sunlight, but desert of any tango performers. We did look in on some dancing and music at a few restaurants. They were a couple different styles - a more relaxed comical folk style, the more serious, dark and sensual dance, and a kind of flamenco fusion. We walked around snapping a bunch of photos and checking out the tourist shops. At the old port we did a bit of people watching and then went into a contemporary art museum for a rooftop view of the neighborhood.
We left the area just before the game started, which is a good thing as things can become pretty rowdy. Back up in San Telmo we went grocery shopping and returned to our hostel in Palermo to cook dinner.
The following day we left the hostel and walked through our neighborhood of Palermo Alto. It's a pretty chic area of doorman buildings and overpriced pizza places. We walked to an area connected by a number of parks. In one was a huge steel flower about three stories tall. It blooms mechanically each day. Across from that was a huge furniture and interiors design store that we treated a but like a museum. Outside we had arrived in Recoleta, a wealthy area of more apartment buildings, designer shopping, and outdoor cafes. The heart of Recoleta is the cemetery. We knew we would take a long while touring the cemetery so we went to find some empanadas for our hungry stomachs. We went to El Sanguino a famous restaurant of empanadas and northern argentinean food. The empanadas- corn and spicy meat were super delicious.
Back at the cemetery we first went into the church, a beautiful spanish colonial structure. Then we entered and all the buildup was totally worth it. The cemetery dates from the mid-19th century. It is the final resting place for many of BsAs's well connected families- immigrants from Italy, Spain, England, France, and Portugal. The entire site is like a city with the mausoleums lined up side by side down "streets". There are instances in the plan where the streets intersect to form plazas. The cemetery is landscaped with wispy trees like from a Van Gogh painting. All together its a completely amazing architectural site. The mausoleums are each unique- mini gothic, neo classical, neo Egyptian, baroque, and even very modern styles. The tombs are multiple stories above and below ground and through the doors- many of them glass it is possible to see stacks of coffins and rows of urns. We spent a long time walking up and down nearly every row and photographing (maybe a couple hundred. Hehe...) We did play ultimate tourist and check out the tomb of Eva Peron, but hers is just one of a number of mausoleums of significant Argentines and world figures.
Following the cemetery we returned to El Sanguino for more food, it was so good. This time we had tamales and a lentil casserole with sausage. Recharged and rested we started walking down Avenida Alvear, a kind of mashup between upper 5th avenue fancy residences and Madision Avenue shopping. Heading east we entered the neighborhood of Retiro, with even more lavish residences, flowered balconies, embassies in former palaces and mansions, and 5 star hotels. At the far end or Retiro is Plaza San Martin, a conglomerate of three squares. Around the plaza were two competing former palaces. When we say palace we mean extremely large elegant mansions for very wealthy non-royal families. Also on the plaza is a replica guiding if Big Ben, go figure. At this point we decided to walk down Florida, a bustling pedestrian mall to Cafe Tortoni for dinner and a tango show. The tango show was okay. It was essentially a sampling of different styles, but the dancing was maybe two minutes at the most each time. This is one of those instances where the cafe was known to have authentic inexpensive shows cast with dancers from the next-door school, but once the word got out it has become a scripted commercial dinner show.
If this sounds like a downer it wasn't the neighborhood was packed with locals and tourists enjoying the fair and the atmosphere. We wandered for a couple hours before finding a seat around 3pm at an infamous restaurant and have our first steak in Argentina.
After lynch we decided we still had time to head down to La Boca, the old port and heart of Tango and culture. We walked down past the stadium for Boca Juniors one of the most popular futbol clubs. People were in the streets drinking and gathering for a game. We arrived at La Boca and El Caminito just as the sunwas getting low in the sky. The buildings in La Boca are a mosaic of corrugated facades painted in a rainbow of colored patches. Traditionally, the buildings were painting with the leftover paint from ships, hence the colors. El Caminito is a short diagonal street famous for impromptu tango and artists. It was beautiful in the sunlight, but desert of any tango performers. We did look in on some dancing and music at a few restaurants. They were a couple different styles - a more relaxed comical folk style, the more serious, dark and sensual dance, and a kind of flamenco fusion. We walked around snapping a bunch of photos and checking out the tourist shops. At the old port we did a bit of people watching and then went into a contemporary art museum for a rooftop view of the neighborhood.
We left the area just before the game started, which is a good thing as things can become pretty rowdy. Back up in San Telmo we went grocery shopping and returned to our hostel in Palermo to cook dinner.
The following day we left the hostel and walked through our neighborhood of Palermo Alto. It's a pretty chic area of doorman buildings and overpriced pizza places. We walked to an area connected by a number of parks. In one was a huge steel flower about three stories tall. It blooms mechanically each day. Across from that was a huge furniture and interiors design store that we treated a but like a museum. Outside we had arrived in Recoleta, a wealthy area of more apartment buildings, designer shopping, and outdoor cafes. The heart of Recoleta is the cemetery. We knew we would take a long while touring the cemetery so we went to find some empanadas for our hungry stomachs. We went to El Sanguino a famous restaurant of empanadas and northern argentinean food. The empanadas- corn and spicy meat were super delicious.
Back at the cemetery we first went into the church, a beautiful spanish colonial structure. Then we entered and all the buildup was totally worth it. The cemetery dates from the mid-19th century. It is the final resting place for many of BsAs's well connected families- immigrants from Italy, Spain, England, France, and Portugal. The entire site is like a city with the mausoleums lined up side by side down "streets". There are instances in the plan where the streets intersect to form plazas. The cemetery is landscaped with wispy trees like from a Van Gogh painting. All together its a completely amazing architectural site. The mausoleums are each unique- mini gothic, neo classical, neo Egyptian, baroque, and even very modern styles. The tombs are multiple stories above and below ground and through the doors- many of them glass it is possible to see stacks of coffins and rows of urns. We spent a long time walking up and down nearly every row and photographing (maybe a couple hundred. Hehe...) We did play ultimate tourist and check out the tomb of Eva Peron, but hers is just one of a number of mausoleums of significant Argentines and world figures.
Following the cemetery we returned to El Sanguino for more food, it was so good. This time we had tamales and a lentil casserole with sausage. Recharged and rested we started walking down Avenida Alvear, a kind of mashup between upper 5th avenue fancy residences and Madision Avenue shopping. Heading east we entered the neighborhood of Retiro, with even more lavish residences, flowered balconies, embassies in former palaces and mansions, and 5 star hotels. At the far end or Retiro is Plaza San Martin, a conglomerate of three squares. Around the plaza were two competing former palaces. When we say palace we mean extremely large elegant mansions for very wealthy non-royal families. Also on the plaza is a replica guiding if Big Ben, go figure. At this point we decided to walk down Florida, a bustling pedestrian mall to Cafe Tortoni for dinner and a tango show. The tango show was okay. It was essentially a sampling of different styles, but the dancing was maybe two minutes at the most each time. This is one of those instances where the cafe was known to have authentic inexpensive shows cast with dancers from the next-door school, but once the word got out it has become a scripted commercial dinner show.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Stepping into a Fairytale
We took a bus from Montevideo to Colonia del Sacremento, two hours west of Montevideo. The bus ride was quite pastoral-gentle rolling hills of green wheat fields (because it is spring) and vineyards. Arriving in Colonia was not just pike rolling the clock back it was like being somewhere where the clock seems to tick a few seconds slower. The city is small. The historic center is on a small peninsula about a half square mile large. The area immediately outside the old city wall is almost as old and this is where our hostel was and most of the businesses and restaurants. All of the streets are shaded in maple trees with new green leaves and all of the streets are cobble stoned.
After checking in we made quick friends with a Chilean girl who had been on our bus and together we went to grab a late lunch. We had a chivito platter, a plate of steak covered in fried eggs, ham, cheese and served on a bed of fresh tomatoes and fries. Haha sounds like a heart attack like a chorrillana from Chile. It might be, but it's a delicious heart attack.
After lunch we walked around the historic center. It was like being in a storybook. It is hard to describe without pictures, (there will be photos one day...). The town is a former Portuguese colony from the 1650s. The waterfront, along the River Plata had a number of contemporary beach houses. It is amazing to think that people live amongst the colonial structures in this town.
> There were many interesting buildings to photograph as we wandered aimlessly. There was a lighthouse, the ruins of a convent, a number of mansions with courtyards, the old church, a tower along the waterfront, industrial dock buildings, old drugstores, and the original city walls complete with drawbridge. One street in particular was so perfectly charming. The entire street features all original colonial houses. They have settled over the centuries, leaning left and slouching right. Plants and grasses grow out of the thatch and tile roofs. The walls are painted in shades of red, orange and pink. The sun was just beginning to set do our timing to photograph was right on. I think we were ready to just sit down in the center of the street and never get up again. But we did, it was a good thing because for dinner we had beef Milanese where one portion was enough to feed both of us.
The next day we went horseback riding in the morning. The ride was over two and a half hours. At a leisurely pace we went from the horse ran h amongst vineyards and wheat fields, through native forests of trees covered in epiphytes, to sandy grasslands and then the beach. Unfortunately with all the recent rains, the river water was super high and most of the beach was underwater. Our horses had to go out into the waves in order to get around the coastline trees. It became obvious we weren't going to make it very far in this way so we returned to the ranch via a country road. It got pretty funny from this point because our guide who didn't speak any English and whose Spanish was a mumbled mess to our ears could not make his horse go anymore. Ching Jen's horse, Chiquita, a white mare, started binging on food. She stopped to eat every few minutes. Meanwhile, Jon's horse, Estrella, a light brown horse rocking a Justin beiber hairstyle, was finally ready to tro and led the way back to the ranch. This was in stark contrast to earlier when it had a difficult time keeping up and had stopped at every muddy puddle to go around. Everyone made it back including our guide who spent a lot of time picking flowers for some reason. He did dance a hula for us so that part was worth it.
After the horseback ride we walked around the artisan fairgrounds and then the old port. We spent the afternoon walking around the historic center again and sitting for a drink at a cafe. We went up the lighthouse to see a view over the town and the river. The cafe had a couple of old fords staged to set the scene of the the town pre- WWII. One car was set up so that two people could eat inside another had plants growing out of it. It was fun to watch people come around the corner, first be excited to see the cars and then notice the table inside or the plants. We waited long enough to catch the sunset over the river. It was pretty brilliant.
The following day we checked out of the hostel and caught a bus to Carmelo, a town upriver in Uruguay. From Carmelo we caught a ferry, a hydrofoil to Buenos Aires, through the delta and the many islands. We had a couple of hours to kill in Carmelo and it was super nice to sit alongside the river and relax. The crossing in the delta was very scenic. The sunset was magnificent. It definitely felt like a pretty posh way to immigrate from one country to another.
We arrived in Tigre, a suburb of Buenos Aires and easily took a train and the subway to our hostel in Palermo, Buenos Aires.
After checking in we made quick friends with a Chilean girl who had been on our bus and together we went to grab a late lunch. We had a chivito platter, a plate of steak covered in fried eggs, ham, cheese and served on a bed of fresh tomatoes and fries. Haha sounds like a heart attack like a chorrillana from Chile. It might be, but it's a delicious heart attack.
After lunch we walked around the historic center. It was like being in a storybook. It is hard to describe without pictures, (there will be photos one day...). The town is a former Portuguese colony from the 1650s. The waterfront, along the River Plata had a number of contemporary beach houses. It is amazing to think that people live amongst the colonial structures in this town.
> There were many interesting buildings to photograph as we wandered aimlessly. There was a lighthouse, the ruins of a convent, a number of mansions with courtyards, the old church, a tower along the waterfront, industrial dock buildings, old drugstores, and the original city walls complete with drawbridge. One street in particular was so perfectly charming. The entire street features all original colonial houses. They have settled over the centuries, leaning left and slouching right. Plants and grasses grow out of the thatch and tile roofs. The walls are painted in shades of red, orange and pink. The sun was just beginning to set do our timing to photograph was right on. I think we were ready to just sit down in the center of the street and never get up again. But we did, it was a good thing because for dinner we had beef Milanese where one portion was enough to feed both of us.
The next day we went horseback riding in the morning. The ride was over two and a half hours. At a leisurely pace we went from the horse ran h amongst vineyards and wheat fields, through native forests of trees covered in epiphytes, to sandy grasslands and then the beach. Unfortunately with all the recent rains, the river water was super high and most of the beach was underwater. Our horses had to go out into the waves in order to get around the coastline trees. It became obvious we weren't going to make it very far in this way so we returned to the ranch via a country road. It got pretty funny from this point because our guide who didn't speak any English and whose Spanish was a mumbled mess to our ears could not make his horse go anymore. Ching Jen's horse, Chiquita, a white mare, started binging on food. She stopped to eat every few minutes. Meanwhile, Jon's horse, Estrella, a light brown horse rocking a Justin beiber hairstyle, was finally ready to tro and led the way back to the ranch. This was in stark contrast to earlier when it had a difficult time keeping up and had stopped at every muddy puddle to go around. Everyone made it back including our guide who spent a lot of time picking flowers for some reason. He did dance a hula for us so that part was worth it.
After the horseback ride we walked around the artisan fairgrounds and then the old port. We spent the afternoon walking around the historic center again and sitting for a drink at a cafe. We went up the lighthouse to see a view over the town and the river. The cafe had a couple of old fords staged to set the scene of the the town pre- WWII. One car was set up so that two people could eat inside another had plants growing out of it. It was fun to watch people come around the corner, first be excited to see the cars and then notice the table inside or the plants. We waited long enough to catch the sunset over the river. It was pretty brilliant.
The following day we checked out of the hostel and caught a bus to Carmelo, a town upriver in Uruguay. From Carmelo we caught a ferry, a hydrofoil to Buenos Aires, through the delta and the many islands. We had a couple of hours to kill in Carmelo and it was super nice to sit alongside the river and relax. The crossing in the delta was very scenic. The sunset was magnificent. It definitely felt like a pretty posh way to immigrate from one country to another.
We arrived in Tigre, a suburb of Buenos Aires and easily took a train and the subway to our hostel in Palermo, Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
We got into Rio airport around 6:30am and had to wait until 3:20pm for our flight to Montevideo. So we hung out, wrote in our journals, blogged and had some lunch. We´re surprised at how small Rio´s international airport is--it does not seem like it has the capacity to serve the crowds that will arrive for the World Cup and Olympics. Hopefully that will be solved. It was late when we got to Montevideo so we grabbed some dinner at a bar after checking in. For a very reasonable price, we had a juicy 1/4 chicken with mashed potatoes and steak and fries.
The next day we walked to Centro and the old port. Montevideo is a beautiful city with many old buildings giving the city a European feel. Many of the streets we walked on felt like we were in Germany or the like. There are many small plazas and parks as we walked through the town, giving us many opportunities to stop and rest and people watch. We checked out a great artisan craft market and bought a few items. On one corner, there was an old random fountain with a fence around it. There were many locks on it, most of them rusted. We learned that couples would put their initials on a lock and lock it to the fountain to secure their future together. We also walked by the Teatro Solis, which is their opera house. There was a poster advertising their partnership with New York´s Metropolitan Opera and the ability to watch the Met Opera´s similucasts of the upcoming season. We made our way to Mercado del Puerto and was immediately transported back to the Victorian era. The market no longer sells fresh produce or raw meats, instead it is all restaurants. However, each restaurant is an open counter and tables with Victorian style details. Each restaurant has a large grill and you can watch the grill master cook up your meal. With the smoke coming from the grills, the market is smokey, but the haziness paired with the wrought-iron beams and old styled fans and with the light streaming through the smoke make for great photos! We loved it and of course took lots of photos. We sat at one of the counters and ordered a mixed parrilla for two; this included steak, 1/2 a chicken, chorizo, blood sausage and intestines, and a side of salad. It was delicious, but Ching Jen didn´t feel like eating all of the intestines. We were very full by the end of our meal but we were very satisfied.
When we finally were able to pull ourselves away from the market we made our way down to the Ramble or as we call them, an esplanade or promenade. The Rio water is brown and choppy and wasn't really a "pretty" view but it was nice. We briefly stopped at the hostel before heading out again to explore the neighborhood of Pocitos. It started to rain however and we discovered that there wasn't a lot going on around here. We took cover in a bookstore for a little while before finding a cafe for dinner. We each had already bowl but Jon's was filled with rice and sausage & vegetables, while Ching Jen's had pumpkin soup (we think).
The next morning we packed up and went to the bus station to catch the bus to Colonial del Sacramento. We liked Montevideo a lot, for the feel of the city, the easy going atmosphere and especially the people who were always very friendly, curious to know where we are from and why we are in Uruguay. They were always ready to assist us in finding our way.
The next day we walked to Centro and the old port. Montevideo is a beautiful city with many old buildings giving the city a European feel. Many of the streets we walked on felt like we were in Germany or the like. There are many small plazas and parks as we walked through the town, giving us many opportunities to stop and rest and people watch. We checked out a great artisan craft market and bought a few items. On one corner, there was an old random fountain with a fence around it. There were many locks on it, most of them rusted. We learned that couples would put their initials on a lock and lock it to the fountain to secure their future together. We also walked by the Teatro Solis, which is their opera house. There was a poster advertising their partnership with New York´s Metropolitan Opera and the ability to watch the Met Opera´s similucasts of the upcoming season. We made our way to Mercado del Puerto and was immediately transported back to the Victorian era. The market no longer sells fresh produce or raw meats, instead it is all restaurants. However, each restaurant is an open counter and tables with Victorian style details. Each restaurant has a large grill and you can watch the grill master cook up your meal. With the smoke coming from the grills, the market is smokey, but the haziness paired with the wrought-iron beams and old styled fans and with the light streaming through the smoke make for great photos! We loved it and of course took lots of photos. We sat at one of the counters and ordered a mixed parrilla for two; this included steak, 1/2 a chicken, chorizo, blood sausage and intestines, and a side of salad. It was delicious, but Ching Jen didn´t feel like eating all of the intestines. We were very full by the end of our meal but we were very satisfied.
When we finally were able to pull ourselves away from the market we made our way down to the Ramble or as we call them, an esplanade or promenade. The Rio water is brown and choppy and wasn't really a "pretty" view but it was nice. We briefly stopped at the hostel before heading out again to explore the neighborhood of Pocitos. It started to rain however and we discovered that there wasn't a lot going on around here. We took cover in a bookstore for a little while before finding a cafe for dinner. We each had already bowl but Jon's was filled with rice and sausage & vegetables, while Ching Jen's had pumpkin soup (we think).
The next morning we packed up and went to the bus station to catch the bus to Colonial del Sacramento. We liked Montevideo a lot, for the feel of the city, the easy going atmosphere and especially the people who were always very friendly, curious to know where we are from and why we are in Uruguay. They were always ready to assist us in finding our way.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Amazon
So we finally made it to the Amazon. A couple days after we were hoping and only to Belem, a biggish city at the mouth of the Amazon. It was mighty hot when we got there- 90 degrees and only 9:30 am. We found a hostel in Comercio, the historic center of Belem. Belem is a city of a couple million in the metro area. It is best known as the port city of the Amazon. Everything that goes up or down river passes Belem. It is also a city that on the second Sunday of October hosts 2 million people for a religious celebration. People come to parade and hold a rope that stretches for 7km around the city through the streets linking two separate churches. The images of this are quite amazing.
The first sightseeing thing we did in Belem was head to the zoo/city rainforest park. It is a small space, preserved from colonial times. Outside we had a snack, tacaca, a soup of dried shrimp, cassava in a gummy texture, and Jambi leaves, a very tangy vegetable like collared greens. It was okay, but we would not order seconds. The tanginess was just too much. Inside the zoo was kind of disappointing. The big snakes were closed for viewing, as were the piranha and other fish. The jaguar was hidden and the tigers were sleeping aside from one Fangy grin. We did see many birds like ibises, tucans, and parrots, along with capybaras, tapirs, monkeys, turtles, tortoises, and iguanas.
In the afternoon we walked around some of the neighborhood in Belem where high-rises seem to be springing up on ever corner. We ended up inside in the AC at a shopping mall. We think we saw the temperatures reach 104.
Our second day in Belem we walked around the port and historic old city. The port was pretty impressive. The city has invested a lot of dollars into attracting tourism with renovated warehouses and shipping equipment on display. It was from here that we saw the amazon, a huge brown river with numerous islands in this part of the delta. Nearby we walked Ver o peso market, the largest in all Latin America. There are over 12000 stalls! They sell everything from clothing to witchcraft items, lotions and perfumes to salted dried seafood, live chickens, ducks, the birds, and mice for some unknown purpose, meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and regional crafts. It was lots of fun to gawk and wander at the stalls.
After the market we checked out the fort and the cathedral. We took a rest in a plaza with fresh chilled coconut juice. The. I asked the vendor to hack it open so we could eat the meat. It was so refreshing.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering shops and the Comercio. The area is filed with sidewalk vendors and bargain stores. We had ice cream at the port, watching a pretty spectacular downpour of rain. We watched the sunset over the river- the water was a shimmery purple because of the glow from the sun.
Then at night we checked out of the hostel and headed to the airport for our flight at 2:40am. It was bizarre when we got to the airport around 10, it was super quiet. Then around 11, stores and restaurants started opening and many passengers starting checking in for other flights. We learned later the airport is closed earlier in the day because there are no flights out.
The first sightseeing thing we did in Belem was head to the zoo/city rainforest park. It is a small space, preserved from colonial times. Outside we had a snack, tacaca, a soup of dried shrimp, cassava in a gummy texture, and Jambi leaves, a very tangy vegetable like collared greens. It was okay, but we would not order seconds. The tanginess was just too much. Inside the zoo was kind of disappointing. The big snakes were closed for viewing, as were the piranha and other fish. The jaguar was hidden and the tigers were sleeping aside from one Fangy grin. We did see many birds like ibises, tucans, and parrots, along with capybaras, tapirs, monkeys, turtles, tortoises, and iguanas.
In the afternoon we walked around some of the neighborhood in Belem where high-rises seem to be springing up on ever corner. We ended up inside in the AC at a shopping mall. We think we saw the temperatures reach 104.
Our second day in Belem we walked around the port and historic old city. The port was pretty impressive. The city has invested a lot of dollars into attracting tourism with renovated warehouses and shipping equipment on display. It was from here that we saw the amazon, a huge brown river with numerous islands in this part of the delta. Nearby we walked Ver o peso market, the largest in all Latin America. There are over 12000 stalls! They sell everything from clothing to witchcraft items, lotions and perfumes to salted dried seafood, live chickens, ducks, the birds, and mice for some unknown purpose, meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and regional crafts. It was lots of fun to gawk and wander at the stalls.
After the market we checked out the fort and the cathedral. We took a rest in a plaza with fresh chilled coconut juice. The. I asked the vendor to hack it open so we could eat the meat. It was so refreshing.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering shops and the Comercio. The area is filed with sidewalk vendors and bargain stores. We had ice cream at the port, watching a pretty spectacular downpour of rain. We watched the sunset over the river- the water was a shimmery purple because of the glow from the sun.
Then at night we checked out of the hostel and headed to the airport for our flight at 2:40am. It was bizarre when we got to the airport around 10, it was super quiet. Then around 11, stores and restaurants started opening and many passengers starting checking in for other flights. We learned later the airport is closed earlier in the day because there are no flights out.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Salvador Sol
It was dark already by the time we arrived in Salvador. We found our way to our hostel in the historic center, Pelourinho, a World Heritage Site full of colorful colonial buildings. The center sits at the edge of a cliff overlooking the bay. We immediately went looking for food and found a place that served traditional Bahian food. We ordered coconut curry with shrimp and a side of rice. It was too bad that all the stores and other restaurants were already closed or closing otherwise it would have been nice to hang out on the street and people watch as the night was warm yet breezy.
We woke up to a beautiful view of the bay-until our sink faucet broke and water was flooding the bathroom! Luckily the staff quickly shut off our water in time. It wasn't a big deal and we got changed and on our way. First we went to the bus station to purchase tickets to Belem. It would take us 2 bus rides, 20 and 15 hours each- we didn't really have a choice but we knew it could be done and that it actually would be manageable. After that was taken care of we caught the bus to a beach where we watched surfers ride the waves. The tide was high and our clothes got a little wet so we walked along the coast looking for another beach spot. Unfortunately, there was none close enough to walk to but we found some rocks to sit on and watched a group of boys jump off the rocks into the ocean. Later in the evening we shared a large portion of fish, battered and lightly fried, beets and cabbage salad and rice and beans. It was super delicious. After dinner we caught the end of a performance by a live band having a great time watching people dance.
The next day we first caught the funicular down the cliff to check, out the artisan market. We browsed every stall but didn't end up buying anything. We did find some interesting bracelets made out of snake skin-the seller showed off his roll of dried snake skin he uses to make the bracelets-but we were wigged out a bit and had concerns about customs. So we took the elevator up the cliff and wandered the streets taking lots of photos. We went inside the church, Igreja Sao Francisco, with beautiful and ornate decorations. The courtyard was lined with blue and white tiles along the walls while the church interior was covered in gold baroque details. The whole place sparkled with light. For lunch we had juicy chicken and spare ribs. The rest of the early afternoon was spent taking photos of the streets and colorful buildings and browsing shops before heading to the bus terminal.
We woke up to a beautiful view of the bay-until our sink faucet broke and water was flooding the bathroom! Luckily the staff quickly shut off our water in time. It wasn't a big deal and we got changed and on our way. First we went to the bus station to purchase tickets to Belem. It would take us 2 bus rides, 20 and 15 hours each- we didn't really have a choice but we knew it could be done and that it actually would be manageable. After that was taken care of we caught the bus to a beach where we watched surfers ride the waves. The tide was high and our clothes got a little wet so we walked along the coast looking for another beach spot. Unfortunately, there was none close enough to walk to but we found some rocks to sit on and watched a group of boys jump off the rocks into the ocean. Later in the evening we shared a large portion of fish, battered and lightly fried, beets and cabbage salad and rice and beans. It was super delicious. After dinner we caught the end of a performance by a live band having a great time watching people dance.
The next day we first caught the funicular down the cliff to check, out the artisan market. We browsed every stall but didn't end up buying anything. We did find some interesting bracelets made out of snake skin-the seller showed off his roll of dried snake skin he uses to make the bracelets-but we were wigged out a bit and had concerns about customs. So we took the elevator up the cliff and wandered the streets taking lots of photos. We went inside the church, Igreja Sao Francisco, with beautiful and ornate decorations. The courtyard was lined with blue and white tiles along the walls while the church interior was covered in gold baroque details. The whole place sparkled with light. For lunch we had juicy chicken and spare ribs. The rest of the early afternoon was spent taking photos of the streets and colorful buildings and browsing shops before heading to the bus terminal.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Living in a Flying City
We landed in Brasilia from Rio. It was hot, sunny, dry and dusty. Brasilia is the masterplanned capitol city of Brazil. The plan is literally in the shape of a plane- an airplane. The plane is flying in an eastward direction towards a large artificial lake. The entire city is aligned such that on April 21, a day to recognize the martyrs of Brazil's independence, the sun rises perfectly on axis. At the eastern end of the city are the main governmental buildings. The congress, a famous Niemeyer building with two towers rising from a platform that also is the base for a domed volume and it's inverse bowl form (the legislatures) is at the cockpit, eastern end of the city with sun rising between the towers. The wings of the plane house residential sectors, local commerce areas, hotel zones, entertainment sectors and designated zones for businesses and industries. For example all the banks are clustered together. Embassies are clustered and so too are hospitals. Hotels and shopping are split between the north and south wings. All of and their are no street names. Addresses are by block and building. For example our hotel address was sector SHS quad 1 block 3.
We got into Brasilia with most of the afternoon to walk around and hang out. So we went to the cathedral first. It is unlike any cathedral we've seen. Well it's the same architect as Rio so I guess one might anticipate something pretty special. It is a fantastic building. The entrance is via a subterranean ramp. At the end of the ramp one arrives in the main space, a round building in plan with an amazing ceiling of clear glass and blue mosaic tiles, supported by curving concrete columns. The wall curves down to become floor. Three large angel sculptures seem to hover at the center of the room. The curving concrete columns rise up creating the volume and then beyond the roof surface to puncture the sky.
Following the cathedral we checked out other buildings along the central part of the monumental axis like the library and the theater. The library looked like something out of a di chorico painting. The theater felt like a building in Hawaii with a lushly planted tropical lobby. Then as it was nearing dinner time and we didn't feel like hotel restaurants or taking a cab out to the local restaurant areas, we did like a Brazilian and went to the mall. Brasilians love to hang out at malls and their food courts are much better than American food courts.
The next day we basically covered the rest of the axis. We started at the center, going up to the observation level of the tv tower. From there we got our bearings for the entire city and masterplan. We took the bus to the tail section and went to the pretty time warpy museum/monument to JK, Brazils 20th century president responsible for the creation of Brasilia and many other reforms and construction projects in Brazil. The interior of the building was decked out in mid 20th century furniture, red shag rugs, and black marble. The exterior of the building is a trapezoidal/ pyramid volume with a ramped underground entrance and exit. In the front is a tall monument of JK standing on a pillar at the center of a crescent moon. We walked a little bit down the monumental axis under mango trees to the convention center and the had lunch at a gas station cafe. This is another thing we noticed in Brazil. Their gas stations are fancy, selling bottles of wine, expensive chocolates, ice cream bars for $6 US each. And they often have cafes with waiter service even, outdoor tables and umbrellas.
Following lunch we went to Dom Brasco church which is the biggest surprise architectural highlight of the trip thus far. I think the one thing that would describe this building is to say it made Ching Jen want to go to architecture school. Haha. It is a building packed with a great surprise. Outside it is a monolithic cube with 3 storey tall gothic arch like voids around the entire building. Inside one realizes those voids are filled with 18 different blue tinted stained glass panels. It is a dazzling effect, like being inside a kaleidoscope. It was so peaceful and wonderful to sit there that we stayed for a while and toon a ton of pictures.
After Dom Brasco we too the bus to the eastern end of the monumental axis. We walked the length of the ministries, individual government department buildings. The buildings are really impressive and overwhelming lined up like dominoes to either side of the axis. The buildings are clad in green vertical louvered panels on the west side, a glass curtain wall on the east side and white marble on other two, shorter sides. We checked out the Ministry of Justice building a pretty cool mid century building with huge oversized cantilevered waterfalls on the front facade. Nearby was the congress building and the Square of Three Powers. The presents palace/office building and the court building are similar to each other and flank the square. Each building has these very delicate concrete curving columns that suspend the first floor of the building in the air. The buildings appear to be floating. The entirety of the building is white marble and because of the structural design it looks like they could have been carved like an ivory figurines.
Brasilia wasn't all architourism though, we did a lot of people watching and trying to figure out what it would be like living in a city like this. For dinner the second night we ended up at a shopping center food court again, this time opting for Brazil's version of Mcdonalds, only at Giraffas they serve steak.
We spent the next morning running errands and trying to book travel to the amazon. Our flight to Salvador left in the afternoon.
We got into Brasilia with most of the afternoon to walk around and hang out. So we went to the cathedral first. It is unlike any cathedral we've seen. Well it's the same architect as Rio so I guess one might anticipate something pretty special. It is a fantastic building. The entrance is via a subterranean ramp. At the end of the ramp one arrives in the main space, a round building in plan with an amazing ceiling of clear glass and blue mosaic tiles, supported by curving concrete columns. The wall curves down to become floor. Three large angel sculptures seem to hover at the center of the room. The curving concrete columns rise up creating the volume and then beyond the roof surface to puncture the sky.
Following the cathedral we checked out other buildings along the central part of the monumental axis like the library and the theater. The library looked like something out of a di chorico painting. The theater felt like a building in Hawaii with a lushly planted tropical lobby. Then as it was nearing dinner time and we didn't feel like hotel restaurants or taking a cab out to the local restaurant areas, we did like a Brazilian and went to the mall. Brasilians love to hang out at malls and their food courts are much better than American food courts.
The next day we basically covered the rest of the axis. We started at the center, going up to the observation level of the tv tower. From there we got our bearings for the entire city and masterplan. We took the bus to the tail section and went to the pretty time warpy museum/monument to JK, Brazils 20th century president responsible for the creation of Brasilia and many other reforms and construction projects in Brazil. The interior of the building was decked out in mid 20th century furniture, red shag rugs, and black marble. The exterior of the building is a trapezoidal/ pyramid volume with a ramped underground entrance and exit. In the front is a tall monument of JK standing on a pillar at the center of a crescent moon. We walked a little bit down the monumental axis under mango trees to the convention center and the had lunch at a gas station cafe. This is another thing we noticed in Brazil. Their gas stations are fancy, selling bottles of wine, expensive chocolates, ice cream bars for $6 US each. And they often have cafes with waiter service even, outdoor tables and umbrellas.
Following lunch we went to Dom Brasco church which is the biggest surprise architectural highlight of the trip thus far. I think the one thing that would describe this building is to say it made Ching Jen want to go to architecture school. Haha. It is a building packed with a great surprise. Outside it is a monolithic cube with 3 storey tall gothic arch like voids around the entire building. Inside one realizes those voids are filled with 18 different blue tinted stained glass panels. It is a dazzling effect, like being inside a kaleidoscope. It was so peaceful and wonderful to sit there that we stayed for a while and toon a ton of pictures.
After Dom Brasco we too the bus to the eastern end of the monumental axis. We walked the length of the ministries, individual government department buildings. The buildings are really impressive and overwhelming lined up like dominoes to either side of the axis. The buildings are clad in green vertical louvered panels on the west side, a glass curtain wall on the east side and white marble on other two, shorter sides. We checked out the Ministry of Justice building a pretty cool mid century building with huge oversized cantilevered waterfalls on the front facade. Nearby was the congress building and the Square of Three Powers. The presents palace/office building and the court building are similar to each other and flank the square. Each building has these very delicate concrete curving columns that suspend the first floor of the building in the air. The buildings appear to be floating. The entirety of the building is white marble and because of the structural design it looks like they could have been carved like an ivory figurines.
Brasilia wasn't all architourism though, we did a lot of people watching and trying to figure out what it would be like living in a city like this. For dinner the second night we ended up at a shopping center food court again, this time opting for Brazil's version of Mcdonalds, only at Giraffas they serve steak.
We spent the next morning running errands and trying to book travel to the amazon. Our flight to Salvador left in the afternoon.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Weather Check
We woke up and outside it was overcast, much more so than the day before, in fact it felt like it would rain. We walked to the beach to see if we could see the Christ Redeemer as an indication as to whether or not we should go up Corcavado mountain to see it. Nope, not a chance. But Sugar Loaf lookout was visible so we decided to go there and see if the weather would improve. We took the subway there when it started raining. Bummers, it didn´t seem like a good idea to spend the time and money to do it today either. Ah well. So we went to the infamous Ipanema neighborhood to wander and have lunch. We had lunch at a buffet place and wandered the neighborhood which reminded us of Waikiki. After lunch we stepped out onto Ipanema beach between lifeguard posts 9 and 10, where supposedly all the beautiful people go to sun tan, but of course no one was there since it was raining. Still the (natural) view was beautiful. On our way back to our hostel, we found a band playing bossa nova on the street so we listened for awhile before continuing on. At dinner time, we weren´t so hungry so we ended up only have dessert. Also, we were craving ice cream. We found a cafe and Jon had a chocolate milkshake and Ching Jen had a waffle with vanilla ice cream. It totally hit the spot.
The next day it was overcast, but the clouds were high and it seemed like it would stay that way all day. Optimistically, we set out to Corcavado mountain and waited for the train up to the Christ Redeemer. It is amazing that you really can see the Redeemer from every part of the city. The Christ Redeemer stands 13-stories high and he´s huge and awesome to look at. Many tourists were taking the classic photo where they stand with their arms outstretched like Christ, however, the photographer often had to lie on the ground in order to fit the Christ Redeemer in the picture. The views of the city were great too, you couldn´t see far into the horizon because of the clouds, but you could see the entire city and that was the important part. We took loads of photos in every direction before heading back down. We had a picnic near the water facing Sugar Loaf (Jon had a giant avocado while Ching Jen had a sandwich) before making our way to Sugar Loaf. Sugar Loaf lookout is made up of two small mountains, one smaller than the other, and there is an option of hiking up the smaller one. We opted to do this since it wasn´t too hard, just a nature trail and it made the views much more rewarding. From there, we took the cable car up to the larger mountain. Again, it had amazing views, this time with a view of the Christ Redeemer, even though he was tiny tiny. We planned the timing perfectly, the sun was just setting so we got a drink and sat and watched it go down. We waiting for the street lights to come on so that we could take more photos before finally heading back down via cable cars. It felt great that we were able to see both on our last day, the waiting was worth it.
The next day it was overcast, but the clouds were high and it seemed like it would stay that way all day. Optimistically, we set out to Corcavado mountain and waited for the train up to the Christ Redeemer. It is amazing that you really can see the Redeemer from every part of the city. The Christ Redeemer stands 13-stories high and he´s huge and awesome to look at. Many tourists were taking the classic photo where they stand with their arms outstretched like Christ, however, the photographer often had to lie on the ground in order to fit the Christ Redeemer in the picture. The views of the city were great too, you couldn´t see far into the horizon because of the clouds, but you could see the entire city and that was the important part. We took loads of photos in every direction before heading back down. We had a picnic near the water facing Sugar Loaf (Jon had a giant avocado while Ching Jen had a sandwich) before making our way to Sugar Loaf. Sugar Loaf lookout is made up of two small mountains, one smaller than the other, and there is an option of hiking up the smaller one. We opted to do this since it wasn´t too hard, just a nature trail and it made the views much more rewarding. From there, we took the cable car up to the larger mountain. Again, it had amazing views, this time with a view of the Christ Redeemer, even though he was tiny tiny. We planned the timing perfectly, the sun was just setting so we got a drink and sat and watched it go down. We waiting for the street lights to come on so that we could take more photos before finally heading back down via cable cars. It felt great that we were able to see both on our last day, the waiting was worth it.
The Favela
Our second day in Rio the weather still looked overcast with the clouds low enough to obscure the views of the Christ Redeemer and Pao de Acucar. Therefore we spent the morning walking around Copacabana where the beach was mostly deserted. I'm the afternoon we went on a favela tour, which at first sounded a pretty uncomfortable- going through a favela (shanty town) as if it were a zoo. However, it turned out to be one of the coolest and eye opening learning experiences.
Our guide picked us up and drove a small group of us through Ipanema and Leblon, which were just as empty of people. The cloudy, rainy weather really puts a damper on Rio. We stopped at Rocinho, the largest favela in Latin America with an estimated count of 250,000 people living there. The favela is located on a steep hillside over Sao Conrado, an upper middle class neighborhood of high-rises. The backside stretches over the saddle of the mountain and down to the top portions of Leblon, probably Rio's most expensive neighborhood. The proximity of the favela with the high-rises is one of the first things we noticed. Employers in Brazil pay for transportation, therefore they have an incentive to hire people whose commute costs the least. Thus, the closer the favela is to the restaurant, store, hotel etc... The closer that resident is to their job and more hirable they are. It is a catch 22 in a way because as we learned and saw many residents in the favelas make enough to support a family and own tvs and play stations and upholstered furniture sets, but if they lived elsewhere they would be in danger of loosing their jobs. Thus they put up with the poor or lack of infrastructure for sewage, trash, running water, electricity, mail delivery, healthcare, police and fire service, schools and more that we rake for granted.
The tour started at the top of the favela. On foot we entered and walked down one of the main roads. The favela is un taxed land. They are essentially squatters. It had expanded to the point where there is nowhere to build but up so it is getting more dense and more dangerous as people build homes on top of poorly built structures of concrete, wood and in many cases found construction material. About a quarter of the way down we stopped at an artist studio. The tour company we were with has fostered a relationship with the favela over the past 15 years. In that time they have worked to develop an artist community, entrepanuerialism, and a daycare center. So our stops to interact with local residents was somewhat staged as the residents see people like us daily. Nonetheless it was a unique and a very nice experience to speak with them. Whenever we could see beyond a building, the views of the favela were mindboggoling. The buildings are so crammed together that the main "streets" are 4 or 5 feet wide with three or four storey buildings making canyons out of them. The locals even get lost, which is why the drug lords like to live in the favela. The police can't really enter and navigate through the favela in an organized way. Therefore beginning in the 70's and 80's as the drug trade increased drug lords started taking refuge in the favelas. The favela residents as we understood it don't want the drugs in the favela, but the don't have a choice as the drug lords have money, guns and power. They live in a kind of parasitic harmony with the drug lords using the favela as a hideout and the favela benefitting from the trickledown of money. It is a shame because the drugs really create a bad reputation and for most brasilians favelas=drugs. From our perspective after the tour, the drugs are a side show and favelas= super tight communities of really resourceful people. People who could afford to move out do not because of the warm community aspect.
With the favela the residents have established infrastructure to get water and electricity. The most desirable places to live are near the bottom for electricity and water because you can tap into the grid, the electric company even manages to run a meter for each house. At the bottom you are also closer to mass transit and in many cases the community where you work. However, the bottom is also where all the trash and sewage piles up. And as we said because of their streets and the fact that the land is untaxed there is no way for the government to supply trash pickup or sewer lines. There is a movement to start providing services and building schools and hospitals, but this means knocking down houses, relocating residents and coming to terms with the drug lords. At Rocinho there are plans to build a tram line and more whoops and health clinics. Currently for the 250,000+ residents there is one health clinic and 4 schools. Most of the children are undocumented as they are bit born in hospitals. What was a rainy day plan and sounded a little morally awkward at first was in fact a very interesting and humbling experience.
After the favela we went to the supermarket to pick up some groceries. We made curry ramen with watercress and chicken for dinner before we were given a demonstration of capoeira, or Brazilian martial arts by a group of people from the same favela we visited. Afterwards, a group of us from the hostel made our way to Lapa where there is a block party every Friday night. Cars are blocked from entering the streets and the restaurants sell food and drinks on the sidewalks while the clubs blare music out their windows. We hung out there for a few hours before we all decided to go home. Before getting on the bus, we all had hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, mayo, egg, potato sticks, and corn. It was an interesting mix--one we probably won´t try again.
Our guide picked us up and drove a small group of us through Ipanema and Leblon, which were just as empty of people. The cloudy, rainy weather really puts a damper on Rio. We stopped at Rocinho, the largest favela in Latin America with an estimated count of 250,000 people living there. The favela is located on a steep hillside over Sao Conrado, an upper middle class neighborhood of high-rises. The backside stretches over the saddle of the mountain and down to the top portions of Leblon, probably Rio's most expensive neighborhood. The proximity of the favela with the high-rises is one of the first things we noticed. Employers in Brazil pay for transportation, therefore they have an incentive to hire people whose commute costs the least. Thus, the closer the favela is to the restaurant, store, hotel etc... The closer that resident is to their job and more hirable they are. It is a catch 22 in a way because as we learned and saw many residents in the favelas make enough to support a family and own tvs and play stations and upholstered furniture sets, but if they lived elsewhere they would be in danger of loosing their jobs. Thus they put up with the poor or lack of infrastructure for sewage, trash, running water, electricity, mail delivery, healthcare, police and fire service, schools and more that we rake for granted.
The tour started at the top of the favela. On foot we entered and walked down one of the main roads. The favela is un taxed land. They are essentially squatters. It had expanded to the point where there is nowhere to build but up so it is getting more dense and more dangerous as people build homes on top of poorly built structures of concrete, wood and in many cases found construction material. About a quarter of the way down we stopped at an artist studio. The tour company we were with has fostered a relationship with the favela over the past 15 years. In that time they have worked to develop an artist community, entrepanuerialism, and a daycare center. So our stops to interact with local residents was somewhat staged as the residents see people like us daily. Nonetheless it was a unique and a very nice experience to speak with them. Whenever we could see beyond a building, the views of the favela were mindboggoling. The buildings are so crammed together that the main "streets" are 4 or 5 feet wide with three or four storey buildings making canyons out of them. The locals even get lost, which is why the drug lords like to live in the favela. The police can't really enter and navigate through the favela in an organized way. Therefore beginning in the 70's and 80's as the drug trade increased drug lords started taking refuge in the favelas. The favela residents as we understood it don't want the drugs in the favela, but the don't have a choice as the drug lords have money, guns and power. They live in a kind of parasitic harmony with the drug lords using the favela as a hideout and the favela benefitting from the trickledown of money. It is a shame because the drugs really create a bad reputation and for most brasilians favelas=drugs. From our perspective after the tour, the drugs are a side show and favelas= super tight communities of really resourceful people. People who could afford to move out do not because of the warm community aspect.
With the favela the residents have established infrastructure to get water and electricity. The most desirable places to live are near the bottom for electricity and water because you can tap into the grid, the electric company even manages to run a meter for each house. At the bottom you are also closer to mass transit and in many cases the community where you work. However, the bottom is also where all the trash and sewage piles up. And as we said because of their streets and the fact that the land is untaxed there is no way for the government to supply trash pickup or sewer lines. There is a movement to start providing services and building schools and hospitals, but this means knocking down houses, relocating residents and coming to terms with the drug lords. At Rocinho there are plans to build a tram line and more whoops and health clinics. Currently for the 250,000+ residents there is one health clinic and 4 schools. Most of the children are undocumented as they are bit born in hospitals. What was a rainy day plan and sounded a little morally awkward at first was in fact a very interesting and humbling experience.
After the favela we went to the supermarket to pick up some groceries. We made curry ramen with watercress and chicken for dinner before we were given a demonstration of capoeira, or Brazilian martial arts by a group of people from the same favela we visited. Afterwards, a group of us from the hostel made our way to Lapa where there is a block party every Friday night. Cars are blocked from entering the streets and the restaurants sell food and drinks on the sidewalks while the clubs blare music out their windows. We hung out there for a few hours before we all decided to go home. Before getting on the bus, we all had hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, mayo, egg, potato sticks, and corn. It was an interesting mix--one we probably won´t try again.
...and when she passes she smiles
Our bus from the falls ended up taking 23 hrs to Rio de Janeiro so we were pretty restless by the end of the ride. However upon checking in at our hostel we were informed that there was a futbol game happening that evening, would we like to go? Yes we would! So we quickly found dinner and jumped in a van we fellow hostel mates. The company that organizes the tour also sets up tours to a favela (which we did the next day-see next entry) and it's company name is Don't be aGringo, Be a Local! Thus this was part of the integration to become a cariocas, or local people from Rio. We got to the stadium and got seated in the first couple rows behind the goal. the game was between Flumincao, a Rio based team, and Corinthians, a Sao Paul team. Whoever won this game would win the division title. The die hard fans were already beating drums, chanting and waving flags. Everyone was sporting team jerseys and the colors green and maroon, many had tattoos of the team logo. We were handed toilet paper and small bags of flour, ready to throw onto the field when the Corinthians came on. Most of the time we stood up imitating fight songs and rooting for the Flumincao to score. Unfortunately, the Corinthians scored two goals before we made one (and none more). Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun to see a game in the stadium that will be used for world cup 2014 and Olympics 2016.
The next day the first thing we did was check the weather outside. It was overcast so we postponed going to the Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf lookout. So instead we went across the bay (which the Portuguese mistook as the mouth of a river- hence the name January River) to see Niemeyer's flying saucer museum forcontempoary art. We didn't go inside, just took a million photos of it (you know architects). We went back across the bay to the downtown center. Many of the streets are cobbled stoned and restored colonial buildings. we ate lunch in the area and had ox tail stew with watercress and a side of rice and beans. It felt much like New York's Wall Street. we made our way through the streets until we found an old coffeehouse called Confeitaria Colombo. It is a grand classic Victorian looking place with many decadent desserts. Ching Jen got a egg mustard (think dim sum) but Portuguese styled. It was delicious! While walking in the area we checked out Niemeyer's Catedral Metropolitan. It is a giant cone shaped building and from the outside it looks dull. But once inside it is gorgeous! The alter is in the center and there are four panels of stained glass. The rest of the facade has windows that let in indirect light, making the cathedral glow. We spent quite a bit of time there just admiring at how beautiful the space was. From there we decided to go to the nearby neighborhood of Santa Teresa. It´s a hilly neighborhood so we get there by tram. The tram is an old style tram where people can hold on to the sides and get on and off as they please. It was a lot of fun going over the aquaduct and up the winding hills. We got off at the top where the tram makes a u-turn to go back down the hill, and so we walked down to a bar and had drinks while watching trams go by. Afterwards, we found a place for dinner that serves north eastern food. We had another type of stew, but with short ribs and pumpkin and an appetizer of sausage and fried yuca. We were told that the stew is for one person, but knowing that Brazilians serve big portions, we decided to order one serving for the two of us. In fact, we had so much food that we had leftovers! We went down the hill again by tram and subway-ed back to our hostel and then to bed.
The next day the first thing we did was check the weather outside. It was overcast so we postponed going to the Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf lookout. So instead we went across the bay (which the Portuguese mistook as the mouth of a river- hence the name January River) to see Niemeyer's flying saucer museum forcontempoary art. We didn't go inside, just took a million photos of it (you know architects). We went back across the bay to the downtown center. Many of the streets are cobbled stoned and restored colonial buildings. we ate lunch in the area and had ox tail stew with watercress and a side of rice and beans. It felt much like New York's Wall Street. we made our way through the streets until we found an old coffeehouse called Confeitaria Colombo. It is a grand classic Victorian looking place with many decadent desserts. Ching Jen got a egg mustard (think dim sum) but Portuguese styled. It was delicious! While walking in the area we checked out Niemeyer's Catedral Metropolitan. It is a giant cone shaped building and from the outside it looks dull. But once inside it is gorgeous! The alter is in the center and there are four panels of stained glass. The rest of the facade has windows that let in indirect light, making the cathedral glow. We spent quite a bit of time there just admiring at how beautiful the space was. From there we decided to go to the nearby neighborhood of Santa Teresa. It´s a hilly neighborhood so we get there by tram. The tram is an old style tram where people can hold on to the sides and get on and off as they please. It was a lot of fun going over the aquaduct and up the winding hills. We got off at the top where the tram makes a u-turn to go back down the hill, and so we walked down to a bar and had drinks while watching trams go by. Afterwards, we found a place for dinner that serves north eastern food. We had another type of stew, but with short ribs and pumpkin and an appetizer of sausage and fried yuca. We were told that the stew is for one person, but knowing that Brazilians serve big portions, we decided to order one serving for the two of us. In fact, we had so much food that we had leftovers! We went down the hill again by tram and subway-ed back to our hostel and then to bed.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Falling for the Falls
Our bus ride to Foz do Iguassu, the town nearest the falls on the Brazilian side, went smoothly and we arrived on time. We stored our big backpack at the bus terminal and carried a small overnight bag on the go. Our hostel was on the Argentine side so we had to cross the border and drop off our bags before heading to see the falls. It was already the afternoon with only a couple hours left until the park closed so we could only see some of it today.
Once in the park you take a small train to get closer to the falls. Our first stop was to see Devil's Throat. We walked over 400m of calm looking water but gradually the sound of the waterfall here louder and louder. When we reached the end of the walkway we were at the edge (and above) the furiously gushing waters. Devil's Throat is the largest and fastest waterfall- there was a certain thrill about standing at the top of the falls knowing how powerful the water gushing past and how dangerous they can be. At the same time it was utterly amazing! We would periodically get mister over, see a rainbow and could never see where the falls ended. We could have stayed all day listening to the falls-it was hard to pull Jon away to see another part of the falls.
We also wandered the Upper Circuit-a pathway of aerial views to numerous smaller falls. They were all equally beautiful but we couldn't wait to see what they look like from below.
We reluctantly left the park, headed back to our hostel and found a delicious meal (Jon had a steak sandwich with a fried egg and Ching Jen had pork chops with mango chutney) just before the town had a brief power outage. Luckily it came back on in time to watch the rest of the US Open Men's Final.
The next day we went back to the Argentine side first walking the Lower circuit and then checking out the view on Isla San Martin. The lower circuit got us close to the falls we saw yesterday from above. It just got better and better, closer and closer to each fall. The best ones were the falls sprayed us with mist. And at times it felt like we were underneath a waterfall. The lookout on Isla San Martin gave us the same feelings. Ching Jen felt like there was no way the Brazilian side could get any better since it didn't seem like one gets so close to the falls.
We had to leave the Argentine side soon after since we had to cross the border again. It took us much longer than we expected and it left us with only one hour to see the Brazilian side falls. Yet it was completely worth it. The Brazilian side is gorgeous- Ching Jen said she was wrong-this view really was even better! You can see all of the falls in an overall big picture viewpoint. It showcased how large the falls were. One one lookout we walked in front of a major falls coming down, and we watched it gush past under our feet. As we walk in front of the falls we got misted over with water. It felt fantastic! At the end of the walkway there is one falls behind us, Devil's Throat is to our left, smaller falls in front of us, and the river flowing out to the right. Ching Jen was so moved that she had tears in her eyes! It was stunning and something we both will remember always.
We made it back to the bus station in time for our 22 hr ride to Rio de Janeiro.
Once in the park you take a small train to get closer to the falls. Our first stop was to see Devil's Throat. We walked over 400m of calm looking water but gradually the sound of the waterfall here louder and louder. When we reached the end of the walkway we were at the edge (and above) the furiously gushing waters. Devil's Throat is the largest and fastest waterfall- there was a certain thrill about standing at the top of the falls knowing how powerful the water gushing past and how dangerous they can be. At the same time it was utterly amazing! We would periodically get mister over, see a rainbow and could never see where the falls ended. We could have stayed all day listening to the falls-it was hard to pull Jon away to see another part of the falls.
We also wandered the Upper Circuit-a pathway of aerial views to numerous smaller falls. They were all equally beautiful but we couldn't wait to see what they look like from below.
We reluctantly left the park, headed back to our hostel and found a delicious meal (Jon had a steak sandwich with a fried egg and Ching Jen had pork chops with mango chutney) just before the town had a brief power outage. Luckily it came back on in time to watch the rest of the US Open Men's Final.
The next day we went back to the Argentine side first walking the Lower circuit and then checking out the view on Isla San Martin. The lower circuit got us close to the falls we saw yesterday from above. It just got better and better, closer and closer to each fall. The best ones were the falls sprayed us with mist. And at times it felt like we were underneath a waterfall. The lookout on Isla San Martin gave us the same feelings. Ching Jen felt like there was no way the Brazilian side could get any better since it didn't seem like one gets so close to the falls.
We had to leave the Argentine side soon after since we had to cross the border again. It took us much longer than we expected and it left us with only one hour to see the Brazilian side falls. Yet it was completely worth it. The Brazilian side is gorgeous- Ching Jen said she was wrong-this view really was even better! You can see all of the falls in an overall big picture viewpoint. It showcased how large the falls were. One one lookout we walked in front of a major falls coming down, and we watched it gush past under our feet. As we walk in front of the falls we got misted over with water. It felt fantastic! At the end of the walkway there is one falls behind us, Devil's Throat is to our left, smaller falls in front of us, and the river flowing out to the right. Ching Jen was so moved that she had tears in her eyes! It was stunning and something we both will remember always.
We made it back to the bus station in time for our 22 hr ride to Rio de Janeiro.
Da Big City
> So Sao Paolo is huge and we spent the rest our three days there exploring a couple different neighborhoods. One day we spent in the historic center checking out old buildings and new buildings. We started at the park luz, a very picturesque urban park. Next to the park we briefly checked out he contemporary art museum. It got us admissions into the traditional art museum located within the park. The building was a nice italian colonial courtyard building. Across the street was the old Luz train station that houses the subway/ regional train lines.
> From the park we walked down one of the busy downtown avenues with many business people heading out for lunch and running errands. Paulistas are quick walkers! We ended up near the Praca Republica at the Torre Italia. We went to the top floor only to learn that the viewing terrrace was closed. Strike two on getting some up high views of this sprawling city. Next door is a Niemeyer designed tower that really surprised us with how modern it still seemed. Next to all the other concrete buildings built in the 70's and 80's this one looks like it could have been built 5 years ago, though it is in need of a wash. Sao Paolo's auto culture creates quite a lot of grime.
> We had lunch at an all you can eat buffet. It was vegetarian which was fun for us. These all you can eat buffets though, usually not vegetarian, are really popular along with the pay per kilo buffets. It is hard to go hungry with so many options.
> In the afternoon we walked the other parts of the center. The cathedral is pretty, but the plaza in front is even more stunning. It is like an urban oasis with palm trees and a dark paver on the ground. There is a really great subway station entrance designed by Mendes-roches of a curving canopy of thin concrete suspended in the air over the stairs. It was doubling as a performance space for street performers when we walked by. Nearby we ascended to the top of the banespa tower and finally got to see the ridiculous view of Sao Paulo. There were high rises in every direction. The horizon was nowhere to be found. It was a swarm of congestion looking down the 40 stories at the street.
> After the lookout we headed to the market and walked through the most crowded streets we have come across. The area's stores sold a bizarre mix of items like Halloween costumes, fake flowers, Christmas decorations, imported electronics, and light bulbs. The market was much more commercial than any other market we have come across. The mist popular items at the booths other than fruits and vegetables were dried meats, dried fish and seafood like bacalau and cheeses. When we made it back to the subway we were pretty tired, but decided to seize the opportunity and see the Latin America monument, a complex designed by Niemeyer. It was perfect timing. At sunset the white concrete buildings were bathed in a soft pink glow. The buildings themselves each look like they were designed for the Jetsons. The rush hour trains to get there and back were also an experience. They were crowded but nothing like japan and actually not much different than the rush hour 6, 1, or L train.
> Another day we met a friend of a friend to play tourist and walk the Avenida Paulista, a commercial street considered to be at the heart of culture and sophistication in Sao Paulo. We met Vincent, a friend if Evan Wong's and walked from one end ti the other. It was lots of fun to get a locals perspective on where we had been and what were seeing. At the center of the avenue are two highlights, a park and the MASP museum. The park is beautiful with lots of shade. Once inside you forget you are at the center of a mega-city. Across the street, MASP sits with its giant two story hanging volume. The building is about two stories above a plaza. There are underground levels for a school and studios. The two stories above house the collection of the museum of art, Sao Paulo. It is an awesome building. We just wished the interior exhibits didn't hide so much of the building. We treated Vincent and he paid it forward treating us to lunch at a churrascaria. Like most local people we have met on this trip, Vincent is the embodiment of generosity and kindness. Following lunch we played a little bit of 5th avenue meets rodeo drive and walked the shopping streets in the jardims neighborhood. We hung out at the hostel playing poker with the other guests, all from Brazil and one guy from the US. Jon won it all. Unfortunately there was no money at stake.
> The final day in Sao Paulo we played it pretty low. We took an odyssey if a subway tide out to the university. Then we returned much more quickly to Liberdade for the weekly Sunday street fair. It is hard to believe it happens every week. There were food booths galore of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean food. Later that afternoon/evening we caught a bus to Foz do Iguazu.
> From the park we walked down one of the busy downtown avenues with many business people heading out for lunch and running errands. Paulistas are quick walkers! We ended up near the Praca Republica at the Torre Italia. We went to the top floor only to learn that the viewing terrrace was closed. Strike two on getting some up high views of this sprawling city. Next door is a Niemeyer designed tower that really surprised us with how modern it still seemed. Next to all the other concrete buildings built in the 70's and 80's this one looks like it could have been built 5 years ago, though it is in need of a wash. Sao Paolo's auto culture creates quite a lot of grime.
> We had lunch at an all you can eat buffet. It was vegetarian which was fun for us. These all you can eat buffets though, usually not vegetarian, are really popular along with the pay per kilo buffets. It is hard to go hungry with so many options.
> In the afternoon we walked the other parts of the center. The cathedral is pretty, but the plaza in front is even more stunning. It is like an urban oasis with palm trees and a dark paver on the ground. There is a really great subway station entrance designed by Mendes-roches of a curving canopy of thin concrete suspended in the air over the stairs. It was doubling as a performance space for street performers when we walked by. Nearby we ascended to the top of the banespa tower and finally got to see the ridiculous view of Sao Paulo. There were high rises in every direction. The horizon was nowhere to be found. It was a swarm of congestion looking down the 40 stories at the street.
> After the lookout we headed to the market and walked through the most crowded streets we have come across. The area's stores sold a bizarre mix of items like Halloween costumes, fake flowers, Christmas decorations, imported electronics, and light bulbs. The market was much more commercial than any other market we have come across. The mist popular items at the booths other than fruits and vegetables were dried meats, dried fish and seafood like bacalau and cheeses. When we made it back to the subway we were pretty tired, but decided to seize the opportunity and see the Latin America monument, a complex designed by Niemeyer. It was perfect timing. At sunset the white concrete buildings were bathed in a soft pink glow. The buildings themselves each look like they were designed for the Jetsons. The rush hour trains to get there and back were also an experience. They were crowded but nothing like japan and actually not much different than the rush hour 6, 1, or L train.
> Another day we met a friend of a friend to play tourist and walk the Avenida Paulista, a commercial street considered to be at the heart of culture and sophistication in Sao Paulo. We met Vincent, a friend if Evan Wong's and walked from one end ti the other. It was lots of fun to get a locals perspective on where we had been and what were seeing. At the center of the avenue are two highlights, a park and the MASP museum. The park is beautiful with lots of shade. Once inside you forget you are at the center of a mega-city. Across the street, MASP sits with its giant two story hanging volume. The building is about two stories above a plaza. There are underground levels for a school and studios. The two stories above house the collection of the museum of art, Sao Paulo. It is an awesome building. We just wished the interior exhibits didn't hide so much of the building. We treated Vincent and he paid it forward treating us to lunch at a churrascaria. Like most local people we have met on this trip, Vincent is the embodiment of generosity and kindness. Following lunch we played a little bit of 5th avenue meets rodeo drive and walked the shopping streets in the jardims neighborhood. We hung out at the hostel playing poker with the other guests, all from Brazil and one guy from the US. Jon won it all. Unfortunately there was no money at stake.
> The final day in Sao Paulo we played it pretty low. We took an odyssey if a subway tide out to the university. Then we returned much more quickly to Liberdade for the weekly Sunday street fair. It is hard to believe it happens every week. There were food booths galore of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean food. Later that afternoon/evening we caught a bus to Foz do Iguazu.
Spactastic Architecture and Sao Paulo
So we arrived to Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 8th. Our first night there we went to Liberdade, Japantown, for dinner. We knew we were there because of the lantern like street lights, but other thanthat it was hard to tell as the streets were quiet and most the stores and restaurants were closed. Still we had a very global experience eating Japanese food in Brazil, with everyone around us speaking Portuguese and Japanese we were still speaking our blend of Spanglish.
The next morning we set out walking to Ibirapuera, a large masterplanned park by Oscar nieymeyer, a famous Brazilian architect. The park has a number of structures designed by him including an obelisk, auditorium, 3 museums and a large covered space that multifunctions as pavilion, connective walkway, and exhibit space. Jon could hang out all day around the buildings, especially the covered area which frames the landscape and interior space in such interesting ways. The auditorium is a large white concrete triangle with a huge cantilevered red canopy extending over the entrance as if the building were sticking out it's tongue. All fun and playful, but serious in the minimalism and construction. We picnicked-on our leftover yakiudon from the night before near a lake.
After ibirapuera we went on a quest to try and get views of the river. We walked for a couple hours round and round in the ritzy business sector peppered with fancy retail, restaurants and clubs. We didn't make it to the river though. We changed course after some pastil, stuffed pastry, and headed into the jardims neighborhood. This is where many if the wealthy paulistanos live in their multimillion dollar homes. We walked past countless foreign auto dealerships set up like stores on rodeo drive. We found the sculpture museum with it's underground plaza and aboveground cantilever. There was a really amazing exhibition of grafitti art and culture. It is insuring to see such out of the ordinary architecture amongst Tudor mansions.
The rest of the afternoon was spent walking and wandering the neighborhood. We tried to go the hotel unique for drinks on the roof and a view of the skyline bur it was closed for some reason.
The next morning we set out walking to Ibirapuera, a large masterplanned park by Oscar nieymeyer, a famous Brazilian architect. The park has a number of structures designed by him including an obelisk, auditorium, 3 museums and a large covered space that multifunctions as pavilion, connective walkway, and exhibit space. Jon could hang out all day around the buildings, especially the covered area which frames the landscape and interior space in such interesting ways. The auditorium is a large white concrete triangle with a huge cantilevered red canopy extending over the entrance as if the building were sticking out it's tongue. All fun and playful, but serious in the minimalism and construction. We picnicked-on our leftover yakiudon from the night before near a lake.
After ibirapuera we went on a quest to try and get views of the river. We walked for a couple hours round and round in the ritzy business sector peppered with fancy retail, restaurants and clubs. We didn't make it to the river though. We changed course after some pastil, stuffed pastry, and headed into the jardims neighborhood. This is where many if the wealthy paulistanos live in their multimillion dollar homes. We walked past countless foreign auto dealerships set up like stores on rodeo drive. We found the sculpture museum with it's underground plaza and aboveground cantilever. There was a really amazing exhibition of grafitti art and culture. It is insuring to see such out of the ordinary architecture amongst Tudor mansions.
The rest of the afternoon was spent walking and wandering the neighborhood. We tried to go the hotel unique for drinks on the roof and a view of the skyline bur it was closed for some reason.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Beautiful Valpo
We gave our bodies a workout with a day trip to Valparaiso, Chile. Valpo, as it is nicknamed is on the pacific ocean and is famous for the beautiful views of the water, poetry (birthplacemof pablo neruda) and it's buildings that cling to the hillsides. There are over 40 of these hills that since colonial times the locals have performed structural gymnastics to make their buildings perch and cantilever. Traditionally, the hills are accessed by a kind funicular / elevator. Most of these still run today.
We arrived early just as the markets were opening. We wanted to make sure that since we couldn't get any reservation to stay overnight we had enough time to see everything. First we went up one of the eastern hills and admired the view. Then we walked halfway across town, about a mile to the old port. There we checked out the financial buildings and government buildings. Valpo is the seat of the Chilean legislature. We took our first ride on the ascensore up to Cerro Concepcion and Allegre. The view was wonderful. The buildings are painted various pastel colors. Why is it so many maritime cities and towns paint their homes with such a variety of color? It must be the sun and water.
We checked out some galleries and stores and also started taking note of the very skillful street art. For lunch we grabbed empanadas. After resting and watching the lunch crowd navigate the narrow streets we walked to Cerro Artilleria, on the far end of town. From there we took the acsensore up to the panoramic view of the port and surrounding hillsides. There wasn't else to do but lookout at the view so after a short time we walked down and through the oldest parts of the city. The buildings were nice, but the streets were grimey and smellling of urine. They have a terrible problem of stray dogs and therefore there are landmines everywhere. We returned to the center and went up Cerro Belavista. Belavista is the bohemian art neighborhood. We got a work out climbing each street on the hill admiring the colorful buildings and street art.
Late in the afternoon we hit up J Cruz restaurant for Valpos famous chorilliana a dish of grilled beef, egg and French fries. It was huge and it was delicious. It is perfect bar food. We caught sunset back near the bus terminal at the top of one of the hills. The day was a good one and we earned our tired legs for sure.
We arrived early just as the markets were opening. We wanted to make sure that since we couldn't get any reservation to stay overnight we had enough time to see everything. First we went up one of the eastern hills and admired the view. Then we walked halfway across town, about a mile to the old port. There we checked out the financial buildings and government buildings. Valpo is the seat of the Chilean legislature. We took our first ride on the ascensore up to Cerro Concepcion and Allegre. The view was wonderful. The buildings are painted various pastel colors. Why is it so many maritime cities and towns paint their homes with such a variety of color? It must be the sun and water.
We checked out some galleries and stores and also started taking note of the very skillful street art. For lunch we grabbed empanadas. After resting and watching the lunch crowd navigate the narrow streets we walked to Cerro Artilleria, on the far end of town. From there we took the acsensore up to the panoramic view of the port and surrounding hillsides. There wasn't else to do but lookout at the view so after a short time we walked down and through the oldest parts of the city. The buildings were nice, but the streets were grimey and smellling of urine. They have a terrible problem of stray dogs and therefore there are landmines everywhere. We returned to the center and went up Cerro Belavista. Belavista is the bohemian art neighborhood. We got a work out climbing each street on the hill admiring the colorful buildings and street art.
Late in the afternoon we hit up J Cruz restaurant for Valpos famous chorilliana a dish of grilled beef, egg and French fries. It was huge and it was delicious. It is perfect bar food. We caught sunset back near the bus terminal at the top of one of the hills. The day was a good one and we earned our tired legs for sure.
Chile´s Birthday
On Sunday, September 5, it was Chile´s celebration day of its 200th Birthday. We didn´t think there would be a lot to do on Sunday and we were warned that the city is pretty low-key and many stores are closed. We happily found that the city opened up all the municipal offices and buildings in the financial center to the public and were giving free tours indside. In the middle of the Plaza de Armas, there were fire trucks and police cars from different eras. The financial center looked much like the cobble stone streets in New York´s Wall Street area--there even was a street named after New York.
After wandering around the center we went up a small hill named Santa Lucia. On the side of the hill, a grand fountain and steps were built, allowing the public to reach the top of the hill for a 360 degree look out of the city. Our views stretched out in every direction and went on into the horizon.
After visiting the seafood market yesterday, we decided we would make dinner at the hostel. We picked up a whole fish and some squid, curry powder, onions and tomatoes and made a stew out of the fish and sauteed the squid, sprinkled with lemon juice. It turned out so well that we´ll probably do it again.
After wandering around the center we went up a small hill named Santa Lucia. On the side of the hill, a grand fountain and steps were built, allowing the public to reach the top of the hill for a 360 degree look out of the city. Our views stretched out in every direction and went on into the horizon.
After visiting the seafood market yesterday, we decided we would make dinner at the hostel. We picked up a whole fish and some squid, curry powder, onions and tomatoes and made a stew out of the fish and sauteed the squid, sprinkled with lemon juice. It turned out so well that we´ll probably do it again.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Market Time
We arrived in Santiago, Chile after a 24 hour bus journey from San Pedro. That is one bus, same seats, one stop 7 hours into it. But it was actually quite comfortable and somehow time like the landscaped flew by. We went from craters of the moon yellow shifting sand deserts to lush rolling green hills where the beach was a ten minute drive to the west and snow capped mountains were about an hours drive to the east.
Santiago is a big city inland in a river valley. It is a very scenic city with a pretty strong European feel and strong influence from bohemian street culture. We spent the afternoon and evening after arriving walking around Barrio Brasil. We had fun just following our eyes to the river for views of the city, a couple pretty brilliant modern buildings, beautiful colonial churches and public buildings, murals, cherry tree-lined streets, mechanic shops, and city parks.
Our first full day in Santiago we hit up the markets. The central market was an incredible seafood paradise. It was buzzing with people and atmosphere. The vendors were loud and pushy, but we didn't mind. There were shrimps, clams, mussels, oysters, squid, calamari, octopus, scallops, urchin, and fish of a great variety. After the central market we walked around Vega central a stadium sized market of vegetables and fruit. There were more varieties of everything than we could have imagined.
Next we walked along the river in Park Forestal a beautiful arboretum of trees with a scattering of French and Italian Renaissance revival architecture. The other end of the park gave us an exit into a chic university neighborhood of cafes, stores, and tiny museums. Our stomachs were growling and we wanted to make it to Bellavista at the base of Cerro Christobol for lunch. Bellavista is like the east village or lower east side of New York City. We found a delicious lunch of a kind of sausage stew and we watched the saturday crowds of locals browse stores and lunch al fresco.
Following lunch we went up the hill, the highest in Santiago. The views were incredible. The cities skyline, albeit smoggy, was pretty impressive, but the more awesome view was of the snow capped mountains in the very near background. We enjoyed the view for a while and then started walking downhill toward the neighborhood of Providencia. The residential area really surprised with multimillion dollar homes. It felt like walking around parts of Washington DC with older townhouses intermingled with new commercial and retail buildings along big wide avenues. After recharging our batteries by sitting in a sculpture park and listening to local teenage musicians we thought we would try to find a drink and then dinner in the neighborhood especially since the map and guidebook listed a number of options and an entertainment and dining zone. But you can guess where this story is going.... We ended up walking for two hours unsuccessfully. When we finally found something there was a white table cloth waiters in tuxes cafe and a Ruby Tuesdays next door. We chose the cafe and restrategized. We figure where there are nightclubs there may be restaurants or bars at least so we headed upon recommendation fora long walk in thatdirection. We didn't find anything. Then just before heading back by subway to our hotel and the local grocery store we found a bar with a dinner special of chicken, beef, and pork covered in French fries and hot oil. Not the most appealing but it fed our appetite.
Santiago is a big city inland in a river valley. It is a very scenic city with a pretty strong European feel and strong influence from bohemian street culture. We spent the afternoon and evening after arriving walking around Barrio Brasil. We had fun just following our eyes to the river for views of the city, a couple pretty brilliant modern buildings, beautiful colonial churches and public buildings, murals, cherry tree-lined streets, mechanic shops, and city parks.
Our first full day in Santiago we hit up the markets. The central market was an incredible seafood paradise. It was buzzing with people and atmosphere. The vendors were loud and pushy, but we didn't mind. There were shrimps, clams, mussels, oysters, squid, calamari, octopus, scallops, urchin, and fish of a great variety. After the central market we walked around Vega central a stadium sized market of vegetables and fruit. There were more varieties of everything than we could have imagined.
Next we walked along the river in Park Forestal a beautiful arboretum of trees with a scattering of French and Italian Renaissance revival architecture. The other end of the park gave us an exit into a chic university neighborhood of cafes, stores, and tiny museums. Our stomachs were growling and we wanted to make it to Bellavista at the base of Cerro Christobol for lunch. Bellavista is like the east village or lower east side of New York City. We found a delicious lunch of a kind of sausage stew and we watched the saturday crowds of locals browse stores and lunch al fresco.
Following lunch we went up the hill, the highest in Santiago. The views were incredible. The cities skyline, albeit smoggy, was pretty impressive, but the more awesome view was of the snow capped mountains in the very near background. We enjoyed the view for a while and then started walking downhill toward the neighborhood of Providencia. The residential area really surprised with multimillion dollar homes. It felt like walking around parts of Washington DC with older townhouses intermingled with new commercial and retail buildings along big wide avenues. After recharging our batteries by sitting in a sculpture park and listening to local teenage musicians we thought we would try to find a drink and then dinner in the neighborhood especially since the map and guidebook listed a number of options and an entertainment and dining zone. But you can guess where this story is going.... We ended up walking for two hours unsuccessfully. When we finally found something there was a white table cloth waiters in tuxes cafe and a Ruby Tuesdays next door. We chose the cafe and restrategized. We figure where there are nightclubs there may be restaurants or bars at least so we headed upon recommendation fora long walk in thatdirection. We didn't find anything. Then just before heading back by subway to our hotel and the local grocery store we found a bar with a dinner special of chicken, beef, and pork covered in French fries and hot oil. Not the most appealing but it fed our appetite.
In the Desert
After arriving in San Pedro we got settled in our hostel and took a walk about the small town. The center of town is only about a dozen streets so it was easy to walk through all of them. It's a cute ranch/cowboy kind of town. The people here enjoy the laid back quiet lifestyle-the guidebooks call them bohemian. It was noticeable that even though we were in the middle of a desert, we were in a first-world country since things were more expensive and chic. For lunch Ching Jen had crepes with chicken and squash while Jon had a steak sandwich. We noticed we had a different type of bread basket than Peru's or Bolivia's - we had biscuits with different kinds of salsa. They were a nice change to the often stale bread we got. And for dinner we had salmon (we don´t know where they get it, it must be shipped in daily seeing that we are in a desert!) with watercress, thick creamy vegetable soup and a lemon pie.
There wasn´t a lot to do in San Pedro, so the next day we rented bikes! This is only the second time Ching Jen has been on a bike so she got a lot of practice this time! We biked about 3km to an archeological site on dirt roads that had slight hills and dips through shallow streams. Getting to the site took about 1 1/2 hours, but getting back to our hostel only took us 40 minutes. Ching Jen was so excited to have accomplished this and looks forward to getting better at bike riding.
Supposedly, we had a bit of unluckly timing because we were in San Pedro during the couple days that it was forcasted to be windy. And with sweeping wind gusts, you get billows of dust through the town. Items sitting in the open quickly get a thin layer of red dirt. We were told that calmer weather was supposed to arrive right after we were there. Ah well, that is what happens in the desert.
From here, we head to Santiago by bus that will take 24 hours. We boiled some eggs and made some pasta to take with us on the bus since we didn´t know if we would be feed or stop at a rest stop to pick up food.
There wasn´t a lot to do in San Pedro, so the next day we rented bikes! This is only the second time Ching Jen has been on a bike so she got a lot of practice this time! We biked about 3km to an archeological site on dirt roads that had slight hills and dips through shallow streams. Getting to the site took about 1 1/2 hours, but getting back to our hostel only took us 40 minutes. Ching Jen was so excited to have accomplished this and looks forward to getting better at bike riding.
Supposedly, we had a bit of unluckly timing because we were in San Pedro during the couple days that it was forcasted to be windy. And with sweeping wind gusts, you get billows of dust through the town. Items sitting in the open quickly get a thin layer of red dirt. We were told that calmer weather was supposed to arrive right after we were there. Ah well, that is what happens in the desert.
From here, we head to Santiago by bus that will take 24 hours. We boiled some eggs and made some pasta to take with us on the bus since we didn´t know if we would be feed or stop at a rest stop to pick up food.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Salty Salar
We took an overnight bus to Uyuni, Bolivia to meet a tour of the Salar de Uyuni. Together with a Swiss couple and two English girls we had met we headed out on our tour with our trusty guide, Gwaldo. The morning was cold, the windows on the bus had frozen but inside we enjoyed heat.
The first stop on the tour, which is essentially 2.5 days in a 4WD driving around the Salar, was at the train cemetery. This was awesome. All the trains are from local mining and salt industry cargo trains. Thus part of Bolivia, famous for silver mines is essentially the fabled land of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. Then we drove out into the salt field, a vast, blinding, white field. We saw salt mounds, salt hotels, buildings mad out of blocks of salt, and cutting fields. The landscape was out of this world. It was so cool. In the distance there were the shadows of volcanoes and mountain ranges, but at the horizon, the glare off the salt was so strong, it was hard to tell where the earth ended and the sky began. (sound like forest gump?). For lunch we hung out at an island covered in large candelabra cacti. Gwaldo made us lunch of BBQ chicken, rice and veggies. After lunch it was a long drive across the salt field and then an arid, dusty, red dirt, desert. We stopped occasionally to photograph wildlife, vicunas (deer), llama, and alpaca and to take photos of the desert landscape. That night we stayed at a very basic hospedaje. Luckily, our layers of clothing and sleeping bags kept us warm during the just below freezing temperatures.
The next morning we started out just after the sunrise. The landscape was more of the same, beautiful rolling red desert hills. At one point in the shadow of an active smoking volcano we got out of the car to wander around a lava field. Around mid-morning on our drive the landscape shifted to dry tundra. We came upon a few lakes, icy and crystal clear with Flamingoes! The flamingoes were super pink from eating the plankton that feeds off the mineral rich water. Seeing flamingoes in the wild was awesome. After lunch we drove further east and south. The landscaped changed again to yellow sand as we reached the highest elevations. We stopped to photograph rock formations that have been eroded by millennia of wind and sand. The rocks are called, Dali-esque for there liquid acrobatics. The day if riding in the desert ended at a red colored lake, red because if the color and density if plankton in the water. We spent the night playing cards an yahtzee with our tourmates. At 4700m the night was freezing cold, about 10 degrees below freezing. We were warm and toasty though with enough layers of clothing and our sleeping bags.
The third morning of the tour, we woke up before dawn to get to the geysers. The geysers are a little more like sulfur vents than old faithful, but in the light if the rising sun, the landscape of sulfur steam and craggy, rocky formations it was beautiful. We hung out for a while listening to the bubbling and burping sulfur pools and standing amidst the blowing steam. Next we went to a hot spring where Jon was the only one brave enough to get out into the cold air and go into the hot spring. It felt great and I definitely felt like the desert grime of 3 days had washed off. Once we left the hot spring we headed toward the Chilean border. Just before the crossing we visited lacuna verde, a green colored lake from the high concentrations of copper mineral. At the border we said goodbye to our driver and together with our British friends waited an hour in the middle of nowhere for our connecting bus to San Pedro de Atacama. This was probably the coldest we had been in the entire 3 days. Eventually the bus arrived and we went through chilean customs and immigration in San Pedro.
The first stop on the tour, which is essentially 2.5 days in a 4WD driving around the Salar, was at the train cemetery. This was awesome. All the trains are from local mining and salt industry cargo trains. Thus part of Bolivia, famous for silver mines is essentially the fabled land of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. Then we drove out into the salt field, a vast, blinding, white field. We saw salt mounds, salt hotels, buildings mad out of blocks of salt, and cutting fields. The landscape was out of this world. It was so cool. In the distance there were the shadows of volcanoes and mountain ranges, but at the horizon, the glare off the salt was so strong, it was hard to tell where the earth ended and the sky began. (sound like forest gump?). For lunch we hung out at an island covered in large candelabra cacti. Gwaldo made us lunch of BBQ chicken, rice and veggies. After lunch it was a long drive across the salt field and then an arid, dusty, red dirt, desert. We stopped occasionally to photograph wildlife, vicunas (deer), llama, and alpaca and to take photos of the desert landscape. That night we stayed at a very basic hospedaje. Luckily, our layers of clothing and sleeping bags kept us warm during the just below freezing temperatures.
The next morning we started out just after the sunrise. The landscape was more of the same, beautiful rolling red desert hills. At one point in the shadow of an active smoking volcano we got out of the car to wander around a lava field. Around mid-morning on our drive the landscape shifted to dry tundra. We came upon a few lakes, icy and crystal clear with Flamingoes! The flamingoes were super pink from eating the plankton that feeds off the mineral rich water. Seeing flamingoes in the wild was awesome. After lunch we drove further east and south. The landscaped changed again to yellow sand as we reached the highest elevations. We stopped to photograph rock formations that have been eroded by millennia of wind and sand. The rocks are called, Dali-esque for there liquid acrobatics. The day if riding in the desert ended at a red colored lake, red because if the color and density if plankton in the water. We spent the night playing cards an yahtzee with our tourmates. At 4700m the night was freezing cold, about 10 degrees below freezing. We were warm and toasty though with enough layers of clothing and our sleeping bags.
The third morning of the tour, we woke up before dawn to get to the geysers. The geysers are a little more like sulfur vents than old faithful, but in the light if the rising sun, the landscape of sulfur steam and craggy, rocky formations it was beautiful. We hung out for a while listening to the bubbling and burping sulfur pools and standing amidst the blowing steam. Next we went to a hot spring where Jon was the only one brave enough to get out into the cold air and go into the hot spring. It felt great and I definitely felt like the desert grime of 3 days had washed off. Once we left the hot spring we headed toward the Chilean border. Just before the crossing we visited lacuna verde, a green colored lake from the high concentrations of copper mineral. At the border we said goodbye to our driver and together with our British friends waited an hour in the middle of nowhere for our connecting bus to San Pedro de Atacama. This was probably the coldest we had been in the entire 3 days. Eventually the bus arrived and we went through chilean customs and immigration in San Pedro.
World's Most Dangerous Road
While Ching Jen went to walk around southern La Paz, I event for a bike ride with a tour. The route was about 45 minutes north of La Paz on what is called the worlds most dangerous road because of the number of vehicle related deaths, mostly buses. Traffic has moved to a new, safer road. Since 1994, the old road has been open to bike tours. I'm not exactly a mountain biker but the route is navigable for beginners. The entire route was 64km and it was a thrilling time. We biked on a paved road and the a narrower dirt road going downhill about 2000m in altitude. The cloud cover was thick the entire first half so unfortunately I couldn't see the rainforest valleys. At the end of the tour we went to an animal reserve with monkeys, birds snakes, caimans and an Andean speckled bear. It was an extremely fun day. The scariest part was the drive up the worlds most dangerous road. Our driver has done it hundreds of times and yet each time we played chicken with another car, I'm not going to lie, I was white knuckled. Because of the cloud cover nightfall came quickly and at least you couldn't see the steep cliffs in the darkness.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
La Paz
We arrived in La Paz by bus, at the top of the canyon giving us a panoramic view of the city. The Spanish had took over La Paz from the Incas and completely built over the river that ran through the cayon. La Paz is hilly and at a higher altitude than anywhere we've been so far. Although we already had a week of high altitude living, we seemed to be slightly affected by La Paz's altitude. We were both more tired than usual and no appetite. After settling in our hostel, we walked to a large park, often used by locals for jogging or hanging out. The park zig zagged its way up the side of the canyon and at the top there was a lookout with a playground. It had amazing views of the city and we marveled at how the river is built over. Surprisingly, we had a hard time finding dinner in the area, it seems like the city residents don't eat out much. We ended up having pizza and pasta that night.
The next day we did the suggested walking tour in our guide book through numerous street markets, each alleyway had a different theme, from apparel, school supplies, hardware, sewing (and beads!) and lastly, the witches market. The witches market had stalls of herbs and dried leaves, cacti, and dried skeletons of baby lamb. We later learned that the skeletons of baby lamb are used to bury in the ground in front of your first home. It's supposed to bring good luck.
The following day, Jon went on a mountain bike riding tour down the "world's most dangerous road" and Ching Jen went out on her own for a walk to various plazas and parks and a lookout. Overall, we have been less impressed with La Paz than expected, but we look forward to our trip to the salt flats tomorrow.
(read next entry for Jon's bike ride).
The next day we did the suggested walking tour in our guide book through numerous street markets, each alleyway had a different theme, from apparel, school supplies, hardware, sewing (and beads!) and lastly, the witches market. The witches market had stalls of herbs and dried leaves, cacti, and dried skeletons of baby lamb. We later learned that the skeletons of baby lamb are used to bury in the ground in front of your first home. It's supposed to bring good luck.
The following day, Jon went on a mountain bike riding tour down the "world's most dangerous road" and Ching Jen went out on her own for a walk to various plazas and parks and a lookout. Overall, we have been less impressed with La Paz than expected, but we look forward to our trip to the salt flats tomorrow.
(read next entry for Jon's bike ride).
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Country #3!
We are on our way to our third country! Bolivia!
First stop: Copacabana, Bolivia
We had to get up early yet again to catch a bus to Copacabana. About 2 and 1/2 hours in we hit the border of Peru and Bolivia. We had to run around through a number of buildings to go through declaration of goods and immigration. Us luckly U.S. Citizens get to pay a hefty entry fee for the visa since we charge Bolivians the same thing to enter into our country. Once that was taken care of, we jumped back on the bus and into Copacabana.
Copacabana is a sleepy beach town apparently. It is scenic, nestled between two hills at 3900 meters or close to 13000 feet. We were confused as to why it was slow since it´s supposed to be high season right now. It was actually kind of nice to have a small town be so sleepy because we took it easy and we weren´t bothered very much. After all the organized tours in Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Puno, we decided to take it easy and leisurely spend our time as we wished. So the first day we walked along the lakefront, had some ice cream and then climb a short mountain that overlooks the city. At the top of the mountain was an incredible view of the lake and the entire town of Copacabana. For dinner we found a great traditional Bolivian restaurant--Jon had a whole grilled trout that was stuffed with ham, tomato and onions.
The next day, we decided to go to Chani, a small side town only 4km away from Copacabana. The road to Chani is flat, so we wanted to rent bikes, which would give Ching Jen lots of good practice (since the first time she road a bike was a year ago). However, the bike rental shops were closed, and thus we walked to Chani. The walk to Chani was pretty boring and dusty, but once there, we found a small bay with a beach. We took our shoes off and hung out on the beach for several hours, playing games and eating our boxed lunch. We had the beach to ourselves the whole time which was great and made it relaxing. For dinner we both had trout; Ching Jen had coconut curry with hers and Jon had another stuffed trout. Tomorrow we head to La Paz.
First stop: Copacabana, Bolivia
We had to get up early yet again to catch a bus to Copacabana. About 2 and 1/2 hours in we hit the border of Peru and Bolivia. We had to run around through a number of buildings to go through declaration of goods and immigration. Us luckly U.S. Citizens get to pay a hefty entry fee for the visa since we charge Bolivians the same thing to enter into our country. Once that was taken care of, we jumped back on the bus and into Copacabana.
Copacabana is a sleepy beach town apparently. It is scenic, nestled between two hills at 3900 meters or close to 13000 feet. We were confused as to why it was slow since it´s supposed to be high season right now. It was actually kind of nice to have a small town be so sleepy because we took it easy and we weren´t bothered very much. After all the organized tours in Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Puno, we decided to take it easy and leisurely spend our time as we wished. So the first day we walked along the lakefront, had some ice cream and then climb a short mountain that overlooks the city. At the top of the mountain was an incredible view of the lake and the entire town of Copacabana. For dinner we found a great traditional Bolivian restaurant--Jon had a whole grilled trout that was stuffed with ham, tomato and onions.
The next day, we decided to go to Chani, a small side town only 4km away from Copacabana. The road to Chani is flat, so we wanted to rent bikes, which would give Ching Jen lots of good practice (since the first time she road a bike was a year ago). However, the bike rental shops were closed, and thus we walked to Chani. The walk to Chani was pretty boring and dusty, but once there, we found a small bay with a beach. We took our shoes off and hung out on the beach for several hours, playing games and eating our boxed lunch. We had the beach to ourselves the whole time which was great and made it relaxing. For dinner we both had trout; Ching Jen had coconut curry with hers and Jon had another stuffed trout. Tomorrow we head to La Paz.
Puno
The morning after the trek we woke up before dawn to meet our bus to Puno. It was easier, although more expensive to get on the tourist bus and sleep all day. The bus made a few stops including an old 16th century church that is considered the ¨Sistine Chapel¨of the Americas.
Every surface was painted and sculpted. It was funny though because it was a mish mash of iconography; Incan stones and symbols, Islamic stars because of the spanish moorish influence, arabic tiles, italian tiles, paintings of saints peter and paul and Jesuit teachings.
Another stop was at Raqchi, an Incan site that has a huge 3 story structure that served as some sort of temple. There were large 10 foot in diameter columns and a complex of monastery buildings and round granaries. Otherwise the trip was nondescript. As we descened from Cuzco to Puno, the landscape changed from more rugged dry mountains to the harsh sunbleached highland plain. Puno is a Peruvian city on the north shore of Lake Titicaca, one of the highest lakes in the world. The elevation of Puno is around 12,500 feet. It was very cold with the chill off the lake. Our first day in Puno we went on the typical island tour. It was fun. We ran into some travellers we met on our trek and bus rides. The first stop was to the floating islands of Uros. The ¨native¨ people, who are very adjusted to tourism and commercialism, still live on islands made out of about 2 meters of reeds. Their houses and everything is made out of the reeds. Although it was touristy, this was neat to see. The second stop in the day was to Isla Taquille. This was less cool. We basically climbed up to the top, had lunch and walked down. The views though were pretty. The water is so clear and blue. It was like being out on the mediterranean except that the sun is blistering at this altitude.
Every surface was painted and sculpted. It was funny though because it was a mish mash of iconography; Incan stones and symbols, Islamic stars because of the spanish moorish influence, arabic tiles, italian tiles, paintings of saints peter and paul and Jesuit teachings.
Another stop was at Raqchi, an Incan site that has a huge 3 story structure that served as some sort of temple. There were large 10 foot in diameter columns and a complex of monastery buildings and round granaries. Otherwise the trip was nondescript. As we descened from Cuzco to Puno, the landscape changed from more rugged dry mountains to the harsh sunbleached highland plain. Puno is a Peruvian city on the north shore of Lake Titicaca, one of the highest lakes in the world. The elevation of Puno is around 12,500 feet. It was very cold with the chill off the lake. Our first day in Puno we went on the typical island tour. It was fun. We ran into some travellers we met on our trek and bus rides. The first stop was to the floating islands of Uros. The ¨native¨ people, who are very adjusted to tourism and commercialism, still live on islands made out of about 2 meters of reeds. Their houses and everything is made out of the reeds. Although it was touristy, this was neat to see. The second stop in the day was to Isla Taquille. This was less cool. We basically climbed up to the top, had lunch and walked down. The views though were pretty. The water is so clear and blue. It was like being out on the mediterranean except that the sun is blistering at this altitude.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Machu Picchu
Well, we made it!!
The trek and Machu Picchu was amazing. The trek portion was challenging, we covered three mountain peaks over 4000m high, walked around numerous clear blue green lakes and saw the front and back of the snow capped mountain, Victoria. We had 12 people on our trek, a great mix of international participants which made for great company. Along with us, we had two guides, and a staff of 5 who carried our sleeping bags and clothes (on horses) on our route as well as set up our tents and make fabulous meals. Both of us handled the altitude okay and just took the trek slow and steady. The scenary was breathtaking, but it was surprising how dry it was. It was like tundra vegetation and thankfully always sunny. On the first day, we immediately hit a steep climb within the first hour and it was a test of our fitness and breathing capacity. We were told that chewing coco leaves helps to expand one´s breathing capacity, but neither Jon nor I tried it. Many of our fellow participants said it didn´t really help anyway. Our guide Freddy, said that the Quechau people worshiped the snow because it is a form of water which provides for their survival and is a form of fertility.
We were all so well fed on this trip, the cooks somehow whipped up four our five dishes each meal, ranging from chicken with peanut sauce, breaded fish, numerous salads (included a beet salad), pancakes, porriage, beef with tomatoes and onions and french fries (tradionally called lomo saltado), stuffed bell pepper, stuffed chicken, fried rice, and a different kind of soup each day. We had a spicy pasta soup, pumpkin, celery, corn, asparagus, and quinoa soup. At one point, they baked a cake! Our camping grounds were very civilized too, we had tents set up when we got to our campsite and an outhouse. For Ching Jen´s first camping trip, she was spoiled (but happy). On the first day, we passed a 4000m peak and walked 14km. The second day was harder, where we had to hike 20km and pass two 4000+m mountains. Also, along the way we met many local people, many of them children. As a gift, we gave them pencils and modeling clay. Both nights were cold, but we managed with -8 degree C sleeping bags. On the second night, we had a special dinner. The staff created their version of an imu and cooked lamb and guinea pig. First, they built an igloo of stones, heat them up with a fire in it and then put in the lamb and guinea pig on pot covers in the oven. Next they made the stone igloo collapse into itself, covering the meat with rocks. Then cardboard, straw, tarp and dirt covered the entire thing. It cooked for 50 min before we could eat. The lamb was good, but the guinea pig was a bit rubbery and there wasn´t a lot of meat.
The next morning all we had left to walk was a three hour journey downhill. Once downhill, we took a train ride from ollantytambo to aguas calientes, a super touristy town at the base of machu picchu. Along the way in the train we passed a number of inca ruins in the sacred valley. Once we reached aguas calientes we stripped off our dirty clothes and dashed through the town to the famous hot springs which were not hot and did not have us springing for joy. They did manage to clean us off somewhat. We had an early dinner and hit the sack. At 3 am we got up to be in line to go to machu picchu and be able to hike wayna picchu, the super scenic mountain that overlooks machu picchu. Only 400 tickets are available each day to go up wayna picchu, machu picchu has no restrictions and sees about 2000 tourists a day. Luckily we got tickets 367 and 368. They'll need to adjust there system as only a year ago the line didn't start for another hour. Now people camp out over night for this once in a lifetime dream destination. And it was incredible. The entire site is so much larger and more dramatic than we imagined from the countless photos and videos we've seen. At 7 we had a 2 hour tour discussing the numerous theories about the site and the incas. Then we got to explore on our own. We had so much fun wandering in and out of the ruins. Constantly we were reminded of the panoramas. The near mountains are like lush thimbles rising out of the river valley. Then in the distance we could see snow capped Andean peaks glinting in the rising sun. The terraces, which may have been used for experimental agriculture, cascade down the mountain in the east and west directions. Hundreds of rectangular structures, densely packed, and probably the former locations of workshops and storerooms are interspersed with larger religious and political structures. All of them are made of very precise stone constructions. It is difficult to explain the incredible experience of getting to visit this place. At 10am we waited in another line to check in for the hike up wayna picchu. The hike was pretty strenuous since the day was hot and our bodies were tired from 3 days of high altitude trekking and lack of sleep. But the views were completely worth it. From the top it was possible to see machu picchu's condor plan shape. The rest of the afternoon we wandered the site some more before our bodies said enough and we returned to Aguas Calientes. We had a final meal with our group and guide. Then we all boarded a 5 pm train back to Cuzco. In Cuzco we said final goodbyes to everyone and returned to our hotel to pack and organize for our bus that was leaving for Puno, Peru in only 5 hours.
The trek and Machu Picchu was amazing. The trek portion was challenging, we covered three mountain peaks over 4000m high, walked around numerous clear blue green lakes and saw the front and back of the snow capped mountain, Victoria. We had 12 people on our trek, a great mix of international participants which made for great company. Along with us, we had two guides, and a staff of 5 who carried our sleeping bags and clothes (on horses) on our route as well as set up our tents and make fabulous meals. Both of us handled the altitude okay and just took the trek slow and steady. The scenary was breathtaking, but it was surprising how dry it was. It was like tundra vegetation and thankfully always sunny. On the first day, we immediately hit a steep climb within the first hour and it was a test of our fitness and breathing capacity. We were told that chewing coco leaves helps to expand one´s breathing capacity, but neither Jon nor I tried it. Many of our fellow participants said it didn´t really help anyway. Our guide Freddy, said that the Quechau people worshiped the snow because it is a form of water which provides for their survival and is a form of fertility.
We were all so well fed on this trip, the cooks somehow whipped up four our five dishes each meal, ranging from chicken with peanut sauce, breaded fish, numerous salads (included a beet salad), pancakes, porriage, beef with tomatoes and onions and french fries (tradionally called lomo saltado), stuffed bell pepper, stuffed chicken, fried rice, and a different kind of soup each day. We had a spicy pasta soup, pumpkin, celery, corn, asparagus, and quinoa soup. At one point, they baked a cake! Our camping grounds were very civilized too, we had tents set up when we got to our campsite and an outhouse. For Ching Jen´s first camping trip, she was spoiled (but happy). On the first day, we passed a 4000m peak and walked 14km. The second day was harder, where we had to hike 20km and pass two 4000+m mountains. Also, along the way we met many local people, many of them children. As a gift, we gave them pencils and modeling clay. Both nights were cold, but we managed with -8 degree C sleeping bags. On the second night, we had a special dinner. The staff created their version of an imu and cooked lamb and guinea pig. First, they built an igloo of stones, heat them up with a fire in it and then put in the lamb and guinea pig on pot covers in the oven. Next they made the stone igloo collapse into itself, covering the meat with rocks. Then cardboard, straw, tarp and dirt covered the entire thing. It cooked for 50 min before we could eat. The lamb was good, but the guinea pig was a bit rubbery and there wasn´t a lot of meat.
The next morning all we had left to walk was a three hour journey downhill. Once downhill, we took a train ride from ollantytambo to aguas calientes, a super touristy town at the base of machu picchu. Along the way in the train we passed a number of inca ruins in the sacred valley. Once we reached aguas calientes we stripped off our dirty clothes and dashed through the town to the famous hot springs which were not hot and did not have us springing for joy. They did manage to clean us off somewhat. We had an early dinner and hit the sack. At 3 am we got up to be in line to go to machu picchu and be able to hike wayna picchu, the super scenic mountain that overlooks machu picchu. Only 400 tickets are available each day to go up wayna picchu, machu picchu has no restrictions and sees about 2000 tourists a day. Luckily we got tickets 367 and 368. They'll need to adjust there system as only a year ago the line didn't start for another hour. Now people camp out over night for this once in a lifetime dream destination. And it was incredible. The entire site is so much larger and more dramatic than we imagined from the countless photos and videos we've seen. At 7 we had a 2 hour tour discussing the numerous theories about the site and the incas. Then we got to explore on our own. We had so much fun wandering in and out of the ruins. Constantly we were reminded of the panoramas. The near mountains are like lush thimbles rising out of the river valley. Then in the distance we could see snow capped Andean peaks glinting in the rising sun. The terraces, which may have been used for experimental agriculture, cascade down the mountain in the east and west directions. Hundreds of rectangular structures, densely packed, and probably the former locations of workshops and storerooms are interspersed with larger religious and political structures. All of them are made of very precise stone constructions. It is difficult to explain the incredible experience of getting to visit this place. At 10am we waited in another line to check in for the hike up wayna picchu. The hike was pretty strenuous since the day was hot and our bodies were tired from 3 days of high altitude trekking and lack of sleep. But the views were completely worth it. From the top it was possible to see machu picchu's condor plan shape. The rest of the afternoon we wandered the site some more before our bodies said enough and we returned to Aguas Calientes. We had a final meal with our group and guide. Then we all boarded a 5 pm train back to Cuzco. In Cuzco we said final goodbyes to everyone and returned to our hotel to pack and organize for our bus that was leaving for Puno, Peru in only 5 hours.
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