Tango Show

Iguazu Falls

Things learned so far

- the AXN network is always in English and shows only America' s finest criminal dramas
- adiós is for gringos everyone says ciao
- no copa de agua, bottles of water only
- always put electronic items in the safe
- order one dish for two people, especially in Uruguay unless you want to eat a pizza to your face with a side of steak and mashed potatoes
- wine is so cheap,  even in restaurants and hotel mini bars
- everyone takes usd just depends on what rate they want to give you
- don't go to the beach between 10am and 2 pm, seriously you will learn why no one else is on the beach
- don't worry about being on time, even for flights,  no one cares and they will wait for you
- hide your cell phone on flights, even in airplane mode but bring as many liquids as you want
- 50 + is the average age of a Patagonian traveler
- bife de chorizo is a steak not containing any chorizo

Tierra del Fuego

Our last day in Ushuaia was dedicated to hiking in Tierra del Fuego, the National Park split between Argentina and Chile. We decided on this 8 km hike around Zaratiegui and Lapataia bays finishing in Lake Roca. The view was superb with the water framed by mountains. We saw wild horses and ate lunch on a log overlooking the beach. I wish I could show you our pictures. It was a nice hike that took us about 3 - 4 hours (there were some serious inclines). We took the bus back to town and were going to try and hit the prisoner museum but it started raining and we had a big travel day coming up. So we headed back to our hostel. Sidenote, we have been trying to save a little money on food (except for the night before when we ate crab and it was freaking delicious) and we covered all our meals in under 25 usd- including wine. Go us!

Ushuaia

We arrive in Ushuaia and it is 10 degrees cooler than El Calefate but the wind does not seem to be as intense. We check into our hotel and immediately head to town for our Beagle Channel boat ride.

Our hostel manager made reservations for us on a boat that takes you to see penguins but the port of Ushuaia was a mad house and locating our tickets was difficult. Honestly, I believe that every tourist in Ushuaia was in that harbor. We board our catamaran and are off to see the penguins which is really exciting because I have never seen them outside of a zoo. We will also see warm weather penguins when we hit the Galapagos so it will be interesting to see the difference.

We pass by an island filled with white birds that look a lot like penguins but they fly. Next, we pass by Port Williams a  Navy base in Chile and is the world's Southern most city. The Beagle Channel and subsequent bay is sandwiched between Argentina and Chile with Argentina on the left (boat facing out to sea) and higher mountains. There is also a small fishing village across from Port Williams on the Argentina side that supplies all the king crab to Ushuaia.

We approach seal island next and every inch of this 25 foot rock is covered with seals. They are laying on top of each other and I even saw one pee all over the seals underneath him. I couldn't help but wish a Great White was in these waters. That would be an exciting show.

We move on to the main event- penguins. The boat sails for another hour and a half to penguin island and they named it quite appropriately. With two kinds of penguins currently inhabiting the island, Gentoo and Magellanic. The Gentoo are your typical penguins in suits and are only there until mating season ends. The Magellanic have distinctive orange feet which are neat to see. We stop for 15 minutes so the other passengers can get a photo from every angel. I see some people emptying entire memory cards on these suckers. They are cute and have babies with them but come on people. I think we took 15 pictures total.

Anyway after the photo shoot is over we head back to port. Everyone takes their seats and prepares for the 2 hour journey back. I am napping, mouth open and all when I hear a scream of joy. A FREAKING WHALE has joined the party.  It seems two humpback whales were having a grand old time, flipping their fins and doing cool whale stuff. So exciting and apparently rare. Really was icing on a very lovely boat ride.

Now off to see what this King crab is all about.

What is the coolest thing you have ever done?

We hiked a freaking glacier today!  It was unbelievable.

We landed in El Calefate around noon and got situated in our hostel. It was cold. Quite a shock from balmy BA. Things are also much more expensive, even with our 12 to 1 exchange rate. We decide to start saving our pesos and make meals ourselves. We made a pretty carb heavy meal the night before our hike and got to bed early.

Our glacier hike started off with a nice bus ride to the National Park where you get lovely pictures of the glacier. Next was a boat ride across the glacier lake. After some short explanation on how to behave in the glacier and how to use your crampon shoes we start the land hike. It was a fairly aggressive assent up the mountain that took about an hour and was approximately 2 miles. Then it was time to put on your crampons and harness and get on the glacier.  The glacier is called Perito Moreno and is one of the few stable (not shrinking) left in the world.

I don't even know how to express what it was like to walk on an active glacier. At times it was smooth than at others it was like walking on crushed ice from your fridge. The glacier surface was melting due to the high winds (seriously maybe 35 miles per hour) which was unnerving because what if it cracks and we all fall in? The hike was difficult, going up and down these mini hills all over the glacier, using muscles not normally activated. We saw ice caves and wind tunnels. At times it was scary because the wind was so intense it could knock you over if you weren't paying attention. After about 4 hours of glacier hiking we were all tired. When I got to remove the crampons and hike down the mountain normally, it was like heaven. Another 2 mile hike down the mountain, a boat ride and a bus back to our hostel. We make dinner again and get a good night sleep.

So that was quick

Well the trip started out great until we got back from dinner and realized all our electronics had been stolen.

It was about 10 pm when we returned from dinner and a walk around San Telmo (which was lovely by the way). The room was made up and ironically the first time the do not disturb was removed from our door.  At first we thought the electronics were just moved for the cleaning but upon further investigation everything was gone except for the items on our person. Our tablet, laptop, pesos, random chargers, the converters, cell phone,  anything electronic not glued down.

We were lucky that I hid our emergency usd in our travel book and it was all still there. It is frustrating because our stuff is so old. No one would even steal it in the us.  My netbook must be 5 years old, so old that they don't even make netbooks any longer. Jason's tablet is first generation tablet and everyone knows how he feels about his phone. But the stuff worked and was our entertainment for the many fights in the future. All we have left is my cell phone but they stole the converter so I could not even charge it.

The front desk seemed genuinely shocked about the theft and the manager was called. The police arrived and took our statements. About that time another couple came down and reported a theft in their room as well. They seemed to be had much worse. Multiple computers and pesos, whiskey, phones but all new.

By now it is 2 am and we have a 8 am flight we need to be up for in 4 hours.  The police come back and the other couple discovers you don't even need a key card to enter the rooms. They are installed where you can pop them open with a simple credit card. Wtf. We head to the police station and give our statements which is totally what you want to be doing on vacation. By the time we get back to the hotel it is 3:30 am and we are exhausted. They offer us another room but what is the point we need to be up in a couple of hours and all the doors pop open anyway. I am too exhausted to fight about getting our room compensated but Jason is trying his best. The manager needs to wait until after the weekend because we paid with credit card but I am not holding my breath.

This post is probably all jumbled because I am on my phone, apologies.

La Recoleta Cemetery

We woke to a morning of more rain. I swear it is following us. We decided to eat a late breakfast and luckily for us the weather seemed to clear up by early afternoon. One of my favorite things last time I was here was the La Recoleta Cemetery and I wanted to share that with Jason. Our hotel is within walking distance and the cemetery just happens to also be where we got drinks the first night. It is definitely odd that their is this beautiful cemetery next to a mall and a boulevard of bars. But I guess you always have to try and monetize your best assets.

It was a light drizzle when we entered which is kinda perfect for wandering a cemetery. The tombs are very impressive, some with giant statues and monuments to the people buried underneath. On the other hand some are broken with trash inside and it breaks your heart to see something that was once so beautiful just fall apart. You think, did the family run out of money? Did the family tree die out and no one is left to rebuild the tombs? 94 tombs have been declared National Monuments and therefore I assume are taken care of by the state but there are 4,600 other tombs that need to be maintained by the family members. If you don't pay rent for your tomb, they remove your body and give the spot to someone who can pay.

Many notable residents are presidents, Eva Peron, Eduardo Wilde and many others that are unfortunately lost on my non cultured American self. 

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (February 15, 1811 – September 11, 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the Generation of 1837, who had a great influence on nineteenth-century Argentina. He was particularly concerned with educational issues and was also an important influence on the region's literature. 

 

María Eva Duarte de Perón (May 7, 1919 – July 26, 1952) was the second wife of Argentine President Juan Perón (1895–1974) and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is usually referred to as Eva Perón or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.

The tomb of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak is a tomb known for its unusual design. 26-year-old Liliana Crociati de Szaszak (1944–1970) was in Innsbruck, Austria on 26 February 1970, when her hotel was struck by an avalanche, killing her. Her tomb was designed by her mother in the Neo-Gothic style, in sharp contrast to the other tombs in the cemetery. Adjacent to the tomb stands a dais adorned with a plaque containing an Italian-language poem by her father, and topped by a life-size green bronze statue of Crociati de Szaszak in her wedding dress, by sculptor Wíeredovol Viladrich.Following the death of Crociati's dog Sabú, a bronze statue of the dog, also by Viladrich, was added, with Crociati's hand resting on the dog's head

Luis Ángel Firpo, (October 11, 1894 – August 7, 1960), was an Argentine boxer.

Admiral William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish-born Argentine Admiral. Brown's victories in the Independence War, the Cisplatine War, and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata earned the respect and appreciation of the Argentine people, and today he is regarded as one of Argentina's national heroes. Creator and first admiral of the country's maritime forces, he is commonly known as the "father of the Argentine Navy".

Images and descriptions from Wikipedia. Wiki you are the best. :)

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Don't miss this at all!

Got to Love that Exchange Rate

Tonight at dinner we had a bottle of red wine from Mendoza, a salmon appetizer, two beef entrees and shared a dessert plus tip for 560 pesos or less than 50 USD. I can't even believe how cheap everything is.

Beef ribs with sweet potatoes and walnuts in a wine reduction

Pepper crusted fillet of beef with potatoes in a cheesy butter sauce

Some like it hot

First off BA has changed a lot in three years. Well, I am not sure if it was always like this and I was just naive but it definitely has more of an edge this time around.

Some back story, I tried to buy Argentinian pesos from Bank of America before we left but due to the economic climate BofA would not even offer the currency to purchase. I like to have a little of the local currency on me for a taxi and what not, just in case there is no ATM nearby. So we are in an unusual situation right off the bat.

Anyway, we arrive in BA around 2pm and I usually plan out how we are going to get from the airport or bus terminal to our hotel but this time I dropped the ball. We find an ATM at the ferry terminal but of course it does not have any bills. That puts a wrench in the simple plan of take a taxi. We go to the information booth but they have very little info, no English and no map. We have USD on us but there is no way they are going to take that, right? Jason negotiates with the cab driver (ah Jason and his Espanol are freaking awesome) a ride for 15 USD. I guess they do take USD.

We arrive at our hotel in Recoleta around 2:30pm and wait a bit for check in. They have a little welcome snack which is a nice touch and we get talking to the couple next to us. Turns out they are Canadians on a cruise who had some time off of the boat and were staying at the hotel. Oh Canadians, what a lovely people, eh? They were telling us about the good places to buy leather and how to exchange our USD for the black market rate. “uh, come again.” Apparently, there is a black market for USD here where you can get a 12 peso for 1 USD rate. The spot rate on the Friday before we left was 7 to 1. We are getting almost 50% more pesos at this black market rate; wouldn’t this be the best way to launder money? But of course we are going to take advantage of it.

We finally check in and the room is nice. Spacious and high ceilings so Jason can stop bumping his head. The day is almost half over so we decide to exchange some USD and then get a quick bite and a drink. Before we left, we stopped by the front desk to ask for directions and the woman at the counter had a laundry list of things to watch out for:

• keep your bag in front of your body
• check all bills for the face to ensure they are not counterfeit
• try and use small bills when possible because taxis will try and trick you by saying your bills are fake
• watch out for the squares where people accidentally spill something on you and when they assist with the clean up, they actually steal your bag/camera/ etc.

Now, I am sure people say these things about traveling to New York but it is still a bit unnerving. Seems like people are on the hustle. The “exchange” center was a little clothing shop and just looked so obvious that no clothes are sold there. We exchanged 200 USD and went on our merry way.

Time for a drink. 

 

Hola Buquebus

As great as Montevideo is, I am ready to leave. Jason has hit his cabeza at least twice on the roof of our tiny attic room and split his foot open from the flip flops he has been wearing. I have at least 15 bug bites on my body with a sweet sunburn on top. It is time for us to leave Montevideo.

We have an 11:45am Buquebus to catch and leave our hostel at 10am. We board the Ciudad Vieja bus and head to port Montevideo. The Buquebus terminal is at the back of a large active port and of course we did not know that. So we wandered around until about 11am and almost got hit by a Buquebus transfer bus. We finally find the terminal and buy our tickets rather easily. The ticket guy asks if we have bought our reciprocity tax and we confirm we had. Of course my bag does not fit in the carry on box (UGH I need to get new carry on luggage) and we wait in line to check it. Again, the baggage guy asks if we have paid the reciprocity fee and we again confirm we had. Jason is freaking out a bit about the time because it is now about 11:30. I assure him that the ferry does not leave on time (SA runs on a very approximate schedule). We are waiting in line for customs when I realize I left the damn reciprocity tax papers in the bag that I just checked. Ugh I hate checking baggage. I run back to the baggage dude and he runs to find our bags. He locates Jason's bag but not mine. This is just great. We have no other option but to get back in the customs line and see how it goes. The Uruguay and Argentina customs people are right next to each other and we check out of Uruguay no problem and the Argentina woman asks for the tax. I explain that it is in our other bag and I am so sorry. “Not a problem, please show it next time.” Por que? It was that easy. No you have to buy it twice, sucks to be you. And we cleared Argentina customs. Classic example of you win some and you lose some, and this was a win.

We are about to board the Francisco when everyone starts putting on these shoe covers. It is the strangest thing. Surely this is just some sort of custom thing. Wrong. The boat has light blue carpeting and they make you wear these shoe condoms to protect it. How ridiculous! They look so silly and I wonder if this would fly in the States. Surely Americans would give the big FU and walk all over the carpet with their dirty American shoes.

Finally Sun and pain

Tuesday we woke to a bight sunny day and were so excited to get out on the beach. After all, this was supposed to be our beach leg of the trip. We headed out around 11am and the temperature was perfect- about 75 degrees with a nice breeze. We noticed there we not many people on the beach with us. I mean if this were the Jersey shore packs of tweens would be on the prowl. Maybe they had summer school? Around 3pm I started to get hungry and wanted a bite to eat. There was a little spot one block from the beach- a pizza place of course. After sitting down, I am looking a little burned on my wrists but not too bad. After our lunch of pizza and pasta we head back down to the beach. More people have arrived, I figure it must be quitting time. We nap a bit and when I awake, my feet are on fire. I look down and my burn is a lot worse then In fact, I have perfect sandal lines. It was around 6pm and I was like Jason we should go. He was looking a little burned himself. I did not realize how bad it was until I got dressed for dinner. There were spots of red all over. I looked like the worst cheetah you have ever seen. It is so frustrating because I applied and reapplied sunscreen. And Jason, who did not even apply sunscreen until about 1pm was burned but not nearly has horrible as I. UGH!

After the beach, I showered in a very European shower facility, i.e. a room with a toilet and sink with a drain in the center. That was probably the thing I liked least about our hostel. I loved the location, how helpful the owner was, the other young travelers and of course the price but the shower/bathroom was just OK. We napped for a couple of hours and headed out to diner around 9pm. I was in a krappy mood so I ate pasta and J got the chicken kabobs. Both were wonderful. We were finishing up and this family of four came in for dinner at 10:30pm. What time do Uruguayans need to be at work in the morning? By 10:30 on a work night, I am usually in bed and by 11pm it is lights out. These people probably would not finish dinner until midnight. Blows my mind. Anyway, this is our last night in Montevideo and tomorrow we head to Buenos Aires. 

 

Rain Delay

We woke to another rainy morning. Missed the free breakfast and finally wandered down to ask where we can get lunch. Our hostel is in a really great area with lots of restaurants and obviously proximity to the beach. Our guy directed us to this cafe up the street. We entered and it was another pizza place. I am beginning to see a pattern. J and I both ordered sandwiches and coffee. What arrived was the most giant portions I have ever seen. J's caprese sandwich was literally 2 baguettes with cheese, ham and tomato covered in more cheese. My “sandwich” was actually 2 sandwiches with ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo, olives and egg salad. It was good just way too much food.

After lunch the rain was ending and we decided to head to the Old City. We boarded the 121 bus to Ciudad Vieja. Almost everything closes around 6:30pm and we were getting a late start as it is so we stuck to the walking tour on the Map. Lots of plazas and beautiful old buildings. We were too late for the National History Museum but did stop by the Museo Torres Garcia who was the most famous modern artist from Uruguay. The Plaza de la Independencia was in the center of our walk and is where their hero Artigas' ashes are guarded by soldiers in dress uniform. I was not aware these soldiers were real and was going up to take a silly picture with them when all of a sudden he blinked. I ran back to Jason and told him the soldiers were real. “Well of course they are real!” Well thanks for the heads up sir. I was too embarrassed to go back up to the solider so J bit the bullet. Talk about awkward family photos. After Independencia there was not much else to see, just shops. I wanted to head back to the meat vendors in Ciudad Vieja for a late lunch but by the time we arrived back they were closed. Jason wanted to head back ASAP because we heard the Ciudad Vieja changes when the shops close and we should definitely be out by sundown. We had trouble finding our bus back to Pocitos and Jason was becoming more and more nervous. Eventually, we just got on a bus headed to  Pocitos and not the 121 bus we had taken before. It turned out completely fine, maybe a local bus and not the express bus. Once we were back to Pocitos Jason was much more calm. Funny, I am usually the one freaking out.

We went to this really nice restaurant for dinner (rated #1 in Montevideo via Tripadvisor)and we joked that our hostel would never have recommended this place to us because it is a bit expensive (but cheap to NY standards- $100 for a bottle of wine, 2 entrees and an appetizer). The portions were more in line to what we were used to in the States and our waitress was adorable. Apparently, she used to live in NYC and work at an art gallery in Soho but had to leave after her visa ran out.

Needless to say, we slept well that night. Full bellies with wine. Practically a Nyquil.

Rain Rain Go Away

The flight to Miami was great and take off from LaGuardia was on time. J and I got to sit together and in perfect gentleman fashion, he gave me the window seat. The flight to Montevideo was another story. J and I did not sit together but were both aisle seats across from each other. I was next to a heavy set woman who did not believe in deodorant and Jason was next to this woman who could not spend 2 minutes away from her boyfriend or whatever. She kept getting up (from the window seat) during the flight and at one point jumped over J to get out (he was sleeping because this is an overnight flight). I felt even worse for the person sitting next to her boyfriend because she was straddling him during the flight- face to face, can you imagine? Finally, with 2 hours left in the flight, they annoyed a person enough to switch seats. Needless to say J did not get much sleep. I was kinda grateful for my seatmate because she kept me warm and thankfully did not lift her arms much.

It was raining when we arrived in Montevideo. We saw it would be for the next 10 days when I checked the weather report on Saturday. Mer. The plan was to find an ATM and hop on the DM1 bus to Punta Carretas. After several attempts at different ATM's we finally were able to get some pesos. Then we waited for the bus. And waited. Naturally at this time, doubt begins to creep up into your brain. Did we miss it? Is this a real bus? So after about 15 minutes of waiting we hopped in a taxi. Mind you a very expensive taxi- 1000 pesos or 50 USD. We pulled up to our hostel, Destino 26, and it looks so cute. Uruguay has a lot of old mansions that people either live in, turn into a business or are crumbling and vacant. This mansion was turned into a hostel by a guy who has traveled the world and wanted a house full of young people with the same mindset. J and I booked the private triple room. I am not sure why. Maybe it was the only private room? Anyway, the room was in the attic, past the common kitchen and up these itty bitty stairs. We were so exhausted and compounded with the rain, we just napped for a couple of hours. We woke around 5pm and the rain had cleared up to a beautiful evening. The hostel is 4 blocks from the beach and we went for an evening beach walk. I was getting a little hungry so we stopped at this beach shack for a bite to eat. We didn't actually want dinner because South American people eat so late (like 10:30pm) and we wanted to keep up. We ordered 2 beers, Patricia, and a pizza. This thing was HUGE. Easily could have fed a family of four. Needless to say we had some pizza left over.

After our giant bite to eat, we headed back to the hostel. Put our remaining pizza in the shared fridge and settled in with some more Patrica's to watch the SuperBowl. Ha, wow, wasn’t that something? I felt really bad for Payton Manning. J was not so sympathetic. It was definitely a different experience watching it in Spanish and with some Australians. Poor Payton.

We are Engaged!

Jason proposed to me on Wednesday night! We will officially become a family and are really excited start our life together.

Neman

The first of the McShuey's...