i havent posted in awhile... so i´m going to skim through a bit. i left buenos aires a few weeks ago after spending a few days in uruguay. uruguay was ok... montevideo was a tranquil city compared to buens aires. It was a subtle version of the argentine capitol, smaller, quieter, though with just as much pollution and maybe, seemingly, a bit more poverty, a bit more dangerous. The nightlife was great, thuogh I think I felt more unsafe in montevideo than anywhere else in the continent so far. Though I found Montevideo a bit disappointing, I only spend one afternoone there, so I guess I didn´t give it a fair chance. The saving grace for the city was the hostel i stayed in, hostel red. i spent an afternoon reading in a hammock on a rooftop deck, admiring the south american sky- blue, blue, blue with brushes of white, behind the frame of rundown buildings.
from there i went with a friend i met in buenos aires, dave, to punta del diablo, a small beach town on the coast of uruguay. the busride was wonderful, we passed through a series of small villages, and through the vast countryside. Day-glo green grass and brush, and these strange tall skinny trees that seemed to be lumped together artificially, but after awhile of driving I realized that that´s just how nature intended them to be.
when we arrived in punta del diablo i ws shocked. everyone had said this was a ¨resort¨town, so i was expecting something very touristy and modern. dirt roads, stray dogs, crowds of people, minimal electricity, bugs, leaky roofs... i was thrilled, cultured shocked, but thrilled. the actual beach was beautiful (topless i might add - my friend dave was pretty happy), clear water, though the sand was layered with dead beetles... but hey, what can you do. the houses were pastel-colored villas, fairly run down, and scattered around the hills behind the dunes. a series of garden hoses ran through the town, providing running water.
from uruguay i began my way towards bariloche. i left the night before my birthday, on a 22-hour overnight bus ride, and awoke to the foothills of the andes. I awoke in the morning to see the foothills of the andes, semmingly endless, and framed by the mountains which lay hours away. passing through on a highway there were hardly any signs of life. the occasional patch of cows eating or sleeping peacefully. for as much beef as is consumed here, i was expecting to see more cows. the strange trees i saw in uruguay were in patagonia as well. the woman sitting next to me explained that the trees held up really well against the wind. i met a great group of people in bariloche (most of whom were also travelling alone), we went rafting and canyoning. I laughed for 5 days straight with these guys.
from bariloche, the 6 of us took a bus up to mendoza. did a wine tour, which mainly involved the comsumption of more wine than the tour intended. mendoza was also beautiful. the strets lined with trees and irrigation channels.
from mendoza we all went our separate ways. i decided to go to san juan, which is another town in the wine region 2 hours north of mendoza.
The first thing I noticed abut San Juan is that it is a distinctly different color than any other city I have been to. Much like Mendoza, it was lined with trees and irrigation channels. But the trees were a different color. In mendoza the trees were greener, fuller, the trunks darker. In San Juan the trees are whit and gray, the leaves sparse, making the tiled streets brighter in the almost-constant sun. Less cars, more bikes, loud buses and mopeds. This city is very tranquil, and hot. You can really feel the effect of the afternoon siestas here. The ENTIRE town shuts down after lunch, and re-opens when the sun goes down. No one works on Sundays. So far this has been my favorite city. I had to speak spanish the entire time i was there, which was great. (Been getting lots of compliments on it).
Since I arrived during a siesta and right before a Sunday, I wasn´t able to book any of the excursions I wanted to do. So I took a local bus to a winery just outside the city, call Gran Cavas. The bus ride was interesting. The driver was sharing a fernet and coke with one of the passengers, honking at the pretty women, and flying aruond corners. The winery itself is located inside a cave. Took a tour with some random people from Buenos Aires. I didn´t understand everything the guide was saying, but I could tell he spoke very eloquently.
After the tour I asked where to catch the bus back to the city. I was told to wait on the other side of the dirt highway, one should be by in about an hour. An hour! It was freaking hot! And to fin shade I would have had to wait away from the highway, where i wouldnt be able to hail the bus. (You have to hail the buses...there´s not always an actual stop).
So after 20 minutes in the blistering heat, my feet looking like leather and feeling like they had swollen to double the orginal size, I decided to hitch. There were tons of cars with families going by, so I was going to get a ride with one. However, my luck, the people I took the tour with flew by in a yellow open Jeep, told me to hop in. What a wonderful ride! Hair blowing, soaking in the sun, and sipping mate with four people frm Buenos Aires. Got to pactice my Spanish some more as well...
Back at the hostel, I hung out with the staff, who are the friendlist staff I have met so far. Since I wasnt able to book any excursions, I decided to hightail it to Bolivia to meet up with some friends from Buenos Aires, and come back through San Juan in May, this time planning a little better, since not all towns work as easily as Buenos Aires.
So Bolivia is currently where I hang my hat. Though I dont have a hat, so it´s where I gaurd my backpack. I am witing in a bus terminal for my next 18 hour bus. The buses have turned out to be kind of nice. I see some amazing scenery, and travel cross country usually for no more than 30 dollars US. I just bought my bus ticket from the Argentine border to La Paz for 10 dollars. From La Paz i will be doing some trekking in Peru, then making my way back down to Buenos Aires via the salt flats and northern Argentina.
