Mini Odyssey

St. Patrick's day at the end of the world

jbaz78 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:37:00 GMT

After finishing my blog last night I was walking back to my hotel and came across an Irish pub serving green beer, and like any self-respecting girl with some Irish heritage I stopped in! I love that the Irish represent with pubs all over the world and that green beer is a standard on St Patty's across the world. It united all my new friends I met last night from Australia, Isreal, Argentina, Brazil the UK and of course Ireland. I made one Irishman show me his I.D. after claiming that his name was Patty and indeed it was! He wanted to charge me 5 pesos for a picture, but again as a self-respecting girl with Irish descent I bought another beer.

I am going to run now and do my laundry, I was killing time before it opened. Then I will do a 7km hike to the foot of the glacier here in Ushuaia. After that I need to pick up my prescription sunglasses I bought yesterday, way cheaper here then in the US. After all that I will hop on the ship and off to Antarctica tonight!

Gallery: Torres del Paine

jbaz78 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:35:00 GMT

Gallery: El Perito Moreno

jbaz78 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:34:00 GMT

Gallery: The Lakes Region

jbaz78 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:33:00 GMT

Gallery: Mendoza

jbaz78 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:34:00 GMT

Car rentals that include fire extinguishers?

jbaz78 — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:09:00 GMT

So Poppy and I rented a car in El Calafate to drive to Torres del Paine. We assumed the fire extinguisher under the seat could not be a good sign!! Fortunately there were no fires, just long roads where you saw an occasional cow or guanaco. We also had an interesting stop at a gas station along the way. We had gone across the street to the police station to inquire if it was open and the officer told me that the owner had gone to his ranch and would probably return in a little bit. Then about 30 minutes later the owner walked out of the police station and told us the station was closed on Sundays, but then 2 Argentinians drove up so he pumped gas for all of us, plus the two cars that arrived right as we were leaving. It was all very Alice in Wonderland like!

Poppy and I drove all over the park. She only had a day and then had to fly back home so the car came in handy. We did one hike and later found out that the wind was blowing 90km/hr. Which is pretty standard for this area of the park. It was insane! We were like puppets. We were going to hike the following day, but it was raining and completely covered in clouds so we couldn´t see anything at all.

Trekking the Glacier

jbaz78 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:49:00 GMT

I would say the highlight of the trip has been trekking on El Perito Moreno Glacier. It was amazing. Poppy was not enjoying the rain that we started out with. Fortunately the day cleared and even though we had clouds the sun would pop out for various periods of time throughout the day. I was thanking the gortex gods that day! Really it was getting soaked in New Orleans last year that converted me to gortex and be prepared for rain.

The glacier is unreal. Hiking on it and seeing all of the colors was amazing. Then after the hike we ate lunch at a refuge and watched pieces break off and crash into the water. Obviously it wasn´t the pieces we were hiking on...so don´t worry mom! Then we took the ferry back to the bus, and during the ferry trip a huge chunk of ice came out of the water like a shark´s fin and then bobbed back below. It was so awesome to watch!

Dusty driving in Patagonia

jbaz78 — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:19:00 GMT

So as predicted I´m slacking on the blog. Poppy and I have had a whirlwind sort of trip in the Lakes region of Patagonia. We took a 16 hour overnight bus to Bariloche from Mendoza. I think they do it at night so that you can´t see how small the road is and how big the bus is. I love the cama seats and again with some wine and Ambien it was a great trip.

After getting to Bariloche I was a brat and wanted to see some of the other towns and Poppy wanted to just get a hotel and shower and relax. We ended up staying one night in Bariloche, one night in San Martin de los Andes and last night in Villa la Angostura.

We rented a car and it has been one of the most interesting experiences of my life. I really wanted to get a video of the bridges we drove across. I guess we felt fortunate that there was no rain so if we didn´t make it across the bridge we would just end up in a dry wash!

We finally discovered the good gelato. Everyone says you can find good Italian food and gelato in Argentina and we still haven´t found great Italian but Bariloche gave us some great gelato. We also found good juice here, all we´ve been able to get is tang in other places. If I never have another glass of tang or ham and cheese sandwich I will still be able to die a happy girl.

We hiked around this penisula on the biggest lake in the region yesterday. It was gorgeous. Really this part of the trip has consisted of alot of driving on sketchy, dusty roads in a tiny car with no AC or power steering. I think Poppy has come close to soiling herself a few times. But really, no one would notice it considering the coat of dust we walk around with!

Festival de la Viediema

jbaz78 — Sun, 8 Mar 2009 11:58:00 GMT

Mendoza seems to be a favorite for Poppy and I. It is the perfect size city. We were told it is about 1 million people. It has wonderful food, wineries right outside of town, shopping and beautiful plazas to chill at on a lazy sunday. Plaza España was my favorite! We had amazing dinners and lunches at every place we chose. We did get some funky tortilla chips at the Mexican restaurant, but the main course and the Argentinian beer was great! All of the Mendocinos were hospitable and wonderful. We stayed at at the Quinta Rufino B&B and the owners were great.

We did two wine tours. The first was more of a bus ride around the region and it stopped at a huge winery and then at an estancia for lunch. The tour ran all day, and we ended up sleeping on the bus and not listening to anything because we were both tired, the spanish was technical and fast and we expected to see more vineyards. The second tour included two bodegas (wineries) and a place that makes olive oil. We were a fan of this last tour. The wines were so-so, but the last vineyard was organic and everything was done by hand! We ended up buying various bottles of wine and most restaurants allow you to bring your own wine so we always seem to have bottles in our backpacks! Poppy almost got me in trouble because she had a corkscrew in her backpack, but they thought it was mine at the airport and I had to dump my bag out as the flight attendant was signaling that we had to hurry because they were holding the flight for us! Fortunately they let us go, and Poppy kept her corkscrew. But I´m getting ahead of myself.

Saturday night we attended the gala where they crown the queen of festival. The festival is a celebration of the harvest of the grapes and the wine. During the day we went to the parade and they were grilling meat on some of the floats and girls were throwing anything from glamour shots of themselves, to grapes to large squash. It was all very interesting. The gala included a choreographed dance that they practiced all year and it was amazing! The crowning of the queen was lengthy they announced each vote and it took hours. Really after they said ¨San Martín¨ the first 100 times we could all guess who was going to win!

All in all I would tell anyone and everyone to visit this wonderful city if they ever get the chance!

Too much wine = Headache = whining

jbaz78 — Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:44:00 GMT

Last night was our final night in Buenos Aires and we spent it in Palermo. We ate at a yummy restaurant called Cabrera. They served honkin pieces of meat and fantastic wine. We had a steak or two and a bottle or two!

We woke up after 4 hours of sleep, cuz everyone over here doesn´t eat dinner till 11pm or so. We maybe had too much wine and did the shove everything into your bag kind of packing, and then begged the taxi driver to drive as fast as he could to the airport. We, as Americans were stressing over time, but really it is acceptable to check in 30 mins before your flight and your luggage still gets on the plane. It was fantastic. I´m sure the man who sat between Poppy and I loved the green hue of our faces and Poppy pulling out the barf bag and my use of the motion sick braclets!

We wandered around Mendoza this afternoon and love it! So far we like it a ton more than BsAs. There is a wine festival this weekend and we caught the last night of the Italian festival. We walked the street fair tonight with plastic cups of wine and saw a cute old couple doing the tango in the plaza. I want to tango when I´m 80!

Quick recaps

jbaz78 — Thu, 5 Mar 2009 07:06:00 GMT

So quickly I will explain the last couple of days. I wrote a nice, witty entry last night and then all was deleted when I ran out of time. The joys of traveling and attempting to do the simple things of life that become extremely time consuming.

3/2 We wandered around Recoleta. The posh area in Buenos Aires. We stopped at a hotel that Poppy wanted to see, supposedly there was a bar on the roof top that overlooked the city. We went up, saw nothing came down to have the doorman waiting for us. The hotel was rather expensive and I guess we didn´t look like normal clientele. Another young cutie took us up and showed us what used to be a bar, but is being converted into a pool. I will post pictures when I am capable. I can post on facebook, but not here. We then walked around the cemetery and saw Evita´s grave. That night we went to a Tango show, and while being slight cheesy, I have to give props to the Argentinians cuz the peeps can dance!

3/3 We took the ferry across the Rio de la Plata and chilled in Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. It was a small colonial town with cobbled streets. Super Cute, easy going just a place to shop and eat and relax. We did mainly shopping, some eating and sat from time to time like the exhausted tourists we were on the many benches around town. Four sentences seems adequate to sum up this town.

3/4 We kicked it in San Telmo today. Can you guess what we did...yes more shopping. My mom and aunts would be so proud! Ate some yummy empanadas and drank some yerba mate. We also spent a good deal of our time fighting with computers and telephones and figuring out how to wash clothes. It rained all day, the gortex jacket has come in handy, but I feel like one of those posters of the pissed off looking cats that are soaked to the bone! Poppy´s credit/debit cards were blocked today and I was everyone´s sugar mama! Just now we have sorted it all out, bought our bus tickets for Mendoza and I was finally able to print my stuff for Project HOPE that I´ve been trying to access for days. Well I am off to dinner now and it is our last night in Buenos Aires so we will try to do it right. I did buy some Tango shows so I´ll see if I can manage to look cute and not break a leg!

The Town of Tango

jbaz78 — Mon, 2 Mar 2009 13:56:00 GMT

We are currently in Buenos Aires. I have been instructed to use aliases for my girls traveling with me. So Moe and I arrived yesterday and on arriving at our hotel that Polly had picked out we discovered that there was no AC and a very lively Discoteca next door. Poppy made the executive decision to move us down the street to a more appropriate hotel for party poopers! We all love Polly and her decision. We are in a great place near Plaza de Mayor and the front desk guy just brought me an espresso seeing as it is midnight and the rest of the town is eating dinner and I am blogging while the girls are sleeping.

So in an attempt to be succinct. We arrived yesterday from Igauzu Falls. The waterfalls were gorgeous. We viewed them from both sides and I will post some photos when I get to a computer that will actually do it. I will also try downloading to facebook.

After the changing of hotels we decided to wander Avenida Florida. After being in the country less than 4 hours Moe had her wallet stolen! She handled the ordeal well. It was very annoying using a gizillion different phones in an attempt to use a US calling card and trying to call 1-800 numbers. However, we finally got the credit and debit card cancelled and figured she had less than $50 in cash. So all in all, while being annoyed we realized it was a sacrifice to the travel gods!

The one other glitch we suffered during the trip is the cold that Moe and I have both come down with. Much to our surprise the Argentinean men don´t seem put off by the sexy man voice and dry hacking cough!

Today was a wonderful day. We wandered around San Telmo, specifically the antique market. We had a super yummy lunch while we waited for the rain to stop. We than took some pictures in La Boca and had the "best" steak and malbec for dinner. Any person you ask for recommendations always can definitively tell you were the "best" food-hotel-shopping will be!

Gallery: Buenos Aires

jbaz78 — Mon, 2 Mar 2009 13:51:00 GMT

Sunburns and Samba

jbaz78 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

The last few days in Rio have been great! We attended some of the Carnival events, but Stephanie and I have proved to be the opposite of party animals. I know this doesn't come as a surprise to my family and close friends.

The blocos are basically just street parties where people dress up in their fantasia, or our equivalent of Halloween costumes. We did get some costumes, but did not wear them...I know, how boring of us. However, we did attend the Samba parade which was amazing. The costumes and the dancing are fantastic and I would say it has been the highlight of Carnival! Plus we stayed there until 3 in the morning...so we are trying to improve our partying skills!

The beaches are fantastic! Nice sand, no jelly fish or seaweed and a great amount of people watching. Stephanie and I got a little sunburned and looked like true tourists...not that the full butted swim suit bottoms didn't already give it away.

The last thing to comment on would be the transportation. Apparently traffic laws are simply recommendations here! It is not necessary to stop at red lights, and many of the taxi drivers blow through them or use them more as yields! The buses feel like they may go on 2 wheels around corners and it is good to always keep your hands pressed against the back of the seat in front of you so that you don't slam into it every time the driver breaks, which is every 5 secs. The funniest thing about all of it is that I have never felt unsafe, even when Stephanie and I rode a combi on our own. Thomas' Portuguese teacher seemed a bit horrified that we did this.

However, she then drove us up Corcovado mountain, and accidently took us into a favela. The kids guarding the favela were yelling at her telling her she was going the wrong way. She realized it soon enough, we turned around and they teased her a bit and then we were on our way to the Redeemer. We got the last bus up and clouds were rolling in which made the appearance of the statue even more amazing! After seeing the Redeemer we went to Renata's house and she and her friends made us a Brazilian dinner. I love experiencing a culture when locals show me their country and teach me so much more than any guide book could ever do!

Thomas' roommate Deborah also helped us out so much while we were here. She called a friend today and we did a tour of one of the jewelry museums. She has provided us with a great place to stay, awesome recommendations and translating! We will be sad to leave, but on to Foz do Iguacu tomorrow...

Welcome to Carnival

jbaz78 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:05:00 GMT

Stephanie arrived safe and sound this afternoon. We made her change into her bikini and go straight out. Ambien is her new best friend! She was a total trooper. We went to 2 blocos, basically just crazy street parties. The one in Ipanema was a giant drag show! Nothing to crazy to report for today.

Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to wear our fantasia, the costumes we bought...the devil, the viking and Jane of the jungle! We just never made it home to change today. The trafic is crazy with the hords of people here. But there is nothing like stinky, sweaty dancing maniacs huddled in small spaces!

Boa Dia, Boa Tarde, Boa Noite

jbaz78 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:20:00 GMT

Today is a bit of a blur. Thomas is a good big brother and was at the airport to get me. He haggled with the taxi drivers and impressed me with his portuguese!

The day really consisted of me sleeping on Ipanema beach, sleeping on the bus and sleeping on my feet at the fruit market. Really sleeping everywhere, but the plane ride over.

I promise I will start taking more photos. Since I left Tucson without my charger I had to stalk the UPS delivery man for the new charger which arrived 3 hours before my departure! The only pic for today was of Thomas' room. My precious charger is on the bed and havaiana flip flops that Deb gave me as a welcome to Brazil present. However, I did try to get a photo of Thomas in his skinny jeans, that he will be returning to the store after the razzing I gave him. Apparently you lose weight and get tan when you quit your desk job and move to Rio... and that inspires some people to buy skinny jeans!

Gallery: Rio

jbaz78 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:12:00 GMT

Test blog...V-day in NYC

jbaz78 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:58:00 GMT

So I've been kickin it with Jen and Laura in NYC. We had a great Sat night, but lost a soldier after 2 Margaritas. Apparently they were strong...and no the person down was not me. Contrary to my family's beliefs, I am no longer a light weight!

I am going to make this disclaimer from the start: Pardon all of the poor grammar and misspellings in this blog! I know Sr Tomasina from elementary school will be cringing in her habit. I also have to say that I will probably not keep up with this for a variety of reasons. Computer illiteracy, laziness, fear of commitment and running around like a chicken with my head cut off are among a few!