Iguazu Falls

We can´t thank Nicole enough for bringing with her to South America her Gold Status at Sheraton Hotels. Willi and I have really made it to the big time now. We are staying on the top floor of the hotel, the only one within 20km of the Falls, looking straight out over the Falls. Monkeys and toucans play right outside our window. Giant ants compete for space on the sidewalks. But all pale in comparison to the roaring noise of the Falls. Even though water is at 30 year lows and half of the falls are dried up, the water thunders in the background. Tomorrow we say goodbye to the lap of luxury and cross into Brazil. Ciao!

Willi´s Birthday!

After a tango show, and our last steak dinner in Buenos Aires, the hostel rallied to celebrate the big night in typical Argentine fashion.

Nicole Converts to The Church of Maradona

Nicole has arrived. I think she has shopped herself to death, and eaten all the steak she can handle. Next stop had to be the National Church of Buenos Aires... the Boca Juniors soccer stadium. It is a shrine to all things Maradona. All in all, the neighborhood of la Boca is a bit too touristy, but a fun afternoon nonetheless. We will watch some more tango tonight over dinner before celebrating Willi´s birthday. Tomorrow we fly to Iguazu Falls and hope that Miami survives Ernesto. Love to all.

C´est la vie.

Well sadly I am writing today to pass on probably the most disheartening news of the trip. Last night while dining with some new friends from the hostel, my shoulder bag was taken off of my chair and is forever lost to the streets of Buenos Aires. You can expect something like this to happen anywhere and hindsight is always 20/20. I broke several of my own rules. Usually i watch even the shadows that pass and trail behind us on the sidewalks. I never take my bag off my shoulder unless i am against the wall. My camera stays in my pocket. Alas great food, energetic conversation and a seemingly safe restaurant atmosphere provided a bit too much comfort. Speculations abound, but in the end it does not matter because there is little that can be done now. The good news, there was only one thing of any value in the bag. Unfortunately, if there was one single thing that I would wish to survive the trip it would be this item. My camera. Almost half of our photos were on there, thus If a picture is worth a thousand words, at least one version of the novel has failed to make the printing press. Like an emormous full moon over the Tetons the images will be only as lasting as one´s memories and sensations. Luckily, we both were taking pictures, so the story is preserved. If the karma police care to mind, I laugh that all that was in the bag otherwise was a book on the history of salt that I had finished, a spanish english dictionary, and a thin windbreaker. Perhaps our thief will learn the amazing history of salt while translating the words to spanish. When the crisp winds blow up the street, perhaps he will find warmth under the shelter of my great thrift store find. As with any somber mood, a new day begins and i suppose we have one less thing to worry about. Thus until the sun shines a little brighter.............

Awwwwwwwwwww Buenos Aires

Well, the adventures in nature may have come to a hault but we have settled nicely into one of the world´s greatest cities. Just as our own optimism has come into fruition, the warmth of a hinting spring has dropped down onto the southern hemisphere for a delightfully comfortable change. We have an amazing hostel, filled with great people, great energy and wonderful views. We sit on the widest street in the world three blocks south of the obelisk, which can be seen from our roof top. People watching, wandering the streets and parks, and just relaxing have been our main activities. The nights are long, the days have been absolutely amazing. Buenos Aires, like any great city, has plenty to see and do. There is shopping, amazing bakeries filled with delicious sugar covered breads, chocolate cakes, empanadas, fruit tarts, empanadas haha. Museums, theaters, parks. Yesterday we snuck to the top a hotel in recoletta to catch a rarely seen view of the city (the photo). For twenty pesos we stuffed our faces with huge steaks and wine like gluttonous gordos for dinner. Good company, good times, and a good way to prepare for a long night of dancing. Today is a new day and the city is sooooo big, i am sure we can find something to do. Frida Kahlo exhibit sounds pretty good. Our only piece of sad news is that the smog has successfully blocked our view of the sky. But since Pluto is no longer a planet, I suppose there is less to look at anyway. Thus until our next journey of opulency.

Greetings from .................Uruguay?

Well, the lap of luxury continues. We spent several days in Cordabá, Argentina. The people were so sweet, from the hostel owners to the taxi drivers, the city is a very comfortable place to be. Still, it lacks a certain pizzazz so we decided to ship out. Before taking off on yet another long overnight bus we visited the small pueblo of Alta Gracia, childhood home of Ernesto ¨che¨ Guavera, the famous t-shirt maker. The small museum which was once the home of his family was a very nice reminder of the humanity that exists in everyone. So often our icons are left to be symbols some distant ideology or posed as emminent threats to life as we know it. The museum showed ernestito as a young asthmatic boy, bold, but quietly on the outside. The town is basically a wealthy suburb of Cordabá, which helps build the contrast that the museum is trying to present. We travelled then back to Cordabá and then to Buenos Aires by bus and to Colonia by ferry. Beautiful morning sunrise came up over the River Platte as we left the bustle of Buenos Aires in the still of the morning under brillant blue sky to the this quaint village. Very prestine and relaxed. There is little going on. The city fair is but a few stands with vendors more interested in another cup of maté than selling you silly trinkets. Still everyone is incredibly nice, wishing you the very best just for buying a sandwich. Alas, we both are yearning for some more adventure, but for now we will ride bikes and enjoy the crystal blue sky and fabulous manner of the Uruguayan people. Until next time. Ciao. Pasan bien.

Living the Hard Life

After our adventurous journey through the Andes it is time to take a break. Salta now Cordabá, we are basking in a strange calm that almost seems anti-climatic. We are actually yearning for some more drama, some more stress. In the mountains our days were spent battling the forces of nature, the chaos of andean infrastructure. We woke early and went to bed early. Modern conveniences have simplified things. We can enjoy a hot shower, a futból game on the tv, maybe even hail a cab to take us to dinner. We are a bit baffled by the concept of free time. Hmmm. what to do, what to do....................................

Futból Noche

The stadium is packed with standing room only. Riot police in full gear form a human wall, in addition to iron fences and one section of seats, separting the home fans from the visitors. Children climb high onto the top of the iron fences for a better view. Red Flairs, blue flags, and M-80 fireworks fly in the stands of the home team, Club de Atletico Belgrona de Cordoba. Cordoba scores twice in the first ten minutes against one of the best teams in Argentina, San Lorenzo de Buenos Aires. The fans are going crazy. They must know five different songs, and they sing them each over and over rejoicing in the embarrasment of San Lorenzo. But fortunes change quickly and San Lorenzo ties the game at two. The ref must be local, because all of the fans seem to know him by name, Sr. Puta Madre. Actually, Puta must be a common first name, because they seem to call everyone on San Lorenzo by that. Whistles rain down everytime the fans disapprove. We tie 2-2, but the fans accept this result and we dance and sing in the shoulder to shoulder crowd. As we leave, the scoreboard reads, "Cordoba, el corazon del mi pais!"

Sunset on the Andes

We´ve just returned from the market here in Salta in Northwestern Argetina. We stuffed ourselves with chicken, vegetable, and beef empanadas, hotdogs encased in pancake batter, regular hotdogs, and tamales. Oh yeah, and it cost us around $2. The vibe here is completely different from that of Peru/Bolivia/Chile. It feels very much like Western Europe, alah Italy or France. We enjoyed a ride up the town mountain in a gondola, of course, my eyes were closed most of the time. The Andes hang in the background of the city literally dividing us from the first half of our trip. Coming through them last night was a fun way to transition into the lowland weeks to come. After waiting three hours at Chilean customs for seemingly no reason we descended nearly 3000m in only a couple of hours. It was a series of nonstop switchbacks winding our way down the eastern slope of the Andes. Our ears popped over and over and we began to catch our breath for the first time in two weeks. We plan on heading to Cordoba tomorrow and possibly into Uruguay for a few days afterwards. We miss and love you all... I can´t wait for Nicole to arrive (Love you!!!).

Greetings from Chile!!!!

Wow!!!! So we made it. Just a quick run down so that all know that we are well. From Potosí we took a bus to Uyuni, hit a car that was passing along the edge of a ravine, continued on through bumpy southwest like landscapes. A bolivian 5 hour bus ride is actually 8 hours, so we arrived just after sunset, bought our tour and went to bed. The morning began with the world´s largest salt flats with the world´s greatest photographing spectacle i have ever seen. We then drove through incredible arrid mountain valleys and stopped at a small town, looked at mummies, lost a soccer game to three little niños for a coke had dinner and went to the gringo bar and danced until late. When we woke we drove for a few hours and then began one of the most beautiful continuous spectacles of geology we have ever seen. Red, yellow, and blue mountains. Rock formations that baffled the mind like Dali dropped puzzle pieces from the sky. Blue lakes, red lakes, pink flamingos, big rabbits, and desert valleys. Unbelievable!!!!! This morning we woke from a sub zero sleep to see geysers at 5000 m. (16000 ft.) and then to thermal springs and to the bolivian/chile border. Finally to the sunny (and warm) lowlands of chile!!! Tommorrow morning we head back east across the mountains to Salta, Argentina to relax with the Pampas Gouchos. Star gazers we have found scorpio, the southern cross, and cancer. As the night sky has been emaculate. Spanish is getting better. Probably take a rest in Argentina since we have spent the last three days cooped up in a toyota landcruiser with 8 people, bouncing on washboards as tight as mine and eric´s stomachs, haha. Very rough riding though and very cold at night. Anyway, pics to come, just wanted to say hello and we love you, we are safe.

Uyuni Bound

So today´s adventure into the silver mine was all that you would think, dark, dusty and depressing. We crawled into the llama blood splattered entrance to the mine with two other tourists and two guides. About one hundred yards in you come to the entrance of the mine´s ¨museum.¨ Then we worked our way along the first level. Dust and asbestos floating in every breath. Then down through a very narrow and shallow path way to level two, actually just an open area to take a break before crawling down rickety wooden ladders to level three. 300 meters under ground. Workers passing by in trolleys eager to partake of our ¨presents¨ coke, coca leaves, and dynamite. The dust is amazing. It was so hard to breath. When we took off to leave, miners were bringing huge logs down through the narrow shaft that we had to climb out of. It was absolutely miserable and I suppose that is the point of the tour. To you West Virginians out there imagine a pre-union coal mine complete with 19th century technology. Of course the hilight has to be getting to blow things up. We bought our own dynamite and with a few other groups set off some big booms for excitement. Yes mothers it was all supervised..............by drunk Bolivian miners with mouths full of coca leaves. Anyway, in the morning some time we head off for Uyuni and the big desert trek into Chile. Hopefully we can get plenty of rest before we take off for the bitter cold Andean Desert. By chance that we don´t have internet in Uyuni we will get in touch ASAP. Love you all.

Bienvenidos a la ciudad mas alto en todo del mundo

That´s right, we are in potosí, the highest city in the world. Home of torturous Spanish conquests and the one of the major mints of the Spanish Empire. Yesterday, we prepared to dish our money to the Gravity company who runs a mountain bike tour down the most dangerous road in the world, but when we showed up they were booked. With the winds out of our sails a bit we had coffee and decided to take off from La Paz to Uyuni and the salt flats. However, we arrived at the bus station we found that the only night buses that we could get were to Potosí. So here we are. It was a beautiful cold ride. I stole the sleeping bag from eric in my sleep so I guess for eric it was cold ride. When we were awake though, the night was magnificent. The moon was full, with stars faintly glimmering around. Ghostly mountains stood high above a tundra like vast plain. Barren with sparkles of moonlight. Sometimes a crystal clear lake that shimmered under the cold bolivian night. Now we are off to check out the mines and blow things up with dynamite. Awe the beauty of contrasts haha. As far as the night sky, I have a question for you star gazers as I haven´t had time to check myself. We have found the southern cross on many a night, since there are never clouds in the sky. But I am puzzled by one constellation. In the sky south and slightly more east than plaiedes is a trio of stars that looks like Orion´s belt. However, I am not sure if this is right. I know down here he would be upside down. But I also thought he would be in our western sky just as up north. Can anyone help me???

Get your passport stamped ASAP!!!!

Sorry about the technical difficulties. It seems that the spanish version of blogger.net doesn´t let you delete entries. So for now just assume that we really enjoyed the market. haha. As for the rest of la paz. Well, we have had an interesting little run at Bolivia. As one of our bunk mates in Aguas Calientes said,¨Bolivia is $%%&ing crazy man!!!¨ We entered on foot and did not recieve a passport stamp. After a fun little night, we awoke to major sickness as you already know. Then we took a bus from Copacabana to La Paz. A beautiful trip along the banks of the deep blue waters of Lake Titikala (not kaka, so say the locals). Eric and I were separated for moment when the bus to a rickety ferry across the lake. Great pictures of eric shrugging out the window of the bus while i passed on a passenger boat. Once we arrived things were well, except the worry of our passports. We were afraid we would be stopped and held at the border (probably chile) when we tried to leave. So after the market, we jumped into a collectivo. Imagine a VW bus, packed to the gills with an auctioneer screaming out of the window. ¨San Pedro, Stadium, Cemetario!!!!!¨ We went to the US embassy, hoping to resolve the issue. Eric spoke to a women at the window via telephone, like a cordial visit to the prison. She then told us to dial another number, to connect with the consulate. So via phone eric asks what we can do or more importantly what can THEY do. Well, our tax dollars are well spent. This massive building, high security, and not a single American face or voice offered to help. We were given only directions to the tourist police. So a cab ride later we have filed a report. We need copies, but you have to go get copies. Then another collectivo to immigration. More copies. And now a four hour wait as some unkown bureaucrat decides whether to stamp our passport without fines. We have been told if we didn´t do this, we might be looking at some detention and large fines. So, long story short we are now officially US citizens with valid visas in Bolivia!!! ¿Que onda? Silly, silly, silly. Alas, we can now enjoy this wonderful city in all of its craziness and urban comforts. We are still debating the bike ride, so until then. Nos hablamos. Sus amamos Ustedes.

The Markets of La Paz

In the Black Market tiny indigenous lake fish, only big enough for soup, flop on blue tarps next to the larger Canadian introduced rainbow trout. Goat heads seem to laugh with enormous protruding teeth as we pass the butcher. Rounds of white cheese fill the air with a stink unfamiliar to us. Potatoes of every size and color lie next to mounds of peanuts waist high. Women prepare fresh squeezed orange juice for $0.15 a glass while others carve intricate designs into pineapples. Woven textiles hang from every street corner.

Meanwhile, in the Withes Market, Llama fetuses hang ready to supply luck to those who will pay. San Pedro cactus begs for a connecting with universe. Figurines of every shape and size besoty fortune and good will. Herbs, medicines, sacred wood, all available to cue whatever ails you at the time.

The streets are narrow, the alleys cramped. We walk seemingly forever through the shadowy maze that is the market.

Bad Fish?

Well, this morning we are in Copacabana, Bolivia. What are stark difference from Peru and we are just across the border. We spent the morning on the reed islands of Uros, of the shores of Puno. This was a strange mixture authentic indigenous life mixed with a theme park. Once again we could see the bright yellow contrast with a crystal blue sky. The islands are completely made of reeds stacked upon reeds. Of course, the traditional life continues but with tourism the mainstay. It was very nice nonetheless, reed boat rides, hot sun and cool lake breezes made for a very relaxing morning. Then we jumped on a bus for Copacabana. Bumpy, bumpy, bumpy. At the border, the final horrahs of a festival made travel congested to say the least and the bus driver finally told us all to get off and walk as he threw our bags from the moving bus. Bienvenidos a Bolivia Amigos!!! The streets were packed with people, music, foods, and carnival. So we found a dirty little joint, $2.50 per person per night and set out on the town. We found a great little restaurant with Trucha, the famous trout of Copacabana. Stuffed ourselves with food and beer and went to bed. And then....... well we woke up sick as dogs, went back to sleep and woke up a day and a half later, a bit weak and confused. At first we thought it was bad fish. But eric did some reading and we think it was the big meal and drinking that brought on our altitude sickness. So now, in a pleasantly crisp morning we are going to watch the big meals and alcohol and head for La Paz. Until then.

wow we have moved faster than the internet

So we send our apologies first. We have been having a hard time finding a good internet connecton. Anyway that being said. WOW!!!!! This place is amazing. Every turn is wonderful new adventure. We hit the ground running and haven´t stopped. On the third, we did the Sacred Valley. The trip travelled up out of Cusco in to Pisac on to Urumbamba and ended in Ollentaytambo. We were the only gringos on our tour and my spanish was put to the test as neither eric nor i could understand the guide´s english. We waited there in Ollentaytambo for about three hours for the train to Aguas Calientes. Coco leaves, some pisco, good conversation and a starry night passed the time. Yes we found the southern cross. Aguas calientes is very touristy, as it is the jumping off point for Machu Picchu. We had to pay $7 for a hostel, unbelievable haha. We got up at six and hiked 8kms up to Machu Picchu. Fairly grueling but not too bad. The Sun was just breaking over the mountains when we reached the entrance. We climbed in to the terraced corner and watched the mist blankets slowly slide off of the sleepy ruins. Absolutely amazing!!!!! Just the view, lush green mountains, mist rising with the morning sun, crystal blue sky, and the roaring river below. It truly was breath taking. We sat and wrote and slept for a couple of hours and then headed back down. This morning we woke up five to catch the train back to Ollentaytambo and then a collectivo (a small communal bus) to Ollentaytambo and then another back to Cusco just in time to catch the 12 o´clcock bus to puno. Here is a map to give you an idea. We just arrived about an hour ago. That ride alone was spectacular. The highest we were was around 3900 meters. And we cruised incredible valleys surrounded by golden amber colored mountains, colorados no? Again incredible blue sky but this time with this golden peaks below. Our lunch to us on the bus, guess what potatoes. That´s right we have eaten potatoes for 3 days straight and they are delicious. Sorry Jim we haven´t quite figured out which ones we are eating, but they are the delicious!!!! Then we moved through the dark afternoon to the shores of lake titicaca. Pheww!!! that´s alot to say. Anyway, generally we have noted wonderful butterflies, of which Eric knows a hand full. Beautiful wildflowers in the low more lush areas. However, most of the trip has been in the deserty landscapes. Very barren, few notable plants or animals unless you count llamas and alpaca. Guess what John there is TROUT everywhere. Next to potatoes I think its the regional dish of southern peru. Anyway, we promise to be better so that we don´t have to give long narratives. We send our love. Don´t worry we are loving every minute!!!!!

Buenos

Well, we have survived the initial anxious energies and tribulation of the opening moments of our adventure. We flew all night long to Lima and had a very short layover at four thirty in the morning. Eric will have to tell you about the wonderful flight from Lima to Cusco because, well I slept the whole way (One hour). We arrived here in Cusco early in the morning before the hustle and bustle. Magnificent blue skies, rugged brown mountains tower above our colonial indigenous collage. Llamas walking the streets behind bowler capped women draped in traditional panchos. By now the city is alive and well however, and everyone is ready to offer you information, or a tour, or a toy. The altitude is,....... well it is very high. 12000 ft. from sea level in about an hour. Amazing, your skin tingles, your head kind of floats and Eric and I can only muster a slow slosh of a walk. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that we are here and full of energy. Picture may come slowly as we haven´t found a computer able to take on our USB. Alas, all we have are words. No worries, between the two of us that will probably suffice, haha. We send our love.