Flamingos in the Desert

Time flies when you´re having fun or you don´t have internet access. I didn´t realize how long its been since I´ve updated and so much as happened in between. First of all, Sarah, Amanda´s friend from home, arrived without a hitch in Santiago a day before the volcano ash covered Europe. We spent the day with her in Santiago, perhaps enjoying a few too many pisco sours and a couple bottles of wine, but what better way to welcome her to South America. Alcohol and getting on a 23 hour bus ride to the north of Chile. YES, please!

So we took the bus to San Pedro way at the top of Chile near the Bolivian border. Thankfully, I only had to endure 7 hours of it sitting next to a woman soring in my face. I did nudge her but she went right back at it. We arrived in San Pedro with one intention, to book a tour across the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia and that´s exactly what we did when we got there. We had heard some not so great things about the tour operators, that they drive drunk and recklessly, but we had a very good recommendation for a Canadian in Santiago and it turned out great. San Pedro did have a ton of really cool things to see around the area like geysers and salt lakes, but we were on a time crunch trying to make it to Cusco for the Inca Trail.

The next morning we started our jeep adventure into Bolivia. The jeeps have a guide/driver and then 6 or 7 people in the jeep with all of our luggage strapped to the roof of the jeep. We had to wait a while to get stamped out of Chile, but crossing into Bolivia was rather easy. As an American citizen I do require a visa for Bolivia, but the driver of the jeep was allowed to hold my passport until we got to Uyuni and I could go to immigration there.

We crossed the Dali Rock Desert visiting first the White Lagoon and then the Green Lagoon, both very beautiful. The next stop was a thermal bath. Luckily I had worn my swimsuit under my clothes to enjoy the hot water, unlucky that I did not pack clothes to change into in my day bag and a had to sit in my wet suit in the freezing temperatures. We then went to some geysers and saw the mud bubbling and smoking. Finally we did arrive at our hostel for the night and I was able to change into some dry clothes. The hostel wasn´t really even a hostel since it didn´t have any heat or electricity! Doubled up on the blankets that night and even wore my hat to bed, since like a good Wisconsite I know that heat escapes through the top of your head.

The highlight of the first day was after lunch when we visited the red lagoon and there were LLAMAS and FLAMINGOS! What are flamingos doing in the Bolivian desert? I have no idea since my spanish is still subpar, but there are three kinds that live there.

The second day was continuing through the Dali Rock Desert visiting the stone tree and four more lagoons. More flamingos, more llamas, a fox and a really cute rabbit. We stopped to see a volcano that was smoking but it was difficult to see since it was cloudy out. It was a long day driving and it was really cold. I´m really glad that I had my winter jacket, hat and mittens. Just at sunset we arrived at the salt hostel where everything was made of salt. The beds, the walls, the tables and chairs. Really cool, and there was hot showers!


Couldn´t wait for the next day on the salt flats!! We woke up really early before the sunrise to see it come up over the salt. It wasn´t the best sunrise I´ve ever seen since it was still a little overcast, but it was still a great experience. The salt flats are a salt desert that covers like 12,000 kilometers. Not sure what that is in miles, but its freakin´ huge. We spent a lot of time taking pictures of the sun and using the vastness of the salt to take a lot of really fun photos using perspective angles. We then went to an island in the salt flat that was covering in cacti and did a little bit of hiking around the island. The sun finally did come out for good and we stopped to take some more pictures. The best part of the day was when our driver stopped in the middle of the salt flat and we ate a picnic lunch there just enjoying the scenery and the surrealness of it all. We were the only jeep that stopped to eat there so I felt pretty lucky.

The trip ended in Uyuni and I was all set to head over to immigration to get my visa so we could take the night bus to La Paz. However, that´s when our plan blew up in our face when we found out it was Sunday and immigration was closed. Ugh, that was the wrost thing that could have happened since the last thing we wanted to do was spend the night in Uyuni, especially not after someone threw a rock at Amanda. But the fates were on our side and immigration opened especially for me to get my visa and we were able to take the night train to La Paz.

La Paz is a crazy busy city. We were told many times to hold on to our bags and watch our belongings. Even just walking from the bus station to the hostel, my bag was sprayed with mustard as a distraction for me to set my stuff down to clean it off and then whoever steals my stuff. HA HA, I have read my lonely planet and I knew the trick and I just kept walking. We spent the 2 days in La Paz shopping in the Witches Market buying as many souvenirs with llamas on them that would fit into our bags. The hostel we stayed at was really cool as well and had a microbrewery in it. At night there was also a poker tournament and of course having never played poker in my life, I joined the tournament. And won. on a pair of 2´s. Free pitcher of beer!


Next stop was Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. This is the most massive lake I have ever seen. We even had to take a ferry across it to get to Copacabana because it is just too big to go around. We had absolutely the best hostel ever in Copacabana too! It wasn´t even a hostel really, it was like a cabin in the hills overlooking the lake. It had hammocks for us to relax on and 3 beds with the best shower ever and all ours! We spend the day enjoying the view and had the best dinner that night of some stuffed trout.

The next day we went out to the Island of the Sun in the middle of the lake that is very important in Incan history. However, there was a hike to the ruins on the island and we were the only ones that didn´t wear proper foot attire. Not to be deterred, we did the hike anyways and it was really great to see some of the culture and history of the islands.

We took a bus the next day to Puno in Peru to see Lake Titicaca from the other side. Puno is a lot bigger than Copacabana and it is a city that has to grow on you. Also, we went from the best hostel to possibly the worst one yet. It was just one night but I´m pretty sure we were the only ones there. We did end up enjoying Puno and took a half day trip to the floating islands. There is a large group of people that made these islands with the reeds from the lake and actually live there. It was really cool to visit and one of families even dressed Sarah and I up in the traditional clothing. It was really a great trip and a very interesting lifestyle.

Yesterday afternoon we left Puno for Cusco on what was meant to be a 6 hour bus ride. 8 hours later we arrived in Cusco at midnight. The bus ride was terrible, probably as bad as the 25 hour one with the kid throwing up next to me. At one point this man got on and was shouting about something for an hour and a half. It took us 45 minutes to realize that he was selling cream to whiten your skin and toothbrushes.

Today was a planning and relaxing day. We had to get all of our money in soles to pay for the rest of the Inca Trail and mentally perpare ourselves for 4 days of hiking. I can´t believe its actually time for the trek either because that means my trip is nearly half way over!

Bikes and Wines

For those of you who may have missed my facebook status the other day this is what it said: Last full day in argentina! Thanks for the delicious steak, beautiful wine, and the gorgeous men! It's been a great 3 weeks. Which means I´m now in Chile!! Haven´t felt any aftershocks yet or seen any earthquake destruction either.

It was really sad to leave Argentina after spending 3 weeks there, but its always exciting to move on to a new place. We´ve had a great last week or so...


We arrived in Salta to the rain after just leaving the rain in Cordoba. After the nicest bus trip ever there (seriously, get on the bus, eat, sleep, wake up, eat, arrive) we ended up wandering the city trying to find our hostel since the map given out by them was terrible. The only way to be positive about walking an hour with 40 pounds on our backs would be to consider it training for the Inca Trail. We made the most of our time in Salta even in the rain since it continued the next day as well. Finally on our 3rd there we got out of the rain and took a day trip up to the Humahuaca Valley. Most amazing trip ever. We were driving in the clouds and suddenly they just broke and the sun started to shine and all the mountains were different colors. The picture is of me at the Seven Colored Mountain. There were cacti everywhere and I´ve never seen a real giant cactus in real life so I was obviously really excited! We spent the day enjoying the scenery and visiting little villages of the only ´true Argentines´ left. The tour was great too because it was only 4 people, the driver and the guide. In the afternoon the driver could tell we were dragging a little and offered us some cocoa leaves to chew. They help you stay awake and are meant to help with the altitude. It was not tasty, but not nasty either. And I stayed awake.

We left Salta ready for some great weather and we had some in the Mendoza wine country. Most importantly on the ride to Mendoza on the bus, we played BINGO! and Amanda won a free bottle of wine. We didn´t understand all the numbers, but I was right next to the guy calling them so I was sneak a look if we didn´t know what he just said. We had had some great wines in Argentina up to this point, but this ia the area where most of the vineyards and winerys are and a place that I have been looking forward to going since I booked this trip. We arrived and met up with Jo, a woman we had met in Cordoba, showered and couldn´t wait to get out to Maipu where many of the winerys are.


Maipu was fantastic! Most of the backpackers do a tour called ¨Bikes and Wines¨ and that´s literally what it is. We rented our bikes, got a map and took off to visit the local hot spots. First stop was an olive oil place that also offered a shot of absinthe. My insides have never burned so much, yuck! We also visited the wine museum to make sure we were getting some local culture as well. Not really, they just had a free tasting, but it was cool so see some of the old equipment. We rode a while down the road and then made the best decison of our lives, to eat lunch at one of the vineyards. I had the most delicious steak ever with carmelized onions and bleu cheese, mouth heaven. I wish I would have taken a picture of it so everyone who read this would be jealous of it! The restaurant overlooked the grape fields as well and it was just a great afternoon enjoyed amazingly delicious food and a bottle of wine in the sun.

We spend the next day wandering the city of Mendoza. There are many different plazas and squares in the city and then we wandering around this giant park that is there too. Kind of a lazy day, but definitely necessary after the wine the previous day. That night we met a friend of a friend that is part of a consortium of vineyards in Mendoza and they have a local tasting room which was right by the hostel. We went over there and met her and enjoyed a glass of wine. It always nice to be put touch with people who know someone that you know or another American since it helps with the homesickness which always arises at some point.


Our last day in Mendoza we had wanted to go out to another area of winerys and do a bike tour there, but we were informed the area was under construction and unable to ride bikes there. And really we wanted to ride bikes. So we went back to Maipu since we hadn´t made it to all the winerys out there. Really awesome day again! We rode further out and could see the mountains that surround Mendoza. We went to one really small winery that many don´t make it out too and had our own private tasting. The woman that worked there also told us about a beer patio that locals go to if we didn´t want anymore wine. We had lunch at the same place that we ate at the other day because the food was so good and it was our last day in Argentina and wanted to treat ourselves. This time I went for the chicken and brie with pesto. Yum! At that point we were done with the wine and went over to the beer patio and enjoyed a beer.


The next morning we boarded our bus to cross the Andes into Chile. The border crossing was a little scary. We all had to get off the bus and watch our bags go through a scanner and then we all had our carryons on a long table that a dog went back and forth in front of. I was nervous I wouldn´t make it across the border with my beef jerky in my bag, but I think the dog was looking for drugs and not meat.

We arrived in Valpariso, Chile and immediately were in love. The city sits on several hills overlooking the ocean. All the houses are painted bright colors and it has a real bohemian feel to the city. The hills are really steep too and there are 100 year old elevators that you can take up and down the hills. We wandered the city that afternoon and had a really great meal at a vegetarian place. We had spoiled ourselves here and upgraded to a double room. Best decision ever! Two single beds and couch. High ceiling and very cutesy decor. So glad we went there too because the breakfast was the best ever! Homemade rolls and jelly, scrambled eggs and a huge platter of fresh cut up fruit. I was happy to eat everything in sight! We visited Pablo Neruda´s home there and really just spent most of our time walking the hills, taking the elevators and enjoying the views and the graffiti murals.

Sadly, we had to leave and arrived in Santiago yesterday. On the bus here I didn´t even know we had entered the city because there are no highrises or anything. We walked around the downtown area and its nice but I´m glad we aren´t spending too much time here. Amanda is at the airport now picking up her friend Sarah that will be joining us for the remainder of our adventure! We have to run up the rest of Chile and across Bolivia into Peru for the Inca Trail by the 25th of this month so we have some busy days ahead of us!

Beauty and the Beef

If Bariloche is just the tip of Patagonia, then I really can't imagine how much more beautiful it gets by going further south. However, we decided that we didn't have enough time to see everything that we would want to see in the amount of time that we have for Argentina. So it looks like there will have to be another trip to Argentina in the future.

The rest of our stay in Bariloche was great. We woke up the next morning after eating a delicious meal of tandorri trout, a regional speciality, to a gray and cloudy sky. Thinking the day was shot, we wandering into town going from chocolate shop to chocolate shop hoping to collect as many free samples as possible. As we were stuffing our faces, the clouds broke and we decided to work off some of those calories. We heard about a walk to a waterfall and decided to try our luck there and actually find a waterfall. We did. It was a nice waterfall, but the walk was shorter than we thought it was going to be so we set off on one to a viewpoint. Wow, that was the walk we were looking for. Very steep climb, but the view was fantastic overlooking the lakes and mountains surrounding us. Definitely worth climbing over rocks to get there.

The next day we woke up to similar weather. Luck didn't hold out that day and the clouds never really cleared. However, we did find a luge. Very, very excited about that. And the weather was a perfect excuse to enjoy some cheese fondue. Yum!!!!!!! I really don't think its ever possible to eat too much cheese.

Saturday morning we got up really early to take the bus to a little hippie community about 2 hours south of Bariloche called El Bolson. They have a really awesome craft market on the weekend that I'm so glad we decided to go to. I bought all sorts of goodies for myself. El Bolson was absolutely gorgeous. The mountains are much higher and snow capped. Its not right on a lake like Bariloche, but doesn't lack any of its beauty. The town is only around 22,000 which was fantastic to be able to cross the street without worring about getting run down.


Sunday was probably my favorite day of the entire trip so far. We had booked a horseback riding trip in the Andes for that morning. Again it was cloudy when we woke up and I thought it was going to be a bust. AH HA! Just as we started to ride up into the mountains the clouds started to lift and we could see all the beautiful valleys and farms and mountains. At one point while riding we were even above some of the clouds. Riding was amazing, the area grows a lot of blackberries and we could pull them off the bushes while we were riding. I loved everything about this day, it was one of those days that I really can't believe that this is what I'm doing.

However, since that was my best day, it had to be followed by the worst day. Not really the worst and I feel bad complaining, but it was pretty terrible. We had booked a bus to take us up to Cordoba which was going to take 25 hours. And the bus only had semi-camma, which really isn't so bad, but it was since we were sitting next a little boy who was throwing up. And then him mom would feed him more cakes and let him play in aisle with his trucks and just be plain annoying. For 25 hours. I could not have been more happier to arrive in Cordoba.

Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina and has a really large student population. We were exhausted when we arrived at the hostel and coudln't wait to shower. But we had to wait a little longer since the water was out when we got here. Finally we did get cleaned up and set out to explore. We went to a museum and walked around the city. The higlight of the day though was back at the hostel. They had arranged for an acoustic band to come and play on the rooftop. They were amazing, played some bassanova, jazz, samba and sang in English and Spanish. It was a really relaxing way to enjoy the evening.


We booked a day trip for the next day to take us to Alta Gracia and the surrounding Calamuchita Valley. Alta Gracia has an old Jesuit site that was really cool to explore and interesting to learn about. The real reason everyone goes to this town though is the Che Guevara Museum that is there. It is actually in the house that his family moved to in the area when they had to leave the city to treat his asthma. Putting my feelings for Che aside, the museum was really great. A lot of pictures from his life and it was set up really tastefully and not exploiting him like the rest of the world. We talked about this later, but about how Che would hate how he has been commercialized and people wear shirts with his face and don't even understand what it means.

The rest of the excursion was really nice and super nice to not have to think about what bus to get on and where to have to be and how to get there. We had an english speaking guide as well, so we actually knew what we were looking at too. The last spot for the day was the community of Villa Generla Belgrano. Its a German community was establishe after the second world war and its so weird to be in. It kind of looks like New Glarus but with everything in Spanish. Its set up kind of for tourists, but its so strange to see all these beer steins and bavarian type building in the middle of Argentina.

Yesterday was a really great day in Cordoba. We met up with Lucas, a local that we had met in Sao Paulo and had exchanged info with. He was lucky enough to show us around the city and be our guide/translator for the day. Its always great being with a local too since we found out much more about the city than we would have on our own. We walked past many of the places that we had the other day, but now we actually knew what we were looking at and the history of it. Super fun! We went to an art museum and walked around a pond in a park and capped off the great day with a few brews. And no matter what Lucas would say, his English was really great and sooooooo much better than the Spanglish that I speak.

We had a BBQ on the roof of the hostel last night. Beef, Beef, and more BEEF! We haven't had a BBQ in a while so it was nice to get back on track with enjoying some of the best in the world. And it was cooked just the way I like it. Pink!

Today we woke up to rain. Probably just going to relax and maybe go see Alice in Wonderland. Getting on the night bus to Salta this evening. In executive class. We ride in style now after the last experience. I really just think there should be a special family area where kids should be kept so they don't bother everyone else. Like at church.

I'm continuing to love Argentina more and more each day. The one issue that I do have is that they don't recycle. A little part of me dies every time I put my plastic bottle in the garbage. The litter too is a little bit of an issue, but its the recycling that I really stress about. Brazil was really great about it and had set up bins for plastic and glass everywhere. But if thats is my only complaint, well then, I really am enjoying myself.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Easter and finds all the eggs the Easter Bunny hid!