Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/342383 We are still really well and having a great time! Just a quick update as we are rushing off soon into the Andes (as you do!!). We had a great last week in Buenos Aires... lots of cycling, walking, shopping and of course eating and drinking! Unfortunately on the last night I was clearing up in the lounge and accidently spilt some wine on the laptop keyboard. The keyboard didn´t appreciate it and pa... Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/341768 I chose Buenos Aires as my first stop on this big trip because it was an obvious perfect location as a base for travel in Latin America, and especially for travel in and around Argentina. But probably the most important reason I chose BA as my first stop, was to be able to DETOX at home at my parents place. I thought that a couple of days at home, resting, relaxing and taking it easy would be just... Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/341941 May 5, 2008 This is a travel day. We were picked up at Los Notros by their van driver and taken to the El Calafate airport. Los Notros arranged for us to have first class VIP treatment, including a wait at the VIP lounge at the airport. That sounded pretty good until we got there and I realized that the airport was about half the size of the Odessa airport 20 years ago. I didn’t see any way there ... Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/340898 May 3, 2008 Got up early and finished packing up so we could run down to the buffet breakfast then meet Alex and the driver at 7:30. Our room had an English language Buenos Aires Herald on the door that we took to breakfast. Lead stories were so typical of Argentina—farmers are threatening a strike over export duties, gasoline supplies are being affected, and a volcano erupted in Chile that was af... Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/340481 May 2, 2008-We left Houston on May 1 (Thursday)at about 9:30 pm and flew for about 10 hours into Buenos Aires. The theory is that you get dinner and then you sleep. For some of us that theory worked—Susan, Mark and Melissa all seemed to conk out pretty well. But I don’t fly that way—there were two movies that I had not seen that I decide I needed to take in—“The Bucket List” and “Charlie Wilson’s ... Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/337953 We hired bikes today to nip around parts of the city we hadn’t seen yet. Firstly we rode down to La Boca on our bright orange bikes where we had been on our city tour last week. Little did we know that as we cycled further into the depths of Boca we found some dodgy areas... The philosophy was ‘keep peddling and don’t stop for the red lights or to look at the map!!’ Finding our way out of Boca led... Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/315654 Whew, I'm finally in South America! I can't actually believe it. This is madness!! Stepping off the plane at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires was surreal. It definitely felt like a new continent - everything outside was hazy in the sun, the people around me looked different and all the signs were obviously in Spanish! The fun really began at baggage reclaim... after standing there like a fool for ab... Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/337209 (MF)We can't believe a week has passed since we moved into our apartment! Feeling like locals we have been immersed in the local life! I could really live here for a year or two, I just love Buenos Aires! Our apartment is right on the main square in the San Telmo district which is famous for tango most evenings. We have enjoyed many glasses of wine in the square watching the tango. Such a fantasti... Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/342395 these are some various photos of recoletta markets, leo and zacs going away party at the clan hostel. as well as the other hostel that i stayed in for a little while. oh and there are a couple of me at my spanish school. well ive done BA to death. this coming week i am heading south to Bariloche, its in the Andes mountain range sepeating argentina and chile and im going to hike, fish, kayack, and ... Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/334315 We arrived in San Telmo at 10am on the dot this morning to move into our new apartment! It is soooo nice to have our own space after so many hotel rooms. The whole process went really well and we were in and settled really quickly! It is a one bedroom apartment right on the main square in the trendy area of San Telmo. I can currently hear tango music and applause as onlookers watch the free tango ... Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/336743 Ok let me just fill you in. if you didnt already know soccor in south america is bigger than christ....just about. they are fanatical about their footbal to the point where if you walked through la boca (home of the boca juniors) wearing a riverplate top there is a real possibility of serious harm to you. the standard proceedure (for tourists as well) is that if you like another team you must turn... Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/335540 Bueno...So I arrive in Argentina. I decided to take a taxi, because I am cheap and the hired cars, remises, cost about 7 dollars more or about 20 pesos. The taxi driver was pretty friendly, although he did have a serious nervous tick where he would rub his hands vigorously back and forth on the steering like he was sanding it or something. A little creepy, but I think Buenos Aires traffic could dr... Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/335511 Salta was the most beautiful place I have ever visited. We went on several tours across different mountain ranges in the Andes... the scenery was like nothing I´ve ever experienced, totally stunning. There were multicoloured mountains, rocks, different patterns, colours, formations; cacti everywhere, thousands of huge climbs. I can´t even describe to you how amazing it was... I have loads of reall... Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/332591 It's been 10 days since I returned. My bacterial friends that I brought back with me have, as far as I can tell, left me for good. I feel better everyday. Hence, I now am beginning to look back upon my trip fondly rather than just focuses on why that cheese and salami sandwich made me feel so bad. I thought of eating salami still disgusts me. Intellectually, I know that the sickness and the salami... Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/336734 The recoletta cemetry is unique because its kinda like an exlusive club obviously you gotta go to church and obiously you gotta have money to get in here. people buy little what i call death condos. then as people in the family fall off the perch they get to hang out in the death condo. and theres a basement for when it gets a bit full. but it doesnt have its draw backs theres no room for a pool t... Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/331986 Hello again, Yesterday I arrived in Puerto Iguazu which you may already know if you´ve had nothing better to do than read my last log. It poured with rain here yesterday and the Lonely Planet I left on the windowsill to dry is now totally soaked from rain that came through the window. Perhaps I should throw it in the falls tomorrow as it has such an affinity for water. Today we; Niv the Israeli an... Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/336731 San Telmo is another area of Buenos Aries it is similar to la boca in that it has street markets on sundays and has bric a brac as well as nice bars and shops to look at. the architecture is nice in san telmo and it has a nice laid back feel to it. the hawkers are not to pushy the prices arent bad and there is some really individual stuff here. i liked it. i hope you like the photos. Puerto Madero... Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/326930 Left the hotel early to head to Argentina. Igazzu falls has definitely been the hightlight so far despite breaking my camera. Reached Buenos Aires and I instantly fell in love with the city. Today was a free day so us ladies spent the morning shopping! I made a mental note to come back to BA once i qualify because the bags and shoes are amazing and so cheap!!! money goes so far here! The city is s... Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/331019 I think today will go into the children's memory as one of the highlight for the whole trip. For the first time, they rode on horses without anyone pulling the rein of the horse and they all galloped on the horse (even Joani). The day started with a nice traditional breakfast on the ranch. A spread we really like here is called Dulce de Leche, which is very much like soft carmel. It`s spread over... Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mytripjournal.com/ev/336725 Boca is an area of Buenos aries that is relatively low income and is not the sort of place you would wander around. but by the port they have created this really cool tourist area called ´casas de colors´doesnt take a rocket scientist to realise that it means houses of colors. on saturdays this little place is alive with so many different bars, live music, tango shows, arts and crafts (which i wi... http://www.mytripjournal.com/explore/Argentina