Hey Everyone,
I am sitting at Hostel Peter Pan (really) in Puerto Igauzú, Misiones, Argentina, and because yesterday was amazing enough for two days; I decided to spend the day here uploading pictures, writing to you, and handwashing my clothes.
Yesterday I woke up at 6:55 to catch the first bus to Parque Nacional Igauzú. I was on the bus with some other ambitous tourists and mostly the park staff. I got to the park as it opened around 9 to beat the lazy tourist rush, which I did for the most part. There are 3 main trails, (San Martin the Island was closed), that one can go on in the park. The Paseo Inferior (1:30hrs), Superior (1hr), and Garganta del Diablo (1:30hrs) (the main show). I started with the Paseo Inferior which looked up at the waterfalls. This was my favorite trail of the three because you could see the how big the waterfalls actually were. There was a section you could avoid because it got you wet, but I decided to take that route, and got completely soaked. Luckily, my clothes dried in an hour. I then took the Paseo Superior, which walked along and over the tops of the waterfalls. Pretty amazing overall. I then grabed the small train over to Garganta del Diablo. There was a metal grate path walking over the river that fed the waterfall. The whole path was over the water, which was pretty amazing. I got to the end, and despite the misty cloud, I could see the vastness of the waterfall, some 82 meters high. It was a little foggy out, so I probably didn^t get the best view, but I was satisfied. I then walked over to the Sendero Macuco, an of the beaten path, path, where I figured that fatty tourists wouldn´t visit. I was right. The 3.5 Km path, one way, was pretty deep in the jungle. At the end of the path, there was a fork, one that went up to the top of the waterfall and one leading to the bottom. I took the bottom route first. I got to a pretty pristine waterfall witha small pool at the base. When I looked at the pool, something inside me said, ^go swimming,^ at first I looked around and said no thats crazy. But it looked so great, and I only live once right?, so somehow I ended up undressed and swimming in the pool. Nobody was around (well for the most part), and the water was warm. I got to the base of the fall, and spread my arms out and looked up at the massive fall. (I didn´t go under, cause I would have died) This was probably one of the greatest experiences so far. At this point I realized how much I could do with my trip, and how much fun I am going to have. Not like I haven´t had fun already, but it was pretty eyeopening. After my quick dip, I headed up to the top, looked around, and started walking. Another man was near by, and happened to be making the hike back as well. (He saw me swimming, opps). He was from Puerto Rico, his name was Santiago (get this) Oliver. We spoke spanish for a good hour, and he had some pretty interesting things to say about the US. Talking with him was great because I realized my spanish wasn´t as bad as I thought. I have found it difficult to comprehend the Argentine castellano (spanish) so far, but talking with Santaigo made me feel better. I am working on understanding more, and once I get to a farm (more news) I will be able to get more practice. So yesterday was pretty amazing.
I found out the other day that I am going to start working on a family farm (organic, wwoof) in Jujuy, Argentina. I am taking the bus to Salta tomorrow (23hrs) , then getting a 2 hour connection to Jujuy Sunday. I will spend the night there, then catch a bus that will take me an hour out of town, where Martin (the farmer) will pick me up with horses. (pretty amazing) I am physched to be out farming finally, and am about ready to stop my frivolous (well $25 dollar a day) lifestyle. I am ready to do some hard labor and work with a family. The family is vegetarian, don´t eat bread, and only eat what they grow (exept rice), and I am pretty excited for my new diet. I am anxious to be back in shape, after 2 weeks of only walking. I will probably not have internet starting Monday, so this will probably be my last post for a while. Unless I come into town once a week with Martin.
If I don´t post for a while, it means I am having fun, and havn´t run from the farm yet.
Talk to you later,
Oliver
I wasn^t exactly determined to go to Igauzú before
Friday, September 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Iguazù Falls
Hola,
This one will be short.
Yesterday, a group of people were leaving to Iguazu falls, and invited me. At first I thought ¨no i should stay here and figure it out before I go.¨ But then I realized that it was a perfect place just to get up and go to. I didnt need any reservations, so we went to the bus station, and bought the night bus to Iguazù. I am here now and settled in, and tomorrow I am off to see the falls. I am pretty excited to see the falls, and will probably not stay here too long. I am in contact with a guy who has a farm in Jujuy, Argentina, so I will probably head there in a few days. I hope all is well for everyone, and dont worry because I will take pictures.
Hasta Luego,
Oliver
This one will be short.
Yesterday, a group of people were leaving to Iguazu falls, and invited me. At first I thought ¨no i should stay here and figure it out before I go.¨ But then I realized that it was a perfect place just to get up and go to. I didnt need any reservations, so we went to the bus station, and bought the night bus to Iguazù. I am here now and settled in, and tomorrow I am off to see the falls. I am pretty excited to see the falls, and will probably not stay here too long. I am in contact with a guy who has a farm in Jujuy, Argentina, so I will probably head there in a few days. I hope all is well for everyone, and dont worry because I will take pictures.
Hasta Luego,
Oliver
Monday, September 14, 2009
Buenos Aires: Food, Music, Parks, Clubs, People, and Chaos
Hey Everyone,
I am on my 13th day of travel, (inlcuding the terrible day of flight), and I am still of to a good start. My past 10 days have been crazy. I am trying to get a good dose of green, so I have gone to every park I can find. There are some amazing parks, however a lot are ridden with dog poop. Last Monday I went to drum show called ``la bomba de tiempo,`` it was amazing. I went with a a guy from Amsterdam, Holland, a woman from Australia, and a girl from London, England. A pretty eclectic group, eh? Everything I do seems to be involved with someone from another part of the world, clearly a part of international travel. I had my first night on the town as well. In Argentina, you usually don´t go out untill atleat 2 am, so after a pre party at the hostel, we went to a bar at around 2:30. The group I went to the club consisted of 1 Irish woman, 1 English girl, 3 Argentines, 2 Californians, a Peruvian, and a Chilean. It was a totally new scene being at a bar. There was music, dancing, and everything you could imagine in the wee hours of the night, I will let your imagination wonder.
On Sunday, September 6th, I went to the San Telmo street fair, which was amazing. It spanned at leat 10 blocks down a closed off street. There were thousands of people there. I had amazing jugo de naranja (orange juice) freshly squeezed. I also visted the famous Recoletta cemetary last week. It was unlike any cemetary I have ever seen, for there was no grass what so ever. The most afluent of Buenos Aires families are burried in huge granite housing in the cemetary, it is quite the sight. I went over the La Boca, a less afluent neighborhood of Buenos Aires, and saw the colorful buidlings, for which that neighborhood is famous.
On the subway the other day, I was crammed into a corning, next to this lady reading a book. Being curious, or maybe nosy, I started reading her book (in spanish) I recognized the names and the story, and realized it was Sputnik Sweetheart by Murukami. I showed her the book I was reading The Underground - Murkukami, and told her how much I loved Murukami`s other books. She said it was her first Murukami, and I told her which other ones to read. Then a guy next to us started talking about his favorite Murukami books, it was as if we were all supposed to meet on the subway. This serendipitous event pretty much made my day. I went to the Ecolgocial Reserve, which was created by dumping a tone of waste products, from torn down houses, in the river, and miraculously, seeds from Uruguay came, implanted themselves in the waste, and grew a ton of trees and plants. I have done a ton of things so far in less than two weeks, and I have only just started. I am figuring plans to go to a farm in Jujuy, but have not yet made the arrangements. I could be leaving as soon as Wednesday the 16th.
Hope all is well,
Oliver
I am on my 13th day of travel, (inlcuding the terrible day of flight), and I am still of to a good start. My past 10 days have been crazy. I am trying to get a good dose of green, so I have gone to every park I can find. There are some amazing parks, however a lot are ridden with dog poop. Last Monday I went to drum show called ``la bomba de tiempo,`` it was amazing. I went with a a guy from Amsterdam, Holland, a woman from Australia, and a girl from London, England. A pretty eclectic group, eh? Everything I do seems to be involved with someone from another part of the world, clearly a part of international travel. I had my first night on the town as well. In Argentina, you usually don´t go out untill atleat 2 am, so after a pre party at the hostel, we went to a bar at around 2:30. The group I went to the club consisted of 1 Irish woman, 1 English girl, 3 Argentines, 2 Californians, a Peruvian, and a Chilean. It was a totally new scene being at a bar. There was music, dancing, and everything you could imagine in the wee hours of the night, I will let your imagination wonder.
On Sunday, September 6th, I went to the San Telmo street fair, which was amazing. It spanned at leat 10 blocks down a closed off street. There were thousands of people there. I had amazing jugo de naranja (orange juice) freshly squeezed. I also visted the famous Recoletta cemetary last week. It was unlike any cemetary I have ever seen, for there was no grass what so ever. The most afluent of Buenos Aires families are burried in huge granite housing in the cemetary, it is quite the sight. I went over the La Boca, a less afluent neighborhood of Buenos Aires, and saw the colorful buidlings, for which that neighborhood is famous.
On the subway the other day, I was crammed into a corning, next to this lady reading a book. Being curious, or maybe nosy, I started reading her book (in spanish) I recognized the names and the story, and realized it was Sputnik Sweetheart by Murukami. I showed her the book I was reading The Underground - Murkukami, and told her how much I loved Murukami`s other books. She said it was her first Murukami, and I told her which other ones to read. Then a guy next to us started talking about his favorite Murukami books, it was as if we were all supposed to meet on the subway. This serendipitous event pretty much made my day. I went to the Ecolgocial Reserve, which was created by dumping a tone of waste products, from torn down houses, in the river, and miraculously, seeds from Uruguay came, implanted themselves in the waste, and grew a ton of trees and plants. I have done a ton of things so far in less than two weeks, and I have only just started. I am figuring plans to go to a farm in Jujuy, but have not yet made the arrangements. I could be leaving as soon as Wednesday the 16th.
Hope all is well,
Oliver
Saturday, September 5, 2009
From Buenos Aires
Hey everyone,
I am sitting in my hostel, at the computer, after a long day walking around town. I am working on uploading some pictures, but it might be a few days. When I got off the plane at 9:30 in the morning thursday, I had no idea where I was going to stay. I got a bus to Buenos Aires from the airport, and arrived in BA with no clue of what I was to do. I started walking, with no specific direction in mind, and got out my handy guide book, and looked at hostels in different neighborhoods. From Puerto Madero, I ended up walking down Sante Fe Avenue all the way to Palermo Viejo, a barrio a good few miles walk. I found the Bait Hostel, a door with no sign, and only a buzzer. With a little bit of weight off my shoulders both physically and emotionally, I got the chance to settle into a new area and explore a little. I was a litle thrown off at first because of the vast differences between Seattle and Buenos Aires, but I am much more acclimated now a few days into the trip. Today I read in the one of Buenos Aire`s beautiful parks called Plaza Holinda. I sat on a painted bench in the sun, with the green glass, red gravel paths, and amazing statues surrounding me. Pretty much heaven, today was not at all like the first day. My castellano accent is getting a little better, the porteños still speak to quickly, but I am learning. I am going to watch the Argentina vs Brazil game now with some people I met at the hostel. Hasta Luego,
Oliver
I am sitting in my hostel, at the computer, after a long day walking around town. I am working on uploading some pictures, but it might be a few days. When I got off the plane at 9:30 in the morning thursday, I had no idea where I was going to stay. I got a bus to Buenos Aires from the airport, and arrived in BA with no clue of what I was to do. I started walking, with no specific direction in mind, and got out my handy guide book, and looked at hostels in different neighborhoods. From Puerto Madero, I ended up walking down Sante Fe Avenue all the way to Palermo Viejo, a barrio a good few miles walk. I found the Bait Hostel, a door with no sign, and only a buzzer. With a little bit of weight off my shoulders both physically and emotionally, I got the chance to settle into a new area and explore a little. I was a litle thrown off at first because of the vast differences between Seattle and Buenos Aires, but I am much more acclimated now a few days into the trip. Today I read in the one of Buenos Aire`s beautiful parks called Plaza Holinda. I sat on a painted bench in the sun, with the green glass, red gravel paths, and amazing statues surrounding me. Pretty much heaven, today was not at all like the first day. My castellano accent is getting a little better, the porteños still speak to quickly, but I am learning. I am going to watch the Argentina vs Brazil game now with some people I met at the hostel. Hasta Luego,
Oliver
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Leaving Tomorrow
Hey everyone,
I am not anywhere too exciting yet, for I am in my family room at my house in Seattle. But I leave tomorrow on a flight to Maimi at 1:15 from Seattle. Then fly, overnight, from Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it all begins. I have been in contact with my teacher's (Alison Ray) husband's cousin (or something along those lines), and he offered to give me a place to stay for the first few nights in Buenos Aires. It will give me some time to acclimate to my location and a friendly face to meet up with when I first land in BA (Buenos Aires). I'm going to be overly ambitous with the blog for the first part of the trip, so don't get too used to this.
Oliver
I am not anywhere too exciting yet, for I am in my family room at my house in Seattle. But I leave tomorrow on a flight to Maimi at 1:15 from Seattle. Then fly, overnight, from Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it all begins. I have been in contact with my teacher's (Alison Ray) husband's cousin (or something along those lines), and he offered to give me a place to stay for the first few nights in Buenos Aires. It will give me some time to acclimate to my location and a friendly face to meet up with when I first land in BA (Buenos Aires). I'm going to be overly ambitous with the blog for the first part of the trip, so don't get too used to this.
Oliver
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