Cafayate

Cafayate has some of the highest vineyards in the world (almost at 2000 meters) and a very dry climate which is ideal for white wine.

Purmamarca and Salinas Grandes

Pachamama

TBE soon!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachamama

Tilcara

Tilcara is a beautiful town in the Northwest of Argentina about 4 hours from Salta. It is extremely relaxing and with astonishing views. There are 1000 year old Pucara ruins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pucar%C3%A1_de_Tilcara

Tren A Las Nubes: Picasa picture link

Salta: Dia de la virgen

Big day for Salta with over 500 000 pilgrims coming from the region of Salta and Jujuy.

Salta: Horseback Riding

Salta: Mummies and Incas

On Sundays, Salta has an amazing food, arts, and craft fair which takes over most of the city. I was looking at necklaces and one had an interesting symbol on it. I was told it was an Inca symbol representing material and spiritual protection while traveling. After my not so great bus journeys, I thought it might be wise to wear it and to pray to the Inca gods.
I went to the most amazing museum called MaaM. It’s a museum about 3 children who were discovered on top of a volcano (at 6200m) in perfect conditions in 1999. They had been sacrificed to the Inca Gods over 500 years ago. They are preserved in glacier like conditions and they are said to be the best-preserved mummies to date.

Mendoza to Salta: 2 near deaths experiences in 22 hrs!

I’m sure that everyone you meet will rave about the comfort and luxury of bus travel in Argentina. The seats are extremely comfortable and turn into 180 degree beds, food and snacks served to you throughout the trip, and if you’re lucky you even get wine and champagne. This comfort is due to VERY long bus trips that are often 15 hours or more (Argentina is roughly the size of India). I was super excited for the 17 hour bus journey from Mendoza to Salta. We had gone out to Mendoza’s nightclubs the night before (clubsdidn’t START until 3 AM) so I was exhausted and ready for a peaceful sleep on the bus. Sure enough, I was happily falling asleep at one of the stops when all the sudden I hear some people coughing. I’m trying to ignore them in order to fall asleep when the bus driver screams GET OFF THE BUS NOW! Within seconds everyone is coughing and unable to breathe due to an electrical fire on the bus. We all get down safely while they inspect the bus. 20 minutes later, they ask us to get back on the bus and I was terrified to burn alive on the way to Salta so I checked every emergency exit. However, within minutes I was sleeping like a baby. Somewhere around 4 a.m., I hear a loud explosion and the bus swerves off the road in the middle of the desert. I had my valuables in hand, ready to jump off the bus into safety because I was certain the engine had exploded and there was going to be a huge fire. Nope, it turns out the tire had conveniently exploded in the middle of the desert. I thought ‘great we’re going to be stuck here all night until it’s safe to change the tire during day light’. At that exact moment and to my great surprise, or perhaps horror, the bus got back on the highway driving without a tire, and tilting heavily to the left. No one seemed to confirm but was mentally preparing my self for the bus to topple over. I put on a jacket to protect myself from broken windows and got all my valuables together. We slowly drove to the nearest town ( a few HOURS) away and they fixed the tire. Luckily, we made it to Salta alive and only a few hours late. I can proudly say I survived a fire and a tire explosion in the middle of the desert!
This is by no means a typical bus trip in Argentina. I think it was just bad luck, Argentinean buses usually are excellent and luxurious.

Mendoza: Hot springs and peace

Mendoza: Where tourists love riding bikes drunk to the bodegas.

We rented bikes in Chacras, one of the 3 provinces where 70% of Argentinean wine comes from, and cycled to various bodegas (where wine is made) to sample delicious wine.

Pictures to come later!

Due to extremely slow internet connections, I am unable to upload pictures. Argentina is the most beautiful country I have been to and pictures don't do it justice. However, I promise to upload pictures as soon as possible.

Valpo to Mendoza: Crossing the Andes Pictures

Valparaiso to Mendoza: I Am Broken!

Lesson 1: If you are to cross the Andes and have a tendency to get motion sick, make sure to overdose on motion tablet sickness before getting on the bus!
Many people will comment on the beauty of the mountainous scenery between Santiago and Mendoza; however, that crossing was hell on earth for me! I suffered a mixture of motion sickness, altitude sickness, and fear that the bus was going to topple off the mountains at any time! The crossing was extremely steep, narrow, and windy. Furthermore, I was petrified, green, and super nauseous. When we stopped at border control, I had to throw up while everyone kept talking about the beauty of the mountains.
By the time I got to Mendoza, my back hurt, I was dehydrated and exhausted! To top things off, I got a pinched nerve in the middle of the night and had tendonitis in my left ankle and could barely walk. Within a week of traveling, I was broken!

I will soon upload pictures of the Andes that Alice took while I was avoiding to look out of the window.

Basic facts about Argentina

2nd largest country in South America

Population: 41 million

Capital: Buenos Aires

3 largest cities:
1) Buenos Aires
2) Cordoba
3) Rosario

Currency: Argentine Peso (about 3.7 to USD $ 1)

Highest point: Mount Aconcagua at 6,960m

National anthem sung by Mercedes Sosa:

Day 4: Valparaiso pictures

Day 3: Valparaiso

This is our first CouchSurfing experience and it’s going really well. We’re staying with a student of photography and a couple in a house up one of the many hills of Valparaiso. They have a magnificent view of the city! We’re learning a ton about Chile and its government, culture, and history. I’ll try to post some popular and traditional music at some point.

Interesting facts:
- The New Year fireworks in Valpo are the biggest in South America (possibly second biggest after Rio de Janeiro).

- Valparaiso had the highest unemployment rate in Chile

Day 2: Bellavista

My favorite neighborhood in Santiago is Bellavista which is full of students and artists.

Here is some graffiti art for you:








P.S.: I’m going to start a Picasa album soon.

Day 2: X-Files

Alice and I decided to try out a spinning class at the local gym. The bikes must have been from the 90’s but the music was super modern and almost all from the US. I worked out pretty hard until they played the theme from the X files and couldn’t stop laughing. Who knew x files and spinning were a good fit?
On that same day we kept hearing a loud coarse annoying cry from somewhere in the hotel. It sounded like a sick grumpy alien from another galaxy. Alice was convinced it was a child but I was convinced to find out what it was. Sure enough, when I found the initiator of this cry it must have been a great grandmother who looked like she was 150 years old. She had no more teeth and had to make alien like noises in order to communicate.

For those of you interested in prices of gyms in Santiago:
Day pass: CLP 5000 (USD $10)
Monthly pass: about CLP 14000 (USD $ 28)

Chile: Basic Facts

Population: 16 million

Capital: Santiago

3 largest cities:
1) Santiago
2) Puente Alto
3) Concepción

Currency: The Chilean peso (about 490 pesos to USD $ 1)

Chilean National Anthem:

Day 1 - Santiago de Chile

Political graffiti



My friend and travel buddy Alice



Bottom of Santa Lucia




View of the city


Here I am on top of the hill of Santa Lucia!

Santiago is a huge crowded city surrounded by the Andes mountains. About a third of Chile’s population lives here. Today, I met my friend Alice with whom I will be traveling for the next month throughout Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. We walked around the city and had an amazing seafood meal in ‘el mercado’. The fish I had today was possibly the best I’ve ever had!
We’re going to try to watch a Polo game tomorrow then head to Valparaiso on Sunday.

Fun fact:
People here are very short- for the first time in my life I feel tall!

I'm still trying to figure out the formatting of this blog. I really need a Blogspot for dummies book!

Just landed in Santiago!

I am here safe and feeling slightly better.

My flight was okay except for drunken idiots chanting, “hurry up pilot” throughout the flight and for major turbulence. I’ve been on a lot of rocky rides but this one made the whole plane scream because it felt as if we were free falling in the midst of a major storm at one point. Even the air hostesses looked super worried!

Before arriving, I’ve was told a few horror stories of taxis robbing foreigners or holding bags hostage until they’ve been given a ridiculous amount of money. To avoid that, I asked the hotel to arrange for a car to pick me up. Sure enough, it never came. I avoided everyone begging me to get into their taxis and got in to a shared car ride called Transvip. It cost CHF 5500 (about USD $ 10) to get to the center of Santiago and the ride was smooth. The hotel where I’m staying is super cheap and in a pretty good location. However, it looks like the mattresses are 20 years old, the sink is leaking water, it’s so cold, and it’s super noisy. It looks like I’m going to have to get used to crappy, crowded, or/and uncomfortable accommodation but I know it’ll be worth all the great adventures to come.

My fabulous departure from Florida

I’ve been very sick and living on vitamin C and ibuprofen. All I did in Florida was sleep because I felt so tired all the time. I managed to get a haircut and somehow now look like I come straight out of the 80s! I’m currently sitting in Miami International airport waiting for my flight to Santiago and I’m feeling so weak and cold. To top this fabulous start off, I realized I left some of the clothes that I wanted to take to South America in my friend’s dryer in Fort Lauderdale.

If you ever plan on taking a flight from Miami, make sure to learn basic Spanish. No se habla ingles! They however do sell Rosetta Stone in the terminals here - but only to learn English!

On another note, I plan on having my first CouchSurfing experience in Valparaiso. It should be a great way to save money and to get to know the locals.