Don't cry for us Argentina!

This is the end of our adventure. We wanted to come to Argentina to see how the people live, to try and learn their language and to enjoy life as they do. We ended up living in Buenos Aires in apartments for almost four months. We also lived in the center of Bariloche for three weeks and the remaining five weeks we spent traveling around the country. We covered most regions of the country except the most southerly, Tierra Del Fuego, leaving something for our return trip.

We wanted to enjoy all of BA, having previously lived in two other barrios(neighborhoods) so we rented a wonderful two bedroom apartment in a nice quiet Palermo neighborhood near the huge parks, embassies and museums. Like any other BA neighborhood, it has the local groceries, vegetable and fruit stands, laundries, flower stands and newsstands. Our closest corner has a bank, a pasta/pizza cafe, a grocery and the Voulez Bar, a good restaurant serving morning, noon and night. There is also a policeman on duty all day long standing next to the bank.

There is a large supermarket for groceries a few blocks away and if you want they will deliver your groceries if you have a large purchase, which we didn't. The laundry will pick up and deliver. Many restaurants deliver take out, even the ice cream store.

We enjoyed the neighborhood. We visited several interesting museums: Eva Peron's, Modern Art of Latin America (MALBA), Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo (a family mansion built in the French style in 1917). We spent time in La Boca and San Telmo, two of the oldest barrios of the city, browsing the many art, craft and antique stands, watching the tango demonstrations and listening to the street musicians. We discovered many very good restaurants within the neighborhood: Bella Italia, Celetto, Secretos. This is late fall and the people still enjoy sitting outside to eat. We had a great time one Saturday listening to the violin player during dinner at Annetta's. We recommend them all. We also had a lot of fun visiting with friends we made earlier in the year.

We have met many wonderful people here and have made some nice friendships. We can't go through the list because it would be long and we would fear leaving someone special off. We would like to thank all of the these people for making our visit so enjoyable.

Argentina, like the U.S.A., is a vast country with many beautiful places. The variety in the terrain and climate is amazing and at times shocking. The beauty of the mountains, lakes, range land, deserts and cities is something to behold. The people have the same friendly and easy going attitude across the entire country. We were welcomed everywhere we went. The people were always interested in how we perceived them and their country. They were also very interested in the U.S.A. and have high hopes for our ability to again lead the world to prosperity. These people know what real crisis is because they have lived through many over the years, and they seem to understand that they just need to keep working to make their life better. The many people that we met don't expect that what the government does will make their lives any better. They just hope it doesn't make it worse. For example, in 2000 the banks were closed for part of December and January of 2001. No one could access their money during that period. When they opened they could get their money but it was devalued by two thirds. Interest rates for mortgages run from 10%-14%. Credit card rates are double that. Life here can be very difficult.

Even though we are a long ways from the USA, in Argentina we see its influence on television, in the movies and on the dinner table. In years past everyone drank wine, a lot of it. They consumed twice as much wine per person as any other country in the world, all of their own wine, no imports. Now bottles of Coke are on the tops of many dinner tables, as well as bottled water. And the bulk wine of past days has been replaced with wine of very good quality made here in the modern wineries, many of which are now owned by French, Italian and American interests.

People talk about Buenos Aires as the "Paris of South America" but I venture to say it is the "Paris of the Americas". I don't know of any city in North America as European or Parisian as BA. The sidewalk cafes, the bistro restaurants, the clothing styles, the plazas, the boulevards and the architecture of Buenos Aires make this so. Currently the peso is 3.75 to the dollar so this exchange rate also reminds me of what traveling in Europe was like 25 or 30 years ago.

While you can never know for sure what the future will bring, we hope another visit to Argentina is in our's. So until then, "hasta luego".

The Central Sierras in Cordoba

Our overnight bus ride to Cordoba wasn’t too bad. Cordoba is the name of the province and the capital city. It is a large city and metro area with a couple of million people living there. We got to the Hertz office as they opened. As usual they were very efficient and we were off in no time with our free upgrade to a Fiat. We were coming here to see the central part of Argentina. So far our travels have taken us from the SW to the W and then to the NW. We had gone to Iguazu in the NE in February and, of course, Buenos Aires is in the East. We decided to start with a town about 35 kilometers outside of Cordoba called Alta Gracia.

When we left Cordoba we found ourselves quickly in the countryside (the campo). It was a very rolling terrain which was very green, although a lot of trees were losing their leaves. We seemed to be in cattle country. Off to the west we could see the Central Sierras, this mountain range runs down the middle of the country. These mountains are older than the Andes and not nearly as high. The highest might be 3000 meters. When we turned off the highway at Alta Gracia we found a very long commercial district leading to the town center. On the hill beyond the main business district sits a Catholic church which was part of the Jesuit Estancia that started this town.

The Jesuits order of priests played a large part in the early settlement of Argentina and in this central part of the country there are the remains of many of these estancias. This one is a museum. While the original estancia was many acres, the museum amounts to what was the house, yard and the attached church. They have done a very good job of developing exhibits depicting what life and the living conditions were like in the early days in Argentina. The house and courtyard had a large wall around them with the church being part of the enclosure.

The Jesuits had started farming in the area and were known to have used slaves to do the main jobs on the estancia. Overtime they converted the local Indians to Catholicism and enlisted them as workers at the estancia. When the Spanish brought cattle, the estancias got very large with the cattle, fields for crops, orchards for fruit and vineyards for grapes for their wine. At one point the Spanish threw out the Jesuits and the estancia was bought by an Argentine family. They ran it until the city surrounded it and then it was sold to the government.

The other interesting thing about Alta Gracia was that it was the boyhood home of Ernesto Che Guevara. Jane and I didn’t know much of anything about Che, except that he is very popular here in Argentina. We found the museum in a residential neighborhood. It is in a very ordinary home which was a property his family had rented. They had come here from Buenos Aires because of Che’s asthma. It has artifacts from his early years of his life and a lot of pictures and clothes from his later years. He played a large role in the revolution in Cuba working with Fidel. Then later he held several key government posts in Cuba. He also traveled to many countries as an ambassador for the Cuban government. He left Cuba to work as consultant to other revolutions and was eventually killed in Bolivia. The museum got a lot of publicity when in 2006 Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez made a joint visit. Great company huh??

We were staying in Carlos Paz a town situated on a large lake in the middle of this mountain area. This town is a tourist haven, but very few are around during this late fall period. We were booked into a great B&B which was a very old and large home with a restaurant on the ground floor. The weather was rainy and cold during our four days in the area. Three of our four nights we ate in the restaurant at the B&B right in front of the fireplace. It was a very cozy place with good food, wine and a lot of interesting art. The chef would come out and discuss our meal with us and modify it to whatever we wanted.

For the next three days we drove in different directions each day looking for interesting places. Jane gave out and let me do the third day by myself because it was going to be a mountain drive over the Sierras to see what the central valley beyond looked like.

The first day we went about 130 kilometers to La Cumbrecito, a small village in the mountains. 130 kms is about 80 miles, which doesn’t seem like much, but when it is all two lanes on winding mountain roads leading to a stretch of gravel road it does take a lot of time. The village is tucked in a gorge right near the top of this mountain range. They allow no cars in the village so you park in a lot by a creek at the base of the village. After walking across the bridge there are small shops and restaurants tucked amidst the pine trees just waiting for all the tourists. It is very much like a small Swiss village. The rain came and being this high it turned to snow. The people that were there were all taking pictures. The village had a picturesque church and a pond and waterfall. We spent most of our time in a cozy inn having lunch and staying warm near the fire.

Our next stop was Villa General Belgrano which is a town that was settled by a group of Germans that came off of a WWII transport ship that was sunk near Buenos Aires. They have tried to keep the German and mountain motif throughout the village. Again this is a place visited by tourists most months of the year. We liked the looks of it but it was time to get back to the fireplace.

The next day we went north driving through numerous communities headed for an area where there are many artesans living and selling their goods. Many were located on some back roads around Falda, La Cumbre and Los Coccos, three consecutive towns. This is also an area for vacation homes. Again there was very rolling terrain with the mountains in the distance. We stopped at many of the shops always trying to think what we might squeeze into our already full luggage. Many of the shops were nice places, with nice people and beautiful things.

And the third day I did drive out of Carlos Paz and over a mountain pass into the central valley. The rain the two previous days had been snow at the top of the valley making me feel right at home, Wisconsin boy that I am. The land between Carlos Paz and the pass was all cattle grazing land. Great rolling hills and a road that wound back and forth and finally up and over. Quite a nice drive. The far side was much steeper and it made for a steep descent into the valley. One main road runs down the middle of the valley having many small communities along it. The valley is quite wooded and surprisingly green with many trees that must keep their leaves all year. All the communities are very small. Houses are sprinkled throughout the countryside here, more than in most areas. I picked up a hitchhiker and she told me a lot of retired people live in these remote houses. I did follow the road far enough to go to a reservoir lake and its dam, which was pretty and interesting. Not much excitement here.

For our last day of travel, we looked around Carlos Paz and then headed into Cordoba to catch our late bus to Buenos Aires. Traveling with all of these bags is a pain. We put them in storage at the bus station and went walking in this large city which has many tall apartment buildings lining the streets. From our short visit it looked like a lot of relatively new housing and most of it quite nice. When you have four hours to wait for a bus, I believe in heading to the cinema. We found one in a very large mall in the middle of town. It was a beautiful four story mall dominated by small shops and, of course, the food court. After food court delights, we caught Julia Roberts’ new movie, “Duplicity”. We returned to the bus station to easily meet our 11:15pm departure to Buenos Aires, the city that doesn’t sleep.

We came to see the center of the country and it is different. There is more grass and there are more trees. It is much more undulating terrain and the mountains are not dramatic but powerful. Living here isn’t as harsh as in the desert or in a mountain gorge of the NW and sometimes the lushness is awe inspiring. Argentina is a country of many faces.

Cafayate, an oasis of tranquility

We actually stayed in one place for seven days and it was wonderful! Jane actually unpacked her suitcase! We were in the desert town of Cafayate which is in Northern Argentina at the southern end of the Salta Province. On the 4 hour bus ride from Salta city to Cafayate we were entertained by the many stops made to either pick up people or drop them off out in the middle of nowhere in the desert, including children going to or from school. We would look around and wonder where they came from or where they were headed.

The trip was about 190 kilometers. The scenery as we got closer to Cafayate was spectacular. The last 80 kms was through a gorge, Quedbrada de Cafayate, where there are incredible rock formations, multi-colored mountains, deep crevasses and sand dunes. The gorge leads to the Calchaquies Valley. This is a long desert valley that runs north/south. Look for one of our slide shows to focus on this gorge. We couldn't get good pictures from the bus so I got some from a local.

Cafayate is about in the middle of the valley 50 kms from any other town. Cafayate and the vineyards around it are an oasis in this desert valley. While hot in the summer, the rest of the year is very mild. We had temperatures in the 70's and low 80's during the middle of the day. Cafayate is a quiet little town of about 15,000 with a huge central plaza surrounded by restaurants, shops, and, of course, a Catholic church. There are many hotels and hostels. Tourism and wine are the mainstays of the town. Along with the many people of all ages either walking, riding bikes or motorcycles, or driving old trucks or cars there are many dogs that frequently are seen around the square.

We stayed in the Hotel Killa, owned by Martha and run by Juan. Old friends and our travel consultant put us into this great little hotel. While we had the smallest room, the one with the lowest rate, we overlooked the pool, veranda and garden on the back of the property. They had a wonderful dining room and breakfast buffet. The staff was really well trained and very nice to us, including scrambled eggs for breakfast (unheard of on breakfast buffets in AR). they gave us great suggestions for things to do during our visit.

The first night we went to one of their recommended restaurants, Colorado. It is a small place with eight tables decorated very well and with some soft lighting, which is also unheard of in Argentine restaurants (one of their only drawbacks). As it turns out the place is run by Charlie and April from the U.S.A. What a great place to land in. Being land owners in Chile, they had come up for a look at this little town they had kept hearing about. With the weather so much better than Chile's, they decided to make Cafayate their home base. They opened the restaurant last December. The cool thing for us was the menu. There was some Mexican food, a Thai curry dish, a cordon bleu, and, of course, some great meat served with panache. So we ended up eating there three times with other local typical Argentine restaurants interspersed during our week. They are doing well with the locals, especially the Mexican dishes, but one night seven of eight tables were full of foreigners. They were mostly young people traveling around Argentina. So the food was great and the people were fun.

Our days here were very slow. We spent a lot of time at cafes on the square having snacks and playing gin rummy. One of our days was really interesting. With Horatio, our guide and driver, we went down valley about 50 kms to Amaicha, and old Indian town where Victor Cruz, an entrepreneur and artist, has built Museo Pachamama, a private museum and gallery. Amaicha is in the desert 1790 meters above sea level. It contains exhibits about the precious stones mined in the valley, some archaeology and Indian history and artifacts and copies of artifacts, as well as his art works. The museum is a series of buildings with a wall around them. All the buildings are covered in stone. There are colorful rock sculptures and murals depicting the rituals to "Mother Earth" that were a big part of the culture of indigenous peoples of the area. Again please look to a specific slide show on this topic.

After the museum we stopped at Quilmes, which is a partially restored village of the Quilmes Indians that lived in valley from about 1000-1665. At one time the village had 5000-6000 inhabitants. About 15% of the walls and fences were restored in the late 1970's. The village lies at the base of the mountains, so you can walk up to higher places that allow you a vista over the whole area. These peoples were unusual in that they fought off the Spanish conquerors for over 100 years. Finally the last 400 families were captured and forced to march by foot over 1500 kms to Buenos Aires by the Spanish. These themes seem to reoccur around the world. Okay, on to the wine.

There are about 2000 hectares (4400 acres) of grapes under production at this time. Wine has been made here for many years, but it is just in the last ten years that the quality has improved and that exportation has become a big part of the strategy. For years all the wine was drunk locally or sent in barrels to Salta and sold as bulk wine. Now quality and export are the topic of every wine discussion. Some of the wineries were sold to foreign investors in the mid to late 1990's. Italians, French and U.S. interests are all here. Malbec, torrentes, cabernet savignon, cabernet franc, tannat, merlot, chardonnay and savignon blanc grapes are all grown here. Historically malbec and torrentes were predominant. Now everyone is making a varietal line and a reserve blend line. While growth will be limited by the availability of water there is apparently enough for an additional 2000 acres. Some of these acres are over 2000 meters above sea level, which make them some of the highest in the world they tell me.

What is very cool is that you can walk around town and stop into four or five wineries within three blocks of the plaza. All are very interested in giving you a tour and a taste. Since we were here in a very slow tourist month, we got the royal treatment where ever we went. Nanni, which is one of three certified organic wineries in Argentina, is a great example of true winery hospitality. After a short tour they offered us tastings of four of their wines. Another day we rode bikes 5 kms uphill to Los Nubes Bodega (it almost killed us) which overlooks the town. A nice bottle of torrentes and a board of cheese, sausages and bread brought us back to life. Our sixth day we went on bikes north about two kms to El Esteco Bodega, now owned by some Italian winemakers, who have upgraded every part of their operation. They are now exporting over 60% of their production. They monitor and control the temperature in all fermentation tanks with computers. Their bottling, labeling and distribution is highly automated. A very impressive place.

That was the same day we rode out to Cabras de Cafayate which is a farm that makes goat cheese. What a hoot. They have 600 goats and about 15 cows and two llamas. We watched the milking operation where they can milk about 50 goats at one time. Two men handle the operations and they milk about 200 goats an hour. They make about five types of cheese and it is great.

On the opposite end of the size scale is the Pequeno Bodega that makes a total of 5000 bottles a year: a malbec the traditional style and a malbec roble aged in oak. This winery is run by a 70+ year old man and his son, a physician that has decided making wine is much more to his liking than medicine.

Sunday we went to the 10:30 church service and it turns out that is the children's mass. The church was full of kids along with a few adults. Children were standing all around the church as there was not near enough places to sit. It was a very cool service with lots of singing by all the children. No one except Jane and I seemed to notice the dog that wandered about the main aisle for most of the service looking for someone with some food.

Monday was holiday devoted to the areas annual celebration of their independence from the Spanish. A ceremony was held in the center of the town plaza. A group of musicians were there and representatives from all the schools surrounded the plaza's center. The pastor was present and local officials were in attendance. Gauchos, folk dancers young and old were on hand. After a prayer, a few short speeches were given and then the music and dancing commenced.

Although this city is out of the way and doesn't have much written about it, when passing through NW Argentina make Cafayate a stop.

The Northwest Provinces - Salta & Jujuy

The northwestern part of Argentina is like being in another country. Here you find a diverse terrain, a much slower pace of life, and a land and people influenced by ancient preHispanic civilization. Our first stop was the city of Salta, the provincial capital of 600,000 which has the best preserved colonial architecture. Salta lies at the North end of a large valley which is surrounded by green hillsides of mountains bigger than the Appalachians but certainly not the Andes. We spent most of our time wandering the narrow streets, looking at the old buildings and churches, and people-watching in the large central plaza. This is a bustling city with a great deal of retail in the blocks around the square and tour companies hawking their wares at every corner of the square. They have two pedestrian shopping streets that run for 4 or 5 blocks, which are packed with people up to 10 or 11 PM.

At the edge of the plaza stands a beautiful baroque cathedral that was built in 1858 and is considered Argentina's best-preserved colonial church. We were also taken by the beauty and ornateness of the Iglesia San Francisco. This church was rebuilt in 1759 after it was destroyed by fire. It has a 173' tower and ornately decorated white pillars that are in contrast to the terra cotta colored walls of the church. It also has an enclosed courtyard with beautiful flowers.

Salta has a vibrant nightlife with many restaurants and clubs. There is one area of town just north of the central plaza that has about three blocks of restaurants where they have live music much of which is folk music with dancing. We had dinner one night where we were treated to a show of Spanish folk dancing and also Indian folk dancing with the appropriate costumes for each.

The highlight of our Salta visit was time spent in the Andean Archaeological Museum (MAMM). The main focus of this museum, which was opened in 2004, is its exhibit of the recent excavations at Mount Llullaillaco, the highest volcanic peak in Argentina near the Chilean border. In 1999 a National Geographic team of archaeologists found three well preserved Andean mummies (over 500 years old). Many objects were found with the mummies which are also being displayed. Though only one mummy, that of a 15 year old girl, was on display, the photos, stories, and artifacts were fascinating. These people were here since about 800 A.D. and predate the Inca's by some 500-600 years.

We wanted to go to Jujuy, the next province North next to the Bolivian border, to visit two very old villages. We rented a car and could have taken the direct route at about 155 kilometers, but we were interested in taking a route which ended up being about 350 kilometers. It was quite a day. We climbed out of the green valley to find ourselves driving through miles and miles of mountain gorges. The road follows an old railroad line which was recently used for a tourist train called the Train into the Clouds. After three hours of mountain passes and high valleys we landed in San Antonio de los Cobres, a small mining town in the desert.

After a nice lunch of local empanadas, the staple everywhere, we found our car with a flat tire. After changing the tire with the help of the 10 year quartz salesman working the parking lot, we needed to find a gomeria to fix the flat. We were heading into 100 kilometers of desert and couldn't go without a spare. At midday on a Sunday this was cause for concern, but the locals kept sending us from one gomeria to another until we found one at home. I think the gentleman must have been 75 years old. He certainly knew what he was doing. With the bare minimum of tools, he did have a compressor, he set upon the task. He did a great job and we were on our way in no time. On we went into the desert. We were heading to the grand salt flats of Jujuy and then on to the villages of Purmamarca and eventually Humahuaca.

Much of this drive was on gravel roads, but we finished the day crossing a 13680 foot pass and dropping down 6500 feet into a huge gorge and eventually Purmamarca. Our mouths were hanging open most of the trip--the scenery is spectacular. Our descriptions of the multi colored mountains, canyons, desert, salt flats, small pueblos (towns), and the people will not do justice to actually seeing them. Please check out the slideshow on this. We were amazed at the thousands of cacti that grow on the sides of the mountains. The scenery is a bit like the Southwestern part of the USA. We find these mountains to be very dramatic.

Purmamarca is a very small pueblo (village). It is tucked at the base of mountains that are layered with colors generated by the minerals in the stone. Right behind the village the locals see seven colors arrayed on the close peaks. It is quite amazing. Selling goods to the tourists is the major industry here. There are a remarkable number of little restaurants, some with live indigenous music. Humahuaca is further north up the Rio Grande river valley. It is a little larger and has a prominent central square with a church that has a large steeple. Each day at noon doors on the side of the steeple open and a Franciscan friar comes out to give all present in the square a blessing. It draws all the tourists in town by noon and all in the square for the vendors pleasure.

After a couple of days here we headed down the Rio Grande river valley to Salta on the 155 km route. After coming down about a thousand feet we turned a corner to find ourselves looking at the top of a cloud which covered the valley we were heading down into. It was eerie as we drove through the cloud eventually finding ourselves under it and on our way to the city of Jujuy and Salta. Little did we know that mountains surrounding Salta extend quite a ways north, at least 50 kms. As we came down into the mountains we found that the two lane road narrowed to the width of a one lane road, which we found odd. But soon we found ourselves on 45 kms of switchback roads climbing over passes and around lakes in these very heavily treed mountains. It was like climbing through the Smokey Mountains on a one lane road with tight turns and open overhangs all over the place. Fortunately we came out of this just as Jane's car sickness was peaking.

Now that we were back into Salta we went to drop off the rented car and catch a bus for our trip to Cafayate. Our good friends, Pam and Joe Ollinger, were in Cafayate several years ago and told us such great things that we just couldn't pass up making it one of our spots. In fact we are stopping for a week, so let's hope they were right.

Well I am sure this was more than you wanted to know about NW Argentina, but it is so beautiful and interesting that we would recommend it to anyone. Thanks for coming.

Wine tasting in Mendoza, Argentina

We had been looking forward to our stop in Mendoza for quite some time. We were not disappointed. Mendoza is a tidy, oasis city, filled with tree-lined avenues and beautiful parks. It is surrounded by the vast patchwork of vineyards and the Andes mountain range nestled in the background. It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish but was destroyed in 1860 by an earthquake. It was then moved and rebuilt with a plan which included a main square and four other plazas close by. They felt this would allow the people to rush to green space in the case of another earthquake. Just like San Rafael, open irrigation channels are along the streets of the whole city. They carry water from the Andes and are visible reminders of this city's colonial past. This complex and very old system of river-fed aqueducts was started by the Incas and continued and enhanced by the Spanish. Without the irrigation this land is a desert. The Mendoza province now produces 70% of the country's wine. In Mendoza trees line every street providing great shade in the hot summers. This city is a very popular tourist destination with the huge number of wineries and the Andes close by. We stayed at the Plaza Italia B&B. This turned out to be a wonderful stay. It has a great living room with comfortable chairs and a wonderful dining room and table, large rooms with king sized beds and new baths for all rooms. Mercedes, Tito, the owners, and the whole staff were wonderful. They help you with knowledge of the town, touring, the restaurants, etc. Truly the best. On our first day we took a high mountain tour to the Andes which was amazing. The tour began at 7:30 am. We traveled in a Mercedes mini bus all the way to the Chilean border high up in the Andes. At the highest point, right at the border, we were at 4000m (13,000ft) with the rugged snow covered Andes ever so close. To get to this point we traveled the last 1000 meters of altitude on the old highway to Chile, which of course was a narrow gravel road with hairpin turns that wound its way up the mountain. I think all of us were a bit intimidated by the height, the steep narrow road with no rails and dramatic views to the highway far below. At the top is the famous monument, Christ the Redeemer, erected in 1902 after a territorial dispute with Chile was settled. The flags of Chile and Argentina fly along side the monument. It was cold, windy and the air was thin, thus we were there for only a short time. Very impressive! On this trip we also got a great view of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. (6,962m/22,841ft). Reaching the summit requires at least 13 to 15 days . While we were in BA in January, 6 climbers died on this mountain. It is a very popular destination for mountain climbers. Our Saturday was spent visiting three wineries. We hired a car with a driver who spoke English and we headed out at 10am. Our first stop was to Norton's, one of the largest wineries here that exports to the USA. They make 50,000,000 bottles per year. The tour included a look at all the machinery, tanks, barrels and the underground aging rooms. The grape harvest was completed in April so the wine is either in stainless steel tanks or in barrels aging. Next we headed to a very small, family owned business, the Bressia Vineyards. This was an interesting visit since the wine maker spoke no English and had opened just for us. We were able to communicate well enough to learn a bit about this bodega. The winemaker grabbed a large goblet and poured cabernet savignon right out of a spigot on the large stainless steel tank. It was great, very smooth. In the same manner we tried the merlot and the malbec. Then we went to the cellar where the aging barrels were and he siphoned wine and gave us a taste of each again. Hands down, this was the best wine ever!!!! This small winery has made a name for itself and we hope to find it on the shelf in the US. Our third stop was to a very old bodega that is now a restaurant. We were greeted at the gate by our waiter and he led us down a vine covered path to the restaurant. Our first course was already on the table in this small cozy little room. Words can't describe the colorful array of small wooden bowls and trays of food. We were both open-mouthed at the amount and variety of food. There were 9 different kinds of meats, 5 different cheeses and multiple wooden bowls filled with 4 varieties of beans, rice, carrots both pickled and roasted, onions, quail eggs, roasted white and sweet potatoes, squash, pate, pickled eggplant, breads and more. The table looked like a page out of Gourmet magazine. Our waiter brought wine, water and then later the next courses which were tapas: the first an empanada, then a small bowl of beef cooked in wine with vegetables and lastly came pasta with a homemade sauce. As with the first course, we ate small amounts of each of these. After that it was an ice cream dessert that we barely managed to get down complimented with champagne. So much food but truly an experience not to be forgotten. Lastly we visited the Carmine Granata winery, which was built in 1931. It is a small winery where they make a full compliment of wines and export or sell at the winery. We tasted with a Mother and daughter from New York that were touring. By then we were over full and tired so our memories are a blur. Needless to say there was no going out for dinner in the evening. On Sunday we attended Mass and then sat in one of the many plazas and read the newspaper. We spent the afternoon at Parque San Martin. This park is over 1000 acres and practically half of the city. We took a bus tour to try and get a feel for all of it. Inside the park there is a university, soccer stadium, swimming complex, tennis complex, lake where there is rowing, boating, etc, several high hills that offer great views of the city, a zoo, restaurants, and endless open spaces for all kinds of activities. Like most Sundays the park was full of families picnicking and sharing cups of mate. The highlight of this visit was the wine tour that we did on Monday with Javier, the son of the owners of our B&B. He is very knowledgeable about wine, the area and the people that own and run the wineries and is a lot of fun to be with. We went with a young French couple who were staying at the B&B. What a day we had. Our first visit was to a very small family run bodega, Domaine St. Diego, owned by Angel Mendoza, the long time winemaker at Traphiche, the areas largest winery. Instead of the usual tour through the winemaking process, Angel's daughter-in-law took us into the vineyard to taste the grapes and learn about how they care for the vines and the olive trees. We were then treated to some wonderful wines, homemade breads, raisins and nuts grown at the bodega. We tasted a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Savignon and Cabernet Franc which spent no time in oak barrels. This is the first vintage that they had produced like this and they feel the quality of their vineyard allows a quality product in this manner. It was very young and seemed a bit aggressive to us, but it is early. The second wine was 80% Malbec and 20% Merlot and was wonderful. In the end the best of the day. Thirdly we had a bottle of 100% Malbec in which they allow the maximum alcohol development during fermentation. It has 18% alcohol and a great natural sweetness. This is the closest you can get to port without fortifying with extra alcohol, illegal in the Argentine wine industry. Before we left they showed us the olive press they had just purchased. In the past they had to use a large company for pressing and never knew whose olives went into the oil that was returned. It was very interesting to see this and taste the oil coming out the end of the process. Next was a larger bodega Achavel Ferrer, owned by an accountant , a lawyer and an Italian winemaker. While relatively new, it is garnering high marks in Wine Spectator for its wines. It has beautiful new buildings with great marketing materials. We tasted with three couples from California. The French couple, Jane and I weren't too impressed with the wines. They export all their wine for very high prices so we were tasting barrel samples which all seemed young and aggressive to us. My pictures don't do credit to the beauty of the building. On we went to the Ruca Malen Bodega for lunch. It was a 5 course meal with wines to compliment each course. This was an event that lasted over 2 hours. I will run through the wines to give you a glimpse of what a good Argentine winery is making: 1) Savignon Blanc 2007 (100% Sav. Blanc) 2) Malbec 2006(85% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Temranillo) 3) Cabernet Savignon 2006 (90%Cab, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot) 4) Petit Verdot 2007 (100% Verdot) 5) Malbec 2007 (95% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Savignon). Great wines and marvelous food. For example the second last course was a 12 oz. filet and the last was white chocolate and seasoned fruit. After lunch we were treated to a lesson in the art of drinking mate, which is a tealike drink that is popular all over Argentina. Our last stop was to the Carlos Pulenta Vineyard. Pulenta is part of the family that used to own Trapiche. After the sale in 1998 he bought a vineyard planted in 1948 and started making wine. In 2003 he opened the new bodega with rooms, a restaurant, the winery with a great tasting room. The tasing room is below ground with one wall open so you can see the layers of rock and soil in the vineyard. With the aging and storage in the lower level they use gravity to move the wine. Fabulous place. The wines they make from the old vineyard are all blends. They also make wines with grapes from their acreage in the Uco valley, which are all varietals. Impressive blends but I like the Malbec from Uco. A long day but well worth it. We left late the next day on an overnight bus to Salta in the Northwest of Argentina. While in Mendoza we ate at several good restaurants and tasted wine at a unique place called The Vines of Mendoza, where you can compare five wines at a time. They have six different flights of five to choose from. Very cool idea! But certainly our stay at the B&B with people from Australia (Megan & Alexia), France, Holland and the US was truly delightful. We recommend Plaza Italia B&B!!! Reply Forward POJO is not available to chat

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San Rafael is a tranquil town located in the heart of fertile land irrigated by the frigid waters of the Andes'. We were impressed by the streets that are all lined with beautiful sycamore trees. These trees provide much needed shade especially in summer when it gets quite hot. This is a very arid area that receives no more than 250mm of rain each year. There are irrigation canals that run between the sidewalks and the street. These canals and the plan on their use are centuries old. The Inca's started the canal irrigation and the Spanish conquerers of the 16th century picked up the plan and expanded it. The open canals run everywhere, neighborhoods, suburbia, vineyards, and allow for vegetation. Interesting concept that is also used all along the Andes'.

Just a short 25km outside of the city is a "mini grand canyon". We drove to a hydroelectric plant, one of 5 built to provide power for the area along with controlling the flow of water for the irrigation. After checking out the dam and the lake, largo resuyno, behind it, we continued along a gravel road to the middle end of the lake (the lake is 40 kilometers long). This road provided unbelievable vistas of the canyon, lake and the highly eroded red rock walls, as our pictures show. It is quite an impressive drive which included a tunnel and those pesky gravel, narrow and curvy roads.

We visited five bodegas to finish our day. At the Suter bodega we got a tour, in Spanish, and were able to taste one of their wines and had fun with the staff. At a much larger winery, Bianchi, we took a tour with a guide who spoke English and Spanish which was helpful. At this bodega they only make champagne in the historic French method. We tasted their champagne and learned in detail about the way they implement the fermentation processes. At a couple of the others they weren't prepared to show you much but were very willing to discuss their product line and let you taste one or two wines. This is a large wine making area and is considered part of the Mendoza province wine industry.

Our last day in San Rafael was our favorite. We drove out to Algodon, a vineyard, which was bought by a few people from the U.S. a few years ago. It has a restaurant, lodge and golf course with plans for a tennis complex, home sites and a new winery. The restaurant, at the edge of the golf course surrounded by olive trees, is beautiful and the food was extra great. Because they have no natural gas for cooking everything is prepared in their homemade adobe ovens and/or grills. They also dry their own fruits and vegetables. When we were there they had many sliced tomatoes , onions and quince out in their "drying boxes." Because the sun is so intense there in the summer it takes only 1 day to complete the drying process. More time is required in fall and spring.

After we ate we were treated to a private tour done by the current winemaker who spoke only a tiny bit of English and another woman who spoke both languages. We walked through the olive trees over to the small looking winery. They took us through the entire wine making process and the entire building in the process. The vineyard has 1300 acres and 700 of those with vines planted. They have plans to grow quite a bit and plan on a large addition to the wine making facilities. They, like most of the wineries here, make malbec, cabernet, syrah and chardonnay. These people also made a great rose out of malbec, which we really enjoyed.

To us it looked like the wineries of San Rafael were well run and prospering. Our first touch of the Argentine wine industry was certainly a positive one. Now on to Mendoza, the heart of the Argentine wine industry.

In and around Bariloche, Argentina

Solo dos mas dias y vamos a ir a Mendoza. We have been here in Bariloche, where the infamous Patagonian area begins, for 3 weeks, two of which we have been in school. Bariloche is located alongside the southern shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and is at 764 meters altitude. This town of 93,000 is known for its alpine architecture, is the chocolate capital of Argentina, is close to South America's best ski resort and offers unending resources for trekking, climbing, rafting, kayaking, fishing, horse riding, lake excursions, skiing, along with an abundance of restaurants offering beef, wild boar, deer, lamb, pork and trout prepared in various ways. This area is a tourist mecca.

However, a 10 minute drive outside of town and you are surrounded by thick forests, lakes, waterfalls and snowcapped mountain peaks. Drive a little longer and you will be awestruck by the beauty of the glaciers and the everlasting snow. Views from atop several high peaks are available via a quick cable car ride.
We have taken advantage of the many tourist offerings: trips to the local museum, craft fairs, mountaintop views, a drive to the ski resort, another drive to a neighboring town (hippie like and very tranquil), horseback riding, (Jane on a horse, can you believe it?), an all day tour to Mount Tronador via a single lane dirt road to see the black glacier and the base of Mount Tronador which sits at 3554 meters, another tour by boat to see fjords, waterfalls, and beautiful forests, visits with our classmates to local breweries and restaurants. We have been busy touring, going to school and doing homework!!! We have taken hundreds of photos and are giving you a glimpse of just a few of them.

Isle of Chiloe, Patagonia, Chile

We headed for the Isle of Chiloe, which National Geographic calls the fifth most beautiful island in the world. We were hoping for a glimpse of the volcano before we left PuertoVaras, but we awoke to another cloudy and rainy day. It was about a 45 minute drive down "ruta cinco" to the ferry that took us to the Isla de Chiloe. This a large older ferry that was filled with cars and large trucks and took about 40 minutes. The island is very hilly and green with narrow roads. It is very common to see people of all ages waiting for the bus or walking along the road.

Our first stop was in the town of Ancud which is situated on the Northwest corner of the island right on the water. We checked out the local museum which was interesting even though we were struggling to translate explanations. The island was inhabited over 7000 years ago by people that disappeared in 1500's. Next we headed to the artesnal market in the center of town. This is two stories of local crafts of all sorts. There were all varieties of sweaters, panchos, hats, mittens and socks hand knit of yarn from the sheep and llamas on the island.

On the way out of town Paul was anxious to stop at a boat yard that we had seen on the way into town. They had several wooden boat hulls under construction. There was a large crowd gathered to watch a 40' steel fishing boat being launched. Unfortunately, there were some major problems getting it into the water. Fishing is the main industry in the whole island.

We were staying in Castro, the capital of the island, and the remainder of the drive was on ruta 5. This scenic drive winds its way through rolling and sometimes steep farmland dotted with an abundance of trees, and scrublike bushes. Almost around every curve is a grand view of a lake. The island of Chiloe is famous for its many churches that all have wood shingles on the front of the building in various sizes, colors and designs. The churches are all strategically placed so that the front faces the water. Some of these churches date back to the 1700s. We tried to take pictures of many of them.

The island of Chiloe is isolated from the mainland and it's like stepping back in time. It is very common to see a pair of oxen being led by a farmer walking down the side of the road as well as islanders on horseback going to or from town. Most people have no car so they are dependent on buses that seem to go to all parts of the island. For the most part the people are poor but are hardy folks that live off the land.

Castro is the capital of the island and is an old fishing community built around the Bay of Chiloe, on the opposite side of the island is the Pacific Ocean. Some of the older homes along the shore are called palafitos and are built over the water and are on stilts. As we traveled throughout the island we noticed the abundance and large size of the fish farms out on the bays. Salmon farming is a big industry on the island and it has been thriving for the past 10 years. Recently they have also had success with mussel farming. There are large trucks on the road that haul the fish and are quite a nuisance on the narrow steep inclines.

We arrived in Castro where the main plaza is high above the water with very steep streets leading up to it. We stopped at the tourist info booth to get directions to our lodging, which was on the other side of town. We arrived at our cabana (6 room motel) around 4 in the afternoon. It was on a hill overlooking one of the bays on the east side of the island. The owner spoke no English but welcomed us and took us to our 2 bedroom unit. The wood stove was a welcome sight on this chilly damp day. During our stay the owner was very good about keeping the fire going when we were gone. For dinner we were back in town at a hotel (9 kms away). The salmon was the best salmon Paul has ever eaten.

Over the next two days we covered a lot of the island in good weather with clear skies. We hiked some of the paths in one of the national parks on the Pacific Ocean side. We drove to the Southern tip where the village of Quellen is a major seaport for cruisers but mostly for the large fishing fleet. It seemed to have a couple hundred small fishing boats in the harbor. Then we toured one of the islands lying right next to Chiloe. Again a ferry connects the people to the rest of the world. On this island there were about three villages of some size. We had lunch in one after visiting their church built in 1730. In the other we visited their new museum, which was a good view into the culture of the island people. The excitement of the day was when two large oxen had escaped from the farmer's pasture. Two dogs were chasing them down the road away from the farmer in hot pursuit. We were of no help.

This island is beautiful and an interesting place to visit. The southern part of the island reminded us of Ireland but with more vegetation and steeper hills. The fishing villages are quite colorful and the harbors seem to be the gathering spot for many of the town folks waiting to board a boat to take them to an island, or waiting for supplies, fish, etc. arriving on the boats. We were fascinated as we watched sheep being delivered to the dock in a pickup truck and then loaded on to the boat and tied to the rails. There were many people onboard as well as supplies headed to an out island, none of them seeming to notice the sheep onboard. At first you think their life looks quite poor, but upon closer inspection, while the people lead a much simpler life than most of us do, they are active, happy and seem to be focused on having good schools and educating their young. What the world will bring for them only time will tell.

Tday we drove back to the ferry and over to the mainland. We returned to Puerto Varas for a night. We arrived early enough to enjoy the sunny day in the village where they are having a fiesta as part of the Santa Semena (Easter Week). Every one was out with music in the town square and many people on the beach. With the sky clear we now have a beautiful view of the the Orsono Volcano. The blue skies have lasted for 3 days. Our fingers are crossed for a continuation of the good weather for tomorrow when we cross the Andes, returning to Argentina again.

Crossing the Andes

We finished the week in San Martin with a little fly fishing and rainy weather. What a great town. It is quite compact, packed into the small valley with many shops, cafe's and restaurants. I had a great experience at the hospital where I needed consultation on my blood pressure medication. I saw an intern that is on the staff four times during the week for very short discussions. No charge. While the facility is quite old the staff seemed quite energetic and competent. Our time share was one of the best we have stayed in for the overall experience. While we have had nicer units, here the staff, the club house, the activities were all first class. So we leave having had a good week.

Anyway on Saturday morning we left for Chile around 8:30. It was very cloudy and rainy. There are four routes we could choose from. The closest pass was 47 kms away, but after you crossed the frontier you had to take a 90 minute ferry across a lake and only at 5:00 pm. The next closest was 125 kms but it was North (we were going South in Chile) and when you crossed you had 40 kms of bad gravel road. So the third pass, and last pass, was our default choice. We could take the Seven Lakes Road back up to that pass, the road we came over from Bariloche on, or we could drive an extra 200 kms around to get to the pass on a totally blacktopped group of roads. Since it had rained for two days and (read the last blog) we had enough trouble coming here, we took the long route.

Well it turned out pretty well. The 200 kms of Argentina is beautiful high range land just in front of the snow capped Andes range. The road followed a mountain river valley which was beautiful. And to top if off we saw a large black bear, the largest deer and antler rack I have ever seen, pink flamingos and two rainbows. On the last rainbow we could see both ends and all the colors of the spectrum for a brief period of time (sorry no pictures).

Then we headed up to the mountain pass (hwy 231) and the Argentine/Chile frontier. The last Argentine town was a very touristy place full of log cabins with shops and cafe in all of them. From there it was a winding two lane road, quite a good road. We passed through the Argentine border station with a small amount of paperwork for us and the rental car. Then there was about 20 kms of high mountain winding road before we passed a "welcome to Chile sign". Then another 20 kms before we got to the Chile border station. There we had the same paperwork for us and the auto, but here they wanted to look at all of our luggage. We had to take it out and using a table along side the road open each for inspection. The inspection wasn't too thorough but they were prepared to be thorough. Then it was another 20 kms(hwy 215) before there was any sign of life in Chile. The Chile side does look different because it is much greener with a lot more vegetation and a lot of large ferns in the woods. The rain falls on the western side of the mountains.

In general the land looked a lot more like farm land than ranch land. Many more fences and dairy cattle. The road took us along the South side of a large lake. Soon the small towns started and then eventually we were in Orsono, Chile and we met Route 5, the Pan American Highway, which we took South about 85 kms to Puerto Varas. It is a modest sized town alongside the second largest lake in Chile. A huge volcano sits on the other side of the lake and if the clouds ever clear we will go see it.

Trip to San Martin de Los Andes

At 12:32 pm on March 28th we left Buenos Aires on a semi cama bus headed to Bariloche, which is in Northern Patagonia. It is called the Lake District of Argentina. This is an area where thousands come to ski, hike, climb, fish, swim and enjoy the spectacular mountain scenery and the hundreds of chilly lakes. We arrived in Bariloche on the 29th of March around 1:45 pm just to give you an idea of the time we spent on the bus. Though it sounds like a long time to be on a bus, remember it is not like bus travel in the USA. These buses are quite nice: seats make into beds, they serve food, show movies and even play Bingo! (Jane won the game and received a bottle of Malbec which she shared with fellow players.) But it still was a long bus ride.
Most of the views, until it got dark, were of huge cattle ranches called estancias located in the pampas southwest of BA. We saw lots of cattle and horses out in the rolling green grasslands. This is where the gaucho came into being though we didn't see any from the bus window.

Sunday morning when we woke up the scenery was totally different. The flat land was replaced by rolling hills with an abundance of scrublike vegetation. About 2 hours out of Bariloche, the scenery reminded us of eastern Colorado or New Mexico. No views of the Andes but huge mesas and bluffs that were beautiful. Soon the Andes came into view. We again were reminded of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Throughout this area there are huge national parks.

In Bariloche we picked up a rental car to drive to San Martin de los Andes, which was an adventure for sure. The road was gravel and sometimes mud, narrow and curvy, up steep grades and down steeper ones, through forests of tall cedars and then through rolling cattle country. This was the "7 lakes route" so it was quite scenic when we dared to take our eyes off of the road. There are no guard rails and sometimes there is only one lane. It was rainy and misty which didn't help the conditon of the road. At one point a truck coming from the other way stopped to tell us they didn't think we could get through the road ahead because of all the mud. Thanks to Paul 's expert road racing skills and the power of our trusty Fiat we made it through with no problems though we each holding our breath. I was very happy to see the blacktop road.

We arrived in San Martin de los Andes at our timeshare resort in record time as we were afraid that they would be closing on a Sunday evening. This resort is nestled into the side of a mountain overlooking the city and lake. All the units are typical of mountain cottages constructed of logs and stone. It is colder here than in BA so we are wearing jeans for the first time in over three months.

On Monday we went on an excursion with the resort to a mountain lake. Another trip up steep mountain gravel roads. It was a fun trip: we spoke more Spanish than we ever have out side of class. The guys in charge of the excursion spoke some English but it was a good time for us to practice our Spanish. Monday night we went to an asado, which is a barbque, at the resort. This was hard for Paul and me as no one spoke any English and we were reluctant to strike up a conversation in Spanish. After dinner there was Karaoke. Interesting to hear all these songs in Spanish.

Tuesday was another adventure on the mountain roads. We headed out to see a huge lake below a high snow capped volcano. Just outside of town we followed some signs only to find out we were on the secondary route, which was longer and truly on the back roads. Lots of steep inclines, narrow, gravel and bumpy roads and discussion about whether we should turn around. This route took us past a beautiful small mountain lake with a snow capped peak behind it. Then through some valleys overlooked by peaks where cattle and horses were grazing. It was remote but beautiful. It is really beautiful country.

Eventually we returned to the primary road and on to the Lanin National Park. It is one of three large national parks which are in the Andes along the Chilean border. It was formed in 1937. The name comes from the majestic Lanin volcano that dominates the park. It is a dormant volcano which has a crown of snow year around. It is a park of some 800,000 acres. Below the volcano is Lake Huechulafquen of over 50 km in length. There are seven Mapuche Indian settlements around the park. They have been there since ancestral times. The drive along the lakeside was quite exhilarating with no guard rails and drops of several hundred feet.

There are many camping areas and some hostels. We had lunch at one of the few restaurants in the park. It was located right on the lake with a great view of the volcano. We had some fresh lake trout, which is very popular around here.

On the way back to our condo we stopped at the Chapelco Golf & Ski club. The golf course is surrounded by a new housing development and a beautiful hotel. The course was designed by Jack Nichlaus and is beautiful. They want $150 for a 18 holes. They did say that included the cart. I may not have time this trip.

Travels with Jason & Lori

On March 20th, we met Jason & Lori at the international airport in BA. From there we flew to Asuncion, Paraguay, to spend the weekend with Jason's longtime friend, Marcelo Sosa and his fiance, Maria de la Paz. Jason and Marcelo were college roommates at KU and also business partners in Paraguay. Marcelo and Maria have a lovely home on a golf course across the street from a yacht club and resort.

Asuncion is one of the oldest cities in South America. We toured all of the "old city" which is downtown near the port. This is not an attractive area of the city anymore as all but a few shops and offices have moved out of downtown. Unfortunately many of the historic buildings have been torn down or are in disrepair. There is a new downtown area where Asuncion looks very "first world". There are also some very nice residential areas. But this is a poor country low in natural resources. It seems there is not much of a middle class in Paraguay.

On Saturday we drove outside of the city because Jason wanted us to see what the chaco, which is a large part of the country west of Asuncion. It is poor soil and looks like dry range land with some vegetation but most trees are only near water. This is where there are huge cattle ranches (estancias). In the eastern part of the country the land is very fertile and the estancias are very big in farming.

On our way back to Asuncion we stopped at a Guaranis Indian reservation. This is one of four tribes of indigenous people of Paraguay. We were given a royal tour and Jason was even asked to dance with the older gentlemen of the tribe.

When Jason & Lori arrived in BA on Tuesday evening (they stayed an extra day in Asuncion), we met them at their hotel which was only 4 blocks from our apartment. It was wonderful for us to be with them. Not only are they family that we love and miss but Jason speaks perfect Spanish. This certainly made our visits to the museums, taxi rides, ordering at restaurants and touring more interesting. We went to the national historical museum and a prison museum in San Telmo which is in the older part of BA.

Along with visiting the museums we did a fair amount of walking. We also did our fair share of eating at some traditional parilla type restaurants: "bring on the beef". We had dinner with another Paraguayan friend of Jason's and his wife whom Paul and I had met early on in Buenos Aires. Needless to say Jason and friends had a wonderful time reminiscing about old times, all in Spanish, with some translation for Lori, Paul and me. It was real treat for Paul and I to have the "kids" spend time with us in SA.

Sunday in San Martin Plaza and San Telmo

Sunday March 15th was a beautiful sunny day in Buenos Aires with temps in the high 70s. After attending Mass (in English) in a beautiful church we walked to a large plaza called Plaza de San Martin. This is a beautiful plaza and park with many gigantic trees. There happened to be a traveling exhibit of bears (all standing upright) sponsored by UNICEF. There are over 240 bears in the exhibit (each 2m tall) and representing as many countries recognised by the UN. Each bear shows the individual design created by different artists on behalf of their native countries. "The Buddy Bears stand together hand in hand in a peaceful circle, promoting tolerance and understanding among different nations, cultures and religions." These bears have been on a world tour since 2002. Unfortunately in the list of countries on the tour I do not see the US. We were fascinated and hope that the pictures help you enjoy them also.

We then walked to San Telmo which was the first suburb of Buenos Aires. Wealthy Spaniards built ornate homes there in the early 19th century. In 1871 an epidemic of yellow fever hit and many of them fled to higher ground which is now the neighborhood of Recoleta. Immigrants then crammed into these abandoned mansions. Now these same houses are fought over by foreign buyers hoping to get in on the wave of urban renewal. The main street, (pedestrian only) still cobblestone and very narrow, is lined with artists, hippie looking folks, etc. all trying to sell you something from their display on a makeshift table or on the sidewalk. It is difficult to walk quickly on these old cobblestone streets so we took a leisurely walk and enjoyed looking at all the different items for sale. Toward the end of the street we noticed antique shops lining both sides of the street. We ended up in a plaza that was completely filled with stalls selling all varieties of art and antiques. We could not believe all the antiques that were for sale. The stalls were crammed to the brim as were the shops. Wow! An antique lover's paradise. Along the way there were guitar players, tango dancers, magicians, and singers and folks selling fresh empanadas of which we sampled. This was great entertainment for a Sunday afternoon. We managed to leave with all our belongings unlike Barbara Bush (George's daughter) who had her bag snatched while visiting the area.

This week we are enjoying not having to be in school for 4 hours. We have managed to fill our time with Spanish tutoring for an hour each day, 2 private tango lessons, haircuts, and walking in the neighborhood. We will be gone to Asuncion, Paraguay, from Friday until Monday or Tuesday. We are meeting Jason and Lori at the airport in BA and flying together to Asuncion where Jason's good friend and ex-business partner lives. Next post will be about our adventures in Paraguay.