Hey Friends!

Well we’ve been home in SJ a little over a week and had some time to settle in. We also have worked on a list of travel tips for our blog readers. We hope you find them useful and that they inspire you to see the world!

Here Goes:

• Less is definitely more.  We were really happy to have 50 Liter bags instead of the massive 70+ Liter bags we saw all over the place.  It’s true that the bag is your home, and you’re carrying it on your back for as long as you’re traveling.
• Know the type of person you are; you’re likely to be this type of traveler.  Kel and I love cities, food, drink, and interacting with people.  This doesn’t mean we didn’t stretch or push ourselves.  We did.  BUT most of our trip was filled with activities we enjoy at home, as well.
• Bring things you need to enjoy the activities you enjoy.  Neither of us brought jeans or any real going out clothes because we wanted to save space, weight, etc.  That was dumb.  We like going out, so we should have brought a few things specifically for those activities.
• Flexibility is the key.  Things will not go as planned, at least not all of the time.  Roll with it.  You can have fun doing things you didn’t plan to do or even want to do.
• Don’t be a hero.  Be safe.
  • Wear a money  belt.  We heard too many stories of people getting purses or day bags stolen with all of their valuables (credit cards, passports, etc.).  We didn’t hear of anyone having a money belt stolen off their bodies.
  • Listen to other travelers.  Learn from their stories.
  • Listen to locals.  If they tell you some area is unsafe best to heed their advice.  Don’t be paranoid, but be smart.  Best to take a $2 cab instead of risking a late night, drunken walk through a shady neighborhood.

• If possible, learn at least the basics in the local language.  You’re a visitor.  Locals always appreciate the effort.
• Whatever it is you can probably buy it there and for cheaper (unless it’s an electronic).  Obviously, do your research and come as prepared as you can, but don’t sweat it.  You can buy pretty much anything in the countries you’re traveling to.
• Almost all of this advice and more can be found on a great travel website called: http://www.travelindependent.info/. We found that this site was really thorough and did a good job of preparing us without causing unnecessary anxiety!

Best things we brought:

• iPhone: I turned off my iPhone’s service, which meant that I only had wifi.  No problem.  We downloaded Spanish translator apps, tons of Podcasts (for long bus rides), and a good bit of music.  The best part was Skype.  We connected to the ubiquitous free wifi almost everywhere and loaded the Skype app to make calls at $0.02 per minute!  The connection was clear and using the iPhone meant that we didn’t need to rely on junky headsets and slow connections at internet cafes.
• International cell phone: I got a basic Motorola one through Mobal (www.mobal.com).  There is a flat fee (about $100) for the phone and then you only pay when you use it.  The rates are crazy ($2-$3 per minute), but we used it only for emergencies (luckily there were none).  Our parents were the only ones with the number, so we knew we wouldn’t get any spam calls.  It made us feel good to know that they could reach us if they needed to anywhere locals have service.  Peace of mind is priceless.
• Super-absorbent and fast drying towels: Each person should have a big one.  These things dry incredibly quickly.  We found them useful, as some hostels charge a fee for towels or provide you with a towel you’d rather not use.
• Flip flops: these can be used in the shower and for walking around day-to-day.  They’re flexible, which as stated above is the key.
• Business cards: We printed business cards for like $10 bucks with our contact info, blog URL, etc.  They were super handy.  Instead of having to always write down our info, we just gave people a card.
• Small notebook: Use this to write down contact info, places to visit, etc.  Make sure it’s small enough to put in your pocket but relatively sturdy, as you’ll be pulling it out a lot of the time.
• Medical pack: We brought lots of different things (band-aids, laxatives, anti-diahhreals, etc) that we used ourselves or gave to other travelers.  It made us feel a bit safer.
• Hand sanitizer: This is essential if traveling to countries with relatively poor hygiene.  We found that most bathrooms had no soap in certain countries and cities.  Best to be prepared for the worst on this front.
• Toilet paper: Everywhere we went Kel kept a roll of toilet paper in her purse. We bought this locally and frequently hence there is no need to buy the expensive “travel” toilet paper found in some stores. You will need the stuff on you as many bathrooms in certain countries have none but you certainly don’t need to bring it with you from the US.
• LADIES ONLY: Even in her day to day life Kel uses a product called “The Keeper.” This is used in place of maxi pads or tampons, is reusable and much more environmentally friendly. Having the Keeper meant that she never had to look for these products and kept cost and weight down in her purse. If you’re interested and need a better explanation feel free to email her or check out the website: http://www.keeper.com/aboutkeeper.html
• Ziploc bags: These came in handy as we sometimes needed to put open bottles of lotion in our bags or wet bathing suits. Bring a variety of sizes you will be surprised how often you use them.
• Shampoo and Conditioner Bar: A company called “Lush” makes their own natural soaps and lotions. Before we left we bought a few of their shampoo bars. These bars look very much like soap but are made with ingredients specific to hair care. They were really easy to travel with, much neater than liquid and again, environmentally friendly. They last a long time and were not super expensive. Check out Lush: http://www.lush.com/
• Inflatable neck pillows: We bought travel pillows that were the blow up kind and they really came in handy on long buses and in hostels without pillows. We suggest the inflatable kind in order to save space.
• Empty pillow case for your dirty laundry: Great idea! By the time we got home our pillow case was toast but it really helped us keep everything separate during the trip!
• Prescription sunglasses: It’s pretty obvious that you should bring sunglasses on a trip like this. That said, many people who wear prescription glasses skip this advice because of the cost of prescription sunglasses. We splurged before the trip and had sunglasses that we could actually see out of! They REALLY came in handy especially when we were on the salt flats in Bolivia and were looking into the blinding sun

Things we wish we had brought:

• Headphone splitter adapter: We made due by using one ear bud and an ear plug in the other ear, but this only worked when there wasn’t a ton of ambient noise.  One of these splitters would have allowed us both to use our ear buds.
• Jeans and going out gear:  We like to go out, but we felt a bit awkward in our super-travel gear at times.  Some places (like clubs, nice restaurants, etc) require certain clothes we just didn’t have.  It doesn’t mean we didn’t go, but we did feel a bit odd.
• Day bag backpack: We were sometimes stuck choosing between one of our packs and a tote bag.  A small backpack would have been useful a number of times.
• Compression bags for packing: It is good to have some type of waterproof container to stick your clothes in before you pack them in your bag. It also helps if these containers compress down to make more room. Evan did not have anything to put his clothes in and found it tedious once packing came around. Kel used old plastic linen bags (the ones that comforters come in) and these worked pretty well.
• SPLURGE: If you’re only bringing one camera and it’s a small point and shoot look into getting one that’s waterproof.  They’re not cheap, but they can be used in all conditions (including underwater), which is pretty cool.

Things we brought that we shouldn’t have:

• Chacos and Tevas: I think this is specific to us, but we’re not huge trekkers, so we wasted about $100 each on super nice sandals that could be used on treks.  We found ourselves either using shoes or flip flops (good quality such as Rainbow or Haivanas) for almost every activity.
• Sleeping bag liners: These are great if you are going to do a lot of camping or you are traveling in countries where hostels do not usually have sheets on their beds. This was not the case in any of the places that we went, even the more low-end hostels offered relatively clean sheets. We didn’t really do a lot of camping so we ended up only using these once and that definitely didn’t justify the purchase or the weight. Again, know yourself, if you think you’ll use them, go for it! But be honest when you’re buying this type of specific gear

Feel free to email us with any questions, comments or tips…remember: This is our first time doing this too! Enjoy your research and go out and have the time of your life!!!

Happy Travels,

Kelly and Evan

So Evan wimped out on finishing the blog (yes you did!) so I figured I’d just finish up our trip in one hearty blog post.

We arrived back in the US (or as we like to call it, “NoAm”) on January 17th and yes, if you were wondering, Evan WAS questioned by Homeland Security…welcome home! But soon enough we were out in the warm Ft. Lauderdale sun.  We had a really nice time being welcomed home by Matt and Megan (and their cat Tigre) and just kind of lounged around..happy to be able to do so after traveling so much. We walked on the beach and enjoyed our first beers stateside. How I missed you Blue Moon! Thanks to Matt and Megan for making us feel so welcome in our first days back in the US.

We left Ft. Lauderdale and flew to Evan’s dad’s in Houston. It was a bit colder in Texas than in Florida and we started getting our bodies used to being in chillier temps! It was really great to be with Evan’s dad and Guia for a few days and we really loved being part of a full house, with members of Guia’s family staying along with us. We were most impressed with all of the fabulous cooking going on! Filipino, Mexican, you name it.

We played some tennis, caught up on our TV and even got to meet up with Evan’s college friend Dave for a beer! In addition to all of the people time we had we also witnessed our “first birth.” Guia’s chihuahua Puka had six puppies when we were there!! She was a great mama and cleaned all of her pups up as they came out and it was really cool to see a whole little family come together.

Puka and her new puppies

Before we left we celebrated Guia’s birthday with some awesome Mexican food (ceviche, guacamole, grilled steak for Evan, tortillas, mmm…we were craving it!!) and we also watched Hope for Haiti. We are hoping to do something to also raise funds for this horrific tragedy when we get organized back at home.

We left on Sun January 24th and were super grateful to Evan’s dad for lending us a car for the long journey back. Thanks to everyone!!

We headed to Austin, Texas and I was really excited for a few reasons. I have never been to Austin and heard great things about the city, the people, etc. Also, we were on our way to meet Robbie Davis-Floyd for dinner.  Robbie Davis-Floyd is a very well known cultural anthropologist, specializing in the anthropology of reproduction. She has written and edited many books focused on midwifery care, birth models around the world and the medical system in the United States. She is also a renowned speaker and teacher and lives in Austin, Texas. If you’re interested in checking out her awesome work be sure to visit her website: www.davis-floyd.com

I contacted Robbie when we were still in South America to see if it would be possible to just meet with her and pick her brain when we were in Austin. I really didn’t expect a response because I know how busy she is with conferences and speaking engagements. I was pleasantly surprised when Robbie got back to me straight away, invited me and Evan to dinner and offered us a place to stay! We were excited to meet with Robbie both because she is such an important part of the birth community but also because I am in the very very early stages of researching possible masters and PhD programs in this area.

Meeting with Robbie was really wonderful. I was a little nervous at first but we eased into the conversation soon enough and found ourselves spending more than four and half hours with her! We had great conversation and Robbie gave me great advice about programs, pathways, etc. She also graciously presented me with two of her books signed with encouragement. What a great night! Thanks so much to Robbie for welcoming us in and being a mentor to me. I really look forward to visiting again next time we come to Austin!

We did not end up staying with Robbie however, which brings me to the third reason I was excited to get to Austin, and of course Evan as well. A good friend of ours, John Wilkes, lives and works in Austin and we got to stay with him for two nights. John and Evan went to Columbia together and were best friends throughout. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen John since the summer of 06 and was really pumped to spend some time with him.

Austin did not disappoint. It is a vibrant, friendly city filled with young people doing creative things…everything from green business models to cool coffee shops (like Jo’s on South Congress…they’re currant muffin is rockin).  At John’s we were not far from a lot of great little “strips” where Evan and I just strolled taking in everything from quirky clothing shops to famous cowboy boot sellers. John had to work during the day (doing financial managing for Bess Bistro, owned by Sandra Bullock) so Evan and I just explored the city..visiting the UT campus and reading about the historical buildings in the area. We also visited the flagship Whole Foods…man that place is HUGE.

At night John joined us and we had a great time catching up over great cocktails, sushi (yes!) and late night drive thru tacos.  It was awesome to see him and his city and I am definitely planning to go back for an Austin’s City Limits one of these years! We’ll see you in the city soon John!

Johnny Columbia taking us out on the town in Austin

After Austin we started the drive to New Orleans.  Along the road I kept pointing out all of the American and Texan flags along the highway…those Texans LOVE their flag..I bet most people in NJ don’t even know what the flag looks like! As we got into Louisiana we saw the landscape change and when we stopped at a truck stop outside Baton Rouge we were reminded of how we just hit the south. Between the toothless women behind the counter and the ACTUAL tigers in cages outside we were not sure of who we were more afraid of.

We made it into New Orleans in the evening and pulled up to another of Evan’s college friends, Ashvi. Ashvi and Evan studied abroad together in Spain and now she is in her second year of law school at Tulane in New Orleans. She lives in a really pretty house with two great roomies (and an adorable pug named Bella) in the Uptown section of the city, very close to both Tulane and Loyola.

As all of you know by now..Evan and I think of travel and food as synomous words, and New Orleans holds a special place in our heart. Since we only had a day in a half in the Big Easy we decided to just eat our way through. Luckily, Ashvi was along for the ride! As soon as we got in she offered to take us to ACME Oyster House, one of our favorite places ever and we were happy to take her up on the offer.

Along with her boyfriend Daniel and his friend Pat we piled in plates filled with raw and charbroiled oysters and cold Abita beer. What more do you want?? We were really excited to be in New Orleans at this time since they had just won the Playoffs and will be playing in the Superbowl this Sunday for the first time in their history. Put that with Mardi Gras being a week away (and the season already underway) and you have one fun city!

Ashvi was pretty busy with school so Evan and I took to the streets on Thursday. We drove down St. Charles Ave and took in all the beautiful old homes along the way, all decked out in their Saints and Mardi Gras regalia. We walked along Magazine St and saw all the signs for “Saints Cakes” a Superbowl spin on the traditional “Kings Cake” for Mardi Gras.

Who Dat Nation! GO SAINTS!

Also along Magazine St. we stopped into a fish market on Magazine Street called “Big Fisherman” and picked up 5lbs (yes, you heard right) of boiled crawfish for lunch. Now, just to be clear…this is 5lbs but it certainly isn’t 5lbs of food… crawfish are itty bitty and it takes a lot to get a good meal out of them. That said, 5lbs is still a LOT. Well we took on the challenge. Across the street from the market is a bar called “The Bulldog” where you can eat your crawfish at their outside tables if you buy a beer. We parked ourselves outside  and enjoyed a solid hour of cracking open and sucking on crawfish. Hog Heaven.

Done and Done, NOLA style

Thurs night we went to dinner (not like we needed it) with Ashvi and had some great Creole flavors at a local favorite called “Jaques-Imos”. However, my favorite part of the night is when the guy at the bar told me that I looked like “I could be the daughter of Mother Earth.” To some, that may be a dig at my non made up face and scruffy clothing but in my line of work, that is a compliment. So thanks! After dinner we went to a place called “Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar”  and listened to some great New Orleans jazz. Another thanks to Ashvi, her roomates, Dan and Pat for a solid time in NOLA.

We hit the ground running on Friday morning and piled a few more goodies into the car before we left. We visited a great hole-in-the-wall bar and lunch spot called Domilise’s Po-Boy shop. Domilise’s has been around for a long time and is a favorite of the Manning brothers. Dot and her husband still run the place and make some mighty fine Po-Boys. They are no nonsense and they are awesome..I so wish we had enough time to sit and have a beer. This place evoked White House Subs in AC for me and brought me home. And the shrimp and oyster po-boy was to die for. Evan was jealous but satiated himself with a muffaletta from Central Grocery. These things are huge but it served him well throughout the long drive ahead.

Before we left we decided to take a drive down to the Lower Ninth Ward. Evan and I were in New Orleans not too long after Katrina hit the city but we didn’t have a car so we didn’t see anything past the French Quarter. This time we headed over the bridge. The Lower Ninth Ward is definitely still suffering as we drove past blocks and blocks of boarded up businesses and houses. We could not believe that it’s been nearly five years since disaster struck. That said, we also saw some houses being cleaned up and people moving back into neighborhoods. It breaks my heart to know that so many people have not yet returned home to the city they love so much. I really am pulling for the Saints to win this weekend and both Evan and I feel like honorary members of “Who Dat Nation.”

As we drove through the south I entered Mississippi and Alabama for the first time. Next time we do a trip I really want to stop along the way more but for my first time (Evan drove his sister cross country to move to New Mexico in the summer of 06) it was cool just to see the landscapes and road signs change as we entered each new state. It was along this route that we started to hear warning signs of really bad weather on the radio. Now, I don’t think many people get stuck in the South because of WINTER weather but you can bet that’s what happened to us.

We planned to drive for about 9 hrs and reach Atlanta, Georgia for the night and to wake up bright and early on Saturday and drive straight until we got to Gretchen and Dan in Virginia Beach. Well by the time we stopped off in Duluth, Georgia, right outside of Atlanta we were already experiencing freezing rain in the South and heard of bad weather in South and North Carolina. We checked into a Days Inn and hoped for better skies in the morning.

Unfortunately we did not make it out of Duluth on Saturday. Instead, we went to the Waffle House, my first ever and spent the day held up in the Days Inn before we took in an early meal at the Olive Garden. Now here’s my little “soap box” moment. It is really distressing to see how almost every town in America has turned into one big mini mall. I could not tell when we left one place and entered another because everything is chain, chain, chain. Everywhere you look are the same restaurants and stores and it’s really sad especially because these restaurants peddle hefty portions of unhealthy food for cheap prices. I really would like to see the local food movements move quicker across the nation….but I can’t complain about the coffee at Waffle House. It’s pretty good.

Although we were cranky (especially me) about missing a wknd night with our friends and being stuck in suburban Georgia, honestly it was good to have a break from the car. The next morning we left pretty early (after refilling our cups at Waffle House) and headed north to see the damage.

Evan did an awesome job as he navigated the roads from South to North Carolina and the roads were generally okay. That said, obviously these states are even worse than South Jersey when it comes to snow and many places were not plowed at all. Even so, we got to Gret and Dan’s at a decent time and were more than happy to see two heaping glasses of Malbec on the counter waiting for us.

Gretchen is an old friend of ours as we went to high school with her and I have known her since our days in the children’s choir! She and her awesome husband Dan (and their sweet English lab Duncan) are living in Virginia Beach as Dan is a crew coach at Old Dominion. Their townhouse is cozy but we hope they eventually join us back in the tri-state area.

We made some great meals with them and it was really an awesome surprise when, on Monday we ended up having an extra “weekend day” with them because of the snow. We had a killer breakfast equipped with mimosas in plastic cups at “Big Sam’s Inlet Cafe and Raw Bar” overlooking the water and saw the really pretty coastline of Virginia Beach. Another thanks go out to these two for feeding us so well (and providing copious amounts of wine). It was really cozy and we’re really looking forward to seeing you home in SJ!

We left Gret and Dan on Tues and headed for our last major stop in Burke, Virginia where Evan’s aunt and uncle live. We only get to see Kay and Jack once or twice a year so it was awesome to just hang out with them. We also got lucky again as Wednesday was a snow day for Kay and a snow day for their granddaughter Megan, Evan’s goddaughter. We got to spend all day Wednesday with Kay, Jack, Megan and her little brother Zachary.  So thankful to Auntie Kay and Uncle Jack for making our stay so cozy and feeding us so well! We are really looking forward to visiting with you in AC soon.

We were supposed to head into DC for Thursday night to see our fabulous friends Zach and Kate but we heard the weather reports and decided that we better not risk getting stuck in DC when the snow storm hit today (Friday, February 5th).  Hopefully we can get down to see you guys soon but it just wasn’t meant to be on this trip. With our minds made up and our bags packed we hit the road again..this time on our way home.

The drive home through Maryland, Delaware and finally NJ was a really easy one and it was just so surreal for the both of us when we hit Route 40 towards Atlantic City. I know that we have been away a while (and for Americans, an eternity) but it didn’t feel like very long when we pulled into Evan’s drive way on Main Street and greeted his mom at the door. It just felt like we’d driven around the block a few times and came back because we forgot something.

Last night we had some real Jersey subs and beer after stocking up at the grocery store for the big snowstorm expected to land here tonight. It was awesome to hang out at my mom’s and surprise my stepdad, of course I cried upon seeing both of them…Evan is much more of a grownup than I am! We gave them trinkets from our trip and started the first part of what will be many conversations about the trip and the last five months of everyone’s lives. It was weird to spend our first night without each other in five months (I know, mushy!) but I think that we are both really looking forward to spending the six months or so back here in South Jersey before we head back to Brooklyn in the fall. We’re not sure of our next steps in our careers, schooling, living, anything but we’re both happy to be back here with our family and our friends for a time.

We will be writing a final blog post in the week to come with thoughts on the trip, tips for fellow travelers and musings over plans for our next big adventure, hopefully to happen before we’re 30.  Sorry for the lack of photos in this post..we just got tired of taking them!! That said, we have uploaded all of our photos to our flickr page and hope you’ll check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanchezandrenn/

I hope that you’ve enjoyed taking this journey with us..we have certainly enjoyed relaying it to all of you! Thank you to everyone who helped us have a wonderful experience and thank you to Evan for encouraging me to take this trip, guiding me through it the entire time and getting me home safely.

Cheers.

Okay okay..so I didn’t feel like writing the blog entry when we were still in Peru, but hey…we’ve only been back in the country for like four days, it’s still fresh!

So we arrived in Lima as Evan said and we were anxious to get some rest and a shower after three days. Evan booked us a private room for two nights and then a dorm room for the next two and a private for the last night in S. America at this fun new hostel that has just opened in the Miraflores section of Lima. It is so new that it wasn’t even open when we were in Lima in September. Now this may worry some people but Evan was really impressed by their website so we took a shot.

We were not disappointed by HQ Villa on Calle Independencia, the hostel is run by a British bloke named Mike and his wonderful girlfriend from Lima, Misha. Their hostel is really beautiful and spacious and for only being open three months, they run it really well. Although we could not check into our room right away, we were able to hang out in their comfy lounge, watch TV in the TV room and all of the building has free Wi-Fi so that we called our moms using Skype. As we were waiting Misha’s brother did a cooking demonstration in the awesome and huge kitchen (super clean too!) where he made traditional coastal Peruvian cuisine.  The meal was explained and when he was done we had an awesome meal consisting of a chicken dish (for Evan) and Papas a la Huancaina which do have a little dairy in them but are just about the best things in the world..all for around 12 soles (roughly $4 US)..what a great welcome!

Obviously we were beat from the three days on the bus and as we had already been to Lima, we were looking forward to just bumming around our hostel and having some great ceviche, which is exactly what we did. We soon learned that we really didn’t have to go anywhere! We had a great open courtyard, hot showers, an awesome kitchen, free internet and movies and games in a cosy TV room! All of the people staying at the HQ Villa where really friendly and a few of them felt like us, why leave?? We became really friendly with a Brit from Oxford named Simon and ended up sharing a few meals together and chatting over a few beers. The second night we were there HQ Villa hosted a BBQ and Misha’s brother grilled us up some fish and octopus..yum! Evan and I also hunkered down and watched Inglorious Bastards which was really good and All the King’s Men with Sean Penn, also worth a look.

The one “productive” thing I did in Lima was meet up with a birth activist named Cynthia Ingar. She is around my age and currently pursuing her PhD in Lima in Anthropology with a focus on feminism and medical anthropology. We actually emailed back and forth but missed each other the last time I was in Lima. Upon returning we realized that we were both free and met up at a great cafe for a chat.  Cynthia is running a project called the KillaWarmi Project which is dedicated to working with Andean women surrounding issues of reproductive rights, birthing rights, etc. What Cynthia is setting out to do is to help lower maternal and infant mortality rates in these communities without losing the very important customs and rituals of these groups as well as the passed down knowledge regarding birth. Many times in developing countries (and of course in the US!) the answer is to just send everyone to the hospital or completely intervene with the newest technological model, forgetting the age old wisdom of these women and their right to have autonomy over their bodies and their decisions. Cynthia and I spoke for two hours about our beliefs and how we came to this work. She was very inspiring and I hope to continue to be in touch with her about her work and the status of birthing rights in Peru. If you are interested in her project check out: www.killawarmiproject.blogspot.com or look it up on Facebook. Thanks Cynthia!

In addition to the great food we had at the hostal we also had one last hurrah in the food world..and it turned out to be our best endeavor yet (sorry Buenos Aires, you know we still love you the most as a whole!) We really wanted to have some great ceviche before we left Lima and Misha’s brother once again, came to our aid. He suggested a place right in Miraflores, near the ocean called Pescados Capitales. This place is only open for the afternoon (as you should eat ceviche early in the day) and it gets PACKED. Evan and I went around 11:30 or 12pm and got our choice of table but by the time we left two hours later, there were lines. It is a beautiful outdoor space with a clean, ocean look and great service, something not to be downplayed in S. America. To start we had classic ceviche made with a white fish, lime, onions, corn and sweet potato. It was totally out of this world. We then had grilled calamari and then a dish called a causa made with shrimp, potato, and avocado..totally awesome. The cool thing was that the dishes were pretty small so we were full but not stuffed. For dessert we had a mousse made from a local Peruvian fruit called a lucuma…the mousse tasted like something you would have on Thanksgiving, like a cross between a pumpkin pie and a sweet potato. AWESOME! Finally we had our last Pisco sours in Peru..what a great way to say goodbye! The meal was definitely our finest in terms of flavor and while some people may recount their camping exploits, we  have focused heavily on the food and drink, definitely not a mistake!!

Our last great meal in S. America...ceviche!

Goodbye South America! Thanks for the Pisco Sours!

Our last night in South America was very chill, some light dinner, a beer and a movie before an early bedtime. At 5:30am I felt like we were sneaking out of the country as we left HQ Villa in the dark. We watched the sun rise over Lima as we left the airport and said goodbye to our first grand adventure together. It’s one of those moments that isn’t as special as you imagine it to be…but looking back, I know that in the months to come, it will hit me…just how amazing the last 4 and a half months have been. We have been so lucky.

Anyway, enough mushy stuff…we made it back in one piece (even through US customs) and Evan will continue here about our little journey through what I like to call “NoAM.”

Before saying goodbye to Argentina, we had to quickly say hello and goodbye to Colonia, Uruguay.  Honestly, this is one of my favorite places we visited.  It was probably the most laid back non-beach place I´ve ever been.  It´s easy to reach Colonia by ferry directly from Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires.  (We took Buque Bus, but there is another ferry company called Colonia Express.  The prices were comparable.)

After a three hour ride on the ferry, we hit the shores of Colonia, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site — the whole damn historical district!  We made our way to the hostel and dropped our things, so we could check out what all the fuss was about.  The town is beautiful: colonial buildings, grassy mini-parks, and views of the river.  It´s the perfect place for a stroll (which is a new thing for me) and a nap under a giant tree (also new).  We pretty much spent the next 24 hours doing these activities plus dining al fresco, which is officially one of my favorite things.  We enjoyed a seafood feast at El Drugstore, which has an antique car you can dine in (photo to come) and I had the national dish, the Chivito, at Bar Viejo.  It´s a meat smorgasborg (steak, ham, bacon, egg, etc) and it´s DELICIOUS!  It was enough for at least two of me, but I proudly finished it in one sitting. Colonia provided us with a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires.  We felt like proper Porteños taking a day trip out of the city in the Summer.

Cobbled street in Old Colonia

Evan with the chivito..yum!

 We made our way back to Buenos Aires for one last hurrah.  We stayed in Gecko Hostel (it was so-so) in Palermo, so that we could spend a little more time in this neighborhood before heading back to Lima.  We really dig Palermo, but we feel like San Telmo is more our speed (think Manhattan vs. Brooklyn), so we spent the morning in S.T. checking out some art galleries and just saying goodbye to the hood before heading up to Palermo for our last proper meal at one of our favorites, Fabrica del Taco (which is one of the best Mexican restaurants for tacos I´ve been to outside of Texas or Mexico).  After this we made our way to the Buenos Aires Zoo for Zoo de Noche.  This is a guided tour through the zoo in central B.A. from 8-10pm certain nights of the week (make sure you make reservations in advance).  It was really a lot of fun.  Neither Kel nor I are big zoo people, but it was pretty sweet to see the zookeepers feeds the rhinos and elephants.

Feeding time at the Zoo de Noche

It was a definite locals-only crowd, so we felt like it was a real find on our last day. To finish the night we headed to the best jazz club in B.A., Thelonious, which is also in Palermo.  This place is definitely cool and the drinks are really solid.  We chilled there for a few hours just taking it all in before making our way back to the hostel to catch a few hours of sleep before moving into a bus (Cruz del Sur was the company) for the next 68 hours.

So how was the bus to Lima, Peru from Buenos Aires, Argentina?  Honestly, it wasn´t as bad as we anticipated.  We definitely were prepared for the worst (and in general, just better prepared, as we brought a good amount of snacks), but it really wound up being a good bit of fun.  We were the only people not from either Argentina or Peru, so it gave us a lot of time to commiserate with our fellow pilgrims in Spanish.  68 hours on a bus is not fun for anyone, but it´s not so bad when you have a bathroom (and are seated far from it — the front is a must for long bus rides!) and stop every 6-8 hours.  There were a ton of well-behaved kids on the bus that addressed us in English and asked all kinds of questions like ¨How do you say XYZ in English¨.  (We were amazed that there was almost no crying or temper tantrums.  I highly doubt this would be the same with American children.)  We had a lot of fun with them and I think they had a lot of fun with us, too.  Additionally, we felt like it was kind of cool to cross through basically the majority of the landscapes we had visited on our 4 month journey in 3 days.  It was a world-wind tour.  Lastly, it was so cool to see so many Peruvians that had been living in Argentina make it back home.  As we crossed the border from Chile into Peru they played the Peruvian national anthem and people were saluting, singing, and crying.  It was something special.  We´re pretty sure we´re going to feel the same when we arrive in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday!

So I don´t want to overplay how great it was (I doubt we´d do it again).  Here´s what sucked: the constant loud music played throughout the day starting at about 7am (Why wake us up?  It´s not like we had anywhere to go or anything to do… other than listen to annoying music), the non-cama seats (very little reclining, so we were almost constantly in the same position), the windy roads through mainly southern Peru (Kel got sick), the insane amount of gas our fellow passengers had (the bus driver literally stopped the bus once to ask the person that farted to get off and use the bathroom), the fact that the bathroom was NEVER emptied (you can´t outrun that scent regardless of how far forward your seats are), and the reality that you´ve spent three days on a bus.

Bus to Lima..day two

And bus to Lima...day 3!

BUT… we made it, and we were proud that we´d built up some serious tolerance for hardcore travel.  More than anything the ride made us realize how easy we have it back home.

We´re headed back there tomorrow.  Neither of us can believe how fast the time has flown. It´s been AMAZING!  (I´ll stop there and let Kel tell you about our last couple of days in Lima.)

As Evan said, we stocked up on grub for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As you all know, my mother throws a party with a huge spread these last 22 years on Christmas Eve and I wanted to make sure that I made her proud, even if rations and funds are limited. The plan was that our friends Brenden and Lyssa (travelers from Canada) were going to come over on Christmas Eve day and we would just hang, snack, drink and then make a big dinner. Our Christmas Day plans included a big brunch with our neighbors (3 lovely Irish ladies) and later more food and drink next door in their apt. I was a little nervous because Christmas (especially the Eve) are such a big deal to me, I was missing my family so much and I was worried that our Christmas festivities would really just remind me of what I was missing back home. I was pleasantly surprised!

Evan, Brendan, Lyssa and I did a bang up job in stocking up for the holiday. We did a grocery run all together and then Lyssa and I went to the vegetable bodegas for fresh veggies and fruit and Evan and Brenden went to get steak for Christmas Eve and meats and cheeses to snack on from the butcher. We got everything we needed for both days under something like $40 US per person, so crazy and Brenden and Evan ordered us a custom made meat, cheese and olive spread with crusty bread to snack on Christmas Eve day..awesome!

Our Christmas Eve afternoon snacks

Ready to chow down on Christmas Eve dinner

Christmas morning we woke up and Evan and I exchanged our presents from under the tree and got right to brunch. I believe that Lyssa gets most of the credit for brunch because she did a great job making homemade crepes and french toast in our little kitchen! I made a big fresh fruit salad and Evan whipped up scrambled eggs with chorizo. We also sliced up our pannettone, a sweet bread eaten here for Christmas. I will not pretend that our Irish neighbors, Marianne, Leighann and Carla, weren`t impressed. We drank mimosas and although we all missed our families we all agreed that it was a pretty great Christmas morning.

Evan´s Christmas Present

Brunch Team

Christmas Brunch

We cleaned up (called families again) and snoozed a bit. Around 4pm we used up some eggs and made finger sandwiches of egg salad and brought them next door to our neighbors, where they had MORE food and drink! The apt was filled with our neighbors and their friends, mostly Irish travelers. The rest of the day was filled with festivity as we exchanged silly gifts in a “secret Santa” and played charades, hilarious. When we were all pretty drunk and exhausted from the game we took to the streets where porteños (Buenos Aires residents) had opened the bars and restaurants and were celebrating. We hit up a few bars and Evan and I finally said goodbye to everyone at around 2:30am. Not bad for drinking all day! All in all I think we all had a really fun Christmas, way more fun than I expected to have. That said, as much as I tried, it didn`t really end up being “Christmasy” and so I will be sitting with my mom one day next month and watching Christmas movies and then having ReChristmas with my bff, Loryn. Really looking forward to both.

Silly Secret Santa Gift

The day after Christmas we just laid around while Brenden and Lyssa were productive and strolled the city. It was a Saturday and their last Saturday in BA. They hadn`t been “out on a Sat night” in the city so we all decided to get dressed up and go out. We had dinner at another great steak house called “Las Cabras” (although cheaper than some of the others) and had a wonderful  meal in a really cool setting. After Cabras we once again hit up Congo for some great drinks (Lyssa hadn`t been yet) and then headed next door to Kika for some dancing. The dance cub was pretty funny as they played early nineties hits, the kind that make you feel like you`re at a drag show. We were loving it until the music started to change to shitty house and everyone around us was smoking with no ventilation!! After a while we couldn`t handle it (aka me) and we left but we were pretty proud as we got home around 4am.

Looking Good on our Night Out

Leading up to New Years we did some more touristy activities (Recoleta cemetery where Evita is buried, Museum of Fine Arts, etc.) and said goodbye to Brenden and Lyssa after a dinner of awesome empanadas in our apt. We sent them back to the cold in Canada but we miss them, the holidays would not have been the same without them!

Another thing we did that week is that we took in a Tango show at a very small venue in our neighborhood called Bar Sur. There were only about 12 tables and the show ran from 8pm to 2am and you could stay as long as you liked. Evan and I both agreed that it was a highlight of our time here in BA (and thats saying a lot) as it was so sexy and really impressive. The show incorporated singers, a band, and of course, dancers (athough tango, for some, is just about the music). We both got a chance to dance (yikes!) and I really missed my Nana as I sat there, I just know if she`d had the chance she would have run away to Buenos Aires and never come back.

Sexy tango dip

Evan in a classic tango pose

We decided to spend New Years eve being low key. A lot of people do dinner with their families (asados, or bbqs) and a lot of porteños go away for the holiday, so there wasn`t much open and the places that were open were pretty expensive. So, as a treat, we “went away.” Evan`s friend David lives here in BA and has a great apt in the Belgrano section of town. He went home for a stretch and left us the keys, in case we wanted to stay. We loved being in our own place in San Telmo so we didn`t go over but we decided that for New Years we would treat ourselves to his Direct TV and rooftop looking over the city.

I have to say after having many “lively” NYEs I am now a fan of the low key kind as well. We got some wine and champagne, made ourselves a veggie pizza from scratch (okay, not the dough)..got some snacks and chocolate and watched movies. At midnight we popped the cork and watched the massive amount of fireworks go off from David`s balcony and roof. We also got enough wifi to call our parents and my sister and as a bonus, we spent all of New Year`s Day (when NOTHING is open) getting drunk off of our remaining champagne and wine. It was good times.

So as the holidays came to a close we realized how close we are to going back to the states! We hung around on the wknd in our place and got some last minute things for back home. Sadly, we packed up our stuff and left our little apt. this past Monday. To celebrate, the night before we had some great chocolate cake and wine at a local restaraunt. We really loved having our own space, being in Buenos Aires and spending the holidays here. I did NOT love the effects of eating and drinking everything in site (including dairy, yes I`ve paid the price but you have to have La Cupertina`s empanadas, no matter what)..but hey, that`s what the spring is for..dieting!

We were lucky enough to save money on a hostel by staying at David`s two more nights (THANK YOU DAVID!) and then left for Uruguay on Wed morning. Evan will tell you about our two days in Uruguay and will be reporting on that AFTER we get to Lima. Oh yes, this Saturday we are taking a  65 plus hour busride to Lima, Peru so that we can fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Sun. Jan 17th. It`s possible that we might lose our minds.

Anyway, we love Buenos Aires. Thank you to everyone who gave us suggestions and shared their favorite places. We will surely be back someday..for now, we`ll focus on spending 2010 with our friends and family in SJ and NYC.

Oh! In other news, right at the tale end of 2009 my very dear friend (I won`t say her name right now because I`m not sure if she`s told everyone yet!) gave birth to a baby boy. I am so excited to meet him and congratulate the proud parents when I get back. xox Happy New Year!

Our arrival in Buenos Aires began with a crash, literally.

After a 17 hour bus ride from Iguazú we arrived about 7 A.M. in the Retiro bus terminal in downtown Buenos Aires. We were planning to stay a few nights in a good friend´s apartment in Bel Grano, which is in northern B.A. We jumped in a cab, ran straight into a marathon, and arrived just in time for the skies to open up. (Apparently it rained for a month straight before we arrived and we caught the tail end of it all.) Unfortunately, my buddy and I mixed up our dates. He was expecting us on the 17th of December, so there was no room in the inn. I thought Kelly was going to kill me; no doubt it was the closest I came to death on the trip. We quickly decided to stay at the hostel of the woman that rented us the apartment in San Telmo to get acquainted to our new neighborhood. We zoomed (still pouring outside) to the hostel and as we approached, we ran straight into the side of another cab… BOOM!!! Welcome to Buenos Aires! Luckily, no one was hurt. Minutes later we were in the hostel snoozing the day away.

We moved into our own place just down the block on December 1, and we were really pleased with the apt and the woman that was in charge of our rental, Maria. We also met a ridiculous character that was somehow involved in the transaction (possibly a lawyer…?) named Pablo Picasso. Kelly and I were blown away by this and in retrospect should have introduced ourselves as Vincent Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo. We were so pumped to have a home away from home after 3 months of pretty constant travel. Here are a few photos of our humble abode on the corner of Chile and Defensa, right in the heart of San Telmo.

Our Kitchen

View of Living Room from Loft

Big Bootied Ladies Painting

We jump started our time in Buenos Aires by going to a Boca Juniors soccer game, which is an intense experience. Boca is the most famous team in Argentina (probably all of Latin America) and their fans are passionate to say the least. Honestly, they didn´t stop cheering the entire game (even when the other team scored and even after the game ended in a crushing 2-1 loss). The team has been playing pretty poorly this season, but you wouldn´t have known it based on their constant chanting. Here is a shot of us at the game:

Us and the Giant Boca Flag!

We also went to see a River game, which is the other big team here in Buenos Aires. Their fans are a little wealthier (think Yankees; Boca is more Mets) and more reserved, but not much more. We had some great seats and were able to see some awesome action up close. If you have a chance to go to both, do it, but if you have to choose one or the other go with Boca.

We´ve dome some sight seeing around town (the Evita Museum is the highlight so far) but we´ve mainly been content with wandering about, coming upon interesting things, places, etc. and eating and drinking our way through this amazing city. The buildings in general are incredible. The city was built in a grand fashion with the widest city street in the world (16 lanes), classy buildings, and beautiful plazas. You´ll find open spaces all over town. We live on the street of the San Telmo fair; every Sunday it´s packed with vendor´s stalls selling all kinds of cool crafts, jewelery, clothing, etc. and it´s swarmed by tourists. We´ve spent quite a few hours combing through the various stalls. There are also tons of antiques in our neighborhood, which isn´t really our thing, but it´s cool to window shop. We did take the B.A. bus, which gave us a crash course on the city and its history. We felt like it was a good way for us to see a ton and learn a little background without working too hard. It´s sad to say, but I think we´re pretty burnt out of being tourists, which is why the apartment has been so great: it makes us feel like we´re locals, if only for a month.

Casa Rosada

9 de Julio: Widest Street in the World

Famous Bridge in Puerto Madero

The food and drink in this city are pretty ridiculous. Any weight we´d lost along the way has been gained back (but hopefully not more than we started with). And the price is right, especially on the beef. Even at the one of the most famous/expensive parillas in town, La Cabrera, an entire meal (appetizer, entrée, desert, wine) for three was about $80 US dollars. We created a list of the restaurants and bars we wanted to get to and I´m happy to say that we´ve been making very solid progress. There are a few more places we need to get to, but I have no doubt we will!

Here are a few of our favorites for anyone interested:

- Amici Miei: tiny Italian restaurant on the second floor looking onto Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo. I had some of the best Risotto of my life here and Kel really enjoyed her pasta (she´s had enough pasta on this trip to really know what awesome homemade pasta is)

- Gran Parilla: relatively standard parilla but with top-notch steaks and a delicious chocolate volcano dessert

- La Fabrica de Tacos: tacky Mexican decor (lucha libre masks and neon lights) but some of the best tacos I´ve had outside of TX or MX

One of my friends from college, Claudia, came down to B.A. for a few weeks and was ready to party. We really appreciated her energy and thrived off of it! We had our first proper Argentine night out with her at a local club called Mitos with a live cover band. We started the night off at the Plaza de Mayo (main square in B.A.) watching a tango show (song not dance) on the official Day of Tango celebrated simultaneously in 5 cities around Argentina. We dined at Gran Parilla (one of our favorite meals of the trip) until about 2 A.M. when we headed over to Mitos for an all-night dance party. We left about 5 and stumbled into a few high school kids that had just graduated that night and were out celebrating. They were good kids and we chatted to them for awhile before wandering into a gas station (anyone remember why?) and having one last drink back at our apartment. We also had another awesome night out with Claudia at Congo, one of the coolest spots we´ve been to in Latin America. It´s an awesome outdoor bar that´s pretty posh. We couldn´t think of anything quite like it in NYC, and if that´s true, there´s definitely a need for one. Here´s the proof that we had an awesome time hanging out:

Look Confused...

Do What You Want!

We´ve been preparing for Christmas, especially today, when we went on a massive shopping spree to get all kinds of supplies for the next two days. Apparently the whole city more or less shuts down, so we´ve bought enough food and booze to make it to the other side. We´re spending the holidays with friends we met in Sucre and are excited to cook an awesome meal on Christmas Eve and then graze all day Christmas (we´re making French toast and Mimosas).

Overall, we are really pleased that we decided to settle down for a little while, so we could cook, watch a little TV, and just not feel like such tourists. And we couldn´t have picked a better city!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas!

As Evan said, we hated to leave Mendoza because we had such a good time but we would have spent the rest of our money on more wine tours, so it was definitely time to go.  In an effort to “keep moving forward” we decided to do the big trip to Iguazú Falls from Mendoza, instead of going to BA first and then up  and back. That meant, however, a 32+ hr bus ride..eesh.

A little background before moving on…Iguazú Falls is located in a national park in the extreme Northeast of the country. The Falls border Brazil and you can visit them on both sides, although we`ve heard that the Argentine side is more breathtaking…good for us because we don`t have visas for Brazil and are not planning on going on this trip (next time!) The falls are some of the largest in the world and produce the most water annually. Needess to say (especially since I have never been to Niagra) we were pumped.

Back to the bus…Argentina`s buses are far better than most countries, as we`ve said and there is something of a hierarchy in seats. You can buy “semi cama”, regular sized seats that recline a good bit and have some nice leg room, “cama”, big comfy (think first class airplane) seats that have more leg room, a blanket, and also recline a good bit and “premier class”, these suckers go all the way back and you have a true “bed style” going on. The prices vary between the three (as does the quality of service). For our 32 hr bus ride we really wanted to go cama (as we didn`t want to spend the money for premier class). However, when we booked our bus, the company had no more cama seats and if we wanted to leave “on our schedule,” we had to take semi-cama. Grr..

That said, the semi cama wasn`t bad, and the bus itself wasn`t bad either but I wouldn`t do it again. For me, the most difficult part was the food, it was really bad and all meat, so I literally didn`t eat for something like 24+ hrs..yes, I know..I should have brought copious amounts of snacks, but oh well. The point is, we got to Puerto Iguazú after 36 hrs in one piece, albeit cranky and hungry, but in one piece.

Our fancy looking digs

Our fancy pool

 Puerto Iguazú is in the jungle, so the humidity was nutty and we wanted to stay somewhere with a pool and wi-fi so that we could use the Iphone to Skype our parents, since it was Thanksgiving. We chose a hostel that is well known as having a lot of amenities called Hostel Inn. The place looks swanky as it is a converted casino but it really is just a big youth hostel with a lot of 20 yr old backpackers,  a group we haven`t been around too often (on purpose) and we ended up in a dorm (much to Evan`s chagrin). That said, the place was clean, had wi-fi and free internet, a restaraunt, a bar and a gorgeous swimming pool… the catch was that we couldn`t check in until 2 pm (it was 10:30 am) and we wouldn`t have sheets till 5pm..so no “post bus” nap for us..this is why we`re snobs and don`t usually stay in huge youth hostels, oh well.

We managed to call our parents and  I got a little teary upon hearing the Macy`s Thanksgiving Day Parade in the background (I`ve never missed one) but I felt better after some R&R out near the pool. That night we were pleasantly surprised to find that the “all you can eat” buffet was actually pretty good (and pretty vegetarian friendly, a rarity here in Argentina) so we felt a little bit more “Thanksgiving-y”, although it had nothing on my “aunt” Lisa`s creamed mushrooms or Evan`s mom`s sweet potatoe souffle. We did meet some cool travelers and I ended up hanging out with them until pretty late while Evan did the smart thing and headed off to bed. Maybe not the most tradish Turkey Day but certainly an interesting one! Happy Thanksgiving America!

We planned to wake up bright and early to see the falls the next day, but the fatigue caught up with us and we ended up snoozing a little longer. After some lunch we bought our tickets for the “Nautical Adventure” (a boat that takes you “under” the falls) and headed to the park. The cool thing about our hostel was that the bus stopped right in front so we got to the park in no time. While some of you were still haggling prices on Black Friday, Evan and I spent the entire day at the park and really took in the majesty of the place. I know that we both now feel that Iguazù is a place not to be missed in your lifetime, it was just incredible.

The "before" photo

the "after" photo

The falls are huge and then surrounding the big ones there are a number of smaller ones which the trails lead you to. We decided to walk everywhere instead of taking the train and it was great because it was so refreshing in the jungle and we really felt like we were in a tropical paradise. We were sweating like crazy so we were both anxious to get to the boat dock and get “into” the water! Wow, what a crazy trip!! The boat takes you right into the spray of the falls and gets you totally SOAKED! It was so hilarious that some people wear their jeans and sneakers…we were like, WHAT?! The falls felt amazing and it was then that I realized that even though our pictures are spectacular..the experience incorporates so many senses that you really just have to be there to get the full effect.

After the boat trip we felt nice and cool so we took a “dip” in another waterfall and headed off to visit “Garganta del Diablo” or the “Devil`s Throat.” You are not allowed to go near these falls in a boat and you can`t walk to them, so we took the train and headed out over the bridges. When we got there we both understood the falls` name immediately..you are literally standing over the river that becomes the falls and looking down, and we could barely hear each other speak because the noise is deafening. I took a video but it just doesn`t do it justice..it was one of the coolest things I`ve ever seen.

Garganta del Diablo

We spent the rest of the day finishing the “circuit” of trails where you can see the waterfalls from both up top and down below..we even saw a kuwati (racoon like mammal). We both commented that the park was designed in a really smart way. Having done everything we wanted to do we headed back to our hostel and just bummed around for the rest of the day, getting ourselves ready for another long bus ride (although much shorter and Cama this time!!) to Buenos Aires for the next day. We ended up meeting another great group of travelers (one British dude who just came back from Antartica..Evan was so excited, I am thinking that may be on our itinerary someday) and had some great chats about the usual, America, health care, traveling, etc. haha. Evan and I finished off the very humid night with a late night dip in the pool. Not a bad way to end our “holiday” in Iguazú.

We arrived in Mendoza thirsty.  Lucky for us Mendoza is the kind of city that quenches one´s thirst with copious amounts of tremendous wines.  Needless to say, we loved our stay.

We arrived on the morning of Kelly´s 25th birthday!  Happy Birthday!!  After our standard 3-4 hour post-overnight bus nap we were ready to get down to the business of eating and drinking, which is really the reason we came to Mendoza.  We planned to go to La Tasca, a Spanish tapas place with a plethora of seafood options.  Unfortunately, they were closed (as our many restaurants outside of Thurs-Sun).  No worries, as we jumped in a cab and went to one of the freshest spots in town, Anna Bistro.  This is such a cool place, as much of the dining is al fresco.  They even have a garden that you can eat in.  We enjoyed a really interesting Caesar Salad to start with a couple of mojitos.  For entrées Kel had a seafood pasta and I had Matambre, which is a pretty popular dish here in Argentina.  Both were really nice.  To finish we had a chocolate volcano cake, which was probably the highlight.  All of this was complemented by a really solid Malbec, which is the grape of choice in Mendoza.  We both really enjoyed the full experience and agreed it was a classy way to ring in 25 and get going in Mendoza.

Kel´s 25th!

The next day we putzed around for the most part, but we found the treasure of Mendoza´s wine culture, a tasting room called The Vines of Mendoza.  It´s the only tasting room in Argentina, which is hard to believe, especially since Mendoza is one of the world´s most up and coming wine producing regions.  We spent many an afternoon tasting wines by the glass or trying out a flight and then enjoying a glass of our favorite.  In addition to tasting some great wines, we booked a wines and bike tour in the Maipú region for the next day.

We were expecting a really scenic bike ride through a beautiful wine region, but we were a bit disappointed when we arrived and found junky bikes and a nasty urban zone.  We set out on a road that was primarily traveled by huge 18-wheelers and other large trucks delivering all kinds of goods.  Neither of us are huge bike riders, so even before either of us had had any drinks we were a bit nervous.  The further south we rode the better it got, as the lower end was lined with large trees that provided some much needed shade.  We rode about 12 km to the first winery, which was a dud (Carinae).  Then we headed to an olive-oil factory, which was interesting.  Then onto a family-run winery that stressed its heritage (di Tomasso).  We tasted some decent wines and ran into a few friends that we made in Sucre and plan to meet up with again in Buenos Aires.  We then headed to our favorite winery of the day, Tempus Alba.  It had a very clubby feel (pop music, industrial chic) and served some great wines and an AMAZING lunch.  Kel had a veggie pizza that almost rivaled the one at Pacha Papa and I had a steak ¨sandwich¨ with blue cheese and caramelized onions.  It really was more like a steak on a piece of nicely toasted bread.  I wasn´t complaining!  We wanted to just hang with a cool New Zealander we met, but we had to rush back to drop off the bikes before being charged extra.  We´ve felt time and again that Mendoza has incredible potential (lots of great wines, beautiful landscapes, etc.), but they´re not capitalizing on their potential quite yet.  I think the bike tour is a perfect example.

Kel at Tempus Alba

Good times, wine tasting

Our stay in Mendoza consisted of drinking, eating, and chilling (in that order).  After Maipú we were pumped to do more wine testing, but we were ready to ride around in a car instead of work for our drinks.  We met up with a cool guy that lives in Seattle, Alberto, and is originally from El Salvador at a Vines´ organized tapas and wines event the night of our bike tour.  We decided to check out an excellent wine producing region called the Uco Valley, about an hour and a half south of Mendoza city set in a valley at the feet of the Andes (spectacular!).  We set off on this tour with Daniel, our driver that had lived in Brooklyn for 6 years and organized cart vendors throughout the city (random fact: the big boss of the largest cart company in NYC: Nuts4Nuts, etc. is from Mendoza).  We were blown away by the surrounding area´s beauty.  The snow-capped Andes are incredible, especially when you´re looking onto them from a vineyard.  We were only able to visit three vineyards on this tour, but we hit some of the big boys, including O. Fournier, Andaluna, and Salentein.  These guys are really producing some top wines that are starting to gain recognition around the world.

Most people have been kicked out a bar at least once in their lives.  Kel has actually been kicked out of two in one night in Dublin, but how many have been kicked out of a vineyard?  Now, we can proudly say that we have.  A little background: Argentine wine tours are extremely structured.  Oftentimes you have to make an appointment and upon arrival at the vineyard you are guided through a full tour of the bodega, which is usually very similar from one to the next.  After completing the tour you do the tasting, which for us was really the purpose.  After a few tours you really don´t need to do others (unless you´re curious about a vineyard´s specific process, etc), but this is rarely an option.  Needless to say, this is definitely NOT an option at Salentein.  We wanted to do the tasting over lunch and then peak in to see the bodega for a minute to check out this cool altar room, which we´d seen photos of.  We were told this was not possible, but we figured we´d ask again in the restaurant after spending some money.  The waitress repeated the company line that you had to take a guided tour to see the altar room and pay for that, but she did say we could walk around the property.  Ok, fine by us.  We headed up the walkway and were promptly chased down by a security guard (probably the nicest person that works there!) and told it was time to leave.  Once again, we were kind of stunned by the rigidity of the system and recognized some room for improvement.

Vineyard Criminals

After such a fun day of tasting with Alberto, we figured we´d do one more in Lujan de Cuyo, which is another famous region.  We took Sunday off, as almost all of the vineyards are closed, and finalized the details of our apartment in Buenos Aires (we´ll have a nice one San Telmo from December 1-January 2, so feel free to come on down!) and booked our tickets to Iguazú Falls (we leave tonight).

Daniel was again our trusty driver, and we were able to crank out 5 different wineries in one day with a quick stop for a local´s only lunch.  We really enjoyed our first stop of the day, Achaval-Ferrer, which definitely had some of the best wines we tried, although most of their wines were pretty expensive ($100+ US/bottle).  We were not only impressed by the wines but also our guide who was super enthusiastic and knowledgeable.  They´ve got a really good thing going (and a beautiful view! see photo).

Wine and Mountains

Our last stop was also a highlight.  We dropped by Carmelo Patti´s bodega.  He´s been making wine since he was a kid helping his Italian father, and you can tell that the passion hasn´t died one bit.  It´s pretty much a one man shop: Carmelo plays wine maker, accountant, marketer, etc. and he only produces 60,000 bottles a year, which was by far the least of the bodegas we visited.  He took us a quick tour of the place, which is super light on the technology.  He´s still using manual presses and manual pumps, which is really rare in Mendoza, as many of the vineyards are relatively new (post-Argentine financial crisis in 2002) and have implemented some top-quality technology.  It was so cool to see how different his process and philosophy was compared to other places we visited.  He loves to make wine and he loves to drink it with his family.  Sounds good to us!  We actually bought a bottle of his cab and had it with some super rare bife de chorizo last night.

Carmelo Patti and the Gang

We LOVED Mendoza and would spend even more time here, but that would be dangerous for our budgets, so we´re moving onto Iguazú tonight.  It´s a 32 hour (yikes!) bus ride, so we won´t actually arrive until the morning of Thanksgiving.  Our plan is to find something, anything that reminds of us Turkey Day back home and check out the Falls on Friday.  We plan to be in Buenos Aires on either the 29th or 30th and move into our apartment on the first of December.  Good times to come!

Hey All!

Okay, so it is only right that I finish off this “theme” of birth junkie tales…wouldn`t really make sense for Evan to do it. He gets to do fun Mendoza so don`t think he`s been slighted.

After we left Salta we headed to Tucuman for exactly 24 hrs. Tucuman isn´t super exciting and it isn`t even in any of the guide books..so why did we go there? Well, the man who hooked me up with Dr. Soria lives there and we wanted to meet him. Dr. Rodolfo Gomez is the Executive Director and Administrative Director of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization (IMBCO) and he is from Tucuman, Argentina. I`ll just take this next part right from the website, cause it´s easier (scuze the laziness)…

“ he worked for ten years at Hospital Avellaneda, a highly humanistic public maternity service, served as Professor of Obstetrics at the National University of Tucuman, and currently serves as Adjunct Professor in Maternal and Child Health in the School of Public Health at UNC”

Dr. Gomez was so gracious and invited us to Tucuman to tour the two hospitals in the area and have lunch with him. He would have hooked me up with another hospital visit the following day but we were both anxious to get to Mendoza for my birthday, hence only 24 hrs in town.

We found a cool hostel and crashed after some dinner in town and the next morning headed to Dr. Gomez`s apt. He has an amazing collection of birthing figurines from all over the world..shown here ..which I just loved. We got to hang out with him and chat with him a while before heading to the hospital which was just great because he speaks perfect English (after living in the states many years with his family) and I was really able to go in depth with him about the birth culture in Argentina and the work of the IMBCO around the world. After dropping his son off at school we headed to the first hospital, Hospital Avellaneda where he  served as head of Obstetrics.

I won`t go into too much detail because it would take forever, but just like with Dr. Soria, we got to see the whole place and talk to everyone…awesome. One of the huge differences is that the hospital workers in Tucuman are on strike and the public hospitals have been closed for three months!! The only “procedures” taking place are emergencies and maternity care, with prenatal care and gynelogical care on hold. It is madness. The reason for this is that the hospital workers (some being specialists) make extremely low wages and when they asked for a raise, the governor told them the state had no money, right before approving a project to build another government building. There was definitely a revolutionary vibe and my union daughter self felt right at home (but outraged).. I love this banner behind us...anyway, onwards..

One of the funny things was that Dr. Gomez kept saying that I was a doula..now I am trained as a doula, but I certainly wouldn`t consider myself an active one haha! Of course I explained this to him but he just kept referring to me that way, so I took it as a compliment. I hope all the doulas out there don´t mind!  The staff was really wonderful and they asked me about hospitals in NYC, how doulas fit in there (because there are none in Argentina), about fetal monitoring, etc. It was great. We also got to meet with a laboring woman and using my “doula skills” (yeah right) I did some simple massage and helped her to move around a bit..she was on her 5th baby so she was MUCH more experienced but it was definitley a cool experience.

I got to talk to a few of the midwives and they expressed all the same issues that we have, wanting to keep the rooms private but having midwifery and obstetric students who need to observe in the hospital, etc. That said, they were definitely surprised when I explained about constant fetal monitoring in most hospitals (that I know of) and no eating and drinking, etc. It seems that there is more of a dedication, to the concept of a “silent but aware” midwife…as Dr. Gomez said, “sometimes it pays to be poor..you don`t over use the technology!” I could go on and on about the staff and how amazing they were to us, and, it seemed, to the woman laboring in her private room (where, like in Salta, everything happens in the same room and the babies are not taken away)..but I guess we`ll move on! Here we are with the staff. Muchas Gracias!

It`s hard for me to remember all the details of the day because we learned so much and now we`ve done so much since!! Hmm..oh! Yeah, we saw that chair that Dr. Gomez designed which is based on the squatting positions of traditional birthing cultures. It is the first chair of it`s kind implemented in a hospital, but you have to visit our flickr page to see it!

The hospital was incredibly interesting, and like the one in Salta, much more “progressive” in their treatment of birth as a normal event. One of the only things I can say I was disappointed about is that there is no childbirth education to speak of in Argentina and almost no doulas. The profession of Childbirth Educator doesn`t even exist. Dr. Gomez definitely agreed that the staff would have an easier time upholding these values if the clientele were more educated and more vocal about their wants and their rights.

After our extensive visit we went back to Dr. Gomez`s apt and had lunch with his son. It was a really lovely experience. Dr. Gomez ordered empanadas and they were the best (by far) that we`ve had so far in S. America. One funny tidbit, I  only hinted that I was a vegetarian, not wanting to be “that girl” but Dr. Gomez was very accomodating..he ordered cheese empanadas as well..hahah oh well! I sucked it up, took some lactaid and had some really delicious empanadas with an argentine Malbec. Not bad.

After lunch we headed to another hospital, this one strictly for maternity care, where Dr. Gomez did his residency. This hospital was much different in that it wasn`t very warm and at times it even seemed kind of grimy. The women labored in their own rooms but there were many beds in the postpartum rooms and even the laboring rooms looked like operating rooms in that they were all white and very clinical looking. That said, the OB who took us around was very sweet and supportive…although she did say that no, they don`t have doulas but they have a psychologist on staff, I was very confused by that one!

Well I haven`t gone into too much detail, so if you`re interested about more..I am happy to share over coffee when I get home. It was a very very cool experience and I definitely would have loved to stay another day (but I certainly didn`t regret spending my birthday in Mendoza as you will read!) I feel like I made a great connection with someone who is really working to help stem the tide of overmedicalization in maternity care and I am so so grateful to him for his time, his wisdom and his empanadas!

Onto other birth adventures when I get to Lima…for now..VINO!

We made it to Argentina! YAY! So many good things to tell already

So we walked across the Argentine border and spent our first few hours hanging out in a little town where we found a place with wi fi to call our moms and have a beer. Our bus left for Salta at 11pm and we were looking forward to comfort We certainly did have more comfortable seats..but this time we were dealing with blasting air conditioning, we are not having great bus luck. That and we had to get off the bus with all of our stuff for a “military check.” What was interesting about this was that most of the indigenous looking people had their bags thoroughly searched and were interrogated while Evan and I and the other Americans on the bus went through without a peep…pretty eye opening.

Anyway, we made it to Salta`s chic new bus station in one piece and shared a cab with two American girls to a hostel nearby.

After a very long snooze we got about the business of enjoying our new found luxury and celebrating Evan`s birthday. There is a mall right near our hostel and it is SWANKY! We ate lunch at a place called “Bonnie and Clyde” and Evan had his first steak sandwich. That night we went, with our American friends, Kaitlyn and Nikki to see “This is It” in the cinema in the mall…wow. The movie was amazing and I could not stop moving in my seat. Both of us were blown away by how amazing that show would have been and what a genius Michael Jackson was…I cannot lie, I had a few tears.

After the movie we had a first taste of “Argentine night life” in that when we got out we noticed that the mall was packed, even though it was a Sunday night at 10:30pm. With this inspiration we went and had Evan`s (belated) birthday dinner at ” Solar del Convento” a well known and fancy restaurant here in Salta. We had complimentary champagne with our meal and a wonderful bottle of local Malbec (Mmmm!) and Evan had his first “bife de chorizo”..an awesome cut of meat. As there is not much going in the way of “meatless cuisine” here in Salta, I had a nice piece of salmon which was good but was accompanied by some sad looking clams All in all the night was wonderful and we were very proud that we were the last people in the place, leaving around 12:30. Happy 26 Evan!

So! What else have we done in this beautiful, chic yet homey city?? To be honest..not much. We`ve uploaded photos, updated the blog, napped and had late dinners equipped with great wine. We really needed a rest after Bolivia and Salta is definitely the place to do it. That said, I do have something else to report on alluding to the title of this post…

Long long story short..I was put in touch with some “birth” contacts here in South America by wonderful Debra Pascali Bonaro. Unfortunately, I missed making contact with one woman in Peru (although hopefully I`ll see her when we go back to Lima to fly to the US) and I was unable to find anyone in Bolivia. That said, since I`ve arrived in Argentina I have been in contact with Dr. Rodolfo Gomez (from Debra..thank you!) who is the head of the International Mother Baby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI). Dr. Gomez is in Tucuman (our next stop) and he was kind enough to put me in touch with someone here in Salta and set up a visit for us!

Dr. Etelvina Soria is a neo natal specialist at a maternity hospital in Salta called “Nuevo Hospital El Milagro.” This hospital is a public hospital but instead of being run solely by the government it is also run by a foundation in Spain, giving the doctors higher salaries and helping them progress in really great ways. We met Dr. Soria in the morning and she showed us an incredible day. Evan came along as my translator and he was great I learned quickly that this hospital is far more progressive in the way they treat birth and even Dr. Soria admitted that they were far ahead of other hospitals in Argentina in this way.

First off I have to say how friendly and welcoming everyone was! Dr. Soria was so generous and friendly and everyone we met in the hospital seemed happy to have us there…even the big chiefs of the hospital were welcoming! We first met the head of Lactation and she described how they council the mothers on latching and breastfeeding before they give birth, then once the babies are born they are further encouraged to continue breastfeeding. The hospital does not use formula at all..even the premies and the orphan babies get mother`s milk that`s either been pumped by their mothers or donated. Pretty different than NYC!

We then visited the Neo natal intensive care unit (NICU) and saw the premies and intensive care babies. This seemed to be a pretty fitting stop as my birthday is coming up on Tues and I haven`t been in NICU since I was in one 25 yrs ago! They do not have a large amount of babies go to the NICU but they also take in babies from other hospitals in the area. They also had a private space where moms could pump and rock the babies. It was very moving, although I felt (as did Evan) a little intrusive at times.

After our visit to the NICU, Dr. Soria invited us to come back after lunch to visit and hang in the obstetrical floor…big news for me! We came back and got into our scrubs (please notice Evan`s mop top hair in the photo below) and spent the next hour right outside the labor and birth rooms. I was firing questions away and Evan was doing his best to translate even though he doesn`t speak “birth” in Spanish! Although it was difficult to have a full on discussion about these topics, I think we all did a great job.

Here`s the info:

A lot of the women are teenagers and so we saw when we were there. The women are encouraged to take childbirth education before they give birth. 90% of all the births are attended by midwives as they are mostly “normal” births. The use of induction and other meds is low as they do not encourage pain meds and believe in “respecting the woman`s time” as Dr. Soria told me. The rooms are pretty basic and kind of cold and clinical but the good thing about them is that they are “all in one.” The women labor and birth in the same room and the child is never separated from the mom. The baby is put right on the mother`s chest to establish nursing and only later is taken two steps away for the standard check. Dr. Soria explained that the women are encouraged to walk around, eat and give birth how they choose, as long as everything looks good. They also are not monitored continuously. We did get to meet a couple of women laboring, one of whom was hooked up to an anti biotic because of strep but in general the women were moving,  and walking. We also were invited into the room of a woman who had just given birth (new baby!) and she was already nursing.

I talked to Dr. Soria about Csections (and we even saw one brand new baby coming in from a csection!) and she said that they are not done on the demand of the mother, only if needed, but they have a higher rate than they would like right now…there`s is at 22% and they would like to get it down to 14%. I agreed with her but thought, wow I wish that 22 was our problem. She did say that they establish contact with the mother even in a csection as we could see that the new baby had been placed around the mother`s neck before being taken to be suctioned.

The coolest thing I saw were all the posters on the wall. Dr. Soria explained that the community in Salta is very timid and many times they will not ask important questions. Therefore, they have posters all over telling the women their rights, the main poster near the laboring rooms is a list very much like the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative and Dr. Soria explained that it is LAW in Argentina (!) but that not every hospital in the country follows it. They also have many many posters reminding the women that they should breastfeed and that babies don`t need anything but the breast for the first six months.

I am sure that there is more..but I am already sorry for boring the non birthy people with all these details. Obviously this hospital is not perfect, and as we learned, it is not even completely indicative of the birth culture in Argentina..but it was really interesting to me and inspiring. Dr. Soria explained that they have a new director of OB (she very proudly said a woman) who wants to update the rooms and put in tubs and make them more comfortable..that she is very serious about supporting these women. In a public hospital, it was pretty cool.

So obviously this was a highlight for me and I am also looking forward to meeting with Dr. Gomez in Tucuman and seeing a hospital there too! That said, I haven`t completely lost my travel sense…my birthday is on Tuesday and we are planning to celebrate on either Tues or Wed in the wine capital of Argentina, Mendoza! Our next post will be on this…I promise