Was it a dream, or was it real? The two of us, making our way to/through Rio de Janeiro… Continue Reading…
Argentina, Brazil, Destinations, Landscape Architecture, Photography
Would You Suspect a Waterfall?
April 16, 2012
To the north of Buenos Aires, an overnight bus ride away, Argentina meets Brazil. Or rather, waters divide land, marking separations which humankind is privileged to oblige on their maps of ink
Iguazu Falls; we follow the flow. At the precipice of earth and stone, poetry of water comes to life. Continue Reading…
Visiting La Bomba del Tiempo, Hombres Vertientes, Ojos Cerrados, Museo Nacional de Bella Artes, & Malba: Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires.
Making memories, seeking beauty.
During our month in Buenos Aires, we enjoyed a range of art and dance offerings from the city that prides itself on unique shows springing from a talented pool of artists and performers.
As in any city, there are the over-hyped events and true gems. Continue Reading…
Argentina, Destinations, Featured Places, Photography
Just Dance: Finding Authentic Tango in Buenos Aires
April 4, 2012
Long before we booked our tickets to South America, I had bookmarked this beautiful video, Milongas…The Seduction of Tango, by photographer Tewfic El-Sawy:
If you have the time, push play and experience a taste of the finer side of Tango in Buenos Aires.
I longed for this kind of visual experience once we landed in Argentina. On the other hand, Ted and I found ourselves wary at the thought of joining up with most Tango Tour operations in town for a variety of reasons:
A) We suck at dancing together. Maybe it was a case of sour grapes? Continue Reading…
Argentina, Buenos Aires, Destinations, Featured Places, South America
Mercado: On the Hunt for Local Fashion in Buenos Aires
April 2, 2012Welcome to Martínez, an upscale district about fifteen kilometers north of the popular tourist and shopping areas of downtown Buenos Aires. We took the commuter train up from Retiro Station, wandered the streets, found storefronts galore boasting eye catching shoes, wardrobe fun, and cute cafes and learned the story of a young designer bringing a fresh take on style to the city.
Hunting through typical shops or standing on the street corner and taking notes, it was easy to see that Argentinian fashion is forward and colorful: patterns, prints and textures galore in shop after shop after shop. Great for the first few browsing sessions, but this girl needed something to jazz up her travel gear and somehow that wasn’t quite it…
Fortunately for me, Marìa del bar Barrera of Mercado Buenos Aires is working to simplify styles and design, manufacture, and sell classic wardrobe staples to natives and international visitors alike. Even more fortunate? She was our landlady!
Once again, real life proves better than fiction. Continue Reading…
Argentina, Buenos Aires, Destinations, Featured Places, Food, Musings, South America
Cosas Ricas: The Best Little Bakery in San Telmo
March 30, 2012This post is mostly about an unexpected friendship in a new neighborhood and a love affair with my husband, with my life, and with the best cake I’ve ever had (and eaten, too).
Ted and I packed up our bags and headed out the door in the wee morning hours back in early January, prepared to fly off into the unknown and spend the year creating a life together in the midst of continually new circumstances.
When we paused six weeks in to settle into an apartment for one month’s time, little did we know the joy the awaited us down the street and around the corner… Continue Reading…
Argentina, Buenos Aires, Destinations, Featured Places, South America
If…Then – THITW Buenos Aires
March 28, 2012Quintessential Buenos Aires Experiences:
Popular for a reason, but potentially overdone like a dried out steak.
In true semi-hipster, Portlandia fashion, we were pleased to discover a great number of alternatives to common Buenos Aires hotspots during our month long stint in the city, and we share them below for your amusement and someday-trip-planning-pleasure (perhaps?).
A Trendy “Hole in the Wall” Photo – Taken Especially for my Brothers during our sneaky tour of Majestic Hotel in Buenos Aires.
My brothers and I have an inside joke that I’m about to make public (and probably perplexing, but bear with me): they mock me for seeking out – as we Portlanders are wont to do – lesser known, smaller activities, places, and events that (arguably) posses more character and substance than the overdone alternatives.
“Trendy Hole in the Wall” is their dig; THITW for short. Continue Reading…
Finished with a six week stretch of back-to-back adventures through Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Patagonian Argentina, we flew to Buenos Aires, dipped our toes in rooting hormone (sorry, horticulture joke), and planted ourselves into a month long stay in the bustling city.
We arrived to a mid-February heat index forecast of 105 degrees. And oi! The flight from El Calafate to Buenos Aires through a sky full of hot air was truly shocking.
A recap from Daily Travel Journal #41:
So, those classic plane crash scenes: LOST, Cast Away, etc.? Yes, those. Think that; 12-15 seconds of psychological torture. I’m not usually one to be panicky on airplanes, but when snapped out of a nap by the plane jolting violently, jumping (or was it falling?) through the air, throwing the woman in the aisle to the ground, and then sending sensations of weightlessness through my body, my stomach turned and my mind flashed with memories of the 2010 news story of crazy turbulence and the flight that disappeared en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris… The oxygen masks never dropped, but the crew and passengers were all quite shaken. Rough turbulence about an hour later on the descent into Buenos Aires. Apparently, the crazy hot weather plays games with little paper airplanes in the skies. Fast forward: landed, took a taxi to San Telmo, met our lovely landlord, received the keys to our charming little apartment, visited the first of many cafes we’re sure to love, went to a comedy club with new friends from South American Explorers, and settled into our first night in the big city.
“A month in Buenos Aires” had been a travel planning mantra in the year leading up to our departure. Right alongside the “Transatlantic Cruise,” this promise of a pause in fast-paced touring and a complete change from our daily life at home motivated and excited us each time we reached a milestone in our savings goals. Continue Reading…
Argentina, Destinations, Patagonia, Photography
Argentina’s Perito Moreno Glacier: Inspiration on the Rocks
March 22, 2012Confession: I’ve harbored deep skepticism about the value of a visit to Perito Moreno Glacier.
Perito Moreno Glacier is El Calafate’s claim to fame; companies send buses, arrange lavish day trips and tour boats, and every store in the Argentinian city sells the same twelve post cards depicting the great ice wall towering above the chilly waters of Lago Argentino.
Truthfully (bear with me, here), I’ve rarely given any glacier a second thought. When living in New Zealand, I didn’t bother with a visit to Franz Josef, and even in Torres del Paine and Parques Nacional Los Glaciares, I was only beginning to come around when we saw Grey and Grande Glaciers. (Hold the rotten tomatoes, please. I’m just trying to be honest.)
Perito Moreno Glacier is hyped by every tour operator and guidebook in El Calafate, and I worried that we’d be cattle-herded past a hunk of ice, and I’d be playing the Emperor’s New Clothes Game, saying, “Ohhh, how lovely. Very nice,” while thinking, “Um. It’s frozen water. In a large amount. Cool. Why did we pay all this money again?”
Ted began the mission of winning me over. He’s been fascinated by glaciers for a long while, and his giddiness has been palpable each time we’ve rounded a bend to encounter a massive field of ice.
The moment we began walking down the elevated trails toward the lookout points and heard the creaks and groaning of this enormous mass, my attention was captured, too. Continue Reading…
Argentina, Destinations, Landscape Architecture, Patagonia, Photography
Growing Pains in El Chalten
March 20, 2012What started as a Netflix DVD date-night-in a few years ago culminated in a February visit to El Chalten, Argentina, the quirky little “Swiss Village of the Patagonian Alps.”
On a sunlit morning, we bussed across the invisible line separating Chile from its Eastern neighbor and began the second half of our visit to the lower lands of South America. Following a short mid-afternoon stopover in the lakeside tourist city of El Calafate, we zoomed another several hours to the north and came upon El Chalten as the sun set behind the stunning mountain range.
At this moment of dusk, the grand peaks of Cerro Fitz Roy called out, “Congratulations, tired travelers! You’ve reached the land of mountain climbers, wildlife, and majestic peaks: the remote frontier of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares.” Continue Reading…