I’ve been getting this question for several months actually. And it is a really hard question to answer. I’d say downright impossible to pick. We saw so many amazing and varying places. But other than dodging the question by replying “They were all amazing” (which they were), I’ve tried to think back over the seven months and seven countries to think of my favorite places and things from our trip.
One would have to be the Galapagos Islands. They were unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. The animals were fascinating, and completely unafraid of humans, and the entire experience was like our first vacation from language immersion. I will never forget the amazing animals, the three huge buffets a day, and jumping off the top of the boat.
The next really memorable place would have to be Ausangate, in Peru. After already having completed two other serious treks in Peru, I had my doubts that this one would be that different. But it was. It was high in altitude, remote, and completely beautiful. Llamas and alpaca grazed everywhere, and we met so many wonderful local people. The people here touched my heart in a way that I will not soon forget. Oh, and the hot springs at the beginning and end of the loop were a nice touch too.
The jungle of Bolivia was one of the most unreal places I’ve ever visited. Sleeping in the middle of the jungle with all the sounds was like living with more senses than I’ve ever noticed. The jaguar walk at 3 am was particularly special; but overall just being in the jungle leaves one with a sense of wonder and amazement at the amazing natural world we inhabit.
Patagonia. Where do I begin? It was every bit as vast, empty, and beautiful as I had been dreaming of. Patagonia is what inspired us to consider the trip in the first place, and it is definitely one of my favorite places. The glaciers are awe inspiring. The hiking is world class. The lakes are beautiful, and the towns are quaint (and filled with amazing chocolates). It’s still possible for hikers to be happy walking for weeks in this part of the world.
I believe Antarctica is the most stunning place I will ever be in my entire life. It takes my breath away just thinking about going through the Lemaire Channel, listening to Dvorak and watching icebergs pass by. Watching thousands of penguins nest was incredibly fun, and I never got tired of the snow, ice and icebergs. It is an amazing place, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have experienced its beauty.
My last favorite place was Iguazu Falls. I had so much fun getting drenched by the waterfall, and trying to take in its vastness. I can only imagine how cool it would have been for explorers who had no idea of what they looked like to gaze upon them for the first time.
South America is such a beautiful continent to explore. I love that I have a feeling for what the land looks and feels like. The experience of traveling always changes me, making me feel like I understand my world a little more fully. For me, that’s really my favorite part.
It was a bit surreal arriving in Buenos Aires. Somehow 7 months of travel had managed to shrink down to three days. It is one of those feelings you get when something seems like it was forever but just a moment ago. Time and memories perform funny tricks and not just with travel. As I get older I realize moments that feel like they occurred yesterday may have occurred 12 years ago or 3. There were tangible signs of 7 months slipping by, our bank account was smaller, our photo album was stuffed, my hair was longer, and a wardrobe of 4 shirts and 2 pairs of pants had slightly expanded; but other than that not much had changed. Things now felt familiar though; I know the curve of the land, the people (a bit), the smells, and how things feel when I look at a map. Returning to Buenos Aires was a bit like returning home.
Back in Buenos Aires
We arrived on Monday afternoon after our ferry ride on BuqueBus from Colonia, Uruguay. A friend of a friend picked us up and we rode over to his office in San Telmo. He had to work so we left our stuff and wandered around. San Telmo felt familiar. We didn’t have a map, but we knew where Origen was (great little organic café) so we had a delightful lunch. We found Mafalda sitting on a bench (Deeanne had been wanting to meet her since arriving in Buenos Aires). We did a bit of shopping at some stores we had wanted to visit before leaving and somehow our afternoon had disappeared.
Mafalda & Deeanne in San Telmo
Evening arrived and we headed over to Danilo and Cynthia’s house. They invited us to spend our final two nights at their house just outside the city. They have two cute little boys, 2 1/2 and 6 months old. They took us out to dinner at a place reminiscent of Sizzler, but with better steak. We savored our second to last dinner, knowing that once we got home we wouldn’t be eating at 10:30pm. Augustine, the 2 year old, had us make him paper airplanes out of the place settings, which he flew off the patio.
Family Dinner
Tuesday was Deeanne’s birthday, and it burst upon us hot and humid; perfect weather for the pool parties she has always wanted but couldn’t enjoy in the Northern Hemisphere. We spent the day visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, wandering around the Recoleta Cemetery (again), and eating ice-cream and crepes. We got to catch the train in from Danilo and Cynthia’s house; something we hadn’t done when previously in town.
Yet Another Ice-cream Stop
Deeanne as Insatiable as Ever
Wandering the Recoleta Cemetery
Argentina is a first world country that fortunately hasn’t seen the arrival of tort law yet. This means you can do a lot of stuff that we long ago lost the ability to do in the U.S. One little freedom you may not have realized your missing is the freedom to hang off of full speed trains and ride between cars. Just try it next time you ride Amtrak. I promptly found an open door in between cars and sat down on the steps. I watched the world stream by inches from my nose and grinned ear to ear. It reminded me of old cowboy movies and I longed for a trusty steed to jump off onto, but alas there were none. I had to content myself with visualizing various ways to jump off and roll should I get bumped off. I even got Deeanne to do it on our ride back home and she loved it.
Retiro Train Station in BA
Riding in the Train Door
I got tickets to Buenos Aires’ best tango show for Deeanne’s birthday Tuesday night, La Esquina de Carlos Gardel. It was like watching a Broadway show in New York. The dancers were spectacular; I’ve never seen anything like it. We had an entire side booth to ourselves for the two hour show. We even had a driver who picked us up and dropped us off wherever we wanted. After the show we had him drop us off at Sarkis, a middle eastern restaurant in Palermo. It was 10:30pm on a Tuesday night and we had a 45 minute wait. Every other table must have been a birthday party so Deeanne got happy birthday sung to her about 8 times. We caught a taxi home after midnight and fell asleep for our final night in South America.
Carlos Gardel Tango Show
Sarki's for Deeanne's Birthday Dinner
For our last day in South America we wandered around the micro-center, did a bit of last minute shopping, and visited the Carlos Gardel museum. Danilo’s friend Pablo took us out to lunch at Granix, a huge Adventist run vegetarian restaurant that was delicious.
Lemonade at a Cafe
Carlos Gardel Tango Museum
Before we knew it we had to catch the train back home to pack up. The whole family drove us to the airport and saw us off (sometimes no car seat laws are a blessing). I was really wishing we had borrowed some Ambien for our flight home from our dear friend Glynn. We boarded our plane at 9:30pm and waved fairwell to Buenos Aires. We will both miss Buenos Aires. To me Buenos Aires feels like what would happen if you combined Paris and Rome and then cut all the prices by 80 percent.
We will miss Buenos Aires and all its cafes
Boarding Flight 110 Home
After a sleepless flight and botched connection in Atlanta we found ourselves back at home in Oceanside, CA where Deeanne’s parents picked us up at the airport and gave us a thorough welcome back. It’s hard to believe that with just one plane ride your entire surroundings can change so dramatically. After 9 planes, 8 boats, 1 train, and more busses than I could possibly count, we are back in the same room where we packed for this trip more than 7 months ago. It was wonderful, and right now there is nowhere else I’d rather be than home. Stay tuned for our final blog highlighting our favorite places from the trip.
Staying with Glynn was like a little slice of home and so it was that I found myself in a little funk when we arrived in Colonia, Uruguay. The bus ride from Manantiales to Colonia turned out to be much faster than we had anticipated. We arrived in town around 6:00pm and it seemed pretty sleepy so Deeanne and I lounged around and finished our books.
The Bay in Colonia del Sacramento
Sunset Over Colonia
We wandered down to the main street at 8:30pm to find dinner and found the street lined with chairs. I asked a gentleman directing traffic what was going on and he looked at me a little strange and said, “Carnival is tonight”. Somehow the stars had aligned and we found ourselves in Colonia del Sacramento during their Carnival celebration.
The Anticipation of Carnival
Uruguay’s Carnival celebration is the longest in the world, with more than 80 days of celebration, generally occurring in January through mid March with five or six large celebrations. Why limit to one week when you can party for two and a half months? Carnival in Uruguay is famous for its candombe (rhythmic music) and its las murgas (small theatrical productions).
Standard Bearers
Colonia’s desfile or parade takes place on Avenida Gral Flores. Apparently it is held the 4th weekend in January. Groups from all over Uruguay and some from Argentina showed up in Colonia to participate in the parade. The parade was a combination circus, masque and public street party. Each troupe, which is called a lubolo has common elements. Leading the lubolo is a banner announcing their name, followed by men carrying giant flags and then stars, and moons carried by masked bearers. In our case this was followed by little dancing girls and then Gramillero (medicine man) and Mama Vieja (old woman). These two are hilarious and typically gyrate and dance all over the place with more vibrancy than their age belies. They are followed by the escobero who sweeps away any negative energy with his broom and then more mostly naked dancers and the comparsa drummers.
Video we shot (the sound isn’t the greatest).
The entire parade lasted from 9:30pm to 2:30am. What surprised me the most was how much of a family event it was. There were people of all ages; I saw 90 year old great grandma’s down to 3 month old sleeping babies. The other thing that surprised me was that after spending a week on the beach the near nudity of the dancers didn’t seem that shocking. You really can’t wear any less and not be naked, but somehow it didn’t seem that licentious.
Carnival Dancers & Comparsa Drummers
After having a great time and getting to bed around 3:00am we woke up Sunday and wandered around Colonia. Colonia is delightful and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Buenos Aires or Uruguay. It is a former Portuguese town built in 1680, making it the oldest town in Uruguay. It is famous for its historic quarter and street side shops and cafes.
Old 17th Century Street
Reflection within a Reflection
Old Cannon Battery
The Spanish settled on the opposite bank of the Río de la Plata at Buenos Aires which is just a short ferry ride away. Portugal and Spain fought a series of wars with Spain conquering Colonia several times in the 1700s. After that is has been occupied by both Argentina and Brazil prior to Uruguay obtaining nationhood.
Old Ruins and Lighthouse
Old Car in Front of Cafe
We spent the entire day wandering around, shopping, eating ice-cream, and relaxing. We found a great little pizza place Sunday night called “La Bodeguita” and had calabaza squash ravioli and brocolli pizza on a beautiful deck overlooking the bay. It turned out to be the best pizza and pasta we ate in all of South America (don’t take it personally Argentina). The beautiful view over Colonia Bay didn’t hurt either.
La Bodeguita Restaurante
Monday morning we woke up and caught the ferry over to Buenos Aires for our final three days before going home.
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