We have arrived in Mendoza! It’s a city, too, but much smaller than Buenos Aires. I still am longing to get myself to a teeny little pueblito where I can learn the layout of the entire town in five minutes, where they have an amazing view of the Andes, and where I can just hang out in the garden and read books for a few days.

Our last day in Buenos Aires ended up being much different than I thought. My plan was to go to a museum where they had catacombs, then to the clock tower with the free view, then to the cemetary where all the rich people (including Evita) are buried. We made it to the museum, but the catacombs were a little bit of a let down; they were entirely empty. Then we had the most fantastic pizza for lunch. It was so delicious, and you can get a small for $1.50!

After lunch we headed for the clock tower which ended up being permanently closed. Bummer. But it’s located near the bus station, so we went to see what time the morning buses left for Mendoza. Well, guess what. There are no morning buses. Daytime travel here is considered a waste of time, I guess. So it was either leave in four hours or spend another whole day in Buenos Aires. I suggested we leave, pronto. I think I would have gone anyway… I was really tired of trekking about the city. I just didn’t feel like I was accomplishing anything.

We got to take the subway back to the hostel. Compared to the other subways I’ve been on, the sub in Buenos Aires is really pretty. All the stations are tiled and have lots of colorful murals, and it’s really clean.

Before we got on the bus to come to Mendoza, I got my first taste of Argentine ice cream. It was SOOOOO good. More liquidy than my Ben and Jerry’s, but instead of piling the scoops on top of one another, they have a cone designed to hold two scoops side by side. Smart!

The buses here are really comfortable. I’m told, except for Chile, they’re the best in South America. I got a surprising amount of sleep on the 14 hour ride. I also decided that I’m buying a “wedding ring.” I was having an ongoing debate with myself about whether it would be better to wear one to fend off the men or if I would be putting myself in an equally compromising situation because it’s jewelry. After last night, I’ll take my chances with the jewelry. The story is this: I moved up front to an empty seat (the buses are double decker, and we were sitting on the top level) so I could look out the big picture window at the stars and the countryside lit up by the moon. Alejandro, this guy from Buenos Aires who was sitting across the aisle started talking to me, which is all well and good, but he wouldn’t let the conversation die. I was glad for the opportunity to practice spanish (the chilean and argentine accents are almost impossible to understand!), but he was obviously interested in me for the wrong reasons. Anyway… so I think I’m going to spend 25% of my daily budget today on a left hand ring. 🙂

The hostel we’re staying at here in Mendoza is really cute, really safe, and about $3 less than the one in Buenos Aires. The showers are warm and the bathrooms are clean. Today I think we’re going to go to el Jardin de San Martin (kind of like the equivalent of Central Park). Tomorrow, I think we will maybe go wine tasting. Or, if that doesn’t work out, I am either going to go rafting or horseback riding. By Thursday for sure I think I am going to start heading south. There is already snow on the mountains up here, and it’s colder the farther south you go on this continent, so I better hurry before the passes close and I can’t make it across into Chile. I’d hate to backtrack.

It’s almost lunch time and my belly is letting me know it. Hasta luego!

Midnight, day two. It already seems like I’ve been here forever. My spanish is improving by leaps and bounds. Today I struck out on my own to buy a little pocket notebook to write down all the vocab you’d never find in a dictionary. People are so nice to me! Especially when you are alone, everyone wants to talk to you and know all about you. And they’re so patient!

Anyway… here’s the short version: this entry includes 1) night #1 and day #2, 2)my fascination with the city, 3)my evaluation of the hostel, 4) short report on the events of the day. End of short version. 🙂

So, Buenos Aires. I like it about as much as I can like a city. It’s huge and polluted, but there are lots of things to see. I feel like I’m in New York when I’m walking down the big avendidas (streets where the pedestrian crossings are almost always a football field long – it’s crazy!). The billboards are huge. No, bigger. It’s wild. When I’m walking down the tight pedestrian streets, it feels like we’re in China (not that I’ve ever been to China).

On my first night, after I spent a few hours trying to shed my jet lag, we tried to walk to a clock tower (the Argentine version of Big Ben) where it’s free to see the view from the top. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it by sundown, and it was Sunday when everything is closed. So, we just ended up seeing a lot of the city, which is all well and good, but I{m tired of the city already. If I’m going to that much trekking around on foot, I want to be surrounded by trees and rivers and la naturaleza.

The hostel we’re staying at… well, I guess I haven’t explained “we” yet. My friend Eleanor and her boyfriend were also staying here in Buenos Aires when I arrived. Eleanor has to be in Santiago, Chile in six days to fly to La Paz, Bolivia where she has an internship. So, I’ve been hanging out with them for the most part. Either tomorrow or Wednesday, we’re going to Mendoza or Cordoba (wine country). From there, I plan on splitting off from them and heading south to see the Lake Districts of Chile and Argentina before winter kicks in. For more on itinerary updates, keep checking out the itinerary link.

Anyway… about the hostel. It’s really cute. Our room has eight beds, but there is only one other guy staying in there with us. His name is BerñaBé. He’s from Perú, and really nice. We just got back from dinner with him. The whole building (they whole city, really) is very European. I’m told to expect that even more in Chile, so I think I’m going to make my way to Perú and Bolivia faster than I expected.

Today, Eleanor and I walked down the river in the blazing sunshine and had a nice heart to heart about life. We ended up in the Plaza de Mayo where the madres de los desaparecidos (the mothers of those kidnapped during the dictatorship) still hold vigil for their lost children on Sundays. We also got to see a cardinal giving mass at a church on the plaza. And I got to walk through a sea of pigeons. They’re like my mom’s cat! They never move, even when you’re about to crunch them!

My spanish is improving really rapidly. Eleanor and Jared are both much better than I, of course, since they’ve been here longer. When I go somewhere alone, I do just fine. People are much much nicer to you when you’re by yourself (except the bank woman at the airport. She was mean and impatient with me).

Anyway, dinner is eaten really late here, so we just got back from dinner. We invited our dorm-mate out. Actually, when we left the hostel, we went for free tango lessons. The teacher never showed up, however (go figure). Fine by me… I can dance just fine if I get to make it up myself. If I have to remember steps… my brain just doesn’t work like that. But, we did meet a German guy (Andreas) in the process of trying to tango, so the five of us ended up going out to dinner. We went to a parrilla where they serve steak. We all shared “dinner for four,” which was more like dinner for eight. The first course is intestines and organs. I had blood sausage, I think for the first time ever. I also ate what was essentially compressed intestines…like sausage, but without anything inside it. It was nasty. The eggplant sauce and lengua de vaca (cow tongue) were appetizers. The cow tongue was okay… I don’t think I’d ever order it as an entreé. Eleanor was traumatized. She’s a vegetarian. The main course was far less to talk about… just lots of steak. Mmm… delicioso.

Tomorrow I think we are going to try and see the sights instead of trekking aimlessly about the city. Perhaps I will leave early for Mendoza. I think I’ve definitely had my fill of all these cars and buildings. I need some trees!

Wow. So I’m finally here! I was and am looking forward to the challenges this adventure will bring, but so far my maximum stress level has been with preparing to come and not actually being here. My plane ticket was a three-day hassle, my immunizations were completely by the seat of my pants, I was sick the entire week I was getting ready, I had to cram a month and a half of preparations into five days, and my ride to Portland (the airport) fell through last minute!

My good friend Ben ended up shuttling me to Portland Friday eve where I stayed with my friends Garrett and Maria. Maria travelled alone in Europe, so she had lots of great advice to offer.

I didn’t check any baggage (I highly recommend this method to all international travellers), but because I didn’t, I had no choice but to carry on my tweezers, finger nail clippers, matches, safety pins, etc. Surprisingly enough, I made it through the TSA screening unscathed. They didn’t take a thing! Maybe they’re finally realizing that you can’t hijack a plane with a stick pin.

My plane rides were awesome; I snagged window seats both times. The Florida coastline looks like a carnival at night! We were flying over the Andes as the sun came up this morning; it was so gorgeous! Oh – and the clouds! Shortly after sunrise, we flew into some clouds that were SO cool. Giant, billowy thunder heads made it look like we were flying through some kind of surreal mountain range hecho de nubes (made of clouds).

So, after nearly 10,000 miles in the air, I arrived in Buenos Aires @ 9:30 a.m. local time. I hooked up with another woman on the airplane and she and I shared a taxi into the city. So far all I’ve done is shower and try to sleep my way into this time zone. Tonight should bring, at the very least, my very first Argentine steak dinner (for $6!) and maybe some Tango dancing.

That’s all for now! Besos y abrazos!