Even though this blog mostly focuses on Buenos Aires and all things Argentina, it looks like I'm soon-to-be-headed to Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands in January-February 2010, so I'm going to post anything of interest in this blog, add the photos, etc.
Basically, it's a mini-South American vacation while I'm in between projects in the recessionary times of the USA in 2009. Traveling and exploring the world sure beats wasting time looking for work while companies are figuring out their "mission critical projects" & allocating their budgets for the hiring managers in 2010!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Punta del Este Uruguay

Picking up after Peru and Bolivia (plus a few weeks of staying put in Buenos Aires), the 2007 adventure drew to an end with a final stop off at the oh-so-posh Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este during my final week down south.

The "usual trip" requires a one hour ferry ride across the Rio de la Plata plus a 4 hour bus ride along the coast of Uruguay to get to PDE, although you could also choose to mix in some days in Colonia and/or Montevideo if the urge struck you. But once you arrive, a giant hand arises out of the sand on the beach to greet you.





Supposedly the design/construction was inspired by the nests of the "mud oven" bird (my best English translation of the bird's name) which are all over the area. In the photo on the left you can see one of the birds standing on it's nest, built on top of a pool house or some kind of building by the pool, anyway. Their nests were on top of all the phone poles along the highways too, I noticed.


Finally, it was time to return to Buenos Aires with just three more days to go until the final departure to the USA. After spending some time in Albuquerque (it was delightful, thanks for asking) I'm now back in Dallas so the party is over... for now. Thanks for tuning in to the blog over the past year!

THE END
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
La Paz - Part 2




Given the flukey way that Evo landed in office and since the opportunity may not come again, he and his political party MAS (which stands for Movement Towards Socialism and the acronym cleverly means "more") are attempting to move the nation's capitol from La Paz to Sucre and rewrite the country's constitution. Officially, the capitol ALREADY is Sucre but all the offices, infrastructure, etc, exist in La Paz and that's the way it's always been... Evo just has more political support in Sucre. Don't ask me how all this happened -- IT'S BOLIVIA!

The protestors started out burning tires and throwing sticks of dynamite (there's a lot of mining in the area) and so the police and military, being nearby at the bunker, fired tear gas and bullets at the crowds... although the government claims the military only had rubber bullets "so it was the crowd using the live ammo." Since then, four of the wealthiest Bolivian provinces have refused to recognize the new constitution and approved autonomy from the capitol -- or half way to secesion from the country, but not all the way. Then later on, the mayor/governor of Sucre (a MAS member who coordinated all the midnight voting magic) had his house burned down and his family threatened, so they all went into hiding in Peru. And the same thing is happening to other MAS politicians living in Sucre.

But it wasn't as bad as the experience some people had (that I went to Uruguay with) when they were in Bolivia last July. They told me that as they were leaving for dinner, a bunch of protestors running from the police rushed into their hotel lobby and everyone got maced and tear gassed... including them! They had to wash out their eyes and hair to get rid of the sting. Good story tho.

And that pretty much sums up the trek through Peru and Bolivia. I also was able to fly down the Pacific coast to make a connection in Santiago, Chile over to Buenos Aires (mostly because LAN sent me there and I had no choice). But it was a nice tour of the coastline... no pictures, alas. So, that's pretty much it in South America for me in 2007. I fly back to the USA tomorrow night so maybe I'll post some photos of the Punta del Este beach happenings once I've been back awhile. Adios!
La Paz - Part 1





There's quite a bit to see and do in this part of town and, since I was in Bolivia, what better way to kick off my tour than with a visit to the coca leaf museum? While I was there, I learned all about this magical plant. Plus I got to see an actual (non-functioning) cocaine lab that demonstrates how the leaf is processed into cocaine. However, the most interesting thing I learned is that although Coca-Cola may not use COCAINE in their soft drink, they DO use the coca leaf for part of the secret flavor recipe. At least according to the Bolivian propaganda, anyway. So who knows.


That's it for "La Paz, part one". Next time I'll pick up with part two, where I can continue the tour of La Paz plus review the political situation that unfolded while I was there. Riots, death, mayhem, midnight-closed-door votes on a new constitution, senators and governors escaping in helicopters, and (as revealed this week) going into hiding over in Peru. But before that I'm headed to the fine beaches in Uruguay -- Punta del Este -- tomorrow, so I'm not sure when part two will be posted. Meanwhile, live in the moment and enjoy this one, ha.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Lake Titicaca







On a personal note, it's also a great place to get an amazing sunburn in just a couple of hours if you forget your sunscreen. Although I now understand why a lot of the locals look like they're 80 years old when they're just barely kicking 40. Years in the harsh sun and wind is extremely unkind to the skin... so, my tip: don't forget your sunscreen when visiting Lake Titicaca.

After visiting the Peruvian side of the lake, I didn't have time to tour the Bolivian side as well. The popular place to visit is called the Island of the Sun, which is where Incan legend claims the sun and moon, not to mention the Incan empire, were born. To get there, you need to stay in Copacabana which is where I wish I had stayed. Alas... with time issues abounding, I had to keep pressing on towards La Paz, Bolivia. Which is what I'll talk about next time.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
La Presidenta

Since school is out, one of my little extracurricular activities was going to the presidential inauguration yesterday. It was the biggest news story of the day and I figured this will be good for the next time someone asks me if I've ever been to a presidential inauguration and I can then give them one of those smarmy Barney Fife snorts plus a smug "in which country?" retort. Ha.




Which was supposedly going to happen around 3pm but actually took until 5pm. There were news choppers and television crews all over the place, secret service agents running amok, ambulances and paddy wagons, and just a lot of very "official looking" people that were most likely plain old bureaucrats reveling in their day in the sun. Literally. But it all felt very presidential inauguration-ish.




So, that was Election Fever 2007 in Argentina... next time I'll get back to my story about Lake Titicaca and Bolivia and whatever else still remains to be told about that trek.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Peru Rail


The price tag also included lunch and various snacks, cocaine tea (OK, technically COCA LEAF tea), miscellaneous entertainment, music, and other assorted and amusing things that a chicken-n-goat bus does not offer. Plus the views throughout the trip were incredible!




Supposedly you chew them to alleviate the effects of altitude sickness... or maybe the buzz just makes you forget about it? The coca tea is the most popular way to consume it... next to rolled up $100 dollar bills off a mirror in Los Angeles, of course. You can also buy Lipton-tea-like coca tea bags to take home, but it would probably land you a latex-gloved cavity search in the back room of customs when you arrived in the USA.
So the ten hours to the town of Puno on Lake Titicaca flew by incredibly fast. Throughout the trip I think the train maxed out at about 13,500 - 14,000 feet of altitude through one of the passes in the Andes before arriving in Puno which was at 12,600 or so. I'm glad I was already acclimated to the air by then... there were some people not looking "real good" on the trip. Next time I'll post some pictures of Lake Titicaca, the floating (straw) islands of Uros, and whatever else I can find of interest.

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