Humahuaca

We arrived Tuesday mid-afternoon and set out for the hostel. After checking in, we reserved our spots on four excursions and went exploring before dinner. At the feria artesanal (craft fair) we looked around for a bit and also tried some foods traditional of this part of Northern Argentina -- tamales and humitas, which come wrapped in corn husks.

We proceeded to take a cable car up to Cerro San Bernardo, where we got a wonderful view of the city as the sun was setting. On our way down we could see all the city lights against the dark and cloudy mountain backdrop. 

Wednesday we got up at 6am - yes, 6am - to go on our first excursion, Humahuaca. It started off by driving through the yunga forest. (Yunga means dark and closed.) I learned a lot of interesting things - half of which I can't recall because it was 12 hours worth of information, but nonetheless I will do my best to share some...

If anyone has ever studied Latin American culture, you probably know that many people suck on coca leaves - particularly in Bolivia and Columbia, but also in other parts like Salta and Jujuy. A small bag of leaves is around $2.50. It's interesting to note that Argentina doesn't cultivate coke plants. Instead, it is brought into the country illegally from Bolivia and then sold legally in northern Argentina. 

In order to cocear, the person packs 20 or so leaves between their cheek and teeth and lets them sit there - no chewing involved. Every once in awhile the person may put a bit of baking soda on the leaves to bring out the flavor. The coca leaves curb your appetite, is a natural stimulant and has nutritional value. All of our tour guides had coca leaves packed into their cheeks.

*To clarify, these people are not drug addicts. It takes 100 kilos of coca leaves and multiple chemicals to make one gram of cocaine. (In any case don't worry, I did NOT try it.)

We stopped at the Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colors) and various Andean pueblos (small villages) - including Purmamarca, Maimara and Tilcara - whom still preserve traditions and customs of ancient times. I took countless pictures of old churches, adobe buildings, cardones (similar to the cactus) and the breathtaking mountain views.

For lunch, I ate more food typical of the region - milanesa de llama and pumpkin in almibar (a sweet syrup). It was delicious! After lunch I checked out some stores and found the coolest pair of slippers ever -- made out of leather and alpaca fur. The best part was that you could take the inner part out and wear them as socks in bed and the  put the outer part back on to walk around your house. Unfortunately I have large feet, especially considering the average height of Argentineans, thus they did not have my size or any size close to mine. :-( oh well it was still a fun day!

And I'm Off

My mom would be proud, I had my bag packed and ready to go before I got up this morning for my flight to Salta AND I packed light. I may or not have been late leaving my house to meet up with Cara and Paula at school to go to the Jorge Newberry Airport, so I took a remis (taxi) and got there a good 15 minutes before they arrived.

With our flight in two hours, we flagged down another remis ... well he flagged us down ... and we were on our way. Our remisero was jamming to the radio and in a matter of minutes we pulled up to the airport. There was hardly any wait and before I knew it we had tickets in hand.

We opted to carry-on our bags and right before the scanning process we realized that we probably had prohibited items - tweezers and aerosol cans. But since this is Argentina we ran our bags through the machine, walked casually through the body scanner with our shoes still on and continued on our way. Not to mention that I'm pretty sure I could have packed more than a ziplock bag full of liquids if I had wanted.

In order to get to our gate, we had to pass through a shopping area with everything imaginable -- suitcases, wine, chocolate, clothes, leather goods, etc. When we finally reached the end, we were greeted by the national Argentine soccer team! I used my stealth picture taking skills to capture the moment, so I'll have to post that later. For the moment being, I'm really loving the laid-back travel procedures here :-)

Stealth Pictures

Bus trips are good times to blog since 12 hours in one spot doesn't lend itself to many options. Nonetheless, I promised to share my stealth picture taking abilities and so here they are..

You may be wondering why on earth is she creeping on innocent bystanders? Has she gone completely insane? Let me take a moment to explain myself.

In Argentina, you will see people of all ages, genders and socio-economic statuses walking around with shopping bags. Not anything to out of the ordinary, or so it would seem. However, the majority of these people are not coming back from a day of shopping nor are they going to return something (returns are non-existent here for the most part). They instead use these bags to carry any and everything: Umbrellas, shoes, cell phones, wallets, books...you name it.

I'm not sure, but I feel that carrying bags from certain stores may be a public demonstration of one's status in a way. Especially since I've seen people carrying around Victoria Secret, ambercrombie and fitch and Gilly Hicks bags - none of which exist here. Either way, I think it's rather ridiculous for people to carry them around since these bags are open for prying eyes to see the contents. In a city where people get robbed everyday, I would think people would use a purse, backpack or the like. Oh well, what do I know. :-)

Traveling In Style

Usually los colectivos aren't worth writing home about. If you're lucky you get food and in some cases, even a cup of pop. There are hundreds of bus lines and service varies depending on the line, the length of the trip and what kind of ticket you purchase. Since most buses travel overnight, you have the option of a semi-cama or cama seat. Semi-cama seats recline halfway and cama seats go practically horizontal. (not to mention that they give passengers more space in general)

I recently was told about a bus line that goes to Corrientes and has amazing service...Not to mention that the price is the same as other bus lines, so I had to see for myself. Let me tell you - it was everything they told me and more. I still can't believe that nobody told me about it before now!

Once on el colectivo, I got comfortable in my large comfy seat - complete with pillow and blanket. I looked up to see my own LCD screen and then one of the workers appeared, offering me a caramelo (piece of hard candy). Not five minutes later, she appeared again offering me crackers and five minutes later a glass of champagne. Yes, you read correctly, champagne. The only other time I have been offered champagne while traveling in Argentina was on an airplane in first class. Talk about traveling in style!

A few minutes later she came around to hand out bingo cards - although these "bingo" cards were not what i was used to. Either way, an entertaining way to pass the time. A movie started shortly after and then she came back around to take drink orders - water, pop or wine. Sadly, dinner was better than at my host family's house and consisted of a hot and cold dish. The dessert was delicious and after dinner we were offered coffee... And then whiskey or Tia Maria. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, she handed out bottles of water and toothbrushes.

Plus, they had wifi so I was able to check email and facebook while on the road. Needless to say, I think I will be booking my trips through this bus line whenever possible! Absolutely wonderful :-)

I Collect Things

Over the years, I've collected various things (for lack of a better term). It started with Barbies and then I moved on to postcards from everywhere I've been. Somewhere along the line I also started acquiring various coins - half dollars, Susan B Anthony dollars, wheat pennies and random foreign coins. (Not to worry... I am also guilty of the beanie baby craze :-P)

One of my favorite collections is the state quarters. When they first started coming out, my grandpa bought all 9 grandchildren huge display boards and collected all of the quarters for us. (thanks Grandpa!!) A few months ago when I was in Mar del Plata, I found out that Argentina has 5 bicentennial pesos. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! (Yes, I'm kind of nerdy.) 

The hard part is that despite the fact that 12 million of each were put into circulation nearly a year ago, they haven't reached all parts of the country. Most Argentines don't even know of their existence! Thankfully, I was able to collect 4 of the 5 right away and I'm only missing "Aconcagua." Fingers crossed that I find it in the next month and a half before I head home :-)

Weddings are my favorite

Once again I find myself way behind on blogging... not that there are a lack of topics to discuss - quite the opposite. Everyday blogging material seems to multiply exponentially! This weekend I'll be crossing off another activity on my bucket-list by attending a wedding in Corrientes!

Hopefully I'll have time to blog about these other events in detail, but here's a quick run-down of things I have experienced in the last month:

Feria de libros
Trip to Mendoza
Visit to Teatro Colon
Internship mishaps
College graduation celebration
Mid-terms
...and other random cultural activities

Despite saying that I enjoyed the slower pace of life here, I'm not sure I've slowed down all that much. In the city, it's easy to stay busy 24/7 and my schedule is quite similar to that in the States. Not to mention that it takes time to get around in the city - more so when there is traffic or they are protesting. (Unless your colectivero is crazy) However, public transportation is quite affordable thanks to the government subsidy, so I can't really complain.

We'll see if I can get my act together in start blogging in a timely manner. But as a fair warning, I'll be going on a week long trip to Salta and Jujuy next week, so this goal may be slightly delayed...I'll keep you posted :-)

Secret Agent Man

Every have that feeling that someone is really important or that something is going on, but you have no idea of said event? Yeah, that just happened...

After getting of the bus from work, I naturally started walking to school. (To give you some background, there are multiple foreign embassies on the streets around the university.) As I reached the corner, I noticed a silver Mercedes Benz parked there with a Republic of Argentina license plate. Not completely out of the ordinary considering this neighborhood is of a higher socio-economic level than most and given all the embassies near by. What was out of the ordinary was the secret agent man standing in the street with his arms crossed in front of him, complete with the black suit and ear piece. He looked important and this was confirmed as he waved to some high end luxury cars and SUVs that passed by.

I would have taken a picture, but I feel that it would have been super awkward given that there was no good way to sneak a picture. (although I may or may not be practicing...more to come on that later) However, I still wonder who was there that was so important because I've seen lots of similar vehicles with Republic of Argentina plates and no secret agent man. I guess I'll never know...

Fall in Argentina

Fall is my favorite season - I love seeing the trees change colors. Here they change color much more slowly and the leaves haven't dried up yet, but it's gorgeous.

And in general, the weather here is amazing - hot summers, springs and for the most part, falls. (especially for Iowa standards) Winter doesn't include snow and temps are typically in the 40's, maybe mid-30's. however, I've become weak... I've lost the thick Iowa skin.

Today it's currently 55 degrees and I am absolutely freezing! (maybe in part because the heat isn't turned on yet in my room, but no worries - it will be when I get home tonight!) At any other time, I would think 55 was great, but I've gotten used to being spoiled by the warm temps. When locals thought it was cold months ago when it was in the low 70's, I was walking around in tanks and tees. (They were definitely in sweaters and parkas.... I can't wait to see how they dress now)

Thankfully they have good coffee here and today mine came with three mini sugar cookies :-)