Dec 23 December 2010 - Sandboarding Las Dunas

Today we decided to go sandboarding. It was all adding up to be a great day as we were going to also go behind some sand dunes to blow up some fireworks. When we finally made it to the dunes we were very surprised. They had set up old tires just feet from the road to keep you from going out of control and possibly shooting out onto the road. This had us thinking twice about it all. We decided we would just stick to the dune furthest from the road which turned out to be perfect. All of our first attempts on the boards were not as good as we expected. From catching an edge to just not going anywhere at all we made our way back up to the top to try, try again. After getting used to the boards we decided it was about time to head down the ocean facing side to blow things up. It took about 2 minutes to run down the 100 foot sand dune. Bowen and I had a great time blowing chunks out of the side of the dune and his Iron Man action figure. After about a half an hour our dad came to collect us to head back. The walk to the top was both long and painful. For every step you took you lost a layer of skin as well as half the step you took as this was loose sand. After 10 to 15 minutes we got to the top and decided to start heading back to the B&B. Bowen and I found a perfect place to ride the hill on more time. It consisted of a bunch of bushes with a half tunnel through them. Bowen didn't think I would go through it but, by the time he turned around to call me an idiot I was already flying down the hill. Seeing all the speed I had got on the way down, Bowen was inspired to try it as well. He came flying down the hill only to stop abruptly in the sticky wet sand. We did this a few times, then paid for the rental on the boards and headed out to find some drinks.

-Hollis

This was a tough day for the parents. Thinking it would be cool to fly by the seat of our pants for the last week has led to be a highly stressful morning as we try to develop an exit strategy. Arranging travel and accommodation plans in a foreign language during the busiest travel period of the year is not so cool. We spent the majority of the day on the internet, researching and skyping places all over Argentina trying to come up with a plan. Things finally gelled into a plan to spend New Year in Mar del Plata, a beach town south of BA. It will take us three days to get there, though, including an overnight bus trip from Mendoza after an overnight layover, and then a further 5 hour trip from BA to MDP. The direct trip was all booked up. We had promised the sand boarding experience to the boys, and when we had finally finished our travel planning at 5 PM wondered if we were crazy to be setting out for the first time of the day. It worked out, though, as the overcast had cleared and it made for a cooler time on the dunes, later in the day. The boys had the opportunity to light off some of the firecrackers they had purchased in Argentina, in spite of the dire warnings of our B&B host about possible imprisonment or worse by the carabineros if we were caught in possession of them. To the sound of barking sea lions, in the midst of a huge expanse of sand, Hollis and Bowen found ways to blow things up and disfigure their action figures. The sand boarding was fun, too, and the time on the dunes proved to be a great stress relief for all.

Mom and Dad left the boys at the B&B with a movies and headed out to Valparaiso at 10:00 PM for dinner. We were disappointed to find that the ascensors are closed down at that time of night, but were consequently treated to a thrilling taxi ride through the winding, narrow streets of this hilly town. We returned to Cafe Vinilo and had another of their excellent pisco sours and chose from the excellent-sounding menu. Unfortunately, despite the enthusiasm of the chef, the promise of the menu  was not kept when the food arrived. The presentation was not appealing, and when you ordered the quail, that is what you got - one quail. Not a huge quantity of food. The cafe and its clientele was very cool and bohemian, but the clouds of cigarette smoke detracted from what flavours the food had. The walk back to the metro station took us through plazas full of manic crowds. Some of the areas we were in were a bit sketchy and we received some attention as "effing gringos". We found out the hard way that the metro does NOT run all night, and were told so by the maintenance guy with a hare lip. We flagged down a collectivo which thankfully drove right past our neighbourhood for the reasonable sum of about $2 per head, a bargain in this town. We made it safely back into the comfort of our B&B and the company of our children for a well-deserved rest in the early hours of the morning.

-Remy

Dec 20 - 22- Vina del Mar/ Valparaiso

Our first full day in Vina del Mar got off to a slow start, which we attributed to the harsh travel day before on the bus from Mendoza, but as time went on it proved to be more just our own rhythm than any external cause. We woke up to the Chilean breakfast, which consisted of instant coffee, crystallized fruit beverage, cake, and a sandwich consisting of a slice of ham between two slices of snow-white bread. A bowl of sugary cereal topped off this start to the day. As hardy a group of travelers as we are, we were not able to fuel ourselves for any sort of effort on this. Our hostess at the B&B, Ninfa, was very gracious and accommodating of our nutritional requirements and agreed to provision us with food more to our liking. We jumped on the bus and made our way to the Lider mall which, four days before Christmas in Chile, is quite an experience. Liz and Remy managed to do some secret shopping for the boys before we all headed to the grocery store. After a marathon shopping session, we all jumped into a collectivo taxi and headed for home. Remy continued to hone his barbecuing skills in the grill made of a converted concrete wash tub.

After this less mundane start to our touring experience in this area, we woke up on the 21st ready for some serious tourism. We were slightly bummed after having spent the day before doing exactly what we had come here to avoid and needed to get our traveling groove back on. We jumped on a couple of buses and rode 1 1/2 hours up the coast to the town of Horcon, which is billed as a cool hippie enclave left over from the 70's. It has always been a fishing village, too, which it remains to this day, but only the ghosts of hippies are left. We hung out eating seafood empanadas, accompanied by stray dogs and drunks, along the short malecon.

We explored the rocks and walked through the town, but there was nothing going on except for some group handing out large bags of candy to the kids as an example of pre-Christmas charity.

 We were not looking forward to the bus ride home, as it travels through a large chunk of the coast that has been sacrificed to large scale industrialization (ports and power plants), not that Chile has much but coastline. Our low expectations of the trip were lowered even further as we did a milk run through the squalid towns along the way, sometimes seeming to cover the same route twice. Then we got caught in a traffic jam north of town in which we were being caught and passed by street vendors looking to do some commerce with this captive audience. We arrived back at the B&B exhausted and with sore asses from the time spent sitting on the bus. Another BBQ and some good dark beer and wine was required to lift our spirits.

The weather the following day, the 22nd, proved to be very coastal, with a ground level fog that soaked everything and made for some very cool temperatures. We rode the Metro into Valparaiso as the sun was breaking through and spent the day climbing the hills, exploring the system of funiculars as well as the myriad of cool shops and restaurants. There is a lot of really cool street art around as well, which Hollis likes to record with his iPod and then digitally alter later.

This is a cool, if physically challenging, town to explore and we will surely be back to spend more time here. It is a city that was settled primarily by British, Genoese and Croatian maritimers during the time before the opening of the Panama Canal, so the various neighbourhoods show the influence of these cultures. It is funny to hear names like "O'Higgins" and "Brown" in Spanish, but the number of streets and plazas named after them show the importance that people from non-Spanish backgrounds have played here.

There is little to let one know that it is Christmas here except for the throngs of people. There are some Santa hats around and the occasional North American Christmas jingle being played, often in English, which just seems strange. It is nice not to have the holiday being thrust in one's face at every turn and makes us realize the extent to which we overdo it at home.

We discovered a cool cafe, Cafe Vinilo, where Liz was introduced to the pisco sour, one of those "iron fist in a velvet glove" types of drink, like the margarita. Guaranteed that if you are reading this blog, Liz will be making this drink for you after we return.

-Remy

December 19- Travel day from Mendoza to Vina del Mar, Chile

We have so much darn luggage and the cabs here are so small we had to hire TWO of them to get us into Mendoza City to catch our 9:30 am bus to Chile. Remy went with the luggage, I went with the boys. Good thing the cabs are cheap as we had about a 1/2 hr drive to pay for.  We were eagerly anticipating this leg of our journey as we had heard how spectacular the scenery was. The Andes are an assortment of colors ranging from brown/ grey to purple and greenish in places. They are not at all like our beloved Rockies as you can see from the photos. Trees just don't exist and the rock is more vertical as if it shot straight through the earth reaching for the sky. Small ski resorts dot the mountains but none of the ones we saw seemed to be very spectacular. They are also located right off the highway. It seems if you got going fast enough you might ski right across the highway into a bus full of tourists!

The border crossing into Chile was exciting for about the first 1/2 hour...... 2 1/2 hours later though we were supremely bored and tired of waiting in line while we attempted to keep our boys from taking out their boredom on each other. The border personnel move at glacial speed. One line to get out of Argentina, one line to get into Chile and yet another to pass in our declaration cards and have our luggage inspected by the fruit/ drug/ explosive and cured ham sniffing dogs. Somehow the entire load of bus passengers made it through this arduous process successfully and we didn't leave anyone behind.

9,000 feet is a long way up and somehow we needed to get down to sea level! We'd heard about the switchbacks but nothing had prepared us for what we were about to experience. A series of 32 CONSECUTIVE hairpin turns ( and not a single guardrail) brought us down in about 1/2 hr. We had NEVER seen anything like it. I couldn't help but think about how Remy's Mom would have liked
 it- she really gets nervous driving through the Rogers Pass!
Here is a shot of all the curves- it was very cool.

At about curva 17 we heard a terrible noise. We all thought the tire had exploded or we had run over a big boulder. The bus pulled over tilting towards the mountain and waited for a few minutes before starting up and was off again. Whew!
A few hours later we pulled into a bus mechanic shop and waited INSIDE the bus for about an hour while they hammered away at the engine.  Whatever was broken was now fixed and off we went, again, we hoped.

Chile is beautiful, green and much cleaner than we expected. Agriculture is huge here and things are growing everywhere, even vertically up the sides of the mountains. Now we know why there are such strict regulations about bringing fruit, vegetables, or meat into the country.

5.5 hours late we pulled into Vina del Mar. The taxi's here have roof racks- how smart! so they could accommodate all 4 of us AND our luggage!! Our B&B is charming and we have access to the kitchen and a BBQ - 24/7. This is good as the restaurants here are pricy and we prefer the atmosphere at our temporary home. The weather here is not as hot as we had hoped although the sun is still very strong and  can give one a nasty burn if you aren't sufficiently covered in sunscreen. Apparently the hole in the ozone layer here is huge because of the excessive use of aerosols. Even on a cloudy day one can suffer sun damage.
~Liz

16-18 December 2010 - Adventour Travel in Chacras

Having checked one of the major items off our Argentina Bucket List with the bike tour of Maipu (which still makes the boys laugh - yes, it is pronounced as you might think: "We rode our bikes through my pooh"), we have committed to doing some fun things to take advantage of the natural beauty of this area. Well, fun for some of us. The day after Liz' birthday, we took in the most expensive load of laundry ever before renting more bikes. The other major bucket list item was a visit to the Luigi Bosca Winery, which became our goal for the day. The ride to the winery was along some of the very beautiful tree-lined roads that abound in this area. When the trees ran out, though, it became extremely hot! Argentine paving standards, which are about half a notch above Mexican, made us thankful that we had rented mountain bikes, and the numerous holes/crevasses/steps/drops in the sidewalks made for some fun riding.

The boys were very tolerant as their parents indulged their taste for wine. We re-confirmed that we like the product of this major winery. The boys were rewarded for their patience with a relatively early return home and a delicious meal cooked on the parilla. Remy LOVES the  experience of cooking on an authentic parilla- we may have to build one at home.

(We had an interesting conversation with a taxi driver the other day. When we explained to him that we have a  cowboy culture in Calgary too he asked if we ride to work on horseback- like as if we didn't have cars! Funny. - Liz)

The following day, Friday, we got the boys out of bed "early" (the spoiled brats complain of being woken up at all - the average reveille hour for them is about 10:00 o'clock) to catch the bus to Complejo Cachueta, a hot springs-powered water park in the foothills of the Andes. About an hour's travel brought us to a wonderful park which consists of beautiful river rock pools alternating between hot and cold water and a man-made "river" channel. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we all came away with pretty good burns. As a family, we all stood out as bright white beacons in a sea of dark skinned people. We appreciated that the place was run in accordance with the usual Latin-American attitude toward family recreation: you can bring in whatever you wish to eat or drink, and they supply the wood if you wish to have a barbecue on one of the many parillas that are provided. In fact, just outside the gates of the water park we were delighted to find a woman selling proscuitto! She  carved it right off the bone of the beast while we waited! She served it with some homemade bread and we added 2 sopapilla ( flat, homemade doughnuts for .25c each. ) We again elected to return to our casita at a relatively early hour and again enjoyed the fruits of the Argentine beef industry, cooked over hardwood coals and washed down with good Argentine wine.

We shared some of the wine with our host, Cecillia, who abrogated her doctor's orders against the consumption of alcohol in order to see what the fuss was that we were making about the Luigi Bosca. Cecillia, who used to work in the local wine industry as an international representative, agreed that our tastes were for some pretty nice wine, and it did not just seem to be typical Argentine patriotism speaking.

The final day of adventure in the Mendoza region had us re-trace our steps partway from the day before to the Betancourt Rafting Centre, located on the Mendoza river in the foothills. We were driven, then had to hike down to the banks of the river where we were paired up with the other non-Hispanophones with a typical river rat of a rafting guide who spoke better English than the rest (read- better than none). We were given instructions on the commands he would be issuing, which were basic: adelante (forward), atras (back), and alto. Beyond that, he did all the work. With our flip flops strapped to the front of our life jackets and the ever-stylin' whitewater helmets all making us look like the Great Gazoo, we put in to the beautifully clear, not-too-fast-flowing river. The water temperature was very pleasant, not like the mountain rivers back home, and Remy and Bowen both braved a swim through the rapids at one point. As nice as it was, everybody but Remy took quite a chill and so it felt good to get back and change into dry clothing. Hollis and Bowen went for a couple or three rides on the zip line at the rafting centre before we got our lift back into town. The next day is a travel day to Chile with an early wake-up, so the evening was spent packing up and preparing to move out of our  little casita, which has become quite homelike already, even if the plumbing has proven to be unreliable over the course of our stay.

-Remy

Dec 15th- Liz's birthday in Mendoza- Goal reached!

This whole trip started with an idea that it would be fun to celebrate my 45th birthday by visiting Argentina and touring the wineries that produce the stuff we love to drink at home. Today we reached that goal!
We took a taxi to the town of Maipu ( in Mendoza) where we rented bikes- a tandem for Remy and Bowen- and armed with a map of the 15 wineries and olive oil farms, off we went! I think Remy must have had a " talk" with the boys before we left our house because I didn't hear a peep of complaining the entire day. The roads are lined with huge leafy trees that provide much needed shade and the wineries are well marked and welcoming. As I said to Remy as we were happily cycling along- "I am so happy to be ALIVE! This is a day we will remember forever" Here is a photo of our first winery, chocolate, olive oil and liquor tasting.

We thought we'd be able to visit 5 or 6 wineries but we ended up meeting Chris from Portland- I seem to attract people from Portland- and talked with him for over an hour in an underground bodega. It was cool, the wines were delicious and the boys were happily sipping their sprite and joining in on the inspiring conversation... HEAVEN! We only got to 3 vineyards but we had just the best time.
Here is a video of our vineyard visit today.

Before we returned the bikes we checked out the artisanal beer place along the way. What's a day of wine drinking without a little beer at the end? I didn't like the beer but the atmosphere was interesting. It was a makeshift joint at the end of a dirt road that was decorated with old couches and filled with hippie types smoking long slender cigarettes. I hope we don't get a belly ache!

When we returned home Remy attempted to go to town alone to purchase some water, wood and some cakes for my birthday. The owners crazy dog, Broco,  followed him there chasing cars, barking and fighting with EVERY other dog on the way. Remy's plan was to gather all the heavy  stuff and take a cab home but he found Broco waiting patiently outside the grocery store for him.  Needless to say, Remy felt he couldn't just ditch him in town to jump in a cab so opted to walk the 3 or 4 kms instead. Remy showed up about 1.5 hours later dripping with sweat  from his long walk in the heat and calling the dog all sorts of names...... Nasty Remy names like "dufus"!

So... our bbq dinner was put off by a day and we made pasta instead finishing up around 11:30 pm. I was surprised with a gift  I had been eying in Buenos Aires ( a piggy bank made of orange leather)  and some alfajores ( an Argentinean speciality) for dessert. It was such a remarkable way to turn 45 I think I might do something similar next year!
~Liz

A happy day! Note Liz's grey teeth from all the wine drinking 

December 14th -Bus travel can be fun!

Our last day in Buenos Aires was spent killing time which I really, really hate having to do. Life is too short to have to "kill time". However, we got on the bus with bellies full of questionable burgers and some lukewarm water. Bowen was super excited about this bus ride. I'll let him tell the story but before that I have to include some great shots from La Boca neighborhood and the tango we saw there.

The bus was VERY warm and comfortable and they brought you dinner and breakfast and drinks ( wine, champagne and whiskey offered to my parents, coke, juice, or tea for kids) and you can get to sleep really easy and you could choose  what movie you wanted to watch and I watched Grand Torino and it was fun sitting in the very front!
The seats went ALL the way back and there was a foot rest that went at an angle or straight across for when you wanted to sleep or relax. For breakfast we had juice, cake and a muffin and it all tasted bad.
~ Bowen

Bowen is right, the bus was great. I wish we knew they were going to feed us though, I could have lived without that scary burger with the egg  and ham on top. It was the funniest thing, they attached a table in front of us that was exactly like being a baby in a high chair. We were not going anywhere until our meal was finished and our hostess took the table away.
Despite the comfy chairs sleep did not come easy. Remy and I were both worried about a potential crash on the dark highway especially because our driver was on the road for 12 hours straight. Alas, we made it safely and the last three hours of the trip were glorious as we woke to gorgeous view of the green countryside and the  beautiful Andes off in the distance. Sleeping boys and great tunes on my ipod helped.

Entering Mendoza province!

If you look closely you can see the Andes in the background. This was the site we woke to!

We quickly caught a taxi out of Mendoza City and headed to Chacras de Corria- where we will stay for the next week or so touring vineyards by bicycle and playing outdoors.
~Liz

December 13, 2010 - Travel Day -Buenos Aires to Mendoza

So today we had to sign out of our swanky, if slightly claustrophobic, apartment. We had the maintenance guy show up at 9:30 AM, when we were barely out of the shower, looking to pick up the keys. We sent him away until our checkout time of 12:00 noon. We availed ourselves for the first time of the concierge service offered by the management company and asked that they request a large cab for us to carry all four of us plus our extensive baggage to the bus terminal. True to form, when we burst out onto the street in a tidal wave of luggage, waiting for us was a tiny Renault cab. We had the driver request a "kombi" cab, which we were told would be a 40 minute wait. Never taking "wait" for an answer, Liz kept busy at the corner of the block, flagging over taxis that were going by in the dozens, while Remy and the boys flirted with the old ladies back at the bus stop. We tried to stuff everything into the back of what passes for a station wagon taxi, but that didn't work and we had to send the disappointed driver on his way. Finally, a kombi rounded the corner and pulled over at LIz' bidding. Sure enough, a second kombi, the one ordered by the first driver, was right behind him. We felt awful as he fruitlessly rang the door bell of our recently ex-apartment while we drove past.

Once we had dropped our bags at the terminal (and got royally fleeced for the privilege of leaving them there for the day, about US$22.50) we proceeded with Plan A. Well, Plan Only, actually, which was to spend the afternoon at the zoo until it was time to catch our bus. We had not done our research, which would have told us that the zoo is closed on Mondays. We stood at the front gate with about half a dozen other hapless tourists before leaving with our tails tucked between our legs. We tried to get some personal administration done at a couple of banks, again without success. The boys, by this time, were hot and royally bored (letting us know it, too) so we prolonged the agony by taking them to the botanical  gardens where we had a pasty picnic lunch. The bathrooms were all under renovation, so we took the opportunity to pee on some rare plants.

We had not been to La Boca yet, and figuring we would have some good photo ops there, jumped into a cab to check out the neighbourhood. Bad idea! Rush hour in BA is not something you want to experience from the confines of a stuffy cab, and La Boca was a lot further away than we remembered. We ended up  paying a huge taxi fare to get there, just in time for most things to be closing up before the soccer game at the Boca Juniors Stadium. There was a lot of energy in the air, and many streets were closed to traffic in order to handle the amount of pedestrians that a 56,00 seat stadium generates. We took our photos, ate some really good ice cream and headed back to the bus terminal.

The "Terminal de Omnibuses" is a really grotty place full of shifty people. Worried that we might go hungry, Liz and Remy sat at a filthy restaurant and had the "hamburguesa completa" a hamburger patty with fried egg, ham and cheese on a soggy bun. Finally, it was time to board the bus, a trip which I will allow Liz to relate in the next post as I believe she will tell it better.

-Remy

December 12- San Telmo Market

I realize our posts have been quite long and detailed. I'll keep this one short and sweet. We spent the day walking for miles through the San Telmo neighborhood looking at art, antiques and old men selling  homemade squawking chicken toys- Bowen bought one and tormented his brother with it for the rest of the day.
One of the strange food things we found at the market was the dry fruit and popcorn on a stick. Not very artfully presented or appetizing.

 We purchased our first piece of art from South America which will give us both something to worry about for the rest of the trip.

This market was incredible and went on FOREVER! Liz loved taking pictures of the hand painted signs that we see everywhere here - the Pizza a la  Piedera sign is a good example of the style Liz likes so much.

Seltzer is very big here as you can see by the  bottles for sale at the market. At lunch that day we saw a man order some for himself in a restaurant.  We love the grocery store version too that comes in plastic and allows the boys to make their own soda! We need this at home.

Hollis has been taking some great pictures of the graffiti  then editing them on his ipod. Here are a few examples of his work.

- Liz

December 11, 2010. "Marks" at the Market

-Boy, is it tough getting over the jet lag! And it is only a 4 hour difference. Every morning is a struggle to get the boys out of bed before 11 AM and then a struggle to get them to go to sleep before midnight or 1 AM. It wouldn't be an issue of we were only here for a week or two, but considering that we will be in this time zone for a month it is a worthwhile struggle.

We have resolved to try to do less, better, each day. Today's plan was simple- off to the Recoleta artisan market, with a side trip to the Recoleta cemetery to visit Eva Peron's remains. The boys were thrilled at this prospect! (see yesterday's post) Actually, the market was a lot of fun, with extremely high quality handicrafts on offer. Liz stocked up on a lot of clothing accessories and is now looking like a true portena (local slang for Buenos Aires resident). Remy and Bowen bought handmade knives, from the hands that actually made them, and Hollis picked up a nifty head massager- just what comes to mind when anyone thinks of Argentina.

A mid-term visit to the Recoleta cemetery revealed it to be a true necropolis. It is set up like a small city, with "streets" of mausoleums covering about 4 city blocks. It is an amazing collection of various architectural styles concentrated in such a small area, with all the luminati of Argentinean history encapsulated within. We managed to locate the Duarte mausoleum where Evita is entombed and met a nice couple of men who offered to take our photo. They joked that with this visit their "gay card" was stamped for another year.

For lunch, we decided on some street food from one of the stands in the market. Now to set the context for what follows, you have to understand that a lot of the beggars and charities recognize this market as a target-rich environment. Remy ended up donating money to an anti-drug and HIV charity that had also hit us up the day before, and had purchased a couple of empanadas for the dirty little beggar boy and his filthy infant brother who had zeroed in him and would not leave. Remy had also patronized the grubby beer vendor who was selling iced cans of Quilmes out of a filthy cooler as a means of spreading the wealth around. It was not like we were out to profit from anyone; the cash flow was definitely one-way. When Liz went to purchase her choripan (a grilled sausage on a bun) from the food stand, all she had to pay her AR$10 bill (about $2.50) was a AR$100 note, because that is all the bank machines spit out here. It is always a chore trying to pay with those here as, like in Mexico, no one carries a float of any kind. The proprietor of the stand, as usual, asked Liz if she had anything smaller and when she said no, let her know that he had to go find the change for her. He returned shortly, handed her the change and her food and the transaction was completed. Shortly after, when the cook had said something to the proprietor, he came over and let her know (through a total language barrier) that he believed that Liz had never given over her AR$100 note and that he was out that amount in cash and kind. Liz was pretty sure that he had taken the note and used it to obtain change at one of the other stands. Both were genuinely convinced that their versions were correct and so we were at an impasse.

Remy returned to the middle of this quandary and was asked to translate as a means of reaching an agreement. Unfortunately, two things happened simultaneously- Remy's Spanish abilities were immediately swamped, and a bunch of bystanders became involved. The ones that spoke Spanish did so with such a thick Argentine accent, such speed and such heat that two-way communication became impossible. This included the cook, who was quite voluble and was becoming very animated with the large kitchen knife that he had in hand. One of the other charity solicitors involved himself (not the one Remy had given money to) and when Remy asked that he speak more slowly, did exactly the opposite and threatened to call the police. The other bystanders that stuck their noses in, it turned out, did not speak Spanish, even though English was their second language. Remy was caught in the midst of this Babel while Liz and the proprietor, who were the only two calm ones in the group, stepped aside and settled the matter in a civilized fashion between them. Liz returned the change that he had given to her in acknowledgment of the fact that usually, she never sends cash away with anyone when they go to get change and that fact that the proprietor seemed to be convinced that Liz had not given him any money to begin with. At the worst, Liz bought the most expensive choripan in Buenos Aires while at best she got a free sausage. Remy, meanwhile, managed not to get himself stabbed or arrested. A very real and authentic experience was had, in the end.

The local weather pattern these days seems to consist of a pleasantly warm and clear morning with the rain clouds rolling in for the afternoon. This is exactly what happened again today. We actually sweated and got sun burns this morning, before being subjected to a drenching thunder shower late in the aft. We outsmarted the weather by finding the Cultural Center, which had great art on display for free and a good bar, which poured a very stiff gin and tonic. We re-emerged into glorious sunshine for the return trip to our apartment oasis. Remy did his first workout of the trip while the boys practiced parkour around the kitchen and living room. The boys stayed behind and occupied themselves while Remy and Liz went out to a Mexican restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet book. We were not thrilled with the food- Mexican food in Argentina is a bit like Chinese food in Canada- definitely not the same as in the parent country (thank goodness, in the case of Chinese food!) They did not even know what an enchilada was! We did meet a nice couple from San Francisco, though, who are only here for a week and were asking us for advice. All we could tell them was to carry an umbrella and not to buy the choripan at the Recoleta market.

-Remy

BOWEN'S FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT ARGENTINA(:
the gum here is 50 cents (2 pesos) they have cool
toys and stuff like big knives (I bought one) they have BIG markets stuff is cheap but the only kinda bad thing is that they have some thunder storms every once in a while. we have been in two so far .

MORE STUFF THAT WE HAVE DONE!
well my mom almost got pick pocketed we saw Eva Peron's grave had a tour of the city on a roofless bus and that was when the first thunder storm hit and tomorrow we are taking a 12 hour bus trip to Mendoza and my dad and I added all the time of a two 18 hour plane trips to and from calgary and two 12 hour bus trips and it adds up to 60 hours and that plane food tastes like boogers and liver and pickled turkey gizzirds and salted crickets and pepper flavered flyes all mixed up in the sewer and I could go on but then I would have to go throw up my lunch in the potty. and also trying to get to sleep at 12 o'clock when you are use to calgary time and it is only 8 o'clock there but so far I have had a good time!
-Bowen

December 10, 2010. Buenos Aires Bus ride Bores Boys by Hollis

Today we set off on one of the most boring informative trips Bowen or I have ever set foot on. It consisted of a roofless bus (which in the rainstorm that consumed most of the day was not too fun to be on) and headphones that were waaay too loud teaching you about statues. Probably the most eventful part of this was when a kid in the Boca neighborhood threw a bun at the top of the bus.

On the way through town during this tourist bus trip, we got off and looked around. We eventually got tired of the rain pounding on us so we went inside a small art studio. Much to my surprise there was a wheel of a deal on a very nice local style knife. Not wanting to turn this opportunity down I bought it on the spot.

After this we ventured down the side streets, seeing many strange stores much like the ones on 17th ave back home. We saw stores selling piggie banks made out of some strange material, custom shirt stores, even those stores with semi-goth things in them, like hairy smurf lamps. After being slightly inspired by all these sights we decided to get back onto the tour bus. Oh joy. After another excruciating hour of mindless text-to-speech spanish dudes talking into our ears we headed home and had a pasta dinner.

Hollis

Ok, now for the parents point of view.... This was a great way for us to see the city and figure out where we wanted to return to in the future. Our kids seem to think that we are all knowing. They forget that we need to figure things out as we go and sometimes we have NO IDEA where we are exactly.  The rain was a surprise for sure but at least it was warm so we weren't freezing as well as being drenched. Besides, we never would have found those cool galleries and that knife if we hadn't been looking for shelter!

Even though it's not really fair we can't help but to compare our experience here to that of Mexico. Here are some early observations/comparisons for those of you that like Mexico and may be considering a trip to South America:

1) I have yet to find a toilet that does not have a seat and a supply of toilet paper. Here in Argentina, I can put the toilet paper right in the toilet as opposed to in the bin beside the toilet.

2) The street food in Mexico was incredible. Often we could eat lunch or dinner for $10 for the whole family including beer. Here the prices are similar to Canada. $4 - $5 for a beer in a restaurant. $75- $80 for dinner for 4 including 2 glasses of wine. People don't really cook on the street here. Sometimes if we are hungry we can get an empanada for $1 or Torta for $3.50 but it seems you have to be in the right neighborhood. Beer in the grocery store is good and costs about $.75 each.

3) We take a taxi everywhere here. A 15 min trip will cost about $7 max. Mexico is about the same but is not metered. You must agree to the price before you get in the car.

4) Limes are hard to come by even in the grocery store. Mexico they are served with EVERYTHING. We love lime

5) Bartering in the flea markets is not really welcomed

6) People LOVE their dogs here. They don't LOVE to pick up after them though so you have to watch for the piles on the sidewalks. In Mexico all the dogs run wild and they bark all night long.

7) English was spoken more in Mexico than here.

8) Wine is plentiful but is not cheap. The Luigi Bosca we drink at home is the same price here. We have found some nice alternatives though for about $10/bottle.

9) It rains most afternoons here. - In Mexico it rained once in 4.5 months!

10) The water from the tap is perfectly fine to drink here in Argentina!

Generally I'd say Buenos Aires is a very upscale city. It is beautiful and has incredible parks, boulevards and buildings. Every roundabout is adorned with a statue or sculpture and has at least 6 lanes around it. There is a photo op around every corner. The wine shops here are a sight! They are exactly what you'd expect from a wine shop in Argentina. Lots of old dark wood, dusty bottles of malbec and an open counter loaded with cured meat, aged cheese and delicious bread. We visit them as often as possible!
The locals eat dinner between 9 and 10 pm. We thought that would be late even for us but we have settled into the late night routine very easily. I guess it helps that we can't seem to get out butts out of bed before 10 am. Must be all that walking and wine!
Here are some shots from our "boring bus tour" , the best empanadas yet! and inside our Architectural Digest apartment.

Liz

Buenos Aires - Full Speed Ahead

Well, we are definitely jet lagged - we had to roll the boys out of bed at 11:00 AM, and they certainly could have slept longer. Factoring in the time change, it was only 7:00 AM Alberta time, but they had gone to bed at the equivalent of 8:00 PM the night before - so no excuse for such sloth! Just goes to show how the traveling really takes it out of you.

After a nutritious breakfast on the patio, we jumped in a taxi and headed down town. We started at Plaza San Martin, where a beautiful park surrounds the requisite heroic representation of some famous general who contributed to Argentina's tumultuous history.

We set our sights on a cafe recommended by the Lonely Planet guide book and headed down Florida Street, one of a few pedestrian-only streets in the downtown area. Apparently yesterday, 8 December, is the feast day for the Virgin Mary. Tradition in Argentina is that this is the day when you decorate for Christmas. We had found that the streets were not so crowded as today and many of the shops were closed for the holiday. Not so today! The cab ride was a toe-curler, as Argentines manage to squeeze 6 lanes of traffic into any 4-lane street (not counting the motorcycles, which weave into any remaining space), and the sidewalks were jammed! Considering that they all take a whole day off to decorate, the decorations are decidedly low-key. Oddly enough, the prevailing symbol of Christmas is the Christmas tree, even though the majority of the country is either semi-arid plain or jungle, neither of which support coniferous forests. There are no real pine trees around.

As mentioned before, the streets are jammed. According to the girl where we had a small coffee-and-chocolate break, Brazilians are like the Americans of South America- brash and plentiful- and make up the bulk of the tourists here. Canadians are relatively rare, and are known for being from that cold place to the north of the USA. There is not as much going on in the streets here as we had come to expect from our experience in Mexico, with just a few street vendors and performers among the crowds. The fellow in the photo below was doing the "human statue" thing. While Bowen was putting a donation into his collection box, he started to move, which gave Bowen quite a start!

We found a really cool antique arms shop, which had the most amazing collection of quirky pieces, like a double barreled, 20-shot revolver. Considering the continent's history of tin-pot dictatorships and shady history with Nazi Germany, it was not surprising to see how much Nazi regalia there was, along with cutlasses, bayonets and muzzle loading rifles.

Liz was impressed by the decoration at the submarine sandwich shop and wanted to include a photo of its frontage. It competes with the pirate-themed pub that has put similar effort into its decoration.

We made our way from the better-heeled portion of town to the bus terminal, in order to prepare for the journey to Mendoza. That was definitely a step down, and much more like Mexico. The sidewalks were crowded with vendors of all manner of "stuff". A pickpocket made an attempt at Liz' sling pack, managing to get the main zipper opened as he brushed past her from behind. Luckily, Hollis noticed and managed to warn his mom. The fellow that did it was talking on a cell phone at the time, and we conjecture that he may have been working with an accomplice who, if the zipper slip had not been noticed, would have moved in shortly afterward and cleaned out the pack. We feel like fully-accredited tourists now, having been marked so by the local petty criminals.

Supper at a very lively little place that served cheap beer and pasta rounded out the day before another toe-curling cab ride home. We are completely bagged out after our day on the town, and slightly mystified by the fact that someone had obviously been inside our place while we were out. Nothing was taken, so apparently their intent was not criminal. We assume it was somebody from the property management company, but even that seems strange in light of the lack of notice.

-Remy