Archive for March, 2011

We’re Hard to Miss

Livingstone, Zambia sees a lot of international tourists – it is located just down the road from the famous Victoria Falls – one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.  The town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe had previously dominated the tourist market for waterfall visitors but their current political and economical turmoil has been so upside down that people have started coming in greater numbers to the Zambian side instead.

Unlike many of the cities and towns we have visited throughout our travels, Livingstone does not shout tourist town.  There aren’t loads of restaurants and shops aimed at visitors, there aren’t obvious attractions within the town itself, and there aren’t very many tourists walking around.  In fact, when Ted and I went out our first day in Zambia to have a look, we only saw two other white people (most of the international tourists to Vic Falls are in the Africa Tourist Bubble, a concept we’ll elaborate on in an upcoming post).  Though it seems totally ridiculous to even write this – there aren’t a whole helluva lot of white folks in Africa (save parts of South Africa).  Though Ann Arbor, Michigan (where we grew up) is quite diverse for a town its size, we’ve spent the last few years in diversity-deprived Boulder, Colorado and we can both say in truth that we’ve never felt so aware of our skin color as we did that first day.  We’ve talked about it and we can’t quite articulate what it is but it feels incredibly different to be among the minority in Africa – much more so than when we were among the minority in South America or on Ted’s previous travels to SE Asia.

So though we were hard to miss, it made for some great opportunities to meet people – especially because everyone speaks English.  Amazingly.  There are so many different local languages throughout each town, city, region, country that everyone has learned English to communicate with one another  (certainly makes it easier for us).  Though Zambia felt extremely foreign to us after 4 months in South America, it was quite gratifying for me to finally be able to have a proper conversation with a local.

When we visited the ‘Trading Post’ to check out the crafts and artwork, we could talk with the guys at the shop and ask them who made the sculpture and what it was made out of and if they were from the area and if they had children, etc.  We met some hilarious characters, some pushy salesmen and some phenomenal artists.

One of the fun things about the ‘Trading Post’ (as opposed to a regular market) is that you could trade something of yours for something of theirs instead of exchanging money.  One guy wanted my hair rubberband for his girlfriend so I gave him it (plus a little money) for a cool bracelet.  However, this  international exchange can have its disadvantages too.  Just a few booths down from where I got my bracelet we were disheartened to see one of the stall owners rocking an Ohio State T-shirt.  Obviously a Buckeye had been here before us.  On a positive note, that is one less OSU shirt that we have to look at back home!  :)

By the way, there are no pictures to show of our time wandering in Livingstone because, at the time, we were too nervous to take photos of African street scenes (and really even wander around town with the camera).  Eventually we chilled out, but unfortunately, nothing to share here.  Sorry


Continental Transition

Leaving South America was more of a bummer than I expected.  We knew that 4 months on the continent was hardly enough time to explore it, but we attempted to bite off a manageable itinerary, and overall I was very pleased with our speed and coverage of the chosen destinations.  What we didn’t know was how much we were going to enjoy it – from the language, to the people, to the cities, and the landscapes.  History, culture, architecture, diversity, food, mountains, coast, desert, etc, we found it all, and we loved it.  No doubt, we will be back (and hopefully for an extended period of time).

The other bummer about leaving South America was that phase 1, continent 1, was coming to a close.  At 4 months, this was the single largest chunk of our trip, and it’s scary to think about how quickly it went.  We battled this apprehension though nostalgia of all we saw, and excitement about what was to come.  Afterall, we still have 2/3 of the trip ahead of us.

Excitement for Africa is high.  South Africa has been one of my top 3 places to visit for years now.  Our chunk of time on this new continent is the big unknown for us.  While we don’t really “know” any of the places we’re going on this trip, previous travels have provided insight into Latin American and Asian travels, preparing us a bit for continents 1 and 3.  However, Africa is a wild card – we don’t know many people who have been, and even fewer who have been on a backpacking budget.  We’re a bit apprehensive about the costs – budget travel is a challenge we’re told (save a few popular tourist routes).  But we’ve got some amazing plans coming together quickly, including a work-related luxury safari in Botswana, and visits from both sets of parents.  Africa is going to be good, I can feel it.


Onward to Africa

After a whirlwind couple of days at Iguazu Falls we arrived back in Buenos Aires in time to explore one more neighborhood of the city and eat one more delicious steak dinner at our favorite parilla before heading to the airport for our overnight trans-continental flight to Africa.

Our flight from BA to Cape Town, on Malaysian Airlines, was a surprisingly short 7 hours. And Malaysian Airlines – top notch service and plane.

We had one quick afternoon and night in Cape Town before heading up north to Zambia and Botswana. After some much needed napping, we explored the lovely – though extremely touristy – V&A waterfront. We were treated to some Christmas-themed live music being performed in a band shell near the water and we enjoyed it while eating our first (of many) meals of fish and chips.

Holiday cheer at the Cape Town Waterfront

Santa, made from Coke crates at the waterfront

Cape Town Waterfront

The next day we headed back to the airport and flew via Johannesburg (stop #1 of 10 in this airport) up to Livingstone, Zambia (yes, named after David Livingstone the famous British explorer). Driving from the airport to our hostel was definitely a glimpse into the Africa you might imagine – mommas with babies tied around their backs, women carrying unbelievably large loads balanced effortlessly on their heads, men trying to sell you anything from sunglasses to cell phone SIM cards, barefoot children playing on the side of the road, vans exploding beyond the brim with passengers, and trash along the side of the road.

Zambian kids

Traditional village home

We arrived at our hostel and were welcomed into a little oasis. You would never guess from the street that this place would provide such clean, comfortable rooms and come with fabulous perks such as wireless internet and a fabulous swimming pool.

Great first hostel in Africa!

By the time we arrived, we were pooped. In the previous 7 days we had slept in 7 different places with 3 of those nights spent “sleeping” on public transportation (2 on a bus, 1 on a plane). We were happy to have arrived safe and sound and looked forward to seeing more of Zambia when we had our heads on straight.


Argentina Wrap-up

Wow, Argentina is a bit of a show-off – this will not be easy. We’ll do our best to narrow down our Top 10, come up with a bottom 5 and limit ourselves from going on and on about all the great food. Okay, here we go.

Top 10

  1. Salta Road Trip

    Salta Road Trip

    Lotsa Boulder friends – Getting to see Courtney and Jed in a different South American country, overlapping with Steph in Bariloche AND El Chalten, as well as connecting with Bern and having an amazing few days in Patagonia – we were feeling the Boulder love.

  2. New fun friends – We met Dave and Jesse, a hilarious couple, doing their own ’round the world thing; We connected with Estefania’s little sis in Buenos Aires and we got to meet and hike with other fun folks from Mexico to the Netherlands to Michigan!
  3. Salta road trip – After a lot of public transportation it’s quite fun to have your own car and get to be on your own schedule for a change.
  4. Luxurious bus rides – Nicest buses we have ever been on. Double-decker, super reclining seats, meal service, air-conditioning, movies, the works.
  5. Watching a giant chunk of the Perito Moreno glacier hit the sea – Yup. Would have loved to get a picture of it but you’ll just have to take our word for it.
  6. Unfair proportion of Patagonia blue sky days – We’d been warned about the regions notoriously unstable bad weather, but lucky for us it was (mostly) for naught.
  7. Frey Sunset

    Super-Trekking – Though one of the longest hikes Ted has ever done – the scenery, the weather, the hiking companions and the accomplishment made it oh-so worthwhile.

  8. Most amazing waterfalls on the planet – Iguazu is a sight to see. You can’t visit that place and leave feeling disappointed. Mother Nature at her best.
  9. Refugio sunset – You’re in the middle of nowhere at a backcountry hut and the sun is setting over ridiculously jagged, snow-covered peaks. Life is good.
  10. Biking the Circuito Chico – Northern Patagonia is a gem and this not-so ‘chico’ bike loop shows her off quite nicely.

Bottom 5

  1. 18+ hour bus rides x 4! – Yes, the buses are luxurious but 18+ hours is a really long time to be in transit.
  2. Cost of transportation – Yes, the buses are luxurious but you should not have to pay nearly as much as a plane ticket when the travel time is six times longer than a flight.
  3. The Glacier was well worth the hassle

    Getting ourselves from our fancy hotel to the glacier – We’re really stretching here but our fancy hotel made it quite a hassle (and an expense) to get us to and from the Perito Moreno glacier. As we were trying to meet up with our friends, we were a little bitter that our transit involved hitching to get there and walking 7km to get home.

  4. Expensive dorm beds (yes, we slept in a lot of dorm beds) – Just like in Chile, we had to do the dorm bed thing to save some money. However, when dorm beds are still expensive it’s a bit depressing.
  5. Leaving Argentina, meant leaving South America – And we weren’t ready to go yet! We heart South America and can’t wait to return one day…

Food and Drink

  1. Steak – Argentina is known for their beef and for good reason. We rarely go out at home and order a steak off the menu. In Argentina we did it quite a few times and were never disappointed. A special shout-out to our first Argentine steak in Cachi, to Disnevel Parilla in San Telmo (where we went twice, including our last night on the continent) and to the steak dinner we had with Ninon and her friend.
  2. Wine tasting with Courtney and Jed

    Wine – Like Europeans, Argentines drink wine like water. It’s cheap, it’s prolific and it’s delicious. We drank a lot of it.

  3. Family night – For our last night with our new friends in Patagonia we decided to whip up a dinner at the hostel family-style. Wine drinking, game playing and tango dancing ensued.
  4. Dona Salta’s empanadas – We asked several people in Salta where we could find the best empanadas in town and they all said the same place. Mmmm.
  5. Bariloche’s famous ice cream – So good we had to have it. Every day.

If you really want to see how amazing this country is, check out our “Best of Argentina” photo album, and then go see it for yourself.  Trip highlight for sure.


Iguazu Falls

The spectacular waterfalls on the border of Argentina and Brazil (and very close to Paraguay) are one of those things that you’ve just got to do if you are traveling around South America (or so we were told by everyone we met who had been). Though certainly not convenient to get to from anywhere, Ted and I went out of way to check them out.  And, it was definitely worth it.

Iguazu Falls

Ted getting soaked

From BA it is a 19+ hour bus ride to the falls. We left the city on a Sunday afternoon and arrived in Iguazu just before noon on Monday. We dropped our stuff off at the hostel and caught the transport to the falls. When we arrived around 2:00 pm we had the place nearly to ourselves. The weather wasn’t ideal but the falls were absolutely fantastic. Breathtaking, awe-inspiring, thunderous, etc. I could not believe how massive they are – they appear to go on as far as the eye can see. The boardwalk and pathways throughout the park are extensive and they even have a little train that you can hop on and off to get to various destinations throughout the park.

Lower Falls

Thunderous

Our favorite spot was a section of the falls called the Devil’s Throat. You have to walk on the boardwalk over the river for about a mile to get to the very top of the falls where the river drops over the edge. The power of the water is incredible and mesmerizing. We stood there watching the water moving until the very end of the day when the park staff came to tell us the last train back to entrance was leaving.

Devils Throat

Devils Throat boardwalk

Since we had a short day the first day, we decided to go back to the park the next day as well. The weather was absolutely perfect and we essentially retook all the same pictures but this time with blue skies and sunshine in the shots. We also took a hilarious jet boat ride that takes you right up next to the falls and gets you totally soaked. It is quite a thrill to be right at the bottom of the falls and be surrounded by the thunder and the mist.

View from the boat, about to get totally soaked...

Overall, Iguazu did not disappoint. I had never seen such impressive waterfalls before and I’m not sure if there are any out there that can compare. After our second day at the falls, we caught another 19+ hour bus ride back to BA and had one more afternoon in the city and South America before we had to get to the airport to catch our flight to Cape Town!


Picture of the Week

Iguazu Falls – certainly one of the natural wonders of the world

Iguazu Falls


Matte

Matte and Bombilla

Argentines (and Chileans to a lesser extent) are obsessed with matte tea. There is an entire culture surrounding the consumption of matte. The most important part of drinking matte? Looking cool while you do it.

Here’s how it works. First, you have to get a cup and straw. The cup, made out of wood or a dried pumpkin or other type of gourd, is actually called the “matte”. The straw, generally made out of metal, is known as the bombilla, has a filter on the cup end to keep small tea leaves out of your mouth. Next, you need a portable thermos full of pretty hot water (but not boiling hot, as it will burn the tea). Finally, you need the yerba, or tea. You fill the matte cup with dry yerba about 2/3 full (no tea bag), and then soak the yerba with hot water from the thermos, filling the matte to the top. Then, you’re ready to imbibe, enjoying your tea through the straw.

Drinking matte is a social affair, with up to 4 people sharing the same cup. The yerba stays fresh for a good dozen refills. Each person drinks all of the liquid out of the cup for their turn, finishing up with a loud and proud sucking noise as the water runs out of the straw. Refill the matte cup from the thermos, and pass it along to your friend.

What did we think of matte? Let’s just say it’s an acquired taste.

This is a hot water machine, designed specifically for matte thermoses. We found this at Iguazu Falls National Park. Gotta look cool at the falls


Fuerza Bruta

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Fuerza Bruta (Brute Force) is the name of a theatrical performance that we went to go see in Buenos Aires. It was recommended to us by our new friend Ninon so we thought we’d give it go, but it’s like nothing we have ever been to before and I am not sure if I should even try to explain it.

Fuerza Bruta

Wall running

It’s not a concert – though music is being played. It’s not a play – though there are actors and perfomers. It’s not Cirque du Soleil – though similar elements are there. It’s bizarre, it’s crazy, it’s unique and it’s entirely entertaining.

Slip and slide

Slip and slide 2

After the show I looked it up online and noticed that performances are put on throughout the United States. If you happen to live in or visit one of these cities and are interested in doing something a little bit different one night, check it out and let me know what you think.

Oh, and don’t wear heels and consider bringing a raincoat!

Fuerza Bruta - near you?


An Argentine House Party

When we were in La Paz, Bolivia, we had the opportunity to meet some family members of our good friend Estefania. Estefania is Bolivian but had been living in Colorado for many years. When she heard that our travels were taking us to her home country, she generously offered to introduce us to her cousin Ale. Ale was a super fun gal and invited us to her little sister’s first communion brunch where we proceeded to meet more of Estefania’s family including other cousins, aunts and uncles and even her grandparents.

Well, as it turns out, Estefania’s sister lives in Buenos Aires, so we were once again hosted by her family. Ninon is Estefania’s younger sister and we met her over at her apartment in the energetic Palermo neighborhood. Ted and I went out to dinner with Ninon and her friend to an amazing parilla (steakhouse) in her neighborhood – it was one of the best steak dinners we’ve ever had.

I was curious to where the night might take us after dinner, as BA has a ridiculous nightlife scene with crazy clubs that don’t close until 6am or later. Since I had never met Ninon before, I wasn’t sure if that is what she had planned for a Saturday night or not. Ted and I are not big clubsters (big surprise there), though I was willing to give it a go if that is what Ninon had in mind.

Well, as it turns out the club was not in out future and we instead headed over to a house party of one of Ninon’s friends (phew!). Though there are a lot of differences between our people and counties, the good old fashioned house party is surprisingly familiar anywhere you go – everything from not really knowing anybody, to the majority of people congregating in the kitchen; from a few guys hanging out around the keg in the backyard, to folks in the living room dancing to 80s music. To their credit though, a house party is not immediately over in Argentina once the place has run out of booze and the dance floor had a much higher percentage of men dancing than we see at home.

And though we didn’t think we were up for a 6am night, it was certainly after 5am by the time we got ourselves back to the hostel. Thank you Ninon for showing us a fun time!

Sadly, we did not bring our camera this night, so no photos of Ninon or the party :(


Wandering the Big City

Buenos Aires (BA) is gigantic. Over 1/3 of all the people in Argentina live in or near BA, and that is an incredible statistic considering the large size of the country. Like all cites, BA has different neighborhoods that each have their own character and feel. The wonderful part is that, in general, the city is very safe and quite easy to get around. We spent our time in BA seeking out different neighborhoods each day to try and get a feel for each place.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we stayed in the San Telmo neighborhood which is a laid-back part of town with an alternative, artsy vibe. We spent a number of days wandering the cobblestone streets and markets of this older, classier section of town.

San Telmo

Another day we walked and walked for hours. We past governmental buildings, plazas and fountains; we crossed the widest street in the world (14 or 16 lanes across); we walked through the busy and popular pedestrian mall and shopping area on Avenue Florida. And when we couldn’t walk no more, we popped on the cheap Subte (subway) and 20 minutes later we were back at our hostel.

Cruisin the streets of BA

Flor de Metal artwork

One of the nicer neighborhoods in town is called Ricoletta. They have a famous above ground cemetery there (similar to New Orleans) where Buenos Aires’ elite have been buried for centuries including Argentina’s much-loved Evita (Eva Peron).

Ricoletta Cemetary

Old theater-turned bookstore

On a Saturday morning we headed over to Palermo where BA’s beautiful, wealthy, and fabulous go out to brunch. After coffee and some people-watching we wandered over to an area where there were some indoor and outdoor markets selling everything from clothing to food to artwork. The indoor markets were very cool as they were set up temporarily within the walls of popular bars and nightclubs that weren’t open at that time of day. It was pretty unique to see individual artists displaying their work among booths and drink bars.

On our last day in town we headed to Boca which is known for its colorfully painted buildings and outdoor art displays. Though the section of town was pretty to photograph, it has lost a lot of its charm and authenticity. It is now a cheesy tourist trap in a 2 block by 2 block area. The ‘real’ part of the Boca neighborhood is apparently unsafe for tourists to wander freely.

La Boca

La Boca

So, the city is huge and diverse, and there is no way to possibly see it all, ever I could argue. Though we just scratched the surface of this big, energetic place, we can hands down say we saw enough to love it but left plenty to see for a future visit.


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