Back To The Falls, Brazil

Carnivale Show

Rainbow Connection

Jan. 22, 2009-Carnivale Show

I promise you, if you read to the end of this email you will be rewarded with a good laugh.

David's epiphany yesterday was that there's no correlation between body size and bathing suit size. Laura Lee observed that only men were standing around the bar in the pool. They were drinking lots of beer. She speculated that she wouldn't want to swim in that pool given the amount of beer consumed.

We drove through the city of Iguazu last night and I was surprised at all the sprouting high rises and hotels serving their #1 industry, tourism. We arrived at the dinner theater early enough to meet one of the dancers and choreographer, take photos with and of her, and ask some questions. She was in a typical Carnivale costume. Dinner was surprisingly good for dinner theater. We've found that Brazilians actually flavor their food unlike Argentines and Chileans.

There are thirty performers in the show and many more costume changes. The costumes are from past Carnivales as they're extremely expensive when new. The thought of body shape and costume size flitted through my head again. These were not the toned athletic dancers we're used to. In fact one woman who proudly sported a thong had the biggest rear end I've seen. All the women wore pantyhose under their thongs and I thought she'd stuffed pillows in hers. The performers are all local and semi-professional. The show covered dance and music from Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. There was a knock-out bolo demonstration with the balls singing too close to our heads for comfort. The tango part included two men dancing together which was how it originally started. It was entertaining, cute, glamorous, colorful, hokey, enthusiastic, and had blaring loud live music. There was a non-finale finale that gave me hope and five minutes of bows without curtain calls. It was also interminable. We were seated next to the runway and at one point I really had to go to the bathroom. I gazed longingly at the glimmering WC sign in the distance but knew that if I made a run for it I'd crash into some incoming entertainer. I stayed put. In the end we had fun. We've survived children's dance recitals and this was several steps up from those.

Falls Brazile 

This morning we went to see the Falls from the Brazilian side. It's like with Niagara Falls. The Canadian side is better for viewing. The visitor's center is lovely but Anna got carried away explaining how the falls were formed. One interesting aspect was that because they were formed from lava they only erode two mm. a year as opposed to Niagara which is steadily marching upstream at an alarming rate. Anna did an admirable job even if she was slightly intimidated when she learned that Tom from Texas is a geophysicist.

We bussed a short distance to the entrance to the falls and were delighted to be able to get our first Brazilian glimpse of them as we got off the bus. The paths on this side were concrete and shaded. It was an easy mile walk to the Devil's Throat (I was wrong about it being Devil's Horseshoe). Some ingenious engineer built a metal catwalk at the foot of the falls so you actually walk between the cascading waters. Anna said they got the idea to build them during a horrible drought in 1977 when there was almost no water coming over the falls. I take back my statement that it's not as loud as Niagara or as stupefying. It looked like we were at a GLBT convention with all the rainbows hovering over the falls and into the mist. The majesty was breathtaking and body soaking. We once again protected our camera as we walked to the very tip of the catwalk into the mist. Those who couldn't manage the mile hike saw the same view at the end we did using an elevator to take them there. This is a frail group. Linda probably has walking pneumonia and several can't walk far. They are unusually needy but their needs are being met. Fernando is very solicitous.

El Stupido Grande

Fernando arranged for us to keep our rooms until after lunch so we could shower and pack. It was a big convenience. It's too bad he or Anna didn't tell us that TAM airline weighed carry-on luggage until we were on the bus going to the airport. What I am about to explain is so stupid I may not be able to explain it. David won't shop at Marc's (a local discount store) because he says the help is trained to be stupid. This exceeds that idiocy. Let me try anyway. 

Anna said there was a legal fiction and if our carry-ons were too heavy (over 11 lbs) we'd have to switch things around, give stuff to someone with less weight, or hand carry some items through security whereupon we could put them back in the carry-ons. When we got to check in, our checked luggage was under weight but our carry-ons were way over. We took the computer out of its bag but that wasn't enough. Next came a large rolled up case with drugs for any contingency. We were still over. They suggested we take out still more and put it in checked luggage. They insisted it was a small plane and it had to be done their way. We climbed over the scale and I pulled out a nightgown and thin robe in desperation. The empty case probably weighed almost eleven pounds. Finally I came up with the computer cable and a make-up case. That still didn't do the trick but the guy at the desk was disgusted with us. David's case was overweight too but a line was growing behind us and we were cleared to go on. 

Now it was time to re-lock the checked bag. Yes, security is so tight here they let you lock your checked luggage so they can't look inside. That was sarcasm. The lock had fallen somewhere while we were scurrying to transfer items. The clerk offered a plastic airline security lock but I wasn't leaving until I found our lock. I didn't care how many people were lined up at the counter. Finally Anna jumped over the scale and asked David if it was in his pocket. It was.

We schlepped the computer, drug bag, and two roll aboards through security in our arms where we had to take off our belts, watches, and glasses but not our shoes. When we cleared security we went to the gate and put the computer and drug case back into the carry-ons they'd just come out of. If we'd have had warning we would have distributed stuff in the carry-ons and a backpack. We were allowed two carry-ons each.

How it was not ok to have the same weight on the plane when carried loose was beyond us. When we boarded we were even more incredulous. It was an Airbus with amply sized overhead bins. We'd flown several on this trip and our carry-ons were never questioned. To make matters worse the snack was a ham sandwich but we were all relieved when the pilot got on and announced in German for a large German tour group "Alles is goot."  Even the Germans laughed.

We all had aisle seats for this flight so I can't report on Rio from the air but our local guide, Martha, assured us it was huge at 10 million. The down side is we can't drink the hotel water although we can use it to brush our teeth. The up side is there's a rain forest right in the city and our room at the Intercontinental overlooks the Atlantic.

Your Reward

Here's your reward for reading this far. David just came out of the bathroom holding his underwear. He said that somehow he got chewing gum stuck to it. He decided to throw it away. Good decision. He then disappeared into the bathroom again. He was in there too long so I asked if he was ok. He replied that he was trying to get the gum off his tusch (bum). I suggested Vaseline or a razor. When he emerged he laid down on the bed to listen to this email. He now claims to be plastered to the bed and his tusch hurts. We can't stop laughing. Pleasant dreams.

Toby

Iguazu Falls, Brazil

All-Terrain Wheelchair

Crowded Foot Bridge

Falls From Argentinian Side

 

Jan. 21, 2009-Back To Argentina

Our local guide, Anna Paola, is a spitfire. She's small and feisty and has a great sense of humor in three languages. She's studying environmental engineering, graduates in two years, has two daughters, and is fiercely protective of the National Parks and Falls. She saw a woman throw a wrapper into the river and I thought she'd launch herself across the walkway and throw the woman after it. She did give her a good tongue-lashing.

She pointed out Paraguay as we crossed the Iguazu River back into Argentina in a more appropriately sized bus. She said it's a totally corrupt government but prices for electronics (drugs & guns too) are 1/3 what they are in Brazil. There's a legal limit of $300/month for what you can buy and she avails herself to that limit. When she told us Brazil and Paraguay built a hydroelectric dam across the river I asked if there was going to be something like a European Union any time soon. She said there's a saying that it takes 1 1/2 hours to watch 60 Minutes in South America. The U.S. invented fast food and South Americans invented slow food. There’s an agreement now among several countries (Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and more) so their citizens don't need passports to cross the borders. They still need ID cards. That’s it for a while.

We wanted to beat the big tour groups so when we got to the park she told us to walk fast and go around the crowd. David and I with our long legs speed walked ahead then waited for the rest. Four rode to the train in an oversized golf cart. It felt so good to go at top speed after ambling along for three weeks. Our destination was an open-air train that would take us to the first circuit of the Falls on the Argentine side. The train was reminiscent of the one in Frontierland at Disney. The big difference was that people here are impatient and stomped and clapped when they thought it was taking too long for the train to begin its run. As we pulled out of the station I couldn't believe I heard piped in sounds of a rain forest. There are toucans and other colorful birds to see but they didn't show themselves. The best Anna could do was pick up a dead tiger ant from the path. It's twice the length of my fingernail and carnivorous. She said she'd never pick up a live one.

Falls Finale

The entire park was so much less rustic than I expected. We were always on brick walks or metal suspension bridges wide enough for people to pass going in opposite directions. And there were people galore. It's still summer vacation here and the crowds were dense. Fortunately they're having a cool spell. It can get to 120 degrees but we were lucky it only got to the 90's.

Don't get me wrong. Iguazu Falls is spectacular. It's one of the top three falls in the world rating the widest. Victoria Falls is the highest and Niagara Falls carry the greatest volume of water. Iguazu spreads out in two layers of enormous horseshoes with the higher ones cascading onto the lower. Mist rises, rapids race, and whitewater prevails. But the roar is subdued and there’s not the kind of raging drama afforded at the edge of Niagara when looking into the abyss. I didn't get the same visceral sense of motion I do in Canada where I feel as if the hypnotic pull of the falls will seduce me over the edge.

I really had expected rope suspension bridges and was a bit disappointed they only had sturdy metal ones. It got more fun as we went to see other perspectives and the metal was wet and slippery. Some people skipped that part which was really just more of the same.

We boarded another train and went farther in to Devil's Horseshoe. We sat across from a two-year old little boy wearing Pull-Ups. He got fussy and his mom pulled a binky out of her bag. It reminded me of home and Rylee. I thought it might help if I did a little international "Intsey Bintsey Spider" but he wasn't interested and hid his head in his mother's lap. There was an all terrain wheel chair waiting when we arrived at the path to the Horseshoe. It was three-wheeled and each wheel was big enough for an ATV. By that time Linda, from Texas, wasn't feeling well. She hadn't been drinking enough. Anna stayed with her and got her settled in the First Aid Station with some water. Anna joined us later. Fernando began what was to be a mini-marathon. It was a 3/4 mile walk to the Devil's Horseshoe and the same back. He put one person in the wheel chair and started pushing her at warp speed. The other person who needed to be pushed started out walking with us. When we were halfway to the falls Fernando appeared with an empty chair, put that person who'd been walking in it, turned around, and took her on to the falls. They couldn't do it without him. In the end he power-walked the route twice totaling three miles.

We were warned that the spray in that area would be intense and we needed to protect our cameras, etc. I left my watch in the room and on Fernando's recommendation took the shower cap from the hotel. We also removed the memory card we'd been using and left it in the room while inserting a blank card. If the camera got soaked or died at least we wouldn't lose the pictures we'd taken so far. The shower cap idea worked well until we got closer to the Horseshoe. There I wrapped the cap around the camera, put it in the camera bag, and put the whole camera case into a zip-loc bag. At one point the spray changed direction and I was able to extricate the camera and snap off two shots before it was locked up in plastic again. All the time we were maneuvering around other tourists and being scolded to move out of the way by professional photographers who were standing on ladders, holding umbrellas over their gear, and taking pictures of people with the Falls in the background.

We then reversed everything and slogged back to the train, picked up Linda who was doing well, and took train #1 to the next train. We were followed by a swarm of butterflies one of whom fell in love with David's hat and rode it all the way. We de-trained and some of our group rode the cart back to the main entrance and some walked. It was time for lunch. All opted for the buffet except David and me. I was too hot to eat and settled for a salad at their slow food patio bar. David had a burger. You'd think they'd be great being made of Argentine meat but they're only so so.

I dozed on the bus back to the hotel and woke to Fernando singing. I think he can see the end of the trip and is really loosening up. David went to the pool. I wrote, then joined him. There were games for kids played to tunes from kids' shows that everyone recognized but us. Kind of a cultural divide.

We don't go to the Salsa show until 8 PM. It's a dinner show and we won't get back until midnight. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

Toby

Brazil

Hotel Pool

Jan. 20, 2009-Making Change

Our ever-shrinking group arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires and realized that Fernando memorized whose luggage goes with whom. We lined up randomly to check in and watched as he had our luggage piled on the cart in the order of how we were standing. He's a type A+ but we also think he's shy. We know he's very private and know little about his personal history other than he's thirty-eight, never been married, doesn't want to marry anytime soon, and his friends are all having "waa waas" (babies) which changes their relationship with him.

We wanted to grab a pizza before boarding so used our best Spanish to convey that we wanted take away. Fortunately it's the same word in Spanish. We wanted a cheese pizza but they really tried to convince us it would be better with pepperoni. We demurred. The next hurdle was making them believe we weren't interested in the special that included drinks. We were getting free drinks on the plane. We could clearly see the sign featuring pizza con gaseousa. At first I thought it was "pizza that caused gas" but figured out it meant "with soda." So now that they understood "sin bebidas," without drinks, we had to explain that we needed a box to carry it in. After many tries at charades someone said, "Ah, packeta" and we were set, or so I thought. We wanted to be sure we had a plastic knife so I walked up to the counter holding a metal knife, held it up and said, "knife plastico." Who knew I was right about plastico? With all that accomplished we got to the gate with four minutes until boarding.

As we took off I watched what I thought were the brick and concrete turreted walls of an estate come into view. As we climbed I realized that the large lagoon was indeed a enormous sewage plant. We passed over what I have started calling Rio de la Yucky and once again marveled at its bilious brown hue. Farmland ribboned with brown strips of estuary continued until it began to pale and reverted to the arid tans of near desert. We ate pizza, dozed, and after a short 1 1/2 hour flight we saw the rich greens of the tropics, slices of red clay roads, and deep blue of the Iguazu River wending its way to the falls. We came in low over a marsh and were on the ground in Puerto Iguazu still Argentina.

We were met by Anna Paola, a Brazilian and our local guide. She and Fernando began immediately conversing in Portuguese. I asked Fernando when he learned Portuguese. He said he was twenty, it was winter in Bariloche, and he was meeting lots of Brazilians so he just went ahead and learned it. Anna joined us as we crossed over the bridge and the Iguazu River into Brazil and to our hotel the Mabu Thermas in Iguazu City. I don't want to say that our bus is growing as our numbers are shrinking but we now have a double-decker bus.

Fernando reviewed our activities for the next few days as he has in the past. I wondered why there was a "bear park" here. I didn't know there were bears in this part of the world. As he spoke and his accent cleared up I realized he was talking about a bird park. Never mind. I asked Anna if anyone ever tried to go over these falls in a barrel. She had never heard of anything so ridiculous. I told her it had been tried at Niagara Falls many times and was rarely successful.

It's a new age! Maybe it's not the Age of Aquarius but hope is palpable even here. We arrived at our hotel at 4:30 pm and with the three-hour time difference (we're ahead of you) we're listening to CNN in English in our room. We're playing catch-up with the inauguration. Our hotel in Iguazu, Brazil is lovely. Our room overlooks three pools and faux waterfall arranged to flow one into the other as do The falls we’ve come to see.

 New Ground

Brazil is a country of 200 million people. It was officially named The United States of Brazil. We are now in the state of Parana. Brazil is the biggest meat exporter in the world. They also manufacture ethanol for cars. Their automobiles are built to run on either or both, ethanol or gas. The Portuguese were here before Spain and set the language. They were followed by Germans and Italians. Early Brazilians were slaveholders due to the growing of sugar cane and the plantation system and there is a large African population especially in the Northeast. We’re in the tropical South. The center of the country is the site of business and government with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Palo. Nowadays Brazil is part of what is thought to be the large economies of the future: BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

Dinner was a sumptuous buffet which meant I ate from the salad and cheese table. Somehow I'm never attracted to steam tables with glutinous pastas and overcooked meat. I then perused the desserts and struck out there. Not a problem. The rolls were great and with butter that was enough dessert for me.

Fernando didn't join us for dinner when the dining room opened at 8 PM. It was too early for him to eat. He did sit and chat for a bit and was more garrulous than ever. When asked if he has a girl or boyfriend in every city. He said he doesn't have a steady girl friend but has girlfriends in Buenos Aires. We told him we could fix him up with someone of any sex. He broached the subject of the gay community in Buenos Aires and corrected me when I mentioned their civil union law. They don't have civil unions. Gays and lesbians have the same marriage laws as anyone else. The case of the man suing for his deceased partner's pension is in court because they didn't marry. They were just living together. Chile is more repressive while Brazil is more open. Go figure.

This is a resort catering to tour groups, families, and conventions. There's a child care center, special tables for kids to eat with or without parents, and a clown in attendance. It's the modern Brazilian version of Grossinger's. The lower level is replete with game tables, video arcade, workout room, and bar all in an open-air portico overlooking the pool. We started walking the many paths on the hotel property but thought better of it since we didn't have any bug spray on.

Tomorrow is the big hiking day. We'll cross back into Argentina and trek several trails for views and soakings as we draw closer to the falls. We were told to use the shower caps in our rooms to protect our cameras. We're also bringing a zip lock bag. Tonight we removed the memory card from our camera with all the pictures we've taken so far and put in a new card in case the camera does get soaked and dies. It's been known to happen.

Toby

Lazy Day Argentina Style

Typical Slum

Basic Transportation

 

Jan. 19, 2009-The Burbs

I looked out of our hotel window and for the first time realized that the strip of brown on the horizon was the river. We took it on faith that on the other side of the Rio de la Plata was Colonia, Uruguay. We couldn't see it across the expanse of the river but it's a popular vacation destination. I hoped we weren’t driving through the suburbs of Buenos Aires to see them but because it was the shortest route to our river delta cruise.

On the way back I found out that we took that route only to see the burbs. Most of the time we were on the main shopping drag. There were numerous McDonalds but only one Burger King. Kentucky Fried Chicken was here for a while soon to be joined by Wendy's. Burger King was not far behind but when McD came they dominated. Now there are barely any Burger Kings and no Wendy's or KFCs.

To one side we saw apartment buildings and to the other small private homes on tiny lots of only thirty front feet. The mansions of San Isidro were revealed when we turned onto a side street. They were indeed impressive and ranged from traditional brick to ultra modern. Real estate prices here are always quoted in U.S. dollars. Don't know why. Narrow strips of park follow the river bank and provide recreation areas for those living in the neighborhood since private lawns are non-existent. Suburban Buenos Aires is larger than most cities at nine million people while the city "only" has three million. This would have been a time when I wouldn't have missed much if I'd slept, but it was too early in the day.

Water, War, & Wealth

We arrived at a pleasant dock in Tigre and boarded our own glassed in boat. We took off on a two-hour jaunt around the islands of the Parana Delta where basic transportation is boats. Roads are non-existent and grocery boats ply the river in search of customers. It looked a bit like the Portage Lakes area near Akron. Modest homes each had docks and some were built up on stilts for when the waters rose. We were served coffee and cookies and passed the time visiting with each other and scrambling to take photos from one side of the boat or the other.

On the much shorter trip back Gloria and Fernando gave us a brief history of the Malvinas (Falklands). When they were in school it was taught that those islands belonged to Argentina. Long ago the French settled there followed by Spain, Argentina and then England. In 1982 the Argentine dictator needed a major victory to prop up the government. The decision was to reclaim the Malvinas from the British. In effect they sent young, untrained soldiers from the warmest part of Argentina to fight in the coldest part. The young recruits were ill equipped for the war or weather and were under-supplied with provisions such as food. When they killed the sheep they found there out of hunger and desperation they were punished by their officers who were unable to feed them in the first place. So 700 Argentine soldiers died in three months fighting a world power over sheep, harbors, and oil. In addition 400 committed suicide after the war. They were deemed unemployable and the government turned its back on them. Vets are still trying to get decent benefits. In the end the Argentine military and dictator were more unpopular, Margaret Thatcher's reputation was made, and 1100 young Argentine men were dead. The war is still controversial here as is whether or not the Malvinas are Argentine territory.

We stopped in Recoleta to visit a leather shop. As they lectured and passed the skins around I got weirded out. I certainly wear leather but touching all those pelts that look like the animals that wore them was freaky. The store would measure and fit to order and deliver the product to our hotel tonight. I think they have remnants of the Indians they didn't yet kill in the basement working on those coats.

David and I went back to the hotel and ventured over to the food court again. This time I had vegetables with vegetables. I determined that the eggplant that sandwiched something grayish-beige contained no meat and was offered more veggies with it. It was barely heated in a microwave and came out pretty tasteless. I'd hoped the gray-beige item was cheese but it was tofu. At least it was filling.

Before our next meal we went to a talk by Joe Goldman a man from the Bronx who's lived here for twenty-five years. He works for ABC News. He fell in love with Buenos Aires and never left. He basically told us history we already knew with some more detail. One of the ways he emphasized how wealthy Argentines were in the early 1900's was by illustrating that they spent half the year in Paris and would buy castles, have them disassembled, and reassemble them here. He also said that it's hard to get news from South America aired in the U.S. because it's good news now. The U.S. is only interested in earthquakes and riots. I asked him about the Yiddush theater that was popular here years ago and told him I had an uncle who was an actor in Buenos Aires. He said there was a book out about that era and he'd email me the title.

We got all gussied up for our farewell banquet at an Italian restaurant. We had a typical Argentine meal of steak. It was good but I'm not a huge beef eater. The chimichuri was the best we've had and helped the meat go down. We'll probably see most of the folks at breakfast tomorrow so we didn't say our final good-byes.

Four of our group go back to the States tomorrow evening. Trudy will stay on in Buenos Aires on her own for awhile. The rest leave the hotel for the airport at 11:30AM and fly to Iguazu Falls where we get to rest at our tropical hotel before we hit the ground running the next day. Well, not running exactly. The temperature is in the 90's and the hike through the rain forest and around the Argentine side of the falls is 1 1/2 miles. I'm sure we'll go slowly due to the heat and the fact that at least two of our number have requested wheel chairs.

Toby

Don’t Cry For Argentina

May Square

La Boca

Eva Peron Mausoleum

Tango Lesson

 

Jan. 18, 2009-Historic Update

The rain brought a drop in temperature all the way to the 60's. It only went as high as the 70's today with sun after 10 AM. We're rotating seats on the bus so everyone has a chance for the front. We use the honor system and today was our turn. What a view! I may fight for the front more often.

I forgot to tell you that the door to the bathroom in our room is totally frosted glass. David proved to me that it was impossible to see in even with the light on in the bathroom. So far I've turned the bathroom lights off for "certain functions" and make do with the illumination from the hall lights that permeate the frosting. Speaking of bathrooms, we have news that the water in our bathroom at home flows once more without bursting a pipe. That's thanks to Daniel letting the tap dribble.

In email responses from home we’re hearing about preparations for the inauguration. Our hotel in Buenos Aires has no CNN in English. This morning I had it tuned to Spanish CNN and was reading the subtitles in hope that they were translating. They were Spanish as well. I quickly read one and thought it said that Osama ben Laden was going to the White House. I'd misread Obama for Osama. We'll be in transit to Iguazu Falls on the 20th. Maybe someone in Akron will record the events. We missed being home for 9/11 and now this.

All but four people are going to the tango show tonight for dinner. We opted out. Tango is omnipresent here and as we walked the streets and sat at the cafes the music was pervasive and free unless you wanted to put money in a hat. Tonight's show is largely music and singing with some dancing. We'll have to be content with Dancing With the Stars.

Gloria was our local guide for the half-day tour. Fernando, being the type-A that he is, wasn't too happy with her all the time. He frequently added to her explanations and occasionally grabbed the mike on the bus. In any case, she did tell us that in 1536 a few Spaniards sailed into the area looking for a good harbor. They named the city (in Spanish of course) Our Lady of the Good Winds. Part of the name (Buenos Aires) stuck. They may have had good winds but they had bad luck. They were all killed by natives. With a score of Spain 0 Natives 1, the rematch was deadly for the indigenous tribes when Spain returned in 1580. From 1880-1930 Argentina prospered to the extent that it was the second largest economy in the world after the US.

Everywhere we've been there have been streets and squares named May this or July that. The reason is that the war of independence from Spain began on May 25, 1810 and ended July 9,1816. As we stood in May Square we realized we were looking at the magnificent art deco and art nouveau architecture from a bygone era. Wrought iron balconies overhung the street giving it a very New Orleans feel. There was a familiarity that was later explained. This is the Square where the Mothers of the stolen children marched. The government kidnapped babies of dissenters and gave them to loyalist families to be raised. Trials went on for years accusing the government of murder and kidnapping. Now children who are realizing they were stolen are suing their adoptive parents. It's a mess that only DNA can straighten out and not all children want to know. At the far end of the Square another familiar structure was the pink palace where Evita (and later Madonna) spoke to the people. The Oliver Stone film was shot there. Stone came to ask the president for permission to film and was turned down because the president and possibly the people of Argentina hated the musical. Stone also made a gaffe when he referred to Evita as part whore and part saint. Whatever the opinion of Peron, Evita is still revered. Stone’s only recourse was to return to plead once more with Madonna in tow. The president was a pushover for a beautiful woman and capitulated.

I asked about the Holocaust Memorial in the Square and Gloria acknowledged we could see it. We toured the church and when we headed outside I asked again. Fernando got really annoyed that she hadn't shown it to us. I was told last night at dinner that it was on the "side of the church" and thought that meant outside on the street. It turned out to be a framed collection of pages of prayer books, Megillah, and music salvaged from concentration camps and was displayed off a side aisle in the church.

Current Events

We rode another subway. The ones here aren't as fancy as Santiago and have ancient wooden train cars that rock and roll as they speed along. It's an easy system to use and we may ride it alone tomorrow. But cabs are cheap if shared so that's an option too. Several people have colds and some who would be game to walk to and from the subway station are slowing down about now.

Gloria told us that people in Buenos Aires (Portenos) reflect the Italian influence in their city. They're said to speak Spanish with an Italian accent. We got onto the subject of Portenos and told her of the view we got of the present president, Christina Kirchner. She succeeded her husband and the families at dinner last night claimed she was bi-polar and just holding the presidency until her husband could run again. Gloria agreed but Fernando is a supporter. He says she and her husband are Peronists. They're a bit conservative on some issues and liberal on others. It turns out that Buenos Aires is quite gay friendly and has civil unions. They don't know how strong the unions are legally. There's a case in court now where a man is having to fight to get the pension of his deceased partner. Latin America has never been progressive and abortion is still illegal. Argentina was the first country in South America to give women the vote and that wasn't until 1950.

We got a quick orientation tour of the neighborhood of San Telmo where the Sunday flea and antique market was in progress. When we drove to La Boca, another neighborhood, it was explained that the La Boca Juniors was a premier team out of the twenty soccer teams in the city. The stadium dominates the area with its blue and yellow colors screaming their pride. The story goes that the team met to decide on its colors and couldn't come to a conclusion. Someone decided they should walk a few blocks to the river and adopt the colors of the flag of the first ship that sailed into view. It was Swedish, thus the blue and yellow. The area was settled by the poorest of poor and they used what material they could salvage from the waterfront. It is now know for its brilliantly painted corrugated metal facades and there is talk of gentrification. It has a Sunday handicrafts market as well but somehow refrigerator magnets don't scream handicrafts to me. They did have extremely aggressive women dressed in red tango garb who threw themselves at tourists in hopes of having their picture taken with the stunned target....for a price. They pounced on David and I have a wonderful picture of him with a rather bemused expression and bright red lip prints on his cheek.

On our way to Recoleta (yes, another neighborhood) Laura Lee asked Gloria about the statue of a little girl looking out to sea. At first Gloria didn't understand which statue it was but then said, "That is not a little girl. That is Christ." It was an easy mistake and Laura Lee was permitted to stay on the bus. It's a good thing because we weren't taking the scenic route. We were in the slums and a very unsavory area. In fact we've been told not to wander around by foot after 9 PM.

Recoleta has another flea market but we were going there to see Evita's mausoleum. Peron didn't realize she'd die so young and bought her family a mausoleum in the fanciest cemetery there was. She was twenty-six when they married and thirty-three when she died of uterine cancer. Not to say there was a party atmosphere among the elaborate crypts but Fernando showed up eating an ice-cream cone.

The bus let us off at the hotel and we took a cab with Ann and Leo (he's one with a cold) back to San Telmo. We lucked out for lunch. The first place we came to turned out to be a tapas bar, Cafe Sagardi, where an American living here rescued us and pointed out the non-pork/non-shellfish goodies. The charge was seven pesos ($2) per item. When you were finished they counted the toothpicks on your plate. There was a buffet with an array of tempting morsels and waiters came to the tables passing even more ala dim sum. We ate outside and were serenaded by a phenomenal tango singer and band. We waded into the market crowds after lunch and did some shopping for a couple of hours. We taxied back to the hotel and scouted out a food court across the street at the galleria for dinner.

Tango On

We debated whether or not to show up for a free tango lesson before the others went to the tango show. We decided that we were old enough not to care about making fools of ourselves. The diminutive instructors made it look complicated but insisted we'd have no trouble. I worried that some body part would either fly off or disconnect. Neither happened. The male dancer came to my waist and when it was my turn to dance with him I found out what it meant to be led by a pro. There was no way I wasn't going where he wanted me. David and Fernando were the only other men and were good sports about it. Fernando said his parents didn't tango as it was out of favor in the 50's-70's.

We did have a bite at the food court. They had beef sausages. They came on chunks of Italian bread with a side of bread. They gave us the ketchup and mustard we requested but also included three little cups of chimichuri, chopped onion salsa, and a mystery spread that looked like tartar sauce and tasted like bland salt-free butter. We figured out that we did have to clear our table but when we got to the trash receptacle there was someone whose job it was to dump the tray for us. They also have people opening the doors at the entry to the mall.

David likes Buenos Aires much better than Santiago as far as cities go. There's an energy and character that is cosmopolitan yet lovely. Of course it's Sunday and we haven't experienced week-day traffic. Tomorrow we'll take a boat ride on the delta of the Parana River that flows into the Rio de la Plata. We'll be free after that until our final banquet. I can't believe this portion is over already.

Toby

Buenos Aires Bound

 

 

Home Hosts

View From Hotel Room

Jan. 17, 2009-Sinister Connection

We had to be out of our rooms at 10 AM and killed two hours sitting around the hotel lobby until it was time to leave for the airport. It was too cool to walk the streets and I didn't want to wrestle my heavy jacket out of the suitcase. Somehow we found enough to talk about. The group is well traveled and we all have interesting stories to tell. We may have a new tale to tell depending on the pipes in our house. Daniel and Vikki checked and we have a frozen one in our bathroom. It's happened before. We just open the tap a bit and hope for the best when it thaws. We did have some good news from home. Our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, Rylee is reported to be 99% potty trained. I'm wondering what the 1% is.

Fernando took us on an alternative route to the airport. We passed what he called "humble" houses. It was what we'd call a slum. Picture the worst you've seen in Mexico. It's not quite as desolate as India since the poorest of the poor there live in dung houses. While we were riding he talked about the German association with South America. Germans were there before WWII. With the worldwide economic crisis of the 1930's Argentina and Germany formed a business alliance. Argentina had crops and Germany had technology. The Argentine army chose the Nazis and trained in Germany. Although they proclaimed neutrality during the war Peron was close to Hitler & Mussolini. When the Graf Spee sank in the Rio de la Platta in 1939 many Nazi sailors opted to stay in Buenos Aires.

At the end of the war Germans and Jews flocked to Argentina and Chile where they already had compatriots. Ironically both Nazis and Holocaust survivors started a new life together again. The Mossad tracked Eichmann to the delta of the Rio de la Platta near Buenos Aires and in 1995 more Nazis were found in Bariloche and taken to Italy for crimes they'd committed there. Unlike Eichmann who was executed in Israel, they are still in jail in Italy. Because Argentina befriended Germany and Italy the U.S. imposed a boycott after the war. Today there is a Holocaust Memorial in front a one of the largest Catholic churches in Buenos Aires. Due to attacks on synagogues and the Israeli Embassy in the 1990's the large and "important" (Fernando's word) Jewish community has special protection from the government. But there was no help tracing the people who were behind the attacks and they were never brought to justice.

Buenos Aires

We said good-bye to the Andes as our plane took off. They showed a video of different countries LAN flies and I realized how dull the areas were where we visited. Apart from the greens and blues of the scenery, the people were beige. Compared to the vibrancy of the indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia, Chileans and Argentines are colorless. They look and dress like us.

We landed in Buenos Aires to the sound of Handel's Messiah and with a thud at about 100 MPH faster than we're used to. No one thought it was unusual. We drove along the Rio de la Platta, the widest river in the world at 200 miles across. We knew we weren't in Bariloche anymore. The city looks like New York from ground or air and there's enough smog to make someone from Los Angeles homesick. Since the airport is in the city it wasn't far to our hotel. It is the NH Lancaster, an old British relic that was refurbished recently enough to still be nice.

Tonight was our home hosted dinner. We split into two groups and went to apartment buildings across the street from each other. Our host was Daniela whose husband had to work unexpectedly and whose daughters were on vacation in Brazil. Her sister Alejandra came over at what was probably the result of a panic call. The hosted dinners usually have at least one person in the family who speaks good English. The two women did admirably but it was like pulling teeth. Blessedly she'd prepared chicken. It was a treat after all the fish we've eaten. Daniela works from home hosting exchange students and dinners such as ours. It can be a nice little business. Her husband has a shuttle service and had to make an airport run. The building had seen better times but the apartment was roomy with three bedrooms and two baths. The kitchen was as large as an American one and I think served her well in her hosting enterprise.

We rise early tomorrow to tour the city. The temperature today reached 98 but it rained tonight and they're hoping it cools off to the high 70's or 80's. I think we'll abandon the group before they return to the hotel and explore on our own. Fernando is good at giving us directions back to the hotel and the subways here are a good alternative.

Toby

Bariloche Heights

Climbing Trees

Ski Lift

 

Jan. 16, 2009-Ad Libbing

Yea!! Fernando is coming to Brazil with us!! He told us today and we're thrilled. It's unusual for a tour director to follow a tour on a pre or post trip add on.

It's in the 40's-50's today with a wind of 26 MPH. There are whitecaps on our lake. We headed out early so we'd beat the crowds at the chairlift up Campanaria, a ski area. Although Fernando had it all figured out, the crowds beat us. Not one to stand in line in the drizzle and wind he changed course and took us on a scenic drive through the Nahuel (I've been spelling it wrong) Huape Forest which, I am happy to report, has no dangerous snakes or spiders. He gave us a bit of personal information telling about his nine month long army experience. He was drafted out of high school. It sounded like a lottery and of all his friends, he lost. Since he played a bit of guitar they put him in the army band playing drums.

Someone asked about the separation of church and state and we got a taste of Argentine history. The Catholic Church was as strong as the royalty here until the 1940's and the rise of Peron. By 1955 Peron and the Church were totally on the outs. He wouldn’t give more money for Catholic schools and only gave it for public education. The Church aligned itself with the military and overthrew him. Now the Church stays out of government affairs and only 20% of the people identifying as Catholic are observant. Fernando said that the Evangelicals, Mormons, Muslims, & Jews all get along.

We stopped several times to look at the exquisite blue of lakes Moreno and Nahuel Huape. We all walked the paths and I climbed trees and rocks. Their cypress trees grow in a very tempting climbable configuration that I couldn't resist. David took several pictures of me up in the branches bundled in my down coat, scarf, and gloves. I didn't quite need my earmuffs but had them ready in my pocket.

We sailed past fields of lavender and on to the Llao Llao Hotel. Argentines pronounce the "ll" differently than other South Americans so the name of the hotel sounds like "zhow zhow." They also say "zhama" instead of "yahma" for llama. The hotel is very exclusive ($400/night) and commands the best view in the area. Fernando didn't know if we'd be permitted to look at the lobby but said he'd ask since we were such a small group. He succeeded in that we could enter and gawk but couldn't take photos or use the bathroom. The decor was rustic chic reminiscent of British Columbia and hotels we've seen in Banff. Hardwood floors gleamed under native patterned rugs and the hallway walls were cedar logs.

A sweet little chapel on a hill was our next stop. It's built in the typical log and grayish green stone with a stucco interior. Its simplicity is primitive and the artwork is done by Argentine painters and is stylized and colorful. The chapel overlooks the hotel and was built as a donation of thanks by a wealthy woman who vacationed there.

Uplifting

Plan "B" was to return to the chair lift in hopes the crowds were gone. Not only did that part work but the weather was nicer. The wind still whipped around the trees but the lift itself was between two rows of pines built as a windbreak. The 8-10 minute trip up was fun but the trip down was grand. On the way down we faced the lake, mountains, and villages. Even Laura Lee rode the lift and has a picture to prove it. Only one of our number couldn't be convinced to go.

The cafe at the summit was round with windows overlooking every beautiful scene we cared to stare at. We also had a commanding view of an adorable little girl named Daniella who was throwing a tantrum. She was so beautiful when she calmed down that I asked to take a photo of her and her sister. After I did her grandmother came over to claim them as hers and tell us they were visiting from Israel. Her children and grandchildren were living in Argentina for a year and "sabba and savta" were here for a month.

Real Food

We ate lunch in an Italian place across from our hotel. We ordered gnocchi and had a choice of sauces. We preferred Bolognese and inquired as to whether it had pork in it. The server assured us that it is the custom to only serve it with pork at Christmas time.

We had a choice of traveling with Fernando by public bus to a museum where they had dinosaur bones we could touch or staying at the hotel. Much to his relief we all chose to stay in. I think we all also vetoed an optional trip to a museum dedicated to Evita Peron in Buenos Aires.

Fernando escorted ten of us to one of his favorite restaurants for dinner. We went in three cabs and got there early (8 pm) so didn't need a reservation. By 9 PM it started filling up until the line was out the door. Portions were large so David and I shared a steak. It was a bit tough and not flavorful. Frank had the biggest piece of lasagne I'd seen and Laura Lee shared what amounted to breaded steak parmigiana with Fernando. He'd promised to take us to his favorite helado (gelato) shop afterwards but we didn't know what a trek it was. He said it was eight blocks but I think it was farther. We had an equal distance to walk back to the hotel so some cabbed it and some walked.

We have an early afternoon flight to Buenos Aires tomorrow and have to be out of our rooms at 10 AM. We'll have time to kill which means a stroll to town and perhaps the Patagonian museum.

Toby

Bariloche, et al

Desert

Sheep Marked for Slaughter

Downtown Bariloche

 

Jan. 16, 2009-From Glaciers to Desert

The wind is so stiff on this sunny day that we have waves on the lake. It sounds like the ocean and is as soothing. No surfing though.

It's luxurious having a forty passenger bus for twelve people. But all good things end. Today our bus broke down as we arrived at our lunch destination. Fortunately we had time to have a new one sent while we were eating so there was no inconvenience to us.

We drove through the main street of town on our way out this morning. The construction is of stone, stucco, and timber and chocolate shops are abundant.  With the lake and mountains in the background we could be in Switzerland. Maybe now we won't have to go there.

The view is spectacular and most people want a piece of it. New construction is taking place up the hillsides. Level land is rare and they had to lease land from a ranch to build the airport.

Glaciation did marvelous things to the topography but even the Patagonian glaciers are receding. The Andes is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Nazca, South American, & Scottish plates push against each other. They are young mountains at only 60-80 million years old.

In no time we were in the desert and Manuel Huape National Park. The arid steppes spread before us as we compared the scenery to our own wild West. Jared (Juan) Jones was an American cowboy who was influential in Patagonian ranching as were his pals Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They fled to this area and retired as ranchers before they got bored and had more adventures. 

Outback Overtones

We passed a few wild guanacos. They resemble small alpaca and are said to be the original ancestors of camels. We drove down a pine tree lined road on the approach to Fortin Chacobuco, a sheep ranch owned by an Englishmen and his Scottish wife. It's run by his sons now. We were met by Colley who for some reason speaks English with an Australian accent. Their sheep are of Australian Merino stock and are happy to be in what could pass for the Australian outback.

Colley explained the ritual of drinking Mate (mah tay), a tea-like drink as he and Fernando shared the brew from the same cup using the same straw. The straw is metal and has a filter to keep out the leaves.  Mate doesn't have caffeine but it does reduce the appetite and is high in antioxidants. Although the drink was used by the Indians the ritual has strict procedures started by Jesuits. The thought was that if they accustomed the natives to sharing Mate in a formal manner it would translate into the sharing of the body and blood of Christ during communion. I don't know how successful that was.

At the end of the 18th century settlers moved in and brought cattle. They moved the Indians out or killed them and started ranches. The scrub and water were too sparse for cattle to thrive but sheep succeeded. Unfortunately the wool industry flourished during wartime due to the demand for uniforms. Today the finest grade of merino is sent to Italy for men's suits.

Artificial insemination is used to grow the flocks but in the beginning, the owner of the ranch we visited wanted to do it the old fashioned way. He went to Australia to buy rams but found that it would be two years before he could import them. They'd have to be quarantined that long to be sure they didn't have hoof and mouth disease. His wife, being Scottish, was appalled at the waste of time and money. A vet in Bariloche was consulted and he suggested the rams could make donations to their cause without being present. To their disappointment artificial insemination didn't work. The brainstorm solution was to have several rams on the property who'd had vasectomies. They were permitted free access to the ewes in heat. Once a ewe was "covered" by a ram she was more likely to become pregnant through artificial insemination. I guess she needed those hormones stimulated. They also castrated rams to increase wool production. Eunuch sheep just laid around eating and growing wool with nothing else on their minds. Now you know more about sheep than you needed but I found it interesting.

They prepared a barbecue lunch for us cooked in an open hearth. We had real beef and sausage. To our delight the sausage was made from lamb and beef. The empanadas were divine. The best we've had. After lunch there was a demonstration of how to make chimichuri and empanadas. There we learned that the empanada shells were made with lard. As David says, "We don't knowingly eat pork or shellfish." The operative word is "knowingly."

Fam Walk

We had a short orientation walk around downtown Bariloche led by Fernando who was in a hurry to make a dental appointment. He had some kind of a tooth emergency. Two of our group went to the hairdresser and several napped. We wandered the town for hours with Leo and Ann from Colorado and experienced several failed attempts at ATM machines. In one location a stray dog wandered into the cubicle where the ATM was and hung out until he decided there were better pickings outside. We finally found a machine that liked our cards and had enough Argentine pesos for dinner. Dinner was pizza at last. Dessert for me was going to be a piece of chocolate from one of the several specialty shops. I wanted to sample a wrinkled rolled-up chocolate tube they're famous for. It was a dud. I ended up throwing it away. The rest had gelato which I tasted and was unimpressed with.

Tomorrow we're hanging around town to see more of the beauty and view the town from other directions. I think the stay here may be one day too long. There was an optional tour possible in the afternoon but no one was interested. I think Fernando is going to incorporate some of those places in the morning trip. He's really flexible with such a small group. He even said he'd take us to dinner at his favorite restaurant tomorrow night. Well, by take us he means get us there and back. I'll have to have a light lunch.

Toby

Odyssey Over the Andes

Route Over Andes

Condors

View From Cacique Inacayal Hotel

 

Jan. 14, 2009-By Land and Lake

Clarification about the defibrilator. Tom from Texas has an internal (not external) one and was concerned about airport security since he can't be wanded.

Lots of us had trouble sleeping last night. The streets were noisier and I resorted to earplugs. I dreamed I smelled coffee as I slept. It's smoke. The Andes are burning not far from us.

I had an advantage over David as far as protecting my belongings in the plastic trash bag in the suitcase. David unloaded his stuff onto the bed, put it into the bag, and crammed the bag into his duffel. He suggested I unpack, put the trash bag into the suitcase, then put the clothes into the bag. It was lots easier.

The first bus in our odyssey followed the shore of Lago Llanquihue to the town of Petrohue where we met the catamaran crossing Lago Todos los Santos. I slept until we stopped along the road at Rosales National Park to see Petrohue Falls cascading over lava rock and through the forest. It was the first of many times our bus drivers had to cross plank bridges. I can't imagine how much practice it took to aim those big tires at two boards overlaying and reinforcing an already rickety bridge. The crossing to Peulla was an interminable 1 1/2 hours. Although it was beautiful, there was a sameness to the scenery. There was a diversion while a man who lived on one of the islands rowed out to our boat to get some supplies and rowed home again. It's nothing if not remote.

We got off the boat in torrential rain and felt smug about our trash bag lined luggage. We hopped on a bus that carried us eight hundred yards to a small hotel where we ate lunch. The choice was pork or salmon. Poor David. Lunch was prolonged by our need to kill time to co-ordinate our next bus ride and the departure of our next boat. But our on again off again plight was complicated by border crossings. We got off the after-lunch bus at Chilean immigration, had our passports stamped, re-boarded and continued over the 3,000 foot high Andes. Several took dramamine in preparation for the winding, bumpy, gravel and dirt "road." David took one and I didn't. Even Fernando gets motion sickness on that road and uses a patch instead of a pill. The trip was seventeen miles long and took about forty-five minutes. It would have taken 1 1/2 hours but the sun had come out and we made good time as we cruised between enormous ancient trees and ferns. The down side was we couldn't see anything but the huge vegetation. The rain forests here are unique in that they manage to flourish and survive the brutal winters. David and I slept.

At Puerto Frias we were given numbers and lined up in numerical order to enter Argentina. Some of us couldn't resist singing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." Our luggage was transferred from the containers it had been traveling in by truck to our next catamaran. That is most luggage got immediately transferred. Laura Lee’s was one of five selected at random for closer scrutiny. When the security agent opened it and saw everything packed in a plastic trash bag he said, "Oh, Grand Circle" and waved her through. We only had a twenty minute crossing on Lago Frias, a green glacial lake.at the entrance to Argentina's Northern Patagonia. Excitement built when a large number of condors were sighted riding the thermals overhead. There were at least eleven and we all rushed to get photos and gawk. They were exceptional even at a distance. A bus waited where we docked in Puerto Alegre and took us two miles to Puerto Blest and our next catamaran. We didn't realize how arduous it would be dragging and carrying our roll aboards from bus to boat and back over docks, gravel, and through mud. I finally settled in on the last boat where I wrote this email up to this point.

Bariloche

Puerto Panuelos welcomed us as we left Lago Manuel Huape in Bariloche. Fernando was home and he seemed happy to show off the town as we rode to our hotel, the Cacique Inacayal. Our rooms overlook the lake and are spacious with enough room to unpack our duffels and get our clothes out of those slippery plastic bags.

We got a quick rundown of the settlement of the town. Germans came here from Chile and Buenos Aires. The government offered free land as in Chile. Now tourism flourishes with winter skiers and summer sports. A technology industry has developed around making satellites and nuclear reactors. It's nothing sinister. Their reactors make radio isotopes for medical use. The government owns the industries 55% to private sector's 45%.

 Our dinner tonight at the hotel included buffet appetizers with more varieties of pork products than I've ever seen. Then we had a choice between salmon or cheese ravioli. We all had the ravioli. Tomorrow we get to sleep late since we were such good troopers today. We're going to an Argentine ranch to see gauchos at work and play and were promised red meat for lunch. I'm anticipating productive free time. Bariloche is known for wonderful German chocolate and I intend to find some.

Toby