Mendoza, The Land of Wine

Hey everyone!  About a month ago I went on a trip to Mendoza and I wanted to make a new post so you could all see what I've been doing.  Mendoza is a city in the eastern part of Argentina that is known for it's wine, like the Napa Valley of California.  It is also very close to the border of Chile and we were able to see some of the mountains of the Andes.  The first day we arrived in Mendoza we unpacked and showered and then we went to go bicycle riding to the wineries(called bodegas here) to try some of the famous Mendoza wine.  Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of wine, but it was a great experience, especially since the city supposedly has the best wine in Argentina.  We got a tour of both the wineries we went to and there they explained to us how they grew the grapes and how all the different wines were made.  At the end of each tour we got to try a few different wines.  I think my favorite part was the bike riding, so many people do it out here!

The next day, we got up bright and early to go on a rafting trip in a river basically right next to the Andes!  I could never have imagined that I would raft near such a famous mountain range but it was an amazing experience.  I had never been rafting and they had so many security measures it was a little scary but I survived the ride without even falling in, although we did get doused with ice cold mountain water all throughout the ride.  In the picture you can see we all had full suits on with helmets and life jackets which was great because one girl ended up falling in and another boat flipped over.  I'd rather be protected and prepared than not!  I'm the one on the end on the left and Jessica is right next to me, this is the group we came to Mendoza with.

 That took up a good portion of the day and after that we just came back to the hostel, showered and got ready for dinner.  The next day we all decided to go on a hike right next to the Andes mountains.  We had about a 2 hour drive there, but on the way we stopped by a gorgeous lake that was so blue it didn't look real.  I had never seen water so clear outside of pictures.  We took a few pictures and then headed on our way to the hike.  The first picture is of the lake that we stopped at, and even this doesn't do it justice.  As you can see, we had fun haha!  The second picture we took on the hike, but it wasn't one of the biggest mountains, just some of the smaller ones around us.  There was one mountain that our guide talked about that is popular to climb, but we don't have any pictures of it, it was a little difficult to see.  The last picture is of a lagoon in the mountain valley area that was basically all frozen over because it was still pretty cold up there.  After we did the hike, we had lunch at a little diner on the way back.  

The last day we were free to do whatever we wanted and we decided to have lunch with some of the girls from the trip(the two on the right in the last picture).  After lunch we went and looked for some souveneirs around the city and we went to a little plaza nearby to walk around.  It was a really fun and adventurous trip!  I hope you all enjoyed the new blog, the next one will be about my trip to Brazil!! 

The Little Town of La Cocha, Welcomed by a Real Argentinian Family

And I still have more stories to tell!! Just a few days after I returned from the coast of Argentina I left to La Cocha, a small town in the province of Tucuman where my friend's grandma and family lives.  Although it was a long 16 hour bus ride it was well worth it.  I was greeted by my friend Abi's mom and grandma at the bus stop and treated to hot mate (Argentinian tea) and crackers with dulce de leche at her grandma's house.  I got to meet Abi's uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends who were all so sweet.  It's a small town so all of the people are a lot more friendly and I came back with so many new friends!  Abi's grandma was a wonderful cook and there was a strict meal schedule so there was never any time to be hungry.  The town and houses are exactly what you would expect when you think of a South American country, as opposed to Buenos Aires which is a big city.  We didn't have hot water, we had to heat it to take a shower and there was definitely not as much technology as there is in Buenos Aires.  

While I was in Tucuman I went to a place called Cerro San Javier, which is basically a gorgeous mountain area overlooking the capital, San Miguel de Tucuman.  I went with Abi's sister Vanesa and we took a tour through the forest/mountain area.  

After Cerro San Javier we went to San Miguel de Tucuman to stay the night because the next day we were going to Tafi del Valle, a cute little town in another mountain/forest area.  We had to take a bus which took a few hours but the ride up the mountains was gorgeous!  Green lush trees and waterfalls surrounded us on the road to the valley. When we got there we looked through an open market and ate lunch. It was a small town, not much to do but the scenery was amazing.

We also went to the museum where they signed the declaration of independence of Argentina.  It was nice to learn a little bit about the country that I've been living in for so long, and also interesting because it wasn't in the capital of Buenos Aires.  

Every day we were visited by a few people who came to join us for lunch, it was so nice to have so many people to visit with. This trip was amazing, I got to meet so many wonderful people and visit a different part of Argentina.  I also loved it because I spoke so much Spanish, hardly anyone there spoke English!  It was great practice and it was nice to know that I could do it.  

Ahh Summer at the Beaches of Argentina

Hello friends and family in California!  It's been a while since my last post and I'm sure you've all been wondering what exciting new adventures I've had since my last post!haha...After Leanne and Liz left the Porteno city, my roommate Jessica and I set out on our own exploring of the coast of Argentina.  First we went to a little town named Villa Gesell which was really fun, it was filled with tons of young people and everyone vacationing.  We relaxed on the beach and walked around town at night.




























After Villa Gesell we went to Mar del Plata, a very popular summer getaway for Argentinians.  We went to visit with the two boys in the picture because one of them is from Mar del Plata and he showed us around the city.  The beach was a lot bigger in this city and prettier as well, although the water on the coast of Argentina isn't the most gorgeous you've ever seen.  The trip was so fun altogether, mainly because of all the beach/tanning time.  We also got to meet Matias'(the boy on the right) family and we tried a home cooked asado dinner!  Asado is the Argentinian version of barbeque which includes different cuts of meat cooked in a special oven.  We went out one night to a street lined with clubs, called boliches, and bars.  The street was packed as well as most of the bars and clubs and even as we left at about 5 am (early for the end of an Argentinian night out) people filled the sidewalks like a never ending party.  It was a great way to spend our free time in another country and I'm so glad I stayed through the summer here to experience a different way of living.  The people are so much more relaxed here and always take a summer vacation, sometimes for a whole month!  It's a great way to live, if only Americans knew how to take more vacations, slow down and enjoy life more.

Punta del Este, Uruguay and the end of Leanne's visit

Hello again! Not long after New Year's my friend Leanne arrived and we all rushed off to Punta del Este Uruguay.  This beachy spot is the exclusive vacation getaway for Argentinians and it was gorgeous!  The beaches were amazing although it rained two out of the three days we were there.  We still got some great pictures of the crystal blue water and the white sand.  We got all our sun in on the last day by the pool at the hotel because our dreams of sun tanning by the ocean were squashed by the ominous clouds hanging over us.   It was still an amazing trip in another country!

The random fingers coming out of the beach are something Punta del Este is famous for, so of course a touristic picture was necessary.  The beach was amazing and I wish we could have spent more time there.  After we got back to Buenos Aires we settled in for about a day and then my friend Liz had to catch her flight back to the U.S.  After that, I wanted to show Leanne all I could of Buenos Aires so we organized some day activities.  First I took her to Tigre, a little town outside of the city where there is a river and an open market.  We took a boat ride which was very relaxing and explored the market a little although we did get burnt, a recurring theme that week.   We also explored the many different ice cream stores of Buenos Aires and Punta del Este because the ice cream here is too delicious to resist.  Although we ate our way through quite a few stores, I assure you there are many more untasted by us California girls.  One of my favorite things (even since being in Buenos Aires) was going to a Tango show!  We made reservations at a place called Senor Tango in San Telmo.  The neighborhood was sketchy but the inside of this building was incredible!  There were lights everywhere, chandaliers a stage in the middle of dining tables covered in red and black tablecloths and Tango memorabilia.  We opted out of the included dinner because it was about US $60 more which is pretty pricey for a college student's dinner.  The dancing, singing, and costumes were amazing and I hated for it to end!  It has to be one of the most exciting things I've done since being in Argentina yet and I would love to do it again if only it wasn't as expensive.   The last thing Leanne had to do before she left was a tour of the city, which we did on a bus with audio information about all the different areas we visited.  Most of the places I had already seen but it was nice to hear interesting facts about the famous monuments and parts of town.  Some of you will recognize the Casa Rosada (the Pink House, like our White House) which is in the Plaza de Mayo.  We also visited Caminito in La Boca, which is a street filled with colorful buildings and is known for its artwork.   The city tour pretty much concluded Leanne's visit and I took her to the airport that night.  It was an amazing trip and there's still more summer fun to come!

International Christmas and New Year's

Hello everyone!  I know it's been a while since my last post but vacation can keep an American girl in Argentina extremely busy!haha...I just wanted to keep everyone updated as to what went on during my Christmas and New Year's in Buenos Aires.  For Christmas Jessica and I went to our Colombian friend's house and tried Ajiaco, a Colombian soup that has chicken, potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables.  It is eaten with rice and it was delicious!  We brought a fruit salad covered in a creamy sweet sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and pasta salad which they said was delicious as well.

For New Year's my friend Liz flew down and we also celebrated with my Colombian friends again but this time we had arepas, like Colombian tortillas that you eat with butter and salt and we made a macaroni salad that was delicious.  We also had arroz con leche (rice with milk) for dessert.  It sounds weird but it's really just sweet rice and it's so good!  We talked and ate dinner (although the talking was a little difficult because Liz doesn't speak Spanish and very few people spoke English at the party) and then danced salsa a little bit after.

We had a great time and I'm glad I got to show my friend a good time, she said she really loved Buenos Aires.  Another blog to come...

Las Cataratas de Iguazu (Iguazu Falls) and Other Adventures

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in blog posts but two sets of midterms plus makeup midterms took over my life and left me with unsatisfying results.  HOWEVER I rested in between those and my upcoming finals with an amazing trip to Iguazu Falls which is a national park full of huge, gorgeous waterfalls on the border of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.  We took a bus with a group that organized everything for us(it was much easier than doing it ourselves) and was soo fun!  We met many people from all over the world who are studying here because it was a trip specifically for students and it was an experience I'll never forget!  On the way there we stopped in the province of Misiones to see the Jesuit ruins where they tried to convert the Guarani natives.  The middle picture includes Stephanie and Garrett two German students who study at UCES with us.  The ride was long but we slept through the night and got to know the people on the bus with us so it really wasn't that bad.












After arriving, we moved our stuff into the hotel rooms and headed for the pool to relax.  Later we had dinner at the hotel (it was included as well as breakfast) and talked until bedtime to get ready for the next day at the national park.

Unfortunately the entrance to the park was not included, but it was worth every penny!  First we took a boat that went directly under the waterfalls so we got a nice shower to cool us down.  We were definitely rockin the bright orange life jackets hahaa.  After that we went to a little beach area to take pictures of the falls and talk for a bit.

After our break we hiked up a hill to get a closer look at the gorgeous spectacle and got to take a few more pictures.

The views were beautiful, but we still had more to see....after lunch we continued up the hill to see Iguazu from above and the falls were incredible.

I never had any idea how huge Iguazu Falls was!  It may even be larger than Niagra Falls, but I've never been so I'm not sure.  There were so many butterflies (and bugs!) at the falls it was wonderful to see all the wildlife and different nature here.  But it was still not the end of our day....We continued on and took a tram to the other side of the falls to see La Garganta del Diablo (the Devil's Throat) which is a huge fall and all you can see from above is the foam (not sure if that's the right word) of all the water coming down.

The day was long and hot but I enjoyed every minute!  We came back to the hotel and that night we spent some time with the new friends we made on the trip...

The next day we were free to do whatever we wanted and Jessica and I decided to take a tour through the forest, zipline and rapel down a waterfall! It was scary at first but I'm sure we'll never regret it!

Before our waterfall adventure we took a few little trips to a town called Tigre which is about an hour away on the train(like BART).  There's a river, a theme park, a casino, and a farmer's market and it's a great way to spend the day outside...

You can't tell, but the plaque says Los Estados Unidos (United States) and all of us are from the U.S.

They actually still have phone booths in Buenos Aires!  Amazing since they're basically non existent in the U.S. 

We also had a very fun Halloween, Jessica, Dani, Andrea and I were all tourists and Jessica's friends who are studying in Brazil were clowns...

As of now we're in the middle of finals and haven't experienced any spectacular adventures lately with all the studying going on....I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on any trips we go on and what we're doing out here in the big BA!