Some may call it morbid while others call it intriguing. The other day I spent the afternoon strolling in the Recoleta Fair and then jousted over to the famous Recoleta cemetery (where Evita Peron and other wealthy families are buried).
Before going it was always so appalling to me when everyone I know said “what? You’re going to Buenos Aires...you have to go to the cemetery.” Or my friends here would say “it’s a must see.” Seriously? A cemetery? I definitely don’t think so; let’s not get ahead of ourselves---it’s a cemetery after all. Thank god I’ve only had to go to one funeral in my life so I’ve never really been exposed to cemeteries. So after 2+ months being here, I finally made my way down to the cemetery to see what the hype is all about, and O.M.G. it’s by far a must see! The Recoleta Cemetery is not like anything you’ve ever seen before...it’s freaky and insanely awesome.
The moment I walked through the gates of the cemetery I thought to myself “this is not a cemetery, this is more of a mini city compiled of cool-looking houses that happens to store dead people”...I felt like I was living in the “times” of Romeo and Juliet...(if only). Each mausoleum is constructed by elaborate marble architectural styles that is decorated with names of the families, statues, flowers, and symbols. It is the easiest place to get lost (not that I’m talking from experience haha but it’s really simple to lose your way). It took me almost an hour to finally locate Evita Peron’s mausoleum because every time I asked people where it was, everyone pointed in a different direction. So I kept walking in loops around Evita’s site and didn’t even realize because there are so many corners and turns that it’s so accessible to get lost---note= set aside a few hours of getting lost while you’re at the cemetery....that’s what I should’ve done haha!
What is really cool about the cemetery is the architectural aspect of it...Daniel, you would’ve loved it! Each mausoleum and statue was incredibly different from the next. There were huge, extravagant mausoleums yet modest ones too. To this day Evita Peron remains one of the most famous women in Argentina and probably around the world (after Golda Meir of course)...but I bring this up because ironically her mausoleum was really modest comparing it to all the others. There weren’t any statues involved in it nor it was not in the center. I think it took me an hour to find it because it was situated in one of the “mini” streets off to the side and not in the heart of the cemetery where all the “important” generals or wealthy people are. Her black mausoleum was one of the only sites that was covered in flowers...I guess everyone loves her!!
After finally making it to the cemetery I can honestly say that it’s a tourist site worth seeing. You don’t even have to speak Spanish to go...the amount of English and French I heard was utterly too much for a Spanish speaking country. But back to the cemetery--- if you’re here visiting Bs Ar, it’s by far a cool site and you should check it out! And if you’re someone like my sister who likes to live bicariously through others...you’ll definitely feel the Romeo and Juliet aroma there; very Shakespearean.
Not only is my ¨W¨ key missing on my computer, but my charger officially broke. Therefore, I don´t have a computer to blog...I´ll try making it out to the internet shop a few times a week to blog...but if not love you all and talk to you in a month!!!
(I´m in Buenos Aires for another 10days then off to Mendoza, Bariloche, and Chile----then unfortunately home)
I´ve just experienced Hell; a sedated-animal Hell, but still Hell. Everyone said if you´re going to go to a zoo in Argentina, then you have to go to the Lujan zoo. (False). The Lujan Zoo is almost a 2 hour bus ride outside of Buenos Aires. So after making the 11 o´clock bus and then missing our stop, we eventually made it to the awful zoo around 1:30pm.
I can´t describe how terrifying and abusive this zoo is and how I unfortunately spent a good amount of pesos supporting this. Just as a brief synapses...the Lujan Zoo is situated on the side of the highway and is definitely not comparable to the San Diego nor Milwaukee zoos. The zoo´s main attraction is the fact that you can walk into the cages and pet the tigers, lions, and bears (ohhh my!) without getting your hand bitten off. The ground is covered with tons of dirt, sand, and rocks, and the types of animals ranged anywhere from turtles, rabbits, goats, TO horses, lamas, camels, bears, lions, and tigers. Most of the animals were kept in the same cages as each other minus the tigers, lions, and bears (---they were privileged enough to get their own pens.) The zoo reflected some aspect of a typical zoo, but it pretty much sybolized a DIRTY farmland.
As soon as I walked inside the zoo, I was so disturbed at the living conditions and how these animals were being treated. For starters, every animal needed a shower because there was so much garbage on them. Their hair was pretty much in dreads or corn-rows...come on, I was even willing to give them a shower at no cost. Honestly, the first tiger I saw was the saddest thing ever. Five tigers were ¨resting¨ in their pen with their eyes open, but they were so drugged they couldn´t move. That´s why I´m extremely grossed out by the Lujan Zoo---they freaking paralyze the animals. They drug every animal so you´re able to pet them without the fear of them taking one of your body parts. Every animal I saw was literally soooo depressed...it was as if a ghost came and took the life out of them. I couldn´t help but feel sorry for them...
The beauty of tigers and lions are how the average human is terrified of them, but here was the first time where they were scared of the average human. That´s not supposed to happen. I couldn´t help but feel sorry for them because they need to run around and feel free. They shouldn´t be getting injected with drugs so people can pet and take pictures with them---instead they should be getting injected with life. Can you imagine if someone drugged you every day, and you weren´t able to leave your apartment because you were half dead? It´s crazy and not fair the way these animals are living and being treated.
I came to that realization after I took my first and only photo with a tiger. After that picture I said ¨there is no way I´m supporting this zoo.¨ I put my camera away and sat on the side waiting for my friends to finish taking pictures and we eventually left. I can speak for most of my friends saying that no one should ever go to this zoo. If you´re going to go to the Lujan zoo, then come up with a way to set the animals free...and PLEASE call me if you do it! It´s the worst abusive zoo I have ever been to....ahhhh I´m utterly disgusted.
As a side note= after my depressing day at the zoo, a bunch of us went to Las Bombas Tiempo (my favorite drum show ever) and then to the Alamo...I had a great night after having the worst day ever!!
Let’s just say I definitely didn’t feel the CHS (Lonely Planets acronym for cool hostel syndrome) in El Viajero, but I did feel the Portuguese.
On the first night there, while Shoni and Mayber were sleeping, Lena and I hogged the computers in the lobby and surfed the net. All of a sudden some Brazilian guys sat behind us on the couches and started playing their guitars and belting out Portuguese music…and that’s essentially when I fell in love. To me there is nothing like Portuguese music…I simply love it…ahhhh just love it!! I have to admit Lena and I were really unclear of what was happening and unsure of what to do next. Should we talk to them? Should we leave? Should we turn around our chairs to face them? After all we were only down there for the internet…Honestly, it was and we were exhausted so we decided to do a mix of all 3 but emphasized on leaving to go to sleep.
The next night, everyone in the hostel hung out in the lobby. Of course the group of Brazilians spotted us and once again parked their guitars and sat down near us. I started talking to them and asked if they know who Ivete Sangalo is? (Well, obviously they do because she’s only one of the most popular singers in Brazil…and she’s beautiful!) I told them how my family is obsessed with her, and simply putting it- how my Dad loves her. (It was a big day in my house when my Dad moved on from Gloria Estefan and onto Ivete Sangalo…my Mom is still rooting for Gloria...) Anyways, the guys started laughing and I knew I had an in…I asked them if they could sing “Poeira” for me because it is one of my favorite songs from Ivete and they said yes! O.M.G. is all I can say…this sounds so corny but I almost started crying. The guy who sang and played the guitar replicated the song as if he was the male version of Ivete. It was unreal. And what got me even more was how he later sang “Across the Universe” by the Beatles…seriously? Did they know that is also one of my favorite songs? That night couldn’t have gotten any better…once again---I was in love with the music, my life, and the Brazilians!
Wait---best part of the story is that I video-skyped my father today, and as soon as I mentioned the name “Ivete Sangalo” to him, he positioned his ear so close to the computer it was as if I told him I physically met Ivete!! Oh, Dad, how I love you!!
My alarm went off at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning…a.k.a. because I was rushing to make a ferry to Uruguay. After a 30 peso cab ride, Shoni, Lena, Lauren, and I made the ferry and once again prepped ourselves for another few days solely dedicated to transportation (story of our lives).
The ferry was a replicate of the Norwegian Cruise I took with my friend’s a few years back, (but somewhat nicer…rule= never go on a Norwegian Cruise)…also, seriously, what’s with foreigners and Duty Free? Do they not sell bulk size M&M’s or COCO Channel perfume wherever you’re from? I just don’t get it…
So after three hours of boat time, we arrived in Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay. Colonia is a small cobblestone, picturesque town and every street is so unique and beautiful from the next. If you’re on a time limit and trying to make a bus (like us) you honestly only need 2-3 hours there because the actual town is very small. I have never been to a place like Colonia…every spot, every street, every corner that I glanced at, I kept on snapping shots with my camera because the beauty this town exhibits is unreal. I felt like I was in a live National Geographic magazine shoot for the top 5 scenic towns to visit in South America (Colonia would definitely be #1). Aside from its’ beauty, I think I fell in love with Colonia because very few people crowded the streets, so I was able to admire the quaintness of the town. Ahhhh Anna you would LOVE Colonia de Sacramento; all you would need is your journal and a cup of tea and you would be set…you would just love it!
We caught a bus from Colonia to Montevideo then onto Punta del Este. (side note= we had an hour layover in the Montevideo bus station. Earlier in the day I bought something and the cashier gave me a fake 100 peso note back. Obviously, I didn’t realize this till I was trying to buy water from a store and the cashier denied my money…clearly I was annoyed and I just wanted to get rid of it pronto. Literally, I went from kiosko to kiosko trying to buy things but no one would accept my fake 100. I spotted a Candy store, and I thought come on, it’s worth a try…how could they say no? It’s a candy store after all, they have to be nice there. So, Lena and I decided to be kids again and filled up a delicious bag of chocolate covered almonds and peanuts, roasted peanuts, and Mexican peanuts…and WOW! YUM! I walked up to the cashier with bright red cheeks and when she asked me to pay I handed her the 100 peso note and she took it! I was finally free and clear from that 100 peso note!.......another side note= Argentina (and I guess Uruguay too) both have a thing for fake pesos...they get circulated around town so you have to be careful when handling and recieving notes because it's realling annoying getting fake money.)
Alright, back to Punta---Let me just say Punta del Este is one of the biggest beach/resort towns in all of South America, and it’s only hopping in the summer time…right now it’s the spring merging into summer, so Punta definitely wasn’t the happening place last week. In fact, it was quite the ghost town--- a significant amount of the restaurants, bars, and stores were closed. (Even the owner’s of the million dollar houses in Punta, which resemble Hampton and Californian-style houses, evacuated their homes due to the off-season.) Similar to Colonia the streets were vacated; however, if you want the ultimate Punta experience, then you want the beaches and streets to be jam-packed with people. It was crazy seeing a place, which is only open in the summer and primarily closed the remaining of the year, deserted. Punta really reminded me of Miami because of it mainly being a beach town but Miami is open year round where as Punta isn’t. I guess I’ll eventually have to go back to Punta when it’s their summer!
In Punta, we went to the famous statue that represents a hand nestled in sand; went on a city tour; saw the most beautiful sunset of my life; and fell in love (legit) with some Brazilian musicians who stayed at the same hostel (but that’s for a different blog ahhhhh). Punta is definitely a vacation hub in all of South America (but mainly for Uruguayans, Argentineans, and Brazilians). When we were taking pictures at the “Hand,” a Brazilian woman asked me to take a picture of her. Seriously, her accent was so strong it was similar to a Russian person speaking English. THICK. It was the first (and probably only time) I thought my “Spanish” accent was better because her accent was fatal.
After a few relaxing days in Punta, we traveled back to Montevideo and spent the day there. Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay and is very similar to Buenos Aires. Montevideo has a greater South American/Latin feel to it and it’s not as big as Bs As. Personally, I, loved Montevideo…I loved the Latin touch; I loved feeling like I was in a South American city; yet, I still loved the European emphasis on it. After lugging our backpacks around the entire city, we got a great feel of the downtown and the old city of Montevideo. When people go to Uruguay they usually skip Montevideo because it’s similar to Bs As, but there is so much character and uniqueness to this city that makes it really appealing to visit.
We eventually trekked back to the bus station where we took a bus to Colonia and then a ferry back to Bs As. Overall, my trip to Uruguay was amazing. I’m happy that I was able to get a feel of a different South American country. Even though, for some odd reason, we struggled with the currency, it was really cool seeing how Uruguay can be so close to Argentina but yet so different. There was great country land, loads of poverty, yet still a an exuberating city life…the locals who I integrated with these past few days were the sweetest people I’ve met thus far. As I traveled along the Uruguayan coast from the East to West, I saw the various cities and towns and each place truly enhanced the South American essence.
Uruguay is a great country and should definitely be one of your next vacation hubs (…come on Punta del Este should definitely be screaming your attention…)
I didn’t realize I was being robbed till Shoni and Lauren started screaming at me to run away. On Friday Lena, Shoni, Lauren, and I were walking back to the house and clearly we drew attention by talking in English…let’s face it, we’re obviously going to speak English to each other---we’re Americans afterall! As we were walking I heard people walking behind us so I turned around to scope out the group…3 women and one man---what could be so bad? To me they didn’t look sketchy so I kept on walking and talking. Legit, 2 minutes later we were mysteriously sprayed with what looked like water all over ourselves. Again, the four of us are 22 year old Americans, so take a guess on how we reacted…yeah, that’s rightà we shrieked at the top of our lungs because we thought birds pooped all over us. Ehh we were so WRONG. What actually happened was an intentional one-sided water fight, but it didn't end the way the other team hoped it would end.
All of a sudden we heard the people behind us screaming that they got hit too, so I looked at them but they were dry. The combination of my laughter and being shocked didn’t allow me to realize something weird was going on. It was only until Lauren told us to walk away because she noticed the group of people doing something weird. The guy started coming closer to me and saying that the water came from the balcony above; meanwhile, Shoni started telling me to stop talking to him and keep on walking. Again, I had no idea what was going on...there was just way too much going on...
As soon as I caught up with my friends, Lauren told me her Argentine friend told her that it is normal for a group of people to do this. They spray water on people; the women will come up to you and ask if you’re ok; then while they help dry you off, the guys come up to you and pickpocket you. Apparently this works because the person who gets the water thrown on is really flustered and then the group of people takes advantage of you. Craziness, I know…that is pretty much what happened to us, but we ran away before they could steal from us. Also, as soon as we walked away from them we turned around and they were gone...just like magic. It was creepy.
There is so much robbery and thievery in Buenos Aires. Whether you’re on the subte (subway), colectivo (bus), or walking on the street, it is all over…I know so many people who have gotten money, credit cards, or cameras stolen. It is important to watch yourself and your belongings like a hawk, and hopefully nothing will happen to you. It is weird to realize how certain cities have their own bizarre methods of pickpocketing. I later found out what we experienced is a known thing Portenos do to people. It is stupid but people fall for it…after all I almost fell for it until Lauren told me to keep on walking. It is insane to think that if I kept on talking to the man and women I could’ve fallen for their trap and gotten robbed. Ahhhhh insanity. Honestly, when I’m on the subte or colectivo I literally watch my bags as if I’m in the FBI. No one is getting inside my zipped purses! Trust me…jajajaja
I was taking a nap right now when Angelica (the cleaning lady) thought it would be funny to wake me up to clean my room. Rule: it’s not funny to wake people up when they’re sleeping! Honestly, I didn’t really have an option because let’s get real, who doesn’t want to have a clean room? I pretty much flew out of bed when she said she was going to clean…yes, I’m still half asleep but I think having a clean room beats sleeping.
Yesterday, I walked to the Recoleta street fair where there were vendors selling all kinds of jewelry, accessories, shoes, scarves, every type of leather item possible, and more. I felt really cultural there because in the middle of the lawn there was an Argentinean band performing with the most unique instruments and they carried unreal beats. I liked Recoleta’s street fair more than San Telmo’s market because Recoleta’s fair was smaller and had a real local feel to it.
Later that night, some of us went to the movies. I went to see the Town and the ticket was 25 pesos which is around $6…ahhhh I love how everything in this country is so cheap…you actually feel like you aren’t wasting your money here…I probably still am but that’s a different story. Oh my god, it was hilarious I came back to my house after the movies, and for some reason the electricity was out. It was alright because it was late so I went straight to sleep but they didn't fix it till this morning...my food wasn't happy though, I had to throw away a lot of it…it was so bizarre.
Today, I began shadowing an obstetrician (maternity doctor)…I like this ward a lot better then pediatrics. The doctor who I’m shadowing now is really serious but she explains everything to us where as Julio (the pediatrics doctor) was plain old crazy. The stories I have about Julio are insane…last week this chubby 10 year old girl had an appointment and when she walked in his office, he responded, “Hola Gorda” (Hi Fatty)…seriously, that’s not allowed…I was raging, I just wanted to yell at him and give the girl a hug. But I’m done with Julio so it’s alright. Dr. Rosa (the new Dr.) wants us to be active with the patients…this one woman walked in today and she was 36 weeks pregnant---seriously at week 36 you minus as well check yourself into the hospital. The doctor told her she started contracting and she’s probably going to give birth sometime today. Her face was priceless.
Oh my god I forgot about thisà a 21 year old girl walked in the office alone, and we did an ultrasound on her. She became really emotional and started tearing up a little bit. I felt so lucky watching her reaction because giving birth is so powerful. I’m happy I was there because she didn’t have anyone there to share this touching experience with. When she looked at me, I gave her a really big smile (I hope it was comforting)…ahhhhhh.
I just love this time of my life. I love being here. I love all of my experiences. I love this culture. I love my friends. I love Spanish. I love everything about my life!!!!!!
Wow wow wow and a million more wows after that! I honestly don’t know where to begin---I probably had one of the best weekends of my life...
We boarded the bus and prepped ourselves for our 19 hour bus ride to Puerto Iguazu. For starters, the seats were incredible; it made the ride feel like 5 hours (yeah, I totally exaggerated but that’s how amazing the seats were). They were legit first class airplane seats---the trip was so enjoyable because if we weren’t watching the most cliché U.S. movies on the bus we were definitely sleeping. We woke up in the morning to overcast skies and sharp rains, but we eventually arrived in Puerto Iguazu around . Puerto Iguazu is a really small town with only 3 bars and a few restaurants, so we bussed straight to our hostel. We stayed at Hostel Inn, which Lonely Planet refers to this specific hostel as CHS (cool hostel syndrome). I must say it was a pretty great hostel---beautiful pool, free internet, a bar, a place to buy food, ping-pong and pool tables, and free breakfast. Yep, I was definitely feeling the CHS this past weekend.
Iguazu Falls is shared by Brazil and Argentina…Argentina occupies 2/3 of the Falls and Brazil owns the remaining 1/3 of it….apparently both sides of the Falls are fantastic but the main difference is: on the Argentinean side you see a lot more falls and you get up close to the falls; and on the Brazilian side you mainly see a panoramic view of the entire falls. I’m not trying to be biased but people say the Argentinean side beats the Brazilian side.
We were planning on going to Brazil on Friday to see the Brazilian side but being a group of Americans and Australians a Visa was required to get into Brazil. We obviously nixed that idea…it was so annoying because most travel books and numerous people told us Brazil isn’t strict on visas if you’re only spending one day on the Brazilian side…FALSE! Bottom line compadres---if you’re going to Brazil, get visas! Anyways, we decided to head out to the Argentinean side even though it was pouring and cold…did I mention that no one brought warm clothing because the forecast said it was going to be in the 90s? Who knew the 90s is really the 60s?
We finally arrived at the Falls around . There are around 247 waterfalls and they’re 80m high…we didn’t know which fall to see first so we randomly picked the Fall with the coolest name: Garganta del Diablo which translates to the Devils Throat---so you can only imagine how impressive it was. We walked around ¾ of a mile along the IguazuRiver and finally arrived at the Devils Throat. Seeing the reaction of everyone’s faces when we saw the Devils Throat was incredible. Literally, everyone’s jaws sank to the floor…Niagra Falls looks like a bath tub compared to Iguazu Falls---there's no comparison. I remember seeing a heavy-set Argentine 55 year-old woman shrieking at the top of her lungs and started spreading her arms out as if she was about to fly. She came up to me and said in Spanish, “This is unbelievable. This is insane. I can’t believe I’m here.” And then she started crying---That’s inspiration. Now you know what I mean when I say what a motivating place IguazuFalls is.
Later we went on a boat ride into some of the waterfalls---ca-razy!!! It was so cool because we literally got up and close to the Falls. If I wasn’t drenched by the rain at this point, by the time I stepped off the boat I was definitely saturated in water---I should’ve brought shampoo to wash my hair, that’s how wet I was. The sounds that were coming out of my sneakers were noises I never knew existed. Since we toured most of the other falls that day, we decided to head back to the hostel.
Saturday was still overcast, so Shoni and I chilled in the hostel while everyone else went to the park where the Falls are. Usually the park closes everyday at , but once a month when there is a full Moon you can go on a special walking tour of the park and see the waterfalls. (It’s a pretty pricey way of seeing the Falls but it was so worth it. I can’t describe to you the experience I had Saturday night). Walking along the IguazuRiver towards the Devils Throat in the pitch dark was one of the freakiest but coolest moments of my life. The Falls are in the middle of no where and so the only light out there was the moon. After this experience, I realized how I’ve always taken for granted the intensity of the moon---seeing the brightness of the moon shining down on the falls really emphasized the power the moon has. It was amazing because even in the pitch dark, we were able to see the waterfalls perfectly. After the moon tour, we went back to the hostel and called it a night.
We had an early start Sunday morning and bussed out to the Falls. Thank god it was sunny out because the excessive amounts of clouds and rain were really annoying. On the Iguazu Park map we noticed a small hiking trail called Macuco Trail…you hike through the “jungle” for an hour and then it takes you to a place overlooking a beautiful view and right below you lies a waterfall where you can go swimming. We walked down a plethora of stairs to get to the waterfall…ahhhhh I remember thinking I was so excited for what was about to come! We swam in the stream and climbed on huge rocks to get behind the waterfall. It was a great feeling being able to sit beneath the waterfall and getting splashed by the fresh, crisp water. I think at this point, I can say that every time I’ve had fun in Bs. As. is when I get drenched in water!
The Macuco Trail was so cool…I genuinely felt I was in the jungle…we saw the most exotic butterflies, polyploidy (for those outside apartment 9A and didn’t take Dr. Babich’s class---its means huge) size ants, coatis, monkeys, toucans, snakes, lizards, iguanas, and the strangest looking kinds of trees….who needs to go to the Amazon when you get all this plus a waterfall to swim in? We hiked back and headed out to the other falls to see them for one last time.
We only had time to see the Upper and Lower decks of the waterfalls…OMG…seeing the waterfalls in the pouring rain on Friday was a magnificent view; seeing them Saturday night in the pitch dark with only the Moon shining down on them was also outstanding; but seeing the waterfalls in the sun with a perfect blue sky was just breath-taking. There were rainbows after rainbows. And not the type of rainbows you see after a storm that goes away after a few minutes, but the rainbows I saw were literally chanting ROY-G-BIV in a hyper momentum. The brightness and clarity of the rainbows on top of the waterfalls, to me, showed the beauty of nature. It’s mind blowing to think how something as perfect as Iguazu Falls was ever created? It’s literally the most serene, perfect piece of nature I’ve ever been introduced to…my experience in Iguazu was unreal.
I feel so fortunate being able to travel and live in Argentina right now, but I feel even luckier to have been given the opportunity to visit IguazuFalls. When people come to Argentina, they rarely make it to the Falls…My experience was topped off with a cherry because the people who I went with were phenomenal. All eight of us are positive people who enjoy traveling and integrating in new cultures. I’ve never laughed so hard…there were so many situations that it was literally painful to laugh because someone was always doing something funny. The trip was perfect and the people who I went with made the trip amazing.
I also feel so fortunate because I was able to see the Falls under every type of weather scenario possible…rain, overcast, clouds, night time, sunny…everything! I can now say I’ve seen IguazuFalls under every type of weather except for snow…but that’s pretty impossible because it’s in the jungle…
I hope all of you guys make it to Argentina and especially to IguazuFalls because it will definitely change you and your way of thinking.
