Salta to Potosi to La Paz

Wow, well it has been a hectic week of traveling! My last day in Salta, I went on a journey to a peak above 5,000 meters, saw pre-Inca ruins and the 7 color mountain, and visited the Argentinian salt flats. Such an incredible experience. Of course, I forgot my battery to my camera, so the people who were with me on the trip promised to send me the pictures! The earth just looked so dead because the climate changes so much from freezing cold to scorching hot. On the day trip, we stopped in this tiny village to have lunch and I ate a Llama steak for the first time. Actually not too bad!



That night I got on a bus and headed to Bolivia. I wanted to get out of Argentina before the election today because the election is supposed to cripple the economy. The bus ride was quite a journey of extremes. The weather went from freezing cold overnight to 100 degrees during the day. The Bolivian buses are so awful and it is all dirt roads here in Bolivia!! I can't figure it out if the drivers here are the best in the world or the worst! They drive so close and never stop!! I told you that I experienced the richest part of South America in Sao Paulo, well on this bus ride, I experienced the opposite extreme. We stopped on the side of the road and picked up this gentleman and he sat next to me. He had to be 70 years old and was looking at me like I was an alien. I had my IPOD and he couldn't stop staring at it. Whatever food he kept eating was the worst smelling thing ever!! We stopped in another town and I was the only Gringo around. That is definitely eye opening.

I went to Potosi for one reason...to visit the silver mines. In the 1800's, Potosi was the richest city in Latin America because of the silver in this one mountain. Today, there are tours to visit the mines. It was an experience I am glad I did, but will NEVER do again! I could hardly breath, you have to crawl through tight areas, it is SOOO hot, and I was already 4,500 meters high, so the altitude headaches were incredible! As you can see in the pictures, I was much happier on the way in! Being down there for a little over an hour was very difficult, but the miners stay down there for over 24 hours at a time. They die after working in the mines for 20 years. It is not the most glorious job, nonetheless.

After one night in Potosi, I got on another night bus to La Paz. I met an American, Chris, on the bus as he was sitting near me. There was a drunk Bolivian sitting in the seat in front of me and Chris was sitting across the aisle from him. Well, the buses don't stop too often and the drunk Bolivian had to go pee and figured Chris was the toilet!!! Chris just started yelling at the guy. I could not stop laughing. It was definitely an experience and added to the aura of Bolivian buses!

I arrived in La Paz yesterday and we celebrated my birthday last night. It is such a fun, strange, and interesting experience celebrating with people I just met!! So much fun.

Today, I am going to a women's wrestling match here in La Paz. They say it is something you can't miss. I am pretty excited.

Hope you are all well!! I am off to Lake Titicaca and Peru over the next few days!

Good Things.

TB

BA, Mendoza, Salta

Well, the days in Buenos Aires were filled with walking to seemingly every part of the city and eating steak for every meal! I think I ate more steak in one week than I had in the past 5 years combined. One day we went to an ´Estancia`, a working gaucho ranch outside of the city. I rode a horse for the first time since I got freaked out riding my sister´s horse about 20 years prior. They aren`t too bad actually. Went to a tango show, saw Evita`s grave and her museum, went to La Boca (the colorful part of town), and ate more steak.

Said goodbye to DB and headed to Mendoza, Argetina´s equivalent to Napa. It is such a beautiful part of the country with many wineries. The clubs don`t really start getting crowded (and some don`t even open!) until about 2-3 AM. It takes some work getting used to and definitely can`t plan on doing much the next day! At one point, around 5am, I fell asleep in the chair and had to be woken up a Spaniard guy I was out with. I definitely was not representing the Americans too well! In the clubs, the music is all in English and everyone sings along. The problem is that most of the people don't speak English and have no clue what they are saying. It makes for good conversation.

The wine in Mendoza is amazing and about $15 US Dollars for the best bottle. Too bad my backpack already weighs about 40 lbs, otherwise I would have carried bottles around with me for my remaining time!

On Saturday night, I got on my longest bus trip yet. Scheduled to be 19 hours, it took nearly 22 hours to get to Salta. The bus broke down at about 2 am, near who knows where, and I was on a bus with no other English speaking individuals. My prospects were looking great at this point! I definitely had one of those moments of fear, nervousness, helplessness, and excitement once I realized there was absolutely nothing I could do and it was just part of my journey traveling in South America.

Once I finally got to Salta I was able to relax in this beautiful city. The appearances (skin/hair color, height and demeanor) of the people are definitely starting to change the farther north I go. I went on a run this morning to the bus station (my home away from home in every town) and I may as well been an alien. Mind you it is about 50 degrees...I am wearing just a t-shirt and boardshorts, have blond hair, and (being 6`2``) am taller than 90% of the people. Everyone just stared at me thinking I am the crazy `Gringo`.

Tomorrow I am going on a trek to the Argentinian Salt Flats, about 4200 Meters high. Then going to Bolivia the next day for about 10 days.

Go Blue, Congrats Ian for doing so well in the Ironman, and Happy Summer everyone. I posted a picture for those of you keeping track of my beard. It has been 4 weeks. And I posted a pic of the Argentinian Gaucho who fell in love with my mom. :)

I had to start a new web album, so here is the link. http://picasaweb.google.com/balltommy/SouthAmerica2FromBuenosAiresOn?feat=directlink

Good Things.

Floripa & Iguassu Falls & Buenos Aires

Well, it has been another week with a lot of adventures and many hours logged on buses. Is it bad that I am starting to kind of enjoy the bus rides because they give me time to finally relax??

When I last wrote, I was half way through my stay in Florianopolis. Well, the city continued to live up to all it`s hype. I learned to Samba dance (not very well) and in the morning my hips had never been so sore. I was able to surf a few times at Priha Mole and was stared at continuously because I was the only person in boardshorts (or maybe because I was the only gringo). Everyone else had complete fullsuits on and some even with booties. The water temp was about the same as it is was in May in L.A. On Thursday, I finally had to say goodbye to the lovely Tucano House and take the 16 hour bus ride to Foz de Iguazu.

Arrived Friday morning and immediately headed to the Brazilian side of the falls with some Irish folk I had been traveling with for about 8 days. This is the side with the overview of the falls. That night I stayed on the Brazilian side and in the morning headed over to Argentina and Puerto Iguazu. On this side, you can get very close to the falls as you can see by how drenched I am in some of the pictures. That is not sweat, just mist! It was breathtaking. My pictures are in chronological order, so you can get the jist of everything.

Saturday night I got on the 17 hour, which turned out to be 20 hours, bus ride to Buenos Aires. I swear, they seemingly pick any stranger up off the side of the road. It adds many hours to the journeys. I arrived Sunday morning and immediately got on another bus with my Mom to the Boca Juniors vs. Racing futbol match. This soccer match was just as exciting as the one in Rio. We had to cheer for Racing because that is where we were sitting, but it turned out to be a good thing as we won 3-0. I am still a Flamengo fan though...

It is nice to finally speak Spanish, but I am scared I trusted the fact that my high school Spanish would return quickly a little too much.

Had to change my plans a bit and am not able to venture any further south anymore. Thursday night, I will be taking a bus to Mendoza (the wine country) for some fun. Then headed up through MidWest Argentina to Bolivia to Peru to Ecuador! Bariloche is too much of an adventure for the little time I have remaining to hit up the other countries.

Got to see the Lakers win last night. Lakers fans seem to be acting like Raiders fans these days.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer. The weather down here has been incredible. It gets to 65 degrees and everyone wears snow gear! They think it is soooo cold.

Go Blue. Good Things.

TB

Sao Paulo & Floripa

Well, it has been quite a week since I last posted. In Sao Paulo, I saw many sites. I went to Jardim Paulista on Tuesday, which is the nicest part of Brazil/South America with all the shops that you would see on Rodeo Drive. While I was there I realized that I saw the nicest part and will probably see the other end of the economic spectrum in Bolivia. I also went to a huge park that rivals central park in NY City with beautiful lakes and museums. The next day, Wednesday, I headed to the municipal market in Sao Paulo where you can purchase anything imaginable. It was absolute craziness from the moment I stepped out of the subway. Oh yeah, that reminds me that I also was on the busiest subway ride in my life. I do not know how that many people can cram into a small space.

Thursday, I took the overnight, 12-hour bus ride and I am currently on the Ilha de Santa Catarina in the city of Florianopolis. This island is filled with beautiful beaches, people, and sites. Friday, I went sandboaring for the first time in my life which is just like snowboarding, but there and no chair lifts! Other than that, the days have been spent at different beaches around the island. I am currently at an awesome hostel, the Tucano House, and am the only American, which is quite interesting! Nobody seems to ever leave this place and I seem to have caught the bug as well. I originally intended on staying until Monday, but somehow will be here until Thursday.

some observations...there are white VW buses everywhere in Brazil. not sure why.
after visiting a few central American countries, it is a huge surprise to see people with dogs as actual pets as opposed to just wild dogs roaming the streets.
Brazil has the best fruit and it is cheap. Papaya, Mango, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, etc.

I posted some new pictures of the island I am currently on and you will recognize its beauty. Next stop is Iguazu Falls a little north of here.

Finally going to watch the Laker game tonight!! Go Lakers.

Rio part 2

Well, it´s been an amazing journey thus far. Started out in Rio and saw all the sites...Christo, Sugar Hill, etc. I have been amazed by the Christ statue for years and seeing it up close was all I had imagined. I lucked out and the views from the top were amazing and I could finally get a sense of the whole city. It is as if the buildings are intertwined with the countryside and hills. Sunday, the sun finally came out and half the city seemed to hit the beach. I definitely stood out in my normal (long in Rio standards) boardshorts, but couldn´t make myself purchase the tight speedos! That night I went to a soccer match at Maracana. Flamengo v. Atletico. Probably the best sporting event I have ever been to. 70k + people. The enthusiasm and passion of the fans was incredible. Monday, caught a bus to Sao Paulo and am currently staying with a friend. This city is so big, it is nice to have someone know where to go. Portuguese is definitely challenging...I keep wanting to speak Spanish, but there is so much disconnect it is best to just use sign language/hand signals.

I can´t post many pictures on this blog, but in the first post I put the link to my photo album on Picassa. That is where I will put everything

Hope everyone is doing well. I will be in Sao Paulo a few days and then off to either Florinopolis or Iguazu Falls.