Cordoba has 7 universities and a whole bunch of students! So you can imagine the chaos after dark...Grahamstown x 10...its a big city! You would think this inspired the Mavrix to go out on the town and party it up with the locals.... the truth is the Mavrix were both a little tired of going to bad clubs and drinking till the little hours of the morning. We both longed for the good old days of having the privacy of our own house, at this stage the hostel living was becoming very chaotic, but this didn´t dampen the Mavrix spirits. The big M went out on a football ´boys night,´while Vix stayed at the hostel drinking the vino tino and playing pool with her newly found Aussie and Isreali friends. (Lucky for her she didn´t have to dance on a pole outside a metal club.) The football was fun, actually it should be said that the bus drive to the football was fun, singing football songs in the middle of a crowded bus with a bunch of football hooligans is actually pretty damn awesome!! Besides big M having his favourite hat stolen by a young local boy pretending to be his friend, the group didn´t even manage to get into the stadium, damn gringos!
The next day we headed to some little town boasting La Seite Cascadas (7 Cascades for all the gringos in the crowd). We were hoping to do a big trek, use a panga to get through dense jungle and finally discover this beautiful untouched waterfall in the middle of nowhere. The truth of the matter though was that we did a 1 hour hike through the towns suburban tarred roads before walking right into the waterfall/cascades flanked by a tourist kiosks selling trinkets and t-shirts; ¨I went to the Seite Cascades and all I got was this lousy market!¨ . But we made the best of it and had some dulce de leche ice cream while sunning ourselves next to the water.....and a dustbin.
After another night of Vino Tinto ala cheapo we made our way to Alta Gracia to do some mountain biking with the usual united nations of travelers i.e. 2 ozzies, a flying dutchman and the token south africans. After disappointingly not finding a tandem to ride, the Mavrix put takkie to pedal and headed into some extremely beautiful and quaint scenery surrounding Alta Gracia. This day however was not going to be all strawberries, cream and downhills.... we got lost ....A LOT....in Alta Gracia, street signs, she´s not beeg. We also managed to break the M´s bike before some advanced bush mechanic work sorted it out. The bush mechanics were called in for a second round a little later when the ozzie flattened his tyre but luckly not his spirits. Our staple diet of crackers and sausage was enjoyed next to a tranquil babbling brook and helped give us the energy needed for the uphills that remained.
Finally we returned to Alta Gracia very happy with ourselves, very sunburnt (especially the flying dutchman) and made tracks for the obligatory travelers sundowning draft, 5 Quilmes por favor!
We overnighted into Rosario that night and arrived at 05h30. Stumbling into our hostel we were given a bean bag and a hard wood floor to sleep on between the 2 of us as check in wasnt till 2pm. They then tried to charge us 15 pesos each because we arrived early. The Mavrix were having none of this, so we told them where they could stick it in our best Spanglish (some hand gestures might have been used) and walked to the next hostel. Here we were immediately given a bed each and the offer of breakfast...What a difference a couple blocks make!!
We discovered that Rosario is a beautiful and peaceful town that gives out good vibes all day, pity there is bloody well nothing to do! After you walk along the river for a while and sit in the inumerable parks you kind of go...¨hmmm what now?¨. Even though this is the birthplace of Che Guevara a visit to his house is rather unspectacular...its now a pharmacy with a small flag outside saying the equivalent of ¨Che was here!¨. All this being said, we had a great time relaxing next to the river in Rosario, its the type of place we could settle down in... small, tranquil, beautiful and a decent size too.
The next day we would head off to the BIG Buenos Aires!
Tuesday 22 April 2008
Friday 18 April 2008
Valparaiso - 1 April - 6 April
You either love Valparaiso or you hate it! Thats what we were told by ¨Santiago Scott¨sitting at the bus station waiting for the bus to Valpo. He´s a bit of a character our Scott...creepy character... well intentioned as he is, he hangs around the bus station looking for travelers and then imparts his vast knowledge of Chile and S.America whether you want to listen or not! He was right about one thing though...you either love Valpo or you hate it! We loved it!!!
It feels like a truly South American city....and yet it could be in the back streets of Rome at the same time. Valpo is one of those...ït was the best of times, it was the worst of times kind of city. Near the shore on the flat micro center all you see is the Spanish imported classical arcitechture, monuments to Roman Gods, parks and grand churches. In the Andean hills (Cerros) surrounding the harbour town you find the grittier dirtier side of Valpo. Houses built on houses and then built on again reaching to the sky. The old and new melt together here, fired by the graffitti that is evident everywhere, the multicoloured houses, the birds nest they call electrical wiring, the poverty, the affluence. Both rich and poor huff and puff as they walk the narrow stairways up the ¨Cerros¨ unless they are catching a lift with one of the antique ¨ascendors¨ (a lift come tram build for 6). Going for a walk we quickly realised the reason for the ascendors existance... Valpo is ¨loco¨ steep and some assistance is often needed unless you want rickety knees by the age of 27.
Our hostel was as crazy as Valpo itself, once upon a time it was probably a palace, high ceilings...with damp....mosaic tiles...with mold and wooden floors which now squeak and creak with ever footstep... but in a good way. The walls look like they have been painted by a the local kinder garden (only primary colours are used) and nothing matches but there is a fun feel to the place and we loved it at first sniff.
Most days in Valpo we just walked around, our jaws gathering dust off the floor as we gaped at the most interesting city we have ever seen. Once or twice we climbed the ¨Cerros¨ to see the views and admire the murals. In Cerro Bella Vista they actually have an outdoor museum of wall murals, its a steep walk but its worth the sweat. We also managed to waste 5000 Chilean Pesos on seeing Paublo Nuestra House (never take advice from an ¨I ¨specialist), he´s a Nobel Prize winning poet and has some interesting choices in furniture...but not THAT interesting dammit!
We also met some really cool Israelis! They have a pretty bad rep here in S.America and they (the Israelis) know it but they taught us some great drinking games which ended with Vix having to dance on a pole through a SEVEN minute techno trance song outside a Metal bar .... never take a bet with an Israeli!!! They know something you dont! After that we went to Club Huevos (Club Eggs), watched some Salsa, butchered some Salsa dancing Gringo style then found the rock floor with the local Nirvana cover band.
After a day at the beach (it was raining so we watched a movie) it was time to get out of Valpo, the Mavrix had itchy feet again and this time it wasnt because of wearing the same socks 4 days in a row.
Next destination .... Cordoba.
P.S. The road through the Andes as previously described is extremely very pretty and very steep! The photo on the right shows just how hecticly the road curves down the mountain, the sight of this is the reason that M will be carrying scratch mark scars in his arms for the rest of his life, V peeked through her fingers at this like a 7 year old watching her first horror flick. Good times...
It feels like a truly South American city....and yet it could be in the back streets of Rome at the same time. Valpo is one of those...ït was the best of times, it was the worst of times kind of city. Near the shore on the flat micro center all you see is the Spanish imported classical arcitechture, monuments to Roman Gods, parks and grand churches. In the Andean hills (Cerros) surrounding the harbour town you find the grittier dirtier side of Valpo. Houses built on houses and then built on again reaching to the sky. The old and new melt together here, fired by the graffitti that is evident everywhere, the multicoloured houses, the birds nest they call electrical wiring, the poverty, the affluence. Both rich and poor huff and puff as they walk the narrow stairways up the ¨Cerros¨ unless they are catching a lift with one of the antique ¨ascendors¨ (a lift come tram build for 6). Going for a walk we quickly realised the reason for the ascendors existance... Valpo is ¨loco¨ steep and some assistance is often needed unless you want rickety knees by the age of 27.
Our hostel was as crazy as Valpo itself, once upon a time it was probably a palace, high ceilings...with damp....mosaic tiles...with mold and wooden floors which now squeak and creak with ever footstep... but in a good way. The walls look like they have been painted by a the local kinder garden (only primary colours are used) and nothing matches but there is a fun feel to the place and we loved it at first sniff.
Most days in Valpo we just walked around, our jaws gathering dust off the floor as we gaped at the most interesting city we have ever seen. Once or twice we climbed the ¨Cerros¨ to see the views and admire the murals. In Cerro Bella Vista they actually have an outdoor museum of wall murals, its a steep walk but its worth the sweat. We also managed to waste 5000 Chilean Pesos on seeing Paublo Nuestra House (never take advice from an ¨I ¨specialist), he´s a Nobel Prize winning poet and has some interesting choices in furniture...but not THAT interesting dammit!
We also met some really cool Israelis! They have a pretty bad rep here in S.America and they (the Israelis) know it but they taught us some great drinking games which ended with Vix having to dance on a pole through a SEVEN minute techno trance song outside a Metal bar .... never take a bet with an Israeli!!! They know something you dont! After that we went to Club Huevos (Club Eggs), watched some Salsa, butchered some Salsa dancing Gringo style then found the rock floor with the local Nirvana cover band.
After a day at the beach (it was raining so we watched a movie) it was time to get out of Valpo, the Mavrix had itchy feet again and this time it wasnt because of wearing the same socks 4 days in a row.
Next destination .... Cordoba.
P.S. The road through the Andes as previously described is extremely very pretty and very steep! The photo on the right shows just how hecticly the road curves down the mountain, the sight of this is the reason that M will be carrying scratch mark scars in his arms for the rest of his life, V peeked through her fingers at this like a 7 year old watching her first horror flick. Good times...
Friday 4 April 2008
Santiago - 31 Mar - 1 April
The trip into Santiago itself was beautiful... passing through the Andes mountains brought tears to our eyes... Vix because the edge of the cliffs were so close and M because his arms had Vix´s nails in them the closer we got to the edge.... the bus drivers didnt help by making screaming sound effects to taunt us...but seriously it was really beautiful.
Santiago is a nice big city with a great Metro and the Andes surrounding it...pity you cant see the mountains because of the smog. Ultimately it is quite a nice city though and we enjoyed walking through the parks watching the locals making out (this seems to be the national pass time). We also managed to adopt some dogs (miguel and chewy) who hung out with us in the park for a couple hours before finding someone more interesting.
All we really did here was walk a bit...sorry A LOT and book our bus to Valpairiso... next post - fun times in Valpo, the most interesting place we´ve been!
Santiago is a nice big city with a great Metro and the Andes surrounding it...pity you cant see the mountains because of the smog. Ultimately it is quite a nice city though and we enjoyed walking through the parks watching the locals making out (this seems to be the national pass time). We also managed to adopt some dogs (miguel and chewy) who hung out with us in the park for a couple hours before finding someone more interesting.
All we really did here was walk a bit...sorry A LOT and book our bus to Valpairiso... next post - fun times in Valpo, the most interesting place we´ve been!
Mendoza - 27 - 31 March
After a 20 hour bus ride, the best one yet, got served food, watched a movie, the beds ...sorry I mean chairs reclined WAY back and we got to sit in the front and check out the world. Plus the crazy Canadian we met had some good stories to pass the time (he had hitchhiked all the way from Ushuaia (a trip that took us 60 bus hours).
Mendoza wasnt the sleepy little town we had imagined, it was a city for sure. Very wide avenues and big old trees helped make it aethetically pleasing but the architechture wasnt the best. Our first couple days involved walking to their huge park (the Mavrix tend to walk alot whether we hiking or ¨chillin¨in town) and just seeing stuff. Day three was to be the a great day though. We caught a local bus with some Americans from Cal-Tech and rented some bikes for the wine tour. The Mavrix of course had to have the Tandem - we do EVERYTHING together! After a few false starts and a failed attempt at taking my hands off the steering wheel while driving we finally got the hang of it and headed off on our twin turbo!
The first winery was ¨posh¨and clean with an eloquent if rather short tour guide. After he took us through the winery, showed us the big vats of wine and the stacks of oak barrells we were treated to a tasting....yum. This was to be the last tour of the day - only tasting please, no tour!
The rest of the day involved riding from winery to winery...sorry from Bodega to Bodega trying Argentinas famous wines before finishing off at a Liquour and chocolate place...again yum!
Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest but for us it meant a day of sun and fun river rafting and zip lining...weeee.
Although the river is supposed to be a little low this time of year the M felt like a kid on his first roller coaster!! Great fun was had by all and our guide thought it was very funny to have everyone high fiving just before a huge hole appeared in the water. Thank goodness we had heavy wet suits on because the river is caused by the glacier and I think cold would have been an understatement! Vix´s numb foot was testament to that! After a nice hot shower, the best buffet ever and some time to sun ourselves and regain our original colour the call for the zip line went out.
This zip line involved tying yourself into a long cable and flying over the lakes, rivers and mountains of Mendoza...wicked fun! The guides also showed us a new trip where we got to do the zip line upside down....pretty freaky and pretty cool until you see the end of the line coming for your head....
Ultimately it was a great day even with the Mavrix (esp M) being quite sunburnt!
Next Chile....
Mendoza wasnt the sleepy little town we had imagined, it was a city for sure. Very wide avenues and big old trees helped make it aethetically pleasing but the architechture wasnt the best. Our first couple days involved walking to their huge park (the Mavrix tend to walk alot whether we hiking or ¨chillin¨in town) and just seeing stuff. Day three was to be the a great day though. We caught a local bus with some Americans from Cal-Tech and rented some bikes for the wine tour. The Mavrix of course had to have the Tandem - we do EVERYTHING together! After a few false starts and a failed attempt at taking my hands off the steering wheel while driving we finally got the hang of it and headed off on our twin turbo!
The first winery was ¨posh¨and clean with an eloquent if rather short tour guide. After he took us through the winery, showed us the big vats of wine and the stacks of oak barrells we were treated to a tasting....yum. This was to be the last tour of the day - only tasting please, no tour!
The rest of the day involved riding from winery to winery...sorry from Bodega to Bodega trying Argentinas famous wines before finishing off at a Liquour and chocolate place...again yum!
Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest but for us it meant a day of sun and fun river rafting and zip lining...weeee.
Although the river is supposed to be a little low this time of year the M felt like a kid on his first roller coaster!! Great fun was had by all and our guide thought it was very funny to have everyone high fiving just before a huge hole appeared in the water. Thank goodness we had heavy wet suits on because the river is caused by the glacier and I think cold would have been an understatement! Vix´s numb foot was testament to that! After a nice hot shower, the best buffet ever and some time to sun ourselves and regain our original colour the call for the zip line went out.
This zip line involved tying yourself into a long cable and flying over the lakes, rivers and mountains of Mendoza...wicked fun! The guides also showed us a new trip where we got to do the zip line upside down....pretty freaky and pretty cool until you see the end of the line coming for your head....
Ultimately it was a great day even with the Mavrix (esp M) being quite sunburnt!
Next Chile....
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