La Vida Errabunda

Well, hello parents! My family landed Thursday morning, and our activities started on Friday. As grand master planner and main Spanish speaker, I was in charge of navigating, translating, and relaying the funny moments (my mother laughs, looks at me, and then asks what was funny). La Reserva Ecologia is an oasis on the edge of the city, next to Puerto Madero. We rented some bikes and navigated the busy calles streets to the protected area. View of Reserva from parrillas de la calle street parrillas in Puerto Madero  The area was full of beautiful birds, annoying bugs, and had a cool breeze off of the Rio de La Plata . We got to ride along the ugly red river, and I told my parents the significance of the river en la historia de Buenos Aires the history of Buenos Aires. This includes the shipping port and the dumping of the bodies during the military regime. Mom and Dad at Milión, famous bar Mom and I at dinner along Puerto Madero  On Saturday, my mother a...

Everyone says it's a must go. I never expected to have reverse culture shock in Buenos Aires. Almost everyone at La Bomba de Tiempo, a drum show, was speaking English. Eighty percent were American and most of them students like ourselves. Ashley and I were out of our element; where were we? It certainly didn't feel like Argentina. But when the drummers came out, and the people around us melted away. The show happens every Monday and is an absolute blast. The music is upbeat, invigorating, and easy to dance to. The guest performer was a new-age mix of Chilean and Mexican music. I could describe it as drug music, though that might be unfair to the band. It was still good, just much less energetic, more sit and ponder life. Ashley and I were getting down in the crowd, practicing our Bolivian dance moves. We were wrapped up in the drumming excitement and hitting every beat.   Great entertainment, a decent crowd, but most of all a typical Porteño exper...

Seven more weeks. It hit us hard when we came back from Buenos Aires. Seven weeks, so much to do, so little time. After grooming our bucket list, we've already knocked quite few off. Dinner at Rigoletto, an Italian restaurants very popular with locals. We got comped champagne at the end for no reason (expect for being Americans). Museo de los Desparecidos Desparecido Museum In the military regime between 1976 to 1983, more than 30,000 people are kidnapped for being "dissidents." They were tortured, killed, and there family members had no idea where they were. It's a huge dark circle in the Argentinian history, and because it's still recent, many people alive still remember there friends and family members disappearing without cause. The building where they kept the prisoners We toured the area where the military kept the people. It was extremely sobering and the intricacies of the regime was amazing. They would drug people and then take them in planes...

Back in Argentina meant recovery time from the wild, untamed Bolivia. SLEEP. SHOWER. WARM BED. That may seem basic, but those were not existent during our trip.  The first day, after SSWb, we headed to the infamous museum with momias . Inca mummies. The Museum of High Altitude Archaeology has an entire exhibit dedicated to three frozen Incas, perfectly preserved due to the extreme cold and high altitude at Mt. Llullaillaco (22,000 feet). They were discovered in the late 1990s. It surprised us that the "Inca Trail" extends through northern Chile and Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. Only one of the three frozen children is displayed at a time due to the religious context, respect, and controversy. It was amazingly intact- hair, teeth, and skin. Saturday was outdoor day. Salta is surrounded by beautiful mountains, so we headed for the nearby Quebrada de San Lorenzo. We decided to fill up on some delicious regional goat cheese, bread, and salami before he went. Full an...

I have always wanted to walk on clouds. They are fluffy, beautiful, and possess something instinctively poetic. At the Salar de Uyuni, where the sky and the ground meet, not only did I feel like I was floating on a cloud, but it looked like I was. We woke up early and scuttled out of Uyuni, heading straight for the promised land. I had a splitting migraine, so I curled up in my seat and ignored the world until our driver said " Chicos, estamos aqui You guys, we are here." My eyes fluttered open to see the low light over the land. On one side the sun was rising; the other, the moon was setting.   From dark to light We ventured out and because the Salar was mostly covered with water due to the rainy season, my feet instantly froze in the cold morning. I withstood the pain to take in the absolute wonder of it all. The rising sun was breathtaking with the Salar's blue hues. Puddles on the Salar We kept going until we reached a dry place and a Sa...