(Sea) Lions and Penguins and Whales, Oh My!

After only a week in Buenos Aires, my new traveling buddies and I decided to head down to the Patagonian coast (another long bus ride but this time only 16 hours). The buses here really aren't bad- the seats are huge and cushy, you get wine, and they play American movies ranging from the good (Lethal Weapon, Eternal Sunshine) to the horribly bad (Scorpion King, Britney Spears music video collection). They also play a game of BINGO and I won, earning myself a bottle of wine (Malbec of course)!

We finally got to Puerto Madryn, where it turned out to be really cold. We were bundled up in beanies and scarves while we strolled on the beach and planned our upcomming excursions.

The next day we rented a car and drove up to Peninsula Valdez, a world heritage site full of wildlife and nature. We saw whales from the coastal cliffs at our first stop.


We stopped at this cool restaurant for some 'cafe con leche'

Then we continued onward in search of orca's (think Shamu) but unfortunately never saw them... supposedly they beach themselves in this particular area to eat baby seals. We were hoping to witness the semi-morbid-but-really-cool event, but lucky for the sea lions they were left alone on this particualr day.


Our next stop was to see the penguins! I never imagined seeing penguins whose normal habitat was not in the snow but rather at the beach! They were sooo cute and we were able to get really close.



The following day, we went to an area with even more 'penguinos,' where they come up onto shore to lay their eggs.


There were also Patagonian llamas everywhere

On our final day in Puerto Madryn, the sun gods were smiling down on us because the temperature increased about 25 degrees since we had first gotten there, and we were able to lay out at the beach (I've missed it even though it has only been a few weeks)!

Now I am back in Buenos Aires and loving it. I moved into my new apartment and just signed up for a photography class (it's all in spanish though, so wish me luck). Everyone here is really nice and friendly, and I already have a busy social calendar! I am going to hold off on looking for a job for a couple more weeks so that I can really enjoy the city before I am caught up with responsibilities... who wants those anyways?

Hasta luego, chao!

Becoming a Porteño

It was such a weird feeling to arrive in Buenos Aires- a huge city that is completely foreign to me, but that I know I will learn well over the next few months. I can already tell that I'm going to absolutely love living here! It has SO much culture. On top of that, there is always something going on. For example, over the past week I have gone to a reggae festival, South African art gallery opening party, and two street fair/markets. I've also gone to countless bars, high tea at a fancy shmancy hotel, and stayed out until 7 am only to stumble home in the daylight. One night we went to this awesome drum show called Bomba de Tiempo:

We also went to the Buenos Aires zoo... I didn't even want to go in the first place but someone told me they have a species that is a mix between a rabbit and a goat so I was intrigued... check it out!

They had a lot of animals, including bears (even a polar bear), bison, rhinos, a pygmy hippopotamus, and panthers. But they all seemed very sad :(

One of the most famous tourist attractions in BA is the Recoleta Cemetery which is is like a housing development. There are thousands of above-ground crypts, with several coffins sitting in rooms which are about 20 feet underground accessed by stairs. You can even see some of the coffins! There are street names for the "avenues," and the coveted spots are bought and sold and traded. It was endless and so cool!




Evita Peron's Grave:

On another note, I am moving into an apartment next week! It is in Palermo which is the trendy part of town with bars, restaurants, clubs, cafes, and local artsy shops. It has trees and parks (unlike the downtown area), some cobblestone streets, and so much cute character! I will be a little sad to leave the hostel because there are always cool people around, but I am excited to have my own room and bathroom and start my life for real in Buenos Aires!

Bienvenidos a Argentina!

After months of planning, days of packing, and 40 hours traveling by plane and bus... I am FINALLY in Argentina! I decided to immediately head south to Bariloche to take advantage of the southern hemisphere's snow since I am about to enter into my 2nd summer in a row. I met up with my friend Shannon who has been living here for the snow season, and she got me acquainted with the cute Swiss-German town. We have been snowboarding as much as possible at the closest resort Cerro Catedral which has been awesome (minus the horrible rental equipment), including an intense hike up a snow covered mountain on my first day. I really wasn't sure I'd be able to make it up the rocky peak with my snowboard in tow, but once I did it was definitely worth the incredible view of lakes surrounded by snow caps, not to mention the ride down the secluded side of the mountain!

and our hike up La Laguna:

I am learning that Argentines think that they have the best of everything in the world. For one, their accent is completely different than any Spanish I've ever heard (ll and y are pronounced with a "sh" sound so that the sentence [she arrived yesterday] = [ayer ella llego] = [aSHer ey-SHa SHe-go].) They also have a totally different slang "lunfardo" section of their language (che means hey/dude, boludo means douchebag but in the most endearing sense of the word). According to Argentines, they also have the 'best' chocolate, ice cream, reggae music... and country in general. One thing I can agree with, though, is that they have amazing MEAT! Asados are family-style barbeques that everyone has once or twice a week. Think CARNE, and a lot of it (plus wine and beer of course). FYI this was eaten by 6 people:
Today I went on a horseback ride through an area of Bariloche that is owned by the Jones family who were known for hiding the Billy the Kid bank-robbing bunch while they were on the run. The family has not sold any of their land so there is a massive reserve free of hotels, bungalows, and tourist shops that flood most of the city center. It was a full day of horseback riding with incredible views, and then we stopped to make a fire, cook empanadas, drink wine, and share mate (a bitter tea-like drink that I am starting to acquire a taste for... more on mate later). Here's some photo highlights:










Bueno, that's it for now. Please bear with me, as I am brand-spankin new to the blogging world... And keep me posted with your lives as well! I leave on 20 hour bus back to Buenos Aires tomorrow to figure out the next 51-ish weeks of my life so wish me luck :)

BESOS!