Argentina, vol. I

I´m writing this in a restaurant overlooking Rio de la Plata in Colonia, Uruguay. I much rather prefer to jot some things down in a cafe or restaurant before dwindling time at an internet cafe. Besides the view of the Atlantic y the sailboats passing this colonial town is a little more inspiring than staring at a compu screen! I haven´t been able to sit down and do this in the last 2 months because Ive been fortunate enough to have some really amazing travel partners where the conversation was much more entertaining than sitting silent and writing. The thing about traveling alone, for me, is that I rarely am. Ive really been enjoying the past week or so alone giving the space to sort out my thoughts!

There are 2 reasons why I'm in Uruguay.

The 1st is that I'm not going to Switzerland where for the past few years, I had arranged to work at a youth hostel. This was the youth hostel I had become enamoured with over Christmas when I was still lost in Europe. The job fell through at the last minute. So while I was prepared to finish my last 6 weeks on this continent in Brazil, I was not prepared mentally to skip the Switzerland leg and head straight to Africa. The world was at my door and I knew where I wanted to go (everywhere) but was lost for which direction to go. I wrote a group of confidants, called my parents more times in one week than in my entire trip, and of course decided to do what the majority advised to the contrary.

Which brings me the 2nd reason why I'm in Uruguay: Ive decided to stay in Argentina! My 90 days in Argentina have almost run out-They´re up officially on my Dad´s 60th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS! I would have flown to Hawaii to get the exit stamp but the ferry to Uruguay was a little less expensive! So in Bariloche, Argentina I will continue to stay which is ironic because Ive compared it to Switzerland so many times saying that it was possibly more beautiful, with chocolate that dreams are made from, cheaper everything (including gorgeous wines from Mendoza) and the ultimate perk: I speak castellano!

The Argentine accent is very unique and even though the majority of tourists here in Colonia are Argentine, I still feel like a complete poser speaking Argentine castellano with a hint of an Andalusian accent and an obvious Californian one. The waitress must think I'm crazy. My newest goal has been to strike up more conversation to practice and the waitress has been my first victim. We've been comparing the differences of waitressing in Colonia and SF and how irritating tourists are. She was the one who mentioned they tip horribly so I guess Ill have to compensate!

My trip has been funded with these tips!

So what have I been doing the past few months in Argentina? After making my way through a boarder crossing that was on no maps, nearly skipping across the bridge where no one was in sight for 3km, where the people were so friendly because I was visibly giddy to be back in Argentina and they probably doubted my sanity, I was in No Where, AR. But then half a day of travel later, I was in the Jujuy region. Lots of beautiful rocks in this region, rocks that liked to be climbed.

Ive slowly been making my way down doing some fairly normal things (sitting around hostel bars sharing stories and pasta) and some equally bizarre things (dancing to traditional folkloric music next to a river at 4am). Much was shared with Natasha from London and our sidekick Catherine from Montreal. I can remember laughing so hard that my stomach hurt to the point that I had to stop in the middle of the street, crossing sides because Natasha was torturing me with laughter. I cannot remember what was so funny...There was a bike tour in Mendoza with a little too much wine and much too much singing, a roadtrip with Alejandro (BA) and Andres (Ascuncion) through the breaktaking Cafayate region with a little bit of hitchhiking and of course, the unforgettable River vs. Boca match that was so mindblowing, Ill never have to see another futbol game because it couldnt compare!

This leaves me in Bariloche where I left 3 times but keep finding myself on another 19hr bus ride to return. You would too though, the buses here serve champagne! My days are slow and mellow: skiing when there was snow, climbing hills instead of mountains because there still is too much snow (¨We´re in the Alps!! oops I mean the Andes.¨), counting over 60 condors so far, lots of ice cream, more chocolate, walks along the lake and stargazing at night although Orion is the only thing I recognize. I moved in with Hernan and his sister Giselle because it just made sense; I was spending more time there than anywhere else. Although Hernan speaks english, hes been really patient speaking only castellano with me and correcting my mistakes. Ive become a regular at three places: El Jarro, the local peña with live music, a room full of smoke and full of many MANY drunk men singing folkloric songs. There usually seems to be a request for Öjos del Cielo¨quickly after I arrive. Everyone thinks they know my name at Boliche de Albertos Pasta where even the chef comes out to give ¨Christina¨ a kiss! An lastly, La Brasa, a take away parilla where unfortunately my quest to eat zero red meat has turned into more of a blood bath. I was excited to get away so that I might eat something different but of course, here I am at lunch where the only thing that sits on my plate is a chorizo and a sprig of something green. There´s no avoiding it, its turned into a love affair and you dont choose who you love and apparantly I love Argentina steak!

I leave you now on my 5 month anniversay of being out of the country...Ciao y un beso