Argentina: Dec 28th – Jan 1st

Off the ferry and post immigration procedures, we were received by our Argentinean friend Pancho who arrived in a truck with a Texas A&M sticker on it and of course a girlfriend in the seat next to him: a true Aggie! After dinner in a restaurant overlooking a lake we called it a night at our generous host, Pancho’s apartment.

Buenos Aires
The next morning after coffee we took a train to the city and headed to most popular street called Florida. Refueled at a really nice coffee house called Aroma with veggie sandwiches and very good coffee (got Tava’s stamp of approval).

Our next stop was the La Recoleta Cemetery and its adjoining church. The Cemetery includes graves of some of the most influential and important persons of Argentina. It contains many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. The entire cemetery is a mysterious city itself, laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. Pictures from La Recoleta

Maradona's legend
After a very surreal walk through what was like a celebration of the death, we took a bus to the neighborhood of La Boca: the place from where the famous football star Diego Maradona came from. We walked around the colorful streets of Caminito where you we see outdoor cafes with free visual treats of tango dancing. Then we walked to the famous Boca Junior Stadium to see Maradona’s beginnings. La Boca Pictures

We then headed back to Florida Street and visited the Galleria Pacifica a mall in a very old historic building that still stays true to its past in a big way. Florida street pictures

We headed home, freshened up and headed out to the neighborhood of San Telmo, which is very famous for Tango etc. We walked the streets for a little and saw some people do really cool Flamenco. After a sumptuous dinner we called it a night.

Tigre delta
The next day we headed to the city of Tigre. The city sits on an island delta created by several small streams and rivers 28 kms from Buenos Aires. After a relaxing boat ride and a walk around a nearby fair, we ate at a really nice river-side pizzeria. The day ended with a nice dinner, a desperate attempt at trying to see some really good tango and finally with the best ice-cream in Argentina at a place called Perissco. Pictures from our ferry ride on Tigre

In the Pampas
The next morning after a usual fun breakfast we loaded up Poncho’s truck and headed out to his ranch to join his extended family there for the New Year celebration. We reached the ranch after a 3hour drive to be in midst of miles and miles of green pastures and a lovely old ranch house full of family, some 15-20 :).

After a dip in the pool the boys went picking wood while Carmen and I took a lovely long walk. By the time we got back the barbeque had been stoked L (poor “lamb”). Festivity for the New Year rolled in with food, wine and entertaining conversations. Pancho’s family set a lovely table for all of us for dinner. After the long entertaining dinner and toasting of the New year we took a little stroll in the night. When we got back everyone was ready to head out to go dancing (around 15- 17 of us) in a near by town of “Cachari”. So, at what was called “Stigma Disco” we danced to crazy songs like “Funky town” and guess what the crazy Argentineans start partying at no earlier than 3 (in the night) and continued to trickle in until we left at around 5 am!!!

After a short night/morning cap our sweet host Pancho and Angie took us horse riding. Archana overcame her morbid fear of animals and managed to let the horse walk her around for a while and Tava went galloping and riding the horse with Pancho alongside him. It was a truly exhilarating experience. We then returned to pack up by which time Pancho and Angie made us a special meal: a lovely rolled vegetarian sandwich in this really sweet soft sponge like bread. Really yummy: needless to say we hogged. After saying goodbye to Pancho’s family we headed back to Buenos Aires airport where we bid adieu to our friends Cramen, Pancho and Angie. Pictures from the ranch

Adeus/ Adiós
It was one hellava trip and would have been nothing like that but for Miguel, Carmen’s mom, Pancho and Angie. And there would have been no trip but for Carmen, who means a world to us. We thank each one of you for this memorable time.

Uruguay: Dec 24th- 28th

After the really comfy bus ride from Porto Alegre to Montevideo we were received at the bus station by one very generous, warm, full of life person: Carmen’s mom.

Home & Family
On our way home we stopped at the Panaderia(A traditional bakery) to pick up the source of our recent addiction, baked goods, for breakfast.

We reached home and loaded up on a sumptuous breakfast. Carmen graciously opened out her whole apartment for us to use. Her apartment which is part of their family home can fill a book with all the lovely things and stories about it. It was so lovely, organic, full of greenery, ancient with amazing imprints and one of the most beautiful homes I have been in. You could see the love for details that Carmen's father had, as an architect himself and aunty's love for the plants. Pictures of Carmen's Home

After just beginning to soak in the warmth of their home we headed out to a nearby fair otherwise called Feria del Libro el Gravado (fair for books and engravings). Did some window shopping, some shopping and were amazed by how creative and refreshing the displays were. We met with out friend Marcello, a fellow Uruguayan and a Professor of Mathematics in Texas A&M. We went to a nearby cafe for Pizza and Faina(yummy garbanzo super thin patties).

Christmas Eve
We headed home, took a nap and headed to the grocery story for Christmas eve dinner supplies. Stocked up on veggies, wine, champagne, grappa (an authentic Uruguayan liqueur), panetoine (delectable fruit cake/bread). We scurried home, cooked up some dal, potato salad and tomato mozzarella salad. While tava cooked a stuffed organic chicken we ladies headed to the beach to be baptized the Carmen’s family way (a ritual every new year): So we had a glass of champagne watching the sunset and then took a dip in the seas. Later that night some of Carmen's family members came and we had a really lovely party in the garden. After a huge meal and some fun Latin American music we called it a night. Being Christmas there were fireworks and celebration all night long on the streets which translated to very little sleep till 8:00 next morning. Pictures from Christmas eve

Christmas was a day of rest and laundry, followed by candombe (Afro-Uruguayan rhythm) in the evening: Many drummers assemble onto the streets of Montevideo. This contagious rhythm takes along everything in it’s path- neighborhood people follow the drummers dancing to the rhythm of their candombe. Later in the evening we self-invited ourselves to Edwardo and Carolina’s place. They were such a wonderful couple who loved architecture and music. We talked about music and Carolina’s travels to India before heading for a 5 course impromptu dinner.

Costa Azul
On the 26th we headed out to meet Marcello at his beach house in a town called Costa Azul (the blue coast). But before we headed to the bus stop we walked a little around Montevideo downtown and shopped at another really beautiful craft place called Mercado de Los Artisanos where they take creativity to another level of expression: pretty amazing. With a quick nap on the bus to the beach house, we arrived refreshed enough to head straight to the lovely beach for a walk, swim and soak up the evening sunset. We headed back home and cooked tandoori chicken and baked some veggies in the big grill at Marcello’s house. We then followed it by a lovely walk along the beach at night, gazing at the stars, stopped briefly for coffee and desert at a café and headed back to the house to wrap up for the night. The night sky in the southern hemisphere is breath-taking as you can see the milky way stretched across distinctly.
Pictures from Montevideo City center and Pictures from Cost Azul

Colonia
Next morning we took our bus back to the city and rested. While Tava was checking his mail etc Carmen and Archana headed to the college that Carmen teaches at and then joined Tava on a walk along the beach and headed home to join aunty for a sumptuous meal that she made especially for us. Called in for the night and got up next morning for a walk in the beach and packing up to head out to Colonia (port of exit to Argentina) on our way to Argentina.

A visit to the historic center of Colonia del Sacramento is like a walk back in time. Founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, this old colonial town is renowned for its cobbled, windy streets and colorful houses reminiscent of old Lisbon. So we walked in the tree-lined Boulevards around this quaint town until it was time to board our ferry from Colonia and headed to Buenos Aires. Pictures from Colonia

Brazil Part 2: Dec 21st - Dec 24th

Flight to Porto Alegre
Our next stop in the tour was Porto Alegre in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. We flew into the city late at night after a grueling 8 hour flight-delay at Rio. Although we had selected the better of the two airlines we found online- it proved as bad. They altered flight timings without prior notice and then kept things in a limbo without any public announcements. During the 6-7 hours of thumb-twiddling at the airport terminal building, the only form of entertainment apart from eavesdropping on the natives chit-chatting on the phone all around us, was the intermittent husky-voiced announcements: 'Flight-oomh-trayz-SHEchee-SINKoh-SHEchee-to-Brrrrrazzziliaaaaah'.

So after many refills of the water bottle, several trips to the baneiros (bathrooms) and multiple trips to the snack bars, we were finally ushered aboard the flight. But there was more to come-the flight crew took us on an eternal drive on the runway that lasted more than 30mins- all with the assurance that we held the first position on the runway. By the time everyone was settled in, we had all lost it- we tried unsuccessfully to coax the crew to provide us with dinner instead of the customary peanuts- clapped every time the crew made an announcement and cheered each time the flight seemed to move a few inches. It was hilarious! We finally got to Porto Alegre and checked into a downtown hotel.

Canela & Gramado
Next morning Archana and me took a bus to Canela via Gramado. (Carmen stayed back for an errand and decided to take the evening bus.) The clue to find out when you get close to these towns is when you start seeing the blooming blue hydrangeas along the road. We befriended a local girl named Marcella on the bus who was kind enough to give us tips on how to make the best use of our time there.

Canela, is an important holiday resort in the Serra Gaúcha, and lies in the Quilombo valley 141km/88mi north-west of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The style of the houses, including chalets with flower-decked windows, is reminiscent of a small Swiss town. In winter the temperature falls below freezing point, and it may sometimes snow, giving the scenery an even more European aspect. We walked around the town, took a short break at the beautiful stone church and found a very good buffet restaurant.

Gramado is a Swiss-style village in Brazil, known for their chocolates, hydrangeas, and annual film festival. It looks like a fairy tale town especially during Christmas and New Year when it is all decked up for the tourists. The firework and opera style music show over Lagoa Negro was pretty exciting. Gramado Canela Pictures

Caracol
The highlight of the trip was however the breath-taking Caracol Waterfall in the subtropical forest of Rio Grande do Sul, some 8 miles away from Canela. The skyline was dominated by giant Araucaria and the air was pierced by the roar of the majestic waterfalls. Occasionally a family of swallows took flight against the backdrop of the waterfall. It was a wonderful experience to walk 927 steps (about 49 stories) down somewhere closer to the waterfall and then following a trail to walk right to the top of the plateau from where the water dropped down. Pictures of Caracol

Soon it was time to wrap up with Brazil and take the bus to Uruguay- our next station!



Useful websites:
Gramado- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramado

Brazil Part 1: Dec 17th - Dec 21st

In Brazil, we targeted two relatively important states- Rio de Janeiro on the East coast and Rio Grande do Sul, the southern most state. We spent about 4 days in Rio de Janeiro- a city well known for it's festive Carnivals as well for it's armed crimes. Most big cities in Brazil like Rio and Sao Paulo have a great divide between the rich and the poor after decades of economic hardships that the country has gone through. But it does seem to be turning around. People are realizing that they can progress economically and socially if they value what they have and coordinate with what the world needs. If Bombay is world famous for Dharavi- its largest slum in Asia, Rio has it’s Favelas with its poverty stricken urban sprawl dotting the base of the hills that surround the city.

Rio de Jeneiro
Rio particularly is a beautiful city, blessed with breath-taking natural landscape featuring mountains, oceans, beaches and forests. It is so green that even to this day the concrete landscape has not been able to overpower the natural beauty. Even the citizens seem to value greenery as every house retains its old trees, and plants ample native vegetation. The city is also eternally blessed by the 98 ft tall open-armed statue of Christ standing atop the Corcovado Mountain.

I believe the idea of roller coasters came from the city of Rio! It was proved by the unique bus ride we had on our way back to Copacabana from Santa Teresa late one night. We drove through narrow winding streets going downhill at break neck speed. A baby in the back seat screamed, an old lady squirmed in fear and all other passengers held their breath and wished they had an extra hand to place it tightly over their heart. Earlier that evening the ride in the bonde (pronounced bonzay- it is a streetcar) up to the hilly neighbourhood of Santa Teresa was wonderful as we rode over the historic arches (Arcos da Lapa) and looked down upon the city and past the closely huddled-up houses along the streets. But traveling on the city transport is otherwise both pleasant and a satisfying experience.

The architecture in some parts of the city towards the South (Copacabana and Ipanema) look very organic as you find buildings merged into the sides of the mountains and almost hidden by natural greenery, local streets winding uphill and then ending at the foot of the mountains. Most of the major streets so often disappear into the tunnels dug into the hill providing breath-taking views on both ends of the tunnel.

Coastline
Beaches are the heart and soul of this city. As someone aptly said- The beach is an extension of home, school and the workplace for local residents of Rio. Everyone heads there atleast once a day. For such volume of human traffic, the beaches are kept incredibly clean. Unlike in N America, the local residents hardly take much with them to the beaches so there is not much reason to pollute. Even though Copacabana and Ipanema are the most popular beaches in the world they have still managed to keep it non-commercialized and untainted by screaming advertisements. In fact the only plastering you might find on the walls along the beaches are local street art. While on the beach, Brazilians like to take a few dips, play some futevolei (footvolley) or just lie down for a tan. And there's hardly a way to tell the rich from the poor- because everyone is in a tiny bikini. They even walk back home and do their shopping on the way in the same uniform.
Pictures of the beach: Beaches of Rio

The view of Rio from Sugarloaf (Pao de Acucar) is a treat! It does cost a handful of Reals to take the cable car ride to the top but it is worth the effort. You can see the complete city and neighbouring islands from the top of this hillock, which they describe as a Loaf of Sugar. The best time to go there is in the evening when you can view the landscape both in daylight and night. The lights along the beaches seem to adorn the city like a necklace of pearls in the night.

Niteroi
We hit the city of Niteroi, which is separated from Riol by the Guanabara Bay, late one evening. Niteroi is a city across the Guanabara Bay from Rio and can be accessed either over the 3mile long bridge or by ferry. The identifying landmark of Niteroi is the 'Flying Saucer' by local architect Oscar Niemeyer. It is a giant white disc sitting at the edge of the ocean waters housing the Museum of Contemporary Art. We had dinner consisting of egg sandwiches by the bay. When we were ready to leave, the city seemed to coming alive around 12o'clock on a Tuesday night! People thronged the squares and were seated on the streets outside the restaurants while others danced away to the beat of samba. Street vendors served the ever popular Caipirinha from their wide array of international liquor selections.

Neighbourhoods
The lake in the affluent Southside of Rio city is called Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. It comes alive early in the morning with joggers and cyclists and at night with the restaurants along the water front. Food wasn't all that good although it was expensive. But the snacks sold by the wayside peddlers were yummy! They were exceptionally clean and hygienic besides being reasonably and equally priced both for locals and visitors. :) We loved those churros (fried banana with dulce de leche filling).

On the final evening in Rio we went to the neighbourhood of Gamboa. We arrived at Club Gamboa with a bunch of friends. The place was already coming alive to the beat of some live traditional music and couples dancing. The interiors of the place were very interesting as it was remodeled out an old church. We had a very patient waiter who went out of his way to make us some vegetarian food.

Pictures of Rest of Rio
All in all people in Rio seemed to be happy, alive and enjoying life. Music, dance and the natural wonders around keep them all in good spirits! What made our visit really wonderful was the company we had- Carmen and her brother Miguel and of course the entertaining bunch of friends that Miguel introduced us to out there.

Useful websites
Rio city
Lonely Planet Brazil

Travel to South America

We travelled to South America this Christmas vacation. It was kind of a backpacking trip through Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Carmen, our friend from Uruguay was with us throughout the trip. We met several other friends, their family and their friends during the course of our trip. All in all- it was a wonderful and memorable trip.

We will describe the travel in four different posts above, and link the pictures after each section in an effort to have you experience our travel in the same way as we did. Hope you enjoy it.

As we said- explore, experience and expand!!