So the first thing we did was get on a 15-hour bus and head for Salta. It stopped at this bus station with a Neverland Park, so we took some pictures in honor of MJ.
















In Salta, we checked out some stuff. There was a ski-lift type thing that went over the city up this huge hill. We did that, walked back down, and checked out some of the sites. Mostly old churches.

































Next we found a cultural center with a bunch of artwork. They had some cool stuff, including a diorama with a bunch of naked patients and doctors.




























After that, we bought tickets to see this show in the cultural center. It involved a kids choir, then this Argentine high school band. They were pretty good. KC had a crush on the boy with the guitar in the middle, who really did look like he was maybe 12 years old. They played this 20-foot pole at one point. I learned that it's called an erque. So there's that. It didn't sound too great.












The next morning we got on the Tren a las Nubes (train to the clouds). It's another 15-hour loop that's supposed to go high enough up into the mountains that you can be surrounded by clouds. It was a clear day, so we didn't see any. They gave us Cocoa leaves, which are supposed to help with altitude sickness and make you more alert. We all tried them. They didn't make us any more alert.

I was traveling with Art again, and KC from the hospital. On the train, she passed out with our new friend Matias, and Argentine journalist and all-around cool guy.















Here's a picture of me poking my head out of the train on the bridge at the highest point.






The train basically turned around an came home. The sky was pretty amazing on the way back and I wore out my camera's battery taking pictures. Oh yeah, then they had karaoke. It was weird. They had a conga line going and did all these Argentine songs that I'd never heard.








They had us sing Beatles songs.

Then there was an Argentine folk group that came through, followed by a magician. Then we were back in Salta, at 11:00 pm.

Incidentally, this was July 4th. I wanted to do something to celebrate, but Art wasn't too interested, and I think KC was actively opposed to the idea. So I just had a PBR (see picture).

The next morning we rented a car (180 pesos from Sunday to Tuesday) and Art drove us up towards Humuhuaca. The road along the way was mostly 1 lane for a bit, winding through some subtropical forest, then it opened up and we passed San Salvador de Jujuy (capital of the province), and kept going up, up, up.

We stopped in Tilcara and climbed some mountains, then found a sign saying that you should not climb the mountains.

We hung out in Humuhuaca for a night, and the hotel owner thought it would be fun to screw with some foreigners. There was a definite bait-and-switch. We ended up thinking we had heat, but actually did not. It was really cold in the night and I got sick.

We worked our way back down to San Salvador de Jujuy, which was another city, smaller than Salta maybe. After that, we drove back down to Salta, returned the car, sipped some cafe con leche on the plaza, and killed some time before our flight back to Buenos Aires.















I got on the plane home to the US on my second try, and here I am.

Salta

In Salta, alive and without swine flu. I have stories and pictures, and will post them when I get back on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Hospital

So I shadowed at the hospital for two days. No pictures, because I heard that the area was sketchy and didn't take my camera. It didn't seem sketchy, but I was never there at night.

Day 1, I watched some ultrasounds of people's throats and kidneys. Interesting, but not much talking.

Day 2, I sat in with a couple of residents changing bandages and casts, then went to observe a diabetes specialist talking with patients. Lots more talking, it was working out well.

Day 3, they had us all sit around for a long time, then told us that there had been an emergency declared, and all non-essential people had to leave the hospital, at the very least for one week. For those of you keeping count, that means that my program was effectively canceled.

So I'm going to leave today on a bus to Salta with Art and KC (another student who had been at the hospital). We're going to tool around up there, head back down on Tuesday, and then I'll head home at my leisure.

A little disappointing, but maybe the extended trip to Salta will be worth it. Alex is going to see if we can get a partial refund from the Spanish program.

Iguazu

So Saturday morning I woke up and flew to Iguazu with Art. It was supposed to be 1 1/2 hour flight, but there was fog, so we circled for another 2 hours. When we got in, we decided to go to the Brazilian side of the falls - so, oh yeah, I went to Brazil - but first, we stopped in a hosteleria (hotel/hostel) that Art had been to before. [Check out the picture. That place was 100 pesos - about $30 - and it had two beds, a private bathroom, cable TV, a closet and desk. Breakfast included.]

Then we got on another bus and went to Brazil. When we got off, a group of English speakers gathered together to work our way toward the falls. This included me and Art, then David, who was Welsh, and two Korean girls, Young-A and Young-Ming. I totally thought they were Korean-American by their accents, but they were Korean-Ecuadorian. They spoke Korean, Spanish, and English fluently. Damn them. I made sure to get a picture with the two of them as part of my continuing effort to use this blog to make Devin jealous.

The falls were pretty cool. We walked around a bunch and took a million pictures. You can see more of it from the Brazilian side, but you're further away for the most part. That is, except for this walkway that goes right out over one of the falls, where we were getting sprayed with mist, so I don't really have any pictures of it. I did take one of the walkway itself from above. Afterwards, there were a bunch of these South American racoon animals with no fear of humans. No fear because I think humans feed them all the time. We did not.

On the way home, we stopped at the Brazilian get-your-passport-stamped place, and there was some confusion on the bus. David jumped off, but I don't think he really needed to. The thing is, they didn't bother to stamp us on the way in - we got an exit-stamp on the Argentine border, and later we got an entrance stamp coming back in. Brazil pretty much said "don't worry about it if you're just going for a day to look at the falls." So we lost David for the time being.

We went back to the town with our hosteleria and met up with Young-A and Young-Ming for dinner. Young-A (23ish, right in picture) is a student in Seoul studying English literature and linguistics, Young-Ming (28ish, left) studied tourism in Ecuador and is now a flight attendant. They are sisters. We had been sitting around for a long time at the restaurant when David stumbled upon us. He'd had a really difficult time at the checkpoint, especially because he doesn't speak Portugese (and speaks Spanish with a thick Welsh accent), and at one point they were threatening to take him to the British embassy all the way in Sao Paul. I don't know why the dude got off the frickin' bus when none of us did, but we were glad to see he made it out alive. A big dinner for the four of us (David got a separate bill) with 2 big 1L bottles of Stella Artois was 135 pesos. They included the amount in dollars: $37.50. Everyone else had meat/fish.

In the morning, we woke up early and met up again to head to the Argentine side. There was a lot of walking through jungle-type areas, and some trains to get around. There was also a large group of Japanese people with an Argentine guide who spoke Japanese (while I was with Korean-Ecuadorians speaking English). They were pretty awesome. One woman had a green poncho with Waldo on it, and you can read what it said in the picture. Young-A kept making fun of them.

We got some pretty good views of the falls - I think from this side you get more up-close and personal with the actual "fall" part of the waterfalls. The first picture is from "Garganta del Diablo" or, "The Devil's Throat."

The last thing we did was go on a boat tour of the falls. This was both a great and a terrible idea. Great in that it was the most fun I've had in a long time. Terrible in that I got soaked and only brought one pair of jeans to Argentina, let alone Iguazu. So I stayed wet until I got back to Buenos Aires hours and hours later. Oh well, it was worth it. After that, we said goodbye to the Young's and booked it to the exit to catch a taxi to the airport.

Our flight was delayed in the airport, so Art and I went outside and took pictures in an empty fountain. Everything was laid back and pretty fun. All in all, it was a great weekend.

After classes, I went with Alex and Tiana to eat in a small organic-friendly juice bar type place. I got a smoothie and a wrap with hummus and tofu and it was all very good. Cheap, too. Have I noted the cost of food down here? [incidentally, it's not just veggie food, either. The Argentine peso dropped in value around 2007, I think, and the dollar's doing very well by comparison. They were about 1:1 10 years ago. Alex and Tiana get meat almost every day at lunch, and it looks good. Their bills aren't much more than mine.]

We went to see Up in English, and I really liked it. Well done, Pixar.

When I got back, I went running and didn't get lost (for the first time ever).

I talked on Skype for a while with this guy Art, and we're going to go to Iguazu falls this weekend. It's up North a bit, so I had to buy a plane ticket to get there and back over the weekend, but it was $276 round trip, and how many times in my life will I have this opportunity? It's supposed to kick Niagra Falls' butt, and anyways I've never been there either.

Then I decided it was time to shave. This is how it works out: in the middle of the room, because there's no mirror or sink in the bathroom, nor is there a mirror in the washroom.

Wednesday

Check out how Ernesto "Che" Guevara got his nickname.

After classes today, we went to another vegetarian restaurant that one of our teachers had recommended. It's hard to see in the picture, but in my best attempt to make Devin jealous: I had some really good manicotti with tofu, ricotta, and spinach covered in a mozzarella cheese sauce. It was another meal for 126 pesos, with two big bottles of beer. Since the exchange rate is closer to 4:1 than 3:1, that means it was a little over $30 for the three of us.

We took a taxi to a movie theater to try and catch the next showing of Up, but we'd missed the English showing by a few minutes. Maybe we'll try again another day.

Tomorrow, there are plans to go out for a beer/some wine after classes with some students outside of our group.

New Purchase

Pre-purchase: "hey, you lookin' for someone to rob!?"

Post-purchase: "Call me Che"
Wool coat + scarf = 250 pesos. I payed with a card, got an exchange rate of 3.78, and therefore payed $66 altogether.