Argentina

It was meant to be easy. Go to the station, buy a ticket to La Quiaca (argentinian border town), cross the bridge to Villazon (bolivian border town), go to the station, buy a train ticket to Uyuni and then arrive to Uyuni, nice and ready to visit the "Salar" (the salt lake). Easy. Or that is what we thought.

Myself and Christian (my new argentinian travel companion) decided to go early to the station to pick some good seats in the bus to La Quiaca. The plan was to catch the 2am bus so we would arrive early at the border with plenty of time to buy the train tickets. And that is when we find out the news: the services are suspended because the road is cut. Ok, that kind of sucks, bearing in mind that if we miss the train in Villazon we might get stuck for a couple of days there. So we asked around, and somebody eventually said that one of the companies is operating a service at 23.45. And Im wondering (and im sure you are too), if the road is cut, how can they have one service?? The ticket lady explains: The road is not cut by works or something like that. It is a demonstration. But not a demonstration like the ones in Europe, no, one of those that people camp in the road with fires and wont let anything pass through. Apparently they want money from the government. Ironically, I WANT MONEY TOO, but i dont cut any roads, do I? (I might do sometime soon though...) But that is not all. There are actually 2 cuts, separated by 2kms. And the plan apparently is this: We get on this bus, we drive to the first cut, we disembark with our bags, we walk the 2kms (bear in mind this will be at 2 or 3 am) in the dark road until we get to the second cut, and there is meant to be a bus waiting in the other side to take us to La quiaca. Or so they say.

I began laughing, big time, cause this seems taken from some random movie instead of being real life. I looked at Christian, who, even being argentinian is also shocked with the travel plan and has began laughing too. And he looked at me. And we thought: what the f##k! Lets do it! And we bought our tickets choosing the best seats, as the original plan was.

We couldnt sleep, although we thought it would be a good idea as we didnt know when we would be able to sleep again, but the tension of not knowing when the bus journey would finish and the walk would began, made it diffcult. But at some point we felt sleep and only woke up when the bus stopped, engine included. "This is it" I thought, and looked at my watch: 4am. And then looked at the window, and i dont see a bunch of people with weapons in the middle of the road, as predicted, but a bus station with a sign: "La quiaca". So there was no road cut at the end, and because nobody was in the road due to the cut, we have arrived earlier than ever. Great, now we have to wait in the station for 3hs until the border opens. The station is not the nicest place to sleep either. Well, it could be, but the best spots have been taken by several argentinian and bolivian families that have SU MUCH stuff, that there is no room for a couple of gringos to share.

Those were the three coldest hours of my life I would say. Or maybe not, but it felt like it. Eventually made our way to the border, and after some stupid bureocracy, we got into Bolivia at last! At this point we have met few other travellers at the inmigration office, and we are all walking happily together to the train station. We got there at 8.20am, and the ticket office opens at 8am. Perfect. Or so we thought, cause the lady says there are no tickets left. How?? They didnt have the time to sell them in 20mins and they are not supposed to take bookings, so How?? It is pointless to ask her again, cause she is not even looking at us anymore. So we have to think of a Plan B (im loving these plan b situations). At this point is 10 of us in the train station with the same problem: two korean girls, one spanish girl, three argentinian girls, a british couple and me and christian. Random group walking towards the bus station hoping to find a bus.

When we get there, we get told that all the morning buses to Uyuni, have left already. The next ones are to Tupiza (half way through) at 2pm. The idea of waiting 5hs in this not-so-nice town is not good. But suddenly this lady comes over and says that she has now a service to Tupiza leaving at 9am, if we are interested. We look at the bus and realized that they are taking some electrical equipment in a bus to Tupiza as is too much to take it in a car, and with this gringo group, they can make extra money in a bus that was going empty. Fine for us! as we get a whole bus for ourselves!

The road goes through a very interesting scenery, and I realise already how different Bolivia is from everywhere else I have been so far. When we arrive in Tupiza, the same situation arise: Buses to Uyuni have left already, and the only way of getting there now is waiting til the next day, or hiring a private jeep to take us all. We decided for the second, but at this point, 2 other argentinian girls have joined the group, which means that 12 people and all the backpacks in a jeep, seems a lot to me (although for bolivian standards that is just fine). The british couple (Jo and Vernon) decide to stay, and so do I. I wanna get to Uyuni, yes, but in one piece. Besides there are tours to the salar that begin here, so, I will ask around and see what is on offer.

I say goodbye to the rest of the group, Christian included, and prepare myself for some "tour hunting"... (even though I havent slept in 30hs and im feeling soooo tired...) So, watch this space...

x x x Hasta Pronto x x x

Argentina was not included in my original travel plans, but somehow, I have spent more days here than any other country so far. There must be areason for it.

Norwest Argentina comprises the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, this one being the poorest province in the country. People here are mostly andean looking, and seem more from Bolivia or Peru than from Argentina. In other words, when I join a queue here, im normally the tallest and the whitest :D

Salta is a very popular spot with backpackers and travellers, which means im not such a "gringa" here as I was in the places last week (im still a gringa, but compared with the rest, I look a little bit less). And although is the low season in the area, i can feel the presence of a lot more foreigners around.

I have decided to make the most of the detour and explore this area, so I will end up visiting the whole of North Argentina from east to west. Salta is a really nice city and the colonial architecture is awesome. It is located to the east part of the Andes and to the west of the Cerro San Bernardo, a hill which is accesible by cable car or by foot, if you make the 1070 steps. For those of you who are wondering how i got up there, I will surprise you by telling you that I actually climbed the steps!! There is a reason for it, I had a massive lunch of argentinian steak (which by the way costed me 3.5 pounds) and I felt so guilty i thought I will try to burn it. By the time i made it to the top, i think the steak was already in my ankles

This is a view of the city from the top, with the andes behind.

Next day i move to San Salvador de Jujuy, which is the base to explore the Quebrada de Humahuaca area. And dont think that the names are difficult for you because you dont speak spanish, I find them extremely hard to pronounce too!!

Here, most of the population is of andean roots, and all the little villages I visit around here have a really andean feel. So this is Purmamarca, with its Cerro de los 7 Colores (hill of the seven colours) and although the pictures are not very good, and you cannot appreciate the colour of the soil or the sky, I thought I´ll still post them here

Next, was the village of Tilcara, which has a fortress (called pukara in quechua) on the top of the hill, that used to be where the whole of the area was governed.There are still some ruins, but the view and sight of those huge cactus are the highlight!

And of course, my daily touristy photo, camera hanging from the neck included!

Footnote- I burnt badly my shoulders, as I had my "beginners" moment and didnt realized that the sun at 2500meters above sea level BURNS A LOT...

Today, im heading north, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, and into Bolivia. I have met some argentinians in the hostels which are heading the same way, so we are leaving together tonight. Well, that is the plan anyway, reality might not be that at the end.. but we´ll see!!!

X x X

I have always thought that you should have a "Plan B" for everything you do in life, from big decisions such as planning your career, to the small ones like planning a night out. You should always be prepared for the event of your first choice not being available, that is, your "plan A".

Said that, when travelling, having a "plan B" is a MUST. Cause timetables, prices, political situations and of course, weather, change. A lot sometimes, so the right thing is to be prepared for any events coming.

I got to the bus station in Asuncion and began the research for a ticket to Bolivia. I must mention at this point that buying a bus ticket in South America, specially in Paraguay, can be an adventure in itself. There are several companies operating the routes, and of course, they are all competing with each other, so there isnt a general timetable. You have to go one by one asking for price and times. The funny thing is that in order to gain your custom, they will lie, badly, when you ask if there is an earlier bus than the one they are offering or stuff like that. Not easy.

The route i was after this time (Asuncion in Paraguay to Santa Cruz in Bolivia) runs through the Thans-Chaco Highway, a not very reliable road that crosses the Chaco, and that gets washed away in the rainy season. Because this is the winter (a.k.a dry season) my plan was to make this 20-30hs bus journey through the Chaco.

But i didnt take into account this year is "el niño" year (that funny meteorological phenomenon that affects countries in the pacific coast every 7 years or so), which i didnt preddict. There have been many floods in february, and in general the weather is crazy. Which means that it has been raining quite a lot in the past week, which is not the usual thing... Great..

I ask the ticket offices, and they all assure me that the road "is now ok". Well, bearing in mind that these ticket guys would sell their mother if that means that you buy them the ticket, somehow i dont think i can trust them. And i am the kind of person that follows feelings. So I sat in the station and thought: Ok, time to bring up Plan B. But this is the funny thing, I DIDNT HAVE A PLAN B.

Options were:

1. go north through Brazil and then enter bolivia
2. go south, back to argentina and enter bolivia through the northwest.

I decided for option 2 which became my Plan B (at least for now :D )

Asking around, i found out there was a bus leaving in a 2hs for Resistencia my connecting point were i could take the next bus to Salta in the northwest of Argentina. I run like hell and managed to get there on time. The journey to Resistencia was uneventful, if a little bit annoying the border crossing that took longer than expected. And finally arrived in Resistencia and asked when the bus was leaving for Salta. "at 19.00 everyday" she says. Looked at the watch: 18.55, perfect! "Please, can you just give me one minute and i´ll get some cash, but dont let the bus leave without me!" She looks at me like if im talking in Chinese and says: "Well, no rush really, as you have 23hs to get the cash..." Looked at the station clock and it is 19.58. I DIDNT COUNT ON THE TIME CHANGE from Paraguay and Argentina, which is one hour: ***t!

Ok, so Plan B changes again. Asked around again and a guy in one of the ticket offices recommends a house nearby that rents rooms. Ok, that is not too bad. There is no place to exchange money, so i have to go to the cash point , which has the BIGGEST queue i´ve seen in my life: "it is the end of the month, everybody comes to draw money and check if they have been paid" says the guy in front. Great. 1.5hs later (with my 15 backpack still attached to me) I get the money and run back to my "contact". Apparently the number he has it has been changed so he redirect me to another ticket guy . This new one invites me to the office and make the phone call. Line is busy. Ok, well, im happy to wait. He asks if im hungry. Actually, yes. So he orders a couple of burgers that he insists in paying. So we chat and the time is passing. I dont think he is really bothered about having me occupying his office space, i would say he is actually more than happy to have me there. So i ask if he can try again, and still not getting through. It is late and his offer "you are very welcome to stay here in the office with us for the night" it is not appeling at all. I say im gonna try to ring the hotels reccommended in my guided. He offers to ring and in both of them nothing happens. Now, im getting pissed off. Im not too sure what, but there is something going on. I know there is no danger as the station is safe, and the office is open with a huge window, so everybody is around, but still dodgy.

I told him to go and check for a number of a hotel í`ve seen advertised in the station, and when I return, AMAZINGLY, the line is not busy anymore at the house. They have room yes, but only the double which is a little bit more expensive. Of course. But im tired and i only wanna crash, so i accept.

The guy come to pick me up, and funny enough, even though the guy at the ticket office assured me they are good friends, this one didnt know which office he had to come and pick me up. Mmmmmm. Interesting.

I got to the house and it wasnt a palace, trust me, but the lady was nice, the window was secured and the door had a lock from the inside. Enough for me at this point. The bathroom was so minging i decided that a shower could wait.

I survived the noght somehow and left really early (as he wanted to charge me a bit more if I wanted to stay for the day, surprise) and bought my ticket for the evening, and after viviting the town center for the day, eventually catched the bus and 12hs later got to Salta, after nearly 50hs since I decided to go there.

Salta seems a rather nice place, so maybe Plan B should have been Plan A in the first place (only a little bit more organized maybe).. but those are the joys of travelling...

PS. No need to say that from now on I will have a Plan B for every leg of the trip
PS-2. And for those in doubt, I have had a shower at last :D

HAsta Pronto!!

There are no words to describe the feeling of seeing Iguazu Falls for the first time. Or the second or the third… Pictures don’t do justice to them. The sound, the smell, the water in your face… It has to be lived to understand it! So i will apologize now for the photos you´ll see below, because you dont really see the falls, instead you see me in my best touristy pose...

I arrived in Foz de Iguazu very early after a 16.5hs bus journey from Sao Paulo, and after a couple of hours (get the bus to town, then the bus to the border, then get an exit stamp in brazil, then wait for the next bus, then cross the bridge and get a entry stamp in Argentina, then back to the bus to the station, then a taxi to the hostel) I arrived to the accommodation feeling like… well, you can imagine! But the argentinians are SO nice, that they even make you forget the fact you haven’t been in the shower for few hours and you are in serious need of one…Got to the room and I was hoping to catch up in some sleep when I got allocated my new roommates, bunch of Spanish students from Kentucky, that became my best friends for the next couple of days. Spent the rest of the day visiting downtown, in Puerto Iguazu, and meeting pretty much everybody around there, as they are all very curious about the Spanish girl walking around town. So they ask me. And I tell them. And then conversation begins until someone else joins in… Had a fab day, and met very nice people.

Friday was the time to visit the Brazilian side of the falls. From my point of view you have to see both sides, and if possible the Brazilian first.

It gives you a better overview of all the falls, and gives you the opportunity to see the “devil´s throat” (the most impressive of all the falls) from the bottom. Loved it. It is so unbelievable that words would not be good enough to explain it!

Finished the morning visit and head to Itaipu dam, which is the largest power plant in the entire world. It is a shared project between Paraguay and Brazil, and it actually provides for 80% of the total power of Paraguay and 25% of Brazil. It is considered one of the 7 wonders of the modern world, and it is definitely worth visiting.

In between the falls and the dam I probably saw more water on Friday that a sailor in his entire life!

Saturday was the turn for the Argentinian side. I visit most of them in the company of Anna, a German girl which is also a Spanish student in Buenos Aires, and we hiked our way through the falls.

The Argentinian side provides a closer look to the falls and the opportunity of seeing the Devil’s Throat fall from the top, which is so amazing… If you have ever read about how the people in the Middle Ages believed that the world was flat and it ended with the seas falling to the space, this is as close as it gets to that image…

It is surreal, and so powerful, it makes you feel how little humans are in compare to nature.

After the last couple of busy days I decided to take the offer from the hostel of an extra free night and have Sunday off, to leave on Monday morning heading south thço visit the Jesuit Missions and then to enter Paraguay. Well, there is little I should say about the rest of my stay, only that Saturday is BBQ night in the hostel, with free caipirinha… and well, somehow I end up in the swimming pool at 4.30am. Dressed. And it was raining the next day, so my clothes had to be packed wet… But that was the whole point of coming to Iguazu, right?? To see the water and maybe get wet…