Travel for Love

I keep procrastinating on my follow up Buenos Aires posts, after writing a little about our lodging experiences there. I’m starting to realize I keep putting off writing the follow ups because I don’t really have that much to say.

I had a lot of fun in Buenos Aires, and I definitely enjoyed places in the city. But, I wasn’t crazy about it. To me, BsAs did not have the energy, vibe, or instant appeal that I have come to find in cities like NYC, Rio, Istanbul, or even Paris. Maybe to me BsAs was just lacking that special something, the same way I’ve found Miami, Chicago, Shanghai, and LA.

So rather than try to write up a half-hearted summary of our mediocre food experiences and decent but not remarkable activities there, I will leave you with my impressions of Recoleta Cemetary. This was one part of BsAs that I definitely loved.

Yes, the first thing that struck me was that you could see inside the tombs – see actual coffins!

Once I got over that, I spent most of my time in the cemetery taking pictures of the cats. There were kitties everywhere! I saw that people had left food and water around, so the cats must have a nice peaceful life there.

The poor things looked pretty ragged though.

But sweet.

Some like the kitties more than others.

What a life!

I watched this documentary film this weekend and found it very interesting. It follows the stories of a handful of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” as they immigrate to the US. These boys were a group of over 27,000 refugee young males who fled their villages in southern Sudan to escape violence, forced sterilization, and murder from the northern Sudan Arabs. These boys and young men escaped into the bush after being orphaned, or were able to flee attacks to the villages since they were out tending cattle herds.

Background

The Sudanese Civil War was one of the longest and deadliest wars in recent history, with almost 2 million civilians killed in the southern villages, and millions forced to flee. In the 90s when Al Qaeda moved into Sudan, and the government began supporting Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War, the Clinton administration prohibited any investment in the country. The civil war officially ended in 2005. Violence still plagues Sudan as the War in Darfur continues today.

The “Lost Boys” ended up walking hundreds of miles to seek refuge in Ethiopia, where many stayed for a couple years, until the Ethiopian government became unstable and they had to relocate to Kenya, where the UN had set up a refugee camp along the border. It’s been said that this group was one of the most badly traumatized groups of war victims ever. Many did not make it to Kenya, dying from the elements or disease, or starving to death. A program by the US government brought more than 3500 of the refugees to America in 2001 – almost 10 years since the original village attacks – until the program was halted after 9/11.

The Movie

This documentary gives a background on the boys, mostly showing footage of them telling their own stories. It includes footage of the boys’ arrival into Kenya and shows life in the refugee camp. The story continues when, after 10 years in the camps, many boys begin to get placed in the US through a resettlement program. The film documents the refugees’ trip over and the arrival of 2 groups in 2 cities, Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

It was very interesting seeing the guys experiencing modern life for the first time – using electricity, watching TV, cooking, etc. It was sad to see their difficulties with adjusting to the culture differences, new language and way of life, while wondering about the family and friends they left behind. I found it especially sad seeing how lonely they were – saying they never spent any time together since they all worked at least one job and went to school. This was a big contrast to their former lives, where the families and friends were together many hours out of the day.

It was nice to see in the movie that several of the young men were reunited with their families eventually. Several of them finished college, and a group of the young men put together an organization to support their countrymen and bring awareness to the situation in Sudan. One of the guys got a business degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his goal was to go back to Sudan to start a company and be a leader in the growth and development of his people.

My Thoughts

One thing that I really enjoyed about this movie was that it was not especially opinionated or political. They stated the facts and remained objective for the most part. Yea, the point of view was through the eyes of the refugees, so you automatically sided with them. But, I didn’t notice any annoying comments that made obvious political statements. The people portrayed by the documentary were sympathetic enough characters, so such undertones would have been overkill. At least in my opinion.

I knew little to nothing about the civil war in Sudan before watching this film, so it was a good learning experience for me. It was hard to imagine the struggle these refugees went through, and certainly makes me grateful to not have been born into such a situation. The fact that the events of this documentary occurred very recently made it very real, while the scenes filmed in Pittsburgh brought it all “close to home.” It made the young men feel like real people living real lives, rather than just characters on film. Yes, I realize it’s a documentary and they ARE real people, but some documentaries just don’t get that point across as well.

Today there are “Lost Boys” in nearly every US state. According to the documentary and other internet research I’ve done, it seems that this relocation was very successful. Many of the boys have completed degrees and nearly all of them are self-sufficient productive US residents now. It’s nice to see that these boys are doing well here. This is definitely a film worth watching.

I’ve always wanted to check out Buenos Aires, and we found some decent flights on Gol so we booked a flight to spend a week there. We purposely only booked a place to stay for the first night only and traveled with backpacks to have the flexibility to travel to another part of Argentina as well. I’ll go more into that in another post. In this post I will focus on the places we stayed, cause we had some fairly unique lodging experiences. In later posts I’ll get into more about what we did and saw in BsAs.

So we looked around for lodging in BsAs and decided a hostel (with a private room) was the best option for us. There are tons of different hostels in Buenos Aires, many more than good, reasonably priced hotels. I found PAX hostel online and made a reservation which ended up being around $50 US for the night. Despite the great exchange rate with the dollar (almost 4 to 1), lodging in BsAs just wasn’t cheap.

Our flight arrived at around 9:30 at night, so we took a taxi for the 30-40 minute ride to downtown. We went through some really scummy looking areas on the outskirts of town and, while it looked a little nicer as we got further into town, we did not think the area around the hostel was that nice. Definitely not an area I would feel very comfortable walking around at night. For what it’s worth the hostel was advertised to be in the San Telmo area but it was definitely on the crummy edge of that neighborhood.

This was our first time staying in a hostel and we weren’t sure what to expect. We were greeted at the door by a cheerful English girl who ushered us around and made A LOT of small talk. It was a little much after a long night of travel but she was definitely very helpful. She showed us around and showed us to our room, which was a little disappointing. It was very very small, the bed was super hard, the pillows were just foam rubber, and it could have been quite a bit cleaner. We were also situated right in the lobby where everyone came and went, and our window was facing the noisy street below.

The hostel had a bar downstairs, which was nice. We went down to have a beer and order some takeout (Chinese food!!! After 2 weeks in Brazil I was sooooo excited for Chinese!). The place was pretty busy, with a table of rowdy Spaniards, 3 punky Brits who were intrigued by the prospect of trannys in the shady neighborhood close by, and a few other random people. It was definitely the stereotypical young backpacker crowd, and the hostel was set up for meeting people and participating in tons of activities. The hostel also had free wi-fi everywhere which was great.

The next day we had our included breakfast with two nice French girls who were starting a round the world trip in BsAs. The poor girls had spent the night at PAX after they showed up at a different hostel they had booked only to find no record of their reservation. The staff at the hostel was very very helpful. They sat us down with a map of the city and showed us all sorts of nice landmarks and restaurants. They also showed us areas to avoid at night, which included the area our cab had taken us through on the way to the hostel. They recommended we just turn left when exiting and avoid the area off to the right. The area to the left was definitely much nicer, but it makes me wonder if some other hostel a block to the left tells it’s guests to avoid the PAX area… Like I said, I didn’t think it was in the nicest neighborhood.

This is the only photo I have of the neighborhood cause we did not feel very comfortable taking out our cameras and snapping away. Roberto took this pic cause he was so disappointed in his first impression of the city after always hearing how BsAs was the Paris of South America.

We had to check out of PAX and they did not have any more vacancies for the next night, so I used some Marriott points to book the Plaza Hotel. I was planning to do this for one night and it seemed like the perfect chance. We then planned on taking our side trip the following day, after maximizing our time at the Plaza.

I am not sure how much the Plaza costs per night but it is definitely a great hotel in a beautiful part of town (no disappointment photos here). We saw more Americans in the lobby than anywhere else in BsAs. The Marriott Plaza Hotel is a historic building right across from a beautiful park and very close to a busy area tailored for tourists. The staff was a little snooty with us when we wandered in with our backpacks, but I requested an upgrade to a room with a park view and they gave us one. But we did have to wait for it – the lady said the room wasn’t ready and to sit down and she would bring us our key when it was. After about 20 minutes when I went and asked if it was almost ready she looked at some paper and said it was. I wonder how long it was ready before I had asked. Other than that we found the concierge to be very helpful and the rest of check in and check out smooth.

Our corner room was very big (many of the rooms are tiny in this old hotel, so it helps to request a bigger room if need be) and we had a great view of the park from one big window and of the outdoor pool terrace from the other. The hotel and amenities were completely up to the Marriott standards and the building was also quite charming. One thing I didn’t like was the wi-fi wasn’t free in the rooms, but it was in the lobby. This is typical of Marriotts, anyway. We definitely had a very comfortable night there and they were happy to hang onto our bags all day after we checked out.

The Marriott was a great place to stay, but it felt a bit sterile and isolated from the city. It was truly an opposite experience from PAX, where we were tossed right into the bustle of the city to fend for ourselves. We felt totally safe and comfortable at the Marriott, but at the same time we didn’t feel like we were in BsAs. While I don’t think we fit in at the youthful PAX hostel, I don’t think the Marriott was where we belonged either. Especially with the loud American guy talking to the concierge in 1st grader English, explaining that he and his wife had “5 suitcases, and need either two taxis or a van to go to the airport,” because the one taxi that brought them there was “just too small for us.” We did not have a conversation with a single fellow guest, despite spending plenty of time in the public areas.

After those two nights we decided we would fit in best with something in between those two extremes. Not a fancy stuffy hotel with stuck up guests and staff, but also not a party hostel with a bunch of European kids looking to get drunk and laid. I’m sure Buenos Aires has plenty of options that would better suit us. I did notice some cute boutique hotels for fairly reasonable prices on Tripadvisor prior to booking, but the hostels were just so much cheaper.

After the second night we didn’t stay in a hotel or hostel, but slept on a bus. This sounds awful but it was actually quite comfortable and convenient – we were travelling to Mendoza (more on that in another post) by overnight bus and had booked cama (bed) suites. The price was about what we’d pay for a hotel and included dinner, snacks, and drinks. The seats folded all the way down to horizontal and included a full-sized footrest that made the whole arrangement about the size of a single bed. The seats were very comfortable and the ride was great for lulling us to sleep. I even had an awesome view of the incredible starry night over the plains of Argentina as I fell asleep.

The meal and drinks were served to us like on an airplane and both ways the steward was excellent. We also had movies: on the way there we saw the latest James Bond movie, and on the way back there were 3 – some John Travolta terrorist action movie I didn’t watch, a really sad holocaust movie called The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and Righteous Kill. Oddly enough on the way back all three movies were in English with Spanish subtitles, while on the way there the movie was all Spanish. We were very pleasantly surprised with the bus trip and will definitely use this option more in the future.

Once we got back to BsAs we just had one more night. I found another hostel online, Telmotango, that was cheaper than PAX and in a nicer part of San Telmo. It appears many of the hostels are in this neighborhood; real estate is probably cheaper there. We showed up there in the morning after arriving at the bus station and taking the subway over. It took a little while to find and walk to, but when we got there we were impressed with how cute it was.

Telmotango hostel is built in a converted old mansion and has a stained glass solarium as the common area. There are some rooms indoors and the rest are on two floors of outdoor access surrounding the solarium. The decor was really cute, with potted plants and flower boxes all over the place, and the hostel had a nice big terrace on the top floor. I was pleased with the room and how comfortable the bed was, as well as the bathrooms and common areas. The hostel did have alot of backpackers but there was a wider variety of guests, including some older people. The crowd seemed a little more low key that the PAX guests. I liked this hostel a lot better.

Since we were also camping this trip, we were pretty prepared with just about everything we needed to stay somewhere. But, for those new to hostels, there seems to be a range of amenities offered. From what I’ve seen, nearly all hostels do not provide shampoo, soap, or any other toiletries. I would definitely bring shampoo, conditioner, and body wash or a bar of soap if you do not already travel with them. Additionally, some places do not provide towels (although both of our hostels did), and I have yet to find a wash cloth anywhere in South America. I just bring one along. Even cheaper hostels probably will not provide sheets, or just “rent” them out for extra. Definitely something to be prepared for if staying in hostels. Oh and you DEFINITELY want flip flops for dorm style showers.

Buenos Aires definitely has lots of lodging options. Another popular choice seems to be renting an apartment in the city, with prices as low as $35 per night for a week. I would have definitely looked into an apartment rental if we were planning to stay in BsAs for a solid week, especially since it seems like many of them are in Recoleta. We really wanted to stay in that neighborhood but couldn’t find any hostels there. We both agreed that the hostels were both good, comfortable, cheap options. We look forward to staying in more in the future, in other cities!

I really like waterfalls (who doesn’t?), and the Iguassu Falls are arguably the most beautiful in the world. They lie on the border of Brazil and Argentina and also very close to the neighboring country of Paraguay, surrounded by lush jungle. There are actually 275 different waterfalls in the falls system, which spans over a mile and a half. The falls can be accessed from either the Brazilian or Argentine from national parks in each country. We visited only the Brazilian side, which features a nice hiking trail that culminates at a long walkway overlooking Devil’s Throat, the most impressive of the falls.

We got up early from our soggy night because we were told the lines get pretty long to enter the Brazilian national park. We waited about 45 minutes total to buy our tickets and get a good seat in the open area of one of the double decker buses that take you down to the falls and other areas of the park. They also have a couple hiking trails, a boat ride, and rafting and inflatable kayaking in the park, along with a resort. The price to get into the park is a bit steep – R$22 for Brazilians and R$37 for non-Mercosul nationalities. I don’t know why Brazil insists on being that way, but we bought the tickets as 4 Brazilians and they didn’t ask any questions. It’s not like they were making people pull out their passports to prove their nationality.

I liked the trail because the approach got increasingly more majestic as we started with views of smaller falls then got closer and closer to the Devil’s Throat. The trail was well-maintained, with lots of viewing points, but it was very crowded. Sometimes it was difficult to get a good view of the falls because of the people, but it was not too bad.

The overwater walkway to Devil’s throat was really cool. You walk right over the water and go right up to the edge of one set of falls, with a view of Devil’s Throat off to the side. You do get wet from the mist but it was very refreshing. It was really neat standing on the edge of the waterfalls, and the sheer power of the biggest fall was almost incomprehensible. You couldn’t even see the bottom of Devil’s Throat because of the crazy crashing mess of water and mist.

At the end of the trail there is a big observation area, several more viewing decks, and a plaza with several gift shops and places to eat. This area is also full of coatis, animals I consider to be a cross between a raccoon and an anteater. People are always feeding them and they are very brazen. They will even go up on the cafeteria tables looking for food and brush up against your legs while you sit and eat. They are very cute (especially the babies), but they have really sharp teeth!

We all found the falls to be just incredible. The sheer volume and force of the water is so impressive, and the lush vegetation growing on every possible spot that isn’t covered with water is very beautiful. This is not the easiest part of the world to visit if you aren’t close enough to drive, but most people do a two day fly in, fly out trip. The airport on the Brazilian side is very close to the falls and there are many tour companies, taxis, and buses. Flights are fairly reasonable (for Brazil, anyway) from most of the major South American cities.

There are other things to do in the area as well, including touring Itaipu dam, visiting the city of Foz do Iguacu, and the towns in neighboring Argentina and Paraguay. There is also a very good bird park and water park on the Brazilian side. I had really wanted to go to the dam (second largest hydroelectric plant in the world), but it had started raining after we were finished at the falls and we decided just to start driving back. They do have an extended tour that takes you into the control room and up close to the turbines. Next time!

… is quite an experience. We decided it would be fun to camp near Iguazu falls instead of staying in a hotel. After stopping and asking at several gas stations (a Brazilian tradition – who says men don’t ask for directions?) we found a camp ground right next to the entrance to the Iguazu Falls National Park. It was incredibly hot and humid when we showed up and the campground only had 2 other groups there. It was a nice campground with plenty of shade, picnic tables and churrascos, and full bathrooms and electrical outlets. And, it was surrounded by the jungle.

Once we selected our spot and started setting up, I went to look around the facilities and almost stepped on a GIANT spider that was poking out of a hole in the ground. It may have been a tarantula and I was so freaked out I changed from flip flops into tennis shoes. Further inspection showed hundreds of such holes all over the place and eventually I just gave up and decided not to look at the ground. In addition to the tarantulas, there were great big orb spiders with webs everywhere. I did couldn’t walk between two trees within 20 feet of each other because there would be a web or several. Shudder.

We set up our tents for the tarantulas to crawl in and went to the Bird Park and grocery store. We got back right before dusk and there were tons of really interesting birds around. Parrots, woodpeckers, canaries… very nice. As we started the fire, there was lots of rustling in the tree right above our campsite and something made a weird, almost meowing noise. Turns out it was a MONKEY! A monkey, eating a banana, in the tree right above the tent (we knew this because when he was done, he dropped the banana peel and it landed on the tent!). There were several more monkeys hanging around the campsite and it was so much fun watching them!

As the sun set, the night creatures really started to come out. And by that I mean the various mysterious things in trees that make really weird noises. There were some really absurd sounds and I had no idea how I could ever sleep in all that racket, but luckily they shut up for the most part after a couple hours. Here is a video I made recording the crazy sounds.

We had a nice barbecue and built a campfire to keep the mosquitoes out, and it was really great being outside. The temperature had cooled down and there was a pleasant breeze and those night creatures had shut up for the most part. It was a fine evening. That is, until 3 am or so when it started POURING. The tent held up for awhile, about 45 minutes I’d say. Then it started dripping in a couple places. Then, a couple more (why did I think it would be a good idea to camp with a down comforter?).

When the drips became streams with no signs of the rain stopping we knew we’d have to go to the car. Roberto made several trips back and forth in the downpour, taking stuff to the car, getting the keys from the other guy (whose tent wasn’t leaking, WTF!), and rushing me through under a towel. I balled up the comforter under the air mattress and hoped for the best. Oh and the electricity in the campground went out, so everything was pitch black.

We settled in to sleep in the car and it rained for about another hour and then let up. Trying to sleep there was uncomfortable, and it was too hot to keep the windows up but mosquitoes came in immediately if we cracked them. We decided to see if we could sleep in the tent. Flipping the air mattress over was fairly dry and the comforter was just a little wet, so we had a damp rest of the night. One good thing about the rain was it was really nice and cool the next day at the falls. It was also cloudy and a little drizzly all day, so not ideal. But, overall, the camping experience was great despite the rain. We’ll do it again, but this time with a tarp just in case!

My advice for camping in this part of the world: be prepared for rain – it is the rain forest after all. Also, the mosquitoes are very bad. We used tons of insect repellent with DEET. I would consider taking malaria pills if I was camping for a more extended period, but preventing bites by religiously applying bug spray is supposed to be safe for short stays. Also be prepared for night visits from all sorts of interesting critters.