Spartan

Beautiful Salta ... tucked up in the northwest corner of Argentina. It still seems weird to think of heading northwest to get to a warmer climate but as are things here in the southern hemisphere. Half of the time we were in Salta we used the city as a base city to make beautiful day trips to Cachi and Cafayate ... but we also were able to enjoy walking around the city and having some good food. Salta is one of the most beautiful cities in Argentina ... so the guide books say and we do not dissagree with them! On Sunday we went to a market and also ran into a gaucho parade ... which was in honor of the "virgin of the gaucho." That celebration was awesome because we got to see literally hundreds ... read more

We have left Villa de Las Rosas, said "hasta pronto" to our Argentine family and now are "UP NORT" in the providence of Salta. Many people told us that this was the place to come for our vacation (and coming north would get us a little warmer weather... very appealing) so here we are! To get here we took a 4 hour bus ride from Villa de Las Rosas to Cordoba. From Cordoba we took an overnight bus 12 hours north to Salta, the capital of Salta. We are staying in Salta, along with Dale (Sparta Principal) and Chris (Elementary School Prinicpal from Virgina) and are able to take day trips from here to some other "must see" spots. Our first stop.... Cafayate! The day trip to Cafayate was amazing. We took off with a group ... read more

We are getting to experience education in Argentina! Andy and Sparta Principal Dale Stafslien are here on Fullbright Exchanges. Cecelia, who we are staying with and who is a principal at a secondary school here in Nono, Argentina came to Sparta last year and now we are here to work in her school. The school is about a 30 minute drive from Cecelia's house. All of the students and other teachers at her school have been more than welcoming to us. They are so interested in our lives and what it is like in los EEUU. Of course the first thing we noticed is that students are students wherever you go, as we looked into one of the classrooms and saw a few students texting discretely under their desks. We have given many presentations to different ... read more

We are happy to report that we have arrived in the Southern Cone of South America... Argentina!! After an overnight flight crossing the equator, we landed in Buenos Aires around 8AM Monday morning. Despite all of the advice we´d been given, we failed to believe that we would be going to a place where it is indeed winter. It started to become more of a reality when the Argentine flight attendant was questioning Andy wearing shorts and sandals. After leaving the airport, we realized it is nothing like Wisconsin winters but it is chilly. Good thing we did bring some winter clothes... infortunadamente the shorts and sandals will be staying in our backpacks. Upon arrival we confirmed what we had heard about Buenos Aires, that it is a very European city with its lively cafes, busy ... read more

After leaving the jungle town Tena we hopped on a bus for an 8 hour trek to our next destination which happened to be a small mountain town north of Quito called Otavalo. Riding public buses in Latin America is a whole different kind of experience! We were never surprised by what came onto the bus... whether it be a puppy in a diaper, random unidentified animals in boxes with breathing holes in the top, or a salesman trying to sell a herbal powder to basically cure you from any ailment you could ever have. Beyond the random sales and passengers, the views swirling through the Andes were amazing! When we arrived in Otavalo our bodies once again had to adapt to the super high altitude and change of climate. From the low humid jungle in ... read more