Bloglog Entry Número 3 (FINALLY): Yerba Mate Lessons, Palermo Hipsterness, Uruguayan Adventures, & El Cementerio de la Recoleta....

---

<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>


<strong style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-large;">Bloglog Entry Número 3 (FINALLY): Yerba Mate Lessons, Palermo Hipsterness, Uruguayan Adventures, & El Cementerio de la Recoleta....



Mate Lesson for Gringos

Yerba Mate is one of the most consumed beverages in South America. Preparation for it is an art form, one that I am not even close to mastering yet. Argentina's new cooking star, Vale Goldenhersch, was kind enough to do a demonstration for us.















Hanging out

I was deathly ill and bed ridden about 2 weeks ago, it totally sucked. Grace, Vale's mom, took wonderful care of me.



<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Vale & Qique keeping me company + Dinner in bed + Emperor's New Groove = Awesomeness.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Drunk Nights & Really Small Costume Parties










...need I say more?




After a ridiculous night of partying at a club, called Terrazas, that finally kicked everyone out at 6am, I did something that I've only consciously done one other time in the desert, watch the sunrise. I didn't bring my phone with me while walking home from the hostel, where the taxi dropped my friends off, but I was able to take some photos from Vale's balcony.















Palermo: Hipster Home Away From My Hipster Home

Oooooohhhhhhh my God. I was SO GLAD to find Palermo. Buenos Aires was beginning to make me feel like I was living in some over-sized European antique shop, then I found Palermo, the Baker (for you Denverites) part of Buenos Aires....and it's HUGE. Alex, Vale, our new Aussie friends, and I ate bomb ass food at a restaurant with a rooftop patio sitting on uncomfortable vintage chairs wearing Ray Bans....and waited about 20 minutes just to get menus...and hungover as all hell....sound familiar?


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
Hungover in the subway</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
Uh...yeah. Jack Daniels POR FAVOR. Thanks.</td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
The hangover cure doesn't change around the world.</td></tr></tbody></table>












We walked around a little bit and then went to see <strong style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Tame Impala, and Aussie psychedelic rock band that I had never heard of. They were awesome.



















Here's the link for the band if interested.

http://www.tameimpala.com/















Next Stop: URUGUAY!!


My new Australian friends, Pete and Jesh, made plans to stay at this bed & breakfast in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. I tagged along with them. There are daily ferries that go from BA to Colonia and Montevideo, so it was really easy. Vale advised us that we take the ferry to Colonia, the oldest established town in Uruguay, walk around a little bit, and take a bus to Montevideo, so that's what we did, and good thing we listened to her because we LOVED it. Oh, by the way, whoever said that Argentine men are the sexiest has never met a Uruguayan...


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
Meet Jesh</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
Meet Pete</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
The Ferry...not too shabby</td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
Crash time.</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
The Ferry.</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
See ya later BA!</td></tr></tbody></table>






























and



























































































































































































































































<strong style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">


<strong style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Hello Colonia!
<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
My new favorite little town.</td></tr></tbody></table>







































<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Some odd pizza toppings</td></tr></tbody></table>



<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
An average gluten-free meal.</td></tr></tbody></table>





We only had a couple hours in Colonia and then took a bus to Montevideo. The ride was 2.5 hours,and quite lovely. It felt so nice to put my headphones and listen to the Amelie soundtrack passing through countryside.













Soooooo.......as soon we got to Montevideo we checked into our B&B and went out to dinner to a nice steakhouse. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but we got mugged by a bunch of hoodlums while walking back from the restaurant. It sucked. Just to add to the hell we experienced, I started to get really sick again. Really bad sore throat, chills, sweats, all that jazz. The next morning I woke up basically unable to swallow, so I marched over to the farmacia, which basically looked like a liquor store with pharmaceuticals instead of booze. I asked the pharmacist for amoxicillin (and if you know me, you know I must be practically on my death bed if I'm asking for amoxicillin). I'm not sure if you need a prescription for amoxicillin over there (you definitely need it for Valium..we checked), but I definitely looked pathetic enough that she was not about to turn me down.









With that said, we spent the next day hanging out on our B&B's rooftop patio laying in the hammocks listening to good music.








































<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Breakfast!</td></tr></tbody></table>



<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
The common room.</td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
See that person past the other person? That's where we got mugged.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Here's the link to the bed & breakfast just in case you have any reason to go to Montevideo:

http://www.posadaalsur.com.uy/index.php/es/



The Aussie boys and I took a cab to the bus station and went our separate ways. They took a bus further west to this little beach town and I went back to Colonia where I slept for two days straight and enjoyed some alone time by the water. I kind of messed up and went to the wrong hostel. Here are some photos of the first hostel, called Hostel en Español...or something.




<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Makeshift fajitas with 3 British girls I met at the hostel</td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Dining Area (it was freezing)</td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
A Door</td></tr></tbody></table>


<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Yay Brits!</td></tr></tbody></table>

I don't think these photos portray the level of freezing I was experiencing at this hostel, and it was making my throat worse. Needless to say, I changed hostels.




<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Dining Area (heated)</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">
Patio with nice guy that pulled some strings to let</td></tr></tbody></table>
me stay there for a night.






<table class="tr-caption-container" style="padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; padding-top: 4px;">
Another dining area (also heated)</td></tr></tbody></table>








Even though Colonia is substantially safer than Montevideo, I was still apprehensive to walk around alone, but I had no choice when walking to the ferry terminal. Luckily, Uruguay has a million stray dogs, and not some rabid, emaciated dogs that rummage through trash and spread diseases. Every single dog I saw was absolutely gorgeous. They would get adopted in the states in a second. I decided that I am going to return to Colonia and open a beautiful dog sanctuary (beautiful dogs ONLY). Anyways, while I was walking the 6 blocks to the ferry terminal, these 3 dogs protected me.















So that's the end of Uruguay. It was a bittersweet time with a couple good lessons learned and another country under my belt.









El Cementerio de Recoleta



It's a relief knowing that the blog is now up-to-date. My new British friend, Andy, and I went to the Recoleta cemetery, one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. It was unbelievable, spooky, and I could practically smell the wealth coming from these tombs..or maybe that was rotting...okay I'll stop.







































So that's my 3rd bloglog. I hope you enjoyed. I am leaving BA to begin my travels to Bolivia on Friday, beginning in Cordoba, then either Mendoza or Iguazu Falls, then Salta,and then Bolivia to take a Spanish class for a few weeks, go mountain biking on Death Road, and visit the salt flats. I have had a great time in Buenos Aires, but I'm tired of the concrete jungle. It's time to have some alone time, read a book, and listen to the Trampled By Turtles albums I bought before I left. Ciao!

---