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Published: August 14th 2006
Street Tango
Hugh and MJ in heavy makeup!21st July - 28th July 2006
Arrived in Buenos Aires late at night. The hotel had a taxi organised which made life so easy. Our pad is not as luxurious as Santiago but we’re in the heart of Recoleta, the Parisian quarter of the city. It’s really chic here and we’re feeling grubby and dowdy. A quick shop will sort things!! Recoleta Cemetery is at the corner of our street. Eva and Juan Peron are buried there after some years in exile. Eva was quite a gal. Apparently hated by the military and ruling classes because of her support of the poor. She got women the vote and legalised divorce.
You can tell we haven’t been to see Evita!! The cemetery is a tourist attraction. There are some pretty grand tombs around!
Having bought a pair of shoes with heels, I wander contentedly home to hotel. Imagine my delight as I turn the corner and hear the immortal Smiths…”there is a light that never goes out”. What style!
Pablo, Ali’s friend from New York, has arranged to meet with us for dinner. Hospitality abounds in yet another continent. He collects us en route from work and we pick up his gorgeous
boys, Edourdo and Vincente (8 and 3).Pablo laughs when I mention O’Higgins bringing democracy to Chile. It’s not exactly the definition of democracy as we know it. More military dictatorship! Over dinner we make a sightseeing plan which we actually achieve over the next few days. After dinner Pablo takes us for a night tour of the city while the three kids roll around the back seat communicating by being wild animals and King Kong!
. We watch tango, street performers, mime artists, Segovia- playing musicians in the park, join ladies doing coffee in a coffee shop, wander round art galleries, spend an afternoon at the biggest play museum we’ve ever seen, buy lots of bits in the street markets, admire the designer shops, get ripped off (has to happen in all cities) in La Boca and take a trip on a wee train.
Better still, we’ve found a wee bar called Los Portenos at the end of the street. Locals akimbo and cheap! The barman very keen to tell me he loved Curzo Valiente (Braveheart!!) and Sean Connery. Hugh a happy man too. Guinness on tap and the locals happy to include Katie in the chat. Also, we can
stagger ten steps up to our apartment.
Monday comes and we have to move on to another area having got the dates of our trip to Iguaçu wrong. Our hotel in Arenales is close the San Martin Plaza. San Martin was behind the move to Argentine independence from Spain. We hang out the window watching street protests.Ten a penny apparently. Good sign we think
Guess what! We find another wee local, less pub, more snack bar but still the business. We seem to be developing a nose for easy going corner bars! Buenos Aires is a fabulous city and if you like steak this is a nirvana. Exceptionally friendly people and lots to see and do for all.
26th July - 28th July
Onwards we go. We head off to Iguaçu and the famous falls. Puerto Iguaçu is a like a scene out a Spaghetti Western compared to B.A. Dusty and rural and, once again, great folk. We get a taxi bus all to ourselves but the driver has to pick up his son from school so we get to see just how derelict life is behind the tourist routes!
We’ve booked a hotel with lots of dodgy
reports but it’s fantastic!! Big room, nice swimming pool, cheap beer.
After one gin and tonic poolside and MJ heads off to find Katie who is using the walking machine in the wee gym. At this point, it has to be noted the gins here are six times the measures at home so she’s a bit giddy. Katie protests vehemently that only one person at a time be on the treadmill. Not so for MJ. She leaps (probably more of a lurch) on behind Katie causing the machine to upturn and we both fall inelegantly off the end. Katie incensed with anger and humiliation. You can picture the scene. Anyway, after a frosty half hour she forgives me and has since taken great delight in telling anyone who’ll listen to her story. Iguaçu Falls, lie on the Argentina - Brazil border. Taller than Niagara Falls and twice as wide with cascades spread in a horseshoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguaçu River. They’re the result of a volcanic eruption which left a large crack in the earth and are divided by various islands into separate waterfalls. One of the best known is Devil’s Throat with its constant spray
San Martin on a horse!
He freed Argentina, apparently! high over the falls. When the Iguaçu River is running high more than 200 cascades swirl over the long horseshoe front. Sadly, when we were there, half the cascades were dry. Mind you it’s a great spectacle even in its lesser form. There’s been a long drought and this meant there wasn’t enough water to take a boat under the falls. Disappointing for us because it’s the highlight. I suppose we can’t have everything. The Buenos Aires Herald says that "the Brazilians turn off the faucet on weekends in order to be able to get the water in their reservoir lakes up to levels needed. Nothing like a bit of bitchy rivalry between countries! The scenery is beautiful and the butterflies keep landing on Katie, much to her delight. We decide not to do a tropical forest walk ‘because it’s wet and we’re heading to the Amazon anyway.
28th July - 8th August
Let the nightmare of Lima commence!! Actually on reflection it wasn’t as big a disaster as we felt but all had been going too well and we were soft!!
A long day travelling and a delayed flight meant we left Iguaçu at 8am and arrived in
Lima (via La Boca and Buenos Aires) at 1am next day. One of our bags is missing off the plane.
To make things worse, it contains all the documentation for our Llamas and Incas trip, malaria tablets, insurance policy and flights home from Rio. Please, no-one ask why we weren’t carrying them in hand luggage!! We’d been advised to carry the minimum of paperwork in hand luggage due to bag snatchers and they’d been in the big bag for the whole trip. Our famous Passpale pearls have gone too!!
We were kept sane and reassured by Amelia, our tour guide, and the three other families on the tour. One family are taking anti malaria medication and two not. We end up having no choice as all available cannot be taken by children under 10. Amelia assures us there is no malaria about in the area we’re going to, so we stock up on mosquito repellent and go for it.
Up at 5.30 am for our flight to Puerto Maldonado. No word of the case.
Puerto Maldonado is delightful. It reminds us of Thailand. So unlike Lima, the capital city. The people are smiling and appear happy. We have a local
guide, Elias, who is passionate about his environment. His love of the jungle will soon rub off on all of us.
We flit quickly through a colourful, lively market and stock up on Brazil nuts and fresh fruit before heading up river in our motorised canoe to the ecolodge. En route, we see panhandlers with wheel barrows searching for gold, caiman, turtles, grinning toothless fishermen
farmers.
We are a party of 14. Four families of like mind and humour, we settle quickly into a relaxed, easy style that flavours the next 10 days.
We spend the next three days in the Amazon jungle being given an incredible insight into the customs and practises that still exist here. It’s awe inspiring and humbling. Many of the medicines we use today are derived from plants and trees found here. We watch monkeys, birds, red squirrels, caiman, turtles, boas, weird bats and an anaconda in their home environment. Oh, and a tarantula that Elias coaxes out his den. Very large and very scary.
No sign of mosquitoes and judging by the awful condition of our skin having plastered ourselves in DEET 80% I doubt if they’ll come near.
Off we go again
Happy at her work!
Somone has to fund the holiday! and we’re in Cusco. The definition of it’s name is “belly button of the World” A fantastic Inca town 10,500 feet up. Altitude sickness kicks in but it doesn’t take away from the place. A really uplifting town full of curiosity and ghosts of the Inca past. The Spanish conquistadors completely ravaged the area and you can feel the impact still.
The next few days are spent marvelling at the ingenuity of the Incas who were only around from 12th - 15th century. Katie and I go with some of our group on a five hour horse trek visiting recently excavated temples including a sacrificial one. Only beautiful virgins were selected for sacrifice and apparently it was a great honour…aye right!
Even having visited the Sacred Valley and the temple of the sun we are not prepared for Macchupicchu. It is just mind blowing. The skillg to design and create a small city 12,000ft up complete with agricultural area, suburbs and two quarries. It’s beyond belief really. A true, wonder of the world. Thankfully it was missed when the Spanish were ransacking and destroying the Inca community and so remains completely in tact. We feel a little guilty that we
cheated and got the bus…we meet quite a few who’ve done the Inca Trail. It’s a three day trek and apparently pretty gruelling although we’re told the porters are absolutely incredible. They carry up to 20 kg and cover the trail at incredible speed, sometimes even running. We were told that they once ran a marathon along the Inca trail (45 km) and one of the porters finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes.
We are now on our last days in Peru and having said fond farewells to our new friends we head back to Lima. We are determined that we will keep in touch. We now have a base in Dublin, Edmonton and Adelaide for any further adventures. The rest of the group is going on to Lake Titicaca. We are slightly miffed we aren’t going too but in reality Katie has given her all and is beginning to suffer. She’s, once again, the youngest the tour has had on the trip and it’s fair to say it’s not for the faint hearted.
Once settled at the hotel, we head out to Miraflores. This takes the sting out of the city. It’s not as oppressive or scary as
Luna Park, Buenos Aires
This one for Dessie, no statue of Carlos Monzon, its in Santa Fe where he was born. “downtown” (no Petula Clark please). Having said this, our hotel and adjoining restaurant, Mr Koalas, is fine. The staff are so hospitable and friendly. As are all those we meet in Lima. It just feels bleak and pretty unsafe once you leave the safety of the streets around the hotel. Some impressive, if tired, buildings about. Alan Garcia has been returned as president after making a mess of things 16 years ago. All are waiting with baited breath to see if he keeps his word re dealing with poverty in Lima.
To our horror, we’ve worked out we’ve booked flights a day later than required so we have an extra day here. Just as well really because for the first time Katie and MJ get sick and spend the next day on the bog…recovering in time to visit a rather depressing zoo, especially having seen the same creatures in their natural habitat.
8th Aug - 15th Aug
We get a flight to wonderful Rio de Janeiro. Oh! Forgot to mention…our lost bag turned up and all is there. Hallelujah. How can we be so blasé after the horror of losing it and the subsequent panic calls home to organize insurance
etc. That’s life on the road. One moves on!
We arrive in Rio after a long two stage flight and head straight for the beach having booked in to our beach hotel. Happy days. It’s warm here and feels totally different. Next 72 hours are spent sleeping, people watching on Copacabana beach and it’s true. There are real beauties around, male and female. The sea is inviting and the beer cold. After Lima it’s nice to see bright happy faces. A fine way to end our holiday. It’s a packed place mind you.. Sardines aren’t in it.
Last morning (are we mad) we do a city tour taking in Corcovado (the big guy on the hill), Sugarloaf Mountain, Maracana (biggest football stadium in the world), cathedral and a favola. The favalos are the slums built on the slopes surrounding the city. Where the drug barons rule and life is hard. The graffiti was amazing. Made Ormeau Road look dull!
Katie has to be dragged round. She’s determined the place to be seen is the beach.
By lunchtime we’re there desperate to get a tan before tomorrow. Yes folks, we’re chalky white. Still, we spend the evening on the boardwalk drinking
Pina Colada and eating freshly caught fish, much to Katie’s disgust. She prefers fingers! Everything has been left to the last minute and to my dismay the night market isn’t open on Sunday. Bang goes any chance of last minute pressies.
Thoughts on the last four months….we’ll get back to you.
It’s seems to have gone so quickly and smoothly. Thanks especially to those holding the fort at home, our hosts in many places and those who kept in touch. It was good to hear from home. I’ve only turned into the She Devil twice (stress of losing bag) and we’re all still speaking.
Heathrow tomorrow. Are we looking forward to being there…take me back to Lima, all is forgiven!!! xx
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