Patagonia - Bariloche

We are running at least week or so behind in posts, but this was our first treck into Patagonia - Bariloche to be specific, it is the northen-most part of Patagonia and sits right at the border with Chile. Aptly called the "lake district" it is a peaceful haven and we all had a great time here.

Lakes everywhere - the largest is the Nahuel-Huapi which is what Bariloche faces

Park everywhere - this one is on the opposite side of Lake Nahual Huapi where we got hike up and get some views of the many islands on the lake

The 4 Musketeers checking out the scenery

There are no bad views - mountains, lakes, and forests (above and below)

This is an aerial shot - we took these little trams up to the top of Cerro (Mount) Otto - and got to see Bariloche laid out below us

Here are the little red trams - they held 4 people and took about 12 minutes to get to the top

More flowers (above and below) - these were in San Martin de los Andes - about 3 hours of dirt road driving from Bariloche - a tiny mountain town at the end of the famous "7 Lakes" route

The cathedral in Bariloche on our last day - very picturesque!

After Bariloche we kept heading South - next stop is El Calafate to treck on a glacier!

Tango, Parks, and Monuments - It's Buenos Aires!

Our visit to Buenos Aires was short but fun and we were lucky to have friends meet us to make us a party of 4, which made going out and seeing the sights twice as nice...

Taking time to smell the Roses, literally here:) Buenos Aires likes their green spaces (which luckily probably helps combat the pollution). The area we stayed in - Palermo, has the most parks in the whole city and we had a nice stroll the day we got here.

It seems weird, but it is the #1 tourist destination in BA - Evita's buriel place in Recoleta Cemetary - it rained right when we got there and we left before things got too creepy.

The political hub here - the Plaza de Mayo where the people come to demonstrate their complaints with the government. The pink building is the "Casa Rosado" - one of the presidents decided to paint it pink! It is the national governments headquarters.

The Metropolitana Catedral. More history - it took a century and a half to finish!

The oldest coffee shop in BA - a historic gathering place for intellectuals and tangueros.

View of skyline from our apartment.

The Obelisk - another symbol of Argentian pride and another popular place for demonstrations.

This huge flower is mechanical - it opens during the day and closes at night - crazy!

The entrance to La Boca - a historic port neighborhood that was built by immigrants that reportedly couldn't afford to buy paint - so they got what was left from ships and elsewhere - hence the multi-colored buildings (that are now maintained that way).

More multi-colored buildings

Tango is everywhere in Argentina. It is not the best photo, but they move quickly and check out that kick!

We attended a "Milonga" which is a Tango dance session (picture is above). It is an open dance floor so anyone can dance but you better know what you are doing!:)

The video below is of the professional dancers they stop the open dance floor around 2am for 45 minutes or so. This it the classical tango, not that Dancing with the Stars stuff:).

Click on the play button below (you might have to click it twice).

Hello Argentina and their Iguazu Falls!

We crossed the border to Argentina with a friendly cab driver who got us through both customs in a breeze.

Our cab driver stopped long enough to snap this picture - the actual "boundary" painted on the cement divider between Argentina and Brazil - there is a friendly rivalry between the two sides here (which apparently also is fed from rival futbol teams)

Here is the close up of the Devil's Throat - massive and just not properly experienced via photo - but it will have to do :)

The falls are literally networked all over the Argentine side - above you, below you, next to you - it makes for great trails and fun ways to get wet.

Butterflies were everywhere in both parks - this one was friendly and decided to hitch a ride on Joe's shorts.

This is the San Martin waterfall - beautiful up close on the San Martin Island we were able to get to by a little (free) ferry.

Another view of San Martin and it's siblings spread out

These are their equivalents of raccoons - though definitely not nocturnal here - they were coming right up to people and "begging" for food.

A nice photo of the pool area at the little B&B we stayed in, the Riotropic - off the beaten path it was so peaceful and quiet - only 10 rooms and one night we were 2 of the 3 guests!

Next stop...Buenos Aires and we are excited since we get to see some familiar faces as some friends are coming to meet up with us there!

Foz de Iguacu, Brazil

Our last stop in Brazil - the breathtaking Foz de Iguacu, which straddles the boundary between Brazil and Argentina. The Brazilian side is said to have the better panorama and it is hard to truly show the extensive curtain of falls that seems to go on and on.

This is one of our first views of a "lower" section of the falls, which was just the beginning - there are over 360 waterfalls in the park.

The biggest falls - "Garganta del diablo" or "Devil's Throat" is seen in the center - the roaring was deafening as you got closer and the mist cooled us off as it was probably near 90.

Rainbows spread over a rushing part of the falls - Joe caught this one

At the top of the falls closest to the Brazilian side the Iguazu river spills over.

After the falls we went to the nearby Parque de Aves (Bird Park) and these toucans were showing off. The park helps to protect endangered birds and also had a great butterfly "aviary"

After the Bird Park it was time to pack up and head over to the other side of the falls - and our next country on our stop - Argentina!

Good-Bye Rio!

Our last days in Rio we spent enjoying our favorite things- the beach and our favorites drinks. We'll miss the carioca lifestyle and our beach bumming days!

This is the Matte Latte with Limonada - our favorite non-alcoholic thing to sip on :) Matte tastes kind of like iced tea and mixed with lemonade it was pretty close to an Arnold Palmer.

Here is the Matte Latte guys that would walk on the 100 degree sand in bare feet all day selling the Matte Latte - one cooler had the Matte, the other the Limonada - you mixed as you pleased.

Our new friend - this guy makes the best caipirinha in all of Brazil and cheap too! It is right near posto 9 (in the background) in Ipanema the most popular part of the beach.

Carnaval 2009!

Carnaval officially started on Saturday (2/21) and we are just trying to keep up but it is a lot of fun. Thousands of people are everywhere all hours of the day and night. Each neighborhood has a "bloco" or two - a street parade with percussion and music and people just kind of join in and dance, drink, sing and MORE. Basically, if you want to find the fun you just follow the crowds.

This sand castle creation in Cobacabana was getting everyone in the mood.

This is from the "Banda de Ipanema" parade - one of the most popular - lots of people wear all sorts of costumes - some more glamorous than others :)

One of the floats from a street parade - they sing the same samba song over and over and people of all ages join in.



See one of the parades in the clip below.

Corcovado & the Christ Statue

Today we visited one of the most recognizable sights that identifies Rio - the Christ the Redeemer Statue on Corcovado. After 3 days of rain and fog we decided to take advantage of the clear weather and get some views of the city - it stands at 2300 feet. The statue itself is about 100 feet tall.

This pic proves that yes, we were really there - not just some postcard pic we ripped off :)

This is Ipanema from the back facing the Atlantic. To the right is Leblon - where you see the race tracks of the Jockey Club (horses, I'm guessing). The Lagoa (lake) sits behind Ipanema - it isn't clean enough for swimming, but people do recreational activities, like canoe, etc.

The pic below is the rival tourist sight to Corcovado - Pao de Acucar or "Sugar Loaf" - named by the Portuguese because it looked like the conical loaf in which refined sugar was sold(?). Apparently it also sounded similar to the indigenous Tupi people's name for it - "pau-nh-acugua" - which stands for high pointed peak. We'll probably take the trams to the top of this some other day.

Corcovado is in the Tijuca National Forest - an urban rainforest that was a reforestation project on what used to be coffee plantations. The spider below was enough to freak me out - the body was probably 3 -4 inches in length with legs just as long - have no idea what kind it is, but I'm just glad I haven't found any in our apartment!

A lot of beautiful butterflies twirled around us as we walked around the park - this one stayed still long enough for a picture - the wings were actually yellowish - the flash kind of washed it out.

These were the highlight of our walk. According to a website they are a kind of monkey called "marmosets" and are supposedly friendly, but these ones were too busy eating and chasing to be our friends. It was totally worth our long walk just to see these guys!

And lastly, Joe spotted this creature in the wild "urban" jungle - a classic Mercury - they were having some type of "50's" dance at a restaurant down the street and this seemed to be part of the festivities.

We have had a good time here so far - despite a few rainy days - and are starting to feel more like "cariocas" (locals) every day. Boa Noite!