- 1/24 - 1/27 - Today I'm getting on a bus at 8pm from Salta, in northern Argentina, and am heading directly to the town of Cordoba. I get in around 7am tomorrow and am planning on spending the weekend in this city, where Che Guevara was born and where everyone says it is a beautiful mid-sized city.
- 1/27 - 2/16 - Buenos Aires!!! This is the one city that everyone continues to tell me is the best…the absolute best of South America. So I have booked a hostel in the trendy/hipster neighborhood of Palermo, and I'll be there for three weeks. I want to soak up the culture and really get into the rhythm of the city.
- 2/17 - 2/22 - I will head west from Buenos Aires to the most famous wine region in Argentina: Mendoza. I've booked an amazing and comfortable hostel that has a pool in the backyard. I've heard there are bicycle tours of the wineries, where you jump on a bike with a bunch of others and ride from winery to winery. Cannot wait! Also, my friend Becca is going to be in Mendoza at the same time, and she works in the wine industry, so I'm so excited to see this city (and wineries) from her perspective. So fun!
- 2/23 - 2/27 - I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to be for all of this time, but I know eventually I'm going to end up at Iguazu Falls, which are apparently the most beautiful water falls in all of South America (definitely in Argentina). This is a 24 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires, so I might just see how cheap a flight is, and this will decide on where I leave from.
- 2/28 - 3/3 - CARNIVAL!!! I've decided that it's absurd if I'm in South America during Brazil's Carnival and I don't make it, so I'm going to go from Iguazu Falls to Rio de Janeiro for the most amazing party of the year. I'm only going to stay a couple of days because it's going to be expensive and insane, but I have to see it and this is the best time to do it.
- 3/4 - 3/18 - I'm going to probably do a quick stop over in Sao Paulo on my way to the beach resort town of Florianopolis, Brazil, which is just south of Sao Paulo. I will need a break from the partying in Carnival, so this will be a great place to lay low. I'm hoping my buddy Stewart from Chicago will come visit (he hinted as such).
I'm thinking I will fly back to Chicago on 3/18 and get back to the city on 3/19, which will give me a solid two weeks back home to paint, play music, and see everyone and just lay low before heading to Europe. I cannot believe it's almost been a month since I've left Chicago!! Crazy. Time really flies when you are roaming around :)
Also, before I forget - my last day in Salta here has been perfect. Last night when I was checking in on my computer and writing a post, I started speaking with a girl who was sitting in the same room. Her name is Ivana and she had just gotten here yesterday and was only here for the night. She was heading to her home in La Paz, Argentina, to see her brother's new baby girl, Isabella, and Salta was just a quick stopover. We spoke for a short time last night and then decided to grab lunch today in a neighborhood she heard was great for food and music. So we met up around 10 and I told her I had to meet my friend Nicholas who was going to help me exchange some dollars into pesos, and so we walked to Casa Moderno. Nicholas was all smiles when we walked in, but he said that crazy things are happening right now with the exchange rate, so it's best to get it done as quickly as possible. He was not able to do it himself, so he told us to walk to his Cafe just down the block and ask for a guy named Hernan. OK - seems easy enough. We walk down the block and this cafe we go into is absolutely classic. Cheaply put together tables and decorations, and it almost looks like an off-track betting type spot. The waitresses are all older and a bit disheveled, and the patrons are no younger than 75 - each one of them. I loved it right away. So we ask the waitress for Hernan and she says he is in the back, and he's going to help someone else first so we need to wait our turn. We notice the one younger guy in the cafe go into the back room and then come out in about 10 minutes, so the waitress motions to me and says you are next. Sounds good - easy enough. I walk back into this office where a guy in his 50's is sitting in front of a huge pile of money - both pesos and dollars. I say I'm a friend of Nicholas and he smiles and exchanges my $100 for $1250 pesos. SCORE. We quickly talk about how crazy the market is right now and then I'm on my way. Such a fun and random instance, but it all worked out. Ivana was laughing at how random it all was, but she was a good sport.
We then headed to the park, where I have made my home and bed the last few afternoons, because she wanted to check it out. We hung there for a bit and talked, and I found out she is getting her PHD in Chemistry in Cordoba. She's been to the US before to study at the University of Jackson, Mississippi, which I thought was hilarious and random, and so did she. She's taking a short vacation with one of her friends but when she heard about her brother's baby, she rerouted and is heading back to her home to be with the family. Also, she's got a boyfriend of 7 years who is also getting his PHD in Chemistry, so we talked about relationships and it was nice to hear her perspective on love and life (and long distance relationships - never fun!).
At the park it started raining so we walked to the lunch spot and had a fantastic and low key lunch, including more great conversation about the US and Argentina and about goals and dreams and family and life. Ivana has a great spirit and a great laugh, and it was fun to just hang and have a buddy for the day. After lunch we grabbed ice cream and then she was on her way to the bus station. I hope she gets home in time to meet her new niece, and I hope she does well in her PHD program. I'm glad I got to meet her and spend the day - was a great way to send off Salta.
So that's it for today. I'm heading to the bus station now for my 11 hour trip, and am excited because I have an assigned seat on a bus where the seats recline into beds. SCORE. I'll be back online tomorrow hopefully with pics of Cordoba.
Until then - have a good night and weekend everyone :)
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