Out the balcony of my room in Recoletta, Buenos Aires Argentina.
En Route
Argentina Trip
I’m on my way to Argentina, originally for the Argentina Sevens Rugby tournament but that was cancelled. Now I will be visiting Iguazú Falls, Salta, Puerto Madryn, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. AND NOT WORKING.
Crap
I had been planning to attend (as in, already purchased airfare) a rugby tournament in Argentina in October. I was getting a little concerned that the event was about two months out and the tickets were not yet on sale. Today I discovered why:
Argentina Sevens World Series round postponed
Sadly, in this case by “postponed” they mean cancelled for this year. Since I’ve already purchased my airfare to Argentina and been granted the time off of work, I suppose I will still go and explore Argentina and have a vacation and stuff. I can’t say that I am happy about this, though.
Wyoming!
Another Fabulous Saturday
With a forecast of cool, rainy and gloomy for Saturday the girls and I headed up to play in the mountains. We didn’t have a specific plan for the day, but I knew what would make at least one dog happy: water.
Our first stop was the whitewater park at Lawson. There was no one there again (it was cool and rainy), so the girls had free reign. Lucy waded in a bit but she’s smart enough to know she can’t swim in the strong current. Fabi was in the water and crashing over the rapids as usual.
After an hour in Lawson we hit the road again. I thought taking the girls to Loveland Pass but I suspected that it would be packed with day-trippers again, so I kept on I-70 and exited in Frisco. After a quick tour of the town we were headed south to Leadville. I had never taken US 24 back north from Leadville so off we went. After passing through Ski Cooper we stopped at Camp Hale, site of the 10th Mountain Division. The dogs were more interested in digging through the brush and rolling in grass (hopefully on grass) so we headed back into Leadville where there didn’t appear to be much going on. I like Leadville but they’ve recently become rather unfriendly towards dogs by banning them from their big festivals and events. CDOT had updated their signs to indicate that Independence Pass was already open for the summer so I decided the girls would get a new sign photo opportunity. First, however, we would stop at Twin Lakes for a swim.
Next it was on up to the top of Independence Pass. The light snow of the winter and the unusually hot spring had left their marks on the pass: there was almost no snow to be seen on the way up and everything was already fairly green. There was, however, enough snow at the pass to make it an interesting proposition getting from the parking area to the observation overlook over the ridge but some creative snow sliding across a few drifts got me through. I had visions of getting the dogs to pull me out of the drifts if they proved too deep; luckily I did not have to rely on their lighter weight on the crusty drifts.
After ninety minutes or so at the pass I was ready to hit the road and we continued west towards Aspen. Again, there was almost no snow at all on this side of the pass — but there were some really awful “Sunday” drivers in front of me riding their brakes all the way down. We passed a small herd of deer in the road just outside of Aspen before hitting the sprawl. It was getting late at this point so I just continued through to Glenwood Springs where we briefly stopped at a rest area along the Colorado River. Fabi has scratched another river off of her list of major rivers in which to swim, but I kept her close as the river was rolling pretty hard and fast. We finally made it home after 10 PM and several light snow storms where we all crashed out for the night.
Hoosier Pass
Chimborazo over Riobamba
I never got the hang of Sundays
I had ambitious plans today, including heading out to La Mittad del Mundo on the equator. This is a touristy spot that plays on the mystic powers of the equator, but has a lot of fun exhibits, a nearby Inca ruin site and on Sundays features lots of live music and dancers. I wanted to do this since all of the churches and religious sites in Quito would be packed full of worshippers, but fate intervened.
Okay, I won’t say fate intervened but I got distracted. I walked a few blocks from the hotel to find the trolle stop and came across the Plaza Santa Domingo where a presentation was being made. In conjunction with the city of Quito a Columbian musical dance group was performing. I guess it was “Water For Quito” day. I must say the music and dancing was mesmerizing and since I was about a foot taller on average than the locals I stood behind the small crowd (no pun intended) and took many photos. I also fell in lust with one of the dancers who kept “flirting” with me, and by flirting I mean she was within 50 feet and not repulsed. I doubt she even noticed me (albeit I was taller and whiter than most others in the crowd).
Suddenly the church bells rang and the church emptied out into the plaza. I relaized I had been watching the performers for over two hours and had likely missed my opportunity to catch a bus out with enough time to explore La Mittad del Mundo and get back before dark.
No worries, I walked over to the main square, Plaza Grande. I don’t know if today was a special event or if the plaza is normally so crowded, but I was glad to see at least one Policia for every fifty people because I was getting looks from some of the deviants… checking what I was carrying and if I was paying attention to my surroundings. I watched more performers and ate some queso y jamon empanadas for lunch near the San Francisco de Quito convent. What, you’re selling helado? Si!
I walked up a steep street headed for another cathedral and heard traditional music playing from inside a courtyard. It turned out to be a dance recital for a traditional dance school and they were amazing! After another hour I resumed my climb up to the cathedral which was a bit of a letdown once I arrived. I headed back down the street and realized I had applied enough sun creme to the top of my ears buy my forehead had sweat through the protection there. I suspect I will have a good burn on the top of my face and possibly endure some peeling in a few days.
After a few hours siesta at the hotel, I journeyed out for dinner. I fond a small South American-style pizza joint, and if I ever figure out how it differs from North American pizza I will let you know. I will say the pizza was good and filling, and the cerveza was very tasty
Time for a rant: I did not learn spanish in high school and my knowledge has been acquired through observation, Sesame Street and reading the Lonely Planet South American Phrasebook… plus my experience on my trip to Peru a few years ago. Stupid Americans, just because I can order and converse with the server doesn’t mean I want to translate for you when you order. Give it a try first, make mistakes and learn. Just because you recognized the logo on my ball cap does not mean we are friends. Also, if you’re a strict vegetarian visiting Quito plan ahead and learn how to ask for vegetarian dishes. Don’t get flustered when your dish arrives topped with beef and then give up and ask me to tell the server what you wanted. My spanish is no bueno, but even I can manage “sin carne.”
Now back in the room to hit the hay. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Hello from Ecuador!
If everything has gone well, I am in Quito Ecuador at the moment. I’m taking a bit of a holiday and touring around the Andes for a couple of weeks. I don’t expect to have much internet access (although I’m reading that many hostals, hosterias and hotels have Wi-fi to accommodate foreign tourists)… I’ll try to post photos as I can.
Don’t expect too much of the touristy checklist stuff, though: I am going to relax and enjoy myself.
See you next month!