Horseback Riding!

I wrote this yesterday:
My birthday was on Sunday, and we went horseback riding. We were going to go paragliding, but the wind patterns weren't suitable. That was fine by me, I love riding horses. We will go paragliding a different time. Horseback riding was going to be my present for Danny for his birthday, but we never had an opportunity to do it until now. We had so much fun. We woke up at 6:15, took a bus to La Cumbre (2 1/2 hour bus ride each way), had lunch in town, then went horseback riding for 3 hours!

Danny and I woke up an hour later than we planned this morning, and we sounded like we were 90 years old. Every part of us hurts. It was worth it. We were led through La Cumbre by a gaucho named Juan. A 'gaucho' is loose equivalent to a cowboy. It was really peaceful. As you can see from the picture it was a beautiful day. Juan's dog came along to protect us from cows and other dogs. He got attacked by another dog one time. Danny called it 'Doggy Compton' because there were dogs chasing him regularly.

My horse, Bianca, had a mind of her own. She would just take off running whenever she felt like it. At first I didn't want to get ahead of Juan, so I would pull back the reigns. Toward the end I just gave in and let her run. My mom said she was 'barnsour'. Which evidently means she was eager to get back home. We had so much fun. Horses are truly amazing animals. We will have pictures posted soon.

I had my last class with Florencia today. It was kind of sad. I really like her and she helped me so much. I think it will be good to have the group classes though. I will be able to talk to people in Spanish more often, and hopefully make some new friends. Wish me luck!

Salta, Argentina

Here's an update about our vacation. There are so many things to tell you, but I will attempt to limit it. We left Friday night and took a snazzy bus to Salta, Argentina. Salta is in the northern part of Argentina-past the Tropic of Capricorn. The bus showed movies, served food, and the seats reclined to a 'Lazy Boy' position. It was like first class on an airplane. The buses here are usually double deckers, and they are really nice. While I was on the bus (and several other times) I couldn't help but think about how fortunate Danny and I are to be here, and to have this opportunity. I am so thankful, and know this has been a gift. Before we left to come to Argentina I wondered if we were silly for having our life hang in the balance for so long, waiting to here if we were going to be able to come here, and I can say with confidence I am glad we waited.

Back to the story...It was a 12 hour trip from Cordoba to Salta. It's set up so you can go at night, sleep on the bus, and arrive in the morning- smart thinking. We went on excursions all day Sunday and all day Monday with a guide. We went to different villages through out the province of Salta and Jujuy.

I loved seeing a different side of Argentina. The area has the highest population of indigenous people in Argentina. They look completely different from other Argentines. This is caused by the higher altitude. The highest point of our trip was at 4200 meters (That's 13,780 feet) above sea level. To give the Oregonians a point of reference: Mt. Hood reaches 11,245 feet. The people living there have adapted and developed more red blood cells to compensate for the decreased level of oxygen. They have much thicker, darker hair and thicker, darker skin to protect themselves from the sun and other variants in the climate.

Danny and I climbed up a hill and we felt like we had just ran a marathon. We were breathing so hard. It's that desperate kind of breathing when you feel like you're breathing through a straw. We were told later not to run, jump, bend down too fast because of the level of oxygen being lower. People not used to the elevation can easily get altitude sickness, that was easy to believe after being in it for a few minutes.

On the first day we went to Purmamarca, Jujuy, San Salvidor, San Antonio de los Cobres, the salt flats, and other places I cannot remember. There are villages in Salta where the people do not have money. Each family grows/raises a specific crop/animal in a community and they live by trade. For example one family is in charge of raising chickens and the next family is in charge of growing alfalfa, and so on...They live by trading resources with one another. I love that.

We ate lunch in a very poor village, San Antonio de los Cobres, which is a small mining town. The guide recommended a restaurant and we ate Llama. Yes, that's right, the animal that spits a foul smelling fluid. It was quite good-similar to Bison. It did not have a gamey taste at all. It tasted like a lean cut of beef. Speaking of beef, I ate that for lunch too, and boy was it good. Mmmmm....Beef good enough to make a vegetarian cry.

We took the famous 40 national route to the Salt Flats (Salinas Grandes). Agreeably our favorite part of the trip. The area is shaped like a bowl with mountains 360 degrees around. Salt water flows into the area and settles because it has no place to go. It is then collected, mixed with iodine, and shipped right to a store nearest you. I skipped a few steps, but you get the idea.

It was amazing to walk on salt and feel it compact and crunch beneath our feet. It was a similar feeling to walking on snow. Much of it was similar to snow. It was blinding white as far as your eye could see- amplified by the sun. There were sections of rectangles approximately 4' x 7' dug out of the ground where the salt is collected. The rectangles contain salt and water, which results in a beautiful affect. Miniature crystals are formed, creating a dance of prisms. Much like sunshine on a snowy day.

I will post pictures later. This is getting to be pretty long, and I'd like to post this today, so I am going to end here, and I will post about our second day either tomorrow or Sunday. Speaking of Sunday I have to remember to set my clock forward 1 hour. You guys set your clocks back in November, and then we will be 6 hours different. Sunday is also my papa's birthday, and then my birthday is the week after that. I am going to be 24 years old. Tengo viente cuatro anos...Man, I don't feel 24.

Thanks for the prayers for my health. I am feeling much better, thank you.

Ocktoberfest

Sunday:
We drove in three separate cars with a group of friends from Intel to go to Oktoberfest. On our way up we stopped off at a place that offers Ziplining across the lake. It was $10's! There are some things that are more expensive here, but when it comes to services it is definitely cheaper. We drove between an hour and a half and two hours to get to a German refugee village, Villa General Belgrano. The village was named in honor of the man who created the Argentine flag. During WWII some Germans made there home in this village and it has remained a Germanic village to this day. There was a parade through the streets with people dressed up in lederhosen and national costumes. There was food traditional of Argentina and some traditional of Germany, and of course beer.

We stopped at a river after lunch and had some amazing aged salami, cheese, and homemade bread... Oh yeah, my digestive system is so much better here. I don't know what it is. I won't dare eat straight up dairy products, but it has been so much better. I can eat pork (in moderation), and basically all the other stuff I haven't been able to eat. I think I O.D.'d on the salami on Sunday. I was so happy that I could eat it that I just kept on chowing down. I also ate cookies and pastries!!!!! Delightful!

A couple of Danny's work buddies said he was spoiled because everyone was speaking English around him and he wasn't ever going to learn Spanish, so that meant we spoke in a lot of Spanish after that. We both really enjoyed it. It's amazing how much effort and energy it takes to speak in a non-native language. It's good for us.

It was such a peaceful day. By the river we heard some rustling in the bushes and saw that there were 3 cows (vaca) on the other side of the river. No fence or anything. I went over to talk with them, a little in Spanish and a little in English, and they started to cross the river to my side. I wasn't sure what to expect from them. I knew they weren't bulls, so I wasn't too worried, but a little. It ended up they were quite friendly. They just hung out and ate grass next to us while we ate our salami. Like I said, very relaxing.

I didn't watch the full video, but this is a little glimpse into what Oktoberfest is like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZhI5XIMiz0

Quebrada Condorito

Sunday:

Danny and I went to Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito. It is a national park, about two hours away from where we are living, with the most oriental distribution of Andean Condors ( a beautiful black and white bird). We only got to hike half way because we got there really late. We had a little trouble at the bus station. The bus station we went to was similar to a small airport. There were all these windows saying where the bus was going and everyone told us a different place then the next guy. We were so confused and lost. We wandered all around, and finally when they told us bus terminal #31 we thought we found it. We got on the bus and asked if they went to Los Pamipillos and they said 'no' (and some other stuff we didn't understand.) We almost gave up, but we had some food to eat, so we decided to wait to see if the next bus in terminal #31 went to Los Pamipillos. We got on the bus, and to our amazement they went to the place we needed to go!

We watched a movie and looked out at the scenery, which at first was not much to look at. We started to get worried because the closer we got to the park, the worse the weather looked, and we weren't exactly sure how the bus system worked for getting back home (Danny, failed to mention that part to me until we were ON the bus.) We arrived to our stop, and just imagine the middle of nowhere in your head right now...that's where they dropped us off. There was a sign on a gate that said “La Propiedad Privada,” (Private Property) so we weren't sure if that was the place to go to the park or not. We found a little entrance for walking off to the side and went in. We followed a long crushed rock road that was surrounded by rocks sprinkled with lichen and hundreds of blond sprouts of thick lengthy grass.

Things started to look more and more beautiful. We saw a sign that assured us we were in the right place, and we felt relieved. We found a ranger station, and the ranger luckily spoke a little English. She told us we could only go halfway because it was getting to be too late, she also said he buses won't stop for you at night, and especially when there is fog (which there was plenty of that.) The weather was overcast and on the brink of raining, then suddenly it shifted. The clouds moved aside and the sun came out all around us. The sun remained for about 25 minutes. This was different terrain then I've ever been in before. The fog helped create a mystical feel. We saw a jack rabbit race by us, several wild bulls, and wild horses. I LOVE seeing wild animals, especially when there is a fence between us.

When we reached the lookout point. It was a wall of white fog. We sat on the rocks for a couple minutes. I touched my shirt and it was damp. The mist of the clouds covered us. Even our eyelashes got those little sparkles of dew on them. We turned back to insure enough time to catch the bus, plus it was getting increasingly colder. On the way back to the bus we ran into a group of 7 people. I felt SO much relief. They spoke Spanish, so I figured they knew how the bus system worked around there. We sort of just followed their lead.

I should remind you that there are no bus stops out in the middle of nowhere, so there are no guarantees that a bus will stop where you are at. By this time it was intensely cold, and no cars were coming. After about 5 minutes a pack of cars came around the corner. Several of them had their emergency lights on because of the thick fog. Among them was a bus. We waved for them to stop, but they continued to drive. The other group of people held up there thumbs to every passing car to hitch hike. I asked Danny why the bus didn't stop, and he wasn't sure. There was about a 5 minute span of silence with no cars. Then a fleet came around the corner, with no bus. This pattern continued for about a half hour.

Meanwhile I was running laps all around the area to stay warm. I had lost the feeling in my hands, and I was anxious because it was getting late. The other group started yelling out, “Colectivos!” Which is there word for buses. Another group of cars came, and this time there was a bus! I waved my arms like a madwoman, but it did not stop. Okay, now I was really worried. Why weren't they stopping? I was praying like crazy that a bus would come. We were so cold. I started sprinting and swinging my arms back and forth to stay warm. After another 5 minutes there was a bus, and it stopped. Oh my goodness, we were SO excited. That was the happiest I've ever felt to ride a bus in my life. We climbed on, and realized there were no seats available. We had to stand most of the bus ride back, we honestly didn't mind though. We were so thankful to be safe on a warm bus. People started getting off the bus toward the end of our journey, so we got a seat for the last 15 minutes of our trip back home. The whole experience was adventurous and much better then we were both expecting. To see more pics you can go to Danny's Flickr page: flickr.com/photos/dvarner/

cuatro dias

I typed this yesterday, but I didn't have access to the internet:

It's our third day in Nueve Córdoba, and I am feeling better about it. (Just so you know Córdoba is spelled Córdoba, but I don't know how to get the ó without going to the character map, so for simplicity sake I am writing it Cordoba.) Danny started work today, and I am writing to all of you and reading about what to do next. I am really excited to explore all that Cordoba has to offer.

I guess all the pictures I saw and information I looked up led me to a false sense of what it would be like here. It has the beautiful architecture and friendly people the books talk about, but there are a few pages missing from the guidebooks.

I am going to give you my first impressions of what little I've seen so far. From my short encounter with Nueve Cordoba I've found it mostly to consist of pastry shops (Cordobes love their treats and sweets), clothing stores (they're very fashionable), little eateries, and other various small businesses. The streets are filled with bustling Argentines (especially late at night, their average bedtime is 1:00am, and the majority of the cities inhabitants stay up all night on Saturday night and party like it's the last night on earth...or at least that's what it sounded like), garbage, stray dogs (and their poop), explicit posters and advertisements of women (which I am not a fan of), and lots of drivers (who do not believe pedestrians have the right of way). Again, I am trying to paint an honest picture of my first impressions of the city. I've had a more positive outlook since last night.

The contrast of what I read the city to be like and the reality of it made me feel a bit disappointed. Not to mention, being away from my support system, and grieving about missing you guys. So I might have seen things through darker glasses at first.

Argentines honestly eat dinner between 8:30pm and midnight. They stay at restaurants for several hours at a time, and they know how to take it easy. Oh, and if you don't ask for your bill, they will never bring it to you, unless of course you try to leave without paying, or at least I am assuming that's the case. Since they take their time, you let the server know when you're ready and they will not bother you a moment before you're ready.

I love that they have sunshine here even though it's technically still their winter/springtime! In Oregon, I usually wake up feeling like I have a hangover every morning (Don't worry grandma, I don't know what a hangover feels like), but I don't need an alarm clock here, and I feel refreshed, and awake...it's odd.

Oh my word, I forgot to tell you about flying over the Andes Mountains. Holy moly, what a awe inspiring view that was. Danny took a picture on his phone, which I will publish later. He has our phones at work, in attempts to get them up and running.

Cordoba's food and drink: (what I have found so far) They really love pastries, mate, wine, bread, and cheese. I have heard all this talk about what big meat lovers they are, but I've found they're more gluten, sugar (azucar), and lactose lovers. I just read that their steak houses are fast disappearing here, for reasons of which I know not. The beef that we have tasted is superior to most American beef that I've tasted. They feed their cows with grass, and a lot of American cows are corn fed. There's a lot more flavor to it here. Yes, they love their wine too. I personally don't like the taste of alcohol, but I will definitely have to try some of their red wine (vino tinto) while I am here. If you don't know, Argentina is famous for their amazing wine. Often times Argentines put sparkling water (Agua con gas) and ice cubes in their wine.

We've tried empanadas at 2 different locations, one of which was outstandingly delicious, and the other was good. One of our favorite meals was the steak fajitas at a touristy spot called Johnny B. Goods. We wanted to see a picture of the foods we were about to eat and the dishes were titled with English names.

I am discovering that there are little gems sprinkled through out the city. We stumbled upon one last night, Paseo del Buen Pastor (Pictured). It's just a few blocks from our apartment. We saw it during the day on our first day and it looked like a fun place to hang out and I thought it would be a great location to create some of my art, but it really came alive at night. The building was originally the women's prison and was rebuilt and restored as a cultural, tourist, and recreational center. It recently became a location to showcase young emerging artist's work. It has contemporary art with shows rotating several times a month. Danny and I perused the bottom floor, displaying comic strips from an assortment of artists. We could understand a few words here and there, but the enjoyable part was seeing the pictures. They were done in all different types of media, and with very different styles. I am excited that there are a few different places to view art. I will visit Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes next. It has a more permanent collection from the 19th and 20th centuries.

We also saw a beautiful neo-gothic style church called, Iglesia Sagrado Corazon, but most people call it Los Capuchinos. I will tell you more about it later and show you pictures. I am going to get started with my day.

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I am so thankful for your support and prayers. I love you and miss you all!