South American adventure

i stayed in Santa Rosa de Calamuchita for 2 weeks even though when i arrived i thought i would spend a few days. last weekend the daughter of Diana, the woman i was staying with arrived and later her niece from Rosario. we spent the weekend traveling around the little towns including a town that is pedestrian only called la Cumbrecita, Villa General Belgrano, Villa Ciudad Parque. we went out for coffee and explored around. i left Santa Rosa yesterday afternoon and Diana asked me if i would be coming back after going to Cordoba. i told her i did not want to impose and stay too long with her couchsurfing, but she said she loves having me and wants me to visit again. i will have to see how my plans go but i would like to visit again, whether it is in this trip or with Al on our honeymoon in a few years. she invited us both to stay with her in a few years when we come back. i got off the bus and Emi, another girl from couchsurfing picked me up from the road (the buses here do not enter, they just drop you off on the highway) and we drove around Alta Gracia a little then went back to her apartment. it is little, she lives alone but it is very nice. we went out for drinks last night with friends of hers. it is difficult now because the computers here do not have headsets so i cannot call Al until next week. tonight we are going to her spinning class at the gym and tomorrow Emi and i will go to Cordoba together in the afternoon. tonight also i bought a new bodega torrontes to try out with some cheese and baguette. this afternoon Emi and i explored Alta Gracia, it is the childhood home of Che Guevara, the revolutionary from Argentina that was active in the Cuban revolution and good friend of Fidel Castro. many Argentines idolize Che Guevara. there is a museum in his home that we did not go in but visited from the outside. there was a plaque that explained that in 2006 Chavez and Castro visited the museum. yesterday was the bicentinario de la patria (200 year anniversary of Argentina´s first own government) and we went to the parade and there was a ceremony in which doves were released to symbolize peace and freedom. i ate locro which is a typical Argentina stew and empanadas for lunch and dinner too. if you talk to Al tell him i love him.

that is all i can think of for now.

chao y besos,

Annie

wow a lot has happened since we left mendoza. more than a week ago we took a night bus from mendoza to cordoba, arrived in the morning, walked many blocks looking for a hostal with our heavy packpacks, found one and stayed the night but there were too many rules, like you cant bring in your own drinks etc. that we looked for another for the following nights. we found another that we moved to the following morning. we relaxed, made pizza and other really good foods, explored the churches of Cordoba, running in the park sarmiento. monday we took a bus to the airport. we got there really early expecting to wait in line but there were hardly any people in the airport when we arrived. Al checked in and we waited more than 2 hours for him to board his plane. it was very difficult to say good bye after traveling together for almost 9 months. the last month here in Argentina we have not even been working just spending time together. i was quite nervous because i did not have a set plan of what i would do while traveling alone for the last part of my trip until my flight leaves the 20th of june from Buenos Aires. i had sent many messages trying to make contacts with people on homestay websites, organic farming work opportunities, an orphanage in buenos aires, but all with very little success. the only success was a response from a woman in the sierras (mountains) south of Cordoba that said i could stay with her in her house. after Al left i went right to the park to run because i knew i didnt want to go back to the hostal and just be sad all night. i decided to leave Cordoba the next morning and checked out of the hostal, walked the many blocks again to the bus station (i could take a taxi but i am trying to save money) and the way everything worked out was amazing. without knowing the schedule of busses, i got there and they said one was leaving in 5 minutes for Villa General Belgrano, another town 10km from Santa Rosa where the woman lives whom i would be staying with. the ride was beautiful, passing mountains and lakes, full sun that day, we got in to Villa and they said another bus would come in 5 minutes to take me to Santa Rosa. the woman who is hosting me, Diana, was waiting for me in the bus station. she had told me she would be there at 12:15 but i was not sure of my time of arrival. the bus pulled in to the station in santa rosa de calamuchita at 12:15 exactly. i did not plan it and definitely could not have planned it better than it worked out. we went to a cafe, had toasted sandwiches, then came back to her house and she gave me a key, we played with her cats, one is a saimese named Cleopatra and the other is a baby, a month and a half old named Gizmo but we call him Gizmito or don Giz. she also has a german shepard which here they do call pastor aleman. Diana has been wonderful to me, very welcoming and generous. on thursday we went to the Villa General Belgrano which is a town founded by German immigrants that is very beautiful, reminds me of Lake Placid or Ellicottville. quaint with lots of little shops and restaurants and cafes. we had lunch at a brewery that serves black beer, sausages with potato salad and liverwurst and bratwurst. we also bought mani bañado (chocolate covered peanuts which Al had been looking for since we left Peru with no success) and tasted different cakes. my favorite was the cheesecake. i found out about a concert and a used clothes fare that is happening today, called feria americana. in a few minutes i will take a bus to this German town again to go to both of these. i also learned of a 14km or 42km (marathon) race through the mountains that is scheduled for next sunday. i am thinking of running the 14k. tomorrow we are going to bake a chocolate cake made with dark beer. its supposed to be very moist though we have never tried it. i plan on staying here at least another 5 days, her house is very comfortable and quiet. much more quiet than the center of Cordoba which the traffic kept us up part of the night and we had to sleep with earplugs. here no, it is very quiet with a river just down the street and a creaky pedestrian bridge that crosses it. i have uploaded recent photos to the flickr site. Al has also uploaded his photos from the last month or two to some of the older sets.

Al arrived safely late tuesday night and is spending a lot of time with his family and friends, going to graduation at Fredonia and Bonaventure. skype is wonderful so that we can talk and see each other, though of course it is not the same as being together in person. but it helps.

bueno-chao, que disfruten este fin de semana!

we are now in Mendoza, which is in western central Argentina, 7 hours east of Santiago, Chile. We were able to find a cheaper hostal which is noisy but has a nice kitchen and we have a dorm room to ... [Continue reading this entry]