Sweet things

A meal is not over until desert has been had. That is a mantra I live by. I need something sweet to finish dinner. Lately, I have been on a baking kick making cookies and cinnamon buns.

Back in the fall I went on my first trip to pick some apples. As a Bermudian the only opportunity I have ever had to pick apples was the one apple that grew to be 2 inches in diameter in my father's garden. Even then I was forbidden to pick it with the hopes it would get bigger. Alas, I guess Bermuda weather/soil is not the ideal for apple growing so I approached the apple picking with gusto. By the time I was done I had a bag full of more apples than I could use. I went to cooking.

One of the things I decided to make were mini apple pies. Using a recipe from SmittenKitchen.com I cut large circles of dough and filled them with sliced apple that I had coated in brown sugar and cinnamon. Then using an egg wash I brushed the tops of the dough that folded around the sides and sprinkled with white sugar, slipping a tiny cut of butter into the apples to help them cook beautifully.

One of my favorite goodies as a child were the Austrian walnut horseshoe cookies my mother would make for us. As we rolled them out I would try and sneak the raw cookie dough without my mother seeing.

I can't share the recipe as it is a family secret but the main ingredients are butter and chopped walnuts.

Leading up to Valentines day I made cinnamon buns that were so rich and delicious I had to send them into the office with Paul so I would not eat them all. Despite his office being in a weight loss competition I think they enjoyed them.

One of my favorite food blogs is Smitten Kitchen and she made some Nutmeg Maple Butter Cookies (http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/12/nutmeg-maple-butter-cookies/). I used that recipe and a heart cookie cutter to make little hearts for Valentines Day. Then, because they were delicious but a little plain looking I made a simple sugar cookie icing that I MacGyvered some pink dye using Pomegranate Juice.

Icing sugar: 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 tsps milk, 2 tsps light corn syrup

Mix well and add food dye until it is at the consistency you want.

Food beginnings

Following the amazing array of food blogs such as Serious Eats, Smitten Kitchen, Umamimart, and Not Without Salt one can easily get jealous and antsy to cook. That has been me lately. Thankfully, I have had plenty of reason to. So, even if nobody reads this, I need an outlet to express my passion for cooking and the results of my labors.

For Christmas Paul and I were gifted our own Beer Brewing Kit. While I am extremely excited by this opportunity, I am more intrigued with the produce than the process. So, while Paul and his lova-lova-beer-brewer-extraordinaire, Jon, boiled, steeped, mixed, etc. I took pictures and provided an endless supply of snacks.

Steeping the bag of brew

One of my must-haves in the kitchen is fresh bread. Using the no knead recipe from 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day' by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, I always have a large container of bread fermenting nicely in my fridge. On the day of the beer brewing party I decided to make some focaccia.

Focaccia - Olive Oil, Cayenne Pepper, Coarse Salt,

Dried Thyme and Oregano

Take a good grapefruit size lump of bread out of your container

and press into the corners of a small cast iron pan with about 1/4-1/2 cup

of extra virgin olive oil. Make some divots in the top of the

dough and allow to rise for 40 mins to an hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on bottom.

Depending on how cold your bread is and how long you have allowed it to rise it may take longer

than 25 minutes.

Popcorn with smoky olive oil and pepper, salami,

cheese, cornichons, fresh green olives,

Paul's lamb sausage cooked in beer and caramelized onions

Beer in the Carboy - first step complete.

In two weeks that 5 gallons of beer will, fingers crossed, be 4 cases of beer. And there will be beer for days!

Baltic Balsam

Our traditional Latvian cuisine last night was served buffet style at a restaurant called Lido.  We were sadly informed by a ladle wielding tall man that taking pictures of the food was illegal in Latvia. Big bummer. Unfortunately the only picture we have is one of some sad potatoes taken seconds before being told off. Poor Paul. 

The portions were also  huge.  I asked for a little sauerkraut and was served half a plate. Hmmm lucky Paul tonight!  

Sunday we started the day with our usual freshly baked goodie from the local supermarket Rimi and had lunch at the beer garden. Here they had surprisingly good food with a range of local beers on tap. 

We shared a cup of fried seafood (squid, octopus and shrimp), some fried garlic soaked rye bread, a sandwich of spinach, pork and aged provolone with a spicy mayo and finally a fig and beet root salad with goats cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. 

With food heavy on our bellies we decided the logical place to go next was the central market. Housed in three large zeppelin hangars we were surrounded by huge quantities of meat, fish, vegetables, pickles, breads and any other food item you should want. I had a delicious pickle from one stall and for dessert some fried donuts covered in powdered sugar. Yum indeed!

To complete our day of food food and more food we went for dinner at a local dumplings store called Pelmeni XL where they sell, you guessed it, Pelmeni! Dumplings filled with a variety of meats, veg, and cheese with sauces and soups.  A very unhealthy day over all. 

4th of July! How better to spend it but to shoot some soviet guns at a James Bond cut out!  Great experience if not a tad sketchy. The guide book says it is in a Soviet Bunker so when we showed up outside a football pitch with toddler boys and their practice session I was a tad confused. We came to find out that a few weeks prior, the police ("who are now mostly corrupt") had raided the soviet bunker and taken control of all the guns. So now the older woman who runs it had to find somewhere else to once again set up shop.  Hence we were allowed to take pictures of the shooting as long as we did not get her face in the shot. Ended the day with some cards and black balsam. Note of warning about the balsam: as Paul and I found out, it is not only hard to down, but also has the unlikely trait of providing you with the interesting next day body odor of licorice.

Next day we were off to Sigulda. The gateway town to the national park 'Goija' (pronounced 'goy-ya'). 3 lats (about $5) total for an hour and a half trip. Thinking we had landed somewhere out in the boonies we were surprised that our hotel was so nice. The Hotel Segevold was swank and clean with the most comfortable beds we have had in a few days (Paul's eye baggage was grateful) but also desolate. Other than an asian party (which we saw once) we seemed to be two of a total of three guests.

In Sigulda we did the long walk to castles and caves taking a cable car along the way. We saw the infamous Gutmana cave where the beautiful Maija Rose was murdered, and splashed the "wrinkle-remover-medicinal" spring water on our faces (you can never be too careful). We saw Krimulda castle (where Maija Rose lived) in the town of Turaida with it's red bricked tower.

Back to Riga on Thursday for our morning flight to London on Friday. Maybe another shooting lesson?

Ready to Start

After a BBQ of every available meat and a late night game of cards we spent the next better half of the morning tired (and more to the point hungover) traveling back to London and meeting up with the wonderful Lucy! A quick nap and we were raring to go. Hyde park!!!! Thousands of people, a bit of pushing and shoving and we were front crowd centre in a surprisingly peaceful crowd of eager fans of all ages. 

I am not going to even attempt to describe the concert, except to say that I do not believe I will ever experience as amazing of a line up as that. 

The low point of the day was finding out that Paul and I, dummies that we are, did not adequately prepare for the trip back with £0 left on our oyster cards we were forced to ask people on the street for change, asking people to donate 20p only to find out we needed 40. Eventually walking the 10 blocks to a tube station that was not "closed for scheduled works", witnessing an attempted robbery and finally getting back to Lucys apartment. 

Keeping with the theme of our disorganization we did a bit of scrambling to print our boarding pass finally deciding just to take the iPad and therefore being forced to pay the £80 just for Ryanair to print it for us. 

Latvia is two hours ahead of London and in the summer hardly gets dark.  As soon as we had dropped our bags off in our room we made some friends in the hostel and got a night tour of Riga and the bars.  Rock band bars, "moon safari" bar, a 30 minute wait for a sugary mojito, a punch bowl of assorted fruit and alcohol with 6 straws...made a friend with a Latvian girl who danced with me, gave me drinks, told me I was fun (man I am so naive). She left and we were to go meet her at a bar when I passed her making out with another girl on the street....hmmm did I just get hit on? Interesting experience or narrow escape? 

In the day, Riga has an old European feel. Cobblestone streets lead to huge churches, replicas of original Latvian buildings torn down during the soviet oppression, beer gardens and markets. Art Nouveau buildings (more than any city in Europe I hear) are everywhere in central Riga, gargoyles,  peacocks, and goblins, Oh My! 

Traditional Latvian cuisine for dinner with some hostelers! 

Hello England

After a very fast six hour flight we arrived at Heathrow airport at 8:00 pm. Having decided that it must be our maturity that made the flight seem so much faster than it would have as a child we got immediately grumpy since the underground ride seemed too take twice as long as the entire flight.

Clearly in desperate need of reserve replenishments we did a quick survey and had a satisfactory tasting and quickly served meal of indian. It did the job.

Despite a troubled, where-am-I and in-what-timezone sleep we took off on an "adventure" to meet up with the Dixon family. Three trains, a bus and a walk and much confusion we arrived in Woolwich Arsenal (pronounced 'wool-itch' not 'wool-witch' ahem-cough Paul) with just enough time to eat a fast but delicious dish of mussels and we were off back into London. Took the ferry back which was much more preferable to the sweltering hot bus (much hotter than bda). Short of taking a submarine I think we have established ourselves as public transport veterans.

The next day (only our second but feels like a week has passed) was spent wandering through Harrods looking at things we could not afford. So to feel better we went for an affordable lunch...at Bar Boloud. Ok...maybe not affordable but worth every penny. See Paul's blog for food details (greedygastronomer.tumblr.com).

Then we were off to see the sheriff...of Nottingham that is. Lots of laughs, some beer and wine, a castle and the oldest pub in England!

Next up: some arsenic sons (Mumford and sons and arcade fire...but you got that right?)

Hasta Luego, Baby!!

Valpairaso was a beautiful city on the coast of Chile which reminded me a bit of Rio de Janeiro with is vibrancy and beauty. An hour and a half out of Santiago, Gibby, Shandy, Matt, James and I headed there from Mendoza for a few days of relaxing before Santiago and flights out. The city has a bohemian feel, with spray paint murals everywhere. It seemed as though everyone made an effort to get into the spirit of the city with elaborate doors, glass and mirror murals, spray paint art on walls and every other surface possible. Every building had some type of art. On a hill with some workouts to get up(reminding me much of Rio in that aspect) with narrow roads and tiny alleys. On our way to food from our hostel one day, which was located in one such tiny alley, we passed some local artists with walkie talkies communicating and keeping watch so they could complete their art in peace. Not that anyone should stop them. Its beautiful. Many photos to come of that.

While there we visited Vina del Mar, the beach (cold even for them, with iron sand....completely new for me), had a candy apple (or a toffee apple as it was argued over and over again by the english), and took a scenic and typical elevator ride up the hill (Valpairaso is known for them). On our last day we had a beautiful fish stew called "Paila Marina" with a massive amount of fresh shrimp, clams, mussels and fish for approximately $6 US. Beautiful.

One easy and painless bus ride to Santiago the five of us set out for our hostel La Chimba which will be my last hostel before I head home in two days. I cant believe its coming to an end but will be happy to get home (yes Mummy I missed the family...as well as your cooking). Will probably have some difficulties adjusting back to our keyboards as here I have lost all sense of where symbols are....for example, the @ sign is produced by pressing Alt+6+4. The ? moves form the top right to the bottom left...I have NO idea of where its usual position is. May not be my usual speedy typer when I return.

On our last few days of South America we will be exploring Santiago, we climbed (and by climb I mean we took the trolley) to San Cristobal hill, saw the Virgin Mary statue on top and a beautiful layout of Santiago. Still havent parted with the English crew (Gibby, Shandy and Matt) and will definitely be sad to see them go....however after many many delays they need to head up to Bolivia.

Probably the last post as I fly out day after tomorrow. So...until the next trip....bye and thanks for reading!

Catena Zapata

On our next day in Mendoza we took an afternoon bus to Maipu pronounced...ahem ¨my-poo¨(pause for jokes...there were three days worth of jokes made here so I have pretty much heard them all). Once in Maipu (stop laughing) we tried to find a taxi but to no avail. Standing in the middle of an emptry street, with 15 minutes left before we were supposed to be at Catena Zapata winery, we were five extremely lost and sorry looking tourists. Finally a police officer took pity on us, stopped, and called us a taxi. One sketchy taxi ride later with us having to stop (meter running) so he could fill up on gas(!), and stops along a dirt road with our driver insisting we were going the wrong way (the map does not lie!!), we arrived to a beautiful winery with the signature Catena Zapata Mayan temple style building before us. It was like arriving to a palace.

Every inch of the walls, floor and ceiling were made of a magnificent cream coloured marble/limestone. 12 foot long tables made out of one piece of wood from a tree from the Iguacu Falls. Premium french oak barrels (used for no longer than 3 years...a year shorter than the other wineries we visited) were lined up in rows in a large pristine and perfectly cared for ampitheatre shaped room...actually shown on their website. We got an extensive tour from top to bottom of the winery, including rooms with every inch of space taken by wines aging in the bottle.

The wine itself was indescribable. We were provided with two wines to taste, a 2008 Chardonnay and a premium bottle of their 2005 Malbec. Heaven.

The next day in a group of 9 we headed to MR. HUGO! A bicycle rent shop where we got bikes for the day and went from winery to winery, tasting and generally having fun. After the amazing day before, however, and because I was feeling slightly feverish I did not sample much wine and mainly concentrated on staying awake.

Did not think it was possible but am definitely sick of wine for now so Matt, Shandy, Gibby, James and I (the last remaining from the Navimag boat trip) headed to Valparaiso, Chile.

Santiago in a day or two and then flying back home.

Land of the Vino Tinto

After our white water rafting trip we had a great full asado lunch with tons of perfectly cooked beef, all types of cuts, steaming on a metal platter, topped up every few minutes whether we had finished it or not. All in all it was a wonderful day complete with an encounter with a real life gaucho who patrols the Chile-Argentina border.

The next day Matt, Shandy, Gibby and I went on a zip lining tour through the forest. Beautiful, fast, exhilirating and, of course, SAFE (love you mummy). Also had many mini spanish lessons from our guide who kept insisting I learn how to say ready to go, ¨estas listas!¨

That night we went for mexican food in Bariloche, followed by ONE tequila shot, and a few very interesting games of beer pong. I will go no further.

With a slight hangover we left the following day for Mendoza where I am currently. The first day in Mendoza, a desert in the middle of mountains, and there was a sand storm. Tree branches had fallen off into the road, the sand and debris was flying everywhere it felt and looked like a city of apocolyptic remains. I returned to the hostel with much lighter (in colour) dusty hair, and the outline of my clothes on my body. The temperature, however, was the real surprise. After being in the cold for the last few weeks I was rudely surprised by the intense dry heat. Followed by dust it was not the ideal introduction.

Today was the exact opposite of yesterday. No wind, but very very cold. I dressed to accomodate the heat in a tank and shorts and immediately after exiting my room had to switch back into the cold clothes I had been wearing the last few weeks in Patagonia. This is apparantly the normal weather occurence after a sand storm.

After our friends Anna and Joe were sent back to the hostel because of a shut down of the Chile-Argentina border we ended up going as a group on a winery and olive oil factory tour. The first winery we went to was clearly an industrial mass produced factory with ladies topping up fizzing bottles of white wine with a squeegy bottle....something was wrong with that production line.

The second winery tour at Cavas de Don Arturas was fantastic. We were able to get a tour in english (thank goodness!!!) with a woman born and raised in Florida but who moved to Mendoza to work on her family´s winery. Very snappy woman, starting most of her sentences with ¨of course!¨ but full of really interesting information. Bought a couple bottles, tried a few glasses, and headed back with some of the best olive oil, wine, bottled olive paste, cheese, and lots of other goodies perfect for an antipasto dinner. Even picked up some fresh jamon crudo from a nearby queso and carne shop.

Villarrica to Manso

Our first morning after a brutal wake up at 6am (6;45 if your alarm is stupidly set to pm instead of am) we found out that the weather was not good enough to climb the mountain so we put it off for another day. Instead, we went back to sleep for another few hours and then headed off to the hot springs.

Naturally made jacuzzis ranging from slightly warmer than a pool to scalding hot temperature alongside a freeezing cold river. Beautiful. Absolute bliss. On our ride back we had a beautiful clear view of the volcano we were supposed to be climbing the next day. More than a little dubious. In fact, terrified of the steep mountain before us.

The next day we woke up to clear sunny skies and headed off to Volcan Villarrica. Minor delay when our van skidded out on the snow covered roads and had to put on chain links to our tires. Minor problem fixed we continued on our way. At the base, with gear all strapped on, clingons in bag, ice picks strapped outside, lots of layers on, this is the moment our guide Carlos and Jason decided to inform us that the ski lift was not working today. Major let down. Full panic mode now. I know how unfit I am, flashbacks of biking up the "hill" are coming back to me. After an hour or so of walking we reach the end of the ski lift. I am practically crying....I am not made for physical exercise like this! It is boiling up there, despite the fact that we are walking in snow, the sun is roasting us, and worst of all, I know we are not even half way, for goodness sake we havent even STARTED!!

After being downgraded to the "slow" group, I like to call it the "normal" group, we continued on four of us with our guide Jason. Every once in a while we would take a break for breath or some water or chocolate and be astounded at the view around us. Between gasps and whimpers I would occasionally mention that I would have more spirit if someone would just lie to me and tell me that we were half way. This would always be followed by someone telling me that we were and me cussing them off because I knew it wasnt the truth. Not until Jason our guide finally told me that we were a little more than half way through did I think there was an actual chance that I would make it. Fast forward 5 more hours, lots of chocolate and sugar, and a 60 degree steep gradient (in places) and we made it. We reached the top of the volcano/mountain and was greeted by a lungful of sulfuric smoke (healthy right?). Out of the cloud of smoke the view was amazing. 2,830m high up, no clouds in the sky. Just the scene of Pucon and Patagonia before us.

The ride down, despite my inital fear of the height and steepness, was the best part. With only our ice picks to slow us down (while trying not to stab ourselves, which I managed to do once) we slid down the side of the mountain one after another on our behinds. 7 hours up, 1 hour down. Incredible.

Every muscle in my body hurt that night, but it was completely worth it. The next day we left at 10am and moved to Bariloche, Argentina, sadly leaving two of the group behind.

Bariloche is known for a few things. Chocolate for one, which we have had a bit of. As well as its amazing location in the mountains and lake. We decided to go white water rafting the day after arriving. Out of a 5 class system (5 being the highest) we went on rapids graded 3 and 4 down Manso river (Manso ironically means ´calm´). First rapid and all but 2 of us went in the water. Freezing water. I was definitely more afraid of getting wet and cold than I was on the rapids....ok perhaps I was equally scared. With your guide saying things like "guys, we need to pay attention on the right when we go over the big wave we dont want to go right, avoid the whirlpool on the right, and the rocks on the left" or "DONT fall out here guys!" Like we can help it! On the whole the guides were amazing, full of jokes (all of which I fell for), very attentive, and they knew that river like the back of their hand...or better.

Perhaps some zip lining in the canopy tomorrow and then off to Mendoza.

Lets move on to Pucon!

Our four day four night trip aboard the Navimag was lots of fun and very interesting. Aboard we met 7 other backpackers from various parts of the UK and ended up having a fabulous time together. From late night card games to ´gay raves´ (the 6 guys get drunk, run outside into the freezing rainy night and strip to their boxers, and hat if you are james, and jump around like idiots to the magical techno inside their heads while us girls laugh and cry and film as much as we can) it was trully an experience I wont forget...the entire boat trip, not just the rave. Saw some seals following the back of the boat one day. Another entire day was spent with us all, slightly hungover, very sea sick lying and reading while the boat rocked and swayed in all directions over the very choppy pacific ocean. First experience in the Pacific and it wasnt all that great. Nobody got ill but we definitely all felt it.

After a 3 hour sleep on our last night the boat company very rudely kicked us off at 7:30 am and dropped us in the middle of no where in Puerto Montt where we immediately got on a 6 hour bus ride to Pucon. There, we all got a hostel together which we basically (other than two other people which we never see) have the run of. Lots of ´family´ meals and games. As a result of much confusion between me and another Anna I have been designated the nickname of ´triangle´ (Bermuda triangle, obviously).

Tomorrow, counting the weather is good we are all going to climb a volcano (6 hours up if you dont take the ski lift, 4 if you do....clearly I will be taking the lift). Once we get to the top the ride down takes 1 hour down....on slides! Should be a lot of fun, if I make it. Then to relax we are going to the hot springs!

Hope for good weather!

Flamingos and Pizza from Arg to Chile

After arriving back in El Calafate we decided to stay at a place with a little more going on than Grandmas house and moved into our luxurious dorm rooms at Che Legarto. Luxurious, that is, if you mean teeny tiny with no room to breathe. Regardless, we had some really helpful staff, a hot shower, a sloping pool table and beer. What more could you ask for!

Had an early wakeup for our trip to Glaciar Moreno. Indredible glaciar with boardwalks at every height and every angle. Every few minutes (usually when we were walking between view point) you would hear a gunshot or the sound of a car backfiring,and then thunder as huge chunks of the ice fell away into the ice cold lake below. Amazing site to experience, despite the lack of Baileys on ice.

While the trip was supposed to be for 6 hours we finished taking our hundreds of similar photos from slightly different viewpoints and had 3 hours to spare before our friendly fellow bus tourists (from india) knocked on the window to inform us that the bus was here. Pretty funny to suddenly hear the indian accent in the middle of Argentina, ¨we go Ushaia tomorrow. Is end of world!¨

After Moreno we had a free hot chocolate at a very cute little shop and then ran into the tour group we had met in El Chalten for dinner. Had a very large, juicy, red, argentinian steak (about 1lb for 45 pesos). After a few beers with the group it was an early night and an early rise for our bus ride from El Calafate to Puerto Natales, CHILE! We started off with a very confused bus boarding with us getting completey settled and ready to go before we were told we would suddenly have to switch buses.... even though they were both going to the same place. Nice little trip through past a few towns and lots of country side. Passed the odd site of flamingos in a dirty black pond across from a coal mine.

Another day another country. Chile is beautiful. Great first impression with our first meal being in a small Pizza spot with an amazing pale ale from a local microbrewery, a delicious pizza, and the best fettucini pasta (homemade and cut to order) that I have ever had. After such an amazing meal I decided to splurge and have dessert. Apple cobbler with fresh cream and some gooseberry ice cream. Delicious. Total: CH$18,000... about USD$37.

Boarding our Puerto Eden ferry tonight at 9pm with a 6am departure tomorrow for our trip around the fijords up to Puerto Montt and then across the border back into Argentina to Bariloche (chocolate capital!!)

Incidentally I am having the same problem as before in India with nobody (even other travellers) knowing where Bermuda is so I have taken to carrying around a small map of the world to show. Came in handy today when the border control had no record of a ´Bermuda´existing on her list of countries. Ingles! Ingles!

Baileys on Ice

Due to the painfully slow internet I used to write my last blog I dont think my full excitement was able to show through the frustration. So I want to give the full credit to El Chalten that is due. While a new town (only one year older than me...1985 settlement if you HAVE to ask) El Chalten was so quaint and adorable it was no wonder that so many people flock there. It is the quintessential stop for any trip to Patagonia, in my opinion. With, maybe, a hundred buidings, only half of them are finished. Regardless of the size of the town the surrounding mountains are amazing. Cerro Torres the mountain rainge and Fitz Roy were unbelievable. We had the amazing luck of seeing them both on our first day. On our next day we took a 4 hour walk (8 hour total) to Lago Torres. Beautiful trails up and over hills, through the forest, over streams, throuh marsh (if you are like us and got lost...trusty Giibs navigation strikes again). The end result was a lake with a glacier at the end. Didn´t stay long due to the strong wind, but was still an amazing sight. Legs definitely felt like rubber when I got back though.

We spent the previous night at the microbrewery (where I saw a $2 Bermuda note...huge excitement there). Amazing meal with spinach ravioli filled with squash and the best beer I have had in months. Made on site Bock and Pilsner. Tasted like heaven. To make up for our expensive dinner the night before we cooked dinner the next and spent the rest of the evening playing Shithead (that is the name of the card game so excuse the language)with a group on a tour bus and then an early, and much appreciated, nights sleep.

Next day we woke up pretty sore but very excited to visit Glaciar Viedma, the largest glacier in Argentina (so they say). Took a boat tour out, got blown about on top while we took pictures, and even saw a few pieces fall off!

The trully breathtaking part was walking on top of the glaciar. After getting our...major brain fart here, too tired...clangons clampons (feel free to laugh I wont be offended)....anyways you know what I mean, the spiky things on bottom of your shoes. Ok once we got those things (wow really tired) on we had a quick introduction (DONT SIT ON THE ICE, lean forward on way up, lean back on way down) we were off. Beautiful crevices, deep blue ice, crunchy ice on top, streams on their way down. Absolutely incredible! After a few treacherous moments and a few jokes about my descents (apparently I look like I am doing the limbo when I go down...I WAS SCARED) we reached the top and was treated by our three guides to Baileys on ice. Real ice. Glaciar ice. Lets just say they have ruined Baileys on ice forever for me. I will never have a more beautiful, delicious, and well deserved drink. Coffee and a chocolate on the boat ride back. Never have I spent a wiser $80USD.

Evening bus ride back to El Calafate and Glacier Moreno tomorrow morning.

To Grandmas House We GO!

After the concert we did little else in Buenos Aires but rest, eat, and do a little more sightseeing. Next we took an overnight bus to Puerto Madryn, Patagonia. We awoke the next morning, on the bus, to a land of nothing. Complete desert all around. The town looked ominous completely surrounded by, again, nothing. However, our expectations were of course exceeded as we were made privy to the beautiful animals on Peninsula Valdes, a UNESCO world heritage site. The whales, who come at this time to give birth and raise their young before moving back to the Antartic waters, were eveywhere. We took a boat trip out to see them and saw the very ¨weird¨(I think they meant rare)site of an albino baby whale. The huge mass of white below the surface of the water about 50 feet from the boat was extremely impressive. We also got about a foot away from some penguins (real photo posers they are), and about 50 feet away from some Elephant Seals. No surprise where their names came from as we had the chance to see a territorial male blow his trunk and honk away at a male who was getting a little to close to his girl.

After Puerto Madryn we took the long bus down to Rio Gallegos (pronounced Gha-shae-gos)and then a transfer to El Calafate. This town has the feeling of a ski village...without the skiing. The major attraction site is the Glacier Moreno. We instead spent the night at Grandmas house (a musty hotel complete with doilies, fake flowers, and the weird ´grandma´smell of dustballs and sweet freshener...I am not sure how we even found this place!) and took the 8am bus to El Chalten. With the slowest internet I have ever encountered I somehow managed to get the only hour when it is working. Here now we spent the afternoon taking a walk to the viewpoint to see the Fitz Roy mountain range. We managed to get here on the first clear sunny day this week and had the incredible opportunity to see the mountains at their best.

Tomorrow we have another 7am start to head off on a 4hour trek there and back. Small stuff for any other experienced trekkker....or even a fit person...pretty long for an unfit person like me. Must stay motivated!

After the concert we did little else in Buenos Aires but rest, eat, and do a little more sightseeing. Next we took an overnight bus to Puerto Madryn, Patagonia. We awoke the next morning, on the bus, to a land of nothing. Complete desert all around. The town looked ominous completely surrounded by, again, nothing. However, our expectations were of course exceeded as we were made privy to the beautiful animals on Peninsula Valdes, a UNESCO world heritage site. The whales, who come at this time to give birth and raise their young before moving back to the Antartic waters, were eveywhere. We took a boat trip out to see them and saw the very ¨weird¨(I think they meant rare)site of an albino baby whale. The huge mass of white below the surface of the water about 50 feet from the boat was extremely impressive. We also got about a foot away from some penguins (real photo posers they are), and about 50 feet away from some Elephant Seals. No surprise where their names came from as we had the chance to see a territorial male blow his trunk and honk away at a male who was getting a little to close to his girl.

After Puerto Madryn we took the long bus down to Rio Gallegos (pronounced Gha-shae-gos)and then a transfer to El Calafate. This town has the feeling of a ski village...without the skiing. The major attraction site is the Glacier Moreno. We instead spent the night at Grandmas house (a musty hotel complete with doilies, fake flowers, and the weird ´grandma´smell of dustballs and sweet freshener...I am not sure how we even found this place!) and took the 8am bus to El Chalten. With the slowest internet I have ever encountered I somehow managed to get the only hour when it is working. Here now we spent the afternoon taking a walk to the viewpoint to see the Fitz Roy mountain range. We managed to get here on the first clear sunny day this week and had the incredible opportunity to see the mountains at their best.

Tomorrow we have another 7am start to head off on a 4hour trek there and back. Small stuff for any other experienced trekkker....or even a fit person...pretty long for an unfit person like me. Must stay motivated!

Queens, Machines and all inbetween

After we moved to Art Factory the full effect of our exhaustion hit and we spent the next few days being completely sick sloths who did little else than eat and sleep...oh and take pills...lots and lots of medication (at the appropriate dosage of course). Finally after a quick visit from the doctor James was on some antibiotics and on the road to recovery.

During our recovery we did manage to make it outside once to see the local zoo. Actually an amazing zoo complete with lions and tigers and bears (you know what to do), elephants and giraffes, sheep (insert appropriate NZ joke...if you heard how many daily jokes I get about Bermuda you would understand that this is more than necessary), and many other animals. On the same trip we also managed to eat at a small empanada chain shop which stands as James´ favourite empanada to date. My favourite empanada is from a shop on the corner from our hostel where you can see from the street two woman hand making them all day long.

Yesterday after a late start we had a quick lunch at a world famous pizza shop, El Cuartito (http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/10/el-cuartito-serving-pizza-to-buenos-aires-since-1934-argentina.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+seriouseatsfeaturesvideos+%28Serious+Eats%29) recommended by Paul. Then we met up with our friends from Finland Toni and Elisa who we met on the tragic day of our robbery....still not sure if they are involved or not (pretty sure they arent although the jokes are getting a little close to home now). After a quick drink of vino tinto (red wine) on the terrace of our hostel we headed to the concert! Rage Against the Machine with Queens of the Stone Age to start. Dirty pancho for dinner washed down with some Pepsi (Pepsi concert therefore pepsi is appropriate). I can now say that I have been in a mosh pit...toes hurt a little the next day but it was well worth it. Never have I ever loved society´s appreciation for personal space more....or of soap. Sweaty hairy men of all shapes and sizes.... me stuck in between praying for my toes to make it out alive. The only way to stay safe most of the time was jumping with the crowd and holding on for dear life. Great concert over all. Something to mark off the bucket list.

Another much needed lazy day after our tiring walk back to our hostel...in the rain....with sore feet (I wanted to take a taxi!!!). Dinner with Justin and drinks with the Finnish friends then maybe off to Uruguay for a day or two.

Boca! Boca!

Palermo! Got off the subway and took a short walk to the Evita museum. Beautifully done in the building which was, during her time, a refuge and care center. Walked around Palermo, looked at the street fairs, tons of stalls, bought a pair of pants, and headed back. I am sure we would have been more enthusiastic about the area had we not been sick. James and I are both battling a cold so it has been a little difficult to enjoy it fully.

After a nap we went to dinner at a cute little italian restaurant near the hostel. We shared a plate of pollo portugese (chicken done with an onion and bell pepper sauce) and homemade fussili with a meat and tomato sauce. I have never had pasta so fresh and delicate. I could have had a bowl of that pasta, no sauce, just by itself.

After a night of rest (really taking advantage of this party hostel we are) we took a walk into San Telmo district. Since it was Sunday the majority of the streets were cordoned off and jam packed with antique stalls, homemade leather products, arts and crafts products, and any other product a hippie could ever want.

After a quick nap we grabbed a couple beers and headed off to a football game. Boca vs. Tigres. I of course underestimated the length of this trip and by the time we pulled in was darting down the streets to a McDonald's for the loo. Never have I loved McDonald's more. Had to push past the woman cleaning the stalls trying to tell me that the stalls were closed with many "por favor POR FAVOR!!!!" I think she got the gravity of the situation....she let me pass. Ended up having the entire football party waiting for me. Great. Round of applause to me.

The game itself was insane. Actually, for the entire 90 minutes I probably saw about 30 minutes of football (enough time to see one of the two goals). We sat in the Boca stands (the away team) along with the bus loads of hooligans. After grabbing our seat in the stands (an hour before kick off) we were privy to the setting up of the hooligans. Complete with a riot at the entrance with the police. Police in full riot gear, batons, and rubber bullet guns. There was a huge scuffle, we had a clear view of a few guys being beaten by the police, and about 10 guys shot through the commotion with their smuggled drums. All that for drums! Well, we could see soon after that it was worth it. Huge bags full of flags and banners were emptied, one legged men were climbing up walls to secure the banners over the crowd. Boys climbed up the barbed wire fence to hang from the top, shaking the fence so the loud speakers were dangerously close to falling over onto the crowd. The navy blue and yellow flags were everywhere. Beer and alcohol are banned from the stands so instead, the entire boca stand was covered by a thick cloud of smoke from weed. Bit of a surprise really... and you would think that maybe it would calm the fans down! Nope. Not a chance. These men (about 95% were men) spent the entire game, resting only during half time, singing, shouting, waving their flags, jumping up and down, shaking the stadium. The game was won 2-0 Boca. I was able to see the second goal, before I was shoved down a few stairs (by James who lost his footing....not his fault) by the crowd of Argentines behind us. I have never seen a crowd go so crazy after a goal. I almost hoped for there to be no more goals just to save my life. Amazing experience overall. During half time we spoke to a few of the older men who were sitting around us and found out that they were 'older' hooligans, who have calmed down since their crazy years of drinking and support (not that their support has dwindled at all). Later we found that our tickets were so expensive not only because they were bought through the mafia but for security. The older gentleman were paid to look out for us, and we reckon to pay off some of the tougher more decorated men around us, "this is why you still have camera" said our guide at the end. Fine by me!

Got back around 11:30pm, had an apple for dinner and passed out.

Moving to Art Factory Hostel today and maybe take it easy and try to get better before our concert.

Finding Evita

After a great day full of ice cream and sight seeing we decided to "do as the locals do" and eat a late dinner. I took control (for once) of the directions and got us on the subway to take us to the California Burrito Company at 10:30. At our transfer stop we sat and waited for our next train... we waited... we waited. The tv's overhead turned off... hey maybe that girl we passed who was ranting in spanish was telling us the subway was closed?! Luckily we found a gate that was only partially closed and we slipped out of the deserted subway. Not a good sign. We were told, and have read, that people in Argentina don´t eat dinner until around 9 or 10.... apparently this is only on the weekends because upon arriving at the California Burrito Company, EVERYTHING was closed. Never has a street shawarma from the only open restaurant on the block tasted so much like shame and disgrace. Most expensive shawarma as well... it cost us $2.20 on subway fare, a $10 cab ride to the shop, $15 back, plus the shawarma themselves, and of course our pride.

The next day we moved to Millhouse where we are spending the next three nights. After checking in we took a walk down to Recoleta to see the cemetery which is filled with graves of famous Argentinians, including Evita´s grave. Took us a while to find it though. By the way, we thought our spanish was improving...apparently, while we have some phrases down, our accent is pretty poor. James, in search of this famous tomb, stopped an Argentinian and asked, in spanish, "where is Evita?" The man replied in English... then again maybe it was the fact that he was wearing a Vietnam t-shirt and carrying an Indian bag that tipped him off that he was not from around here.

After the cemetary we took a walk to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts). An amazing collection of art including Monet, Gaugain, Picasso, Degas, Manet, as well as other international artists.

A quick walk back to Lavelle street and we had our much anticipated burrito and tacos from the California Burrito Company. We will not be beat!

Heading into the Palermo district today to see some more sights (and for me to buy a pair of jeans...its cold here!).

Buenos Dias Buenos Aires!

After arriving an hour late from Santa Fe we took a taxi to Pangea Hostel where I thought I had reserved a room on HostelWorld. Unfortunately, I somehow managed (again) to book the wrong night, so after spending one night in the dorms we are back in our own room. Apparently I cannot be trusted with reservations.

Our first day in Buenos Aires and we spent the morning searching for accomodations. Millhouse (the renowned party hostel), Art Factory (each room is designed and painted by a different artist) and Che Legarto (we stayed with them in Parati) all pretty much booked. However we still managed to get rooms. One night in Pangea, then two nights in Millhouse, one night in a dorm, then four nights in Art Factory. Lots of moving but it should be worth it.

For lunch we went to Santa Lucia restaurant on a corner near our hostel. With the help of our trusty translation book we decided to just have what the gentleman at the next table were having (i saw some sort of ravioli, a polenta looking substance, some meat and a salad). We were brought a salad. With onions. That is all. On attempt number 2 James decided to take matters into his own hands and ask for a portion of pork and chicken. We were brought fish. Clearly we are making huge strives on the learning Spanish front.

After lunch we went for a walking tour straight out of the lonely planet. Yay tourist!

Beautiful city though. Some streets look like New York, some just like London. Lots of shopping, lots of beautiful buildings. Two strikes with lots of drums....still not sure what they were about. Oh and the best ice cream I have ever had. This ice cream they pile high, two times as high as the cone. I had cookies and cream and strawberry. Soft like gelato, delicious.

Santa Fe

Had one of the most interesting bus rides so far on this trip from Peurto do Iguacu to Santa Fe. We took semi-cama class, which includes seats that almost fully reclined, dinner and champagne or wine. Along with dinner we were treated to a very interesting and inappropriate movie. I have no idea what it was called but sex scenes and birthing scenes all while serving dinner was not my idea of an appropriate movie choice. Then again, the following ´Hairspray´ would not have been my #1 pick either.

We got into Santa Fe early, at 7:30am and went in search of a hotel. After a few confusing moments of figuring out from which direction the sun rises, and where East is in comparison with North, a very exhausted James and I figured out how to use a map and found a hotel two blocks from the bus station.

Never have I had such flash back as walking into this hotel. I was slapped with the memory of being in my mother´s mom, Grandma Margaret´s, tiny appartment in New York. Not only was the furniture of the antique nature, it smelled like her too...not the best smell, but kind of comforting at the same time...I guess. Anwyays, it was cheap, it was safe, it was comfortable. They had warm showers and towels (a luxury!).

Santa Fe itself was...interesting. Took a long walk to the brewery, to find out that the museum was closed. Walked around, saw some fountains, some interesting colonial buildings, and ended up eating a spaghetti dinner at a bar on the street, and watching The Last Exorcism at the movie theatre. Now that is what I call living it local!

Looking forward to something a bit more interesting in Buenos Aires. We arrive there around 9:30pm tonight.

A Falling Out

Rough past few days here. For our ´last´day in Brazil we decided to splurge a bit and have a nice meal at a churrascaria. While the piles and piles of meat that was forced onto my plate (often sending tomatoes and other unimportant food flying across the table) was deliciious and amazing, it will be remembered for the horrible horrible after effect of it all. Food poisoning. While James´ "iron stomach" helped him survive the horrible experience I was bed ridden for the next few days. Argentina was postponed.

After a quick and easy (almost too easy) cross into Argentina we checked into our ´Garden Stone Hostel´. After spending one night and one day, we were robbed. One iphone, laptop and dvd drive lighter we will be leaving Puerto do Iguacu and we will be leaving today. Spending my second night in a police station waiting for some kid (seriously no older than 24) to fill out our police report was not what I had planned.

On the brighter side, when still ignorant of the situation, we had a great day at the falls. Saw Garganta del Diablo (the devil´s throat) and many other sides of the waterfall. If only the experience wasn´t tainted.

Off to Sante Fe today before Buenos Aires.