Viaje a Salta y Jujuy

Hola gente linda,

For my last Knox-sponsored trip, which I got to plan myself, I went to Salta, Argentina (in the north)! I chose Salta because I loved the colored cathedrals I saw on its Wikipedia page and saw that it had some nice museums. It's in the north, a region I haven't seen, and is known for being Spanish-style, which I thought was interesting, too.

Although Salta seemed a nice place to go, I was on the verge of foregoing the trip and staying in Buenos Aires. A few weeks ago I decided that I'd love to stay in Buenos Aires for the rest of the school year (in Argentina that means until July!), and have been busy arranging things with my family, Knox officials and professors, and host parents/employers since then. If for some reason I couldn't complete my degree here, or couldn't find a place to stay, I didn't want to miss out on the last days I'd have with Fede. Plus, looking for a hostel and arranging the transportation was a pain, especially with limited funds. My plans to stay here, though, seemed more and more promising, and when my friend Katie emailed me the address of the hostel that she and two more of our friends would be staying at the next day Salta, I decided to meet them there!

I had investigated bus prices a few days before that, and so had three different companies in mind (there are about a hundred at the terminal). The ride would last 23 hours, so the deciding factor for me was whether food was included with the ticket: if it were, I could save a little money and do more on the actual trip. When I asked the salespeople whether meals were included, two said "Una bandejita, nada más" ("Just a little tray, not a real meal"), but one assured me that merienda (snack), dinner, and breakfast would be served. To be sure, I asked, "So there are three meals included?" The salesman said yes, so I booked my trip with Almirante Brown.

 

If the people in this photo all look crabby, it's because they are traveling with Almirante (Admiral) Brown! The bus arrived an hour late to the terminal, went laughably slowly, and definitely did not provide what I would consider to be three meals. The bus attendant tossed cookie packets to the passengers without a smile or a response to any of our thank you's for both merienda and breakfast, and for dinner?: a bandejita (tiny tray). I arrived a few hours later than expected, but the girls had spent that time switching hostels (the one we'd booked turned out to be dirty and bug-infested) and resting. Their ride had gone a lot better, but unfortunately they had Almirante Brown tickets booked for the trip back!

Despite the annoying journey, I was excited to meet with my friends and to be in Salta. On our first night there we checked out the historical district and saw the cathedrals. They were okay during the day, but much more impressive at night.

 

The insides of the cathedrals were pretty cool. They're covered with wooden sculptures of saints and lots of gold (some real, some painted).

 You can't see it well here, but this is a wooden sculpture of a saint's corpse. I've seen a lot of these around Argentina. (About 76.5% of Argentinians are Catholic.)

This is Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico). This saint, a symbol of both Aztec and Catholic mythology, played a key role in many South Americans' conversion to Catholicism.

On my way back from the Cathedrals, I went to a modern art museum featuring herméticos populistas (which I am not sure how to translate). It was really great! Here are some pictures of my favorite works and the associations I made with them:

 The photo shows a person walking on the highway with the blanket draped over him/her. It made me think of the Latin American street vendors who sell linens, desensitization to poverty (the sight of these vendors stops being so sad or surprising when they're everywhere), and globalization (usually the blankets are brightly colored and patterned with indigenous or natural symbols, but this one looks like a highway — a symbol of modernity — and has no local character at all: there are more and more things like that the more globalized and consumerist the world gets).

 This is the very bottom of the movie poster for "Lost In Translation." The rest was lost! I love it.

 Looking at the world through mass-produced, plastic windows/lenses.

And finally: a work I have many associations for! Living standards, tradition, and struggle for change.

On my way back from the museum I saw some peatonales (pedestrian streets) filled with people and street vendors. It always makes me sad to see kids out working and selling things. =/ Otherwise, though, it reminded me exactly of Seoul, Korea.  

The next day we took a trip to Purmamarca, the seven-colored mountains in Jujuy. It was quite the adventure! We were in this truck with our guide Fabricio for most of the day:

A lot of the roads were rocky and curvy and our route was high uphill. We put coca leaves between our teeth and our cheeks as a preventative measure for altitude sickness. After this trip I got a bad stomach flu, though, and it might have been the altitude. =/ Just take a look at this small portion of our route!

Despite the dizziness and sickness, though, this trip was very worth it. I saw beautiful landscapes...

Cacti...

Llamas...

Salt Flats (the entire ground here is salt!)...

And, of course, among other things, the amazing colorful mountains of Purmamarca!

I have to say, though, that I appreciate these things better now that I'm far away from that rocky road!

I saw some amazing Incan artifacts, too. Salta is famous for it's Museo Arqueológico de Alta Montaña (MAAM / High Mountain Archaeological Museum) which houses Incan tapestries, dolls, pottery, sandals, and most famously... mummies! One mummy, La Doncella, looks almost alive: her skin and clothing are well-preserved. She was about six years old when she died about 500 years ago. She was incredible to see. Unfortunately there were no photos allowed in that museum.

I did get photos of etchings of Incan heiroglyphics from a different museum, though:

 At MAAM I saw lots of stone llamas shaped like these ones and learned that from a young age, Incans learned to launch them with ropes as weapons. That might actually be what's happening in the corner of this picture!

This was my favorite etching. There's so much going on here! At the top left is a woman giving birth.

Here is me with some ruins. They're Incan in the sense that the Incans invaded and ruined them! lol. I can't remember the name of the tribe they belonged to, but it started with a T.

The craft market in Purmamarca was one of the best and cheapest I've seen. I bought a suéter de lana de alpaca (alpaca wool sweater) and a beautiful blanket there!

Even though I was sick the whole time, with a cold and then the flu, it was a pretty amazing trip. Still, though, as always, I am glad to be back in Buenos Aires!! =)

I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

¡Besos!
Kaeli

Colonia, fotografías, y comida

Hola todos,

Today I went on a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay! =) It was the first time I've ever traveled to another country by boat. It felt so romantic to step onto the dock of another country!

My friends had warned me that there isn't a whole lot to Colonia... And in fact, the tour that was included with my "day trip" package could definitely have been skipped. But despite the town's shortage of rich historical anecdotes, it is really a beautiful place. And I'm glad I went today! I sat by the sea for about an hour in the sun, looked at the traditional blue and white ceramics in some shops (along with some modern art), and walked along the beautiful avenues. =)

Here are some pictures from my trip: 

Here is a relieve of the Uruguayan seal. It's similar to the Argentinian flag!

This sculpture was in a church. It's similar to the sculptures I've been seing at museums in Buenos Aires (which unfortunately prohibit photos). I can recognize the Spanish influence in it, having seen so much other Spanish colonial art! Portugal and Spain both colonized Uruguay alternately for hundreds of years, which also heavily influenced its ceramic industry's style.

Here is one of Colonia's typical residential streets! You can see a blue and white ceramic address marker on the wall; a yellow lantern (farolito), which can be found all around the city; and lots of flowers and brightly colored houses. =)

More beautiful foliage and houses. I love all the green in this picture. =)

Más casas y farolitos. More houses and lanterns. =)

This street reminded me of Buenos Aires because of the advertisements plastered up and the tiled sidewalk. I like the Coca-Cola ad on the kiosko. =)

This is an old stone path.

This is a Portuguese fountain from 18th century (if I'm not mistaken).

Ramos Generales. (The General Store.)

This was my lunch (included in the day trip). Asado and traditional salad with lettuce, onion, and tomato (that's a typical salad in Argentina, too). Yum! As you can see (from the dictionary), I'm still busy studying Spanish! =)

The sign says "Hay agua caliente / We have hot water." The hot water is for mate (the tea I wrote about a few entries ago). Uruguayos carry thermoses most places they go so they can drink mate at their leisure. =)

As I mentioned, it was a beautiful day today and I sat and watched the water for about an hour. After my relaxation (and also, I'm sure, because of all the art I've been seeing), I felt inspired to experiment with photography! These next photos are artistic experiments, lol. Hope you enjoy!

And now, back to Buenos Aires! Here are some pictures from the last week or so. ¡Me encanta esta ciudad! I really love this city! =)

I love this little spray-painted guy. =) 

I've been frustrated with my new camera... The lighting in my photos is wacky, and I have to hold the camera really still for things not to turn out blurry. Sometimes, though, like in the photo above, the colors end up looking pretty cool. =)

More cute graffiti guys.

Fede and I tried to go to Friday's on Halloween. Neither of us had been to the one in Buenos Aires. Usually the waitstaff here wear ridiculous Uncle Sam-style hats and glittery red-white-and-blue attire (I've seen them through the window), but on Halloween they were wearing scary costumes! It was packed, though, and Fede needed to study, so we decided to go to McDonald's instead — my first truly American-style meal in 3 months! lol. The regular menu is the same (except more limited) than it is in the US. The only difference is that kids have the option of ordering baby tomatoes instead of fries. Some differences, though, are that the desserts are sold in a separate area, as is the coffee. And just take a look at this McCafé! Flavored, syruped, cinnamoned coffee in real glasses, soda (carbonated water), and two tiny cookies (which you'll just have to imagine on the little white plate because Fede and I ate them immediately). They also sell a variety of pastries, one of which (chocolate-covered wafery stuff and dulce de leche) is pictured here. They also serve hot water for tea in real tea pots. Yummm....

This is a neopolitano (tomato, cheese, and basil) pizza and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Yum again!

 

And finally, here's a picture of my second favorite Argentinian food (after empanadas): milanesa! Breaded pork (or chicken, or spinach). Fede and I eat it with spicy sauce he got from Mexico. Chili powder doesn't exist here. =(

Hope you enjoyed! And that I can eventually retire in Colonia! =)

¡Chau, amigos!

Kaeli