The weather has been sub par for the last two days, so we've been chilling a bit. You know, hanging out at the mall, playing cards at the cafe, stuff like that. Not much to blog about, but it has been relaxing. Mike bought some boots and a matching cowboy hat. He wanted to wear them out of the store--with his shorts--but we convinced him not to.
We went to a pena for dinner. It is a restaurant that serves traditional fare accompanied by traditional folk music and dancers. One of the singers (who bore an eerie resemblance to Tom Jones) would intersperse his songs with poems, jokes and long soliloquies. Of course, we couldn't understand half of his jokes. (There was one I think I caught; something about estrellas and chest hair.) Anyways, early in the evening Mike noticed a table of five modestly dressed young people. They had the look. So when, in one of his rambles, Tom Jones asked everyone in the audience to toast the gauchos, we checked their reaction. Sure enough, they didn't raise their glasses. On the next break, I was elected to go over and talk to them.
I told them we were Witnesses from the US. One of them, Miguel, tested me by showing me a YPA book with the title covered and asking me to identify it. I passed the test, and then asked him: "Le gustaria usted saber la verdad?" (Would you like to know the truth?) They laughed, and we were in. We ended up pulling up chairs and joining them. The music was loud, and I could barely hear them, let alone understand them. So we started a written correspondence across the table. Even communicating with pens, we were too loud, and were shushed by Tom Jones. (Sorry!) We stayed until the place closed--a first for us here in this country where everything transpires so late. And now we have plans: on Thursday, three of them are picking us up in front of our hotel and bringing us to the meeting, and then dinner after. Which means we have less than three days to get Ryan a comment.

Today we visited some big Colonial mansion where we had to wear these slipper things to protect the incredible parquet floors (they looked silly, especially on all the old British and old American people we took the tour with). We then visited a museum specializing in Pre-Columbian art of the Americas which was pretty cool. After a leisurely lunch chatting with a man from Pittsburgh (here for a month, training engineers at LAN at the airport for United Technologies) we headed to the Pablo Neruda house. I didn't know too much about him until the visit but it was interesting.

In an hour, we leave for the airport...I can't say I'm totally sad to be heading home. We loved South America (especially Argentina) but we're at the point where we're feeling a little homesick. For the followers back home, see you soon; for the guys, keep having fun in Salta and we'll see you in a couple weeks. You can bet Vicki and I will be keeping tabs when we get home. I'm officially okay with being grayed-out now. TTYL.

That about sums up our day yesterday. It was fairly lazy day but we finally got our much needed laundry done. (I have been short one pair of socks for most of the trip because Chris thought it was funny to throw them off the roof of our first hotel. And it was funny, but now I miss my socks..) Anyways yes, we slept in, dropped our clothes off and then played cards by our modest 8 x 16 pool. All my clothes to have washed and folded was 27 pesos (9 us dollars), not bad! Then we watched Barnyard the cartoon and Dan got sad when the cow died. Otherwise it is a funny movie though its for kids. (The cows look like they have plungers for utters)

So yes later on our way to find food near the Plaza 9 de Julio we stopped for a drink at a trendy looking bar/restaurant that was playing an odd selection of american music stuff from Ah Ha - Take on me to Barbra Streisand.

After that we ate at a place called Patio Balcarce with very friendly staff. They kept coming over to talk and take pictures with us. We ordered what I can only call the mountain of meat. Dan saved me from almost eating a blood sausage (see picture below). I guess we asked to not have it in the pile but they put it there anyway. As we ate, a guy that looked like Dom Deluise sang to everyone there. He shook our hands as he sang. It was no Don King but probably our best touch with a celebrity, so far.

...and finally for the record... I know I need to shave...

-Ryan out

Today we moved into our new hotel (B&B actually). It's much better than the Sheraton, albeit a little more out of the way. It's only a US$2 cab ride to the historical center though so no big deal.

We visited some sights including the Plaza del Armes where kids were frolicking in the fountain (kind of strange) while parents watched. On the other side of the historical center we saw some sort of demonstration for Jesus...they kept screaming things in Spanish I didn't understand but I knew enough to hear how much Jesus loved me several times. Funny that a religous demonstration had the federal military out en force.





Our night ended with a stroll through the quaint neighborhood of Bella Vista where we witnessed probably the most horrific thing Vicki and I ever saw. No need to go into details but the bottom line is that we were 50 feet from a hit and run involving a taxi and a small child. People went crazy chasing the taxi (which didn't stop), people were crying, and a huge throng of people surrounded the scene all on thier cell phones to the local vesion of 911 yelling "PRONTO, PRONTO, PRONTO!!!" It was truly aweful; I was shaking and Vicki wanted to see if she could help, but so many people were around I thought it best we kept our distance while the child's family and friends took care of the situation (especially with the high emotions and language barrier). We stayed close though and within several minutes authorities arrived; we can only hope that the child will be alright. It reminds of how wicked a world we live in where someone could do something like that without stopping...

Again, not trying to undermine the guy's blog but thought it would be interesting to just post what's been going on on this side of the Andes as we finish our leg of the trip (even though we apparently don't exist anymore and are now grayed-out on the top of this page...what's up with that? we're still on this continent!).

What a difference a couple of days makes. Across the Andes and into Chile, the temperature has dropped a bit and it's sweater weather here. As stated earlier in the comments, our trip across the Andes by bus was breath-taking. Once in the city we realized...we weren't in Argentina anymore. With a Los Angeles feel, every other corner has a Starbucks, McD's, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, etc...this coupled with the lack of a cafe culture...it's everything Dan hates. Seriously, if it weren't for the license plates, we could be in Chula Vista.



Today we took in some sights and visited the Central Mercado...Vicki only lasted about 15 minutes among the fish stalls.




Dinner was not good and we longed for the cerveza and empenadas of Argentina. The prices are somewhat higher too...our crappy dinner cost $45. We could have eaten like kings in Argentina for that price!

The dirty-underwear-in-our-hotel-room incident has really put us off. Also, the hotel offered to call us a cab tonight to go to dinner (because they told us the cabs were very unscrupulous) I agreed to let them call me a cab and halfway into our trip without realizing it, I discovered it was a hotel-connected driver. We were expected to pay the hotel for the cab four times what a cab would have cost (add $12 to that to the $45 dinner...we would have been better off at TGI Friday's! in the above pic). We're really, really not loving the hotel so tomorrow we are leaving for a nice B&B I found on Trip Advisor where they won't nickle-and-dime us and the price is a quarter of this hotel.

I just finished a marathon photo editing session and posted all the best pics to date at http://gallery.me.com/mattpan. Oh, and now I have to stop typing b/c this stupid hotel charges for internet and it's costing me too much...Later...

We wanted Mike's perspective so we plied him with old wine until he posted. If it hurts you can read the abridged translated version which follows. First, straight from Mike's consciousness:

"SO WE WER RUDLY AWAKENED TO GET OFF A BUS SMELLY AND FEELING VERY DIRTY, TO SWITCH BUSSES FOR SOME REASON. HUM WHAT EVER JUST GET ME TO SALTA. ONCE AGAIN AWAKENED ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT AFTER A DOZEN STOPS WE HERE YAY TAXI CAB DRIVER LOOKED AT 3 GRINGOS AND THEIR LUGAGE AND SAID NO WAY JOSE. WELL WE GET A TAXI TO OUR HOTEL AND RIGHT BEFOR THE HOTEL IS A RESTRAUNT WITH A PADLOCK LOCKING THE DOOR. DANS LIKE THAT WOULD BE FUNNY IF IT WASN'T OPEN YET. OPPS WRONG DOOR. HOTEL WAS VERY HOSPITABLE ROOM WASN'T READY SO THEY GAVE US A ROOM BY THE POOL FOR AN HOUR TO SHOWER AND CLEAN OUR SELVES UP. US HORRIBLE LOOKING AND SMELLING TRAVELERS. GOT OUR ROOM AFTER THAT AND WE ALL WENT TO SLEEP WITH LOTS OF BANGING CONSTRUCTION BEING DONE NEXT DOOR. SLEPT TILL 3ISH THEN WE WALKED TO THE TELEFERICO WHICH IS A SKI GONDALA TO THE TOP OF A HILL OR MTN THAT OVER LOOKS THE CITY. THERE DAN TRIED GYMNASTICS BUT SOON FOUND OUT HE IS NOT CUT OUT FOR IT. WAS A NICE VIEW THOUGH LOTS OF COOL WATER FALLS AND A NICE PARK AT THE TOP TO WALK THROUGH. WE STOPED FOR FOOD CAUSE SOMEBODY WAS GRUMPY DONT KNOW WHO THAT WOULD BE THOUGH. WENT TO OUR ROOM TALKED OVER OUR PLANS FOR THE FIRST NIGHT IN SALTA WE DECIDED ON 007 A MOVIE. HOPING IT WAS IN ENGLISH WE WENT OUT TO INVESTIGATE. WE FOUND IT IN A MALL SO 1/2 HR TO KILL HAD PIZZA FIGURED WE KEEP IT A AMERICAN NIGHT. WATCHED THE MOVIE WHICH WE ALL THOUGHT WAS PRETTY GOOD WORTH THE 15 PESOS WHICH = ABOUT $4.50 YUP NO $10.50 FOR US. SO WE STOPED OFF AFTER FOR A SNACK AND A NITECAP FOR SOME. WE GOT BACK TO THE ROOM AND DAN COMES UP WITH THIS IDEA OF MAKING FUN OF MY BLOGGING SKILLS. SO HOW DID I DO FOR NO EDITING DAN WANTED MY WORST SO YOU GOT IT. HOPE I DIDN'T DISSAPOINT YOU ALL. BY THE WAY DAN IS VERY HAPPY TO THE RESPONSE OF ALL YOU VIEWERS OUT THEIR. SO KEEP CHECKING THE BLOG OUT AND LEAVE A NOTE SAYING WHAT YOU THOUGHT TAKE THE TIME WE ARE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU SO DO SO LIKEWISE PRETTY PLEASE. WELL TIME TO RELINQUISH THIS COMPUTER FOR DAN TO TRANSLATE MIKE'S ENGLISH INTO SOMETHING READABLE. SORRY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE TO READ LIKE BURROWS WHO WANT JUST PIXS TO LOOK AT
LATER OVER AND OUT MIKE LARRIVEE"

Today's English Version:
"So after being awakened twice and forced to uproot myself and switch buses, we finally arrived in Salta. We had too much luggage for the first taxi, but were able to squeeze into a sedan. We got to the hotel, which is next door to a restaurant which was not yet open for the day. Dan tried its door by mistake, and was thrown momentarily when it was locked.
Our room wasn't ready, but the clerk let us into another room to shower. Then we checked into our actual room, and slept for a few hours. There was some construction racket going on, but we were too tired to care.
Around 3 we woke up and walked over to the teleferico (gondola) up Cerro Bernardo, overlooking the city. There is a park on the top, with an artificial waterfall and an exercise station. Dan was amusing as he tried the gymnastics equipment. On the way home we stopped for sandwiches because someone (guess who?) was grumpy and hungry.
Later on we headed to the mall to see the new Bond movie. We all thought it decent* and well worth the money--only about $4.50 US! Then a nightcap and now it's blogging time. Dan is making me do this but I really like it. And Dan really likes when you write back. That is no lie."

*For the record, Dan thought it was more than decent. JAMES BOND! JAMES BOND!

PS To Burrows: Sorry bout all the words. We are working on a pop-up version of the blog with lots of pictures and buttons; if you push them they make squeaks and train sounds. Ryan says we have the technology.

Apparently Matt and Vicki had a pleasant sojourn over the Andes. Us--not so much. I think a private car could make the desolate trip from Mendoza to Salta in 11, 12 hours. We opted for the second story of a greenhouse bus which stopped about 30, 35 times. At La Rioja I got out to use the bathroom and for the second time this trip was interrupted by my friend telling me to hurry because our ride was leaving. This time when I buttoned my shorts I noticed they had a big dirty wet stain from the bathroom floor. Lovely.

When we got back on, someone was sitting in the seat next to me, which had earlier been vacant.

' Our movie was in Spanish, so I decided to talk to him. Thankfully, he was pleasant: Martin, a medical student who was returning home for the weekend. He told me my Spanish was excellent. I told him to vete la ciudad (get out of the city). He disembarked at Catamarca and I checked on mis amigos. Ryan had regressed into a catatonic state, and Mike snarled so I carefully backed away. Clearly we had to get off this bus!

Hours later, the sun rises. We're still on the bus. Another woman is sitting next to me gesturing and mumbling in Spanish. Whether or not I understand is clearly irrelevant to her. I'm getting disoriented; the windows are fogging up. I don't know what time it is. Then the bus stops and we are all ordered off. We are clearly not at our destination, but rather at a lonely truck stop. We're a little confused and then I realize we're supposed to transfer here. At least the new bus isn't as hot, but the seating arrangement is screwed up, and Mike ends up 7 rows behind us.

Finally, 19 hours later, we arrive in Salta. We take a cab to our hotel, where they are gracious enough to give us a room for showering while our room is cleaned. I am happy to say we have no further bus trips planned. Regardless, now that we've cleaned off the road-sludge, the plan is to sleep. We'll talk to you later. . .

Mikes Feet..

'

Mendoza has a beautiful city park, which comprises almost half of the city´s area, and yesterday we decided to go biking around it. It was actually my idea, although I sometimes regretted it; the park slopes up towards the Andes´ foothills. And we had Matt in front of us with the map, pushing us like sled dogs. Once, I was pedaling past two local joggers who asked me how I was. My response was the title of this post: an out of breath "Gordo!" Eventually I convinced Vicki to stage a slowdown with me. We walked our bikes to the top of a hill ( the third "highest point" according to Matt´s assurances) and I convinced the five of us to rest on a stone wall under a stunted tree. Matt appeased us by hailing an ice cream vendor.

It is a beautiful park, though. Amazingly, being a desert, every tree and shrub in the park--and the city--are transplanted and watered daily by a series of canals and drainage ditches. They did a superb job, no?

Afterward we returned our bikes, grabbed lunch and rested before going out for dinner. The dinner was fantastic: two bottles of wine, caesar salad with baby goat and vegetable ragout, avant garde empanadas, gnocchi with caramelized onion and zucchini, goat cheese and beet salad, filet mignon with potato ravioli and malbec reduction. I feel like I cheated because, although we used Argentine beef and wine, the meal felt global. I could have had it in CT. I console myself with the fact that we spent about $140 for the five of us instead of $450.

Well, now we are packing to leave Mendoza. Matt and Vicki have a 10 30 bus over the Andes to Santiago de Chile. And the three caballeros are catching a 12 30 bus to Salta, in the north. The trip is 17 hours long, and I´m a little panicky about how cooperative my digestive system will be. . .

Sorry this one is sideways, but its still funny..

For those of you who have left comments you are making us all happy. For those of you who do not leave comments, well, Dan said he will not talk to you for an entire week when he gets back. So maybe this will make a difference... maybe it won't? Hmmm....

Here is a video of Chris from last night...

Chris and I are taking a turn writing the entry today because it is our last day with the group before we go our separate way back to Buenos Aires.

Today we went whitewater rafting down the Mendoza river. After arriving at the river edge, we went to change into our wet suits. While squeezing into our outfits in the women's room, Vicki and I heard loud laughter emanating from the men's side which was a result of all the guys seeing Dan for the first time in his slimming gear. Apparently they were all helping to stuff his bosoms into the top of his suit and zip him up.

We had to split up into 2 groups going on 2 different rafts. Dan and Chris were the only casualties who fell off the raft. With some assistance, they climbed back on and resumed their enthusiastic paddling. After rafting, Dan, Chris and I headed back to the city. Vicki and Matt opted for a horse back ride. Ryan and Mike did some rappelling that stretched out over the river. Yes, all of you that went on the Costa Rica trip, it did involve the awkward "superman" position! Except Ryan and his guide were face to face. We are including some pictures of it.