The Valley of Longevity

After a delightful 48 hour journey (via almost every mode of transportation possible) from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Vilcabamba, Ecuador-- I arrived in the evening to the well known and loved Izhcayluma Hostel perched high up on a hill overlooking the Valley of Longevity in Vilcabamba. As it was dark when I arrived, I had no idea exactly how gorgeous my home for the next 2 nights was-- a pleasant surprise waiting for me in the morning. Exhausted from all my travels, I had a drink at the bar and called it an early night in my cozy and full sized non-bunk bed... Heaven!

In the morning I was blown away by the beauty of the valley and the hostel itself including it`s gardens, the pool and the 360 degree views it offered of the surrounding mountains. Izhcayluma provides a beautiful (and included in room price) breakfast of homemade bread, eggs, crepes, fresh fruit, juice, etc. It was an amazing way to start my day eating high up on a hill with such breathtaking views and the sun shining. I was able to easily fill my 2 days at Izhcayluma with ample pool, hammock, hike and spa time-- treating myself to a massage and facial while there. Again... heaven!

Vilcabamba is a mecca for expat hippies who dig the tranquilo lifestyle. I found out that 10% of the Vilcabamba population (over 600 people) are expats from all over the world. In my short time in Vilcabamba I met my fare share of expat characters like the `Coconut Man` from Germany (he always was always carrying coconuts around with him) who joined me one evening for sunset at Izhcayluma. He told me about his raw diet and the positive energy he feels in Vilcabamba... Which the latter I could actually relate to! Then there was the dreadlock shoeless crew who hung out (maybe worked-- hard to tell) at the Juice Bar in town. They greeted me on both my visits there with a long drawn out hippie style `Heeyyyyy`. I got some crazy green smoothie there, which was delicious-- I can see why the local gringos love that place so much! And how could I ever forget the lady at our hostel who sat most of the day wrapped in colorful silks and beaded necklaces of all lenghths, doing something or other with tarot cards and crystals. A true hippie haven-I felt right at home in Vilcabamba!

They call Vilcabamba the Valley of Longevity because the people who live there lead ridiculously long (and seemingly happy) lives. From the moment I arrived in Vilcabamba, I truly loved being there. There is something so special about this tiny town and surrounding areas... the lush gree mountains, the spectacular sunsets, the birds, the flowers and butterflys-- it is all incredible. The only hard part about visiting Vilcabamba is of course leaving...

After 2 glorious days in Vilcabamba I made my way to Guayaquil where I arrived bright and early this morning. Although I have actually really enjoyed my time here so far, Guayaquil is the largest and perhaps most dangerous city in Ecuador. That said, Guayaquil is where all flights to the Galapagos ultimately depart from, so it is pretty much the best place to arrange your Galapagos journey and therefore is somewhat set up for tourism. I had a nice day today walking along the amazing waterfront called the Malecon 2000, hanging out with a new friend I made from of all places Brighton, Michigan (shout-out to Camp Tamarack) and shopping around for Galapagos tours. I am beyond excited to announce that I booked an 8 day sail boat trip through the Galapagos departing on Monday. Pretty much a dream come true, it has not quite sunk in yet what lies ahead! I cannot believe I will be celebrating my 27th birthday in the Galapagos Islands! Bring on the blue boobies, giant tortoises, dolphins, penguins and sunshine! Ahh-- I am so excited!

In other news, I miss Beth a lot and there have been countless moments (esp. during my 48 hours of travel) where I have turned to comment on something ridiculous to her, share a laugh, reflect on our trip, etc... But instead of Beth it is some random person next to me! 4 months is a long time to travel with someone-- we were practically married by the end of our journeys together. Sharing a hostel bunk bed with someone else will never be the same. I also miss her excellent Spanish and translating skills-- it`s time to up the ante with my Spanish!

So that is the update for now. Next stop Galapagos, where I will turn a year older, potentially wiser and for sure more tan. I will report back on my epic sailing adventures!

My Newest Passion In Life... Tango!

I am excited to announce that I have yet another passion in life-- right up there with bowling, long city walks and ceramic classes-- TANGO!

Not only have I fallen in love with Buenos Aires (where we have been for over a week now)-- but I have also taken a strong liking to tango, which I have been fortunate to to experience plenty of! My first tango experience was at an elaborate dinner tango show-- complete with a multi-course meal and a few bottles of wine. Although touristy, a tacky tango show is a must while visiting BA! The show was thoroughly entertaining and certainly struck my interest in this passionate dance. Next Beth and I stumbled upon a tango performance in a park in San Telmo one sunny Sunday afternoon. We sat for well over an hour just watching the dancers of all ages, shapes and sizes strut there stuff with an enthusiastic crowd watching composed of locals and tourists alike. I am not sure which was more entertaining-- the actual tango dancing itself or the people watching at the park... it was a fabulous combo! Tonight (our final night in BA) we went to a milonga (after yet another amazing steak dinner at the famous La Cabrera), which is a traditional tango hall where locals (few to no tourists could be found... besides us of course!) go to tango the night away. It was the perfect way to spend our last night in BA! Steak, red wine and tango... classic BA.

Beyond tango, our 10 days or so in BA have been beyond incredible-- there are so many amazing things to do and see here and we have been in the comfort of a wonderful home (mucho gracias Emiliano). Some highlights of our time in BA include: the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, a visit to Casa Rosada (the President´s office featuring the historic balcony that you picture Evita standing on to address the nation), a day trip to Tigre to boat around the Parana Delta, Shabbat dinner at the Moishe House BA, the Recoleta Cemetery, crafts fair and cultural center, many adventures on the subte (subway), reuniting with amazing friends we have met throughout our journey (Liz, Ana, Tanja, Katie and Jon to be specific), walks, window shopping and lunch in Palermo, so much amazing food and way too much delicious Mendoza wine. It has been an amazing experience spending time in Buenos Aires-- I am already excited to return!

In a few hours time I fly to Ecuador (well, actually to Lima, Peru and then I take a bus to southern Ecuador-- it is a money saving tactic that will cost me a lot of time instead) and embark upon the final leg of my trip. My travel buddy Beth flies back home to SF today and I will spend my last month solo. I will miss Beth very much-- it has been an amazing experience traveling through Central and South America with her over the past 4 months. I am also looking forward to the challenge of traveling solo and the ultimate independance that coincides. I know it won´t always be easy (especially with my limited Spanish... although it is much better at this point in my trip)... but I am incredibly excited for all that lies ahead in the weeks to come.

So, on that note I am now off to the airport to start my long journey to Ecuador.

Adios Argentina... it has been an AMAZING month and I truly hope to visit you again soon! In the meanwhile, I will start learning how to tango!

Chasing Waterfalls

We just arrived back to BA yesterday,  from an amazing 3 day trip to Iguazu Falls. I cannot quite put into words (check out the Flickr photos-- which even those scarcely do the falls justice), the incredible beauty and splendor of the falls and the surrounding jungle- it was an experience beyond compare to stand above, below and at one point (on a speed boat) under these incredibly powerful natural wonders. While in Iguazu we stayed at an amazing hostel that was in reality more like a resort, conveniently at a hostel price: huge swimming pool, poolside bar, restaurant, and nighttime entertainment! It was amazing! On our last night at the hostel they had an all-you-can-eat BBQ followed by a free samba show for all the guests. I am not going to say that the samba show was of high quality (it actually resembled a show I imagine could occur at a low quality strip club)... but it was a blast none the less!

We arrived back to BA yesterday and were greeted upon our return by Beth`s friend Emiliano who we will be staying with in a proper HOME (a wonderful respite from hostel living) for the next week or so. Not only are we staying in a home, but Emiliano was asked to house sit this week at a family friend`s incredibly nice house-- so here we are! The home has 2 bedrooms, a great bathroom, roof deck (with an asado grill), laundry, etc. It is beyond wonderful to be here-- even if it means sleeping on a kid`s sized trundle bed with Star Wars sheets! We had an amazing first day back in BA and I am so excited to spend the next week in this incredible city!

Before heading off to Iguazu, Beth and I put our tourist hats on and did a Hop-On-Hop-Off city bus tour of BA (double decker of course), which was amazing! BA is a HUGE city and the tour allowed us to learn a lot about the history of the city and pretty much see all the main areas/attractions over the course of the day. Now that we have more time, we will go back and explore our favorite parts further. Today we are going to walk around Recoleta an old, wealthy and historic part of BA. Recoleta is where the most famous cemetery is located-- where Eva Peron is buried and other BA political figures, artists, philosophers-- basically the old school rich and famous. Tonight, depending on the weather (so far overcast) we will either be checking out a tango show or hosting an asado (Argentine BBQ) on our roof deck-- we really can`t go wrong in either case!

Believe it or not, we have already been in Argentina for a month! I absolutely love this country and am excited to cherish our final week here! Tango, red meat, red wine, shopping, night life, markets, music, handsome men, mate, parks, plazas, monuments, museums...

Oy Veh, BA

Well, I must admit that I fell truly, madly, deeply in love with Patagonia... and not just with the gnome above, although he did play a factor! Although we scarcely scratched the surface of just northern Patagonia I feel a strong connection and appreciation of this gorgeous land. It is now my goal to make it back to Patagonia as soon as possible, if only for a few weeks, with my gear ready to go, to backpack my way around... who is with me?

Our final destination in Patagonia was to San Martin de los Andes, which similar to our other northern Patagonia adventures was a gorgeous little town surrounded by mountains and lakes. We spent our time there hiking, trying to find the beach (which ended up in us getting a wee bit lost as per usual), shopping around the many cute and quaint shops and of course drinking good wine and good food in the company of (you guessed it) the good people at our hostel. After 2 nights in San Martin, we decided to "take a break from it  all" (which obviously is a joke, because our lives are a wonderful big ol' vacation at the moment) and spend a night outside of town and away from the hustle and bustle of San Martin... which is actually not that much hustle and bustle at all in reality! With some ultimate R and R in mind we headed to Hostal Rosales, located just outside of Lanin National Park (about 15 minutes outside of San Martin) and spent a full 24 hours in the good company of the mountains, Laguna Rosales, ourselves and our books. Hostal Rosales was extremely peaceful – an adorable log cabin out in the middle of pretty much nowhere for us to call home for a night. Tranquilo to the max –it was a wonderful escape from it all... whatever that may mean!


After our hermit time at Hostal Rosales it was time to trade in the peaceful beauty of Patagonia for the exciting chaos of Buenos Aires! We took a 1st class 20 hour bus ride from San Martin to Buenos Aires. Highlights include wine with dinner, whiskey before bed and seats that fully recline. Life was good on our first class bus!


This afternoon we arrived to BA (as it is cool to call it) and our day has looked a little like this...

1. Arrive to our awesome hostel called Milhouse Avenue
2. Cocktails and lunch on the roof of our hostel
3. A stroll around downtown BA
4. Dinner out at one of the most popular steakhouses in BA, which was beyond incredible and fully earned it's popular standing in my books. Although we had to wait an hour for a table, they served free champagne while we waited and what could really be better than that? The restaurant is called La Cabrera... go there if you are ever in BA!
5. Party at our hostel, with DJ and cheap drinks
6. Night out at a club in BA

I must admit that I was a bit of a party pooper tonight (as I may very much be while in BA, as to my disability to nap and my fondness of nonstop day time activity, which is essentially impossible to maintain on zero sleep) and I made my way home around 4 am – while the party will go on long past the sun rising. That is just life in BA for you.

Tomorrow we will continue to explore this gigantic city and then on Friday we are off to visit the glorious Iguazu Falls for a few days. After Iguazu... Well, of course back to BA to live it up some more! Oh vey, BA... Bring it on!