The group kicked off the Christmas month that started with a trip to Peru. To Lima we went and time in Cusco we spent, as well as Machu Picchu.
The first city was great, Americanized and cold, but was best cuz I met up with Chris. We frolicked and ate and stayed up late catching up on all we had missed.
Cusco brought rain and too many tours that were long and dull and boring. Though the city was quaint with a European taint, the travel and altitude left us snoring.
Machu Picchu was grand and so surreal, I couldn’t believe I was there. But a four hour tour and getting rained on like a storm sewer, to leave the city, we gladly did dare.
On the plane back to Argentina I got stuck next to a mouth breather, which was not extremely fun. So in a blanket cocoon I weathered the bad breath monsoon, and waited until the flight was done.
We returned to la UAP to unpack and do laundry, a quick shower and running around willy nilly. 10 of us girls, with hair straightened or curled, embarked on a journey that would take us to Bariloche and Chile.
A 26-hour bus ride began the journey, many alfajores and bread meals we had. A blanket and pillow and a big cold window, and we were able to sleep a tad.
When we woke the next morning to the beauty of Patagonia, we heard something that gave us a fright. Three men with flashlights who had not been in sight had entered our bus and looked at everything during the middle of the night.
In Bariloche we chilled and slept and we ate a couple of times in there too. We made popcorn a lot and ate much chocolate, and partook of chocolate caliente too.
To Santiago we went, stopping in Osorno on the way, it really is a dumpy city. A too many hour layover was had, but it wasn’t all bad, once we bought lots of food and sang silly ditties.
We changed all our money to the strange new currency and were confused the whole time about the exchange rate. With prices in the thousands and more thousands, we spent it too fast and were left a little irate.
Santiago is just like every other big city, crowded, dirty, and hot. A special thing we found was that unlike a hound, absolutely no one there knows their own city worth snot.
One day we rented a 12 passenger van, it was a rather big stick shift car. We all piled in end to end, plus a couple of wine drinking brits that were friends of our friends, and drove to the beaches of Viña del Mar.
The trip continued, a visit with Sarah and Christina at their hostel with a pool. We all splashed and laughed, some of us seemed quite daft, but it was nice to chill at a place that was cool.
The following day was hot and bright and we climbed all over a mountain looking around the zoo. We saw monkeys with strange behinds and giraffes that looked quite kind, and ran away from the foul smelling flamingo poo.
We left Santiago, and went to Mendoza where waited for a long time in the station. I accidentally wrote Lauren’s number, on a napkin so I could remember, but I forgot it and the waiter later picked it up with elation. :)
We got back to La Villa after a long wait in Rosario and too late to do laundry were we. We ate a quick meal, took a nap for more zeal, and then to Buenos Aires we were home free.
After a freezing ride on the bus, and much waiting at the airport for the family to appear, we reunited with much joy. They looked a little rough, and had a lot of stuff, but was I excited to see them, boy oh boy!
Christmas was interesting, not at all like in the states, there was no festive attitude to be had. But we ate haystacks and opened presents that had been in my pack, and since the family was there, it wasn’t all bad.
Lots of touring has happened, like the Recoleta Cemetery and La Boca, and many other places as well. We have done lots of talking, and even more walking, and our time here has been rather swell.
Our time is quickly waning here, but we still have some pretty grand plans. Like some tango place and church, and some tunnels that make your heart lurch, and then Lauren and I must part with our clans.
