Uruguay: Montevideo and Colonia

Uruguay was not in our original plans, and not even in the plans when we arrived in South America.  We had thought we would do some more traveling within Argentina, but once we started looking at distances, bus times, and the costs of flights, it seemed most reasonable to just head across the river and visit Uruguay.  So, we booked a flight from Iguazu to Montevideo, connecting in Buenos Aires.  Unfortunately, the flight from Buenos Aires was delayed and we sat waiting to board the 45 minute flight to Montevideo for more than two hours.

After an hour on a local bus from the airport into the city, we found our way to our hostel, conveniently located in Plaza de Independencia, close to the tourist highlights.  For the great location, we paid the price of listening to a constant flow of buses coming and going right outside our window.  The room was okay except that it did not have heating and it got pretty cold.  We were sleeping with our beanies on.
The weather was poor while we were in Montevideo and it rained quite a bit.  If the weather had been nice, we probably would have enjoyed the city more.  Even so, we did enjoy getting to see a new place, and visiting a new country.


For the most part, we just wandered around the city, visiting various markets, museums, and buildings of interest.  It must not have been tourist season in Montevideo since most of the museums we visited (or tried to visit) were either closed or empty except for us.  In the Gaucho Museum, we looked around while the cleaning crew vacuumed and dusted.  In the Gurvich art gallery, we had a private viewing.  In the Exposicion Subte, we were asked to leave because, despite their open doors, they were apparently closed.  The only tourist attraction we visited where we were not alone was the Teatro Solis, Montevideo's oldest theater.  The theatre was built in 1856 and is considered the most important theatre in the city.  We took a guided tour through its brilliantly decorated foyers and multiple stage areas.

Other highlights of our brief visit to Montevideo included the discovery of a shop selling declicious empanadas and cakes, a wander around the "Old Town" with its 19th century buildings, the Mercado del Puerto, full of bustling restaurants and gift shops, and a private dining experience at McDonald's.  It is very strange to sit in a McDonald's with nobody else around.

Gaucho Museum

Gaucho Museum Exhibit

Montevideo Coastline

Palacio Salvo

Teatro Solis

Teatro Solis Interior

Rather than flying straight back to Buenos Aires from Montevideo, we took a bus a few hours north to the historic town of Colonia.  Because of the time of year, the town was quiet and a lot of places were closed.  Except for a very small area, it almost felt like a ghost town.  Although some of the old buildings, built in either a Portuguese or Spanish style depending on who occupied the town at the time, were interesting, overall we were unimpressed with Colonia.  Our experience might have been quite different during another time of year.  After only a little over an hour, we walked to the ferry terminal where we would take a boat back to Buenos Aires.

Iguazu Falls

Over three days in the Iguazu area we visited Tres Fronteras and both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides of the falls.  The falls, taller and twice as wide as Niagara, were spectacular, but first, I must describe getting to Puerto Iguazu.  To get to Puerto Iguazu from Buenos Aires we had a choice of flying or taking a bus.  The bus was about half the price so despite my concerns about an 18 hour bus ride (that's right, 18 hours) we decided to travel by land.  The bus left Buenos Aires at 2:15 pm.  The size of the seats and leg room is comparable to business class on a plane (now that I know what that's like after our lucky upgrade to NZ.)  For the first hour, the tvs played only advertisements for a ski resort in Patagonia.  Eventually, the movies started and even though there were headphone jacks above every seat they thought it was a good idea to play the movies out loud.  There was not much we could do but try to enjoy the Spanish dubbed Mission Impossible and Journey 2.  I guess it doesn't say much for the movies when they were pretty easy to follow even though I could only understand a few words and phrases.  Those two treats were followed by Man on Fire in English (hurray!).  However, the next one, a Bollywood film in Spanish, was not something I would have enjoyed in any language.  By that point it was time to settle down and attempt to sleep on our partially reclining chairs anyway.  I will say that I was impressed with the amount of food we were given on the bus.  We expected dinner and around 5:00 pm we were given ham and cheese croissant sandwiches.  We were underwhelmed.  However, around 9pm, more food came out.  This time it was a full meal of salad, pasta, bread, and dessert, along with wine or soda.  Apparently the croissants were a snack.  We had learned in Buenos Aires that Argentinians are on a much later time schedule than we are but did not realize that would carry over to the bus.  So, for almost 18 hours, we ate, watched movies, and slept on and off.  It was not a whole lot worse than a long flight, but I still would prefer not to do it again.

Ready for a long bus ride

When we arrived in Puerto Iguazu, the nearest town to Iguazu Falls on the Argentinian side, we checked in to our hostel and got ourselves situated.  We decided to wait until the following day to visit the falls so that we would be more rested. So we wandered about the town, which is actually larger than I expected, and visited Tres Fronteras.  At this location, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay can all be seen from one spot.

Tres Fronteras

Tres Fronteras Monument

The following day we boarded a local bus to the Iguazu National Park on the Argentinian side.  From the entrance, a small train (similar to one at Disneyland) takes you out to the start of the trails.  There is an upper circuit and lower circuit.  The upper circuit follows walkways and bridges over the tops of the waterfalls.  You can literally look straight down some of the falls.  The lower circuit, for the most part, is a bit further off and allows a more expansive view of the falls from below.  There is one section of the lower circuit that goes right out to the bottom of one of the waterfalls, soaking anyone brave enough to get close.  After walking both the upper and lower circuits we boarded the little train again and went for a view of the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat).  The Devil's Throat is a U-shaped waterfall with water flowing in from three sides, creating the most powerful deluge of water I have ever seen.  The force of the falling water is so strong that the water explodes back up as if it were an erupting volcano.  There is always a 100 foot cloud of spray over the Devil's Throat because of the force of the water.    

Choo! Choo! Ready to ride the train to the falls

Coati - These guys were everywhere

Coati investigating my backpack

Simon and I at the Devil's Throat

The Devil's Throat

The Devil's Throat

Walkway to the Devil's Throat

Panoramic View

Waterfalls Up Close

The next day we boarded a tour bus to visit the Brazil side of the falls. The hostel owner told us we didn't really need to go to Brazil because the Argentinian side was the best, but we thought we were so close and should really see both.  The Brazilian side was just as breathtaking and incredible as the Argentinian side.  If we had not gone, we really would have been doing ourselves an injustice.  While we got right on top of some of the falls in Argentina, in Brazil we were treated to a panoramic view of the entire length of the expansive falls.  The two sides are incomparable and are both worth a visit.

Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires early on June 20 after an overnight flight from Houston.  Of course we didn't sleep much so we were dead tired when we arrived.  Once we got to the hostel though, we had no desire to nap.  The room was awful...stains on the walls and sheets, the window did not shut, and when we went out, the door had to be locked with a padlock.  The shared bathrooms were not any better...toilet seats were broken off and doors didn't shut properly.  Needless to say, one of our tasks for the day was to find somewhere else to stay the next night.

Hostel staff trying (unsuccessfully) to shut the window

Putting thoughts of the filthy room aside, we headed out to explore the city.  We walked toward Plaza de Mayo and visited the Casa Rosada.  From Casa Rosada we walked along Avenue de Mayo to the Plaza de Congreso.  Along the way, we crossed Avenue 9 de Julio, which at 140 meters and up to seven lanes of traffic in each direction, is one of the widest avenues in the world.  

Avenue 9 de Julio

Casa Rosada

We found it odd as we walked around the city that so many shops were closed and the streets seemed quiet.  Of course, Starbucks was open.  So, we went inside for a break and a pick me up.  I attempted to place my order in Spanish and the girl taking my order smirked a little.  When I started to struggle, she revealed that she speaks perfect English.  We asked about the closed shops, etc. and learned that we had arrived on a holiday - Dia de la Bandera Nacional.

On our second day in Buenos Aires, we checked out of the hole of a hostel we were in and moved in to a much cleaner place down the road.  After settling in, we headed out for another day of sight seeing.  This time, we started out by walking through Puerto Madero and the old docks.  We continued on to Plaza de San Martin and the Falklands War Memorial.  From there, we walked to the Recoleta neighborhood and visited the cemetary and nearby Iglesia del Pilar.  The Cementerio de la Recoleta cemetary is huge and full of massive, ornate tombs.  Eva Peron is buried there, making it a popular place for visitors.  After Recoleta, we started to head back in the direction of San Telmo, the neighborhood we were staying in, but we took the long route, passing the beautiful Teatro Colon and the Obelisco in the Plaza de Republica along the way. 

Puerto Madera

Recoleta Cemetary

After five and a half hours of solid walking, we decided that it was as good a night as any to treat ourselves to a meal out.  On recommendation from my cousin, former BsAs resident, we went to Siga La Vaca for a steak dinner.  For only about $24, we were given all the meat we could eat (beef, chicken, lamb, pork), all you can eat salad bar, bread, dessert and either a full pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine (each).  We both had several servings of steak, along with various other delicious bits.  We were so full that the next day we didn't eat a thing until late afternoon.

We got a late start on our third day, but spent the afternoon visiting the La Boca neighborhood.  As we headed out, we walked past Plaza Dorrego and stopped to watch the tango dancers putting on a show for the cafe patrons.  We continued on our long walk along busy streets and through parks into La Boca.  La Boca is a lively (and very touristy) neighborhood full of brightly colored buildings. Restaurants and gift shops line the pedestrianized roads.  On the way, we also passed by the Boca Juniors football stadium, which obviously was more interesting to Simon than to me.  I had never even heard of the Boca Juniors, but I got to know some of their fans better than I would have liked to later on (more to come in the Rio post).   

The next day we boarded our 18 hour bus to Iguazu Falls.  We returned to Buenos Aires about a week later after also visiting Uruguay.  We decided to stay in a different neighborhood so that we would see more of the city.  Unfortunately, during the week we were away, the blue skies had gone gray and rain was never far off.  I also had a pretty bad cold - probably from our freezing room in Montevideo.  Fortunately, we were staying in a pretty nice place and were quite happy to just have a couple days of doing hardly anything but using the internet and watching movies.  

On our last day, our flight was not until the evening so we stashed our bags with reception and finally wandered around the neighborhood and nearby gardens.  On our way back, we had lunch in Havanna, also recommended by my cousin, and for dessert, sampled some alfajores, a favorite treat in Argentina.  Delicious.  We ended up buying a whole box of them and that box did not last long.

Fiji

We spent a very relaxing week in Fiji.  Thanks to my parents who let us use their timeshare, we were finally out of hostels and in a nice resort.  We had a two bedroom, two bathroom suite with a kitchen and even a washer and dryer (finally! clean clothes!)  The resort was on the beach and had a huge pool.  There were also different activities offered at almost every hour of every day.  At the beginning of the week a welcome reception was held with free drinks and a fire dancing show.  There was serenading everynight.  I watched a woodcarving demonstration, tasted fresh coconut milk and water during the coconut carving demonstration and was entertained by the "international" turtle races.  It rained several times during the week, but since we had a massive balcony where we could sit and read our books, we didn't even mind.  We enjoyed the resort so much, that we only left the property a few times.  

Fire Dancing

Wood Carving Demonstration

Our first Fiji sunset

Our trips off the resort included a few visits to Port Denarau, where the Denarau Island shopping center is located, and one trip out of Denarau and into Nadi Town.  In Nadi, we did our grocery shopping for the week and also visited a few tourist shops.  In the first shop we went in, we were given a very warm welcome by "Steve" who insisted that we come to the back of the store for a traditional kava ceremony.  Kava is a drink made with the roots of a kava plant  and has anesthetic and sedative properties.  Steve gave us a little kava lesson, making a bowl full of the drink right in front of us.  I watched as he used a cloth that looked like a bar rag as part of the process and poured single servings into small bowls that had probably not been washed since the last "welcome ceremony."  Four months earlier I'm sure I would have politely declined my serving of kava.  What actually happened though was that I had two servings...and my tongue quickly went numb.  After our ceremony, Steve followed us around the shop trying to convince us to buy some overpriced wood carvings.   

We went to Port Denarau about three times.  One trip was not planned.  We had decided to go on the "bike tour" offered by the resort thinking we might get some information about the area while we cruised around on bikes.  We were the only ones who showed up for the tour and our guide simply had us follow him to the Port Denarau shopping center.  We were given about twenty minutes for our "break" and then just rode right back to the resort.  Our guide hardly spoke.  Not the best "tour" I've ever been on.  Simon and I were highly amused.

The majority of the time, we just relaxed and read books.  Even though I loved our week in Fiji, I was really excited to head back to California and see my family.

View from my lounge chair

Resort pool

Beautiful Fiji Sunset

New Zealand: South Island - Dunedin to Christchurch

During our last few days in New Zealand, we traveled along the east coast from Dunedin to Christchurch.  Dunedin was not part of our original plans, but I'm glad we visited.  If we hadn't, we would have missed the steepest residential street in the world (according to the Guinness Book of World Records).  There were also some nice historical buildings in Dunedin, including the railway station, which is said to be one of the most photographed buildings in New Zealand.  We took a drive around the nearby Otago Peninsula and, before the clouds settled in and the rain started, enjoyed some more beautiful New Zealand views.  During our two nights in Dunedin, we stayed at a hostel called, Hogwartz.  Yes, it was Harry Potter themed.

Baldwin Street

Simon on the steepest residential street in the world

Albatross Center at the end of the Otago Peninsula

Sandfly Beach on the Otago Peninsula

Dunedin Railway Station

As we continued up the east coast from Dunedin, we made a brief stop in Koekohe Beach to see the Moeraki Boulders.  Huge boulders are scattered along the small stretch of beach.  

We spent the night in Oamaru to see the Blue Penguins.  Each evening, the penguins that have been out fishing come ashore at the Oamaru Blue Penguin colony.  The Blue Penguins are the smallest penguins in the world and are only about 10 inches tall.  We waited about an hour to see a few groups of penguins swim ashore and waddle up to the rocks.  It was great to see the penguins in a (somewhat) natural environment.

Our final destination in New Zealand was Christchurch.  The city is still rebuilding from the devastating earthquake of 2011 and a lot of the city center is inaccessible.  There was even a small earthquake while we were there.  It was sad to see the amount of destruction caused by the earthquakes.  In an effort to revitalize the city and bring business back to the center, a shopping mall made of shipping containers has been set up.  Cafes, clothing stores, and souvenir shops have all been set up within large, colorful shipping containers.  After a walk through the "mall" and the botanic gardens, we found that almost all other tourist attractions, including museums, were still closed.  We considered taking a drive outside the city, but after two weeks on the road, did not feel like getting back in the car.  Instead, we settled in and relaxed in the cozy living room of our hostel, watching movies and "Come Dine With Me" marathons. 

Botanic Gardens

Re:Start Shipping Container Mall

Earthquake Damage

Map showing the "red zone," the closed part of the city center

We had an amazing trip through New Zealand.  We drove almost two thousand miles over 17 days and found only one stretch of road to be dull.  The New Zealand scenery  is absolutely gorgeous.  By the time we reached Christchurch, though, we were ready to turn in the car keys and trade the jackets and beanies for swimsuits and flip-flops.