House of Che

We traveled outside of Cordoba City for the day to the little town of Alta Gracia - an hour south by bus. Small buses leave the Mercado Sud (just 5 blocks from our apartment) every 10-13 minutes. We packed sandwiches and headed out around noon. The main attractions of Alta Gracia are the Jesuit Estancia there and the childhood home of Ernesto Guevara.
After getting to town and learning that the Jesuit mission didn't re-open until later in the day, we headed on foot, following our map and an occasional directional sign through a cute, older, middle class neighborhood to the Casa del Che. Other than the signage, and folks milling around the front porch and yard, the house appeared much like others on the street. Inside, the rooms were full of photos, maps and memorabilia of his facinating life. We all had english guidebooks and even the girls enjoyed walking from room to room reading about his past. His bicycle that he rode across the country was there as well as the motorcycle that he traveresed the continent on. After crossing paths with his legacy since Bovivia guidebooks, it was enjoyable to see the beginings. Che enjoyed golf, which he is credited with introducing to Cuba (although I never saw a picture of him with a 9 iron, gun, cigar and beret), and chess which he only played while drinking mate - convinced that it improved his skill (I will definitely test this theory in my next match with Helen).
From Che's house we stopped for some helado (super cucharachos) and then headed to the Estancia Jesuitica for a glimpse back to the 1800s when this town was centered around this church. Today it remains the only functioning church of the once many estancias in the region. The well preserved buildings and courtyards attached to the church have been converted into a museum full of period furniture, paintings, clothing, tools etc.
After poking around for a short while, we caught our return bus and headed back to the big city.

The New Abode

After a great 2 weeks with the Abuelos Vances, we returned to our new apartment in Cordoba. We are on the 20th floor of a high-rise in the "hip" part of town. So far, the only person we've seen in our apartment building anywhere near our age is the doorman. This place is full of 20-somethings, I think that some are in school but so far I have yet to see anyone toting around books.


Our apartment is a good size (2 bedroom) and we have a cool balcony to sit on. We only get morning sun, so we've got our sliding door open all day. We haven't seen any mosquitos up here either, which is nice. There are no screens on any of the windows, so I'm hoping it stays that way. At night the lights twinkle, this is a fun place to experiment with big city living. Here are some quicky shots taken this evening with Helen's camera (thanks Helen!)


The country had a census here yesterday. All businesses are closed (and are fined by the police if they are caught open) and all schools are closed. People are supposed to stay home, where they can be acounted for. Argentina hires enough workers to knock on every door in the country in one day. What that equates to in our building is a major party night. I mean, its perfect, right? You stay up all night partying and go home and crash with the explicit directions from the government to stay home all day. Why didn't I have holidays like this when I was younger?


We recieved our knock 3:30 in the afternoon. The polite census taker (who spoke a few words of English) came in and sat at the table with us while she filled our her forms. She said she wasn't sure if we were supposed to be counted, but since we were here - she thought so. She asked us our first names, our birthdates, whether we could read/write, what we did for employment, our education and whether we used a computer. That's it.

We bought a bus guide today. We are going to figure out how to get around. We've probably only been in a taxi a few times ~ we walk everwhere Downtown. The bus routes/bus guides are not quite as cut and dry as I'd like them to be. When we err, we've got a lot of walking to do.

Tomorrow we're headed out of the city into the Provincia for the first time. We're headed to a small town called Alta Gracia where there is a Jesuit estancia and the Che Guevara Museum (he spent his adolescence in A.G.) It'll be our first foray on the collectivos (small buses) that run out of town in every direction.

Back to Cordoba!

We took the train back to Cordoba Friday night.Instead of seats like the Uyuni train we bought cabins. We had to get two because they were only for two people but it was still really cool. The beds weren't exactly like bunk beds but they were on top of each other. The bottom bed folded up into a bed that turned into a pretty comfortable couch. The top bunk folded up into the wall and the ladder went under the couch. In the corner of the room next to the window that you couldn't see out was a tiny sink. There was a top that you folded down to make it a table kind of thing. We got our own toiletries packet including: 1 comb, 1 toothbrush, 1 thing of toothpaste, 2 plastic toilet covers(weird huh?), and toilet paper. Oh, and a water bottle. So that was our tiny, cramped, cool(as in cold)neat, awesome room! It was 8:30 when we got on the train so we were tired and ready to go to bed. We used the buzzer to call the attendant to make our beds. I got to watch him do it!!! We brushed our hair and teeth and I climbed up into the top bunk. I was a little afraid that i was going to fall because there was nothing to keep me stationed. However I slept well and woke up happy the next morning. We ate some of the good we broughtand then went into the dining car. media Lunas were for breakfast and we finished about at the exact time we got there. We took a taxi to our new apartment . I'm glad we are now in Cordoba!!!

Another Museum

We went to another museum that had everything! and especially dinosaur bones. They had every sort of bone that you could imagine from all over the world. Most of the bones were enormus, they were from big dinosaurs. Some of the bones were very tiny, as small as rats bones. In the next room they had shells. Theere was a pointy one with holes on the side. There was another pointy shell but it was green and was from Antartica.
There were more bones too but they weren't dinosaurs they were zebras, giraffes, monkeys, slothes, lions and even a head of a whale. There was a dolfin head and an anteater. There was a gigantic room full of birds - owls, tucans, flamingos and so on. They had a glass tank that had stuffed birds in it and there were buttons with speakers and when you pressed them the bird made noise.
Our last room had animals, not bones, animals that had been stuffed and there eyes were marbles. There were apes, foxes and penguins. The fox family was a female and four babies that looked like a happy family. The apes had very mean faces. There were at least 6 of them and they were big black and furry. When I first saw them they looked alive. The Emporer Pinguin was very fat and there was a baby. He was very small and very fat and his flippers were on his checkered, fat belly.
I was very cheerful at the end of the museum, I was glad to see lots of stuff and it was very interesting. I was also sad to think that the animals were killed because they all looked like a happy family.

Chau chau Abuelos Vances

We said goodbye to Mom & Dad, Abuelos Vances on Tuesday evening and return to Quatro Vancesinsouthamerica. It was a wonderful 2 weeks with them and it was sad to see them go. We have a couple more days in Buenos Aires before our return trip to Cordoba via train on Friday night. Maybe the extra time will be enough to finish Grandma's puzzle - dancers in the rain. Today we found a suitable violin for Meghan (her first 4/4) as a belated birthday present. She is very excited and it is nice to hear her play again. There is a Suzuki school in Cordoba not far from our new apartment that we hope to enroll the girls in upon our return.We hit some additional sites today, visiting the Plaza Congreso and the MALBA, museum of art, traversing the city by foot and subway - our favorite. Fares run 1.1 peso equal to 30 cents for each of us, and the routes and stops cover most of the central city. After a near miss of leaving Grandpa Steve behind, or stuck in the doors, we have had no more incidents in the tunnels below. Garbage collectors in the city have been on strike for a couple of days. We thought it odd that piles of garbage bags were on every street corner Monday and the piles got larger on Tuesday and today. The news says that the strike is settled but I guess the collectors haven't been paying attention... we'll see. It doesn't smell bad yet but it quite unsitely in an otherwise very clean city.We like it here and have pondered whether Cordoba is the right city settle in for a while. BA has a little more to offer and doesn't seem daunting with 10 times the population of Cordoba. There are no Gridos in BA, serving up our favorite helado, so we will stick with the plan and catch the night train on Friday.

Dancing with the Stars

Buenos Dias!

This city of 12 million is like any other huge city - full of distinctive neighborhoods. We have wandered into the top 10 in the Eyewitness travel guide. Walking and the subway has made me feel like a local - except when I open my mouth and try to ask a question. Very helpful folks even with our very limited Spanish.

Last night we visited a traditional Tango Show at Cafe Tortoni. Piano, bass and cello accompanied the dancers who twirled, kicked and intertwined to the seductive music. WOW!!

Today we're off to the National Arts Museum and last minute touring before our 20:30 flight to Miami.

The highlight of our visit is being with Mike, Debby, Meghan and Helen. Mike is the breakfast cook. Debby the city guide who knows the difference between derecha and izquierda has led us all over town. Meghan and Helen lead with their exuberance and joy!!

Dia de Madre! (It's Mother's Day... again!)

Who knew changing hemispheres would give me 2 special days in one year??? Today, we celebrated by going to a free concert in Teatro Colon (Columbus Theatre). We had the best seats (first balcony front row) to watch the Trio Luminar (flute, viola and harp). The 3 women musicians were fantastic - we were all impressed.

The theater was amazing and the performance was the only way to see the inside. Thank goodness for the free concert! It re-opened in May of this year after an almost 5 year overhaul. Its such an old-world style performance space - red velvet, fancy marble bathrooms, wide grande staircases. It's built in a horseshoe shape (for perfect acoustics) with floor seating and then multiple levels of seating above. Delightful morning!

This afternoon we walked through the San Telmo area and checked out their street market. The main square had antiques dealers set up, but the rest of the streets were covered with tables and/or blankets selling any number of knick-knacks or art works. The area was a mob scene. We had heard that there were "impromptu" tango shows going on in the street for tips - but we only caught the last 10 seconds of the only dancing we saw. I think a Tango Show might be in order... we'll see.

Tomorrow we have to return to the Retiro station to see if we can get the train back to Cordoba. I sure hope that works out. I think a train trip would be fun!


The time with the Vances here is coming to a close. Tomorrow is their last full day here. I'm not ready for them to go! We've been having such a fantastic time.

Time seems to be flying by these days. I think its almost moving faster now than it was when we were travelling non-stop. I'm not quite sure why that is though. It could be the wine, of course. But I'm pretty sure that days on the balcony in Recoleta are special and we need to pay attention and take them in (see photo). So we do our best to savor the day. :)

Recoleta Cemetery

Today we went to the cemetery there was lots of stained glass and crist on the cross in every tomb. We had a guide, her name was Patricia Salao. The cemetery was very big and was easy to get lost. One women died on her honeymoon, she was going skiing. She was fast asleep and a cliff of snow fell on her house and the glass fell on her and she died, her family built this butiful tomb and buried her in it. Some tombs couldn't pay the govermet any more to get it cleaned so they didn't take care of it and the tomb got dirty and wood fell from the cieling and glass spraled on the floor. the scariast thing was that a young women had a heart attack and she was put in the tomb alive and she died trying to get out and the family saw that the tomb had moved a little. The opened the tomb and her body was scratched and they realized that she was burried alive. Patricia took us out of the cemetary she was saying that the police came and picked up all the stray people.

Scavenger Hunt @ Casapueblo

Hola!!

We are quite sure that Carlos Paez Vilaró, when he imagined and designed and built Casapueblo did not consider two imaginative little girls designing and organizing a scavenger hunt for their parents and grandparents that would take them from one end of the complex to the other ... and from the first level to the ninth! Yet Meghan & Helen Vance did just that - exhausting minds and legs!!

Ten clues for each team took us into hidden alcoves, secret gardens, grottos and caves ... all built by Paez Vilaro as "an assault on the straight line." The girls did a great job in hiding the clues and designing the course. The winners -- Debby & Vonnie clearly were in tune with the creators!

Our week at Punta Ballena, Uruguay was delightful. Casapueblo was a treat - we had no idea it existed ... much less as an RCI exchangeable time share.

Now in Buenos Aires we are walking away our remaining five days seeing the sights and eating helado (ice cream) in "the Paris of South America."

More later, when legs recover and minds sort out our wonderful visit with the South American Vances on their year long journey. We shall be sad to say adios but look forward to a return trip in the Spring.

Buenos dias!

Abelo Esteban & Abuela Evonne

Note: for more information regarding Casapueblo and Carlos Paez Vilaro you'll find it on a Google search!

BIRTHDAY!!!

Today I had my birthday!!! It was so much fun. We went to the Marine Animal Shelter where they nursed the animals back to health before they sent them back to the ocean. First we met a little penguin named Cody. He was so cute and we got to pet him. He was the only animal that wasn't in a cage so he followed us around all the time. There was lots of other penguins in a cage but we weren't allowed to touch them. Then we saw a baby seal. She was gorgeous. Then we got to feed her. We went into the kitchen and made a seal smoothie. It had cream milk and blended up fish. While we were pouring it into the bottle it spilled on my hand. EEeewwww!!! After I washed my hands we went outside and into the seal pen. The guy who worked there dried the seal off then put him in our laps. We fed her the smoothie and then rubbed her to get the food to go down. She was really soft, even softer that Cody who was really soft too. Then we saw the sea turtle. The sea turtle was in a baby pool halfway filled with water. She was in the shelter because she had swallowed plastic that she thought was a jellyfish. There was also a bird with a broken leg. His beak was really cool. There was a part on the top, a part on top of the part on top and a part on the bottom. I liked it a lot. There was also three penguins in a separate cage. We got to feed them raw fish but luckily we got to wear gloves. The penguins were really hungry. When we held up the fish they would take it like "that" and swallow it whole (I'm not kidding). After they finished eating we watched the guy who worked there feed Cody. We didn't do it because he had a very sharp beak. After that we said our goodbyes and left. We ate lunch at a little beach but decided that we didn't want to swim there and we went to Piriopolis. We bought tarts and a pie for dinner, and had ice cream. Then we left to find a beach. We found one and changed into our swim suits. I took one step in the water and did not want to go in. I did finally get in to my waist which took superhuman powers but then only walked on the beach for shells. We packed up and headed back to Casa Pueblo. We hung out until dinner while dad was cooking the asado. We had a very good dinner and a very good desert and then it was time to open presents. I got really pretty hair clips from Mom and Dad and Helen and I got a sweater from Grandma and Grandpa. I had a really good day and I think being 11 will be fun!!!

We can smell the Atlantic

We are in beautiful beach town of Punta Ballena (Whale Point), Uruguay. We are just 10km from the "mouth" of the Rio Uruguay into the Atlantic Ocean. We are staying in what was once the home of a famous Uruguayan artist - Carlos Páez Vilaró. It's a mamoth building, standing 10 stories tall and built against the rocks of the point. We have watched some pretty spectacular sunsets from their decks.


Today we went into Piriapolis and rode the chair-lift to the top of Cerro San Antonio. It was an open chairlift, similar to what you ride when you go skiing, but it went up over 4 streets and a couple of people's yards. Very strange but kinda fun. The view from the top of the town and the beach and out into the bay was lovely. (Technically this is not a bay, but that's what it looks like - we can't see Argentina from here)

We have been spending our free time wandering the streets of both Punta del Este and Piriapolis and closer to home, the impressive building we're staying in. We are just soaking in the time with Mike's parents. It feels like the week here is about to end and it has just flown by. Luckily, from here we move on to Buenos Aires. I'm really looking forward to the big city.

Tomorrow is Mike and I's 19 year anniversary. It feels like forever ago. It's nice to be with his parents for the occasion. We're looking forward to sharing a bottle of champagne on the water at sunset. This is the life... :)

Summiting Pan de Azucar (389 meters)

TODAY WE WENT CLIMBING ON A HUGE MOUNTAIN WITH OUR GRANDPARTENTS. IT HAD SO MANY ROCKS TO CLIMB AND MANY LOGS TO GO UNDER. THE MOUNTAIN WAS CALLED SUGER BREAD.IT HAD WATER COMING FROM THE MOUNTAIN AND MAKING THE ROCKS HARD TO CLIMB. AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN WE SAW THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER TINY MOUNTAIN TO GET TO THE CROSS AT THE TOP. SO WE WERE VERY TIRED BUT WE DID CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. ME AND MEGHAN CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THE CROSS. IT WAS LIGHT AND THERE WERE TWO WINDOWS ON EACH FLOOR AND AT THE TOP IT SEPARATED INTO TWO EQUAL SIDES.AT THE TOP THERE WERE TRIANGLE WINDOWS I COULD STICK MY WHOLE BODY OUT. THE CROSS WAS MADE OUT OF CEMENT. WE ATE LUNCH AND HEADED BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN IT TOOK 2 HOURS TO CLIMB DOWN. IT WAS ALSO VERY HOT. AT THE BOTTEM THERE WERE ANIMALS LIKE WART HOGS AND SPOON BEAKS. AT THE END WE HAD HELADO MINE WAS LIMEN I HAD A GOOD DAY EVEN THOUE IT WAS TIERING.

Dos mas Vancesinsouthamerica

Grandma Vonnie and Grandpa Steve are here for 2 weeks! We met in Montevideo and have headed to Punte de Ballenas on the coast just south of Punte de Este. We are spending a week here at the Casapueblo, a funky hotel with great sunset views west toward the Rio de Plata and Buenos Aires (too far to see). The sun is warm but the wind and ocean is a bit on the cold side so we have kept our swimming to the small heated pool here. The summer season won't start for another month or so. It is a gorgeous coast line with a mix of rocky and sandy shores, lighthouses and sea lions. Our only gripe I think is the lack of heladarias.... oh and there is no mini-golf. We are day trippin' from here, north and south along the coast and spending our evenings sampling the Uruguayan vino while playing games and looking at pictures. It is great to have my folks here with us.

We're In Uruguay!

We arrived in Montevideo Monday morning after a long night of bus traveling. We were'nt that excited to wake up but we did anyways. The bus was nice and we got a snack right as we got on. The guy came back around in like 5 minutes but I was'nt done so I had to keep my trash. I looked out the window until it was time to go to bed. We went to bed at ten'o'clock and they served dinner at eleven. After a not so good night of sleep we got breakfast but then finaly we got there. We walked to breakfast and then walked down to the coast of the Rio de la Plata, the river that separates Uruguay and Argentina. There werent many beaches but the water was pretty. The boardwalk was really long and wide enough to have runners, walkers, and biciclers all at the same time. We walked around for a while until we got hungry for lunch. Helen and I begged mom and dad to eat chinese and they finally gave in. I cant tell you how good that was. We got noodles and orange chicken. I had missed it so much it felt like three months were forever:) We hung out at the hotel for a while and took a nap and then went for dinner. We were tired so we went to bed early. The second day we spent walking around not doing much and the third day we were to anxious to see grandma and grandpa to do anything much. They arrived on a big ferry that I am excited to go on to Buenos Aires. There was a lot of crying and jumping up and down to tell the truth. Once they got through customs we got their luggage and went to the hotel. After dumping our stuff we asked the guy at the reception for a good place to eat. He recomended Los Lenos which was really good, the right amount of food, and we got a hysterical waiter. My favorite time was when he poured a drop in my glass, a drop in Helen's glass and he poured a lot in all the adults glasses and pretended to walk away. Then (of course) he came back and gave us water but it was still funny. Everyone said their food was good so we went to bed with full stomaches. Tommorrow we will go rent a car and drive to Punta Del Este. I'm so excited!!!

Grapefruit Mate

In Cordoba we made grapefruit mate, it was very good. First you cut out the top of the grapefruit. Then you suck most of the juice out with the bombilla. The bombilla is a straw that has a tiny filter at the end. The bombilla only lets you drink a small amount of mate at a time. The purpose of the filter is to stop the leaves from going into your mouth. Next you scrape some of the grapefruit out. Then you put in the mate and the water in. we like it with sugar but you don't have to use sugar, and you drink it, its very good!