Estancia and San Antonio de Areco, Argentina Day 9

Gaucho presentation at Estancia

We headed out early this morning for San Antonio de Areco about a 2 hour drive. It has been declared a city of historic national interest by the Argentine Government. Here we visited the Draghi Silversmith Museum where Juan Jose Draghi was the forerunner of the revival of traditional gaucho silversmithing in Argentina. On view were traditional gaucho belts, sabers, stirrups, as well as contemporary jewelry and high relief placards.  The shoppers in our groups spent a great deal of time in the gift shop.  Wayne and I walked to the park and listened to the birds. 

After listening to the birds, we boarded the bus to Estancia, which is a ranch (normally for rearing sheep or other cattle) that in this case is a place for Polo horses and Guachos. All the Polo horses were on sabbatical. But we had a nice glass of wine and then an impressive gaucho show.  The first show involved 2 gauchos racing under an arch with a keyring size ornament that they tried to spear with a stylus. They were extremely fast and pretty accurate.  If the ornament was speared and remained on the stylus, the gaucho held it aloft and then presented it to a señorita he desired.  I got one!!!   Then the son of a gun got another ornament and presented it to another señorita...the two timer.  They also played a game much like football and one gaucho presented his horse as he had trained it.  Check this link to read about him and Flickr to see the photos of both placed we visited.      

Buenos Aires Day 8

 

No, that is not me on the left.

I absolutely love Buenos Aires.  It is very sophisticated.  We began our fabulous day with our guide Alejandro leading us on a walk through Plaza de Mayo where we saw The Metropolitan Cathedral and the Casa Rosada. The Plaza de Mayo is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires. It was from the balcony of the Casa Rosada in Plaza Mayo that Eva Peron address the masses shortly before her death. We did not go into the Casa Rosada, but we did go into the Metropolitan Cathedral. Pope Francis was the Archbishop here for 15 years before moving to the Vatican in 2013.  There is a museum of his personal and liturgical items.  We did not see that.  This tour is more about brief observations of culturally important places or customs.  I haven't even known who the artists were in the cathedrals nor have they been pointed out. 

Lunch was at Cafe Tortoni, a beautiful Fin de siecle named after the Parisian cafe of the same name. It was where the elite of the Parisian culture gathered in the 19th century.  It still emanates that feel. It was selected by UCityGuides as one of the ten most beautiful cafes in the world. 

Tonight was a blast at the Tango Porteno Dinner Theatre.  We had a designated front row balcony area where each person posed with one of the dancers for photos.  I couldn't stop laughing.  The show was quite good.  The footwork was so fast I could hardly determine how it was done.  Oh, dinner was included.

Pictures at Flickr.

Iguaza Falls, Argentina 1/20/24

 

Rodents, Crows and Falls

I spent the last few months walking 5 miles a day in order to be in good shape for this tour.  What I should have done was readjust my sleeping patterns.  We have had to be ready to roll no later that 6:30 am every day.  Today luggage had to be ready to roll by 6:30 which meant I had to roll by 6am.  My regular roll time is 8am.  But, it is all worth it.  We rolled across the Tancredo Neves Bridge over the Iguacu River and into Argentina. The falls are still beautiful but the crowds are huge here.  We had to option of taking an upper trail and lower trail.  We skipped the lower trail just because of the heat (90*) and the crowds.  Everyone was very considerate but you could hardly move.  After lunch we headed to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires where we will be staying at the Alvear Palace Hotel. 

The hotel is another Belmond.  They are all a bit different but all elegant.  Buenos Aires has a very European feel as does the hotel.  Dinner tonight offered the best tenderloin so far.  We sat with Jeannette and Pete.  It was great food, good conversation.  Pictures at Flickr

Iguaza Falls Day 6

 

The Very Wet LaGues

We became one with the Falls today. The approximately 1 mile walk took us up close to some of the 275 drops. Hopefully my pictures will give a tiny understanding of the magnificence.  The group coalesced at the wonder of it all.  Each and everyone exclaimed they had never seen anything to challenge the Falls.  There is one walkway the stretches over a fall.  This was so much fun (and a bit damp lol)

Next, we visited the Bird Rescue Sanctuary.  Most of these birds are born in the sanctuary and will never be released. The parents were rescued from poachers. The Park is one of the largest bird parks in Latin America, whose main job is the conservation of the 120 species of birds of the Atlantic Forest in some danger of extinction.

This was becoming quite a full morning as we returned to the Falls, took a funicular down to the river and boarded a jet boat.  We traveled for miles upstream to feel the spray and hear the thunderous water at the vase of the falls.  THEN the boat went UNDER the falls at Devil's Throat.  The spray was so strong that I couldn't open my eyes.  But, what was there to see expect spray?  What fun!!!

Tonight we had a special private dinner at Casa do Chef.  Fabio, the chef, had been head chef at out hotel before deciding to create his own restaurant.  The dining room is located in his home with one side completely open to the enclosed garden.  He creates dishes using the gastronomic history of the diverse regions of Brazil.  At each serving he explains the origin of the dish and the ingredients. It reminded me very much of our Aboriginal lunch in Australia. An extra treat was his flute playing.  Also, the very cute children appeared.  Pictures at flickr.

Iguaza Falls Day 5

 

Iguaza Falls

Our bags were packed, and we were ready for the next adventure.  Following lunch at the Copacabana Palace, we flew to Iguaca where the magnificent and very large Iguaza Falls are.  Our first stop was for a 15 minute helicopter ride over the falls.  I was lucky enough to be in the front next to the pilot where I could see all around and take some half decent videos/photos.  The falls form the border between Brazil and Argentina and can be seen from both countries.  According to our guide Gaston, the views and access from Brazil are the better because most of the falls are on the Argentina side.  The waterfall systems in both countries make up the largest waterfall system in the world.  

Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas is our home for the next 2 nights.  Cataratas means Waterfalls in English. It has a very different feel from the Copacabana Palace.  I feels more like a lodge from early days.  It is elegant with outdoor access to restaurants, the bar, shops.  It overlooks the falls.  The weather is cooler. Enjoy the photos at flickr.

Rio de Janeiro Day 4

 

Rio from Christ the Redeemer

Today was a little trip to the clouds, a little Samba, and a few steps.  Christ the Redeemer at some point was selected to be one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World.  We don't really know who voted on that.  We were never asked.  However, it is a wonder. Quite an international collaboration, it was created by French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski/ built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot, and face sculpted by Romanian Gheorghe Leonida. The head is 12 feet high; the arms stretch 98 feet. The entire sculpture is of reinforced concrete covered in thousands of soap stone mosaics. More magnificent to me than the sculpture were the views of Rio and surrounding areas.  We did see true believers on their knees praying.

From the religious to the sacred to the earthly, we headed for Samba City.  This area is where a complex of buildings in Gamboa.  The complex is used for Samba schools to prepare for carnival.  There are about 14 of the schools housed here where they prepare the floats, train the musicians and dancers, create the costumes. It takes the entire year and about 2 million dollars per school.  The judging takes place in a rather short avenue with bleachers of either side for judges and the audience.  The precision is exacting with a required 82 minutes (no more, no less or you are eliminated).  

This evening we had dinner at a local tapas bar.  It was not elegant or particularly good.  But, see pictures of the day at Flickr. 

Rio de Janeiro Day 3

Sugarloaf Mountain

We got an early start with a bus ride to take the cable car up to Sugarloaf mountain.  The Portuguese named this peak because it resembled their prepared sugar loaves.  Blocks of sugar were placed in conical molds made of clay to be transported on ships.  The form of the peak reminded them of the 'sugarloaf' shape.  There are two stages to the ride up.  One stop offers what I thought was just the best view.  Then we took a second cable car and Wow! The views from the peak are awe inspiring and breath taking.  Also, it was a nice cool breeze that offered relief from the 94* down below.  

From Sugarloaf we drove to Guanabara Bay to take a boat cruise around the bay.  I must mention it here so I never forget the Brazilian Butt we saw while waiting for the boat.  Honest to god it was so large that all 14 in our group simply burst into astonished guffawing at the sight.  Oh, if only we had the presence of mind to take a photo.  

We had lunch at the Churrascaria Palace, a Brazilian steak house.  My favorite cut was the short ribs which were perfectly flavored and tender.  All else was a bit tough and overcooked for me.  The afternoon was free and dinner was on our own.  We ate at the Pergola pool restaurant and were very disappointed.  However, we were tired and happy to eat in.  Pictures at Flickr

 

Rio de Janeiro Day 2

 

Me by the Copacabana legendary pool

If any one day is better than another in Rio, this day was better than yesterday. After a nice breakfast by the pool, I returned to lounge and swim a bit.  Wayne did not, but snapped this picture of me from our balcony.  The staff and service here are nonpareil (at least in my experience).  Everywhere one turns a towel is provided, a hand is offered, the room serviced twice a day, someone stops by the room with more coffee, water.  At the pool, the towel is also arranged on the chair and drinks are offered. Why should I have to arrange a towel?  The salt water pool is refreshing, the breeze cool and the company quiet and polite.  Around noon, I returned to the room to fetch Wayne.  From there we walked across the street to the Copacabana's beach restaurant for lunch.  THEN we walked to the surf.  Wow.  Just Wow. There are several soaker hoses laid in the sand to form a cool path from the street to the surf. We definitely walked that line as the sand burns one's feet.  I have never been in a surf that is so strong.  There is a singular wave of great size that only crashes about 15 feet from the tide line with a power to knock you over.  As the water recedes the pull is so strong as to drag one out with it.  And, dragged me butt first into it. Kids, adults, senior all are at the water's edge laughing, enjoying this phenomenon. 

Back at the hotel we checked out the spa and fitness room.  Wayne stayed (he's dedicated, man) to work out.  My excuse?  I've already showered.  Tonight, we met 6 of our fellow travelers at the welcome reception and dinner.  The other 6 have been delayed and will arrive sometime tomorrow.  Dinner was at Restaurant Hotel Cipriani where Northern Italian flavors in a Michelin starred restaurant are served.  We really like the group which is a mixture of singles, married from Florida, Australia and South Carolina,

  

Rio de Janeiro Day 1

                       

 

Copacabana Beach

We arrived in Rio bright and early this morning after a 10 hour flight.  There is only a 2 hour difference so jet lag is minimum.  We were met at the airport by a Tauck employee who was very congenial and gave us good tourist information on our 30 minute ride to the hotel: don't drink the water, don't flash your phone and jewelry around, don't flush the toilet paper.  He mentioned a nice Bosa Nova bar which we will try to find and enjoy.  Our hotel is the Copacabana Palace, a very luxurious place where we were escorted to our room by a hotel guest server. Check out the video on Flickr of the room.  It's larger than many people have for home. We are here a day prior to the tour beginning and took advantage of that to have a small rest. Rested, we strolled across the street to the beach where you can see above I have outlived my bikini days.  It is very hot and humid.

After we walked toward town to a local store for water, wine and sunblock. Upon returning to the Copacabana,  we had brunch at the hotel Pergola restaurant adjacent to the pool. We napped in the afternoon to catch up on missed sleep.  Then, after a walk up and down Atlantica Avenue, we returned to the hotel for dinner at the Pergola. It was a quiet recuperative night with wine on the balcony.  A few more pics are on flickr

A Little Side Trip to South America

 

Rainbow at Logan

We have an auspicious beginning to our South America trip of 2 weeks: a rainbow.  After a month of stress worrying about how to get a visa for Brazil, we were notified last week that Brazil has moved the deadline to April.  I think that all the tour groups, cruise ships, Brazilian hotels and airlines gave them heck because of cancellations.  We also would never have been able to go because as of today, our departure date, we still do not have a visa.  BUT we are now excited and will be landing tomorrow in Rio.  

Logan to JFK

Without humility I must say that flying 1st class is worth selling your first child for.  1.  There is the club area at the airports that is quiet, comfortable and offers free drinks and food.  The Admiral Club at Logan was like the best top notch hotel would be.  The JFK Admiral Club is not quite as elegant, but still nicer than the boarding gates.