Final Post

We have been back from Maryland for five days now and this will be the farewell post. Our Santa Fe furniture arrived yesterday. We've been living in Oxford and going up to Denton every day to clean the house, unpack, garden and fix things that have inevitably come apart during our year away. We'll move up there at the end of the week, but may be back in Oxford for a couple weeks if we get some further house renovation done. We are looking forward to seeing all our friends here, getting settled into our home and new routine, and working on postponed projects. We already miss Santa Fe though and will still strive to find a way to live in several places at once! We hope to post future travel adventures here, but it will probably be awhile. Thanks for reading and keep in touch!

XC West to East

The furniture movers arrived promptly Friday morning and by 1 pm we were loaded up and on the road back east. Friday night we camped at Palo Duro Canyon State Park just south of Amarillo. Known as the “Grand Canyon” of Texas, it really was beautiful. We camped at the bottom of the canyon in one of several camp grounds. Colored canyon walls rose on either side and the bottom was intersected by small arroyos with lots of signs warning about flash floods.

Saturday we sped across Oklahoma’s back roads and into western Arkansas. In Oklahoma we stopped for a picnic lunch at Ft. Cobb Wildlife Management area. There is a large lake there surrounded by forests and homes. A friendly bulldog accompanied us on a walk on the red dirt roads that follow the lake shore. In Arkansas, the rivers were in flood stage and the first park we stopped at hoping to camp near Alma, AR, was closed. So we went to a nearby KOA instead. KOAs are always neat and clean with great restrooms. This one had lots of odd looking ducks that came around looking for handouts (see photo of nesting duck). We went out for dinner, and got very average Italian food. Unfortunately the Catfish Hole had a long line. It rained that night, but we were warm and dry in our tent.

It stayed cloudy as we kept mainly to Rt. 40 through AR. We decided to visit Graceland since we were going to pass right by it. The ticket pavilion is across a 4 lane street from the house and they ferry people over on small buses. You get an audio tour with your admission. The house looks like a modest southern mansion from the front, but is fairly small really. On the tour you visit the first floor, the finished basement and the outbuildings. The décor is extreme 70s. Green shag carpeting in the “living room”, called the Jungle room because of the color and heavy carved wood furniture (see photo). A mirrored rec room in the basement and another room covered in pleated boldly patterned fabric on the walls and ceiling. Other buildings contained Elvis’ dad’s office and an enormous trophy collection. From that collection you see the overwhelming influence Elvis must have had on the musical world.

Keeping with our musical theme, we made our way to Nashville, home of country music! We found a hotel near downtown and made our way over to the bars and restaurants in “The District”. After strolling around a few blocks, we had dinner at Ichiban, a very good Japanese restaurant. We were desperate for some good food and this was very satisfying. Afterwards we picked out a bar with a band. At most of the bars, the bands are visible and audible through a glass window facing the street. So you can walk along and choose where you want to go based on what music appeals. We ended up at the “Second Fiddle” and got a beer at the bar. The band was quite good and played a wide range of classic and contemporary covers. One band member’s fiancée was there with her sister, and the sister also sang a few LeAnn Rimes songs quite well.

The next day we drove to Knoxville where my high school friend Mary now lives. She took us to a good local chain restaurant for lunch and then we went for a short walk at a local waterfront park. Knoxville seems to be surrounded by rivers and lakes. Apparently boating is a big thing to do there. Fortified with goodies she’d made, we continued on to Abingdon, VA to visit my friend Quinn. Quinn is an artist, actress, and “cat wrangler” for a cat rescue organization. She and her current two cats greeted us (or at least one cat did, we never did see the other one). We went for a walk around the incredibly cute town of Abingdon. It would be a great place for a long weekend of theatre and hiking. Quinn fixed us a salad made with locally collected branch lettuce and pasta with homemade pesto.

Finally, on Tuesday we drove from Abingdon to Oxford, MD! We did detour off the interstate for a while and stopped for lunch in Sperryville, VA at a café in an old renovated church building. Arriving in Oxford around 4:30, we were warmly welcomed by my mom and dad and by Calla! Calla seemed to forgive me for having left her for a year, although I’m sure it wasn’t hard for her given all the attention she got while I was gone!

Battle of Glorieta Pass

Texans march through New Mexico Territory attempting to claim the southwest for the Confederacy. Union troops from Colorado engage them in battle between Santa Fe and Albuquerque enlisting a few poorly trained New Mexican soldiers. The Battle at Glorieta Pass proves a turning point in the war in the southwest as Union troops defeat the Confederate soldiers by burning their supply wagons forcing them to return to Texas.

Or something like that. This weekend there was a re-enactment of the battle held at Rancho Las Golondrinas, a living history museum near Santa Fe. The New Mexicans were represented by about 5 guys dressed in Mexican peasant garb (see photo of one captured by Confederate soldiers). They spoke Spanish and broken English during the skirmishes. The Union soldiers outnumbered the Confederate soldiers and were much more organized, but then the Confederate soldiers were the ones with the horses. Apparently neither army was particularly popular among the native New Mexicans during the Civil War. As an easterner, I never knew there were Civil War battles this far west. One person said it was because the Confederacy wanted the gold recently discovered in Colorado.

Las Golondrinas was quite impressive. There are historic buildings of several eras including 2 working water mills for grain and a simple molasses mill. People were on hand to demonstrate various crafts such as weaving, iron work, and bread baking in adobe ovens. They were quite entertaining with good analogies or contrasts with present day technology. The woman in the kitchen described grinding corn on a stone as "the aerobic upper body workout" for the women of the era. An acequia runs through the property watering small fields and an orchard. Sheep and goats are kept at the farm and probably other animals during the summer. The landscape is quite varied with small ponds, dry hills and enormous cottonwood trees.

On the way home we stopped to check out the "World Series of Trailer Roping". It turned out to be a team calf roping contest. We think the winner gets a horse trailer. It was a very local event with no stands for spectators, you just hang out by the rail or sit on the back of your pickup truck. It is not easy to rope a calf over the horns and back legs. Most teams failed but a few managed the impressive feat of coordination. There were some women in the competition so it wasn't completely a male dominated activity. The small food booth's menu was in Spanish mostly, but the announcer spoke in English.

Wild Rivers

After a week of intensive house projects (house painting, weeding, building a new deck) we decided go camping on Friday afternoon. We drove up to the Wild Rivers recreation area in the Taos Gorge. On the way up we stopped for lunch at the Taoseno Diner for carne adovada, tacos and sopapillas.

Jake had done trail construction at Wild Rivers for a couple weeks many years ago, but the grounds are more developed now than they were then. There are several camping areas and each site has a sheltered picnic table on a cement slab and a fire ring. We selected a site among three at the Big Arsenic campground. All the sites overlook the gorge and are surrounded by wind-twisted cedars and pinyons. After setting our tent up and throwing heavy items into it to keep it from blowing away, we went to the La Junta trail where Jake had worked before. This trail leads down the side of a steep hill (see photo taken from bottom) to a peninsula between the Red River and the Rio Grande. There weren't many wildflowers in bloom yet, but I did see clumps of Townsendia exscapa, the Townsend aster, and pasqueflower (see photos). Leaves were just coming out on roses and willows.

The trip reminded us that New Mexico is every bit as stunning as Argentina!

And on the way home Saturday morning we stopped at Michael's for a breakfast burrito and breakfast enchiladas!

Chiles

Ahh, back in the land of spicy food! We've gone out to lunch the last two days while running errands around town. Yesterday we went to Bumble Bee's Baja Grill which came highly recommended for its burritos. I had a burrito filled with grilled fish, green peppers, and guacamole. Jake got a steak burrito with green chile sauce. They also have a great salsa bar where you can help yourself to homemade chips and red and green salsas of several types. They also have jazz groups play on Friday nights apparently.

Today we went to Castro's, a place that looks like a dive from the outside but is quite pleasant inside. Jake first discovered it while waiting for a car repair one day. I had the mixed enchilada plate with green chili and Jake had a burrito filled with roast beef covered in red and green chili. Main courses come with rice, beans and sopapillas. We usually save our sopapilla to have with honey for dessert, but they are meant to be eaten with your meal to cool off the spice. For $7 a plate it rivaled lunch prices in Argentina!

It has been snowing all day today although it only started sticking to the roads in the late afternoon. This is a far cry from Tuesday's weather when I went out to a garden near Espanola to help divide perennials for the Santa Fe Botanic Garden's fall plant sale (see photo of house and garage garden). Over the years this couple has developed a wonderful garden and orchard irrigated by waters from the Rio Grande.

At home, we decided to get rid of the old hot tub in the back yard and replace it with a small flagstone patio. Jake advertised it for $1 on Craig's list and got 12 responses in the first half hour. The first guy who came to look at it agreed to take it as well as to disassemble and remove all the wood holding it up. It turned out to be harder than he anticipated, but the hot tub is now gone and the decking is half torn off. Under the decking we discovered 6" square cement footings that are who knows how deep. We will see if it's possible to dig them out, but if not we may have to incorporate them into the patio somehow.

Welcome Home?

It is great to be home in Santa Fe, but we woke up to fine this! Not exactly what we expected on April 12th, but still . . . !

We're Home!!

We are back in New Mexico! The trip home went fine although I had a bad head cold. When we arrived in Santa Fe it was sleeting and this morning there is a blanket of snow over everything! Maybe we are back a week too early?! We are now reachable by phone again.

Buenos Aires Food

After several months of believing that Argentina had nothing special to offer in the way of food (including their much exaggerated beef, by the way), I have to praise the diversity of offerings in Buenos Aires. We have enjoyed French, Brazilian, and Peruvian offerings; regularly pass sushi and a variety of other Asian restaurants; and, given the opportunity to mix Argentine with other cuisines, I am able to enjoy the ubiquitous empanada more. Pictured are the Brazilian place where we ate last night (sharing a bowl of feijoada, black beans, meat, and chorizo) and the French place (ah, the French food – an appetizer consisting of enough pate for five people). We’re thinking, however, of finishing off our Argentine adventure with a steak – only fair to indulge once more in their national dish. While I can’t say much about the quality of the meat, they sure know how to grill it.

Palermo Soho: This Is the Place

As soon as we arrived in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo – in particular, the sub-barrio called Palermo Soho – I knew this was the place for me. It is nicknamed Soho after the London and Manhattan neighborhoods due to the plethora of shops, restaurants, and café. It may be too busy on weekends, when people flood the streets and flock to the outdoor cafes. But the relatively narrow, neighborhood streets are full of shoppers looking at designer fashions and fine leather goods (we fell for a couple of jackets and a messenger bag). There are also plenty of ice cream stores and places for a café mediano in the late afternoon. What really makes the neighborhood is the tree-lined streets – not such a big deal to people living in the suburbs, but in a teaming city of 17 (?) million, they make a big difference. The vine-covered sidewalk pictured shelters an outdoor café where we enjoyed a tabla and a fine merlot (I think Sylvan described this place, without a picture, before). A one bedroom apartment might cost US$85,000, which sure beats New York City prices. We were thinking, though, that Argentina (at least Mendoza and Buenos Aires) might be a bit too warm in December, January, and February to be a regular escape from the dreaded winter of the northern hemisphere. I guess we’ll have to keep looking. Costa Rica next?

Animals of Iguazu

Besides the monkeys and coatis, I got to see wild guinea pigs and an agouti! There were also lots of lizards. There were of course many plants as well, but it wasn't the best time of year for flowers.

Iguazu

We flew to the Port of Iguazu to go to the Falls of Iguazu national park on Tuesday. The trip got a somewhat rocky start when we arrived at the airport and were told by Aerolineas Argentinas that our 12:30 pm flight had left at 10 am and the 3pm flight was full. A call to our travel agent got things straightened out and in 10 minutes she had us on a LAN flight leaving within an hour. I sat by the plane window watching the city give way to fields, floodplains and finally huge pine plantations mixed with subtropical forest.

We stayed at the St. George hotel near the bus station in Iguazu. It's a small town with an astonishing number of hotels and restaurants. We had forgotten that our hotel had a pool and hadn't brought our bathing suits with us, so our first stop was a shop where we we could buy suits. The weather in Iguazu was warm and humid and we were not passing up the opportunity for using the pool. (Why is it that it takes me days to find a bathing suit I like in the US and yet under pressure I can find one in 5 minutes?!) The tourist information booth downtown was very helpful suggesting an itinerary for visiting the park and a location in town for a refreshing licuado (like a smoothie without yogurt). We had dinner at a restaurant across the street from our hotel where I got a good pizza and Jake had matambre, which in Iguazu turned out to be strips of grilled pork (in Mendoza matambre was more like a rolled stuffed meat).

The next morning we entered the hotel restaurant for breakfast and were faced with swarms of tourists around the generous buffet all vying to get their breakfast before their tour buses left. We caught a local bus at the bus terminal for 5 pesos each way that leaves every half hour for the park. Once in the park we decided to see the smaller falls first since it seemed like all the tour groups were headed to the Garganta del Diablo, the big fall. We also signed up for "La Gran Aventura" a ride through the jungle followed by a boat on the river. The jungle ride was on a big truck where we were with a whole tour group from Uruguay. We did see coatis on the ride (see next post on animals), but it otherwise you could see a lot more just walking one of the trails in the park. The boat ride though was thrilling. The boat goes a few kilometers up the river and then goes right up to some of the smaller falls. We got completely drenched going under 2 waterfalls. The Uruguayans were very enthusiastic and got the boat captain to go under one of the falls a 2nd time. Jake and I had brought a partial change of clothes, but hadn't realized we would get so thoroughly wet. We had to walk up a fairly long trail to get to restrooms where we could change. I ended up wringing out my wet clothes and wearing them since they acted as a natural air conditioner. We had a hamburger at one of the cafes for lunch and did some up close coati viewing. The coatis beg for food and will come right up to visitors. Despite numerous signs warning against feeding the animals I heard one lady say she would give one a Chiclet of all things! After lunch we took the jungle train to the Garganta del Diablo stop. Here there is a metal catwalk that takes you out over the broad, shallow river to the top of Garganta del Diablo, the largest waterfall. The power and breadth of the falls is truly impressive. And the setting is so green and lush that it seemed much more beautiful than many waterfalls I've seen.

We had signed up for a full moon tour for the evening, so we went back to the hotel for a rest before catching the bus back out to the park. We chatted with some young Americans from Washington and Alaska and a Canadian at the bus station. They were traveling for a couple months and spoke very little Spanish. The full moon tour is not really a tour, it is just an opportunity to see the falls in the moonlight. The guides herd you onto the train and then you are let loose at the catwalk for about an hour. The falls really were striking in the moonlight. It looked like a black and white movie. I tried to take photos, but my night photography skills failed me. A picture just couldn't describe the scene though.

We had opted for dinner in the park, so after our tour we went to the restaurant where they have an all you can eat buffet of decent food. There is a grill of course, but we didn't notice it until we had helped ourselves from the buffet line, so we just had some ribs off the grill. Finally we caught the 11:30 pm bus back into town.

The next day, Jake opted to hang around town, but I went back to the park to walk the Macuco trail, a smaller trail that leads to a waterfall and pool. There weren't many people on the trail at all and it was a great place for seeing wildlife. There are animal photos posted in the next post. The best part was seeing a troop of monkeys looking for food in the tree canopy. One baby was being carried by its mom. There were at least 6 monkeys in the troop. The butterflies were also amazing. Big blue morpho butterflies flitted across the path and whenever I would stop little butterflies would land on me to drink sweat. Any mud puddle had dozens of orange and yellow butterflies around it.

Finally we caught our flight back to BA. This time the Aerolineas Argentina flight was delayed a half hour. The announcements on the monitor kept changing and when they announced pre-boarding it took them awhile to correct the flight number. They didn't have any kind of system for boarding, everyone just stood up and got in a big jumbled line to get on the plane. We strongly recommend trying to fly LAN instead of Aereolineas Argentinas whenever possible!

Buenos Aires Part II

After our relaxing week in Uruguay, BA seemed even more hectic and crowded, but energizing as well. Surviving the u-turn our taxi made cutting across 3 lanes of stopped truck traffic, we went to our hotel in Palermo Viejo, the Mirabaires. The hotel is staffed by college age students who are all very friendly if somewhat inexperienced in hotel service. Our first room was right above the lobby and although a nice size room, all the noises from the lobby could be heard clearly including the door buzzer which everyone has to ring to be let in to the hotel. So day 2 we moved up a floor to a slightly smaller but quieter room. Weekend nights in Palermo Soho as our neighborhood is called, are alive. The sidewalk cafes were full, the shops stay open until 9 pm or later, and the craft market stalls in the plaza are crowded with shoppers and pulse to the beat of a reggae band. Palermo Soho is known for its hip young designers and many display their clothes and accessories in store bazaars with multiple designers. I looked at a lot of clothes, but would need fashion assistance to pick out an outfit among the chaos!

Saturday we went down to Boca, the working class neighborhood famed for being a birthplace of tango and for being the home to the Boca Juniors soccer team. On weekends a few blocks sprout arts and crafts booths and tango dancers and the streets fill with tourists. We had a cup of coffee and a couple empanadas at La Estufa to get us going, then wandered around the colorful streets. The houses in the neighborhood are faced with corrugated metal salvaged from shipping containers. The metal is painted bright colors. Tourists are strictly warned to stick to the touristy area of Boca so we didn’t stray much. We had lunch at La Estufa too, some very rich gnocchis with pot roast and good raviolis with both pesto and tomato sauce.

Saturday night we went to La Viruta, a dance place in the basement of the Armenian Cultural Center in Palermo Viejo for a night of swing and tango. The evening started with a swing lesson at 9:30 pm. The crowd is divided into 3 levels and we went for the highest level. The teachers basically teach a couple moves that students learn for the evening. At that level the lesson was lindy style swing moves. We mastered one out of 2 patterns taught. Around 11 pm the tango lessons started. We opted for level 2 of the 6 possible tango levels. (For Arboretum friends – yes, I did wear my tango earrings!) At midnight the general dancing started. There was about an hour of tango (nearly everyone on the dance floor at this point was at an intermediate to advanced level), followed by a half hour of rock (swing). During the tango we ordered a pizza and chatted a little with the women at the table next to us. This was followed by more tango, but since it was about 1:30 am at this point, we headed home!

Needless to say, we got a slow start on Sunday. We went to Starbucks since Jake was craving a muffin and sat and read the Sunday paper for a little while. Around noon we headed over to Plaza de Mayo and walked down Ave. Defensa so I could look for a purse maker we had come across the week before. I found him again! He and his dad make the most beautiful leather purses. They aren’t lined though and don’t have pockets, so are of somewhat limited practical use. We had lunch in San Telmo near the antiques market at Don Ernesto’s. It was a restaurant with a nice atmosphere, but extremely busy and not especially good food. Our food had cooled off by the time it was brought to the table. The desserts looked really good, but we decided to go back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta instead. We had a very nice dinner at Lele just down the street from us. We ordered a “picada”, an assortment of things to snack on. The one we chose came with a light salmon mousse, a zucchini soufflé, a small dish of lamb ragout, and arugula wrapped in prosciutto among other things. As an accompaniment I had a very nice glass of Luna Merlot. It was one of the more flavorful and complex merlots either Jake or I had ever had.

More on the Monk Parakeet

Flocks of monk parakeets (or Quaker parrots) constantly fly around screeching at each other along the Uruguayan coast. When I first saw these huge messy nests up in the Eucalyptus trees I thought it must belong to a wood stork or something, but then discovered parrots hanging around them. Looking closer it became obvious that each nest actually has several entrances into which one or several parrots disappear. The nests are made up of thin sticks and the parrots seem to be constantly adding to them and rearranging the sticks. I looked up some information on the monk parakeet since I had some vague recollection that it is considered invasive in some countries. They are native to this region, but their populations have exploded here since Eucalyptus was planted as it provided great nesting habitat. Eucalyptus is native to Australia and has been planted here for forestry uses. The parrots are apparently very social and intelligent birds and can develop a large vocabulary if kept as pets. So, many have been introduced to other warm climates and have escaped to establish colonies. I suspect they are not very welcome because they are quite loud and will feed on agricultural crops.

Laguna Negra and Santa Teresa

We have been exploring sites along the coast the last few days. Tuesday was rainy so we went into Chuy on the border of Brazil in the morning to find a bank and a place for lunch. The ATM machine in town wasn't working, but the bank was open and gave us money after standing in 2 lines and writing down Jake's passport number a few times. We had lunch at the Hotel Plaza Restaurant. The friendly waiter brought me a steaming cup of cafe con leche and homemade bread with a very garlicky basil mayonaisse to snack on. We got a salad, chicken with light curry sauce and an omlette that were all perfectly acceptable. The town has the energy of a border town and is filled with duty-free shops. It seems kind of strange to see all these fancy appliances and perfumes being sold out of cheap looking stores. Jake figured it would be great place to look for trademark violations. We bought a couple inexpensive duffel bags to bring home our extra stuff in. Everything is priced in dollars.

We visted Laguna Negra, one of the shallow freshwater lakes common in the area. See the photo of fishermen walking out into the shallow water. The flora along the lake edge was quite different. A mix of low evergreen trees, cactus and many different flowering plants. It's clearly a very moist environment, but the rocks must favor cactus sometimes. The trees were often filled with what I think are monk parakeets. And we got a great view of a rhea again! The Santa Teresa fort was closed, but impressive even from the outside. The day before we had explored the Santa Teresa National Park with its elaborate garden. I even caught Jake photographing a flower! The park has many beaches and some cabins that can be rented. Also nice camping spots among the Eucalyptus groves.

Morning Walk on the Beach

I've always loved watching the sun rise while walking on the beach. The waves look silvery and gentle and there are always new things to look at that have washed in overnight. Here are a few photos - the birds flying across the sunrise are egrets and the dead animal is a small sea lion.

The US Embassy Welcomes Us to Uruguay

I can't tell you how much I appreciated the US Embassy arranging for an afternoon of country western music on a plaza in Montevideo for the day we arrived in Uruguay. Attached are a photo of the program prepared by the Embassy and a video clip of a Uruguayan band playing "Down on the Bayou." Don't know if you can get it to play on your computer, but it is hysterical. The whole afternoon was bluegrass, country, and blues. Very, very funny, but couldn't get Sylvan to dance. We had lunch with this fantastic music playing in the background at a nice park. The Embassy, we think, also arranged for a few employees to do a line dance in front of the stage -- it was the Electric Slide, for those "in the know." Actually, there was no evidence of Embassy involvement at all, other than the little notice on the bottom of the program, which you might not be able to read on the little picture attached. Those Uruguayans were very good, but funny to see them in North American cowboy hats. I don't think we posted this other picture, the one with the Peruvian panpipe players on the plaza in Mendoza wearing headdresses of eagle features popularized by the Plains indians of the U.S. To be sure, the Peruvians were "Indians," but the North American indian attire was just tooooo much.