So we are nearing the end of January and all is well and sweltering here in Buenos Aires. After a month of on again off again vacations I am back in the office, back at work, preparing for another semester of students who should be arriving in March.
After work the first week of January I had hoped to go to Brazil. I had decided that for once in my life I wasnt going to plan out everything. I was going to just show up in Rio and see what happened... I asked for the necessary Lonely Planet for christmas and then hoped to just let it be until January when I was leaving.. I hoped to wake up one morning and say, yes, today is the day we are going to take a bus to Rio...
WELL. that didnt work out. While I knewI needed a visa to go to Brazil, and that yes I would already have to have my round trip bus tickets to get that visa, I didnt figure that the process of going to the consulate would be the deal breaker. The first few days of January I checked the websites and it turned out that all of the possible appointment times were all booked up for two weeks! I wondered who all these Americans and foreigners were who were going to Brazil, because Argentines dont need to schedule those appts...
ok started typing all of the above a month ago and now i see that I never finished this post! long story short I decided to go all out and do a "potpourri" of vacay and go to Villa Gesell and El Calafate.
Villa Gesell -- Beach Town
The "Summer Beach" culture of Buenos Aires is particularly hilarious. The principal moment that portenos have to escape the city life the majority go to the same beach towns and then can wait an hour to find parking. Anecdote-- while I wanted to be as far away from other people as possible, with my idea of a beach weekend being a search for relaxation and tranquility, everyone else wanted to be crammed together with the rest of the masses on another section of the beach.
Another BsAs beach phenomena: the carpa. These tents are rented out, usually by families, to have a guaranteed spot for their weeks at the beach.
Calafate -- Perito Moreno glacier.
While one day I went to visit the glaciers, the other day I hiked up to some glacier lakes in the Andes. The photos don't do the experiences justice, but it was one of the most incredible hikes of my life.
