wanderlust and other stories: February 2012

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

CARNIVAL! Feathers, Glitter and Foam Spray!

Experiencing a carnival in South America was on my ‘must do’ list for this trip. I wanted to see the costumes and experience that infectious party spirit that I had heard so much about and I was not disappointed!

Carnival is all about getting partying out of your system before Lent starts; traditionally no celebrations are held during Lent. So, while we’re making pancakes in the UK, South America is having day long parties! (I have missed pancakes, but I think I prefer partying carnival style!)

When we think about carnival in the UK, the one we bring to mind is Rio de Janiero; it is the biggest in the world and sets the goal posts for all the others. When you’re the biggest or best at anything in the world then you get to command a pretty high price tag … supply and demand and all that. I have to admit that if I’d had the budget then I would have gone to Rio to see what all the fuss was about, however, for a trip of this length blowing a month’s budget on one weekend just isn’t worth it. Instead, I chose Encarnacion in Paraguay for Carnival, it had good reviews in the Lonely Planet (some times LP does know what it’s talking about!) and I’d heard other good things from other sources.

Despite all the good reviews, working out how to get into the carnival itself was tricky. It hasn’t been infested with tourists yet and therefore information is limited. This also meant that my default option of just following other gringos when I’m not sure what is going on, was out! So, armed with a small map, cash and my passport (no, I wasn’t worried about getting asked for proof of age, that hasn’t happened for some time now! But because we added another level to the organisation by not staying in Encarnacion, but in Posadas, Argentina as it’s meant to be a lot nicer … and cheaper! I think it shows my dedication to partying that I crossed borders for a night out!) we headed to Paraguay.

We found our tickets through a tout … premium gondola no less! And keeping fingers firmly crossed that we hadn’t just been sold some expensive fakes, we armed ourselves with foam spray … ‘cos that’s what everyone else was doing! … and headed towards the bleachers, bright lights and samba beats.

Our seats were right at the front in a big open space with sofas and plenty of space to dance along with the party, as well as a waiter to bring us our drinks - thank goodness for honest ticket touts! As soon as the parade got started at 10pm I was mesmerised by the costumes, feathers, floats and glitter for the entire night, it was amazing. The crowd is crazy the entire night, dancing and singing to the music and sending showers of foam spray over everyone. It is crazy to think that we try and recreate carnivals in the UK, like Notting Hill for example, but they have to be highly policed and closed by nightfall to stop everyone trying to kill each other! The atmosphere in Encarnacion was nothing but friendly, fun and welcoming- we had foam fights with everyone and made new friends and really felt we experience a ‘real’ carnival.

‘Where are the rest of pics?!’ I hear you cry . As I took over 200, I’ve put them into a short movie – they just weren’t the same without musical accompaniment!

But ... that wasn't the end of my carnival experience. Carnivals and parades continue until 'Fat Tuesday' better known as 'Mardis Gras' ... our Shrove Tuesday. This meant that I was able to see a local carnival in Posadas ... no border crossings this time!

There were no ticket sales this time, just rock up and find some space ... on your own deck chair or on the pavement or on a bleacher. This was clearly a family affair and was all about audience participation. There weren't any barriers (or branding for that matter ... very refreshing!) so children could play and dance in the street as the parade came by as well as having their pictures taken with feather cladded performers. The common factor between both carnivals was foam spray! They love the stuff! They use it to show their appreciation of a good tune, to shower over the performers or the crowds and also to flirt with each other. One can with multiple uses!

The preparations

Put your hands in the air ... Now!

Music by tractor

I really have loved the South America Carnival experience, it was everything I hoped that it would be and more.

Sunday, 19 February 2012

Not so favourite things

Least favourite things is an odd thing to write about! However, I did promise that I would try not to write one of those blogs which is solely aimed at making people jealous and which contains lots of bragging and boasting and, ‘look how amazing my life is!’ type stuff- there’s enough of that crap on facebook and you don’t need a double dose of it here as well. I promised that I’d be honest, balanced and realistic and ‘fess up when things aren’t that great, so that friends and family at home who are struggling with the miserable UK weather and the reality of work, deadlines and commuting wouldn’t hate me too much and stop being interested in my adventures.

So, here they are;

Being ripped off by taxi drivers! There’s no getting away from the fact that I am a tourist – whether it’s my blonde hair, the fact I’m taller than most or the 20 kilo backpack, I can’t quite put my finger on it– but they see me coming and do their best to lighten my purse. Some are blatant and make up extortionate rates and others will drive you the longest route possible to your destination. Unfortunately when you have no idea about an area or the going rate you don’t realise it has happened until the next time you take a taxi in the same town. So, I have to get used to being a mug!

Fat ankles! No I’m not pregnant … but when your circulation goes at the speed of the M25 and you spend A LOT of time on long distance buses, the results are cankles - the technical term for when your calf muscle runs in to the heel of your foot. Tree trunks doesn’t even begin to describe them, nor does elephant sized.

And it takes forever, for them to go back to normal! Especially when you’re in the North of Argentina in the height of their summer. I have a few methods for trying to keep them a normal size … firstly, wearing flight socks on the buses - prevention is better than a cure and all that! I’m not sure whether the knee high flight socks are more or less attractive than tree trunk legs … especially when worn with shorts! (Yes, I take fashion very seriously) Secondly, elevation. This is a pain, I hate sitting still and not being out and about seeing things, so I have to maximise my elevation at night when I’m sleeping. In the absence of 10 feather down pillows available in hostels, I’ve come up with something ingenious (that’s not true, it was my mum’s idea!!) Take one rolled up sleeping bag and put it underneath your mattress! Simples. Then feel all the blood rush to your head as you sleep! Better than cankles though.

Mosquito bites. For the past 2 weeks I’ve been in some pretty hot places. It’s nice to be warm after the brutal weather in the south … but does it have to come with mosquitoes?! I am under attack by the damn things … day and night. I’m even being bitten in the ears! My favourite set of bites (yes, they come in sets) is the one across my lower back as one of the buggers has got into my pants and bitten me in a perfect horizontal line. Delightful!

Humidity = sweating, profusely. It is on average 35 degrees with 50% humidity at the moment. I know compared to the UK winter this must seem amazing, but there is nothing amazing about sweating 24hrs a day. I have to plan days carefully, going out only in the morning, hiding in the shade all afternoon and then heading out again in the evening (with the mosquitoes … have I mentioned mosquitoes?!) It doesn’t suit me. When I’m travelling and only in places for short periods of time, I want to be outside seeing the area, the architecture, the scenery. But I’m forced to do nothing. The positive of this is that I can catch up on bits and pieces; speaking with friends, blogs and boring chores like sewing on buttons!

There you have some of the tiresome things that have to be dealt with when travelling. I’m sure if I really thought about it, I’d come up with more – but they’re not important! They actually don’t detract from the adventure and the joy of exploring new places and meeting new people. It may not be a bed of roses 100% of the time, but I still wouldn’t swap this experience for anything else right now!

Saturday, 18 February 2012

Favourite things

This week I have travelled across the North of Argentina from Mendoza, to Cordoba, to Rosario and I'm now in Posadas. The themes of the week have been bus journeys - again! And HEAT! It is summer in Argentina and in the North this means temperatures of 35-40 degrees and high humidity. So, as well as exploring the various cities, I have been sun dodging and air conditioning hunting for most of the week!

My favourite things from the week have been …

A Beautiful Valentines Couple

Valentines Day. Like Christmas and New Year, this snuck up on me. You really lose track of days and dates when you’re travelling and when you’re out of your normal seasons you really have no way of keeping track of these things.

So, this year’s Valentine, H, and I hit Rosario. We had been on a bus from Cordoba all day so needed to get out and cure the cabin fever and as it was Valentine’s Day we felt we should mark the occasion. Despite being surprised by the day, we wanted to do things properly and chose the classic evening of drinks and dinner. The reality of this was drinking beer by the beach, drinking beer in an Irish bar and then dinner (where we stopped being chavs) of amazing Argentinian steak and red wine ... all while looking longingly into each other’s eyes, obviously!

The most romantic part of this was the taxi journey to dinner … accompanied by the soundtrack All by Myself, which is obligatory to sing along to...loudly. So, H, the taxi driver and I whaled along, complete with dramatic arm waving out of the windows. It was a beautiful moment. We bonded. So much so that there were hugs and kisses all round once we arrived at our destination. What could be more romantic?!

Relaxing in the park in Rosario, finding sanctuary from the 36 degree heat under the most beautifully flowered trees.

Exploring Cordoba and the beautiful architecture, especially the Sacred Heart Church of the Capuchin Fathers. (There was a secondary motive ... it was lovely and cool inside!)

The Hostel pool! Makes sun dodging at your hostel much more enjoyable!

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Red, red wine ...

The sound track for this post is here … thank you UB40!

My favourite things this week have been (in no particular order!)

Red wine! After all that healthy living through January, it feels only right to reward ourselves with a well deserved rest in Mendoza and coincidentally it has a lot of one of my favourite things… red wine! And because I take my travelling very seriously and feel that it is right to fully understand the local culture and produce, I am selflessly giving myself and my liver to the art of drinking muchos vino tinto! As they say, it’s tough, but somebody has to do it!

The main wine produced here is Malbec and I’m happy to report that it tastes excellent! I have been lucky to be part of a group invited to several vineyards to taste their wares. This really is the best way to experience them, surrounded by those who know what they’re talking about and having the opportunity to compare and contrast all the different types. Yes, I felt pretty tipsy afterwards!

Here are some pics from Mendel, a small vineyard and winery which produces the most excellent Malbecs. There are only 7 people running the vineyard which gives it, as well as the wines, a very personal and artisan feel.

I was very thorough and made sure that they were all up to standard!

Tasted pretty good too!

Much better than having a green house in the garden!

In contrast, we also visited Chandon, part of the Moet and Chandon group. A much more modern winery, which is reflected in their product. (Still can't shake the marketing thing!) It was still a fabulous setting to sample their sparkling wines … mmmm!

So much wine ... so little time

But I didn’t drink all week (honest!); my other favourite thing was seeing Aconcagua. We did a 3hr trek and no alcohol was consumed whatsoever! Now that’s what I call a balanced lifestyle!

Aconcagua is the highest summit outside the Himalayas at 6962m. It creates a very impressive landscape (red wine and mountaineering aren’t a good match before you ask if I climbed it!) and a walk in the mountains was the perfect break from wine tasting!

A fresh water lagoon in the National Park

And my final favourite this week has been, not being in a hostel or on a bus! An actual bed - not a bunk - with proper pillows, mattress and duvet; an ensuite bathroom; fresh fruit for breakfast; amazing coffee … what a treat! All at Posada Borravino!

January Blues ... yeah right!

January 2012 has been a blast! What a way to start 2012. Now, although I didn’t conform and have the January blues this year, I realised the other day that January 2012 for me has inadvertently been very active and pretty healthy … bordering on the classic January detox. (Minus giving up alcohol – I’ve been in Argentina and Chile for heaven’s sake and not drinking the gorgeous vino tinto would be ridiculous!!)

Firstly I was in the eco yoga park living on vegetables, meditation and yoga … very zen! And then we headed off on a trip covering the Lake District of Argentina, Patagonia and South Chile doing lots of outdoorsy things like trekking and camping – check out the map above for the places that I visited.(View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint)

It was such a great trip. I have seen spectacular scenery of snow capped mountains and ice blue lakes; I have seen penguins and sea lions and lots of other wildlife that I don’t know the name of! I have been so far south that if I continued further I would have ended up in Antarctica; I have camped, I have trekked, I have gone from 40 degrees to 4 in the space of 48hours, I have gone from flip flops to long socks, I have gone from drinking cold beer to hot chocolate, I have scaled a rock face – that wasn’t planned actually … we were pretty lost at the time … and I’ve jumped into a glacial lake … another activity that wasn’t necessarily thought through either!

Oh and to do all of this and cover a huge area (approx 3500 miles!) in a short space of time meant that I spent about 6 days on a bus in total! This has been classic travelling and after spending my first few months of the trip in one or two places it was great to quite literally get on the road.

So here are a selection of the pictures… which, let’s face it are the most interesting parts of blogs!