  | Argentina and Brazil |
My life took a bit of a turn on December 30th last year. I decided to go to Lafayette, Louisiana, for six days and nights of Cajun & Zydeco music and dancing over New Year's. Dorothy and I started going there in 1993, and we went there many times. On day three, the 30th, I asked a lady to dance, and she said yes. We hit it off well--and parted company -- 16 days later after touring LA. Miss X (she requested that I not reveal her name until she meets people I know) planned to travel alone in Louisiana for five weeks. She is a native of Brazil, but she has worked for many years in South Africa, Sweden, Israel, England, and Germany (where she has lived for the last 13 years). After Louisiana, she had plans to go to Brazil for several months, where she still has a family. About a week after I got home, she told me she was going to northern Argentina for a few weeks, touring the desert and a few wineries. She asked me if I wanted to join her. My options were no and YESSSS. So, I flew to Curitiba, Brazil, to meet her. After spending a week there, we first went to the famous Iguazu Falls, which is on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Then we flew to Salta, Argentina. We spent two weeks in Argentina, after which we flew back to Curitiba. In all, we spent 32 days together. The future for us is unclear, but more travel might be forthcoming. However, several factors have to work out right for that to happen, so time will tell.
Argentina and Brazil will be presented in three parts, each posted several weeks apart. The first part will be on Argentina, the second on Iguazu Falls, and the last on Brazil. For the benefit of my readers, the original Spanish and Portuguez that I wrote it in will be translated into English. Those of you who took Spanish at Lincoln with either Bill Berringer or Donald Diekelmann will, thus, not have to suffer trying to translate it yourself into English.
Northern Argentina
After viewing Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, my friend and I flew to Salta, Argentina on February 17th. Salta is fairly close to both Bolivia to the north and Chile to the west. We rented a car and drove on some very good and some very, very, very bad roads, almost always in high desert areas. Many of the desert rock formations were stunning, the like which I had never seen before. My friend is a wine aficionado, so we visited seven wineries, one of which is the highest winery in the world. After weather in the high 60s and sun every day, we returned to Brazil on March 2nd.
Church in Cafayte
Eating some (unnecessary) "Viagra" ice cream
City cemetery of Cafayte
A museum of indigenous people of northern Argentina
 In the Colalao Valley |  Portulaca flowers |
In the Calchanuies Valley
Typical gravel road in the Calchanuies Valley
A very old cemetery in the Calchaquies Valley
A decrepit tomb with wooden coffins stacked inside
In the Angastaco National Monument
The Colonne Winery in Molinos
A cactus very similar to Saguaro in Arizona
A church in Cachi
The Cachi cemetery
The Andes Mountains in the distance
A canyon just outside Pumamarca
A Carnaval celebration in Pumamarca
A Carnaval procession in Pumamarca
A salt flat at 11,200-feet altitude
RSS Feed