November 29, 2009

off again!!!

It literally seems that I JUST unpacked all of my bags and did a million pounds of laundry. But I’m off to warmer climates again, and have an AWESOME brother (to whom I send a huge, blogger shout out) who got me to the airport at 7am. Since my phone/internet/data service will be somewhat sketchy when I get to the Dominican Republic this afternoon, I’ve been in the Miami airport scrambling to type, text, and call as much as I can!

I have traveled more in this past year than I have in my entire life – following my inaugural trip to Argentina, I am (finally) going to the Animal Balance campaign in the Dominican Republic, followed by my 3rd trip to Ecuador. Amazingly, I packed over 3 weeks’ worth of clothes into 2 bags – so laundry will be an event when I get home!

i also was very impressed with my packing skills (and i remembered bug spray!) - i found this awesome packing website that i was a bit skeptical about, but am now a believer! i packed 3 weeks worth of stuff into 1 bag!!! (plus a backpack/purse, but only one big cumbersome luggage bag). it's called OneBag.com, check them out here

so far, the trip has been a success! check back with me tomorrow to find out what i forgot to pack ;-)

November 24, 2009

Adios

my trip in Argentina has been WAY too short - in hindsight (always 20/20!) i wish i had planned for more than a 1 week stay :-( i hope to return soon - maybe this spring? i want to spend more time traveling on horses and less time traveling in cars!!!! at least i know that i always have a place to stay at las Nenas ;-)

but now i'm staring down the second leg of my round trip tour - another 20 hours in transit back to NYC. i LOVE to travel but i hate hate hate those planes!!!!!


until next time mis amigos....

November 23, 2009

Technology Withdrawal

I had NO internet or phone access for over 3 days! I was in complete technological withdrawal! but it was sooooo worth every second - I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Luz y Fuerte Resort in Cordoba with over 400 people - about 6 of whom spoke english!!!! even if there was internet/phone access, my brain would have been way too tired to use it!!!!


on Sunday, I visited los Terrones in Cordoba, which is apparently the Argentinean equivalent of Roswell, New Mexico. the only alien creatures i saw were the 2 guys in the gift shop who refused to let me on the trail in my flip flops. so i had to give them 12 pesos to rent me a pair of nasty sneakers (i don't even want to THINK about where they've been or who's worn them) so i could hike up the "alien trails". after about 30 minutes and numerous near-death falls, we reached the midway part of the trail, stopped for pictures and then stumbled DOWN the rocks and back to the car.


so the story with los Terrones (aside from making money off tourists with bad shoes) is that aliens landed there and "live" in the strange rock formations in the canyons. below are some photos of los Terrones - more can be found here - and yes, Alex did climb the whole thing in his swim suit.




November 19, 2009

The ONE Thing I Forgot to Pack....

..... BUG SPRAY!!!!!!!!!


The mosquitoes in Rosario are EVERYWHERE!!! I have NEVER seen so many in my life! And they found me to be a very tasty American dish :-/ I slept in my clothes with a sheet over my head, but they attacked my ankles - looks like small pox :-(
They TELL me there is no dengue fever in Rosario... perhaps I will be the first case and they will call it "Gringa Fever"

"Rosario or Bust"

I love the Argentinean gas stations/rest stops – they are like little mini-malls in the middle of nowhere. Some bathrooms are cleaner than others, but many are surprisingly cleaner than those in the States. For a peso (about $0.27), the gas pump guys will scrub the dead bugs off the windshield, and you can have café and pastries inside, at the Argentinean version of Starbucks. There are usually a few fat lazy dogs sleeping outside the store, and occasionally they lift their heads when you step over them.


After lunch in B.A., we are off for a weekend trip to Cordoba. Our first stop is Rosario – the half way point between B.A. and Cordoba. Tonight, we’ll meet up with friends for dinner (probably at 1:00am... when I'm more tired than hungry!)

November 18, 2009

Bienviendos a Las Nenas



Since arriving in Buenos Aires late at night, I didn’t see much of the farm in the dark. I had a brief tour of the farm house, but with limited lighting. The farm house is BEAUTIFUL! After a much-needed night of sleep, I woke up to an AWESOME surprise and tour of Las Nenas. The street dog pack followed us around the farm as I saw all of the horses and fields. Two females are pregnant and will probably give birth the day after I leave, but they are beautiful and I’m sure their babies will be too. I was able to pet two horses (a young filly and a young stallion) that haven’t yet been broken or ridden. I’m sure they will make awesome polo ponies, since they seem to be inherently attracted to people (and dogs – the dogs follow the horses around too)



Later that afternoon we took a few of the polo ponies out to the field to run around. Of course, I was stuck on the poor lame pony, who was only supposed to walk around and “walk it off” – they were at the farrier for new shoes that week and apparently her shoes were taking a minute to break in. Once she saw the other ponies running through the polo exercises, her desire to run was greater than the ache in her foot, and she took off! It’s been a minute since I cantered or galloped on a horse, so I flopped around for a few minutes, with everyone screaming instructions at me from the other side of the field. Soon enough, I was galloping along, chasing the ball around the field with the other ponies! The little unbroken filly came to the polo field fence, ears perked forward and intently watching us. Maybe next year she’ll be broken and playing polo too!


That night I went into downtown Buenos Aires (also known as B.A.) to have dinner with friends of friends and tour the city. Again, up until the wee hours of the morning – they party hard in B.A.

November 17, 2009

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step….

.... but a journey of 11,066 miles begins with a long-ass, red-eye fight to Panama City! After almost 24 hours of traveling, I arrived in Buenos Aires and my Argentinean adventure begins!


Tonight I enjoyed the summer breeze (yes, it’s summer here!!) at a café in downtown Lobos. People in their cars cruised on the dirt roads (again and again – apparently “cruising” is a pretty popular past-time), kids rode by on bicycles (everyone stays up very late in Argentina – kids included) and dogs lay on the sidewalk, waiting for someone to toss them a snack (I’m always impressed when I see fat, lazy street dogs, and these perros were fatter than my dog!)


About 10 minutes outside of town, off a dirt road, was my friends’ farm – Las Nenas (the Little Fillies). When I got out of the car, I was greeted by an army of dogs – 16 to be specific. My friends have a tendency to take the “worst case” pups off the streets and give them a safe haven at Las Nenas. I am also impressed when I meet street dogs (even reformed street dogs) who are better behaved than most of the dogs I know in the States.