BSE - 25 - UR - SS

Before our departure we had heard many times that we had to eat steak as much as possible while in Argentina. We had tried to seek out such the perfect steak and failed in BA. Puerto Iguazu turned out to be the place to go. After a relaxing day we joined a group of fellow travellers and steak lovers to hunt for the perfect steak. Eric, a new friend had experienced one at an asian fusion place down the road - our first stop. Unforuntatly the chef was sick that day so we continued on to a few different places(all of which were overpriced and crowded) before giving up in dismay. Our second choice for dinner; cheap pizza. The front patio of the restuarant we chose was crowded so we asked if we could sit in the back - the man quickly agreed and set up a table for us. Wine was poured and we chose to try the steak special - what could we lose? To our surprise the appetizer and salad's were decadently garnished and delicious. As the "asado" was placed infront of us we drew in our breath in anticipation of what was to come... Grilled to perfection, a layer of salt and pepper glazing the surface our first bite melted in our mouths. Conversation ceased as our senses exploded in satisfaction. THE BEST STEAK EVER.

Our next destination: Montevideo Uruguay. In order to get there (from Puertu Iguazu) we hopped on another bus (semi cama-a lower class of seating than last time) it was like a plane ride where the turbulance never stopped. Unfortunatly, turbulant rides mean upset stomachs and the little boy sitting next to Sarah retched through the night. 14 hours and our entire ipod playlists later we were dropped off by the side of the highway. Two taxis sat awaiting potential customers and along with a Swedish woman we rode across the border to URUGUAY! At the bus station/ mall we waiting another three hours before commencing on the final stretch of our journey. What turned out to be a 7 hour ride finally came to an end in the hot and humid capitol city Montevideo.

Our first few days were spent settling into our hostel, getting to know fellow Canadians and spending time with Leo and Alicia (the old neighbours of the Gray family - when we lived here). They drove us around all afternoon showing us the countryside. A picnic lunch by the river, a view from a fort of the city and a visit to our old house. It was exciting for Jason and Sarah to see where they had lived and Alicia and Leo shared memories and were happy to visit with us once again.

We have been looking forward to take spanish lessons and decided on Montevideo. Our spanish school began yesterday, and we have enjoyed the first two lessons. We made two friends from Boseman Montana who are in our class and a few other friends during 'recess'. Its weird to have homework again but we hope that the experience will pay off in the end and we will be able to feel more comfortable communicating in day to day life.

Chau! Chau!

Kayawazoo and Sarizzle.

Brick wall, waterfall Iguazu has it all!

In Buenos Aires we saw the sights and went on some walking adventures. Some of the highlights were going to a giant market in San Telmo, surviving an impromptu rainstorm, seeing the football stadium (on Jasons part) and the colorful houses of La Boca. Argentina is famous for its tango dancers and we had many opportunities to watch their graceful movements across the floor.

We made good friends at the hostel we stayed at and we were upset one day when we came back to find people in our beds. There had been a misunderstanding when we tried to book the hostel for another night - They booked us for the 11 and not the 10 - in the end it wasn't such a big problem because there was another hostel with space just half a block away.

On monday we bought bus tickets to Puerto Iguazu which is a town famous for its waterfalls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. It was a 17 hour ride to get there. We left BA at 2:15 on monday and arrived in Puerto Iguazu at 7:30 the next morning. It was probably the most comfortable ride we've ever had while traveling. The seats reclined to an almost horizontal position and there were leg rests (picture a lay-Z-boy chair). Don't get us wrong, it may have been comfortable, but the food was horrible and the chairs, though comfortable for napping weren't so good when trying to have a good nights sleep.

Off the bus at 7:30, checked into our hostel (the Marcopolo Inn) and finished breakfast by 9, and at the bus stand buying tickets to Iguazu Falls by 9:15.

Have you ever wondered what 275 waterfalls look like?Well, we can only suggest a visit to Iguazu or perhaps just a trip to google image will do. 85 peso's (the foreigner rate) gave us free rein for the day. There are several routes to look out points - all of which are wheel chair accessible - so dont get the wrong idea imagining us hiking through the jungle, mud up to our knees or anything. Wow. What an amazing experience. We were almost literally blown away (by the force of the wind and water). Oh by the way, it was pouring rain as well - so we were kind of wet by the end of the day. My(sarah) personal favourite moment was standing on this one look out point almost under the falls and just getting soaked by the mist raining down on us. The water was so powerful and loud.

We spent a good few hours trekking along amongst several hundred other tourists and enjoying the wildlife...well..the animals that hang around the park anyways. Jason made friends with a butterfly, Sarah' leg was licked by a Coati and Kaya watched an Iguana making its way.

For dinner we prepared pasta and sauce and fell asleep much earlier then the past several nights. Today, we are spending our time relaxing and wandering around Puerto Iguazu researching options for our next destinations.

Over and Out.

K-dizzle and S-money

Buenas Dias from Buenos Aires

After a seven hour layover in Houston Texas - the only highlight being making friends with two UVIC students, and meeting a store owner who was very sociable we proceeded on our way and survived a ten hour flight to arrive in Buenos Aires. Now, we had booked a free shuttle that would have taken us to our hostel but by the time we were past customs etc we realized we did not want to wait another 3 hours for it to arrive. No problem. We hopped on the local bus (along with our Victorian friends, a Finish Guy and an old German man) and for 2 peso's (compared to a 100 peso taxi which was the other choice) we surveyed the country side and chatted with our new friends. The organized for the bus driver to tell us when to get off, however this was obviously miscommunicated because after all the english speaking folks had gotten off, we were still waiting for his que. At one point he looked back at us and we thought it was time - we said "Palermo?" and about five other passengers said "no no no no!!!!" we had passed our stop a long time ago! Oops. A nice man helped us out and we were soon on a stuffy, hot subway and arrived at the hostel approximatly thirty minutes later.

We were met by Jason and honestly it was fabulous to see a familiar face. He laughed at our three hour plus adventure. It had taken him thirty minutes in a cab just a few days before. But hey- we had a better adventure!

We have settled into our hostel - visited with Jason on the sunny rooftop patio, walked around the neighbour hood, eaten dinner at a local cafe, practiced some practical phrases (and some not so practical) from our ancient phrase books and enjoyed a very deep sleep. K and I are sleeping in a six bedroom dorm and our four roomates enjoyed a night of clubbing - we were awoken at around five AM when they arrived home and talked loudly but other then that I feel well rested and ready for a day out and about.

P.S.Mom... I ate breakfast.

Love S and K

In Transit

Our lives as we knew them are over. We have now left the comforts and familiarities of home and are in Vancouver residing at Jonah and Fabiola's house until about 3:00am when our alarm will jolt us out of our warm blankets. The airport, just a cab ride away will be the second destination of our journey.
We are looking forward to our 7 hour layover in Houston, Texas where we will brush up on our American history and have tea with ex-president George W. Bush.

Hopefully our bags are underweight, and Kaya left her guns(.....Kaya just flexed and made a joke about her biceps......) at home so we can get through security quickly and on to our final destination. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Thats all for now!
Signing out from Vancouver!
Love Kaya and Sarah