Here is the South American part of our trip diary in pictures. What's below covers from 22 December 2010, when we left the U.S., until 11 May 2011, when we flew to Africa. The African pictures of the day are
here, and more recent pictures, the ones from India and Thailand, are
here.
 |
| 11 May 2011, Buenos Aires. I passed three separate street demonstrations on my way to the airport, at least one protesting Chile's decision to dam a Patagonian river. (KK) |
 |
10 May 2011, Península Valdés, Argentina. Man exercising his horse by driving along the beach with it tethered to his truck. (MK) |
 |
| 9 May 2011, Buenos Aires. Faded but beautiful tiles in my B&B in San Telmo. (KK) |
 |
9 May 2011, Península Valdés, Argentina. (MK) |
 |
| 8 May 2011, Buenos Aires. On Plaza Dorrego, during the weekly Feria de San Pedro Telmo. (KK) |
 |
8 May 2011, Península Valdés, Argentina. (MK) |
 |
| 7 May 2011, Montevideo. The view from my lunch table. (KK) |
 |
7 May 2011, Península Valdés, Argentina. (MK) |
 |
| 6 May 2011. The Palacio Salvo, a Montevideo landmark. (KK) |
 |
6 May 2011. Rie and Zach traveled down the coast to Península Valdés, Argentina while Kath went to Uruguay, so you get two pictures of the day for a bit. (MK) |
 |
| 5 May 2011, Montevideo. After three weeks in hostel dorms, I splashed out on a fancy hotel. Here's the view from the balcony. (KK) |
 |
| 4 May 2011, Montevideo, Uruguay. With my old friend Rosina at the Blanes museum. (KK) |
 |
| 3 May 2011. Buenos Aires from the catamaran going to Uruguay. (KK) |
 |
| 2 May 2011. Rie and Zach at Casa Rosada, Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires (KK) |
 |
1 May 2011. Jardín Japones, Buenos Aires. (MK) |
 |
| 30 April 2011. Our first day in Buenos Aires, we mainly stumbled around outdoors, exhausted from the overnight bus. This museum (decorative arts) was closed, and so was the Evita museum. (KK) |
 |
29 April 2011. Manzana Jesuito, Córdoba. (KK) |
 |
| 28 April 2011. Going to see the condors at Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito. (MK) |
 |
| 27 April 2011, Alta Gracia, Argentina. Annie at the Jesuit estancia with the little girl who hugged everybody. (MK) |
 |
26 April 2011, Córdoba. Rie, Annie and Kath in an art work commemorating 200 years of Argentinian history. (Celebrity guest photographer Zach Nies). |
 |
25 April 2011, Córdoba, Argentina. Annie, Rie, Zach and José de San Martín pointing the way for the Army of the Andes—or maybe just saying “luh!” (KK) |
 |
| 24 April 2011. Rie finds the car of her dreams on the streets of Mendoza. (Zach Nies) |
 |
| 23 April 2011. The whole crew at Cerro Aconcagua, highest peak outside the Himalayas. |
 |
| 22 April 2011. Beer? Ice cream? Annie finds that life in Mendoza is full of tough choices. (KK) |
 |
| 21 April 2011, Maipu, Argentina. Wasting no time, we headed straight for the vineyards. This one is Tempus Alba, the first stop on our winery tour by bicycle. (KK) |
 |
| 20 April 2011, Mendoza. The kids are here! The kids are here! Zach greets Rie at the airport--Annie arrived a couple hours later. (KK) |
 |
| 19 April 2011, Mendoza, Argentina. Straight off the bus into the hair salon, where we spent a pleasant couple of hours with the friendly proprietors. |
 |
| 19 April 2011. Bariloche, Argentina, where we ate gnocchi, bought chocolate and changed buses for Mendoza. (MK) |
 |
18 April 2011. We got up early to catch the bus, and this is what we saw when we opened our cabin door. We’ll miss you, El Bolsón! (MK) |
 |
17 April 2011, El Bolsón. Argentinians love their maté, a bitter but addictive drink they share by passing around a gourd with a fancy silver straw in it. This hot water dispenser is on the sidewalk for everyone to use. (MK) |
 |
| 16 April 2011. Up above the treeline on Cerro Piltriquitron—one last hike before leaving El Bolsón. (MK) |
 |
15 April 2011, El Bolsón. Last day volunteering at CIESA. Here's the farm's kitchen, where we ate lunch every day. (MK) |
 |
| 14 April 2011. Did we mention that El Bolsón is a big ice cream town? That we have to pass (or not pass) two displays like this each and every day? And that there’s another, hidden-away place with even better helado? (KK) |
 |
13 April 2011, El Bolsón. Rain in the valley, snow in the highlands, wind everywhere. (KK) |
 |
12 April 2011, El Bolsón. Two of the hostel's three dogs, looking uncharacteristically calm. They're loud, they're feisty, they'd lay down their lives for their family. We love them—and they drive us crazy. (KK) |
 |
11 April 2011, El Bolsón. Looking west from the farm on Camino de los Paniles. (MK) |
 |
10 April 2011, El Bolsón. Apple-picking time in Patagonia. (MK) |
 |
| 9 April 2011. Three weeks in El Bolsón and we finally made it to Lago Puelo National Park. (MK) |
 |
8 April 2011, El Bolsón. You've got to love a town this size with not one but two merry-go-rounds. (KK) |
 |
7 April 2011, El Bolsón. This ibis—here among the strawberries—is a regular visitor to the farm. (MK) |
 |
6 April 2011, El Bolsón. Kids playing with some of the autumn leaves that are beginning to fall. (KK) |
 |
| 5 April 2011. Many, many old Falcons have retired to El Bolsón. Here’s one of them. (MK) |
 |
4 April 2011, El Bolsón. "Cara negra," one of the rams out on the farm where I am volunteering. (MK) |
 |
| 3 April 2011. Magic school bus and Cerro Piltriquitrón, El Bolsón (KK). |
 |
2 April 2011, El Bolsón. Flag raised in commemoration of la Gesta de Malvinas—the Malvinas Exploit, a.k.a. the Falklands War—which started 29 years ago today. A billboard elsewhere in town says "Siempre en nuestro corazón." (KK) |
 |
| 1 April 2011. An El Bolsón riverside shack, one I wouldn’t necessarily mind moving into. (KK) |
 |
30 March 2011, El Bolsón. Rie has started her volunteer work on the organic farm. It has all kinds of benefits. (KK) |
 |
29 March 2011, El Bolsón. We waited a week for this cabin, and now it's ours till mid-April. Trees and mountains in the windows—a great place to write. (KK) |
 |
28 March 2011, El Bolsón. The monkey puzzle tree in the street behind our hostel. (KK) |
 |
| 27 March 2011, El Bolsón. A flowering vine on our mini-hike today. Flowers by Rie-Rie will be back soon, all new and updated (MK). |
 |
26 March 2011, El Bolsón. And now for something thoroughly Argentinian—a Saturday night asado, this one in the fireplace at the hostel. (KK) |
 |
25 March 2011, El Bolsón. Claudio at the hostel made these for lunch—and shared. Not particularly Argentinian, perhaps, but very yummy. (KK) |
 |
24 March 2011, El Bolsón. The Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice in Argentina. Just about everybody in town seemed to be enjoying themselves on the plaza. (KK) |
 |
| 23 March 2011. El Bolsón is really a hippie town, with yoga classes and drum circles and reggae music everywhere you go. (KK) |
 |
22 March 2011. El Bolsón, Argentina. Thinking Spring thoughts, thinking dogwood and azalea in Chapel Hill and yup, that's fresh snow on those mountaintops. All those miles we've traveled north and even here, winter's setting in. (KK) |
 |
| 21 March 2011. Rie walked out to the local botanical garden and the nearby Cascada Escondida. (MK) |
 |
| 20 March 2011. Plaza Pagano, El Bolsón, Argentina. (KK) |
 |
| 19 March 2011. Guy selling maté gourds and bombillas at the feria artisanal, El Bolsón, Argentina. (KK) |
 |
| 18 March 2011. Patagonia out the bus window. For about 30 hours as we rode north from Tierra del Fuego, sheep pasture dominated the landscape. As we neared El Bolsón, the brown flatlands finally give way to mountains (KK). |
 |
| 17 March 2011. Everybody took pictures as our bus from Ushuaia to Rio Gallegos crossed the Strait of Magellan on the ferry. (KK) |
 |
| 16 March 2011. The little cabin in Ushuaia where we holed up for a few days. (KK) |
 |
| 15 March 2011. Calm and foggy in Ushuaia harbor. (MK) |
 |
| 14 March 2011. The Evita bus stop, Ushuaia, Argentina. (KK) |
 |
| 13 March 2011, Ushuaia, Argentina. (MK) |
 |
| 12 March 2011. Fishing boats moored off Puerto Williams, facing the tsunami that never amounted to anything, here at least. (KK) |
 |
| 11 March 2011. Back in Puerto Williams, the Dientes just distant specks on the horizon. (KK) |
 |
| 10 March 2011, Isla Navarino, Chile. We did it! Four nights on the trail, 53 km -- time for a nap. (MK) |
 |
| 9 March 2011, Isla Navarino, Chile. Kath and Patricio on the long slog to Paso Virginia. (MK) |
 |
| 8 March 2011, Isla Navarino, Chile. Sunset at Camp Three, Montes Lindenmayer in the background. (KK) |
 |
| 7 March 2011, Isla Navarino, Chile. Rie and Patricio, our guide, at Paso Australia. (KK) |
 |
| 6 March 2011. Day One in the wilderness on the Circuito de los Dientes de Navarino, Isla Navarino, Chile. (Patricio Cano) |
 |
| 5 March 2011, Puerto Williams, Chile. Darwin's legacy remains in many forms here on the edge of the Beagle Channel. (KK) |
 |
| 4 March 2011. Arriving in Puerto Williams, Chile, the most southerly town on earth. (KK) |
 |
| 3 March 2011. Mountains and glaciers of Tierra del Fuego, Chile from the Bahia Azul. (MK) |
 |
| 2 March 2011. Strait of Magellan. Leaving Punta Arenas, Chile, on the Bahia Azul (MK) |
 |
| 1 March 2011. Punta Arenas cemetery. (MK) |
 |
| 28 Feb 2011. Many of the houses in Punta Arenas, Chile, are sheathed in corrugated metal, often brightly colored. (KK) |
 |
| 27 Feb 2011. Gulls on the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas, Chile. (MK) |
 |
| 26 Feb 2011. Almost off the map and still heading South. Waterside compass, Punta Arenas, Chile. (KK) |
 |
| 25 Feb 2011. ¡Adelante! Rafting in Río Petrohué, Chile. |
 |
| 24 Feb 2011. Hike with Carolyn on lava field, Volcán Osorno, Chile. (MK) |
 |
| 23 Feb 2011. A couple gloomy days in Puerto Varas, Chile. Then the volcano came out, in honor, we’re sure, of our sister Mill. Happy Birthday from Patagonia, Meel! (KK) |
 |
| 22 Feb 2011. A quiet day in Puerto Varas, Chile. (KK) |
 |
| 21 Feb 2011. Our fellow passengers hold the interior of the plane together as we rattle into Santiago, Chile in the wee hours. Don't worry, Mom. The rest of the plane was in good shape. (KK) |
 |
| 20 Feb 2011. Farewell to Perú—on the way to the Lima airport. (MK) |
 |
| 19 Feb 2011. With Annick, a friend from Chapel Hill, at the wonderful museum where she works, the Museo Pedro Osma in Lima. |
 |
| 18 Feb 2011, The airport in Juliaca, Perú, named for the first Inca. (KK) |
 |
| 17 February 2011. On one of the floating islands, Lake Titicaca, Peru. (KK) |
 |
| 16 Feb 2011. Ruins of the Inca village of Raqchi, Perú. (MK) |
 |
| 15 Feb 2011. Machu Picchu--but you knew that. Our guide took this early on, before we climbed the peak behind the ruins and got all sweaty and less photogenic. |
 |
| 14 Feb 2011. Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo. (MK) |
 |
13 Feb 2011. We met Noemí on the bus from Lima and she took us to the Inca ruins at Saqsaywaman in Cuzco. There are really big rocks there (MK). |
 |
12 Feb 2011. Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Perú. (KK) |
 |
| 11 Feb 2011. The medical college in Lima has a botanical garden on its grounds. After the bus from Chachapoyas and before the bus to Cuzco, we talked our way in. (MK) |
 |
10 Feb 2011. With Sarita at Café Fusiones, the morning we left Chachapoyas. |
 |
| 9 Feb 2011. A typical Chachapoyan window. (KK) | | |
 |
| 8 Feb 2011. Miguel and his parents in their home in Inguilpata. (KK) |
 |
| 7 Feb 2011. From the hills north of Chachapoyas. (MK) |
 |
| 6 Feb 2011, Chachapoyas. Our landlady's grandkids watch me call Annie from the cabina telefónica (KK). |
 |
| 5 Feb 2011, Huancas. Adobe bricks drying in the sun. (MK) |
 |
| 4 Feb 2011, Chachapoyas. All kinds of customers at the chicken stall at the market. (KK) |
 |
| 3 Feb 2011. Chachapoyas isn't really into the fast food thing, thank goodness. (KK) |
 |
| 2 Feb 2011, Chachapoyas. We've puzzled over this since we got here. We'd prefer you go in this direction, but it's really up to you? (KK) |
 |
| 1 Feb 2011, Chachapoyas. The knife sharpener making his rounds, playing a special whistle as he goes. (MK) |
 |
31 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Firewood for sale. (KK) |
 |
30 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. A few doors down from us on el jíron Trionfo. (KK) |
 |
| 29 Jan 2011. The family who welcomed us so warmly to Karajía. (MK) |
 |
| 28 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Baby burro on the western hill. (KK) |
 |
| 27 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Rie with Claudia, her Spanish teacher. (KK) |
 |
| 26 Jan 2011. Today's Spanish lesson was at el mercadillo, Chachapoyas' twice-a-week farmers' market. (KK) |
 |
| 25 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. On a dirt side street over near the university. (KK) |
 |
| 24 Jan 2011. The Huancas Do-Over. We saw the canyon! Rie discovered many spectacular flowers! It didn't rain! Well, not much. (MK) |
 |
| 23 Jan 2011. Gocta! Third highest waterfall in the world! Or maybe not. Gorgeous whatever its ranking. |
 |
| 22 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. A sight you see a lot around here, a helmeted dad with a little one tucked in front of him on a scooter. We saw this pair while hiking out the Huancas road. (KK) |
 |
| 21 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. The bridge just down our street, el jirón Trionfo. (KK) |
 |
| 20 Jan 2011. Catholic imagery is everywhere, for instance at the Chachapoyas cemetery, the most beautifully located cemetery I've ever seen. (KK) |
 |
| 19 Jan 2011. Gregory, Fidel, Tom and Robbie, the night before all but Fidel left Chachapoyas. |
 |
18 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. I was feeling just a little low, but then Sarita at the café made me a chocolate pancake. (KK) |
 |
| 17 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Promoting a local literacy effort. (KK) |
 |
| 16 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Many of the local walls are painted with campaign signs for the upcoming election. (MK) |
 |
| 15 Jan 2011. Field trip to Huancas with my Spanish teacher, Miguel. (MK) |
 |
| 14 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. It's hard to walk into the market and buy just the bread you came for. (KK) |
 |
13 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Where we're blogging from—Café Fusiones on Chincha Alta. (MK) |
 |
| 12 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Our landlady's granddaughters, Lucia and Maria, in the courtyard of our house. (MK) |
 |
| 11 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. Kids playing in front of the school. (KK) |
 |
| 10 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas. ILC with all its colors flying for the first day of school. (KK) |
 |
9 Jan 2011. Rie at Kuélap, the fortress the Chachapoyas built. (KK) |
 |
| 8 Jan 2011. The Chachapoyas market, a daily extravaganza. (MK) |
 |
7 Jan 2011. A rainy day in Chachapoyas—a good day for the internet café. (KK) |
 |
| 6 Jan 2011. Hiking south of Chachapoyas. (MK) |
 |
| 5 Jan 2011. Mountains near Chachapoyas. (MK) |
 |
4 Jan 2011, Chachapoyas, Perú. Fidel welcomes us to town with Pisco sours. (KK) |
 |
3 Jan 2011, La Balsa, Perú. Our accommodations. (MK) |
 |
2 Jan 2011, La Balsa. Waiting at the border to be legally admitted to Perú. |
 |
| 1 Jan 2011, Vilcabamba. A day of many enjoyable encounters. One was stopping to eat guava with a farmer we met who gave us some fresh from the tree. (MK) |
 |
| 31 Dec 2010, Vilcabamba. Effigies of the old year, ready to be burned in bonfires at midnight. (KK) |
 |
| 30 Dec 2010, Vilcabamba, Ecuador (KK). |
 |
| 29 Dec 2010, Vilcabamba. We took a more ambitious hike up to one of the ridgelines. (KK) |
 |
| 28 Dec 2010, Vilcabamba. Poinsettia in garden of Hosteria Izhcayluma. (MK) |
 |
| 27 Dec 2010, Vilcabamba, Ecuador. From a hiking trail near town. (MK) |
 |
| 26 Dec 2010, Ecuador. The bus from Cuenca stopped in the village of Oña, backed up when a truck parked sideways blocked a narrow street, and jockeyed for space with a bus from a competing company (KK). |
 |
| 25 Dec 2010, Cuenca, Ecuador. On the plaza, Christmas morning. (KK) |
 |
| 24 Dec 2010, Cuenca, Ecuador. Christmas Eve procession. (MK) |
 |
| 23 Dec 2010, Quito, Ecuador. Early morning cab ride to the airport. (KK) |
 |
| 22 Dec 2010, Miami. At the departure gate. (KK) |
