Best Mode of Transportation

Flechabus Suite Bus was the best (other than our own feet)! The 18 hour ride between Buenos Aires and Salta included comfortable 180 degree bed/seats (at least as good if not better than First Class air travel), snacks, coffee, hot dinner, wine, soft drinks, champagne, breakfast, and several new release movies (in English!)- all for about US$60! Movitrack's MiniTrack was a close second.

Wonderful Tour Guides

We were lucky to have fabulous tour guides in Brazil and Argentina- old friends and new- Fabio and Henrique, Andrea, Jair, Edgar, and Jorge.

Many Dogs

Along the way Hannah befriended many dogs. Here are just a few of our favorites...

Back in New York

Our flight from Houston to Newark was uneventful although getting a new boarding pass and paper ticket for the cancelled flight/misconnect was not simple. We will try to get a trip report and some more photos published soon:)

Still not home yet!

Our bus ride from Salta to Buenos Aires was great- comfortable and three good movies and more food than we could eat. The flight home has been a different story. Continental flight 52 on August 17 was scheduled, delayed, and finally cancelled because of equipment failure. They transferred us to the Pan Americano hotel in Buenos Aires. The hotel was lovely but we didn't get there until 1:30 AM August 18 and we were too tired to eat dinner. They called with a message in the morning to be ready for the bus back to the airport at 8 AM so we missed breakfast too. We waited for hours on lines for the bus, to get new boarding passes, to go through many security sections and immigration again and then more lines for bag checking at the gate. The flight was supposed to leave at 11 AM but didn't even get to the gate until about 1:30 PM. It finally took off around 2 PM. It arrived at 10 PM and terminated in Houston so we are now at the Houston Airport Marriot and have to wake up very early for our flight to Newark tomorrow morning. At least tonight we have our baggage and can change clothes. The one bright spot is that flying during the day permitted me to get some pretty photos of the Andes mountains and the clouds. I'm not sure but I think the snow covered mountain in the clouds may be the volcano Nevado del Huila in Columbia (http://www.skimountaineer.com/ROF/Region.php?region=NorAndes)

Last dinner in Salta

Last night we shared our farewell dinner with "Our Argentine Family" in Salta. Although we are leaving a part of our hearts here with them we will return home with larger hearts filled with love and many happy memories. Muchas gracias por todo.

Salta and Cafayate

Here are a few more photos from sightseeing with Jorge and his parents. We drove from Salta city to Cafayate and passed through the Valles Calchaquíes. Jorge and Hannah climbed the Devil's Throat (same name as the huge falls at Iguazu). The photo of us with Jorge's parents is in an natural amphitheatre. A man was playing guitar and singing while we were there. The dog in the red coat is Virrey. He is Jorge's hairless Pila dog.

Photos from North West Argentina

Here are some photos from Jujuy Province. The one that shows rectangles of bllue water is Salinas Grandes (an area of salt flats from volcanic ash). We passed Julia and the llama on the way to the Salinas Grandes. The beautiful colored mountains are in the Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca Gorge).

Salta and Northwest Argentina

It rained all day Monday in Buenos Aires and we hopped on our bus at 6:10 PM. We arrived in Salta a half hour early on Tuesday, just before noon. The Flechabus from Buenos Aires was much better than the Crucero del Norte bus from Iguazu to BA. The Flechabus had heat and larger seats. Jorge met us at the bus terminal so we didn´t have to navigate on our own to his home. We left early Wednesday morning on our excursion with Movitrack to Nubes and Humahuaca. It is very high altitude (the highest point on the road was about 4200 meters) and Hannah got pretty sick the first day. That day we saw many mountains and a salt flat that is an enormous area of volcanic salt. The native people carve animals and other things out of the salt in addition to harvesting it for food. We stayed in a lovely hotel, Posta de Sol, that was at the foot of beautiful colored mountains in the Humahuaca Gorge. The second day of the excursion Hannah felt much better and we visited sevaral villages with native crafts and old churches. Check out the link about Jujuy and Salta provinces to learn more about the area. I took 296 photos and will try to post some soon.

Sunday in San Telmo

Some fun photos from the street fairs.

Some Photos of the Mom

As requested - here are some photos of the Mom (and Mom and Daughter). Hannah had abandoned her camera since arriving in Buenos Aires so I have done all the recent photography. These photos are from Brazil and Iguazu. We'll get some more today in San Telmo.

Cementerio de La Recoleta

Today we shared a taxi ride to the cemetary in La Recoleta. There are many amazing sculptures - a few are below. After that we walked through the Feria Artesanal (Crafts Fair) and several shopping areas before returning to Sandanzas with very tired feet.

Sightseeing in Buenos Aires

Today we walked around Puerto Madera, had a great lunch at Siga La Vaca and did a little shopping. Here are some photos showing contrast of old and new architecture, Hannah walking across Puente de la Mujer, the church "Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa" and a statue of a little girl that was next to a sign "Reina de Holanda".

A Day of Beauty

We managed to catch a bus from San Telmo to Plaza San Martin where we found the main American Express building (that's it below). We could cash our travelers checks and get a good exchange rate:) After some window shopping at Galerias Pacifico (a mall with great art inside) we went to the Sheraton Hotel where Hannah got her hair colored back to her natural dark blonde color and then had light blonde highlights put in and finally a haircut by a very sweet hair dresser (in the photo). While waiting I got a manicure and pedicure!