Northwest Argentina Adventure Day 1: Salta

Saturday, May 6 in Salta.



Charlie says: The cable car was so fun. We went out of the little house and we blasted off out of the side. I thought we were going to fall. We saw out of the windows. We waved to the other people on more cable cars. I even realized that we were above the trees and we saw the town square. 



Charlie says: I was drinking and eating strawberry smoothie and medialunas (croissants). It was at a cafe in the town square.



Charlie says: This is a picture of my mom and me and my baby sister; as you know her name is Dava. This church was not in the town square; I don't remember where it was. Where was it, Papa?

JG: It was about a block from our hotel.

Charlie: Those curtains–as you see there in the background–are not actually curtains, 'cause they're not made out of fabric or sheets. They are made from stone.

Buenos Aires Subte

JG: Soon, very soon, we will upload a deluge of photos and videos from our 5-day trek to and through the Salta and Jujuy regions of northwest Argentina.

Until then, please enjoy my trek through the entire length of a Buenos Aires subway train, the open, accordion-style subte of the H line here, with no doors. (Coming to New York City soon.)

I've wordlessly walked the length of an open subway train once before, in London, and I find  that the activity offers an opportunity to ponder human society and the nature of existence.

Salta

Hello from Salta. We'll be traveling through Thursday. Updates soon.

Day trip to Colonia, Uruguay

Charlie says: Today, we went to Uruguay. I went in to a little hole. It went across to a tree when there was a bridge, because there was water under the bridge.

How we went to Uruguay is we took a boat. It was a ferry. I loved it because it was so beautiful. I got to sit on the window ledge, next to Mama. I saw boats and orange water; it was orange because there was dirt.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Jonathan says: Saturday night around dinnertime we started hearing rock music coming from outside somewhere in our neighborhood, so loud that we figured it must be a concert. After dinner Charlie and I took a walk, partly to see whether we could find the music and partly just to stretch our legs in the cool of the evening. We followed the sound, which turned out to be farther away (and so actually louder) than we had anticipated. A funny thing happened, though, as we were finally approaching. The music changed from rock to something much more percussive and horn-laden, and I recognized a song I know well, "Mal Bicho," by one of my favorite bands, "Los Fabulosos Cadillacs."  It sounded so like the original recording that I started wondering whether it was a DJ, not a live concert, we were hearing. Then the next tune started; it was "Matador," which I know inside and out, having played it 1000 times with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra. Now there was no doubt: we were about to stumble upon a Fabulosos Cadillacs show. We went through a gate, followed the crowd, and there it was, there they were. 

Charlie says: I was dancing to the music. Papa danced with me and we did the round-jumpy game. It was so amazing 'cause the lights were reflecting out in the sky and we got to hear one of the bands that Papa likes very much. There was a big crowd and we clapped our hands like clap-clap-clap-clap. 

[By clap-clap-clap-clap, Charlie refers to the four beats in the chorus of "Vasos Vacios"(at 1:20-21 of this video).]

JG: Charlie, what was it like being out late, after dinner, in Buenos Aires, past your bedtime?

CJG: It was so wonderful and really still amazing.

Okay, so the videos and photos below are of low-quality and don't do justice to the excitement of the moment. You'll have to take our words for it.

I'm still not quite recovered from the surreality of walking out my front door in Buenos Aires and discovering my favorite Argentine band playing a free outdoor concert. The sort of thing that usually only happens in New Orleans.

Jamie says: A couple pictures from the past couple days.

Happy Birthday Jonathan

Jamie says: Yesterday was Jonathan's birthday. We had worked on art for him the weekend before and had a big spread of drawings and hand-painted pictures to put on the wall. Charlie awoke around 6:45 and Dava uncharacteristically slept past 7am, so Charlie and I had plenty of time to hang the pictures. These photos are all from last night. They include the picture wall (it's longer than what you see here), Charlie helping to put the candles on Jonathan's blondie-peanut butter-nutella 'cake', and blowing out the candles. 

I had made reservations for the nearby restaurant Mishiguene and we had a delicious dinner thanks to one of our three fine babysitters (two of whom are from Amherst!).

 Below is the cauliflower and baba ganoush. The baba ganoush was our favorite. It included a whole roasted eggplant with spices and creams on top which we were able to cut and mix to our own liking. It also came with lime wedges which added a delicious tang. 

Later we went to Thelonious Jazz Club.

 We walked almost half way home before succumbing to my heels and requesting to jump in a taxi. Below is a picture of Jonathan on the street. Happy Birthday!