Hey all, so we´ve made it to our next exotic destination - Nicaragua. It is incredibly hot. The flight is really easy though, only two and a half hours from houston, Texas. We flew in amid the most amazing lightning I´ve ever seen from a plane. Towering clouds all around us, in giant columns with lightning striking across them in horizontal rays. It´s supposed to be that way the whole week, although so far this morning has blessed us with wonderfully clear blue skies.
We´re staying at a place called hotel Oasis in Granada. We flew into Managua, the capital, but we opted not to stay there since it was not recommended. Granada is actually very reminsicent of our previous trip in the north of Argentina (Salta and Jujuy provinces). Lots of old colonial type buildings in nice colors. A wonderful central plaza where many hang out during the day to do people-watching. At night the whole city is quite dead. A small strip with bars is lit up, and this seems to be the main hang out for those tourists looking to have a drink. The casinos are also open all day and all night as far as we can tell. Well I´m losing steam so I´ll have to fill you all in later when we´ve finally accomplished something other than lying around, eating, and sleeping. : )
Words of the day:
navaja: pocket knife
gacía: safety pin
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Continue reading ‘43Places.com - The Myspace of Travel?’
If there was a contest for the most beautiful Argentine village, Iruya would certainly be a strong contender for the top spot. What it lacks in architectural beauty it makes up for in location — the setting really is about as dramatic as one could imagine.
As you meander the steep cobblestone streets (the only thing to do anyway, especially during the extended afternoon siesta hours), you´re treated to the spectacle of the valley walls everywhere you look. Every direction brings a unique landscape. As the light changes throughout the day, different colors dance among the rock formations in an endless spectacle of light and texture.
After lunch we set off on the road to Iruya, an inaccesable and picturesque hamlet that has captured the heart of Argentina´s touring class. The road to Iruya is legendary, and involves 50 km of offroading over up to a 4000m high ridge and back down again. The road was a rocky dirt track, and crossed a few running streams, but we didn´t run into any particularly sticky situations and we were left to enjoy the scenery for the two hour drive.
Continue reading ‘The Road to Iruya’
After a long day we hadn´t eaten a whole lot other than some medialunas and some yoghurt and (especially after the digging earlier in the day) was starting to feel the effects. Luckily for him we were dropping in altitude by a couple 100 meters. Even so, by the time we reached Humahuaca he wasn´t doing so well, migraine, nausea, etc. Very unpleasant.
Continue reading ‘Humahuaca’
We tried the first access route to the laguna (which is quite dry at this time of year, since it hasn´t rained much) where a woman told us that this was the only way to get to the laguna. It was dry, we saw a Rhea, had some mate with coca leaves in it, and went through a lot of mud puddles. The woman tried to sell us some strange looking figurines, but I just left her some pesos instead.
Continue reading ‘Laguna de Pozuelos’
We left Yavi in the morning with a recommendation from the lady at the htoel to take the ruta consolidada (basically grated or gravel road) to the Laguna de Pozuelos a large lakebed that fills over the wet season and is famous for the flocks of flamingos (of at least 3 different species) that live there. The road started out great. We were flying in our little 3 door corsa. Unfortunately it had rained the past couple nights in the area and when we were about 20km. from the first access road to the laguna, and pretty much in the middle on nowhere our brave little corsa got stuck in the mud. Dave tried to lift the car out of the mud while I gunned it in reverse but to no avail, it was like taffy.
Continue reading ‘Yavi to Laguna de Pozuelos’
I woke up feeling much better and after a light breakfast that included more coca tea we decided to take a short stroll through town. The landscape in this region is mainly rocky and barren which only enhances the stark contrast with the thin line of lush greenery that travels through the bottom of the canyon. The town was once the major center of activity in the region and the location of the home of the local marquez during the spanish colonial era.
Continue reading ‘Yavi’
We started our drive North through the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a large canyon famous for the colors of its mountains due to the many minerals found in them. As you drive through the valley the mountains range from blue-green to bright rust red to purple to beige. It´s really impressive.
Continue reading ‘Quebrada de Humahuaca to the Puna Jujeña’
