so our travels in latin america are complete (for now). we wrapped up our last week relaxing in san martin de los andes, argentina and then we were off to hang out with some porteños in the euro-style city of buenos aires. we're now en route to our next destination after enjoying the comforts of home for a few weeks. now, asia! it's going to be quite a change. we'll be moving from tasty meats and red wines to spicy seafood and curries. and we can't wait. until then, reliving memories from the past month...
our figures from latin america - 5 million steps (ridiculous!), 45 thousand miles, and nearly 190 buses. wowee wowwwwwwww
the beautiful, touristy mountain town of san martin de los andes, nestled in the mountains on the shore of a lake. quite the view
the sidewalks of san martin were covered in beautiful rose bushes. it was rare to see a home without a rose bush outside.
dig this pink, fuzzy berry bush
joe enjoying his birthday bife de lomo (steak filet) and morcilla (blood sausage). mmmm delicioso. thanks mom and dad!
off to buenos aires, one of the biggest cities in south america (although it is surprising how it doesn't seem so overwhelming). they're fancy here - this is a mural on the ceiling of a mall rotunda - certainly shows how serious they are about fashion :)
"la casa rosada" - the pink house. where eva peron, still a beloved figure of argentina, gave her famous address
view of the obelisk on one of the widest streets in buenos aires - avenida 9 de julio - takes up about 15 lanes both ways. you literally had to run to make it across in one go
pretty government buildings abound in this city.
it's a little strange when one of the biggest attractions in a city is a cemetery. but it's surprisingly beautiful and awesomely eerie at the same time. right in the middle of a beautiful part of the city, recoleta cemetery is jam packed with mausoleums - where the rich people of buenos aires rest their bones (to decompose, or become zombies)
a maze of mausoleums
it was not hard to find evita's grave - just follow the hoard of people
one of our favorites - covered in ivy
one of the many, many cats (familiars?) of recoleta cemetery - strange and a little creepy
ok...enough cemetery time
some of buenos aires' beautiful architecture
decided to avoid the museums and take a tour of the buenos aires street art scene instead. makes you think twice about the negative connotation associated with the word 'graffiti.' it was rare to find a piece of street art that didnt have some sort of meaning or message behind it. this was one of our favorites - 'el nestornauta' - the combination of nestor kirchner (the former late-president of argentina) wearing the suit of the popular argentine comic book character - 'el eternauta.' it is basically a criticism of the previous military dictatorship and a way to pay homage to kirchner who stripped away the pardons previously given to former junta members - read more - http://graffitimundo.com/new-art/el-nestornauta/
one of our favorites - painted by one man in one weekend
a ugly power station looks a whole lot better with color. it says here 'porque pintar es lindo' - 'because to paint is beautiful'
this shows how much street artists believe in freedom of expression. this wall surrounds a playground that was painted with what they call 'friendly creatures.' some other artists didn't like the creatures too much so they decided to paint some evil characters eating the friendly guys. poor friendly creatures ...
this is a stencil art showing a gaucho (an argentine cowboy) with what would be one of the most unnecessary possessions for a gaucho - not only an electric guitar - a DOUBLE electric guitar. in the top right corner is an awesome piece by nerf, an artist who uses no ruler at all. just spray paints free hand at a 45 degree angle
another interesting story. a few years back a well-known peruvian artist decided to see what value people actually attributed to street art. without any permission, he went around to different pieces, stripped away parts, and put them on canvas. when the artists in buenos aires found out about the event that he was going to hold to sell their pieces, they came to the venue and cleared the place out by sneaking in, pretending to be art buyers, and sprayed fire extinguishers all over. take that, dude trying to rip off artists (by the way, one piece sold for about 10 grand)
ideas of communism, by an artist named ever. check out some info on the local street artists here: http://graffitimundo.com/artists/
the most common type of graffiti found in the city - political. (mentira = a lie)
a really cool outdoor antique market was held every sunday in the san telmo neighborhood of buenos aires - there was sooo much junk for sale!
in the middle of the antique market, people would simply set up a makeshift dance floor and tango - they've been doing this every sunday for years
a cool japanese garden right in the middle of the big city. it was like entering another world
buenos aires named a street commemorating two of the most important boston athletes of all time
dig this flower - big and metallic, it opens and closes depending on the time of day.
one last meatfest in argentina before we leave - for a very reasonable price, you get an all-you-can-eat grill (every cut of meat you can think of) and buffet, plus a bottle of wine each! needless to say, we spent quite a while (about 3 hours) enjoying...
welcome back to the US! guinness mustache please?
friends!
friends reliving bar mitzvah memories
friends camping up in east haverhill, new hampshire - enjoying the simple life. live free or die!
the anderson family land up in the white mountains of new hampshire
chillin at the brook, sporting our awesome $4 supermarket hats
free fishing weekend in NH!
gus' first trip to the beach, up in york, maine
"mmmmm, sandy"
gus enjoying a ride on the swing
uncle joe chillin with his nephew
well, that just about does it for this particular chapter in our lives. it was great to spend some time at home, with family, friends, and the bruins (amazing timing for our trip to the U.S. - we got to see a bunch of playoff games, including last night's glorious game 7, when the B's stuck it to luongo and took home the cup! what a run!) right now, we're back on a bus (love that familiar feeling), beginning the next leg of our journey - onward! to bali!
well, that just about does it for this particular chapter in our lives. it was great to spend some time at home, with family, friends, and the bruins (amazing timing for our trip to the U.S. - we got to see a bunch of playoff games, including last night's glorious game 7, when the B's stuck it to luongo and took home the cup! what a run!) right now, we're back on a bus (love that familiar feeling), beginning the next leg of our journey - onward! to bali!
Life is too important to be taken seriously - Oscar Wilde
tallyho!
- lauren and joe
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