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aguas claras March 16, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in Argentina, Español, Yacu Yura, photos.
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Yacu Yura es un nombre que a la inmensa mayoria de vosotros no os suena nada. Pues bien si pasais tiempo conmigo en un futuro se os acabara quedando grabado de tanto que hablare de el. Infinitas gracias mas una a Xabier, que hizo que nos decidieramos finalmente a venir.

Este lugar es un viaje en si mismo. Peter y yo hemos estado recorriendo largas distancias durante esta semana, sin movernos apenas de donde nos encontrabamos.

Yacu yura es (fisicamente) una finca que se encuentra a varios quilometros de distancia de pueblos o carreteras. Es bastante extenso pero solo una pequeña parte esta siendo utilizado, la mayor parte es bosque casi inexpugnable. En la parte habitada hay varias casas, un cuarto de ocio, una cocina, varias salas de actividades, sala de herramientas, un riachuelo, varios laguitos, una piscina con agua del arroyo, una huerta, caminos ondeantes, mariposas gigantes, flores, puestas de sol, cielos estrellados, plantas con pinchos, abubillas, algarrobos, una sala de oracion/meditacion con forma de iglu gigante en lo alto de un repecho, compost, un gato que se llama Jade y otro Nada, cisternas que no funcionan, energia solar, internet fluctuante, comida vegetariana, ceniza en vez de jabon, etc.

Aqui se vive en comunidad, y la comunidad consta de gente como nosotros, visitantes con mas o menos tiempo y una pareja que habita de forma permanente: Jimmy y Gabi. Cuando leais como transcurre un dia cualquiera os hareis una idea de lo marciana que nos ha resultado por momentos esta experiencia. El dia empieza con un desayuno muy austero en el que guardamos absoluto silencio. Luego hacemos unos estiramientos y respiraciones (de purificacion, invocando los elementos, pranayama, etc) unos cantos y danzas en circulo de varias tradiciones del mundo (hemos hecho de los arapahoe, guarani, hebreo, hindu) y por ultimo un circulo para expresar lo que queramos a los demas. Luego repartimos tareas para la mañana (trabajo en el huerto, abrir caminos, limpiar la acequia, preparar comida, etc). despues hacemos circulo todos juntos otra vez, vamos al iglú para meditar durante unos 20 minutos. A esto le sigue la comida, que tambien comemos juntos. A partir de ahi cada uno hace lo que le place.

Me olvidaba de comentar que despues de cada circulo nos damos abrazos. Muchos de vosotros sabeis lo sobón que puedo llegar a ser por lo que esta parte no ha sido muy chocante.

Mi experiencia esta siendo estupenda, aunque no exenta de encontronazos emocionales. Por eso mismo es valiosa, por que me curte. Al hacer tantas cosas en grupo y tener que acatar las normas del lugar me he sentido como cuando era niño, me he tomado unas vacaciones de mi constante tomar infinitas decisiones, grandes o pequeñas, que es nuestra cruz como adultos. Eso ha hecho en parte que me haya permitido el lujo de observarme y observar a los demas sin (tanto) miedo a lo extraño.

He sentido mucho amor estos dias, y creo que tambien he dando un poquito tambien. Los chicos que estaban con nosotros se han marchado ya, y aunque han sido solo 5 dias con ellos hemos llegado a acercamientos que a veces cuestan años en la “sociedad al uso”. El mirarse directamente a los ojos con un extraño por mas de 5 segundos produce mas adrenalina que 3 Dragon-khans.

Ademas de esto se esta celebrando un curso de danza llamada contact en el lugar. Empezo cuando llegamos y continuara hasta la semana que viene. Ya os hablare de mi experiencia con la danza en el proximo post.

Bueno amiguitos, me llaman para comer, solo deciros que seguramente pasaremos 2 semanas mas aqui, y que lo mas probable es que internet siga sin funcionar el el lugar (ahora mismo estamos en el pueblo de al lado pasando el dia). O sea que la proxima vez sera…el domingo que viene! si nos entra el gusanillo de la civilizacion nos podemos acercar al pueblo, pero… ¡Se esta tan bien en Aguas Claras!

Os quiero malandrines!

dom

Adios Buenos Aires… March 8, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in Argentina, English, photos.
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And so we come to the end of our sojourn in Buenos Aires… I shall be sad to leave but am equally looking forward to our next step.
We woke up late after a cocktail-fuelled evening out Argentinian style to see our first cloudless sky of the trip. Sadly, by the time we had got our belongings together to check out of the hostel, the now-familiar grey clouds had regained their dominion over the skies and droplets of rain began to moisten our brows as we headed towards the Subte.
I`m not sure whether it was the late night or the sporadic soakings that have given me the beginnings of a good old-fashioned cold (perhaps it was a combination of the two). Suffice to say I am now sniffling and sneezing my way about the city, thankful for the spare Sudafed tablets I had packed before leaving London.
Last night we were blessed with a very sweet and attentive tour guide in the form of Mexican born New Yorker, Brendan. He’s been living in BA for the past couple of years working in banking – he did explain exactly what he did but my eyes have a terrible habit of glazing over whenever I hear the words ‘finance’ or ‘business’. I did find it interesting to hear about how low rent is here (about £120 a month to share a flat with balcony in a good location). Needless to say the wages are comparable and since the economy crashed in 2001, all but the very rich have had to struggle financially and the distribution of income is still very uneven.
The streets of Buenos Aires convey the country’s economic history perfectly. The tree-lined avenues of majestic appartment blocks are impressive and speak of great former wealth but are now in a state of disrepair, with some empty and neglected. Everywhere is well planted though, and this goes some way to combatting the constant stream of cars and buses that pollute the air with both noise and fumes.
The Jacaranda trees lining the streets truly are lovely – some have tall thick stems with fronded leaves and the most beautiful pink flowers, others have similar leaves but then the occasional most vibrant blue blossom. Then there is the Umbu tree – huge trees with the most enormously bulbous, sinuous root system.
The people here are so friendly (hostel staff excluded) and the city feels very safe – I feel much safer here than in London in fact. No gangs of teens hanging out on corners or drug-fuelled drunkards lurching about. The late night cafe culture means that the streets are always busy and there’s always a cafe you can pop into en route to your destination.
I`ve thoroughly enjoyed this beginning to our journey and would definitely recommend it to anyone tempted to visit. Check out San Telmo, Palermo, Recoleta, the wine and those empanadas if you do!
Next stop Cordoba and the eco-village.

Eating BA style… March 7, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in Argentina, English, photos.
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Warning: certain parts of this post may not be suitable for vegetarian

Ok, one thing has become very clear to me so far – eating out in Buenos Aires is very reasonable.

Argentinian cuisine has a strong Italian influence and pizza bars crop up on every corner with most restaurants including multiple pasta options. Two nights ago, our pre-show light supper consisted of a slice of pizza each and a huge glass of wine for the miniscule sum of 1 pound! The pizza was so good we had to go back for a second slice and received the bonus edition of a savoury chick-pea cake slice that is served on top. Delicious.

Yesterday lunchtime was a meat fest the likes of which I doubt I will ever have again. Sausage, black pudding, something I have yet to identify, kidney and a huge plate of prime beef cuts came with a salad and bread for about 3 pounds each! add in a bottle of delicious red wine for 2 pounds and you have a bone fide bargain.

The coffee here is great and served at breakfast with small croissants, either plain or sweetened. I´ve also been really enjoying the empanadas - small pastries stuffed with either cheese, chicken, beef or vegetables (with multiple variations). They are seriously addictive and so small that you feel like one more won´t hurt…

Today we took advantage of the all-you-can-eat restaurant just down from the hostel. Salads, pastries, stews, fish, flans, fruit, mousses… I ate until I couldn´t move. And all for a ridiculously low price.

Right, this talk of food is getting me hungry… Bon appetit!

la vida es un cabaret nomas March 7, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in Argentina, Español, photos.
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jueves 6 de marzo. Llueve, llueve, llueve. Cogemos el subte para llegar a Palermo. Zona residencial, parques descomunales, siempre rodeados por un trafico demencial. En vano buscamos el lugar mas resguardado del rumor de los coches para seguir con nuestras lecciones de español ( yo le enseño español a P y el me enseña a enseñar: perfecto intercambio). Fuimos al jardin japones, donde carpas con sobrepeso abren la boca con desespero a nuestro paso. El lugar dista mucho de facilitar la contemplacion o meditacion, a no ser que seas duro de oido. Acto seguido huimos a los bosques de Palermo, titulo que nos sugeria una vegetacion mas salvaje y tupida. Por contra, se trata de un parque al uso con sexagenarias restauradas y perros con pedigri. Por ultimo, nos encaminamos hacia el Palermo edificado, y subimos la calle J L Borges, que sin ser gran cosa, le da un aire snob bonaerense al paseo. Comimos en un restaurante nada pretencioso donde por fin probe una carne de quitarse el sombrero, y asi tache de la lista de imprescindibles el comer carne en este pais. posiblemente fue una de las ultimas oportunidades de contar con nuestros amigos del reino animal para alimentarme (en Yacu-yura, nuestro proximo destino no comen animalitos).

Por la noche fuimos al teatro (guaaaau) y vimos Cabaret. Me gusto mucho, no habia visto la peli ni ninguna representacion anterior. P dice que Cabaret es el mejor musical de las que ha visto, y no me extraña. Es descarado, tierno, con momentos de tension y distension. pues eso que la vida es un cabaret nomas, nomenos.

Tube and Cemetery photos March 6, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in Argentina, English, photos.
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ba2.jpgba1.jpg The old-fashioned tube

ba3.jpg Mother Teresa!

The Recoleta cemetery:

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click on the thumbnails to see larger versions…

Buenos Aires! March 4, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in Argentina, English, photos.
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Ok, I am sat in the noisiest Youth Hostel ever. Grand statement I know, but at this moment I believe it to be true…

Going to flashback to a moment earlier in the day when I was armed with a notepad and pen courtesy of a dear friend ;-)

At about 7ish, Dom and I were sat in a lovely square in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, enjoying a cold glass of beer and recovering from a Hitchcockian experience involving some peckish pigeons.

The waiter had kindly brought us some nibbles to accompany our drink – salted peanuts and a corn snack of some sort. I had barely managed to swallow my first bite before a swarm of pigeons descended on our table and began attacking the savouries! Domingo began to out-flap the pigeons so I tried to shoo them away with the aforementioned notepad to absolutely no avail. More persistent shooing resulted in a couple of pigeons getting a firm smack on the beak (not intentional, dear RSPB members) but the resilient buggers refused to let up.

Finally, the kind waiter came to our rescue with another plate to cover the snacks. The pigeons then spent the remaining time circling our table ominously, waiting to mount their next attack at the first smell of corn. We decided it best to keep them waiting…

San Telmo is definitely the greatest discovery of our time in Buenos Aires so far… We´d enjoyed a smooth landing in BA at 7.15am and a short bus ride to the centre where we went to check in to our hostel. Irritatingly, they had no record of our reservation, despite having confirmed it twice by email. So, packs on back, we went in search of accommodation, finally settling on this place which seemed good (hadn´t been noisy then).

The bathroom. I´m still processing it actually. I´ll get back to you on that.

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We left our belongings and headed out to eat lunch and explore. We ate well but, as we strolled, decided we felt slightly underwhelmed by BA. High rise building and lots of cars made for a smokey start so we decided to head out to the eco-reserve. We passed by the nice docklands area but the propensity of skyscrapers felt a bit oppressive and it seemed the city had yet to project much character. Once we were in the wetlands looking back, however, the skyscrapers looked hugely impressive towering above the reeds.

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It wasn´t til San Telmo that we really started to admire the city though… Comprised of cobbled streets and colourful shop fronts, it evokes an old-world charm remiscent of Salvador and Cuba.

Off one street we discovered a huge indoor market with dozens of bric-a-brac stalls – I could have browsed for hours but (un)luckily they were near closing and I was beginning to feel parched.

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Despite the pígeons, the square in San Telmo is a must for any visitor. Keep your bag on your lap, your snacks out of sight and relax to the sounds of tango in this leafy haven…

right – got a queue waiting for the comp so see ya later!

Sunning in Madrid pre-flight March 3, 2008

Posted by andeandaremos in English, Spain, photos.
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img_7659.jpgUnited States of Madrid

Counting down the hours before heading off to the airport to catch our flight to Buenos Aires.

We´ve been blessed with unseasonably good weather for our Spanish sojourn and I´ve already managed to gain a slight tan. Yesterday, Dom and I managed to catch up with lots of friends and enjoyed a long stroll around the city, stopping off to munch on bocadillos de calamares (delicious deep fried calamari sandwich), a chocolate tasting menu and a delicious roast lamb with potatoes, pepper, salad and deep fried baby squid!

We´ve been really lucky to stay in Ariel´s spare room and use her internet connection to check my online scrabble games… Felt I ought to make a post!

We fly in a few hours. I´m hoping that this time I won´t be sat in front of an excitable 2 year old insistent on making as much noise as possible. Just in case, I´m arming myself with sleeping pills and a bribe for the steward/ess…