Week 11: La Plata, Ed Sheeran, Tango, and a cooking class

This past weekend, I did a lot of fun cultural things. Monday and Tuesday, I felt very stressed that I had done those things as I rushed to complete an essay and study for my Ecology midterm. Note that this was not procrastination rushing, but rather finishing what I had been working on the entire week before. In the end, though, both went as well as I could've hoped for and I enjoyed my weekend! What else can you ask for?

This Saturday, my friend Lauren and I had tickets to the Ed Sheeran concert in La Plata, a smaller city about an hour from Buenos Aires. Because public transportation is limited between the two cities late at night, we decided to spend the night in La Plata and make a day trip out of it. Our friend Liz, and her friend from home who was visiting, tagged along. Unfortunately, while we were waiting at the bus stop to take us to the bus terminal to take us to La Plata, I received a text message from our airbnb host that said "Oh I just saw this, we're not renting the room right now so I don't know why it let you reserve it, sorry" and we proceeded to panic. Luckily, we had a few distant connections to people in La Plata, so we called everyone. After getting on the various buses and meeting up with Liz, we arrived in La Plata and looked for a place to eat. Lauren and I were remarkably calm about the whole potentially-sleeping-on-the-streets situation; I guess the Argentine attitude of taking it easy has sunk in a little. During lunch, we heard back from one of our friend's friends, and secured a bed in a college house near the central plaza. Score!

With the knowledge that we would have a bed/sofa that night, the four of us headed to the cathedral at Plaza Moreno, which was surprisingly large and gorgeous for an otherwise fairly unremarkable city. Then, we somehow manage to take a bus to the natural sciences museum to the north of the city. These are basically the two main attractions of La Plata. The museum was huge, with an impressive collection of bones and taxidermied animals. They even had a periodic table and explanation of crystal structures using molecular models, so I was happy. After poking around for a bit, we said goodbye to Liz and her friend and went to meet our new host and snack before the concert.

Gabrielle, our friend's friend who is doing a Fullbright in La Plata, was amazingly sweet and hospitable. As it turns out, she also studied abroad in BA with IFSA, and her friend lived with my host mom. We had a good time chatting and connecting with her over all our Buenos Aires experiences and IFSA professors.

Yay chemistry!

After dropping off our stuff and eating a bit, Lauren and I headed out to the concert. We had a lot of trouble finding the correct bus, as the stops in La Plata are poorly labeled and very confusing, but after asking several strangers for help we made it onto a bus and were dropped a few blocks from the stadium. We then walked a ways -- our tickets were for the crummiest section, so we had to walk super far -- and realized neither of us brought an umbrella, as it started to rain. Luckily, our tickets had access to some bleacher style seating underneath a roof, and we could even see the speck that was Ed Sheeran up on stage.

Sad, soaked, and blurry Lauren and Leah

But happy and dry by the end!

The concert was marvelous -- we sang nearly every song -- but getting back was also a struggle. After waiting half an hour at a bus stop in the rain with not a single bus going by, we called a remise and headed "home" in relative luxury. An adventurous concert experience, but an enjoyable one as well.

Sunday, after arriving back in Buenos Aires, Michaela and I went to the final round of a tango competition. We met with a giant group of students, organized by a group called Study BA, and walked over to the event hall together. What we weren't told was that the event was in La Boca, and that we would be making our way home by ourselves in the dark. I was very thankful that Michaela was with me. The competition was interesting but not thrilling, so we left before the winners were announced and before it got too late. On our way home, we stopped at Freddo and purchased two kilos of ice cream (we had a coupon!), and Lauren and Caroline came over after dinner to devour it all. We did not devour it all, so I now proudly possess half a kilo of ice cream -- it barely fits in the freezer.

Monday, I went to a private cooking class that IFSA had set up for us. Though my weekend was really great, this might have been the best part. Norma, the instructor, is a lovely middle-aged woman who gives cooking classes in her spare time; she was super easy to chat with, and the lentil stew (Guiso de Lentejas) and chocotorta (chocolate cookies soaked in coffee layered with a dulce de leche and cream cheese mixture) that we made were delicious.

Guiso de Lentejas

Chocotorta!

I ate like three servings of this

Bonus: mini alfajores

It pays to live on the 11th floor

With my test and essay behind me, I'm looking forward to a long weekend filled with good food and fun times. Then, I have to get started on my final project for Ecology. The end of the semester is right around the corner!

Week 9: Welcome to the End of the World

This weekend I was fortunate enough to travel to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. In two days, my newfound traveling companion Ben and I packed in a treacherous ascent of Cerro Medio, a boat tour of Beagle Channel, a day of exploration of Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego and the included visit to the end of the Pan American Highway, tourist shopping, and a marvelous stroll around the city and up to the old prison turned museum and naval base.

Thursday, I attempted to mess up my sleeping schedule as much as possible, making it to bed around 9:30 and attempting to sleep until 1:30 (unsuccessfully). Around then I got up, showered, ate, and headed to the airport for our 4:30 flight to Ushuaia. Because Ushuaia is so far south and it's almost winter, when we landed around 8am, it was still dark. We watched the sunrise as we ascended to our B&B in a taxi.

Like New York, Buenos Aires doesn't sleep, even at 4:30am

Sunrise over Ushuaia

Mirador del Beagle, our B&B, was amazing. Yes, it's a bit of a walk uphill from town, but the hosts are wonderful and the view is worth it. When we arrived, Marina situated us in our room even though it was before check-in time, and offered us warm drinks and a light breakfast. After consulting her, we decided to hike up Cerro Medio rather than Glacier Martial, since the trailhead was right next door and the glacier would be covered in snow anyways. The ascent was beautiful, with a mystical forest and dustings of snow. The wind was howling above us, and you could tell that was typical since there were downed trees all around. As we climbed, the snow became more even, thin slippery layers covering the path. We ran into a European couple who had made it past the tree line, but said they had to turn back because of the wind. When we reached the tree line, it was clear that we would have to do the same. We made it to a rock and sat for a bit, enjoying the amazing view of the channel and city below. It was a bit sad that we couldn't summit the peak for the 360 view, but we were happy we accomplished as much as we did.

View from the B&B

View from the B&B

This is why we didn't continue to the top

View of Ushuaia below

This tree saved my life. Twice.

After, we climbed down the mountain and into town rather quickly. We purchased some empanadas and ate them outside, on a set of stairs somewhat sheltered from the wind. Sufficiently warmed and satiated, we bought our boat tickets and boarded the catamaran for our tour of the Beagle Channel. This was a touristy splurge, and I might not have done it if it hadn't come so highly recommended. If you don't like sea lions and birds it probably isn't worth it. Sea lions aren't seals, but I got overly excited anyway (see photo below). The tour also included a short walk along one of the islands, panoramic views of the city and the mountains from the water (a unique viewpoint), and a turn around Faro Les Eclaireurs, iconic to Ushuaia tourism. After a quick nap on the journey back, we headed to the grocery store and back up the hill to make dinner and sleep (finally).

Ushuaia from the Beagle Channel

Cormorans on Isla de los Pajaros

The view from our short excursion on foot

Me super excited about the sea lions

More cormorans

Faro Les Eclaireurs

View from the airplane of all the little islands we visited on the boat

Saturday, we attempted to get up early and head to Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, but accidentally left a little late. We speed walked down the hill to catch the 11am bus to the park. The bus dropped us at Zaratiegui Bay, and we dilly-dallied taking pictures. I sent a postcard to my mom from the post office there. Next, we started to hike up to Pampa Alta for the promised viewpoint, but decided we didn't have time after we lost half an hour looking for the correct trail. We headed back down and followed the trail Costera Sur along the bay. With the little time remaining after this gorgeous hike and a pit stop at the visitor's center, we decided to attempt the short hike (~1 mi) down to the end of route 3, the official end of the Pan American Highway. We followed the road for a while until a combi picked us up and carried us to the end, a stroke of luck since we might not have made it for our bus back. I like to think we would've. When we arrived back in town, we popped in a few tourist shops and stopped for hot cocoa in Dublin, a cute cafe our B&B hosts had recommended.

Sunday, we intended to go to one of the museums in town to learn a little more about Ushuaia's interesting history, but we lingered a little over breakfast and were left with only a few hours before our flight. We wandered the main street looking for some souvenirs, then walked over to the Museo del Presidio. The museum actually has multiple components -- about history, art, and Antarctica -- so it makes sense that it was so expensive (~$15). Since our time was limited, we decided against entering and enjoyed(?) the view of the historic prison from outside. Then, we walked along the shoreline and ate lunch before heading to a cafe for a quick coffee. With that, the vacation festivities ended and we headed to the airport.

The old prison

Though I debated the cost and effort involved for such a short trip a while before I committed to it, I am incredibly thankful I went. I got to make a new friend (we're friends now, right Ben?), practice my Spanish with the townspeople and other B&B goers, and experience some of the most beautiful nature in the world. On top of that, I can officially brag that I've been to the end of the world! I'm not sure if anything else this semester can top this trip, but I can now get back to schoolwork rejuvenated and even more thankful for my lot in life.