The Clubhouse

BRAZIL: THE CHAPADA DIAMANTINA NATIONAL PARK

2009-05-09T11:24:00.000-03:00

SAE'S VOLUNTEER (CAROLINE) TRAVELS AROUND BRAZIL

Brazil is one big beach. But don’t wait to top up the tan to venture inland and discover the best the interior has to offer in the Chapada Diamantina National Park, be it lazing in a hammock or hiking to see Brazil’s second highest waterfall.

Only 6 and a half hours inland by bus from urban sprawling Salvador, a stone’s throw in Brazilian travel terms, you can find yourself alone with mother nature in the National Park ´Chapada Diamantina´, located in the state of Bahia in the North-East of Brazil. The national park is host to a plethora of adventure sports and pursuits, with lush green valleys for trekking and rappelling, natural pools and waterfalls for swimming, and even caves to snorkel in. However, my own adrenaline rush came from exploring this region by motorbike.

Since I was living and working in the small town of Lençóis located in the park, this formed the starting point for my trip. Lençóis, not to be confused with the national Park Lençóis Marenheses further in the north, acts as the port of entrance to the Chapada. Historically it is an old diamond mining town, the region’s previous primary industry (hence the name ´diamantina´ or ´diamond´) and reason Lençóis was founded. It successfully retains it’s colonial-style buildings from the end of the 19th century, cobbled streets, brightly painted houses and friendly feel whilst the infrastructure has developed to receive tourists. It has an abundance of pools to go swimming. You are spoilt for choice with ´Serrano pools´, ´Primavera waterfall´, the natural water slide ´Riberao do Meio´, with locals surfing down, or a popular day walk to ´Sossego waterfall´ (meaning peace and tranquillity). Nor is there a shortage of affordable good quality restaurants; nowhere else in the countryside was I able to find pasta made by an Italian or a great Thai curry.

My slow paced life was sped up dramatically by hiring a motorbike with my boyfriend. Leaving Lençóis towards its sister town Andaraí for the first night we quickly realised how the path less travelled was destined to be possibly more precarious than the no-speed-limit-enforced highways as we skidded along the dirt track to our first stop, the small village of Remanso. The scenic route, on paper at least, is shorter than the highway that goes from Lençóis to Andaraí. However, Remanso is home to the area ´Marimbus´, a mini-pantanal wetlands area that provides a pleasant one day canoe trip to the River Roncador and, as such, we had to cross a fairly short stretch of water. This required chatting to many villagers to find out who owned a boat to make the crossing. Eventually a teenage boy and his friends who had been swimming in the river at the point of the crossing, a popular place with the locals to cool off, provided the result we were after: a basic rickety-looking narrow wooden rowing boat and paddle. This certainly didn’t make for a speedy crossing. However, it was cheap, fun, we got to see a section of the Marimbus and have the tracks to ourselves the whole time.

Arriving in Andaraí the aesthetic similarities with Lençóis were very apparent, cobbled streets and colonial architecture blended with small traditional housing, but it is certain that Lençóis is the prettier and rightfully deserves the main influx of visitors. Andaraí is spread over a larger area and built on different levels, along a river and in a valley and also importantly for anyone with their own transport has a petrol station. ´Pousada Andaraí´guesthouse was comfortable and had a swimming pool. In the Chapada this always struck me as an unnecessary and, no less so in Andaraí, given that five minutes down the road is the real luxury bathing spot- the town’s principal attraction of white sandy river beaches. We admired the locals and wild horses enjoying the tranquillity from ´Pousada Ecologica´s´ spectacular restaurant view.

By motorbike we visited another picture postcard highlight of the park, ´Gruta Azul´. This is a larger version of the ´Poço Azul´, the latter being included in the most popular one day trek organized from Lençóis. However, the ´Guta Azul´ is more impressive as you have the opportunity to actually snorkel in its bright water, lit up during certain months when the sun is at the right angle to burst in and make it glow a luminous aquatic blue.

Leaving Andaraí towards the tiny village of Igatu, or Xique-Xique as it was originally known, felt like entering into the Wizard of Oz as the old miner’s path connecting the two locations instantly recalled the yellow brick road as its cobbled yellowish stones wound up and down the hillsides. As the passenger on the motorbike I got the privilege of looking back down over Andaraí, and wishing that this were my home.

Some refer to Igatu as Bahia’s Machu Picchu; this would be an over-sell. Though this doesn’t take away from the fact that it is important to the region historically and will one day be a large ruined settlement. To this day each individual house is made out of stones, and though once inhabited by 15,000 the boom and then bust of the diamond mining industry has left it with a mere 500 residents, and a lot of crumbling eerie houses to explore. The village’s museum does a good job of explaining the mining history with mining tools on show. Yet, the real museum is the houses themselves which you can wander over and around. No Chapada Diamantina destination would be complete without some sort of water feature, and just 15 minutes from the centre of Igatu we found a small waterfall.

Arriving in Mucuge from felt like entering a city in comparison, though in fact it is a similar sized old mining town to Lençóis. ΄Pousada Pé da Serra΄ provided not just a secure place to park the motorbike, but a path which led directly to a humongous rock on a hill with panoramic views of the town and surrounding countryside. In the same street there is another Pousada which would have made a nice alternative, with impressive wall features ´bringing the outside in´, as the guesthouse was built against the rock face and therefore rocks protrude into every bedroom creating natural walls and shelving. Mucuge is home to the ´Sempreviva project´, ´Sempreviva´ being a flower specific to the region that is ´always alive´. With further waterfalls, mining houses and a museum and laboratory to discover, it makes for an enjoyable visit which is neither written about nor advertised in Lençóis. What puts Mucuge on the map, however, is its Byzantine cemetery, which I visited during the day and passed lit up at night. It is the only Byzantine Gothic cemetery found in the Americas and is officially registered as part of Brazil´s Historic Patrimony.

Yet the Chapada Diamantina is full of plenty more gems as the village of Capão demonstrated. We had the advantage of a motorbike, yet without your own transport reaching it can be tricky, since you first need to get to Lençóis, catch another bus to Palmeiras, then hitch a lift or group up with other tourists and someone with a just about functioning car will be happy to negotiate a price and take you there. Capão itself is very much a hippy hang out, small, yet there is room for a circus school. From here one of the best one day trips possible is to Fumaça waterfall, the second highest waterfall at 1400 feet in Brazil. ´Fumaça´ means smoke, as the water doesn’t actually all have a chance to make it to the bottom. Alternatively you can see Fumaça from the top and bottom by doing a three day trek. The other most recommendable trip in this area is walking in the Pati valley, which I can only describe as a very green miniature grand canyon. In my 6 months in the national park and time travelling in Brazil it was the most breathtaking natural scenery I encountered. Unmissable.

Whilst you can walk back to Lençóis from Capão in a day, we stuck with the faster option. Either way, you get to pass ´Morrão´, a massive solitary flat top hill. Its enormity is impressive; though the smaller ´Morro do Pai Inacio´ the famous symbol of the park’s scenery as it is easily accessible from Lençóis and quick to climb. From Capão back to Lençóis via Palmeiras provided the most exciting part of the journey with such awe inspiring scenery surrounding you. Palmeiras is just for passing through, unless you happen to find yourself there for carnival, the only town in the Chapada that gets it’s party hat on for 5 days once a year. If you want to see a bite-size Salvador carnival, this is the place. Just locals, just 1 trio-eletrico, but plenty of spirit and crime-free.

Back in Lençóis we headed straight out for another day’s adventure by motorbike to ´Mosquito waterfall´, ´Mosquito´ not actually referring to the insect fortunately, but a local word for a mining tool. This was probably the only time we encountered a major problem on motorbike- by taking an early turning into a coffee plantation and managing to get padlocked in. We had only seen about one other farmer pass by on the dirt track. We weren’t hopeful for anyone returning any time soon. Luckily, we successfully unpick a lot of barbed wire to get us and the bike out and made it to ΄Mosquito waterfall΄. This is another of the Chapada´s impressive waterfalls, though without a pool to swim in.

΄Mosquito waterfall΄ was the last I visited, with a loop of the park encompassing all of the major attractions completed. The Chapada Diamantina National Park is an antithesis to Salvador΄s heaving city, loved by Bahians, Brazilians and foreigners alike. It makes for a fantastic alternative to all the sun, sea and sand Brazil has to offer, and I managed a pretty spectacular tan without just lying on the beach.

HOW TO GET THERE: From Salvador: 3 buses a day run by Real Express or regular flights to Lencois´ airport 20km from town. From Sao Paulo: daily bus but over 24 hours
WHERE TO STAY: In Lencois: Budget: Pousada dos Duendes. No budget: Hotel Cantos das aguas
WHERE TO EAT: In Lencois ´Etnia´ and the Pizza at the Chachachá bar ´Fazendinha´, where locals and tourists frequent.
TREK COMPANY: H20 located in Pousada dos Duendes or go to the Guide Association to get a fully credentialed guide.
RECCOMMENDED GUIDES: Mil, Carlos, Haribol, Leo Zion
BEST TIME TO GO: All year round though the dry season means it´s not posible to visit places like Fumaca for lack of water.

WEBSITE: www.guialencois.com.br

BRAZIL TRAVEL: Hot Tips By SAE's Volunteer, Caroline Major

2009-05-09T11:19:00.000-03:00

SOME TREK AND TOUR OPTIONS IN THE CHAPADA DIAMANTINA

Serrano, Cachoerinha, Primavera, Salao de Areais, Poco Halley
This trip can in fact be done by yourself if you’re happy maybe get lost a couple of times or ask for directions when you pass someone. Serrano is a group of waterholes 15 minutes from the centre, with a great view of Lencois. The next 2 places are waterfalls, and Salao de Areias is a group of rocks that you can walk under and see where they get the sand to make the sand art sold at the market in town. They can be seen in a short day, easy walking.

Sossego Waterfall and Riberao de Meio
This is a 1 day trek. To get to Sossego, which means Peace and Tranquility, you walk up a river bed so lots of stone hopping and you need a guide. Riberao is a natural waterslide and swimming hole with locals standing up surfing down it. Riberao can just be a half day trip in itself, it’s a 40 min walk from town and you can do this by yourself.

Fumaca Waterfall
This is a one day trip to the second highest waterfall in Brazil. It can only be done when there has been enough rainfall. It takes 2 hrs by car to get to the start of the walk. The beginning is a VERY steep uphill climb for 45 mins. Once up its flat to get to the waterfall which is very impressive though to see it best you need to lean over a rock so no good if you don’t like heights.

Marimbus
This is a kayak or boat trip-you choose- to the mini pantanal wetlands area. There is not much wildlife. You kayak then visit the Rio Roncador large swimming hole, and have very traditional food for lunch.

Poco do Diabo, Poco Encantado, Poco Azul, Grutas, Morro do Pai inacio
The 1 day trip where you get to see park highlights, particularly Morro do Pai Inacio. However, little walking involved and a slight tourist trail so you won’t be the only one at the locations. However, truly wonderful swimming holes, caves and views. This is the best 1 day trip along with Fumaca or Sossego.

Poco Encantado (closed at time of writing )and Gruta Azul
Quite far from Lencois so requires a while in the car. It can’t be visited all year round as are only spectacular when the sun is at the right angle. You can snorkel in one of them.

2 day Trek- Mixila Waterfall
One the first day you see waterfalls. On the second day, after camping under the stars, you leave your rucksack at capsite and walk to Mixila. You then have to either rock climb or swim through the pools as the journey is through a canyon, with the impressive Mixila waterfall at the end. Interesting and fun though with less spectacular views than the other trip options.

3 day Trek- Fumaca waterfall
On this trip you see more than just Fumaca but get to see it from above and below. It is the most challenging of the treks as it involves the most steep climbing (Fumaca is Brazil’s second highest waterfall and you have to get to the top)

3 day Trek-Pati Valley
This trek is just spectacular and you get to see incredible views. It is less taxing than Fumaca. Not only are there the most amazing views you also have several opportunities to go swimming in pools/waterfalls. This was my favourite trip.

Other treks
You can trek for longer and combine as much of the park as you wish, trips can be tailor made and suited to individuals’ requirements.

Art in the night

2008-11-17T18:18:00.002-02:00

We love Buenos Aires, right? We love that small children and old couples stay out until the wee hours of the night. We love the springtime air and purple blossoms lining Nuevo de Julio. We love the immense beauty and striking skyline at every corner of the behemoth. Naturally, there are many sociopolitical problems lurking around as well, not to discredit a large array of social needs, but Saturday night's La Noche de los Museos singled out directly one reason to adore this city.

We love this city because it provides events like Museum Night. On Saterday the 15th of November the 5th Museum Night brought babbling bands of pedestrians, extranjeros, portenos, young and old, to frolic about the city from 7pm-2am. During this time public transportation was free, provided it was collecitvo running between the 130 some odd museums, galleries, and congressional buildings taking part. Art, anthropology, music, and film, were just some of the activities connecting the dots throughout Capital Federal, all centered around el centro de los Museos, on Av de los Italianos in Puerta Madera. At 21:00 the German Film "Metropolis" was screen with live musical accompaniment. The film is a 1920s silent film, I expected a beautiful, but classical rendition of the soundtrack, in keeping with the old spirit of silent film. Instead a band much like the 1970's Italian group "Goblin" rocked, funked, and jazzed the audience into climactic paralysis. It was beautiful, and fun. Later, DJs from popular clubs around the city put down their beats.

Not that late nightlife is anything new around here, the point is precisely this: the city put on a brilliant event, involving many aspects of the cities art, music, and anthropological culture, they made it accessible to everyone, made it easy for people to come and go, and it was free. Furthermore, it happened in the middle of the night and everyone went.

We love this city why? Go and figure it out for yourself...

The Night of the Museums! Chancha Vía Circuito!

2008-11-15T15:56:00.002-02:00

Tonight is La Noche de los Museos, at:

Centro de Museos de Buenos Aires / Av. De los Italianos 851.

It is Free, museums all over the city are participating, but from 19:00 until 2:00, the festives will be grand at this location. Fritz Lang's Metropolis will be screen accompanied by live music, DJ's from around the city will be scratching until the wee hours. Dale!

The Platas

2008-11-15T13:53:00.004-02:00

Yesterday I was in La Plata. Being lucky enough to have a housemate with periodic access to a vehicle we hit for the south, stopped in Quilmes, a small working class city on the coast of Rio Plata, and continued onward for La Plata. Quilmes has a dirty but pleasant coastline with restaurants and bars and a wharf in partial construction. One gets the sense there are very few yankies or gringos that take in the sun around these parts and so an adventure into strange, but possibly unsafe cultural transcendence would commence.

Down and Down, on to La Plata, the provincial capital of Buenos Aires. The city was larger than I had thought, which is only in comparison to friends having told me that it was smaller than they thought and quite walkable. There are around 550,000 inhabitants and the center has an impressive array of cultural edifices. A number of museums, an ecological reserve, and the neo-gothic Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion de La Plata. Five kilometers west of the city is a large park of trails, hiking, and grassy clearings amidst slightly forested areas. For the ease and closeness of the city it is a grand escape of the metropolis that is Buenos Aires, to explore another somewhat urban local, with a much more placid demeanor. It would be unkind as well not to mention the great friendliness of everyone we encountered along the way, from bici riders to futbol fanatics, we navigated the city by random acts of kindness.

When I first arrived in Buenos Aires, excuse my ignorance, I was confused by "the Platas." You mean to say that there is the city La Plata, but also, further south, Mar del Plata? Yes there is; it probably routed from a more mediocre grasp of Spanish, one that has been cleared up by now. Ha. Anyways, tomorrow is the final day of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. The largest and most renowned film fest of South America, something for which I am banging my head for not having gone. So I you happen to be heading there, or are already there, by all means check it out, its cheap, and the cinema will be glorious.

Villa Mayo

2008-11-10T16:40:00.003-02:00

It is no surprise to anyone who has traveled outside of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, that the city's flare, aura, and charm, are of a different nature than the rest of the country. It is also no surprise, that Buenos Aires is massive. Capital Federal is a right large landmass of barrio after barrio, but even beyond the center, areas outside are still considered part of the city. One beauty of the, I don't know...just one beautiful thing, is the vast difference between Buenos Aires, and what one might otherwise think of as Latina America culture and city space. What one might not know, is that you do not have to go very far to find it.

Villa Mayo is not a terribly popular area, certainly not amongst tourists, but if you have the ability to get out of Capital Federal, to the north west, the barrio along with surrounding areas is a bit more country, a bit more slow placed, a bit more tranquil and, just different. Argentines look different, they speak differently, and time goes differently. It is not particularly "traditional" in whatever sense that word is supposed to mean, as in rustic or colonial, or indigenous, it is simply life, in a very much non-Buenos Aires sort of demeanor, which if you have been around here for a while, is a very nice thing. Naturally, a certain level of exotification goes into what I am saying, as the differences and the attractions are in a certain way the result of lower economic stability and infrastructure, which tends to typify the type of South or Central American street side one might normally think of, but such a by-way offers visual stimulation of a different nature to strolling down Nuevo de Julio or Corrientes of Defensa. The point is, I suppose, that the grand differences between Buenos Aires, and more Latino influenced places is at times forgotten, no matter how well known, and you really don't have to go very far to be reminded

Super Tuesday

2008-11-03T16:03:00.002-02:00

Cross cultural exchanges at times erode one's ability to be clever, and hence the title of this post is ever so clear, so so not clever, and so so straight forward. Tomorrow is election day in the U.S.A. and although we are all here: in Buenos Aires, or elsewhere in Argentina, or South America, or somewhere, it is, to quote Steven Colber from the Daily Show on the 2004 election "an electoral Hiroshima to make Armageddon seam like Yahtzee," or rather that was on the Bush-Dukakis campaign. For 2004 he simply claimed "it is the most important election of our lifetime." So tomorrow is that day that much of the world has been looking towards. We will all eagerly await for the Daily Show to show us just how funny politics are. Lately, with guests such as Michelle and Barack Obama, the election has been legitimately, or illegitimately presented to us, depending on the comic bent of John Stewart.

But in all seriousness, and I am not taking away from the intelligence or informed nature of the Daily Show, there certainly are better, and more complete news sources from which to observe the election from afar. Why is it that I am writing on the election anyways, assuming that South American Explorers members consist of a more diverse background than U.S. citizens? Something in the winds tells me the recent fluctuation of the Argentine Peso, or Bolivian anti-drug funds, or the ongoing crisis in the Congo for that matter tends to be in some way or another associated with the U.S. The trends in the Hong Kong financial market were dipping the other day, which also might have had something to do with this possible recession thing happening in the states (and please exploit the vagueness of that word recession as most U.S. mainstream media have also done). So, if ever there was a moment when the whole world were looking at the U.S.-which there has been-another one is right now, and as early voting problems in states like Colorado and Florida already have turned on the flashing lights, Obamas' lawyers gear up to insure a flagrant free voting arena tomorrow, Fox news is in pregame mode, Bradley is on alert, and the U.S. prepares for the possible first ever wartime party exchange in the big house.

All the U.S. citizens abroad have already, so we hope, cast their votes and tomorrow will be a long day of speculation and observation, three to six hours ahead of the mark, which might make for a long night. If you need a place to observe election coverage here in Buenos Aires, The Sacramento at El Salvador 5729 will have television coverage from 9pm on, coming from CNN world. If you need conservative coverage you can find it on Fox News, if you are looking for an independent media perspective Democracynow will be doing a five hour special coverage of the results at www.democracynow.com

critical mass today!

2008-11-02T13:49:00.001-02:00

at 4pm at obelisco. Dale

Las Madres De La Plaza De Mayo

2008-10-25T13:43:00.004-02:00

Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo have a building at Plaza Congresso. It is a cafe, a bookstore, a resource center for human rights, a library, a video library, and a plethora of good ol' fashion radical ideologies. The cafe makes damn...damn good empenadas for 2.5 pesos. The bookstore has large sections reserved for Marxist literature and libros de carton, beautiful. There are comic books on gender and positive sexual vibes. It is a noisy, active, city hall-like place of forward thinking and support. La asociacion is also called La Universidad de las Madres, and you can imagine the sort of reference points, and ideologies, and power that might be brewing from the people in this open community. I have yet to view la Madres on Sundays but I imagine it is beautiful. Beautiful people tend to grace the building with their presence. Hearts take up more space there.

Walk through the doors, passed the bookstore on your left and cafe on your right. Follow the stares up, and enter the first door on your left, walk down the hallway of file cabinets and organizers. Anyone can join the video library, bring identification and a blank dvd. There is a strong culture of cinema in Argentina, and once the dictatorship went down, filmmakers rushed to manifest visually the horrifying era. Right now I have rented "La ora de los ornos" a very famous underground film made during the dictatorship. It is in three parts and a few hours long, it does not exist with English subtitles and it is a beautiful display of raw Argentina and powerful Marxist propaganda, it depicts a people, a faciest regime, and a solution.

get more info on the mommas at: www.madres.org

Buenos Aires International Jazz Fest

2008-10-20T14:23:00.003-02:00

Yes, it did end yesterday, true, it is not necessarily polite to brag about how wonderful something was, but I am going to do it anyways; well not really its a productive conversation to express how wonderful cultural events are in Buenos Aires. The Jazz fest from Oct. 15-19 was no exception. I am ardently against mentally and forthcoming, verbally expressing the currency exchange between U.S. dollars and Argentine pesos when it involves expressing how much cheaper something is here than in the U.S.A. I find it insensitive and naive, a mode of cultural isolation to ensure the gap between natives and foreigners stays wide. That being said, the most expensive events of the five day festival was 30 pesos. That is $10 U.S. for world class jazz, not to mention that many seats of the same concerts were available at 15 pesos, and that a large majority of the festival was entirely free. The Festival was subsidized by the ministry of culture; the saving grace of my own mental currency exchange is that 30 pesos is cheap in Argentinian terms compared to the same quality of music. Just last week Gilberto Gil, the great (and interestingly, ex-brazilian minister of culture) Brazilian musician played at Teatro Rex, the cheapest tickets available were 40 pesos, and they went up to around 180. At the end of the month Gal Costa and Tom Jobim will play at the Rex, and minimum tickets are 60 pesos. The festival housed performances in an array of locations throughout the city, primarily at Centro Cultural Recoleta.

Last night, the closing of the festival at Teatro Coliseo packed a full house for the New York based Jazz band Argentos, and finally the Brazilian marvel Rosa Possas. I missed a good portion of the Argentos set, but what i missed from them was healthily replaced, and promptly overfilled by the angelic vocal chords and brazilian jazz of Possas. She charmed the large crowd through lullaby and the standout basest beat boxed along. This is all to say, the arts in Buenos Aires are a carefully crafted dimond in the rough, or not, it could be that they are blown wide open and people gladly embrace the manicured attention to detail. And so, although this episode has passed, open your eyes to the many events that are always happening on local or international levels, for free or small support. Pick up free papers, there are many, and they tell much. Go to Teatro San Martin, La Tribue radio, CC Roja and Borges and Recoleta, art gallery Mite, and listen with your ears and look with your eyes.

San Martin Theatre and Cannes

2008-10-14T16:15:00.003-03:00

San Martin Theatre is located at 1530 Corrientes, currently it is screening a 4oth anniversary festival of Cannes. Tomorrow, the 15th, is the last day of the festival and over the last month the theatre has shown some divine examples of cinema, spanning the globe. Each film costs 7 pesos, and it is group of films organized together only because they are exactly as I said, phenomenal films. Take advantage of the opportunity to see some very good cinema at a very cheap price, go to http://www.teatrosanmartin.com.ar/cine/default.html to get information on the showings for today and tomorrow. All films are either in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles, so look at it as either an opportunity to practice your language skills or satisfaction of understanding film in another language, but either way go, be thrilled by beautiful imagery and story narration. Hide your eyes from the exposition of "Tarnation," be moved by the ending of "West Beirut," let the charm of film warm you to your bones.

Holidays In Argentina

2008-10-14T13:25:00.004-03:00

There is a wonderful culture of Argentines taking advantage of and giving good name to holiday opportunities. The first day of spring for example is a holiday, Student Day, and you will find the youth out in stride. In the winter months, they have Friends day, which seems to me to be quite a humorous and wonderful idea. What happens on friends day, either you celebrate your friends, or yourself for having friends? Way to go me! Yesterday, Monday, October 13, is Columbus day around these parts. In all honesty, I couldn't tell you when that day is in the U.S. Which might have to do with the way I feel about the whole conquest and what not. Nonetheless, it manifests in another three day weekend where people escape the city and head for...Tigre seems to be that one place where Argentines escape to. Stores remain, in a confusing fashion open and closed, and the subte is free.
Tigre is just a jump away by train, and soon you can find yourself surrounded by verdent landscapes, clean air, and river. The town itself is quite a playland, offering an art museum in an old hotel building with garden terraces and simple and impecable architecture. There is a theme park with roller coasters, one resembling the Top Gun ride from Paramount's Great America, if you happen to know the greater San Jose, Ca area. River taxis can tow you away from the town, and into kilometers of privet docs. and quite space, where the sounds of everything tend to just trail off.
So, prepare for the next one, December 8th, is the day of Immaculate Conception, which might not be the type of holiday to go off skinny dipping with your Argentine friends, but then again, most days are a cause for fun and drink around here, and that's not such an exaggeration. People of all social classes tend to take a load off when they are able and escape the noise pollution, and air pollution of capital federal and run off to greener pastures in what means they have and are able. Indeed, if your own capture and domination is a day to celebrate, then well immaculate conception is the creme de la creme.

Whose Streets?

2008-10-07T15:57:00.001-03:00

The first ever Buenos Aires Critical Mass was held last Sunday, Oct. 5. It was small, consisted of about 40 people, counted as 80 wheels, and was quite tranquil.

So let the long anthem stand, call out, "whose streets?" and someone will answer, "our streets."
Critical Mass is an unorganized, organized bike ride, in which, all over the world at different times, people take to the streets, on some assortment of human powered wheels, and ride. Simply ride, in the streets, to make ever so clear the disclaimer, we, the cycling world, are traffic too. A somewhat obscure, and difficult to find activity, nonetheless it is a strong part of many different types of cultures in many countries all over the world, ranging from places in San Francisco, CA, USA where cyclists are often arrested, or at times even hit by cars, to places like Budapest, Hungary, where there is the largest ride in the world, and about 3 or 4 times a year over 100,000 people close down the largest street in the city to shout out amply and clear, you too should get out of your car, and on a bici. The reasons are so increasingly obvious. So now, welcome Buenos Aires, to the club, a non elitest and open club of fun and creative values, come ride a bike. Queen sung about it, now its your turn, the next Buenos Aires mass will be November 2nd, starting at obelisco at 16:00. Come join the fun, it really is just alot of fun!

Bonpland Mercado Bien

2008-10-06T12:47:00.001-03:00

If you are a more permanent member of Buenos Aires, then the city might be just like any other city where you might live. A space to conduct your life and to engage in your interests and ideologies. When it comes to food consumption, everyone knows where Buenos Aires stands; I am a vegetarian, needless to say, I have not been to an Asado. Aside from the website, www.happycow.com which lists vegetarian resteraunts all around the world (including a quite comprehensive list of Buenos Aires fooderies) there are a number of vegetable markets around the city. I would like to focus on one market for the time being, and also the notion of markets in general. Although it is great to have a resource to eating out with mushrooms and zuchini in this otherworldly land of thick, bloody, steak stacks (which if is your preference I am in no way denouncing your choices), the idea of the market place is quite a bit different. First off, markets are of course, to buy goods for cooking. Secondly markets are an important step in the process of community exchange. As a foreigner it is difficult to engage actively in the sort of value structures you might at home. If supporting local farmers or alternative products, or if you have allergies or shy from certain food groups for whatever reason, Bonpland Mercado Bein might be a space for you to check out.

The market is located at Bonpland 1660 and operates 10-22 Saturdays. Inside it is not a produce market, but rather consists of vendors selling various grains, breads, alternative and organic processed products, such as vegan mayonnaise or organic olive oil. Here you can find hummus, and pan de mijo (mijo is a birdseed, the peel of the seed is used for the bread). Information is offered on the health benefits of the different grains. Cooperativa La Agambleria Economia Solidario operates from the market space and sells many products produced in cooperative businesses. There is a book vendor selling spanish literature on political theory, social organization, and the like, and in the back there is a display of local artists work. The enviornment is quite pleasent and friendly, and if nothing else you might learn how to say some strange foods you did not know existed, in spanish.

If you are hip to the now, as far as local markets, slow foods, and alternative food consumption goes, Bonpland Mercado Bien will sooth your brain. If you are not, go check it out, and learn just how relevant a market such as this is, and more, the differences between food choices and food culture here versus the U.S. or Europe where green living and organic purchasing is generally for an upper-middle class that can afford its value structure. That is a vast difference to Buenos Aires, where people purchase produce at local corner markets, and everything is inherently a little seperated from the grand agrobusiness that exists back home.

Eloisa Cartenero

2008-09-30T15:54:00.004-03:00

La Boca is another land contrasted to its neighbor, San Telmo. Grand romantic facades and cobblestone in the heart of tangoland awe the tourist in you, but walking along Brandsen st. in the heart of working class Buenos Aires, it is hard to deny that life is lived with passion and pain close at hand. The starch contrast of the two communities is a thing itself. Needless to say, real life is a strange and beautiful thing; precisely the thought process strolling along the street, until edifice 647. One might notice it without the number; it is the one with wheat pasting and paint, and graffiti. It is the one called Eloisa Cartonera.
Stumbling onto this place might be an independent mover and shaker’s wet dream. The inside consists of (how’s your Spanish?)- carton: cardboard, lots of cardboard; cardboard books; cardboard art; cut up cardboard; new and old cardboard. There is also a printing press, and there are people. Six community minded people, who have run the colorful cardboard cooperative since 2003. Not all began with the Coop, but presently there is an equally colorful staff (all brown) of Argentines, a Chilean, and a Columbian. Inside, these community minded folk turn cardboard into art and inside they provide the city’s Cartoneros with a more stable income. Cartoneros are the people that you see, at night or in the morning, collecting carton. Not the garbage-men but individual people often on bicycles, roaming the streets in search of this specific waste. Suffice it to say a hard, if not inhuman mode of survival. Eloisa Cartenera buys the cardboard at $1.50/kilo, a much higher rate then most other purchasers, and uses it for art and book making.
As it turns out, there is an international culture of Cartenero books and literature all across South America. One of Eloisa’s goals is to expand awareness of South American literature. They print the text and paint creative cardboard bindings, as well as display a library of cardboard art and books “hecho” in other countries. Of the many implications behind this project, the most striking is the creation of a community supported space of art and sustainable living. The project began in 2003 within the context of the previous economic collapse, with an art exhibition by Alberto Franco, an artist of Eloisa. Their solution was to build a cyclical process of support in the community with an emphasis on artistic production. Eloisa provides a means for the Carteneros, while beautifying the space in which they all live. They buy the cardboard and what is not used is given back to the Carteneros to sell elsewhere. The books and the space are used to spread awareness of the plight of the Carteneros and proliferate South American concepts and ideas in literature. There are over 200 titles available at Eloisa Cartenera and the cooperative nature means any and all ideas are welcome and appreciated.
So, put one foot in front of the other and stroll down La Boca, soon you will find yourself in an active world of vast creativity concerned with the box-man that is rarely noticed and embodies an invisible side of Buenos Aires to the not so attentive eye. So perk up, and pop in, to a space that is trying to deal with one of Buenos Aires’ many problems from the bottom up, leaving colorful skid marks (or prints) in those hard to find, and usually more worthwhile places. Eloisa Cartenera is open Monday through Friday 9:00-19:00 and Saturdays 14:00-19:00, located at 647 Brandsen, La Boca. More info is available, in Spanish, at there website www.eloisacartonera.com.ar/eloisa/home

Charly Garcia is teaching me spanish

2008-09-22T13:41:00.004-03:00

Have you ever awed at the statements, "the Beatles taught me English," or thought it pretty damn cool that music in English is responsible for a global spread of the language since the proliferation and liberation that trends in music brought about from the 60s on words? Revolutions around the world have always, or at least often, incorporated artistic creation as a means to fuel the diluted souls of the oppressed. From Eastern Europe, to Brazil, to Cuba, language in melody, in harmony with ideas, has taught and educated. I would venture to guess that nearly every person I have encountered from another country has at some point expressed to me, if the topic of language comes up (which is rare that it does not, for obvious reasons), that music or movies in some way has improved their English. Take notes people. For the last two weeks or so, whenever I play music, whenever I retreat into my perceptual escape of the pod; my pod, the ipod. I refrain from those comforting tunes that remind me of home, or those exotic beats of cumbia or Brazilian jazz or prog rock, or samba or forro, and I unleash the frazzled furry of Charlie Garcy.

So do like everyone else does, and put a little creative pazang into your Spanish studies, find activities that you like, that you can do in Spanish. Listen to Argentinian music; whatever you like, rock, tango, folk, cumbia. Charlie Garcy is a classic Argentinian rock musician, classic. Like standard, he and another musician, Luis Alberto Spinetta are primarily responsible for the beginning of Argentine rock. Garcy is crazy. His first band Sui Generis began in the early 70s as a folk rock, psych rock band. In the mid 70s the band broke and he began a second band that never received the same popularity. Later he escaped to Brazil do to the administration of the of the time. In Brazil he lived the life of a Hunter/Gatherer with his Brazilian lover. In 1979 he returned to Buenos Aires and began the project Seru Giran which he eventually spent small jail time for lyrical content. And now, no more on Charly Garcia, but rather find his music and be charmed, and learn Spanish. Funny how some things of an English nature tend to breed global similarities, that's globalization for you, and while there are many negative elements to that, including the cultural destruction that comes with a homogenized global English, there are ways we can learn from putting our own language out there. Not only will you find some fabulous art, but you will start to understand that language that has been the cause of many awkward nights and small-talk catastrophes.

The Day After Spring Day

2008-09-22T13:40:00.003-03:00

Monday afternoon; it is the day after the first day of spring, and if this were a ten second spot for the next blockbuster, I might use phrases like, "Springtime in September. Buenos Aires, the off season romance" or the like, and it would be all frills and thrills. Being much more profound than that, the day after spring day is a time for a little reflection, or more goofing off. Spring day in Buenos Aires is the first day of spring, September 21. Or if you would like a little relativity, the first day of fall in most northern hemisphere nations; that means you guys, U.S. and Europe. Spring Day in Buenos Aires is a good deal more than the welcoming of the new season, the first sign of birds flirting with the air, and sweet sweet pollination. Spring Day is also Student Day, a real holiday, and the youth of the city take off their fashionable coats to reveal fashionable shirts and go riverside, or amidst any and every patch of grass Capital Federal and beyond can offer. The River along Vicente Lopez was crowded with passer-byers and cyclists, young kids, futbol, and games.
So, welcome the first day of spring, and welcome the energy of Buenos Aires to turn such days into holidays and youth days, and concerts in Plaza Francia. Its getting warmer, pay attention to city events, park concerts and outdoor activities will start crowding up the byways. Have fun, and remember, its probably winter where you come from!

ways to move

2008-09-17T17:03:00.003-03:00

The many ways to move around the world are constantly evolving and changing. The communication mass, the heinous world of invisible broadcast and wavelengths, or in the words of Seneter Ted Stevens-a series of tubes that you can´t just dump stuff into, anyway you break it down, the world is getting smaller because it is expanding. Moving through different time zones, climates, altitudes and types of beans, you might have noticed the many options available to cozy up at the end of the night in your temporary residence. There are hostels, hotels, posadas, casa y camas, cheap places, expensive places, am I forgetting any? Each one offers a different type of experience to differing needs at variable prices. And with each one, you tend to know what you will get, or go there on purpose looking for something, and you can find just about anything; Argentina has Telos if you are really the adventurous type.

Allow me to propose one more option to your notes: couchsurfing. Couchsurfing surely needs no introduction as a concept, and has existed much longer than the digital boom has granted it a certain proliferation. It is indeed proliferated in the Internet era by virtue of Hospitality Club, and couchsurfing.com . I am a member of both but have only used couchsurfing.com and as a basic concept the online forum is much the same as your myspace or facebook or Brazilian counterpart. With one exceptional difference, you befriend people and come face to face with them in person, on foreign beds, or your bed (or couch, or floor) in near every nook and cranny the world has to offer. With nearly 530,000 couches available,

¨CouchSurfing is not about the furniture, not just about finding free accommodations around the world; it's about making connections worldwide. We make the world a better place by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!¨ (www.couchsurfing.com)

Lets just say, in Buenos Aires there are approximately 3,000 members alone and the community stages a wide array of activities, parties, fun and educational events, and a plethora of personal experiences of travel spectacular. Check out the site, ask people for their experiences. I have couchsurfed in about 10 different countries spanning Kosovo to Brazil, and many horizontally and vertically in between, including hosting many people at my past homes in the U.S. If it is still at all unclear what the site does, it provides an alternative way to travel through a place by staying with or meeting people you find on the site or offering your accomodations for a traveler. So you see, there are many ways to move, expand yours.

.elia

The Big Bang

2008-09-15T14:45:00.005-03:00

...And one day there was Buenos Aires. Stoic there, waiting, along the Rio Plata, strategically located right along your path of travels. You thought to wonder, the frequency with which reputations live up to their titles. Deliberating over the footwork of Tango or the verticalness of Obelisco, you arrived. You saw the masses of travelers line the streets of San Telmo on Sunday afternoons. You saw a tango show, right? But you are traveling along a different path, more consumed with the habits of old Portenos, sitting street side, or in a cafe. You want to follow your nose, and hound dog your way amidst the hidden streets and the places behind closed doors. Smell your way through Capital Federal, or touch, or hear, or you know the others, either way, the city lacks neither art nor culture, nor sport or politik. Whatever you want to put in the pot, Buenos Aires will cook it up all spicy like.
Now, as this marks number one, for the SAE blog, it seems proper to start at the beginning. Which means, the entry point, the "where are you from, how long have you been traveling, I just got to Buenos Aires" beginning. One thing a recent arrival might gather about this city, is just how long it goes. In fact, it doesn't seem to stop. Necessarily, and quite wonderfully, public transport in Capital Federal is quite regular, quite vast, and generally effective. Between the subte and colectivos one can get just about anywhere they intend to go. To adequately traverse the labyrinths of public transit, find el Guia"t" (for around 8 pesos you will get a city map guide complete with each and every bus, its rout and locations-in pocket or notebook size). Such vastness adds the sort of dilemma children often find themselvs in candy shops, so my fellow children, where to go? True to word you will find the "authentic" locations (or whatever that word means these days) but the idea is to discover Buenos Aires, and not the all inclusive paid vacation. So, leaving your destinations up to yourself (or the binders and leaflets and endless suggestions here at SAE), walk the streets, the collectivos, the parks, the cafes, but remember to keep one thing in mind, the goal is to uncover that special place hidden behind the facade. So when you find it, love it and cherish it, be that respectable traveler you call yourself. Buenos Aires is full of Argentinians, full of Latino and European culture, when you find your little piece, share it, but not so much it is lost of the reason you went there to begin with.
That truly is the mission of an independent traveler: to discover, to see, to participate, and to keep intact what wonders have been untapped. Remember this city will offer you everything you could possibly want, but be mindful that you are privileged for that opportunity, and many Portenos do not have the all night party lifestyle the place is so well known for. Life here is hard, and it is beautiful. The SAE blog will in that vain provide you with little bubbles to hold gently in your hand, or to pop, just know which is which, and you will be fine.
-elia