Tuesday September 11, 2012

Moments before I wake up I am dreaming that I, naked but for a leopard skin wrapped around my loins, am swinging vine by vine through the Amazon jungle, an unconscious female tucked securely under one arm while I ward off attacking apes and yell gut ripping manly-man roars. Me King of the Jungle!

When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t standing high on a tree platform having coffee with Jane but my hotel window was open and I listened with pleasure to the endless birdsong of tropical cavity nesters. I laid there in my king sized bed, snuggled into my sheets of starched white cotton from Egypt, and took several minutes to appreciate my good fortune; Kevin Nichol, a farm boy from Ymir BC,  waking up in the Amazon. Go figure.

 

Sunrise found me showered and dressed with our entourage on our way to the Brazilian consulate applying for work visas. 

Visa Making 101

 

We returned to our hotel until around 1 pm and I took advantage of the time for some final packing and one last walk around town.  Breakfast consisted of fruit and vegetables from the local market, not all of which I recognized.

Brazil/Argentina Border Crossing at Iguazu

 

When our visas arrived, we crossed the Brazilian border by bus and toured the world famous Iguacu falls.  I shall try to paint my readers a picture with words but if that fails, look at my pictures!

Iguacu falls is a scenic goldmine, which I suspect, is the reason that Argentina and Brazil both wanted a piece of it.  The wide Rio Iguaco snakes for 600 km before it drops off of 80 meter high shelves of prehistoric lava  to the river bottom below.  Tourist guides say that these falls are higher than Niagra and wider than Victoria falls and “more beautiful than either”, and I agree.

 

We paid our fare at the gates and took a bus 11 km through the jungle to the falls.  Long nosed raccoons wandered rampantly on the sides of the road and warnings on the loud speakers warned us not to eat in front of them. As we offloaded and walked down to the first of many viewpoints, the river gradually over-powered our voices with a thunderous roar which only got louder.  Meandering down the 1.2 km trail, we stopped often for photo opportunities and to admire the local flora and fauna. There were numerous species of butterflies and moths, many in swarms around mud puddles and landing on us for photos.  The closer we got to the waterfalls, the more mist we encountered and by the time I came to the end of the walkway I was happily soaked. 

 

There is something powerful about this waterfall… millions of gallons of water in its natural migration from the mountains to the sea; and there like a drive-in movie, it shows it’s natural beauty and its unstoppable power in the biggest concert I have ever been to.

When we finished admiring the Iguacu falls, we got back on our way, stopping at the Foz do Iguacu airport, where we will fly to Sao Paolo for the night.
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I have just arrived. Sao Paulo is a LARGE city with just over 11 million surrounding me. Talk about a busy airport! Its 11 pm and I am off to bed as my alarm is set for 3:45 AM to catch an early flight to Brazilia and then on to Maraba where a private jet will take us to an airstrip at our final destination, minus our luggage. All is well!  :)

A Coati, also known as a Brazilian Aardvark. Lots of them down here!

 

Don't poop in a bidet!

The Pacific Ocean.. er Atlantic!

September 10, 2012
I woke up to the reality that in Buenos Aires, this was not the Pacific Ocean off to my west, but is actually the Atlantic ocean off to my east. That was the easy part... the tough part was re-programing my internal manly man GPS that north and south had flipped.
I was up at 5 am and being driven to that airport by a couple of grumpy "taxi drivers".  I have seen this twist on several continents where you take a government certified taxi from the airport but when you want to go back, the man at the desk calls his brother-in-law and he shows up with his uncle, who drive you to the airport in old Toyota Camry's. One time, when this happened in Mexico, the driver got cornered by some real taxi drivers and we had to outrun them by escaping over a hill and through the local garbage dump... anyway I digress...
One question...

Argentinians are a little mixed up.. notice that they put the drain between the toilet and the fountain thingy.  Yes yes I know.. its a bidet and it's kind of fun to play with but never poop in it! But if you look to the right you will note a half shower door which does a fine job of deflecting the water, except that water cascades onto the floor and floods the bathroom everytime I shower. I literally sweep it into the drain with my feet! Why don't they just use a full sized shower door?  Strange but true.

Buenos Aires Airport (Domestic)

Anyway, our crew arrived at the airport, managed to check in and caught the 11:15 flight to Iguazu right on the Paraguay/Brazil/Argentinian border. As we came in for a landing in the pouring rain, I looked out my window and spied a lucious green jungle canopy, quite unlike the forests of Canada where you can see the earth between the trees.  The earth was nowhere to be seen and if it was, it was far far down below the canopy.  We caught a bus to a beautiful hotel in downtown Puerto Iguazu where we are staying in what they call the Panoramic Hotel. I am here just one night, unless of course I can't get over the border to Brazil tomorrow and fly on to Sao Paulo and Brazilia and then on to my final destination by Wednesday.

Off in the distance... thats Paraguay on the left and Brazil on the right divided by the river. Taken from Argentina side!



Bougainville

After a quick shower and a nod at my travel agent and my boss agreeing to be ready to go to the Brazilian consulate at 9 am, I walked the streets of town seaching for some grilled chicken and a salad.

Very good!  And I also stopped at the market and picked up a bag full of colourful fresh vegetables.  :)

And now it's 6 pm and I just got back to my room. I am completely soaked to the skin... not from the incessant rain which keeps coming down in cascades, but from the humidity UNDER my rain jacket.
The latest plan for tomorrow is to meet the travel agent at 9 am, go apply for a Brazilian work visa and then book a group tour of the world famous Iguazu water falls and motor right up as far as we can up the "Devil's Throat". If all goes right, we will get our work visas, cross the border and fly out around 7 pm tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Iguazu water falls which intersect with Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil

Don't cry for me... (Argentina!!!)

Sunday September 9, 2012
Though it was 8:30 am where I woke up, it was 4:30 am back home so I'm not sure if I got up early or slept in.  As quick as I could shower and throw my pants on, I was out the door exploring Buenos Aires.
My travels took me back down Florida Street all the the way to Plaza de Mayo which has nothing to do with mayonaise and everything to do with a grassy park where protestors tell the world about their struggles.

Plaza de Mayo

After a full minute of genuine sympathy for their causes, I headed south on various streets until I was comfortably lost, followed shortly by a feeling of being hopelessly lost. By then I had discovered the markets around Plaza Dorrego and I explored them for several hours, buying gifts and souvenirs for my loved ones.

A word, while I may, about the scents of a new city. Notwithstanding the fact that I have had two major sinus surgeries and spent 25 years in sawmills, planers and dusty workshops where the dust desensitized my ability to smell to about 15% of what a normal person smells.  That said, as I walked through the markets, I appreciated the delighful scents of fresh baked pastries from the bakeries, chorizo beef sausages cooking on charcoal barbeques, heavily perfumed senoritas, fresh worked leather products of every description and throughout the markets, people burned large sticks of heavenly incense which they sold in limitless types of burners. Sure, every now and again, one catches the smell of stale urine or walks through the smoky exhaust of a car that should have been retired long ago, but it was worth it!

Hand Knitting Scarves at the Sunday market along Defensa Street

I ended up in the San Telmo neighbourhood walking the whole length of Defensa Street which was made famous by the slaughter of the British when the locals chased them down this very street back to their ships in 1806. For several miles, I banged elbows with tourists, touts, hawkers and hookers selling everything including antiques, knick knacks, Justin Bieber T-shirts, and spanish versions of a popular book, "Cincueta Sombras de Grey". 

Yerba Mate ghourds for sale

I noticed while walking that many people were sipping a drink called "Yerba Mate" out of gourds that were carved for that purpose. They come with a metal "straw" with a strainer on one end and a place for your lips on the other.  I have a strong commitment to, "When in Rome..." so I bought one. It turns out that "Yerba" (Spanish for Herb) comes from a local tree and when steeped in hot (not boiling) water, is more popular here than any other type of tea or coffee.  First used by the indigenous and droopy breasted Guarani natives, it is now a national drink and people sit around everywhere drinking out of their gourds. Wikipedia says that the flavor of brewed Yerba Mate is strongly vegetable, herbal, and grassy, reminiscent of some varieties of green tea. The next step is to find some of this mysterious yet healthy Yerba.

I picked up several souvenirs and by then it was time for breakfast/lunch. Being a healthy person, I went to the fresh produce markets though my U.S.money was not wanted here. Fortunately, there are no shortage of cash machines and I made out fine, including a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.

 

 

 



 

My next adventure started when I spied three wooden masts off to the direction of the ocean and though I had to jump two fences, slip under a gate marked "Prohibito" and run across a football (soccer) game, I made it to the ship.  It was the world famous Argentinian freighter called Fragata Sarmiento which sailed around the world 40 times between 1897 and 1938.  I slipped on board for an hour or so for 2 pesos and explored above and below decks, the highlight of course being the stuffed remains of the ship's dog Lampazo. (Not!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's 5:00 pm and I'm ready to go out and find some dinner, hopefully including a piece of malnourished chicken with no fat on it as it seems I have taken to healthy dieting lately and I have not satisfied my carnivorous needs for the day!

Oh and some Yerba Mate leaves...  :)

 

Update 7:30 pm.  I walked south until I found a suitable restaurant, stopping in a Super Marketo for some Yerba.  Wikipedia is right, 80% of the hot beverage shelf space is dedicated to Yerba Mate.  I bought a couple of two pound bags to last me until my next trip!

 

I nearly got attacked by J Lo wanting to tango with me!

 

 

 

 

This is the Almacen y Restaurant Suipacha, where I enjoyed a piece of grilled chicken breast, flattened over some shredded salad. Yum!

 

 

 

 

From there, I took a little sunset stroll down the Avenue Corrientes to watch the sun set on the 67m high Obelisco at the corner of Avenue 9 de Julio which coincidentally is the day of Argentina's independence in 1816. (And here  I thought it was because of Tom Hanks birthday landing on July 9th too!)

 

 

Interestingly, arriving at the Obelisk at the same time as me were a thousand screaming teenie boppers all carrying Justin Bieber posters, wearing his hats and screaming obsene invitations.  I was pushed across the street at which time I took my leave but I do believe the Biebs must have arrived because the crowd went absolutley nuts as I took my leave of that scene.

 

 

 I missed the Spanish version of Momma Mia which was just starting tonight... It would have been great!

 

Interestingly, in the two evenings that I have been here, I have walked by this kid holding a baby dozens of times.  Passers-by drop coins in his box by the dollar and yet he just cuddles the lethargic infant. I noticed the same set-up on street corners around the neighbourhood and am starting to wonder if it isn't a scam. Some of the babies look nothing like the crack-hoes holding them! Someone should look into this...

 

 

Well that's it for my adventurous day in Argentina. Tomorrow I am up at the crack of dawn catching a plane to Iguazu somewhere north of here right on the Brazilian-Argentinian border.  Once we get our visas, we fly to Sao Paulo, then to Brazilia and then take a private company jet to our final destination at Ourilandia Do Norte by Wednesday. The adventure continues!  :)

 

South America 2012
After six great months in Red Deer with Dow Chemicals, I wrapped up the Pipeline and Railway Expansion job and took a furnace demolition assignment in Brazil.  And so it begins...

Friday September 7, 2012 - Saturday September 8, 2012
I flew out of Castlegar BC into the sunny blue eastern skies, landing in Calgary and Toronto before heading South. Air Canada was instructed to fly me first class all the way and I took full advantage of it, laying there in my futuristic pod while a beautiful raven haired Argentinian stewardess with dark almond-like eyes dropped grapes in my mouth. Well okay, she didn't do anything for me that she didn't do for everyone else but she was nice looking and it was great to be treated like royalty.  We had an unexpected layover for a few hours in Santiago Chile while they fumigated the plane and finally landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina by dinnertime.  A $50 U.S. taxi ride later and myself, along with three of my fellow workers, were standing in the lobby of the NH Florida Hotel right downtown off of San Martin Street. After five (count em... five!) attempts to program chip cards for my room, they finally let me in and after a nice hot shower I walked west on San Martin to the back doors of Galerias Pacifico which is a very large multi-floored mall with all of the big name stores catering to an elegant class of Agentinians.

Galerias Pacifico

The front doors of the Galerias spill out on to Florida Street which is a wide street cobbled with 8x8 squares of ceramic tile, many of which have shifted, settled or broken away.  It runs east to west across the city and is lined with all kinds of shops.  Entertainers busk for money all along the way along with the odd hooker, policeman, and bent over Mamacitas with their hands out.  I continued west all the way to the Plaza de Mayo, until I was tripping over hookers and bad guys and decided to turn around and return tomorrow.

Florida Street

I did notice several cool souvenir shops that were selling authentic gaucho equipment like whips, bolos, saddlebags, knives and other manly man kinds of things and I think I shall return tomorrow and see what I can bring home with me.
It happens to be late winter here and I was surprised by the amount of people wearing coats and even mits while I quickly worked up a sweat just walking with a long sleeved shirt on.

 

 

The Statue of Anteros

Update:  July 16, 2012

I suppose it's time for a new update on my life. Tyler and I went to Vancouver for a couple weeks in January and took our CSO course (Construction Safety Officer) at BCIT.  I got an offer for a job in Red Deer with Dow Chemicals and he got one in Fort McMurray so away we went.
I have been the Lead Safety on the construction of a Butene Offloading Facility which is now just about finished and I have been asked to lead the Safety Department on a railway expansion which may take a couple years. Currently I expect to be up here till "Freeze up" whenever that is.

I have rented a room and spend my evenings riding around on Red Deer's many great bike trails. I manage to get home for a weekend every month or so and I am enjoying some time to get to know myself. One of my favourite hang outs has been the local Chapters where I have specialized in reading about Evolutionary Psychology. Very Interesting...