Iguazu Falls are huge!

Denise and some of the falls

 From Buenos Aires we did a quick jump north to Iguazu Falls. The weather up there was way hotter than anything we got so far. It wasn't quite as humid as in the amazon thankfully, but the sun was pretty unforgiving.

The falls are right at the border between Argentina and Brazil. A bigger part of them is in Argentina but a very dramatic fall, known as Devil's Throat, is more easily visible from the Brazilian side. Looking at both options the infrastructure on the Argentinian side is a lot more developped with many walkways and view points, and even a 1km long walkway above the water to reach the Devil's Throat. We decided to start with that side. Unfortunately we didn't get the time to make it to the Brazilian side as well afterwards, since it's actually 1 hour later in Brazil and it's a 50kms drive to go from one side to the other.

Buenos Aires, the comedy of errors. Looks like Paris but sounds like Argentina

I loved Buenos Aires.  Maybe it's because it looked and felt like Paris (in most places) but a little more gritty.  Maybe it's because it had almost all the modern conveniences of a developed country, but probably it's because we had such an excellent hostess (Katixa Aboitiz) and great travelling company (Jamie Ruth).  We were welcomed to the Aboitiz household in a lovely suburb just outside the city, where we were given our own private suite (usurped Katixa's bedroom), had 2 excellent homemade meals with great wine (thanks Sean) and dinner table conversation that was even better than the food.  Katixa was such a trooper, she stayed up late with us every night and woke up early the next morning for a full day of work.
 We were there for 2 full days, and didn't quite get everything we wanted to done.  It was 2 exasperating days, a comedy of errors....

The Amazon: It's better than National Geographic

Welcome to the Amazon!

(edited by Denise)
We just got back from 5 days in the Peruvian Amazon and returned to Cusco with many fun memories.
The trip included a plane from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado (far east side of Peru), a 3 hr boat ride (with a breakdown in the middle) from Puerto Maldonado to the first lodge, Refugio Amazonas, with an overnight stay there. The next day we took the boat again (which was 3.5 hrs late) for a 4hr ride to the second lodge, deeper into the Amazon at the Tambopota Research Center (aka TRC). We stayed 2 days at the TRC then had another night at the first lodge.

Pisac, Saqsaywaman and Co.

a.k.a My $1 poncho is better than your North Face rain gear

After Macchu Picchu we kept exploring the surroundings of Cuzco, including part of the sacred valley through Pisac. It is a little town 1 hour of bus away from Cuzco that houses a very big craft market as well as fantastic ruins a little higher up in the hills.
We took the bus from Cuzco with all the locals, so that we could save money and get a slice of real Peruvian life. The bus depot is really just a few buses waiting in the mud but everything went smoothly.

With the locals, but we got in early enough to have a seat!

We got to Pisac on time and after a lunch at a very pretty place called Blue Lama. We took a cab up to the Pisac ruins; the goal was to be dropped at the top and hike all the way back down (around 3 hours)
The day had been beautiful up until then but right when we exited the cab it started to rain heavily. Suddenly the hike didn't seem like such a good idea anymore....

The Inca trail to Macchu Picchu

We decided to do the 4 day trek of the 42kms of the Inca trail to reach Macchu Picchu, instead of the 3 hours train ride. It was recommended by some friends who had done it.  We used the services of a company that provides a guide and porters to carry our food and tents. We also hired an extra porter to carry most of Denise's stuff like her mattress, sleeping bag and most of her clothes. Frankly we highly recommend using that option considering the minimal extra cost, because parts of the trek are pretty darn hard.

Christmas in Cuzco

Today is the 25th of December so first, Merry Christmas to you all!

We've just witnessed what happens for Christmas here in Cuzco and it's definitely a crazy and festive experience. First, on the 24th the whole Plaza de Armas (the heart of Cuzco) is closed to traffic and completely filled with stalls for people to sell their stuff. What do they sell you ask? Anything you could need to build a nativity scene (la creche de Noel) next to your christmas tree.

Plaza de Armas

I Love Food! -and a bit about Cuzco shopping.

From Peru - Cuzco

Most of you know this.  I religiously go to the farmers market in San Francisco every weekend I'm in town.  I love the fresh fruits and veggies, and I love finding new ingredients and making interesting dishes.  The market is one of my favorite places not only because it's pretty, but also because I can't really feel guilty about buying food (like I can about buying myself a new pair of shoes that are smokin' hot ...but that I don't REALLY need).  
Once, when I discovered my grapes were missing from the refrigerator at work, I  sent out a really nice email to everyone at the company telling them all how much I love food and how sad I was that someone felt the need to take my grapes.  I know.  Freak!