Bictoria en Argentina: October 2010

What a time to be in Argentina. Ex-president and husband of current president, Nestor Kirchner passed away yesterday on October 27, 2010 from a heart attack in El Calafate. The country is currently in it's three days of mourning and celebrating his life. However after the mourning is over, some will sigh with relief, as this may be the end of the Kirchner rein. Nestor was predicted to win the next 2011 presidential elections, which would have been his second term in office. His wife and him have alternated terms in office in order to create somewhat of a dynasty that people either seem to love or hate; and Argentines are passionate about their politics. The Kirchner's are Peronists and are often compared to Eva and Juan Peron- both couples are extremely controversial. I don't know much about the political history of Argentina but am learning more and more and its actually extremely interesting. We watched a movie in class about the 2001 economic crisis and have read a little here and there about the terrible period of the "disappearances" in the 70's. This country has been through a lot and many are calling Kirchner's death a turning point in Argentine politics. Guess we'll just have to wait to see how the next election goes.. until then here are some photos from his vigil in Plaza de Mayo the day after his death:

The line to view his casket inside the Casa Rosada where his family was receiving everyone

The line kept going..

and going..

Argentines always seem to have a song for everything

On the subway- the city was instantly tagged with thanks for Kirchner

"Thank you Nestor, for giving your life to the city"

And now it's off to Iguazu Falls..

To be 100% honest, I wasn't quite sure of Uruguay's exact geographic location before I came down here- in fact, I really had no idea where it was in South America. Little known fact- it's right between Argentina and Brazil!

Because of the Mercosur (the South American equivalent of the EU which officially includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) it's very easy to travel to Uruguay, and since I suppose I'm officially Argentine with my student visa and all, why not head over for the weekend? Side note: if you're ever in Argentina for a long period of time and don't want to go through the hassle of getting a visa, you can renew your 90 day tourist visa just by heading over to Uruguay and entering Argentina again.

There are three main points people mention visiting in Uruguay: the capital, Montevideo, the posh beach town, Punta del Este, and the old colonial city, Colonia. So with 3 days, my friend and I decided to do all three. When in Uruguay..

After racing from class and making our boat with literally seconds to spare, we took a three hour ferry to Montevideo. This was a ferry to top all ferry's- it was essentially a moving building it was so massive

Complete with FIFA

Then we went through some serious customs.. aka a wooden "metal detector" that definitely didn't work

Then took a 2 hour bus to Punta del Este where we wandered the streets until we found our hostel. Thank you Lonely Planet.

Then we got some pizza where the put the cheese on top of the "toppings." It was new idea but delicious nonetheless.

And of course we managed to find a cone filled with dulce de leche for dessert.

That night we went with some friends we met at our hostel to a bar called Moby Dick where everyone posted money from all around the world on the walls. Trés chic.

Our hostel

Saturday: Went to the beach where it was nice and freezing!

La mano

Clearly went to BK in Uruguay too.

Pan au chocolat!

That night made dinner in our hostel along with a few of the other kids staying there- such travelers

Sunday: Woke up at the crack of dawn only to miss our bus to Montevideo by three minutes. This is the only thing that has been on time my entire stay down here. So we had a few hours to kill before our next bus..