I had wanted to go to the Murakami exhibit when we were in L.A. but didn't get the opportunity to go so I was excited when I found out it was coming to the Brooklyn Museum. We had plans to go to my sister's last night and since she doesn't live too far from the museum, I decided to go. Also a bit of a disappointment--I guess Murakami is one of those artists around which there is so much buzz that I got caught up in the excitement but, actually, I realized I'm not so much a fan of his work. Afterwards, it was a pre-birthday basheroo get-together for Adam (who turns 30 next weekend) at my sister's. We ate tasty Chinese food and I drank way too much wine and sake from which I did not recover until 4 this afternoon (not fun). I did manage, however, to walk over to our local supermarket after I recovered and make chicken biryani I believe for the first time which didn't turn out so badly.

Anyhow, a photo from last night:

This morning I was still full from the food from last night and today was my sister-in-law's baby shower so I was hoping the food would be standard sub-par catered food but the food was good and, unfortunately, I was not able to avoid stuffing myself for lunch. About an hour after I returned home we had to leave to go to our favorite Thai restaurant where we had plans to eat dinner with our neighbors. Unfortunately, Adam and I can't go there with other people without ordering a ton of food and we honestly stuffed ourselves silly. What sucks is I really need to go to the gym but I have a really annoying blister on my right heel that will take who knows how long to heal.

We strolled down Third Avenue, which reminds me of Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills, but with vastly better stores and restaurants and also of a less yuppie Park Slope. We then took a detour onto Fourth Avenue to try the chicken schwarma at Karam (good but not amazing) and to go to Century 21. I go to the Century 21 downtown frequently but have never been able to convince Adam to go with me so I was happy he finally had an opportunity to go. Before we went there today, I thought Bay Ridge which just an out of the way neighborhood with not much to do or see but I have to conceed that going there today left me with a little neighborhood envy.

Recoleta Cemetery

Our guide, who spoke English with a very Italian accent, shared information about the delta along the way and stories about previous passengers. He said he once had a woman from Spain who was dressed very poshly when he pointed out an eagle overhead. The eagle managed to catch a small bird and had ripped out its heart which landed, still beating, on the boat next to the woman. He said the woman didn't say a word the rest of the trip. Another time he was asked by three German backpackers who didn't have much money how they could explore the delta and he recommended they take a public bus. They asked to be let out in a spot that was in the middle of nowhere and ended up getting stranded. He happened to be taking a group out that day when he saw the girls waving their arms at him from a distance. He drove his boat to where they were and since he didn't have room on his boat, he left them his cell phone and repellent and told them to call him if they managed to get a ride with someone else, otherwise he would return in a few hours to pick them up. They hadn't called by the time he returned into town so he went back to retrieve them. When he found them, they were crying and didn't stop crying the entire boat ride back.

Towards the end of the ride, Fernando asked if we were interested in seeing his vacation home. We had seen so many vacation homes along the delta, I was curious to see one close up so I said yes. As we docked, we heard goats bleating and Fernando explained that he had recently bought two baby goats. We walked over to see the goats and Fernando said he would go get his baby otter. I couldn't believe he had a baby otter but he brought it over and explained that his dog had come home with it one night and they had taken to each other like parent and baby ever since. Adam and I actually got to hold and pet a baby otter. We couldn't believe it. Fernando then invited us to his porch to share a bottle of wine. The whole experience was amazing--it was one of those days I wished would never end.

Tigre Delta

Fiona, the otter

Fernando's porch

View from Fernando's porch

Since most of the stores were closed when I had gone there last Sunday, we returned to Palermo where I happily shopped while Adam waited very patiently (Adam definitely deserves muchas smooches for the patience he displayed while I went clothes and crafts shopping) and we had dinner at a very good Middle Eastern restaurant. Even though it was pretty brisk in Buenos Aires, I still managed to get bitten by more mosquitoes outside the restaurant. On a side note, I'm not sure why there are so many mosquitoes in B.A. but during our second weekend in the city (which I understand followed several days of rain), we got bitten quite a lot--at the reserve, at night in the city, in the hotel, and on the train to Tigre and I was told that B.A. experienced an invasion of mosquitoes last summer and it's expected to be even worse this summer. Can't say I envy Portenos in this regard.

Anyway, the scenery was similar to what we saw on the way to Cachi only even better. Our guide happily pointed out all the rock formations that resembled various things (i.e. ship, Cleopatra, etc). Unlike Cachi, there was also a river with water here and the below the rock formations were many lush green trees, resembling what I imagine an African savannah would look like. There was also a very cool tree that dotted the landscape here--a tree that only has flowers, no leaves, and instead bears a green trunk and branches where photosynthesis can occur. When our guide found out we had not seen any condors yet, she scanned the skies for condors as she drove and was able to spot a number of them along the way, albiet far away. I was happy to watch them through my binoculars though and both she and Able told us very interesting facts about condors. Able mentioned that some people killed condors because, while scavengers, condors had been known to clutch goats, lift them up high, and drop them so they could feast on the goat (I truly shudder to think how these goats must feel). Angie, our guide for Cafayate, mentioned that condors generally mate for life and when their partner dies, they commit suicide by plunging to the ground. If this is really true, I think condors must be one of the most romantic creatures in the animal kingdom.

Angie also shared a lot of insight about Salta and Argentina. We learned from both her and Able, Argentinians' strong dislike of Chile and Chileans (Chile apparently supported England during the Falklands War, which Argentinians have never forgiven) and from Angie, a deep dislike on the part of Argentinians who live outside of Buenos Aires of Portenos. Angie and Able also talked about the 2001 Argentinian peso devaluation and the impacts it had (Angie shared a very poignant story about the day after the devaluation, which took place close to Christmas). Both gave excellent tours but little did we know we had an even better tour-related experience in store.

Food that made me toy with the idea of quitting my job and moving to a goat farm

A gaucho we spotted while eating said food

En route to Cafayate

Cool building in Cafayate which will house a crafts market

Before I share some of the photos from this excursion, I have to share two stories Abel told us during this trip. The first involves John Galliano, famed designer for Christian Dior. Abel mentioned Mr. Galliano was in town to get inspiration for his next season so he took him to see a traditional folkloric show. Galliano loved the show and a performer's gaucho suit caught his eye and he said he had to have it. Abel obtained the name of the tailor who had made the suit and went to visit her the next morning with Galliano. She was poor and lived in a slum and Galliano fell in love with the slum. He was taken aback, however, when he saw her home and when she told him the suit would cost 300 pesos (approximately $100 US) he couldn't believe his ears and started crying. He couldn't understand how she could charge so little and, ultimately, he sent her a thousand euros which she would been unlikely to convert to pesos had Abel not gone with her to the bank (apparently, bank representatives will verify the source of large sums of money held by poorer individuals).

The second story involves Harvey Keitel who was in a neighboring city, Cafayate, promoting a film. Abel took him back and forth between his hotel and the film shooting location and learned that Mr Keitel and the producers of the film, who were Argentinian, were fighting because the film was running over budget. The producers had ensconced the entire film crew at a five star hotel and Keitel eventually convinced them to send the entire crew to a local hostel. The incredible thing is that Keitel offered to move to the hostel with the rest of the crew and stayed there for about ten days. I can only imagine the stories that must've gotten shared by the backpackers who stayed at that hostel.

En route to Purmamarca and the mountain of seven colors

Cerro de las siete colores

Purmamarca

En route to Salinas Grandes

Salinas Grandes

Vicunas

The small settlement where we had lunch

The birdwatching was only for half a day (I don't think poor Adam, who does not share my passion for birdwatching, could have lasted much longer) so we spent the afternoon exploring Salta. We took a cable car up San Bernardo Hill and went to the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana which, for a few short months, is displaying an Incan maiden mummy found several years ago in a mountainous region that straddles the Argentinian/Chilean border. We switched hotel rooms because our first room required walking down a flight of stairs between the bedroom and the bathroom that could have fairly easily lead to a fall and as falling down stairs was not part of my desired vacation experiences, we asked for a different room. Unfortunately, our second room had a lot of ants and, after accidentally stepping on one and getting bitten, I spent the rest of our time in the room walking from bed to bed or in socks.

Reserva del Huaico

View of Salta from the cable car