Up:
1. Maipú in Mendoza. Wine, wine and more wine.
2. The Andes - my god are they impressive!
3. The best turist guides in Mendoza who picked us up in soaring 37°C in the outskirts of the park of Mendoza. We were looking for the statue of liberation but had a awful map and no real idea of how big the park actually was. They saw us, realised that we were lost and drove us to the statue. In our defence people get lost a lot in the park and we were heading the right way.
4. Valparaiso! An absolutely beautiful city. We stayed at the best hostel ever! Hostel de Mariposas. The owner was an American guy who came to valparaiso 20 years ago and just never left.
5. Boat cruise in Valparaiso. With booze - a bit too much maybe.....
Down:
1. Ville and I got sick from the boat cruise and had to go on a bus ride to bariloche the next day.
2. Boarder crossing - my god this could be optimised! 3-4 hours just waiting...
3. Bus with bad air conditioning for 15 hours. Kill me now that was hot!
Funny facts coming up later
torsdag den 15. januar 2015
Argentina - nature, history, politics and all that jazz
The country known for its steaks, tango and the economic crisis - how is it actually?
First of all, Argentina is beautiful! It extends over different climate zones and has both glaciers, rain forest and dry desert.
Starting in the north west is the national park Talampaya, a dry area with tremedous rocks mountains and deserted landscapes.
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| Talampaya |
To the east, just in the intersection between Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina is Las cataratas de iguazu. A beautiful waterfall in the middle of the rain forest.
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| Cataratas de Iguazú |
Going down south is the pampa where the vast majority of the agriculture and grasing takes place. This area is flat, flat, flat.
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| La Pampa |
Further down south is Patagonia with thr glacier Perito Moreno and continuing down south the Land of Fire, Tierra del fuego being the most southern tip in the world, not including Antarctica (which is a continent I've been told but don't say that to the argentinians... ).
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| Perito Moreno |
With regards to the history of Argentina it was almost uninhabitet in the start of the last century. While Europe experienced low growth and internal quarrels, Argentina was the land of opportunity together with north America. This meant that many millions of Europeans, mainly Italians, Spaniards and Germans, left their home countries to be part of creating a new country (The economist).
Argentina had been founded by the Spanish back in the 16th century and got it's indepence in 1816. The river, now close to Buenos Aires, was thought to be filled with silver, and was hence called Rio De la plata (river of silver). Argentina is named after the Latin word for silver - Argentum. But no silver was found. However the wast pampa - flat land - was easy to farm and Argentina was one of the biggest producers of primary products - selling wheat, meat and other grains to Europe in the start of the last century. The flow of immigrants made Buenos Aires a melting pot of different cultures resulting in the Tango and a culinary mixture of Spanish, Italian and German food. wiki
Argentina was doing well!
Then it started not going so well. Many reasons exist. First the world wars effected the exports of Argentina. Secondly the military coups in 1930, 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966 and 1976 lead to a decrease in economic growth (Alsina). And thirdly the rise of the highly celebrated right-winged socialism branch of Peronism, can be blamed.
Peronism was started by Juan Domingo Perón who came to power in 1946. He created the branch of Peronism, which is often described as a populist movement, ensuring education and medical care for all. He was helped along by his beautiful wife Eva Perón, known as Evita. Peronism helped the masses but it is also a very isolationist ideology and Perón tried to keep Argentina from being influenced by other countries by minimising imports. Perón also showed contempt towards any opposition, causing him to be called a dictator by the famous writer Borges (wiki: Peronism).
To this day Peronism is still taking place in Argentina. Now it is being lead by the first female president, Christina Kirchner, the wife of the former and now deceased president Nestor Kirchner.
And there are many things to battle with in current Argentina. The unemployment is officially 7.5%, however it is thought to be as high as 9.5% in reality. The inflation of the Argentinan peso was a souring 41% in 2014 making black market exchange common. If you go to a bank today you get 8 pesos for 1 USD - while if you go to the black market (one on every other corner) you get 12.5 pesos pr. USD.
In order to help the argentinians the government imposed a 15% export tax on fresh meat in 2005 - trying to ensure a lower price for natives, while actually ensuring that exports have gone down from 742.000 tons to 250.000 tons letting Argentina slip from being the world's 3rd biggest exporter of meat in 2005 (behind Brazil and australia) to the 11th in 2012. The higher export price has not only limited exports but also made many farmers change from meat production to the more feasible soy bean production. They do this by limiting herds or moving the cattle to indoor facilities, changing the quality of the Argentinan meat. Lately the government stopped all export of meat after the prices had increased 66% over the course of a year - them selves proving that their initial idea of export tax had not done the deal (meat, beefmagazine). The same kind of rule has been imposed on wheat exports - with the same result. And this is taking place in a country that lives of its primary products!
And more rules like this exist. More rules made to ensure the immidate liking of the crowds but not really doing anything good for the country. This is making Argentina feel a bit like a developing country. In order to fix this there are some solutions:
Argentina had been founded by the Spanish back in the 16th century and got it's indepence in 1816. The river, now close to Buenos Aires, was thought to be filled with silver, and was hence called Rio De la plata (river of silver). Argentina is named after the Latin word for silver - Argentum. But no silver was found. However the wast pampa - flat land - was easy to farm and Argentina was one of the biggest producers of primary products - selling wheat, meat and other grains to Europe in the start of the last century. The flow of immigrants made Buenos Aires a melting pot of different cultures resulting in the Tango and a culinary mixture of Spanish, Italian and German food. wiki
Argentina was doing well!
Then it started not going so well. Many reasons exist. First the world wars effected the exports of Argentina. Secondly the military coups in 1930, 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966 and 1976 lead to a decrease in economic growth (Alsina). And thirdly the rise of the highly celebrated right-winged socialism branch of Peronism, can be blamed.
Peronism was started by Juan Domingo Perón who came to power in 1946. He created the branch of Peronism, which is often described as a populist movement, ensuring education and medical care for all. He was helped along by his beautiful wife Eva Perón, known as Evita. Peronism helped the masses but it is also a very isolationist ideology and Perón tried to keep Argentina from being influenced by other countries by minimising imports. Perón also showed contempt towards any opposition, causing him to be called a dictator by the famous writer Borges (wiki: Peronism).
To this day Peronism is still taking place in Argentina. Now it is being lead by the first female president, Christina Kirchner, the wife of the former and now deceased president Nestor Kirchner.
And there are many things to battle with in current Argentina. The unemployment is officially 7.5%, however it is thought to be as high as 9.5% in reality. The inflation of the Argentinan peso was a souring 41% in 2014 making black market exchange common. If you go to a bank today you get 8 pesos for 1 USD - while if you go to the black market (one on every other corner) you get 12.5 pesos pr. USD.
In order to help the argentinians the government imposed a 15% export tax on fresh meat in 2005 - trying to ensure a lower price for natives, while actually ensuring that exports have gone down from 742.000 tons to 250.000 tons letting Argentina slip from being the world's 3rd biggest exporter of meat in 2005 (behind Brazil and australia) to the 11th in 2012. The higher export price has not only limited exports but also made many farmers change from meat production to the more feasible soy bean production. They do this by limiting herds or moving the cattle to indoor facilities, changing the quality of the Argentinan meat. Lately the government stopped all export of meat after the prices had increased 66% over the course of a year - them selves proving that their initial idea of export tax had not done the deal (meat, beefmagazine). The same kind of rule has been imposed on wheat exports - with the same result. And this is taking place in a country that lives of its primary products!
And more rules like this exist. More rules made to ensure the immidate liking of the crowds but not really doing anything good for the country. This is making Argentina feel a bit like a developing country. In order to fix this there are some solutions:
Open up towards trade. This will not only make it possible for Argentina to sell more products but also to buy equipment and tools used to improve and optimise the currently out dated production methods used.
Make strong government rules that make sense. At the moment a very large amount of argentinians are not working. Some is due to the fact that there are no jobs but also due to the fact that low income groups get paid by the government, get huge discounts of energy bills and get paid to have children (which then ensures that the politicians will be reelected). This also takes place in many other countries but here it seems to be a sleeping pillow. The crisis of 2001, where the economy of Argentina collapsed completely, was a result of many things but among one was the rule of 1 dollar = 1 peso.
Furthermore by investing in good education, from primary school and up, making transparent rules and regulations and limiting korruption (the current vice minister has been to court twice the last year on curroption charges - and he did not get charged - surprise!) Argentina will get a people who believe in the government and would like to contribute. And it is a truly amazing country with amazing people so they definitely deserve it!
Furthermore by investing in good education, from primary school and up, making transparent rules and regulations and limiting korruption (the current vice minister has been to court twice the last year on curroption charges - and he did not get charged - surprise!) Argentina will get a people who believe in the government and would like to contribute. And it is a truly amazing country with amazing people so they definitely deserve it!
fredag den 9. januar 2015
Week 1: up and down and funny facts!
Up!
1. To have the best siblings in the world. They drove me all they way from home to Hamburg airport (3 hours there and back) the day before Christmas, while I could just have taken the train.
2. Receiving Christmas presents on the 22nd of December - 2 days before everybody else - muhah!
3. Meeting an aquaintance on the flight from London to Buenos Aires and exchange ideas and tips for the travel
4. Having the best host families in the world who go over the top to host me yet again. Come to Denmark now so I can host you! :)
5. Sunshine in Argentina!
6. time at Heathrow airport to buy a tablet - see. 1 in down for more information on how much
7. that your little sister sends to an awesome happy birthday notice on fb. See picture
Down:
1. 3 hours of waiting in Hamburg airport - we were there a bit too early (dad's over estimation☺), 3 hours in Heathrow and 2 in Buenos Aires before the bus for Maipú departed.
2. That the kiosks in Buenos Aires airport - Ezeiza do not sell water. They have everything else but not water.
3. To try 3 different ATMs in Ezeiza before I was able to take out cash. You should have seen my face after trying the second one and my very relieved face after the third.
4. that it is absolutely impossible to look hot when travelling. I wore pink tshirt, green running shoes, tights for running and a blue scarf. Fancy eh?
5. Ad. Up! 5: That 37 degrees just makes you wanna hide inside close to an air conditioning and that it stays that hot all day!
Funny facts:
- Christmas dinner was composed of cold food and lots of champagne. See picture.
- That all Christmas trees down here are made of plastic, plays jingle bells when you pass by and is max. 1 meter high. See picture
- That all fireworks have been banned in Maipú because it scares the animals
- That the us dollar is the best way to get by in Argentina. You go to a guy on the street and change one dollar into 13 pesos or to the bank and change it into 8 pesos. Which do you prefer?
- That the rate of the dollar blue (unofficial) can be found online on a well known website
- Argentinian morning tv - forget all about Slow and serious Go'morgen Danmark. Here you get music, only blond girls, lots of pink, feathers and confetti and lots of gossip about how the rich and famous pass their summer holiday. See old post on dancing with the stars if you wanna read more.
1. To have the best siblings in the world. They drove me all they way from home to Hamburg airport (3 hours there and back) the day before Christmas, while I could just have taken the train.
2. Receiving Christmas presents on the 22nd of December - 2 days before everybody else - muhah!
3. Meeting an aquaintance on the flight from London to Buenos Aires and exchange ideas and tips for the travel
4. Having the best host families in the world who go over the top to host me yet again. Come to Denmark now so I can host you! :)
5. Sunshine in Argentina!
6. time at Heathrow airport to buy a tablet - see. 1 in down for more information on how much
7. that your little sister sends to an awesome happy birthday notice on fb. See picture
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| Happy birthday from little sister |
Down:
1. 3 hours of waiting in Hamburg airport - we were there a bit too early (dad's over estimation☺), 3 hours in Heathrow and 2 in Buenos Aires before the bus for Maipú departed.
2. That the kiosks in Buenos Aires airport - Ezeiza do not sell water. They have everything else but not water.
3. To try 3 different ATMs in Ezeiza before I was able to take out cash. You should have seen my face after trying the second one and my very relieved face after the third.
4. that it is absolutely impossible to look hot when travelling. I wore pink tshirt, green running shoes, tights for running and a blue scarf. Fancy eh?
5. Ad. Up! 5: That 37 degrees just makes you wanna hide inside close to an air conditioning and that it stays that hot all day!
Funny facts:
- Christmas dinner was composed of cold food and lots of champagne. See picture.
- That all Christmas trees down here are made of plastic, plays jingle bells when you pass by and is max. 1 meter high. See picture
- That all fireworks have been banned in Maipú because it scares the animals
- That the us dollar is the best way to get by in Argentina. You go to a guy on the street and change one dollar into 13 pesos or to the bank and change it into 8 pesos. Which do you prefer?
- That the rate of the dollar blue (unofficial) can be found online on a well known website
- Argentinian morning tv - forget all about Slow and serious Go'morgen Danmark. Here you get music, only blond girls, lots of pink, feathers and confetti and lots of gossip about how the rich and famous pass their summer holiday. See old post on dancing with the stars if you wanna read more.
onsdag den 7. januar 2015
Going back home
So, you might ask your self (or you might not because you are probably my mum reading this), is she already going home?
Good question! The thing is I used to be on exchange in Argentina when I was 17 years old. I spent a, sometimes super exciting, sometimes super boring, but without doubt a different and life changing year (2005-2006) in a small town called Maipú. See picture 1 & 2 (told you I was an engineer).
Maipú is a small town of approx. 10.000 inhabitants and located 3 hours drive (5 by bus) from Buenos Aires. The total area of the municipality is 2600 km2 (same size as the country of Luxembourg (0.5 mio) or 4 times the size of Singapore (5 mio)) but the actual town is comprised of approx. 30×30 squares of 100 m. Hence 9 km2.. So there is a lot of space around the town. Like, a lot!
I went with an organisation called Rotary, who is a global organisation wanting to change the world. Check them out here: https://www.rotary.org where you can find the mission statement - it might be a bit more specific than my take on it. At first glance it might seem like a bunch of high class men, with a strong desire to play golf, drink too much, too expensive red wine and talk hours about all that is wrong in "this god forsaken country" (and hereby I mean all countries since Rotary is world wide). And I asure you that they exist, but don't they do that everywhere? However there are also lots of down to earth, Un posh, non - expensive - wine - drinking people with a desire to make a difference and doing so by collaborating with people all over the world. So check it out! They also have a youth organisation (rotaract).
Back to the story. I was on exchange, in Maipu, 2005-2006, lived with 2 families while attending high school, learned Spanish and got to meet lots people from all around the world. Equals win, win, win, win etc.
And I have been back a couple of times - and now it was time to go back and visit.
I arrived on the 24th of December 2014 - in the airport of Ezeiza - and after about 20 hours of travel it was nice to stand up - it was even nicer to see the sun!! (Winter in Denmark = darkness most of the time). I took the bus to Maipú. Almost all transportation in South America is done by bus rather than train like in Europe. I arrived to Maipú and got picked up by my host dad. It was wwonderful seeing him again! After being home, yes it feels like home - go on exchange and you will understand what I mean - I went directly to my friend Florencias place. It was great seeing her and the other friends from high school again! Luckily the group I hung out with in high school still meet when they are all home. I spent the next few days earlier enjoying Christmas (for funny facts about Christmas, see next blog post - up and down.
After a few days I headed to Pinamar to meet my other host family who have a summer house in the beach town of Pinamar. From there I joined my host sister Sofia, her boyfriend, their 5 months old daughter Valentina and my host brother in a car to Buenos Aires. I stayed with them for a few days, walking around buenos aires (37°C - so not that much really) and hanging out with them. It was wonderful!
On the 31st Ville, my friend from Finland, arrived and we headed back for Maipú.
søndag den 4. januar 2015
Reopening of the blog
Hi!
Congratulations on reading this, nearly continusly updated, travel blog. This blog was started in 2010 when 2 young Danish girls, both studying to become engineers (and eventually managed too) decided to join the stream of european high school graduates on a backpacking trip to South America. They, like the high school graduates, thought they were going on a big adventure, travelling where nobody had been before but ended up meeting Danes several times and following the same trail as all the others. There shall however be no doubt that the trip brought both great stories, (hereby I mean legendary drunk/illness/bad-decisions-taken-due-to-mere-impatience/too-much-good-food stories) and great experiences. They wrote about their experiences on this blog.
4 years later - in the winter of 2014 - one of the girls (You guessed right - it's me!) was asked by her little sister (hi sister it's me! (I picture my self standing in the background of the weather forecast man who's live on TV from Thyborøn - since tv channels of Denmark seem to use the summer to show all the people, not watching TV because they are on holiday, how interesting the outer parts of Denmark is)) to blog her 4 week trip back to south America.
So here we go again.
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