Change of plans!

So the original plan was to be somewhere in the middle of Bolivia right now, but we decided (after many hours of planning) that flying would be much less risky, stressful, and uncomfortable seeing as the Bolivian bus system isn't exactly reliable and we may not have made it all the way to Cuzco by the time our Inca Trail tour started/even if we had, we would have had been on a bus for about 72 hours. This worked out well since we got to have dinner one more time with some remaining BC people who had just come from Peru themselves, see off other friends, and maybe do something today to celebrate el 9 de julio, which is the Argentine Day of Independence. I also get to go out to dinner with the whole soccer team, another excellent perk of still being here because I missed saying goodbye to some of them (they're very Argentine, it's hard to get them to meet places at any sort of fixed time) and I will see my American soccer friends again, as well.

The plan now for our trip is basically the following: we will fly directly to Cuzco, Peru (through Lima) and acclimatize for a day and a half before biking/hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for four days. We will then most likely spend one more night in Cuzco before heading to Bolivia to see Lake Titicaca and then visit a friend in Santa Cruz. If we have time, we might see more of Bolivia, but if not we'll go straight back to Argentina to visit Salta and Jujuy before returning to Buenos Aires for a few days. Since I know that if I didn't live in South America I would have no idea where any of those places were, I will share with you two incredibly helpful websites: Lonely Planet and Google Maps.

As promised, here are some pictures of Buenos Aires and my apartment...

Catherine at the Recoleta Fair

National Congress building

being a tourist finally after months of being a student

Fourth of July barbeque

Argentina vs. Korea volleyball game (Argentina won in three)

view of Avenida del Libertador on the way to the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano en Buenos Aires)

students apparently advertising their excitement about canceled classes due to the swine flu

my subte stop

Harris at the Botanical Garden

family run lavadero where they washed my clothes for very low prices AND fixed my pants multiple times; I will definitely miss them

sunset from my balcony

again...

same sunset from my room window

street view from my room

bathroom

my room

Catherine's room

living room

kitchen

Fun fact: our cleaning lady once thought that we were Nicaraguan because we spoke Spanish and most people (usually tourists) who rent this apartment don't know the language. We were flattered that she thought our Spanish was so good, but I'm still confused as to whether she thought we looked Nicaraguan because we definitely don't.