Iguazu National Park

After our time in Salta, Jake was able to come down to Argentina for a few days to experience some of the beautiful country with me. After a 20+ hour bus ride for Lori & I and 12 hours of flying for Jake...we met in northeastern Argentina. We were able to spend a day seeing the beautiful cataratas (waterfalls) of Iguazu which split the border of Argentina and Brazil and stretch for more than 2km. Another awe-inspiring part of creation...

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Another beautiful place north of Salta that we were lucky enough to get to visit, thanks to Dr. Diaz...who took Wednesday off to drive Lori and I there with two of the residents.

Described in the guide book as "a harsh but vivid landscape, a dry but river-soured canyon overlooked by mountainsides whose sedimentary strata have been eroded into spectacular scalloped formations that reveal a spectrum of colors in undulating waves."

Entry into the Quebrada At the crossing of the Tropic of Capricorn

Monumento a la Independencia in the village of HumahuacaView of Humahuaca from the top of the monument

Iglesia de la Candelaria in Humahuaca

Lori, Cecelia & I next to a giant cactus in Humahuaca

More beautiful rocks & colors

We had a really great time getting to see more of beautiful Argentina. It is again a place my husband would love; the colors were amazing and again the pictures do not do it justice, (especially as most were taken from a speeding car).

Argentina Week #4

Not much to report this week, in terms of work. Monday was a holiday in Argentina and we left Thursday afternoon. And Dr. Diaz decided that we really needed to see Quebrada de Humahuaca before leaving Salta and very kindly decided to take us there on Wednesday. So essentially we really only worked on Tuesday, where we were in the consultory at Savia, and then we went to see the newer public hospital (pictured below)....which was a vast improvement over the old children's hospital we had seen before...and closer to being on par with Ben Taub.

We finally also did one other must before leaving Argentina this week...we tried Mate! Mate is a very strong green tea, made of yerba mate, which traditionally is sipped communally from a hollow gourd with a filtering straw (a bombilla). It is usually made with hot water, in some regions they add sugar , and in some regions cold water is used and lime juice is added. It is the national drink of Argentina, (as well as Paraguay & Uruguay...and is also common in Bolivia, Chile and southern Brazil) and nearly literally everyone drinks it. At the Family Medicine meetings each week they would share mate...and when Dr. Diaz and her family took me to Cafayate, they also drank it on the way. Lori, being a tea drinker, really liked it; it was quite strong for me. But we both brought it some home, so let us know if you want to try it.


This ends our Salta adventure. Look for pictures of Quebrada de Humahuaca and our adventures with Jake in Iguazu & Buenos Aires soon...

Argentina Week #3

This week we were again at Savia, the private clinic where Dr. Diaz works. We spent our time in the consultory, in English and Resident classes, and studying Spanish. Unfortunately, Lori was sick with a cold for a good part of the week :(

Lori and I giving one of the several presentations they had us give about our families, where we are from, etc. This presentation also included the structure of our school system and similarities/differences we had observed between their medical system and ours.

Seeing more Salta sights...

Dinner at a traditional restaurant with traditional Argentinian food-including empanadas, humitas & parrilla (grilled meats)...and traditional Folklorica music and dancing.

Dinner on the Plaza with the residents.

"La Caminata"

One Saturday morning, we participated in Savia's "Caminata" or Walking Activity they hold to encourage and teach their patients to exercise. We walked about 30 minutes from the clinic to a park, where they had a guy lead the group in some stretches and aerobic activities for about an hour, then we walked back to the clinic. They had about 50 patients show up, which was pretty impressive.

Lori & I with 3 of the residents: Gladys, Emilse, and Cecilia

Quebrada de Cafayate

Last Sunday Dr. Diaz and her family very kindly took me to see some of the beautiful country around Salta. Sadly Lori was unable to go as she was sick. We went to Cafayate, Argentina's second center for wine production. The road there from Salta goes through the spectacular Quebrada de Cafayate with beautiful colors and rock formations. It reminded me a bit of home...Utah. It is very sad that my rock-loving geologist husband couldn't be there with me...but I took A TON of pictures for him, and hopefully one day we will return, as there are many areas like this around Salta.

Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat)
inside Garganta del Diablo with Dr. Diaz and her family

Anfiteatro (Amphitheatre)

there were local musicians playing in the back of here and the acoustics were wonderful

El Sapo (The Toad)

Cafayate's Cathedral

A Local Bodega (Winery)- that of course offers tastings, which were very tasty indeedEspecially for Jake, Paul & Kevin E.- there also happened to be a llama near the vineyards, which Dr. Diaz's daughter was very excited about
The Vineyards, as it began to rain

Large Cacti

More of the Quebrada

Unfortunately, I don't think most of the pictures do God's amazing creations justice. Northern Argentina is beautiful...you should all come and see if for yourselves!