You see, since we have arrived in Buenos Aires in mid-October, Mishka has left to surprise his sister in Costa Rica and his parents in the US, and I have remained behind primarily to study Argentine Tango and eat more steak. (Not always at the same time) 
And both were gooooooooood.
As of today, Mishka is back home, bought a car, looking for work and taking a trip to Moscow with his sister for Christmas, and I . . . well I´m still here. I´m up north at Puerto Iquazu about to see the famous Iquazu Waterfalls that border Argentina and Brazil. And both were gooooooooood. 
Then I head back south via an interesting route or cross over to BRAZIL. It´s funny that I´m only 20 hours away from Rio, where we basically started out trip almost 11 months ago. Crazy! Next month, I fly out to Puerto Rico to see my mom and my sister, and finally return home (but not for long, I suspect.)I know it sound all glorious and crazy, and it is, but that is just plain ol´ travelling . . . something all the kids we meet around here are doing as well. So next to them, we´re not so glorious and crazy, but just one of the bunch . . . the vagabonding bunch.
Stay tuned! This program will return to its usual schedule after the . . . .
As the story goes, once the Americas were discovered, 2 of the world's most richest countries wanted a piece of the action. So the problem settled it's way on to the desk of the most powerful man, the Pope. He pointed his finger on to a spot of the unfinished map and basically to the east belonged to Portuguese and to the west of that finger was now Spanish territory. Funny, huh? Of course, frontiers were constantly redrawn, and then again and again. But that's how the story goes. 
That day was anxiously anticipated since the parents were coming that night. So after the preparations were made, we headed to the airport.
After hugs and kisses, we packed them into a combi, a minivan which seats about 10, but holds triple the amount of people, and headed for the hostal. Not until the bus broke down on the way and after a few bangs on the side of the truck, it was back on its way again. After a little settling in, we finished the night with wine and fruit as deserving of the greatness of our guests... and of course conversation. The following morning, we hit the streets. We visited Iglesia San Francisco and its catacombs that supposedly stretch for miles underneath the city connecting it to various important buildings in the area and also being home to over a 100,000 bodies of people who were buried there.
"Rich looook...NO LOOOK!" Yes mom is here. Amazed at everything, looking at the world as through the eyes of a baby. And that is so beautiful! The church is beautiful as well with wood carved ceilings that took 40 years to make, paintings, reliefs, Portuguese tile, and a lot of priceless Jesuses everywhere. It is incredible to imagine, the money, time and lives that goes into these places of God, while so many people starve and die of sicknesses and slavery. At least the first 2 apply to almost any religion. Hey, this is the stuff that runs through my mind sometimes. Am I a cynic? Hey look at that! A solid cast iron sink over 200 years old! I wanted to swipe the grated drain in the middle of the sink for my boss, but then thought better of it. Yes, I may be crazy to be taking pictures of stuff like this, but think about it. How long did it take to make? How many hands and things were washed in it? What had this sink seen that you and I can never imagine?
We just did a lot of walking around the city, from small markets to parks, to just watching Peruvians going about their business. And of course, most Peruvians are nice, even the ones guarding the Presidential Palace.
Those pieces were obviously the best, and there were others which were really cool as well:
A first for us as well.
I have never seen anything like this before, this whole little place was in the desert, literally, subtropical climate with a little lake smack in the middle. And to make things even better, our hostel had a beautiful in ground pool . . . all this without breaking the bank account! And after all this cold weather and mountain air, a hot afternoon by the pool is exactly what we needed!!
So sand boarding is the biggest attraction here, and it being still afternoon, we figured we would give it a go and walk up the sand dune ourselves! 
Who needs a buggy?! We can do this! (or so we thought)
Yes, we tumbled all the way down.
(Here´s a little sneak peak at Mishka´s first run.)
First, they ride around a whole desert you didn´t think was really there! Endless and endless horizons with beautiful dunes all around you, having a blast till the sun went down. 
They drive pretty crazy too, as if you´re on a roller coaster . . . 
. . . and our driver was pretty cool too and had awesome energy (even though he denies knowing what the words on his shirt really meant.)
some on our tummies,
some just rolling down not knowing which way is up and which is down! But it was a lot of fun
and yes, totally different from snowboarding. First of all, they give you a pretty beat up board that you have to wax with a candle every time you want to sand board (and if you don´t, you might get stuck on a steep drop for no reason.) 
Second, the straps on the board are held on by mesh, so there you go! And you´ll be lucky if you don´t rip your straps at least once. And finally, it´s sand! So the fall is a piece of cake . . . no bruises, no freezing fingers and toes . . . just total recovery.
And as a side note, we were talking to the owner a bit and he told us that people stopped coming to Huacachina after the earthquake. Out of fear is all. Except the oasis is fine and they´re in desperate need of tourists, so please, if you´re in the area, GO!!! 
Stay tuned!
