Savannah Day #0

This is a guest post by Josh Markovic. The opinions, analyses, and evaluations here are mine and not provided by anyone else including (but not limited to) Emily Schlussel, Emily S. Markovic, Emily Gail Schlussel Markovic, Emily G.S. Markovic or any other person. They have not reviewed, approved or endorsed what I have to say. Comments made in response to posts are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any person. It is not the responsibility of any person to ensure that questions are answered.

When we heard the Obama administration was lifting travel restrictions to Cuba, we immediately started looking for flights to Havana. A small typo later, we had plane tickets and hotel in north Georgia.

Emily returned from Argentina early Wednesday morning which gave me serious FOMO. We booked this trip late Wednesday night just so I can get back at Melissa. Take that! When we packed, I asked Emily if she has headphones and she said they give them out in first class. Let’s just say she has a lot of adjusting to do. We woke up at an ungodly hour, something like 7:30, to drive to the airport and park our car in a lot. We paid $27.79 to park from Friday at 8:30 to Monday at 4:30. Emily, if you are reading this, we parked in section B3. It was a pretty big lot with over 1400 spaces but we only used one.

Ungodly Timed Selfie

We checked our bags because Emily didn't want to risk losing our sunscreen and headed to security. I tried to distract TSA by going through the metal detector with my shoes on so Emily can sneak a bottle of water into the highly secure area. TSA pulled our favorite perpetrator aside and confiscated her water which brought up deep and dark memories of me losing my Nutella in Europe. I miss you, Nuttie!

Everyone's favorite perp ;)

We bolted to the expensive lounge and grabbed some breakfast. I had a bagel (let’s just say it was chof-J) with Philadelphia cream cheese. Emily had two bowls of oatmeal. I’m 99% sure this is hereditary but I “borrowed” two tea bags (earl gray for Poppy and green tea for Zahava) and two sugar packets. And a Splenda. We don’t even use Splenda but just in case we do. I drank a terrible latte while Emily mixed an espresso and hot chocolate. The perfect coffee to drink in an airport: Jet Fuel.

We also realized we weren’t sitting next to each other on the flight so we were the first to board and when my neighbor came to sit down, I asked him to switch seats. What a tzadik! We sat on the runway for quite some time and took off an hour after scheduled departure. When we were about to get up into the air, Emily tried leaning over to cuddle next to me. The reason I pay for first class is so I don’t have to touch anyone but there are always a few exceptions. Well, just one exception but she uses the exception multiple times on the same flight. To Emily’s dismay, there was a HUGE armrest between us and she wasn’t able to put her head anywhere near mine. She loudly yells “Why can’t we sit in coach with the rest of the plane?!” When we got a few stares, I pretended to chuckle and hoped everyone misheard something like “Why can’t we get our eggs poached with the rest of the plane?”

Our seats in First Class never really impressed me. I still like when the flight attendants call me “sir” and bring me snacks. To our serious disappointment, there were no orchids on the entire flight. Not one. Oh yeah, Emily had a fig bar (yuck) and we both had Milano cookies (yum).

We booked our flights to Savannah and a return flight home for Em. The #hashtag for this trip was supposed to #markovicsdontsiticoach or #emergencyvacation but after booking a vacation without a return trip for me, it will now be #getjoshhome. We may have to pay cash, use lots of miles, or heaven forbid, sit in coach. Only time and British Airways will tell.

When we landed, we were literally the first ones off the plane. Our bags were also the first off the plane but then again, we were probably the only people who checked bags. We had about 30 minutes to kill in the airport so we spoke with the nice information kiosk folks, I called into work, Emily checked out her medical school application and watched The Fosters. We hopped on a CAT shuttle for $5 a person and headed downtown to the ‘transit station’ which didn’t really look like a Port Authority Bus Terminal but more like a 167T stop on Teaneck Road. We found the FREE bus called the “DOT” but there was no driver on it. Emily and I started planning our route and decided to walk because our hotel was about a 15 minute walk. We spotted a huge building with magen davids on it. We ran over to find it was the student center of SCAD, the best academic institution in the entire city!

We stopped into a popcorn store so Emily can sniff around and tell everyone how much she missed Dale and Thomas Popcorn.

An hour later, we arrived in our hotel. We got our upgrade (honeymoon + platinum status) and settled in our unupgraded room. Savannah has a pretty cool layout with a ton of parks/squares laid around the entire city. Each square had a different design but they all have a plaque commemorating someone who lived somewhere in the 1700’s. I feel like Savannah is the AOL of the USA.

We came to Forsyth Park which is like the Central Park of Savannah except without all pigeons. Beautiful place! One thing that caught my eye was the war memorial for confederate soldiers - I still can’t get over it. We stopped off at Mickve Israel, the 3^rd oldest congregation in the United States. It resembles a church with its grand neo-gothic architecture. Inside, there is a balcony, which hosts the choir and organ (and has never been used as a women’s section). We took the tour and paid the $4/person suggested donation. They possess the two oldest Torah scrolls in the United States which date back the 1400’s. Apparently, the serious humidity is good for deer skin and one of the Torahs is even read once a year on the shul’s anniversary. The Temple is now part of the Reform movement, and has services on Friday night and Saturday morning. Reform Judaism interprets “Morning” as 11am.

We walked back towards our hotel and found the birth house of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts. They had just closed 20 minutes earlier but Emily insisted on knocking on the door while I sheepishly objected. We kept asking around for a grocery store and everyone kept telling us to go to Farmer’s market on Saturday or CVS on Bull Street. CVS a silly name for a grocery store because in the northeast, it’s a fairly large pharmacy, three of which are in Teaneck. As we walked up to CVS, we realized we’re going to need an alternative because there is no actual grocery store in the entire downtown Savannah area. We eventually found a gas station with a pretty decent selection of hummus, bread, flat pretzels and the likes. Emily also bought peanut butter for us even though it was JIF.

Oatmeal and Bagel

Emily ready to not be hungry

Not hungry Emily (it's peanut butter)

Milano in action 

We saw our plane's shadow!

Armrest in First

Savannah Airport

Emily found a Reese's PBC in her bag

SCAD - not the shul

Non-alcoholic drinks are free! 

Kitchen

Hotel Room

Non-alcoholic drinks are free!

Civil War Memorial for the Confederate States of America

Mickve Israel

Mickve Israel

Torah from the 1400s

Popcorn!

City Hall

Gas station/makolet/bodago

Chocolate wheel from a random candy story

Fire pit at the hotel

Battling the Elements in Patagonia

We arrived in El Calafate and took a bus to our hostel - America del Sur. The receptionists immediately recognized us and asked if we are “Emily por dos,” as everyone seems to refer to us on this trip. We happily answer yes, mistaking recognition for a smooth check-in. They tell us that they overbooked and don’t have room for us but we can go to a nearby hostel and stay there. Unfortunately, the roads are unpaved and we had to carry our enormously heavy luggage several blocks to our destination. It turns out, nobody at the new hostel spoke English and they also didn't have space for us. Obviously, I storm back over to America del Sur in quite the huff and demand that the receptionist find somewhere else for us to stay and help carry our luggage this time. It worked and we ended up a perfectly fine hostel called Nakel Yanu with working WiFi. 

In the morning, we booked our excursions and planned the rest of our time in Patagonia. Then, we went for a run around the lagoon and returned to catch our bus to Chalten. With little time to get to the bus station, I frantically searched for food, racing through the streets with my luggage and calling out "excuse me" at the top of my lungs for people to clear the way. Melissa basically had a heart attack trying to keep up. Apparently, noone can make a sandwich in under 15 minutes so we got ice cream instead. With minutes to go, we race to the bus station and look up to see a massive flight of stairs in front of us. Out of nowhere, a guy comes and grabs my suitcase and starts to run up the stairs. Unsure of whether he was stealing my luggage or helping me, I chase after him.  At the pitstop, Melissa recognized the possible hero/thief and it turns out he speaks English and heard me call that he might be stealing my luggage. We introduce ourselves and David 2, and his girlfriend, Shannon, became our best friends of El Chalten. We basically had the same itinerary and ran into them everywhere. 

We had the strangest experience upon arriving. The bus stops in the El Chalten park entrance before arriving at the bus terminal. There, we received a stern lecture by a park ranger about the rules of the park. He had a vandetta against Israelis and every time someone spoke during his speech, he snapped “Shalom Shalom.” It was upsetting to learn that this anti-Israeli sentiment was shared by most of the locals. Their disdain for Israelis is not political but based in experiences interacting with rude Israeli travelers, fresh out of the army and too macho for rules. While a few obnoxious Israelis seemed to ruin things for their co-patriates, it was fun to see so many Israelis every place we went. In fact, on the trails, signage was posted in Spanish, English and…. Hebrew! 

At the bus terminal, I found a place to change money and Melissa went to the bathroom. The funny thing is, she got stuck in the stall. When I finally went to fetch her, a woman informed me in broken English that my friend is unable to get out of the toilet and she was finding help.

We spent the afternoon doing a really nice hike to a waterfall. The next day, we set out to trek Fitz Roy (Laguna de Los Tres). It was a long and challenging hike and also incredibly beautiful!! The final stretch to the peak was a very steep 2 km climb. At the top, we ran into David 2 and Shannon and squealed with delight. The 4 of us ate lunch together and enjoyed the scenery. We refilled our water bottles in the lake and drank the most delicious water. Throughout the entire hike, we were surrounded by incredible snow-peaked mountains and clear blue streams below. 

Back in town, we were barely able to walk. We hobbled to the restaurant only to find that it was full. We asked when a table would be ready and the waitress asked where we are staying. I told her “right here” and plopped down on the floor out front. She took pity on us and eventually gave us a table. 

The following day, we set out for arguably the coolest part of the trip: Ice climbing on the Viedma glacier. At the busstop, Melissa noticed a man davening and wearing a talit and tifilin. She obviously screeched and pointed at him to notify me of her finding. We took a bus to a boat and a boat to the glacier. Positive that lunch would be included with our excursion, we laughed at the over-prepared person who had packed lots of food. When the boat docked, it caught our attention that people seemed to have really intense gear. Still unfazed, we hiked up from the dock to the glacier. The first indication that we were actually the idiots was when the guides asked if anyone doesn’t have gloves and Melissa and I are the only ones to raise our hands. Starting to get nervous, I ask if lunch is included and find out that it is actually not. As if this wasn’t enough to ensure our place as the biggest jokes of the group, Melissa could not get into her harness and required the assistance from the guides. 

We hike to the glacier and start to climb down these really slippery rocks to underneath the glacier. We were the only ones struggling and noticed that every single other participant was wearing intense climbing boots. The tour guide turns to us and looks at our feet and exasperatedly cries “WHY TENNIS SHOES?! WHY!?” Apparently, we missed every memo of what we needed for the day. 

The guides gave us a quick tutorial, crampons and ice picks, and we successfully scaled several ice walls. It was really fun and rewarding and the whole group marveled at how we were able to do it in sneakers. Usually repelling down after climbing up is the easy part… except for Mel. She somehow slipped and dangled from her harness, falling into complete hysterics and crying “owwww” until the whole group was laughing at her and started taking pictures. Don’t worry, they collected her email address and promised to send over their gems. 

The glacier was massive — 950 square km! The scenery was beautiful, the day was a blast and we had a really fun group. We enjoyed talking to everyone and hearing about their various travel experiences. There was a British couple on a year-long journey around the world, an American couple on their honeymoon, a Russian couple who were definitely the best climbers, a needy Roman man traveling alone, and us. 

Back in town, we had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Parador, and got ready for Shabbat, which starts and ends really late. To set the mood, we sang lecha dodi while walking to our new hostel. We said kiddush and motzei in the lobby and went to bed before the sun even set. 

We woke up to miserable weather but determined to stick to the schedule, we hiked through wind and snow to do the Laguna Torres hike. It felt almost mystical. We came back soaked but accomplished.

Sunday morning, we grabbed brunch at the Wafleria before catching our bus back to Calafate. We sat at a long table with other customers and played Uno until our food came. These 3 massive guys from Boulder, CO, sat down next to us and decided to play with us. We had a hilarious conversation with them until we had to run to catch our bus. 

Laguna de Los Tres

Viedma Glacier

Videma Glacier

Viedma Glacier

View of Chalten

Fitz Roy

Laguna de Los Tres

Laguna de Los Tres

Conquering Iguazu: Nature & New Friends

Sunday morning, we went to the airport to fly to Iguazu to see the world's largest waterfalls! Somehow, my suitcase passed through the weight check and I didn't have to pull an Extreme Travel and start unpacking my suitcase on-site. Running on very little sleep, we deliriously attempted to use Spanish to acquire hot water, 3 cups, 2 spoons, and sugar to make our oatmeal. Somehow, the plane decided to take off early and everyone else had boarded.  We didn't get the memo. We heard our names called over the loud speaker and took off running. The pilot asked us what we were doing and we honestly explained that we were eating oatmeal.

View of Iguazu from Plane

Once on the plane, we passed out immediately and slept until the pilot got on the loudspeaker and announced that Iguazu Falls is coming up ahead and to look out the window for an incredible birds-eye view of the falls. The falls were impressive, even from the height of the plane. Most surprising was the color - the water is brown from minerals in the soil. We landed in Iguazu and immediately felt the climate difference. Iguazu is hot and very humid. [Tip for anyone traveling to Iguazu (and you really should) -- bring insect repellent and anti-itch cream!]

We arrived at our hostel, Mango Chill, and discovered the best part of the place -- the receptionist, Manu. The hostel had a funny smell and a strange bohemian atmosphere, where only half the guests seemed to be there to see the falls and the other half seemed to be on drugs. We spent a bit of time relaxing by the pool, which looked like it was infused with disease. The evening receptionist, Alex, gave a helpful overview of the Iguazu park and what to expect for the next day. After that, we went for a walk to see the sunset over Paraguay at the intersection of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina.

Back at the hostel, we sat down to a family style dinner, which felt like the the first real meal we consumed since arriving (we have mostly been consisting on ice cream, trail mix, and of course my veggie sandwich that brought all those comments and eating sounds upon me). We met this multigenerational British family - an 84-year-old granddad, traveling with his daughter, her husband, and their (grand)daughter who is a teacher in Buenos Aires. When Alex came to clear my plate, he commented on how little we eat. I have never been told that in my life!

We had a terrible night's sleep because one of our roommates decided to turn off the air conditioning and the room was unbearably hot all night. In the morning, we set out to see one of the most magnificent places on earth: Iguazu Falls. [Travel tip: buy food in advance and pack lunch for the park because everything is extremely expensive inside] With only 1 day to see everything, we had quite the challenge ahead of us. We started by heading up to Devil's Throat, the viewpoint at the very top, looking down at the falls. We then hiked the Sendero Macuco that ended in a single beautiful waterfall, where we swam in the refreshing water. When we swam close to the falls, the pressure actually made it difficult to breathe! Afterwards, we stopped for smoothies and had the most ridiculous experience using outrageously bad Spanish to understand the flavors and place our orders. Then, we took the Great Adventure boat ride that starts with a truck ride through the jungle, during which Mel and I both promptly fell asleep and missed the tour guide explaining all about the plants and animals. We then got into a small but powerful motor boat that took us up the river. We rounded a corner, and the massive waterfalls were right in front of us. The boat actually took us right up to the falls where we got completely soaked. It was exhilarating! We then ended the day with 2 more hikes: the lower (blue) and upper (red) trails. These had the most spectacular views and were our favorite parts of the day. We stayed until the park was closing and they forced us to leave. One thing that struck us both besides the glorious views, was how efficiently the park was run.

Iguazu Falls: Devils Throat

Macuco Trail

Upper Trail

Iguazu Falls

Back in town, we went to a Mexican place for dinner. At one point during our meal, we look up to find our Israeli friends from Buenos Aires walking down the street towards us. They joined us and we all had dinner together. It was so cool sitting at a random restaurant in Iguazu, Argentina and knowing people to spontaneously join us for dinner!! We are the last ones remaining and the restaurant was starting to close so I obviously asked the waiter to take a photo for us before we leave. I hand him the camera and lead him to the table where I find David saying Birkat Hamazon. So our Spanish speaking Argentinian waiter is holding the camera and trying to take a picture and Melissa tries to explain the situation but accidentally mixes up the Spanish words. She tries to tell the waiter: ""Wait 2 minutes, I'm sorry" but ends up telling him "Wait 2 minutes, I'm sitting now!" So Raz and Bezik jump in and tell the waiter "she doesn't speak Spanish! She doesn't speak Spanish" and Melissa is saying "Yes I do! Yes I do!" and I'm completely unaware of what has transpired.

After we finally get our photo, we go back to our friends' hostel to retrieve the bag I left behind in Buenos Aires. We end up staying and hanging out there, which worked out really nicely because they also had working WiFi! Melissa jumped into the pool in her clothing, which 2 days later, still hasn't really dried. We guilted the guys into walking us home to our hostel. There, Melissa helped me proof my medical school application, which I submitted the next night!!

In the morning, we arrived at the airport for our flight to Patagonia. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed but more unfortunately, the airport's air conditioning wasn't working so we sat in the sweltering humidity, waiting for our flight. The security was surprisingly intense: the man who checked us in asked us if we have any sharps in our carry-on luggage. We said no and he gave us security clearance stickers. Somehow that same guy appeared at every stage of the airport process: check-in, security, ticket collection, and boarding. The hilarity of the situation was only beginning. As we waited to board our flight, we sat on the floor in a heap, while everyone waited in line to get on the plane. My bug bites were itching like crazy so I decided to use this opportune moment to rub hydrocortisone cream on all my bites, of which there were many. Melissa starts to lose it and tells me between laughing and gasping for breaths to look up. I unassumingly raise my eyes to see the ENTIRE line of passengers staring at my diseased-looking legs in horror. We could easily identify the Americans from non-Americans because the Americans tried to peer at me subtly, while others just gaped openly.

Next up: El Calafate and El Chalten!

Conquering Buenos Aires #IsraeliStyle

Friday morning we woke up and went back to Florida street to change money properly. We bargained hard and got a very respectable exchange rate. It's quite scary to walk out of a sketchy place with wads and wads of cash.

Stopping for a quick breakfast to fuel up for our bike tour of Buenos Aires, I ordered a grilled veggie sandwich, which turned out to be a gazunta sandwich. We ate as we power walked to the bike place and for the first time in my life (possibly?), I was the recipient of a food-sound cat call. It went like this: "YUMMM!!!!!" We arrived at the bike shop and the comments on my sandwich continued. 

Willis

After a quick orientation to the day, we met our bikes. Melissa had a complete meltdown that the name of her bike was Willis. The bike shop guys were asking if she had an ex by that name but it turns out, she really wanted to name her bike after her spanish name, Luz. 

La Boca Stadium

We started the tour in San Telmo and learned about the history of Buenos Aires, which was originally settled by the Spanish in search of gold. We continued on to La Boca and saw the (in)famous soccer stadium. Games get incredibly loud
and feisty, often breaking windows of homes nearby. Visiting team fans are no longer permitted in the stadium due to safety concerns. We rode through La Boca on bike paths until we reached La Caminito, the brightly painted area of La Boca, where tango originated by poor immigrants living there. Our guide the made matte, a traditional caffeinated drink and offered it to the group, The whole idea of sanitation seemed to be lacking so I passed. There was street art everywhere, much of it telling the tragic story of persecution and disappearance. Afterwards, we rode on to Puerto Madero, a mostly uninhabited very expensive neighborhood, where mostly celebrities and athletes live, named for the defunct port that took so long to build that it was too small for modern ships by the time it opened so it was never really operational. We then stopped for lunch and learned a bit too much about our guide's relationship issues. 

We then explored Retiro neighborhood, the main transportation hub of Buenos Aires and then Ricoletta, where we saw the law school and the cemetery. This time we successfully found Eva Peron/Duarte's grave. It's pretty nondescript except for all the people waiting to see it. Afterwards, we biked through Micro Centro, the "heart of the city" and ended up at the Pink House, which is the Argentinian version of the White House. The surrounding plaza was being set up for the Dakar rally, a global motorcycle event. The tour was a great way to see so much of Buenos Aires in a short amount of time! After we concluded the 8-hour bike tour, we raced to buy food for shabbat. Melissa had her second meltdown because she really really really wanted to get ice cream before shabbat and didn't want to hear that we didn't have time. 

Ricoletta Cemetery

Evita's Grave in Ricoletta Cemetery

When we got back to the hostel, we quickly discovered that the Chabad we had arranged to go to is almost a 3 hour walk from our hostel so we scrambled to come up with an alternative plan. Being in Little Israel, we mentioned to an Israeli in the hostel that we are religious and they told us about a chabad only a few blocks away. It was one of the coolest chabad experiences either of us has ever had. After Kabalat Shabbat, we sat outside with about 60 Israelis all traveling South America after the army. Like everyone we have met so far this trip, they were all incredibly nice and it gave us the chance to practice our Hebrew. After dinner, we went with some our new friends to see the Pink House and the Opera House, Teatro Colon, lit up at night. 

In the morning, Mel and I walked back to the Pink House to see if we could do a free tour but they were closed for the rally. Then, we went back to Chabad for shul and lunch. Lunch was much smaller than dinner but one thing was consistent with the night before and struck us profoundly. The guys were all incredibly helpful in a way that we don't see very often. They exhibited what Camp Stone calls a Rosh Gadol, Each person was constantly looking out for others and being proactive to see how they can help. If anything was finished, someone immediately got up to refill it. No one asked how they can help, they just figured out what needed to be done and did it. It was really nice to see and a lesson we should take home with us. Our theory is that this mentality comes from being in the army. Regardless, it was beautiful. 

We then went with our new Israeli friend, David, and walked back to Ricoletta to the Fine Arts Museum. He then walked back and Mel and I continued to Once, the Jewish neighborhood for a self guided walking tour. We saw magnificent shuls and a thriving community. Men wore kippot in the streets. Jews we met said they don't have issues with Antisemitism or security. We were struck how amazing it is to be part of something so global and ancient that we could walk into a shul in South America and it looks the same as shuls across the rest of the world. 

We ended our walking tour with Templo Libertad. Unfortunately, we forgot our passports but convinced the security guard to let us in by telling him our ID is in our money belts under our dresses so we couldn't access them. It worked. :) 

Exhausted and hungry after a long day of walking and site seeing, we returned to the hostel. Only, we couldn't find it. After frantically looking at a map and street signs, we realized that we had successfully gotten back and were standing right in front of it. After shabbat, Melissa went to Chabad and BBQ'ed with David. That hamburger made her a very happy girl. But she never did get her ice cream. Chabad didn't have anything vegetarian so I went for pasta with David's travel buddy, Bezik and another Israeli in the hostel. Then, we went to see the famous Buenos Aires night life. Buenos Aires is REALLY the city that never sleeps. We bought tickets for the club from an Israeli promoter and went with our new friends to their friend's hotel to "gather." I left my pocketbook at their hotel and will hopefully be seeing it tomorrow when David and Bezik arrive in Iguazu. I guess we have been spending alot of time together because when the new guys asked us questions, we answered in Hebrew in unison. It got weird in a way that only Katie and I have been able to achieve. 

The club was really fun and we danced as awkwardly as we wanted. Melissa peed twice. Outside. Obviously.  Then, we found ourselves a taxi to return to the hotel for our flight to Iguazu early this morning. This was the scariest part because you hear stories of taxis taking advantage of tourists. We climbed into the car that said "radio taxi" since those are supposedly more reliable. The interaction started out problematic... I tried to give the address of the hostel (1385 Avenida De Mayo) but I kept mixing up Spanish and Hebrew and I didn't even realize until Melissa put me in my place! "Uno... Shalosh... Shmoneh-" "Emily, no!" 

When we arrived at our hotel, I went to pay the driver the amount on the meter. I gave him money waiting for change but instead of change he returned "my bill" to me because "it was ripped." He indicated that we needed to give him a different bill. Having heard similar stories of taxi drivers swapping bills out for fake, ripped bills and demanding more money, I recognized his trick but didn't know what to do. I don't speak Spanish and even if I did, I don't know how I'd get him straight. So I decided to forgo our change, pushed Melissa out of the car and ran away. I guess thats a success story.