Mendoza

We arrived in Mendoza. While at the train station we researched times & prices to Chile. Then loaded in a taxi to our hostel. It's two blocks from the city center-named the Tibet hostel and it's got fung shui. Oh- did I mention a life sized photo if the owner with Brad Pitt? Chris hasn't seen the photo yet-but how can you miss this (or make it up for that matter)!?! 

 The shower was hot, the air was cold and we headed out for lunch. We went to La Florintina. It was a cute restaurant-felt European. This is Chris making a face. He is so expressive. 

 It was here that we had our first Malbec of Argentina. This is the one red wine I will drink. Chris loves red wine.  So he was delighted. The wine list had 2 pages of Malbecs without descriptions. I looked for a familiar name. It was reasonably priced and we got it. We both has a pasta lunch. And for the first time in our marriage, we finished off a bottle of wine-at lunch no less. 

We headed back to the Tibet house to use the internet to plan for tomorrow. I've had it with staying in hostels so we were looking at a B&B in Valparaiso.  It was booked so we spent another hour online finding places to stay. (I splurged & went for a nice B&B. I'm over these cold floors & walls that need fresh paint.) We headed out again to find the bus for tomorrow morning and for wine tasting/dinner. 

Chris wanted to go to the same place I wanted to go!! And we didn't even talk about it. We went wine tasting at The Vines-a tasting room started by Anericans that brings together wines of the different wineries in the region. (A new concept here.) We ordered up a set of Malbec flutes. Another table had a cheese plate and so we ordered one, too. After the wine & the cheese we decided we didn't need dinner. 

Back to the hostel to update this blog and off to bed. The plan is to ride bikes in Maipu tomorrow between different wineries.  After the last two "events" of our itinerary being canceled, we are hopeful for a good, eventful day tomorrow. We're half way through our trip   Yes, everything after MP is anticlimactic. But we are enjoying making memories together. 

Salta to Mendoza

We slept well and awoke to a cold, cloudy, rainy day in Salta. Thankfully, we were warm. It was nice to be in the same place for 3 nights which settled my spirit as well as gave us time to re-group and an for the next leg of our journey. Chris was still feeling the effects of food poisoning (everytime I type food poisoning auto correct changes it to good poisoning). Our room was already reserved thus we had no choice but to oblige by the 10am check out time-which is the latest we've seen in South America. Just as we were checking out our laundry was delivered. We re-entered our room (kudos to Chris for not locking it) and re packed our bags for the journey. We had "breakfast" at the hostal and delayed our journey into the grey until 11am. Quite a difference from the past two days but still 100% better than Bolivia. We'd had a chance to warm up. 

We headed to the square, thankfully without rain. The Cathedral was open and we took a trip inside. Actually, we felt like homeless people-no place to go? The church is open. Spend time there. This Cathedral allowed for pictures-the first pictures we've been able to take inside a Cathedral. This Cathedral was destroyed in an earthquake & re dedicated just less than a year later. It was a warm spot to pass time this morning. 

We walked around until our faces looked like cherubs. This is the coldest weather we've had on the trip (no sun = does not warm up). We walked to La Criollita for lunch. I found the restaurant in the city of Salta guide which included a coupon. I'm backpacking and I found a coupon. How exciting is that? We opened the doors to Criollita and were emersed in warmth. We both ordered soup. Good old chicken soup (and I had a tamale).

Chris was feeling well enough to walk the 6 blocks to the bus station and we bought fruit from the one fruit stand we passed. Two days ago when weather had been nice we passed 10+ fruit stands. Street stand business must be very weather dependent. Finally, the event we'd been waiting for: we boarded the bus for Mendoza. 

I'm sure from photos you cannot tell how nice this bus is-but we knew. There was a uniformed bus attendant checking our tickets. We have leg room-complete with leg rests & cup holders. In addition, the heat was on as we climbed aboard. Yes, the tickets cost three times what we normally pay in lodging-but we'll wake up in Argentina's wine country. 

When it was snack time, the stewardess passed out cafeteria trays to lay across our laps. Our snack was coffee/tea with an alfajore. These are fabulous sweet treats. Gram cracker cookie sandwich with caramel (made from condensed milk) in the middle, dipped in chocolate. Oh how I had forgotten some of the sweet treats Argentina has to offer. Snack time also coincided with a security search in which an officer boarded the bus & checked everyone's documents. It was the longest document check I've ever participated in. I think the security guy wanted out if the cold. Oh, and the bus played the movie Nonstop. I found it rather ironic. I didn't see that movie as an option on our flight down-for obvious reasons. 

This bus service included Bingo. Tested my Spanish number skills. I was one number away from winning. 

Another movie. Dinner was served at 10:30pm. Cold potatoes, quiche, and meat. There was a roll and some gelatin flan that was too strange for me to continue eating. Blankets AND pillows were passed out. Lights were dimmed, I pulled my hat over my eyes and off to sleep for a good 9 hours. I'm going to say this was the best bus ride we've had. We had another alfajor for breakfast with tea/coffee and arrived into Mendoza at 11. The 20 hour bus ride was enjoyable. Nice job AndesMar. We look forward to traveling with you again. Wine country, here we come!!

 

Another day in Salta

We woke up at 5:30 to catch a taxi to the Tren a las Nubes. A very nice woman met us as we exited the taxi and explained that due to maintenance, the train would not be going today. She explained to go inside for a refund. Please keep in mind we were just at the office yesterday afternoon and no one said ANYTHING. The train broke down on Saturday (3 days ago) and will not be fixed until August. Thankfully our taxi driver circled back around and picked us up as we exited from our refund (thank you Jesus for the little things).

Sad to say, but we are thankful. We both woke up thinking-I hope I can stay awake and do not miss anything on the train ride. Chris did not feel well. I did not sleep well. And by 6:45 we were both back in bed. Chris slept. I finished my second book of the trip. Our neighbors let their 2 year old daughter play with the key in the lock all morning. (A lot has changed in 6 years. Until this trip I'd never come across children at a hostel & this is our second time.)

Chris woke up at 11 still feeling upset tummy. He said said drinking water gave him the dry heaves. Back to bed. I am now on book 3 of the Janet Evanovich series. They are good company on this trip (and don't require a lot of brain power). At 2pm Chris headed for the bathroom and confirmed: food poisoning. It's a mild case and we are thankful. Not sure what he ate that I didn't try yesterday. The only thing we can figure is different quantities. Maybe I just didn't ingest enough to get sick-or I have a gut of steal. At any rate we are thankful for the canceled train this morning (and extra hours of sleep).

We have our windows open for a breeze & it's a lovely day in Salta. Our one goal is to make it to do laundry this afternoon/ evening. I've caught up on all forms of digital media and even have a blog copied for the next leg of our adventure.  Just as we were ready to head out Chris wasn't feeling well and back to bed. He then got the chills (it's 79 here today) and fell asleep. I finished book #3 in the series  as the sun went down. I'm very thankful I packed my Kindle and loaded it up with books before the trip. 

Chris wanted something light for dinner which is an oxymoron in beef country. We both came to the conclusion that if at were at home, we wouldn't be eating dinner because neither one of us was hungry. (I did eat 5 empanadas during the day that were intended for our train ride.)

At 8pm we headed out to drop off laundry. I needed to walk in hopes to sleep tonight. I promised Chris ice cream everyday in Argentina and although he initially rejected my proposition this evening, once we were out he changed his mind. I had a lemon mousse which was creamy and just lovely. Strong flavor, but light. Pleasant. (Yes, I was trying to make a face, but obviously not that one. We don't have another picture to post.)

And we're calling it a night. Tomorrow we'll start over again. Most of all, we are thankful for timing. Our train was canceled on a day Chris was sick. There was no plan B thus a quiet day of laying low worked out perfectly. Our hostel has excellent wi-Fi from the room that I was able to use today as Chris napped. The beds are probably the most comfortable we've had (even though we pushed the two twin beds together) and we have a space heater that effectively heats up the room. And tomorrow is a day of travel, providing Chris the opportunity to continue to rest & lay low. Not that there ever is a good time to be sick, but we are seeing God's perfect timing in the little details which affirms that He is in control. 

 

Salta

Oh how nice it is to have landed somewhere. We are in Salta for the next couple of days. I had a hot shower last night & slept in a warm bed. It may even be safe to say I woke up warm as well. These hostels are not the Hilton, but they sure beat the place we stayed in Villazon. We got the last bed at Hostal las Marias last night & were pleasantly surprised when they told us we had to change rooms, but could stay another 2 nights. I'm thankful. (This also means I can hand wash some laundry as for some reason I only brought 4 pair of socks.) I also put make up on & did my hair. I feel human again. 

Breakfast was bread & jam with coffee & tea. Prior to this morning Chris was on day 3 or 4 without coffee. I am happy to report his behavior did not show any signs of caffeine withdrawal. 

We headed off to see the city of Salta. We bought some much needed hand lotion from an incredibly nice pharmacist. He certainly spoke Castellano which is Spain Spanish. With hydrated hands we headed off to the main square-Plaza 9 de Julio. The main square is closed off by construction signs. There is no tourist information center. We've had trouble extracting money from the ATM as there is a local transaction limit. We've made multiple withdrawals and are eagerly awaiting the total of bank fees when we get home.  

Knowing I get anxious about what is next, we walked to the bus station to plan our journey. We were trying to split up our 18-19 hour journey to Mendoza. Chris lovingly went to multiple ticket counters and we soon discovered that "stoping half way" would add another 10 hours and almost double the cost of the journey. Thus we bought tickets to Mendoza, double checking that there is a baño on board. (Turns out all ticket windows sell the same routes for several different carriers. Why there are different carriers & windows we'll never understand.)

We left the train station feeling confident about our next steps & able to enjoy today. (Chris also mentioned that the cities we've been to are too large to "free-style." This means we've come to an agreement to have certain amount of planning. We also both agreed that backpacking is different when it's warm. Here in the "winter" it gets dark quickly as well as you have to ensure a place has hot water.)

The nice Americans on the bus yesterday gave us a print out of a blog about Salta. The blog talks about the local cuisine as well as a place for empanadas. Thus we walked 10 blocks for empanadas at El Patio de la Empanada. And we ordered 5-and quickly ate them all. Turns out this is not a restaurant. It's a seating area, surrounded by empanada stands. As customers come to the entrance of the patio, waitresses flag over customers & arrange tables, fighting for business. It is quite the sight. One customer started auctioning off his business to whichever seller would give him the best rate. The entire patio laughed. Argentinians are good natured & it's nice to be in their presence (especially after Bolivia). 

We are waiting our second order as well as our order for tomorrow morning's breakfast. And musicians are competing for our attention. It's quite the people watching scene. 

The weather warmed up nicely. The high will be 79 today. I was actually hot and it felt wonderful. After lunch we walked the 20 blocks to the Tren a las Nubes office (train to the clouds). We'd purchased tickets online but for some reason our card was charged but our ticket reservation was canceled. Once that was straightened out we proceeded to sweat our way to sweet treat. I'd promised Chris ice cream every day when in Argentina because I know they have my favorite ice cream (dulce de leche). As we enjoyed our ice creams, the weather felt like the first day of summer-a sentiment that is missed in Texas. 

We walked back the 20 blocks plus some extra (which feels amazing after our couple days trapped on buses) to Salta's gondola for a ride above the city. The nice weather means we were not the only ones with this idea. The views from the top were worth the wait. 

We had dinner at El Charrúa where I had the traditional locro (thick stew of corn, beans, & potato-and fat) while Chris had his first taste of Argentine beef. 

We had awesome conversation while waiting for our meal. Traveling is bringing out our living abroad stories, which were phases when we were not in each other's lives. This trip is as unifying as we had hoped. 

 

Argentina!!

Hallelujah!! We crossed the border & are now in Argentina. Yesterday we scoped out the border and determined we could just walk across it & catch a bus on the Argentine side to our next destination. 

This morning in Villazon was COLD. My hands were so cold I was losing dexterity. My butt retained the chill of the porcelin rim. And I debated about changing our flights & coming home early. I was not a happy camper-as often happens to me when I'm outside my comfortable temperature range. I used to pride myself on being minimalistic with travel & needing few amenities. Well, I've aged. I like my comforts. (And I'm sorry, Mom, for all the "bad" hostels I made you stay in. But I can promise you none were even close to as bad as the last two we stayed in Bolivia.) This may well be my last backpacking trip. I'm feeling too old. And I'm just not as flexible as I used to be. Or maybe I've just adapted to the comforts of American life. But I find backpacking much harder than I remember 6 years ago. And I'm missing my corporate hotels. Yes. This morning I woke up freezing & discouraged. And to top it all off my scalp is pealing-right at my part and I have a red spot in the middle of my forehead. So I also have a case if the uglies. Yes. It was a rough morning. 

After a Luna bar for breakfast, we put on our packs & walked to the border. I actually slipped on a bit of ice. We know temperatures were at least below freezing. We exchanged money & got in line at the border. We walked across into Argentina & waited to be stamped out of Bolivia. That was the easy part. The harder part was getting into Argentina. This was hard because once again, there was an old Bolivian woman who did not want to play by the rules. Picking our battles, we let her stay in line & watched culture at play. 

I have Argentine entrance until 2020 so says my visa. Thanks to all the extra pages-the guy couldn't find my visa. He found my visa and my passport was taken & I was told to wait. Chris had paid his entrance fee online & entered without problem. It was nerve wracking to have my passport out of sight & be told to wait. Chris got us a spot in line for customs & I waited for my passport. It was a long 4 minutes. 

The line for customs was someone at a table looking into your bag. Supposedly, there was a line for women & one for men. Since the women line had all the kids and all the ginormous bags full of who knows what, I stayed in line with Chris & got through just fine. We were finally out of Bolivia.

We walked to the us station in La Quiaca, the Argentine border town. In asking for directions, Chris noticed that people were friendlier and the city felt safer. We paid $42 USD to get on a bus to Salta. This bus had a bathroom. Sold. Thus we are now happily on our way to Salta. Within the first 30 minutes Chris commented on the smoothness of the roads. This is Chris eating an empanada on our bus. 

We also finally got answers about Uyuni and the Salt flats that we were not able to see. The Bolivian border guard said that the bus station collapsed. The ground sank in (obviously explains why there were no buses to there). Then we met other Anericans who managed to go to the Salt a Flats and said they were amazing but there were strikes. The strikers had previously blocked the roads to the bus station but yesterday (when we would've been there), the strikers blocked all roads in & out of the city.  These Americans were caught in the middle of the strike where locals had sling shots, knives, and sticks. They said it was the scariest experience she had ever had (and she is an RPCV).  Thus we are sad to have missed the beautiful sights but thankful for the Lord's protection. 

The sun is out & I'm pleasantly warm as the bus passes by sheep & llamas. I'm ready to continue on this adventure & very thankful to have Chris by my side. And we passed some mountains full of color. 

Our bus did not take us to Salta as promised. It took us to Juyjuy where we were told to catch another bus. But really that translated into get into line (2 times before you find the correct line) and hand in these vouchers for assigned seats on a specific bus. We decided to team up as a group of 4 with the afore mentioned Americans. We were outraged when our bus was not for another 2.5 hours! Then the ticketing agent kindly pointed out the time-we had missed the 1 hour ahead time change. That meant just over an hour wait. We set our watches accordingly. 

 We found some lunch & tried to connect to the internet. Again we purchased over-priced goods with the promise of wi-Fi only to be disappointed. The best find of the day was fresh fruit. Two apples & two pears for $1.23. And now we sit waiting for our bus to Salta. Once we get into Salta, we'll have the task of finding a place to stay in the dark. 

Chris and I are still finding our groove of travel. This "free-styling" that we've done since Peru is a bit much for me. We've stayed in some terrible places with sub-par food (not that we could've done anything to prevent it). I'm hoping we can take some time tomorrow in Salta to research places to stay as well as our next legs of the journey. Because the going and not knowing prevents me from enjoying. It's been a L-O-N-G couple days of travel with unexpected detours. My hope is that with a bit of planning, we can find a balance between the "free style" and the planning. 

We arrived in Salta at dusk. Chris had a hostel picked out & we headed there in a taxi. Thankfully, we got the last room and can only have it for one night. We'll be sleeping across from each other in twin beds, but there is wi-Fi and we have our own bathroom. 

We did not have enough $$ to pay for the room so we headed out on the streets in search of an ATM. although we are in Argentina, we are very North and thus the population reflects indigenous influence (we look like tourists). I hate getting into a new city in the dark & having to find my way around. Also, the ATM would only let us withdraw $124 with a $6 usage fee. We also need to figure out a budget as bus travel is around $100+ per person. 

We ate some dinner of gargantuan proportions and are now back at the hostel using wi-Fi and trying to find a place to rest our heads tomorrow night. 

The bus ride

It wasn't our first choice. 

We weren't expecting to stay in La Paz. Our first choice in Uyuni had no bus services. Our second choice in Potosí had all buses sold out. We went for broke and decided for the border at Villazón. There were 2 seats left. The ticket lady said it would be a 16 hour trip. We checked our bags below and boarded at 7 pm on Friday. 

It should have been foreboding when I needed to use the restroom at the bus terminal, but the men's was under construction. I decided to wait for the bus, as surely an overnight bus for 16 hours has to have a bathroom, right?

Wrong. 

Before too long Meredith had to go too. We debated about how a bus could have no bathroom, then it must make frequent stops, right?

Wrong. 

It was 11 pm before we saw two men making for the exit. We both knew in other countries we'd been too, we could ask the driver for a moment. So we followed the two men to the exit.

Now this bus setup was strange. All the passengers sat upstairs, while the driver was in a separate cab below. The two men approached the drivers window to pay. Then the bus started to move with me outside and Mer at the door. 

I ran to the window yelling, "Esperése!" (wait) The bus stopped again and I asked if we could wait a moment to pee. The co-pilot asked the driver. Then the driver said something I didn't hear and then started to take off again. As the bus moved, the sliding door to the passenger stairs started to close with Mer standing in between. 

I had to run. Mer had to hold the door. She kept her body between the closing door so I could run and grab the railing inside. 

We both made it. 

We climbed the stairs and made it back to out seats. Confused, scared, wondering what happened, we held each other arm in arm and sat silently. 

I dealt with the discomfort by forcing myself to sleep. Mer wasn't so lucky. 

Around 1 am, I woke up with Mer wide awake. We discussed ermergency options. Would the bumpy road allow the use of a bottle? Finally, it looked like we were entering a city. Would we stop?

We pulled into the street next to the Oruru bus station and several other passengers stood up. We knew this was our chance. We got off the bus and looked for the bathrooms. That's when Mer noticed the other women heading for a storm drain in the street.

"Are we … ? " Mer asked. 

Yes we were. 

Between the cold, the night, the street, and the public location, it was hard to go despite our desperate need. 

Then the bus started moving again. I got myself together and ran and got Mer. Turns out the bus was just backing into the station.  

Neither of us had gone completely, so we returned to a place behind a closed vendor's stand and took turns, one guarding the other. 

Relief at last. We went back to the bus and fought our way among the newly boarding passengers only to find someone in our seats. In our daze and tiredness, the words came that he was in our seats. Begrudgingly, but obediently, he got up and moved his things. The bus then filled up with more passengers (some fights ensued as new passengers who purchased seats were relegated to the aisle.) Eventually, the bus rumbled on as both Mer and I were able to sleep. 

Then the "ganas" came again. Around 4:30, the bus stopped for gas. She and I both had to go again and didn't know our next opportunity. Again we found ourselves out by the poorly lit highway among other passengers answering nature's call. It was so cold at this point, it was hard to go, but go we did. The bus horn blew so we went back and boarded. 

The sun rose around 7 am. I was awake as Mer caught up where I could previously sleep. I did get our first picture of the episode of the scrubby, semi-mountainous desert conditions of central and southern Bolivia. 

There were not many people or villages here. Nor did there seem to be much traffic. It felt like a solitary bus heading to nowhere. 

Mer did wake up a few hours later, but it's not like there's much to do but sit. We both read a little. Tried to play word games on the Kindle. Otherwise, back to sleep. 

Around 10 am (hour 15), we stopped for breakfast. The nicest part was free bathrooms. We ate our snacks and took advantage of the time to stand up. The bus horn then honked after 20 minutes, and we all scrambled aboard. Back to sleep. 

At 12 noon, we rolled into another bus terminal. This one was Tariza. A few people got off, some with several large packages. I got one picture, but the camera only focused on the dirt on the window. 

And thus we went back to sleep. At round 2 pm (19 hours after leaving La Paz) we finally arrived at the border town of Villazón. We collected our bags and tried to get oriented. We had long ago decided we needed a break from from buses. We needed a real bathroom and a nice, warm shower. 

It was not to be found in Villazón. After striking out on our first hostel attempt, our second proved decent enough. Although our private bathroom had no toilet seat and (to our dismay) no hot water, the shared showers did. We dropped our bags headed for cleanliness. 

Our room was nothing fancy, in fact extremely cold as it was down a hallway with no contact from the sun. However, it had a bed with which. we could stretch our legs out. 

We went for a walk in town, not only to stand up but also to warm up in the sun after a luke-warm shower. 

We found an Internet cafe to at least check on our next destination in Argentina (although email barely worked and attempts to reserve hostels didn't work). I also found no news, in English or Spanish, as to what was happening in Uyuni. We left and eventually found a chicken dinner with soup. Then we returned to our hostel, snuggled in bed for warmth, and played Ticket to Ride on our phones under the sheets to avoid the freezing chill. Around 8 pm, we called it a night. 

Despite this blog post, we haven't really dealt with the trauma of that bus ride. It truly tested our grit, patience, language, and prayer life. We only say, "Thank you God, anyway." Perhaps we will learn the real disaster we were spared. Until then, we count our blessings and look forward to our next steps in Argentina. 

Isla del Sol & the road through Bolivia

Our previous day of bus, bus, boat, then hiking up an Incan staircase to subpar accommodations was obviously less than ideal. However, I woke up at 6:30 after a great night's sleep. I checked with Mer and she was feeling her stuffed sinuses and effects our our highest altitude yet. I decided to get up and try find a good view of the sunrise. I was not disappointed. 

The only noises I heard were the hoofclaps of the donkeys carrying water up the mountain. Later I heard the competitive barks of local dogs, but it was very clear and very quiet. 

After taking some pictures, I came back to check on Mer. She was more awake and, after getting vertical, felt a lot better. We packed up and headed down to try to find a place for breakfast before getting on the boat. Again, the place said they had wifi, but it didn't work. I eventually climbed the rest of the way down to buy boat tickets, but they were closed still. I did get a shot of the Incan staircase we climbed the day before with our packs on. 

And one of Mer waiting for breakfast. 

Eventually, we went down to the beach and played word games after buying our ticket for the boat. The boat we boarded was much smaller than the one the day before. It ran out of seats and we were relegated to the floor.

Eventually, after choppy waters that do so well on Mer's stomach stability, we made it back to Copacabana. I raced up to buy our ticket for La Paz (we were both OVER this area, and weren't willing to stay any longer than necessary). Then we found a restaurant nearby again chosen because they advertised wifi. Again, it didn't work well (notice a theme?). It was there, as our drinks arrived I noticed a familiar face. Not only from Texas, not only a teacher, but one who went through the same TTF program and also teaches in Manor! Incredibly small world to run into someone you know in a restaurant in a passing town like Copacabana, Bolivia. 

Our bus to La Paz then boarded at 1330. Geographically interesting is the peninsula we were on is completely surrounded by Peruvian land. Thus the La Paz bus is forced to go over Lake Titicaca via ferry. We all had to unboard, pay a ferry fee, and then reboard the bus on the other side. Always a first for everything, I guess. 

Luckily, the boat ride came at just a point that we were getting hot and Mer was feeling sick. On the other side, vendors were selling all kinds of goods including Bolivian jello. It was perfect for settling an upset stomach. 

The rest of our trip into La Paz was pretty uneventful. You can see it sprawled out in this photo. 

They also had some cool art. 

And we got a few shots of the local women loaded with things on their backs. 

Finally, we pulled into the busy La Paz bus station. 

That's where our tough decisions started.  The next place on our itinerary was the salt flats in Uyuni. When we met my fellow teacher in Copacabana, he mentioned a text his friend got from a friend saying only that Uyuni was closed. We found that tiny rumor to be true once we got to La Paz. There were 3 bus lines with service to Uyuni. All of them were "closed until further notice."

Now what? Our first instinct was to find our next destination: the border town of Villazón. We found a bus leaving in 2 hours. Then, we stopped for a moment and thought about punting in our plans. Maybe we could go to the silver-rich town of Potosí. We checked on four different bus lines and all were sold out. Perhaps the setting sun and unexpected prospect of staying in La Paz fueled our decision, but we went with our instinct. We bought two tickets for Villazón. The guidebook said it was 23 hours. The woman selling the tickets said 16 hours. We found a quick dinner at a bus station cafeteria, bought snacks for the long ride, and then checked in our luggage. Then we boarded the bus. 

Prayers were necessary.