Bring back the quiet life!

Hi all,

The blonde-oh-sans and I arrived in Mendoza, Argentina today after first waking up late due to a very very late night with our new Chilean surfer friends who joined in on our Thanksgiving Day celebration. It was quite fun and everyone involved really enjoyed the whole idea of giving thanks and eating pumpkin pie - woohoo! Anyhow, after a 2 hour car ride to Santiago to dump "Big Mama" at the rental place, then a taxi ride to the train station, then a subway ride to the bus station and then a 7 hour bus ride with a border crossing (much smoother this time, Poppa T!), we got here and experienced some serious city shock. My immediate reaction was to hop on the bus and get the hell out of dodge. Bring back my small beach and mountain towns! But we took deep breaths, rallied, and decided that, perhaps, we should give the city life a shot. Nevertheless, we are cutting our time here much shorter than we thought and actually doing a little backtracking tomorrow to hit some small mountain towns at the base of the Andes. Our bus ride today was INCREDIBLE - right through a high mountain pass with ginormous mountains and grand waterfalls and really really sketchy curvy roads, but on the best bus Ive ever had the experience to ride on!

I think my heart belongs in a small town. Dont get me wrong, Ive lived in big cities - and loved them - but when you have the opportunity to experience the beauty and majesty and hospitality of the tiny towns throughout these countries, it feels like you are doing yourself a disservice to spend too much time in a bigger city. Plus, the mountains are so breathtaking - so back we go from whence we came (just two of the seven hours) to hike, take a wine tour through the vineyards via bike, and revel in once again being in the middle of nowhere - so no phone, TV, or internet once again - VIVA!

Happy Thanksgiving from warm and sunny Ritoque, Chile

Feliz Dia a todos! Ahhh, Im livin´ the life, I tell ya. This place is golden. I dont know how the heck Ive been lucky enough to happen upon such a wonder, but let me tell you, I havent for one second taken for granted the time I have here - ok, maybe when Ive been freezing with ten layers of clothing on, I feel less than happy, but those moments are usually quite brief.

So where am I living "the life," so to speak? Well dont go trying to find it on a map, because most maps do not even list the town. In fact, we are quite lucky that our dinky little map DOES have the town on it because none of us was particularly aware of where we were headed until we woke up Sunday morning and hopped in the car. "Where to?" I asked as I was serving as navigator. "Hmmm. Some hostel on the beach north of Viña del Mar. I wrote it down somewhere," replied Nina. Side note: Nina is GREAT at planning, finding, and booking places, which works out quite well as I dont seem to have much of an eye for planning in advance. So, on that note, she had booked this hostel four days earlier as it was cheap, ON THE BEACH, and not in a big city. This is all we knew (and even thought about) until this moment when we were actually en route to said hostel and beach. "OK, so the address says Comunidad de Playa Ritoque." Excellent! Given that many towns here are so small, you dont need much of an address. Our method of finding our hostels thus far has involved 1) arrive at said town, 2)drive down main street, 3) keep eyes peeled for hostel. This usually involved turning around several times and asking numerous people if they have ever heard of the place, but has been fail safe thus far. So I looked on the map and found Ritoque listed as being a tiny town at the end of a dirt road. Score! So after an afternoon of getting lost, then found, driving down dirt roads through avocado plantations, viewing a penguin breeding colony in the beach town of Cachagua, and walking on a gorgeous stone path running along the cliffs skirting the ocean, we headed to our happy little hostel here in Ritoque. And, yes, we had to ask at least three people, turn around various times, and walk around looking quite perplexed as the hostel does not actually have any sign on it, but we found it!

So here we are in what Jenny has described as " not the middle of nowhere, Chile, but, somewhere, Chile. And that somewhere being paradise." It is a tiny tiny town at the end of a gravel road. It´s still not summer yet, so there arent too many people around and we have had the hostel to ourselves much of the week. The local bar has opened each night just for us. So beach, bar, and house to ourselves. We were booked for just two nights but extended to 5, and if we didnt have to return the car to Santiago tomorrow, Im not sure we would ever leave. Thanks to a train that runs right through the gorgeous dunes each day, there had been NO development on this beach and, thus, we have discovered the last undeveloped beach within four hours of Santiago. In addition, Nina, Jenny, and I found teh most perfectly wonderful field to go running in. After bouldering along the shore up a steep rock wall, you are greeted with the most glorious pasture skirting the cliffs that drop down to the ocean. There is NO development here, and so the only thing you see as you run along is the ocean and a vast field of wild flowers. Nothing but water between you aand Australia. I imagine this is sort of what parts of the California coast must have looked like long ago before developers got their hands on it.

And to honor this day of giving thanks for all we have, we are having a feast for all of the people we have met here. The local bread man is making a pumpkin pie that he spent several hours yesterday doing research on the internet and at the library to get a recipe because he wants to make it just right. I insisted he didnt need to go through so much trouble, but he really wants to learn how to make it and his wife told us she was going to put everything she has into making us the most delicious pie to celebrate this tradition of ours - AMAZING!

Tomorrow, we head to Santiago to drop off the car and then we bus it back to Argentina - lets hope this border crossing is less eventful than the last. To all my lovely and wonderful family and friends, I am thankful for each and every one of you, and thanks again and again for all of your love, well wishes and support. VIVA!

Chilean Road trip with the Blonde-oh-Sans!

Good evening! Quite a lot has happened in the last few days. First of all, dad´s birthday bike ride to the top of Parque Metropolitano got cancelled upon discovering that all municipal workers in the city were on strike - maaaaaaaajor bummer. Nina and I tried to charm the workers at the padlocked gate into letting us in, but no go:(. Instead, we opted to ride along the string of green spaces through the middle of town in an effort to both see some of Santiago and get some ejercicio. However, the intense heat, as well as the chaos of all the traffic honking and burping exhaust alongside us, left us pretty beat after only a couple of hours, so we retreated to Bellavista to enjoy a few drinks. Until I get to experience Parque Metropolitano, Parque 3 de febrero in Buenos Aires still wins my heart for best green space in a large Latin American city. Dinner was super tasty and fun as Jonathan, Mitzi, Nina, Jenny, dad, and I reminisced about our trip, ate awesome ceviche, and told stories of our favorite memories of dad.

The next day I was forced to say goodbye to Poppa T after we humped around Providencia trying to find an ATM that would accept our cards and give us some dinero. I DO NOT understand banks here. The never seem to be open. Evidentally, they all open at 9 and close by 2. Im thinking life as a Chilean bank teller may not be so bad... That was about as exciting as our day got since the whole city was on strike once again and all museums, etc were closed. Plus, city life was becoming rather overwhelming for me. I think my soul belongs in a small place - at least for now. I will be forever grateful for having had the opportunity to travel here for two weeks with my dad. There were a few times when we drove each other nuts, but for the most part we were able to enjoy each other´s company in one of the most stunning settings Ive ever laid my eyes on. Beautiful day after beautiful day, we hiked, biked, climbed, ate, drank, and laughed our way through Argentina and Chile. I am one lucky girl to have such an amazing father!

And things are coming together as I set off sans-Poppa T on my South American adventure. First off, I should introduce Nina and Jenny (whom dad has taken to calling the "Blonde-oh-sans) seeing as how I have mentioned them a few times and they are now very important players in my trip for the next few weeks. They are from San Fran and Chicago, respectively, went to school together at the Universtiy of Denver, and are here in SA for 6 weeks traveling as they, too, try to figure out what comes next. We had a grand time together on the REI portion of our trip, and figured, heck, let´s keep the fun rolling. So we rented a car as it´s actually cheaper to rent a car for a week and split it between three people than bussing it, and means we can go to more obscure places(!), bought some food at the supermercado and headed West. En route, we named our vehicle "Big Mama" due to it´s relative large size and in honor of my own Big Mama who Im convinced is watching over me and cheering me on. We plan on spending a week driving around Chile before dropping off the car and hopping a bus back to Argentina for a couple of weeks.

We are currently in a heavenly hotel outside the small town of Limache, Chile at the base of Parque Nacional La Campaña. This place is amazing. Roses in bloom everywhere, cherry trees with plump juicy fruit surrounding the grounds, and a child´s playground to rival any place I ever got to play growing up. Yesterday, we chillaxed by the pool after feeling rather proud of ourselves for managing to navigate the roads out of Santiago (thanks to Jenny´s superb driving skills),and then went for a short walk in an attempt to find some trail that the guy at the front desk told me about. Unfortuantely, it appears that my Spanish skills failed me as the trail was never found, BUT we did get to feast on quite a few cherries as we lost ourselves in a cherry orchard and then had a grand time on the seesaw and swings.

And then today we hit a great high as we trekked 1400 meters over 7 km in the parque to the top of Cerro La Campaña. We made it just 100 meters shy of the top when we decided it was best to stop where we were as it was incredibly steep and rocky and my desire to bust my head open in the middle of nowhere Chile was more or less nonexistent. The climb up was not so much the issue, it was looking down and realizing just how many crumbly rocks we would have to navigate over to make it back safely that left Jenny and me feeling nervous. (Read my post regarding Volcan Villarica if you need to fully understand my fear of heights.) But making it here was more than enough for us. It was an incredible journey up. It was steep, rocky, and rather slick at points, but the view was so freaking awesome and the three of us all felt so strong going up - as if our bodies were truly happy that we were pushing ourselves so hard. And we were also feeling proud of ourselves for finding this off-the-beaten track place to spend the day. After lunch, we nearly ran down. We werent running due to feeling rushed to get back, we were just having fun. We passed this one English couple who said we must be in a hurry to catch a bus, I responded by saying, "No, no rush. We´re just HAPPY!" And I am happy. Happy to be here. Happy to have such wonderful travel companions. Happy to have the opportunity to explore such amazing places. Happy to have such loving family and friends back home!

Tomorrow, we head to the beach to see penguins and tomar sol. Hasta la proxima...

Bucking down the Rio Trancura, final fiestas, more happy birthdays and bittersweet goodbyes

Our guided trip has come to an end. Our final day involved a short, but rockin´ and rollin´ raft trip down the Rio Trancura in Pucon. The water was cold cold cold, so we were outfitted in Super Cool Outfit #2 (#1 being the birght orange windsuit for the previous day´s climb) which included a wetsuit, oversized bright orange shorts and paddle jacket, booties, life jackets, and helmets. Our group - the MisArgenAdians with me, dad, Tim, Kirsty, and our head guide Victor - were living it up and we bucked our way through the Class III-IV rapids. It was one wild ride with some huge standing waves and surging holes, standing up on the edge of the raft holding hands as we went through one of the more calm rapids, our guide abandoning us and dad taking over the position of guide, and much "falling" into the freezing cold water.

Our final evening we had a nice goodbye dinner to celebrate our time together, and then continued to a nearby bar. Somehow, we managed to leave dad at the hotel as we all piled into the taxis. Never fear as dad is one resourceful individual! He got himself his own cab, and in the duration of the 5 minute ride, he discovered his cab driver had actually been our raft guide from earlier - the one who abandoned us - AND got pulled over by the cops. His ride was far more eventful than ours!

Yesterday, after far too few hours of sleep, we rallied to get everything in the van and head to the airport. I was terribly sad to say goodbye to our guides and our group. Luckily, about 6 of us are spending a few days in Santiago, so the party will continue for us over the next day or two. Dad and I are currently recovering from too much activity on too little sleep at a hotel in the Providencia district of Santiago. And I really am enjoying the little bit of this city Ive seen thus far. Yes, it´s quite smoggy, and there is this super fast river that looks like poo water rushing through the middle of town, but there is also a lot of green space, many cute cafes, pretty buildings, and - for me, personally - it just seems far more tranquil and manageable than Buenos Aires.

Today is Poppa T´s 57th birthday - Happy Birthday to one of the most amazing people I know! We are planning to bike to the top of the Parque Metropolitano wiht Nina and Jenny which overlooks the city and where we hear there is a great pool for swimming - which should be nice as it is hot hot hot here in la ciudad.

And tomorrow brings another goodbye as I must send dad back to los estados. For now, we revel in our time together here. Hasta la proxima...

Ice axes and human bobsledding, anyone?

I am not sure what I thought I would need my ice axe for. I honestly just do not think I thought through it all. Yet, somewhere in the process of being outfitted - the ice axe, the bright blue and orange windsuit, the heavy duty boots, the crampons, the "diaper" for extra butt protection - trying these things on for size should have clued me in. But they didnt. And it´s probably best as I know I most likely would have psyched myself out and not completed yesterday´s climb. And I definitely would not have slept soundly the night before. But sleep soundly I did, and at 6:30 yesterday morning, we were geared up and ready to climb Volcan Villarica, a dormant, yet smoking volcano overshadowing the small town of Pucon. Pucon sits at about 600 feet; the parking lot at 4600 feet; summit at 9300 feet. Do the math and you have just about 4700 feet to climb on volcanic ash and snow/ice in 4 and a half hours.

I am NOT one for heights. Especially when falling means faaaaaaaaaaaaaalling down down down on ice with no great means of stopping yourself. Sure, we had ice axes, but they never did actually teach us how to use the things until we saw one guy slip and fall down the mountain unable to stop himself as his axe had fallen out of his hand. He went down down down, and I FROZE from fear. I had already started to feel nervous before we even climbed to the first ridge. Nervous may even be an understatement. I was actually in tears as I started to realize the extent and intensity of the climb we were on. It was steep, icy, windy at times, and my fear of heights was starting to overpower me. I wanted to turn back. But dad reassured me I would be fine (although dad has gotten me into quite a few sketchy situations after "reassuring" me, so I cant say this left me feeling terribly confident) and Tim, one of the guys on the trip, offered to let me go in front of him suggesting being closer to the front was easier. I dont know that it was any easier, but as we hiked higher and higher, we talked about our mutual nervousness regarding the climb, and I tried my darndest to focus only on putting one foot in front of the other. I could not look down. It was all I could do to try to forget that there was anything below me. And then we hit one super sketchy pass just as we saw the guy slip and fall. My legs began to shake and I could not get myself to move any further. There was no defined foot hold, and my ice axe didnt feel like enough support. But the only thing scarying me more than slipping and falling down the mountain, was turning around and walking down. In fact, the higher we climbed, the more the concern about how we would actually get ourselves down overwhelmed me. So I decided that moving forward was the only option for the moment, and that I would have to leave the issue of getting down for later. So I took the next step, got myself to the top of the ridge and just about broke down as I admitted to the guides that I was SCARED. Very very scared. Meanwhile, I would like to note, that dad was behind me singing and having a grand old time. My how differently we experience such adventures!

The rest of the way up, dad was forced to take the lead as the guide found that his singing was holding us up. So as dad huffed and puffed his way at the front, I was moved to the back to walk just in front of German, the sweep guide, who encouraged me every time I slipped, or stopped frozen in fear and we slowly, step by step, marched our way to the top. I refused to look up or down and put all of my energy into focusing on the person´s steps in front of me. As we reached the top, the smell of sulfur from the volcano welcomed us, and I can honestly say I was so happy to smell such a nasty odor! I collapsed as I let the fear drain from my body and wanted to kiss German for helping me make it to the top. I could not have done it without him and will be forever grateful to him for all his support. This has to be one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I have ever done. And it certainly is one of my proudest accomplishments.

We had the opportunity to rest a bit, take photos (the view of the surrounding valley and mountains was incredible!), and eat before getting geared up in our reinforced "diaper" for extra butt protection as we made our way down. I had been told that the way down would involve a controlled human bobsled. What that meant to me before the trip is unclear. However, what it means after the trip is just that - a human bobsled. As in you - the human - are bobsledding (aka - sliding) down the side of this hulking 9300 foot volcano from summit to base at 4600 feet on your butt. And the "controlled" part of it? Your ice axe. Thats right, when you wanted to stop, you were to dig your ice axe into the mountain. I wasnt quite catching on. In fact, I was downright scared again. I got up the damn thing and now I would have to work through my fear again to get myself down. I didnt see any helicopters overhead offering to pick up those who were unable to get down due to fear, so I looked to German who kept smiling at me saying "You will be just fine" and "Its SO fun." Hmm...I wasnt so sure.

But Lord Almighty - how much freakin fun it was! I have never seen anything like what we did in my life, and Im positive nothing like that would fly in the States. Too many lawyers out there trying to make a quick penny to allow such fun to occur. Let me explain.....You sit on your butt in your reinforced diaper, you hold the tip of your ice axe in your right hand, the base in your left, and you let her rip. At this point the snow was soft enough, that once you picked up any real speed on the super steep parts, the snow and your backpack would slow you down as you reached more level parts of the mountain. But in order to calm my nerves, I was allowed to go behind the head guide who would stop in front my me anytime I got too much speed so that I could stop by simply ramming my body into him in the case that my ice axe failed me. I did this a few times and then caught on to the fact that, by golly, this is really one heck of a good time. Think of the most fun water slide youve ever been down and multiply that experience 100 times. This slide just kept going and going. As soon as you hit a slow patch, you got up, stumbled a few steps, found a new spot, and kept trucking your way down the mountain. At one point, I wrapped my legs around the guide and with our combined weight we were able to get up some serious speed and fly past other people - clearly, I got over my fear pretty quickly! So we yipped and hollered and yee hawed down, playing human bumper cars as we ran into each other on the paths and occasionally lost control and went rolling head first sprawled out on all fours. The group was all smiles and the sheer ecstasy on dad´s face was priceless (unfortuantely, I had a breif scare where I thought I lost my camera, so i have no photos:(). German kept laughing at me, saying "Now do you see what I meant when I said it would be worth it?!" Ok, ok, he was right... And what took us four and a half hours up, took just over 30 minutes to get down.

Poppa T and I celebrated with hamburgers, pizza, and a panqueque con chocolate with Nina and Jenny before passing out in our twin beds. What a day!

Bienvenidos a Chile?!?

Yesterday, after a night that involved super yummy pizza, playing pool at a nearby bar and then - for dad and some of the others as I started to feel ill chill around 2 am - dancing at "The Irish Pub," the 14 of us and our 4 wonderful guides headed out of San Martin de los Andes west toward the Chilean border. No big deal. Just hop in the car and go. We went from paved road to gravel road and then came upon the Argentinian customs office. They stamped our passports and said "Adios." Again, NO big deal. Then we found ourselves in what I assume is essentially "no man´s land". We were on a rural gravel road in the middle of nowhere, had left Argentina, but had yet to enter Chile. Here we had lunch. Dad and I wandered around taking photos of ourselves hopping in and our of Argentina and continued to be amused by our location. This amusement quickly came to an end, however.

As we set out after lunch the some 500 meters to the Chilean border we were met by people who seemed less than excited to have us trying to enter their country. Here´s where everything started to become a big deal.... First off, they wanted all the men between the ages of 16-39 to get the rubella vaccination. It didnt matter that they had had the vaccination, as they didnt carry proof. No one carried any vaccination records as we were unaware of this "requirement." The customs agent was prepared to give three of the guys shots then and there. After much discussion, it was decided that only our guides who would be spending more than three days in Chile would have to get the vaccination, and the others could walk free. Problem one solved. THEN one of the girls in the group was taken into a back room and questioned regarding the fact that she was throwing away nuts before entering Chile. You cant take them into the country, but, evidentally, you also cant throw them away before entering....hmm... So what seemed like an hour later, she came out with a written warning regarding her "misdemeanor." Meanwhile, several other people who declared that they were carrying food - one person had enough food to feed a small country for a week - walked through customs scotch free. So once they let us all through about 3 hours later, we hopped in the car and booked it. Enough issues for one day!

And once we got ourselves into the actual country, we were greeted with such a stunning landscape. This part of Chile is much greener than the Argentinian side. And we had the opportunity to enjoy the pastoral scenery of the surrounding farms and the nearby mountains on bike as we made our way to our hotel in Pucon. We were biking on paved road for the first time since we got here, and after not having ridden my road bike in a couple of weeks, I was psyched to be back on the open road with just me and my bike. Plus, two of the people on our trip are professional cyclists - one has completed 10 ironman triathalons, so I was excited for a bit of a challenge in a sport where I actually have a bit of skill - as opposed to mountain biking! So we booked it the first part of the ride, and then spent the latter part admiring the passing farms and luscious river valley. Woohoo!

We then had to head to the supermercado to buy food for today´s climb and then head to a local outfitter to get fitted with boots, "a serious windbreaker outfit" (bright orange, might i add?!), crampons, gloves, and ice axes. Somehow, the fact that we were being suited up with such technical gear didnt tip me off to the intensity of the climb we would be facing... And then dinner involved more meat in this cute town that reminds me of Jackson Hole, mariachi dancers that looked an awful lot like Jack Black, and waffles con chocolate - YUM!

Im hungry, stinky, and tired, so I will write about today´s climb once Ive bathed, fed myself, and gotten some rest. But stay tuned because it was one heck of an experiencia!

La vida Patagonica

Buenas Tardes! First off, I would just like to say that I LOVE this country. I may just have to move here. It is far more beautiful and amazing than I ever could have imagined, and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to be traveling here. The helpful and friendly people, the gorgeous scenery, and the fact that I am avoiding the short days of winter back home are all enough to make me feel very very happy with where I am right now. (Rene, you are one LUCKY chica to be studying here next year and are in for quite a treat!)

I am currently in San Martin de los Andes - a quaint town sitting on Lago Lacar tucked into a valley in Northern Patagonia near the Chilean border. We biked into town today from our previous dwellings in Villa La Angostura, and as we cruised down the mountain into town, we caught a breath-taking view of the city surrounded by a vast forest and the snowcapped Andes in the distance. As dad keeps saying, it feels like being in Europe - only better as it is far cheaper and the people arent rude (his words, not mine). The town is postcard cute and we hear there is a discoteca, so we expect to be dancing the night away...


We spent the last two days in Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi where we had no intenet, no cell reception, no television, NO access to the outside world - essentially my idea of heaven (for a few days, at least)! There is only one narrow one-way road leading into the park, thus there is a schedule so that cars are only going in one direction at any given time - enter the park between 9 and 2, leave between 4 and 7 am. Ane when you are there - you are THERE. All of your attention is focused on this gorgeous place. Our hotel looked out at Mt. Tronador, a volcano surrounded by glaciers. Our first day was spent in transport as we headed into the park and then enjoyed a delicious lunch. After allowing our food to settle we headed to the Black Glacier at the base of Mt. Tronador. I have only been on a horse maybe three times in my life, and I think my horse could tell I was not super into the activity. Either that, or he also just wasnt into carrying me on his back for four hours, as we slooooooooooowly made our way up to the glacier as he stopped to eat every leaf on every tree. The rhythm and pace of our trek nearly put me to sleep a few times, and I kept thinking - horseback riding is NOT my activity of choice. But, alas, we arrived and, oh boy, what a sight! However, as cool as this black glacier was, I found it more disturbing the speed at which the glacier is disappearing. In a few years - if even that long - the glacier just wont be there anymore. Our ride back was a bit more eventful as my horse realized food was his reward for carrying me back to the barn, so we had brief - and I do mean very brief - moments of enthusiasm on the part of my horse that involved trotting along to reach the butt of the next horse, upon which moment he would rapidly stop, take a breath, and begin moseying along once again at his own ridiculously slow pace. I must add, that my experience did not extend to the rest of the group. At dinner that night people were speaking about how lively and animated their horses were - and dad´s horse even lead the pack on the way up. Hmmm.....


The next day was a bustle of activity. First, we hiked some 8 miles round-trip to check out the Hanging Glacier at the base of Mt. Tronador and enjoyed a picnic lunch while admiring the 1500 foot waterfalls and occassional ice falls. Next, I talked dad into accompanying a few of us to the top of an overlook to take in an amazing view of the surrounding valley. While the climb was STEEEEP and left us rather winded, the view was worth it - it usually is, isnt it?! Finally, came dinner, which was an event unto itself. We had an authentic Argentinian barbecue in a building behind our hotel with a whole lamb being cooked over hot coals. Dad finally got to enjoy some of the fabled amazing Argentinian meat we have been hearing so much about, yet been unable to find. This lamb, however, knocked his - and the rest of the groups -socks off. And then, of course, there was much wine and even a rousing game of ping pong to top off the evening. Dad and I were dancing to 80s music and trying very very hard to look like we had some skill as we whacked the ball back and forth. If nothing else, I think we provided a few minutes of entertainment for the others!



Yesterday, I got up early to run before we headed out early on the one-way road out of the park. Our destination was Villa LA Angostura and our activity of the day was mountain biking. Somehow I had it in my mind that this day of biking would be no big deal. Well, I was WRONG. After being sore from horsebike riding, and somewhat tired from the hikes from the day before, my body just was not interested in a hard ride. But that´s what it got! We set off from our new hotel along a very dusty road where we met the first of many long hill climbs. I huffed and puffed my way up the hills with the rest of the pack and felt like I was going to fall over from exhaustion. But we found ourselves on a single track path through this amazing forest and I tried to distract myself by focusing on where I was, not how I was feeling. And with dad whooping and yee hawing from sheer joy behind me, it was pretty easy to find joy in the situation. Not to mention that he would often break out singing "play that funky music white boy" and even "green acres is the place for me" on the more difficult climbs. And upon finally arriving at our destination, we were once again blown away with another amazing view of the mountains while sitting on the shores of a glacial lake and being treated to fresh fruit, wine, and cheese.

Today was a lower activity day as they transported us to two different spots en route to our current town where we could bike downhill. And being no great mountain biker, I have to say that downhill mountain biking is really challenging. And scary. Really scary. I have named myself the pokey puppy of downhill. Bring on the uphill. I may huff and puff my way up, but I can hold my own. Downhill is a whole different story. So I putzed my way down into town while enjoying some breath-taking views and laughing as dad once again "yipped" and "yeehawed" his way down. While he can drive me nuts - and what parent doesnt drive their children crazy from time to time?! - I keep thanking my lucky stars that he is MY dad! Rock on padre!

Now we are off to a tasty dinner in this quaint town. Tomorrow brings not only a new town, but a new country - Pucon, Chile. We will bike/van our way into town. Hasta la proxima....

Feliz Cumple Hermanita Mia desde Bariloche!

First of all, I would like to sing out in my highest tone deaf voice a boisterous "Happy Birthday" to Annelle! I must say dad and I celebrated my sister´s birthday in one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been and she was on our minds all day. In fact, much of dinner was spent talking about the amazing things my sister has done in her life - Peace Corps in El Salvador, cross-country road trip raising money for Habitat for Humanity, AIDS work in South Africa, and, most importantly, Yale Nursing School to become a truly dedicated and kick ass Nurse Pracitioner specializing in women´s health. Yep, she´s one cool chica. We miss you and love you!!

And back to this gorgeous place we´ve found ourselves in - Bariloche. Think Swiss Alps. Ive never been there, personally, but my dad assures me that this place is like being in Switzerland, but far more amazing. We got to lay our eyes on one of National Geographics Top 5 best views worldwide and are sleeping next to a lake that is more clear than any water Ive ever seen. It´s also the chocolate capital of the world. Dad and I went to find food yesterday and while there were more chocolate shops than people wandering the streets, we initially could not find a single restuarant. "People must eat something other than chocolate here," I thought to myself. Evidentally not. But, hey, who´s complaining!

Last night we met our guides and our group, and they are a pretty cool crowd. We were treated to tasty trout and much wine and lots of laughter. Then today we embarked on our first physical adventure mountain biking for much of the day, followed by a short run to a nearby waterfall, a long nap, and another grand meal. Oh, and the best part, two of our guides have offered to give me some advice and pointers (and maybe even accomodations!) for my travels - woohoo!

Up to now, we have had internet in each of the two hotels we´ve stayed in; thus, the plethora of posts. Im not sure what the accomodations will be like from here on out, but I figure I best take advantage of free internet while I got it. So I hope you enjoy reading!

Tomorrow...a new town and horseback riding. I hope my butt is up for the adventure....

Hustle, Bustle, Blissful Bike Rides, and Late Night Dinners

Buenas Noches! It's nearly 12:15 and my dad and I have decided to call it an "early" night here in Buenos Aires as we have to wake up at the now seemingly ungodly hour of 6 am to catch our flight to Bariloche. Now those of you who know me know that 12:15 is actually quite late for me. It is not often that I elect to stay up late - I like to get up early, and I need no less than 8 hours of sleep to function. I like to go out and dance and have fun, sure, but EVERY night? NO thank you. So when I learned from friends and guidebooks that people dont even eat dinner here until between 10 and 11 PM, much less go out until 1 or 2 am, I thought, "Im screwed. Ill never make it there." But here I am, and gosh how quickly we've adapted. In fact, last night we did not even eat dinner until 1 AM. So here's to living la vida Portena!

We only had two full days to see BsAs, so yesterday we explored much of it by foot. We even managed to pull off using the subte, although I was far too scared to try my hand at the buses - that will come soon enough. I dragged dad from one end of the city to the other, including Evita's grave in La Recoleta, Plaza de Mayo en El Centro, San Telmo, and, finally, escaping the chaos and pollution of the city to wander through the ecological reserve in Puerto Madero. The highlight of which was the whopping serving of ice cream we treated ourselves to - YUM!

Today, we opted for seeing the city by bike - and, my, oh my, what a treat! There is this HUGE park near where we are staying, and I was in love with the rose gardens, canopies of trees, families playing in the grass, and car-free bikeways. Later, we explored some of the less crowded/touristy neighborhoods and bumped along the cobblestone streets before returning our bright orange bikes to their rightful owner. I was reminded of some of the rides I did with Michelle in Chicago and so wished she was here with me!

Tomorrow we make our way to Bariloche to begin the adventure within our adventure. Bring on las montanas!!

Bienvenidos a Buenos Aires

We´re here!! Woohoo!! We made it. I have to admit that I had my doubts that we would actually make it here. My father has been crazy busy with work and the seemingly never ending family crises of late. And then there was the super fun last minute realization upon arriving at the Jackson International Airport just one hour before flight number 1 of 3 took off that Poppa T left our passports, yes, our PASSPORTS at his house (and, mind you, I had asked him numerous times if he had them)..... OK, we can handle this. What´s the worst that could happen¿(i cant figure out which button is for the real question mark, so this one will ahve to suffice:)! We miss our flight and reschedule¿ A pain, yes, but the end of the world¿ No. So just breathe and take action. Rally the troops. And 20 minutes later - 27 minutes before our flight took off - Susan´s friend came peeling around the corner of the departures terminal and passed the passports to my dad through her open car window without even having to stop. The beauty of having good friends in your life:). And, believe me, if any of you out there find yourselves in a similar situation, and I could possibly offer help, I would do it in a heartbeat.

The rest of the trip went smoothly. In fact, the flight from Miami to BsAs was really really nice. I mean, I felt like a princess and and this was sitting in coach. Individual TVs with endless movies, cds, and games to choose from, two yummy meals, and complimentary ear plugs and eye masks - gosh, what more could a girl ask for! And just under 24 hours after leaving the house, we pulled up to our hotel in Palermo.

So, yes, we are here. And it´s wonderful. It stayed light until 915 tonight and this alone made me want to dance in the streets. But I behaved myself and instead enjoyed a drink in a cute plaza with my dad before watching him gorge himself on some poor cows butt. He said it was quite yummy. I stuck to the tasty sides that came with said butt. But Im sure carne will become part of my dieta here soon enough.

Another day of exploration awaits us. Hasta la proxima...

And we are off....

Major victory # 1 - Obama won!! Woohoo!! There is hope yet for this nation of ours:).

Major victory #2 - Im packed! Good thing since we leave in 5 minutes. The first of three flights that will take us to Buenos Aires leaves in just under two hours. This time tomorrow my dad and I will be exploring the ins and outs of BsAs:). Off we go!!

Packing light

I HATE packing. With a passion. Even when it is for something exciting. I just hate it. I find it overwhelming trying to decide what I will need and/or want while keeping things to a minimum. I prefer to take as little as possible whenever I travel, and this type of trip necessitates minimalism. I will be carrying it all on my back, after all. I tend to wear the same three outfits even here in the states where I have an abundance of clothing, so Im not worried that I wont have things I want to wear. Im more concerned that I will not have clothing appropriate for the weather. And as I will quite possibly be hitting all four seasons in the next 6 months (it's Spring there right now, but will probably be rather chilly when I get to Southern Chile/Argentina, and then Ill be thrown back into Summer when I get back to Buenos Aires around Christmas), I want to be prepared. Not to mention that my dad and I are starting out our adventure with a group of people who I am assuming are serious trekkers (more on that later), and we'd rather not show up looking like Country Bumpkin #1 and Country Bumpkin #2 in our starched jeans (ok, ok, so this is a bit of an exaggeration - but there was a time when this was his idea of proper hiking/skiing clothes. My how far we've come!) But I digress.....

So, in my attempt to take both that which I need and that which I want, I turn to my sister for guidance. This girl is good. She has traveled all over - Central America, South America, Europe, South Africa - and has (in my humble opinion, of course) mastered the art of traveling light, yet savvy. She left for Ecuador for three weeks before heading off to Peace Corps with nothing more than a school backpack. And dont think her sense of style gets sacrificed. No, No! Annelle ALWAYS manages to look so damn cute! So her advice? Ditch the thought that everything you take should be the typical "backpacker" clothing. And be sure to take a dress. A dress? Ok, I still have to locate that one, but she has a valid point. However, that still doesnt solve the dilemma of how to make sure I have clothing for every season and how to make it all fit in my bag. And it also does not make the packing part any easier. I STILL have to do it myself. Grrr. If only Rene were here...

And as I write this, please be aware that I am incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity. Hating packing is just hating packing. 15 hours and counting, so perhaps I should start actually putting clothes into that backpack of mine!