Lots of Water and Beautiful Birds & One Very Large Dam: Argentina & Brazil (& Paraguay)

Sometime in January I headed up on a flight to Puerto de Iguazu via airplane (instead of catching the 19 or so hour bus). The flight only took a little over an hour, maybe more. I will have to say if you’re going to fly around South America, check into LAN. I really do like that airline. They still believe in handing out drinks and snacks, and they always play the funniest shows. Plus, twice now my bags have exceeded the 20 kilo weight limit, not by much but even when Ross’s bag came in at a hefty 28 kilos, they didn’t charge either one of us, something that definitely doesn’t happen with other airlines as I’m sure some of you have figured out already. I know I’ve had to pay three times in my life so far. Thank you United...Not!

It didn’t take us long to get settled into our new little home, a cool hostel on the outskirts of town. This was my first hostel with a pool that actually had water in it, which came in handy given how steamy it was. Ross described it as a summer camp with alcohol, and I’d have to say that’s pretty accurate. They had great meals there at bargain prices, although there was some false advertising. In my opinion, bar-b-que, means bar-b-que, not just meat cooked on the grill. No matter what you want to call it, the food was good. They even had a tango show one night. Like I said, a pretty cool place.

The following day, we took an odd tour of the Argentinean side of Iguazu. We got picked up okay, then once we arrived, the driver said, just pay the entrance fee and you’ll see some people in yellow shirts. Well, sounds easy enough but for what we paid, this was one of the most unorganized tours I took the whole time I was in South America. We did finally find the guys in yellow and took a jungle tour (it was just a truck ride) to the river. We all loaded on the boat and were headed up the river to the falls when something didn’t seem right. Our driver thought so as well, so they called for another boat to pick us up. Instead of turning around and going back to the dock, they brought the other boat nose-to-nose with ours, in swift currents, and got all the people to transfer to the new boat. Those of you who know me well, know I’m a sailor and one of the cardinal boating rules is NEVER step into a boat with anything in your hands. But here we were, hands jam-packed with our daypacks, cameras, video recorders, etc. stepping from one boat to another, in a current most excellent swimmers would have had trouble surviving, if they had fallen overboard. I’m not a safety freak but I obviously wasn’t too happy about the way that was handled.

After our drenching boat ride, our so called organized “tour” was over and we were free for the rest of the day to wander around to all the various look out points. It was a little cloudy that day and it seems to take forever for us to dry but by mid-afternoon, the sun had come out and it was baking hot. We had a brilliant time wandering from vista to vista and took probably a gazillion photos. I remember Ross and I having a discussion about the park and saying that someone should have told us this little tidbit of infomation. So, just so you know, you really do have to be paying attention to the train schedule if you’re going to be picked up by a tour company at the gate later in the day. The trains run pretty frequently but it’s easy to get caught up with all the stops on the way out to the big stop, La Garganta del Diablo, and not make the train back to the main gate in time. I guess is what I’m saying is plan ahead and keep track of the time. We made it, but it was only because we were really fast walkers and were a bit lucky.

We ran into some guys on our bus (one of whom had the worst sunburn I’ve ever seen in my life…on his foot) who said that you didn’t need to bother going to the Brazilian side of the falls. And if it hadn’t been for a strange turn of events I would have missed out, big time. So, here’s the rest of the story…

The next day, Ross and I went into town to figure out how to get to Paraguay. He needed to replace his camera and we had heard that was the best place to do it. At least that’s where everyone in South America goes to buy electronic equipment. Plus, do you know anyone who’s been to Paraguay? More than likely not, I only know three people and Ross and I are two of them.

We finally found a tour agency that said they could get me to Paraguay without going through Brazil. It had never been done before but it would work. One of the frequent problems I ran into is being American. And the reason why seems to be because it’s so difficult to get into America. If we charge a lot for a Brazilian to enter the States you can bet that it will cost you a fortune to enter Brazil. Because I wanted to head to The Galapagos (where I’m headed to tomorrow) I had pretty much made peace with the fact that I’d just have to come back to Brazil…150 dollars for a 30 day visa is pretty pricey, especially when I just wanted to go see water. Plus, I knew I was already going to have to pay $45 to get into Paraguay and then another $135 to get into Bolivia. I didn’t like the fact that I was going to miss Brazil but as I said, I had made peace with it and I had supposedly found a way to bypass the Brazilian visa and still go to Paraguay so we were set. Until the taxi driver came to pick us up the next morning.

No, you can’t get to Paraguay without going to Brazil and buying a Brazilian visa first. So, as you can imagine, it was like a circus trying to get our money back from the agency. And since I had to buy a visa for Brazil, Ross and I decided to make the best of it; we were going to the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls. And man, am I ever glad we did. Anyone who says you don’t need to go to both sides is a dork. It’s like two totally different worlds. On the Argentinean side you’re actually on top of the falls for the most part. On the Brazilian side you’re underneath them. It’s a completely different angle.

If you’re ever going to head to Foz do Iguaçu, then you really should stay at Hostel Natura. It’s a great little family-run hostel. It’s out in the middle of nowhere but it’s really worth the effort to get out there. (Just don’t try to walk down the dirt road after it rains…unbelievably muddy.) They’ve got a pool, excellent food, and lots of space to just chill out. It’s almost like being at home except for the place was spotless. I don’t have any desire to clean that much.

Besides going to the waterfalls, there is also a water park which has really cool water slides. Andrew, Andy, Ross, and I took turns acting like we were 12 again, high-tailing it back up the stairs almost as soon as we had hit the water. I don’t have any pictures but Andrew did have a waterproof camera so he does have some pictures and video. Hopefully he’ll remember to send it on once he’s recovered from Carnaval in Salvador.

Another completely cool thing to do in Foz do Iguaçu is to go to the Parque des Aves (Bird Park, for those of you who don’t speak Portuguese). They had an incredible amount of birds there. They even had several cages you could walk through, although I can see how that could be dangerous. There were a few signs about birds being a little aggressive but I was more worried about falling objects i.e. poo. They not only had birds there but they also had a great butterfly exhibit, some monkeys, and snakes. One of my favorite exhibits was the enormous hummingbird exhibit. When you walked through the place you could hear (and see) hummingbirds zipping around which was a little wild and nerve-racking but also really cool. Just as you’re about to finish your self-guided tour there’s an open area where they have a parrot and a snake that you can hold. Of course, Ross and I couldn’t resist.

And the fun doesn't stop there. Before leaving for Paraguay via taxi, we decided to go have a look at the Itaipu Dam which is between Brazil and Paraguay. I've been on a tour of Hoover Dam and this makes that one look rinky-dink. It is enormous! As far as size goes, it's not the biggest dam in the world (I believe that one's located in China) but even not being at full capacity, they produce the most energy. Technically, Ross and I went on the "Spanish" tour so we wouldn't have to wait another couple of hours (bad planning on our part) but it worked out alright and most of the time the girl would explain to us in English as well. Translating isn't too hard but some figures are unbelievable and when you go to repeat them, you go, "Nah, I couldn't have heard that right." But sure enough, you did.

We had a great time on the tour. Both Brazil and Paraguay have their own tours. They actually share the dam 50-50 and both people from both countries work side by side. Even though Paraguay is South America's poorest country (next to Bolivia), the technology they have available to them is incredible. A portion of the dam may be located in a 3rd world country but it's a 1st rate facility. Right now, they are able to produce 90% of Paraguay's energy needs and 20% of Brazil's consumption. They also give you cool shoes and a little hard hat to wear. It doesn't get much better than that as far as I'm concerned!

The next portion of this journey is the part I have already written but don’t have. I did have it. I had it on a 16 gig memory stick I bought for $6 in Cuidad del Este. The memory stick is now in the trash somewhere in Peru. Ross, who is also at Carnaval but in Rio has promised to email it to me when he gets back to Ireland, which won’t be long.

The Things I Remember About Argentina & Uruguay...Seriously

It’s hard to count on one hand the number of stories I’ve started but for one reason or another was never able to post. I’m sitting right now in the Lima airport thinking that this place isn’t so intimidating the second time around. It seems like such a long time ago I came through here as confused as a person could be just hoping and praying I would make it out of the airport and to the hotel. Today, it’s a different story. I can carry on a conversation with the taxi driver, not get totally hosed on the fare, and can read the majority of the signs along the way. But on to more something more interesting...

I’m not exactly sure when I last wrote but I think it was before I reached Buenos Aires, which was almost a month ago. My grand plan was to keep these blogs in order, more for me than you (sorry) but sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you planned. At least that’s the story of my life.

Traveling in South America has been an incredible experience. Even the experiences and places I’ve been that haven’t been all that have been an integral part of this journey. And the people I’ve met along the way? I couldn’t replace them if I tried. As I type, I am now traveling solo once again, something I haven’t done in eight weeks. I didn’t even realize that I had it in me to be around someone for that long, especially when you consider it was pretty much 24-7. Most married couples don’t spend that much time together. It was a good experience though and I couldn’t have asked for a better traveling buddy than Ross. He’s in Rio now enjoying his last week of his journey (at Carnaval, of course) and I’m sure is getting a little nervous about heading back to Ireland (it seems as they have more problems there than in the States).

My journey should have ended almost a month ago. However, there are some things that you can and should put off and one of them for me was going home. I could have done things a little differently and might have been able to fit in everything I wanted to do but I’m so glad I didn’t make that flight. I do hope I make this one though. I’m patiently awaiting a TACA flight to Guayaguil, Ecuador, that is supposed to take off at 11 o’clock this morning. From there, I am hoping to find a dive shop so I can get certified for open water diving. It’s amazing how quickly 18 years slips by. I had taken the course and the test once before but due to a broken leg wasn’t able to do my logged dives. I’ve been scuba diving several times but apparently you have to have your license here, so I figured what the heck! I also want to spend several days in the Galapagos Islands so it looks like my plans to hang out in Columbia have been cut in half already. I will have to travel up that way, as I do have a ticket back to Miami from Bogota. And I am really looking forward to going there before it becomes part of the infamous “gringo trail”.

Since I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to post my story from Paraguay at some point I’m going to skip that for now and start, well, gee, I might as well go all the way back to Buenos Aires, although I really do have some fantastic things to say about Bolivia. So, Buenos Aires it is.

If I were asked to come up with a saying for Buenos Aires it would be: Buenos Aires, a city full of passion. They really did go all out when they built the city (think Paris) and if you consider Eva Peron and her history with the people of Buenos Aires, and the tango, the dance of passion, you will understand my thinking. It seems like everything there is more full of life than in the rest of Argentina or maybe it’s because sometimes I can be a bit sappy and sentimental. But I did love it. I loved it so much that I’m pretty sure in total I spent almost two weeks there. I’m not even sure how that happened.

Ross and I took a city tour, guided by a college economics student (he did a great job), which was extremely interesting and free, to boot. For three hours we walked around the main points of the city, found out who Roca was and why people are constantly throwing paint at his statue, and stood in a square that had more clock towers than there are in all of Oklahoma. If I were writing this a month ago I could give you all kinds of interesting details but then again you can also go on Wikipedia, so I’m going to let them handle the statistical information.

The hostel where Ross and I were staying had free tango lessons so we took advantage of that one night. That’s when I fell in love, not with Ross, with tango. What a dance! I enjoyed doing it but I especially enjoyed the Complejo Tango Show we went to see. I have no doubt that all those dancers were just friends but the way they danced made you believe they were lovers. I really do hope that no matter where I end up, that I’ll be able to keep up my salsa, merengue, and now tango dancing. We also went on our own walking tour which according to Lonely Planet was supposed to take a couple of hours…it took us two days.

There are three things I really remember about our self-guided tour. The first is the Recoleta Cemetery. Most people go there to see Eva Peron’s crypt, if you’re not sure who I’m talking about think, “Don’t cry for me Argentina…” which no matter who you are for some reason this song will play over and over again in your head. (Well, at least it did in mine.) But the cemetery has so much more to offer than that. It’s like its own little city with these ornate, little houses…filled with dead people or at least their ashes. I got a kick out of counting how many urns or caskets I could find inside one crypt. They really are close-knit families here. And the cats! Who could forget the cats? Ross, who at first was really giving me a hard time about petting them, talking to them, and taking their photos, also ended up, by the time we left, taking photos of crazy cats as well. My Aunt Minerva would have loved the place (who’s the biggest cat fan I know).

I almost didn’t see Eva’s crypt though. It’s hard to imagine that after spending almost three hours in a cemetery that probably only takes up three city blocks that you couldn’t find someone. But it’s true. I had to ask someone who had a map for directions. I thought about leaving without seeing it, it might have been better than way. By the way, hers is pretty non-descript, a simple black marble, family crypt. The only difference is hers is always covered in flowers.

The second thing I remember about our tour what right outside the cemetery there was a band playing music in the street. I remember this couple who where walking by, just like us, and they just stopped walking, turned towards each other, and then started dancing. I don’t know how long they had been together but they definitely looked like they were in love and enjoyed each other’s company.

The final thing I remember clearly about our tour is the biggest flower in probably the world. If you’ve ever been to Chicago, think the giant bean and you’re getting pretty close. At night, the petals close and it glows red. I didn’t get to see it at night, only during the day (I did see pictures), and although it’s one of those things you look at and go “Why?” it is still pretty incredible.

Between weeks in Buenos Aires, we caught a boat to Montevideo, Uruguay. It was an enormous boat, more like a ferry because along with people, they also shipped over vehicles. It was a nice trip; strange thing is that I remember much more about the boat than Uruguay. We stayed in Montevideo for a night then took off to Punta del Este, the beach resort where the who’s who of Buenos Aires goes to play. It is a nice beach area but if you were to ask Ross what he thought, he’d tell you those beaches could have been anywhere in the world. The coolest part about Punta del Este? The marina of course! I got up early one morning and headed out with my camera and fought the urge to take millions of sailboat pictures. I got to see the fishermen come in with their fresh catch and see the mini-fish market right next to where they docked their small boats. But the boats there! There is a lot of money sitting in that marina. Not what you’d expect to see in South America but there it was. And I’ll have to hand it to them; they’re a lot more creative with their names down here.

I also saw a male sea lion who had been injured by a prop. I’m hoping that he’s doing okay. Ross and I had seen him the night before when we walked down by the marina and a couple of people had thrown him some fish. In the morning the fish were gone and fresh flowers had been thrown down around him. The third time I saw him he was sitting up with his neck stretched up into the air. So maybe the big guy will make it.

And of course, you can’t go to Argentina and now try the meat, for which they are famous. And it is quite tasty. The wine is also something that you should definitely enjoy while there. There are so many varieties there that more than likely everyone can find something that tickles their fancy. As you can probably tell by the commentary on the meat, I wasn’t too impressed with the steak. We’ve got some pretty tasty stuff back home as well and my buddies back home with their grills could probably give any Argentinean a run for his money any day of the week.

As I’ve been typing it’s occurred to me that I failed to write anything about Puerto Madryn. Now, that place (which is around a 20 hour bus ride south of Buenos Aires), if you can visit at the right time of the year, would be amazing. In October to November there’s great whale watching. And, if you’re there in February you will be in one of only two places in the world where you can watch Orcas beach themselves to pluck baby sea lions off the beach. They also have elephant seals but I don’t remember what time of year you have to be around to see the males with their huge elephant like noses. Most of the time they’re out to sea, hunting for food. But the Orcas, who all have names, and are recognized by their dorsal fins, are pretty cool. If I’m ever back down there you can bet it’ll be in February.

One very freaky, scary, and totally cool thing happened while I was snorkeling. We were all kind of separated but close to the boat and a rock wall, dorking around in the water. I was out a little farther than everyone else at that point but close to the rock wall looking for fish and anything else that looked interesting. I was just about to get a little bored when I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. My first though was “SHARK!!!!” and then, no, it’s not a shark. “OH MY GOSH!!! It’s a SEA LION!!!” For a minute I thought “Oh! How cool!” Then my next thought was, “Oh! I hope he’s not aggressive, ‘cause he is B-I-G.” He didn’t see me though and he continued to swim towards the little jetty where the rest of the sea lions were sunning themselves. It was pretty exciting there for a bit. I can imagine how people quickly use up all their oxygen while swimming with sharks.

Another event you can witness if you come during January is the Dakar Rally. Talk about cool stuff. It’s a motorcycle, car, and truck race that makes a gigantic loop through Argentina and Chile. It’s almost 19 days of pure adrenaline. On average, one person dies during the race each year. There was a motorcyclist who died this year but they weren’t really sure why, possibly a heart attack. I obtained this information from the 3rd place truck team (Go Holland!) who just happened to be celebrating at an Irish bar. Of course I didn’t have my camera so I have no proof but I do know that the guys who said they came in 5th didn’t, at least the guy who said he was the driver wasn’t the driver (he was at least wearing a team shirt). It’s pretty easy to verify pickup lines these days with the invention of the internet. Seriously.

So, that’s almost it for Argentina. I’m just missing Iguazu Falls. I didn’t miss it really, I just haven’t written about it yet. But that’s another story and my battery on my computer is almost dead so it’ll have to wait. Got some great pictures though and can’t wait to post them!

Always, And I Mean ALWAYS, Have An Exit Strategy

Author's note: Lost one of my toenails two days ago. I'm still in shock. I can't believe that really needed to be one of my life experiences. I was always happy to have my feet and toes; I'm still happy, just a little disturbed when I see them now.

After a day of relaxation and several warm showers, I was ready to hit the road again. Next up on my list of things I wanted to see...the Perito Moreno Glacier. It's located near El Calafate, Southern Patagonia, Argentina. After seeing the glacier, I wanted to spend some time in Bariloche, then thought it would be best to head towards Buenos Aires. It seemed like an excellent plan and it would have worked wonderfully if I would have known a little bit about travel in Southern Argentina.

Generally I'm a fly by the seat of my pants type girl, not something I've decided to change about myself but like anything it has its pros and cons. On New Years Eve, I decided to buy a bus ticket for El Calafate and was trying to tell Ross that if he didn't want to stay in Puerto Natales any longer than he really should buy a ticket somewhere now as tomorrow everything would be closed. Carla was on the phone with the bus company when he said, "Make that two please."

So, that was how I came to have a traveling companion, which by the way, a month later, I still have. It's amazing how people can have the same itineraries and how yours can change based on what someone else has heard. We enjoyed the rest of our time in Puerto Natales, mainly relaxing, and getting our packs organized for our next adventure. I really was wanting to do a glacier hike but there was no way my feet were going to be able to handle boots with crampons. Like I said earlier, I like my feet; I try to take really good care of them. Plus, now knowing what I missed out on in Argentina, there are plenty of opportunities on my next trip to do some glacier hiking/climbing. On the 2nd of January, a man in a small pickup truck came to pick us up at our hotel. It was supposed to be a bus. And so began our adventure...

If it hadn't been for the other guy in the truck already I would have been more and at the same time less confused. He introduced himself and was strangely acting like this "was" our bus. At the same time, I thought, there's no way the driver can get rid of all three of us at the same time so surely this will work out. And it did. We ended up on a microbus which I sharply stated that I thought would be our transportation across the border, then on we'd go on the big comfy bus we'd paid for. Ross agreed that that was a good assumption. I thought I was brilliant for that idea.

At the border crossing, the driver asked if we had Argentinian pesos. I said, "No. Well, yes, but we're just going to El Calafate." That's when he informed us that we were going to Perito Moreno. "What? We just bought a ticket to El Calafate, we wanted to see the glacier but we have a ticket to El Calafate." Because we had given our ticket to the man driving the little blue truck we didn't know what we had bought exactly and he obviously had no clue. Our next question was, "Will we have time to change our shoes?" As Ross and I both had flip flops on, which weren't going to do much on a glacier tour. "Sure, no problem. So you want to go?" I looked at Ross, he looked at me, and we said "Why not?!?" as we started to giggle and both wondered how this all had happened.

We made it to the glacier, which was absolutely enormous and breathtaking. It was incredible to hear the ice cracking but when it actually broke off and fell into the lake below, that was more than both of us could stand. I decided that it looked like something out of the original Superman movie, the part where you see where he was born. It was that spectacular. The white, mixed with the light blue, then in some places you could see the deep blue color inside the crevices. It was mesmerizing.

We also opted for the boat ride while we were there which took you up to within 75 feet of the glacier wall. This is one of the very few glaciers in the world which isn't receding, which means that for all the ice that falls into the lake during a day, that amount becomes glacier ice the same day at the very back of the glacier. They also said that because it warms here, the glacier ice forms even more quickly than it does in Antarctica. I learned lots of impressive facts, which unfortunately I'm not able to give to you right now. I can remember that the glacier is almost 100 feet tall in the front (which is basically all you see) and this is one of the very few glaciers where you can witness ice breaking off. It's hard to describe the sound, it's more like a combination of the loudest thunder you've ever heard and a bomb going off.

The cracking noise it makes all throughout the day is about as impressive though. There are several pathways that lead you down to within a stone's throw of the glacier and when you close your eyes and just listen...well, it will give you goosebumps all over. Another interesting tidbit...the Argentinian Navy tried to blow up the glacier at one point because it had grown so big it was blocking up the lake and flooding all the farmlands. So, what did they do? They dropped a bomb on it. Seriously. It didn't work though. After some of the other Argentinian Navy stories I've heard I'm beginning to wonder if they need more training. They also tried to kill Orcas off the coast of Puerto Madryn because people said they were eating too many sealions and they would loose one of their main sources of income, tourism. They didn't even succeed at that.

After the tour, we headed back to El Calafate, where the microbus driver dropped us off. (The rest of our group was heading back to Puerto Natales.) After we found some accommodations for the night we high-fived on our "bus ticket" to El Calafate. In all, we had paid a little under $30 American for a five hour bus ride to El Calafate and a four hour tour at the Perito Moreno Glacier. Talk about an entertainment value! We were absolutely giddy about it still the next morning, until we went to the bus station and heard that there were no buses to Bariloche until the 7th.

Well, that's not so bad...no buses. Don't get discouraged. Let's check for planes. There was one from El Calafate but it wasn't cheap. Okay, what about flying to Buenos Aires. There was one but again, it wasn't cheap but it was less expensive. If I'd been paying in Euros it would have been tolerable. We decided to go get some lunch and think about it. Bad move on our part. While we were eating and making a decision to go ahead and head to Buenos Aires, the office was closing, for the day. Ouch. So, okay, what about renting a car? It would only take two days, driving almost all night to get there. We could do it though. Bad idea...it's way more than a plane, plus you have to pay for mileage. Who has to pay for mileage anymore in this day and age? Ugh.

We wandered around again and found another travel place open. No, no more flights to anywhere, until the 5th. What? Well, there is one to Buenos Aires but it was Executive instead of Coach which meant it was three times as expensive. Forget it. Lets go back to the bus station. So we did, with this question on the tip of our tongue, "Where can we get a bus to tomorrow?" The answer? You can go to Rio Gallegos, (which was four hours south of where we were) then from there you can go to Puerto Madryn. We had no clue what was there. We liked El Calafate and it's a wonderful place to be, except when you want to leave. Another thing about the place? They weren't lying when they said that you have to wait in line for the ATM. I've never in my life seen more than two or three people waiting outside an ATM. Here, if you were 10th or 15th in line, then you were extremely fortunate. And more often than not, the ATM would be out of cash. Although you can find a bank on almost every corner, they definitely need to do something about the ATMs there.

So, it was settled, we were heading to Puerto Madryn and would be there after almost 24 hours in a bus. We started looking in the guidebooks to see what there was to do there, got our stuff packed up and ready to go. I was thankful that Ross had an iPod as he had connected mine to his computer in Puerto Natales and wiped off all my music. I was okay with listening to Irish music for the next day and would have, if he hadn't left his iPod in a restaurant in Rio Gallegos. We called later and I talked to the guy. They had his iPod, and they would send it to the hostel in Buenos Aires. After almost two weeks, they still haven't sent it. Apparently they like Irish music, too.

So, up next. The Puerto Madryn tour guide. Lesson learned: There are some times when it's really best to plan ahead. I really did want to go to Bariloche. And someday I will, it just won't be on this trip. I hear it's a really cool place though. Maybe I'll visit in the wintertime, then I can do some snowboarding.

Torres del Paine, Where "The W" Stands for Wicked

On Christmas Eve I ran into Daniel. I asked him if he had been to Torres del Paine and he smiled and said, "Yes, I have." My next question was something to the effect of how long, where did you go, what did you do. I'll never forget his response. "It was the most difficult thing I've ever done. It was terrible, it was incredible, there was rain, there was snow, there was sunshine, my pack was heavy but it was also one of the most incredible things I've ever done. It was amazing and I experienced all of it." Daniel had done a 5 day, 4 night trek on the 'W' at Torres del Paine, near Puerto Natales, Southern Patagonia, Chile. I don't think Daniel got through his gratis advertisement for Torres del Paine when I had made up my mind that I was going to go. He continued on with his stories with such excitement I could just feel the energy welling up inside, ready for a chance to go have this same experience (well, maybe without the rain and snow).

Unfortunately, it was Christmas Eve and everything was just closing as I developing plans for my next big adventure. Daniel had also told me about a meeting that takes place, free of charge, at Erratic Rock. This is the name of the hostel were I stayed before taking off to do my hike. Apparently it's where all the cool kids hang out and I was finally a member of the gang but even if you're not, you can still come in and hang out and listen to how to prepare for the W or the definitely-not-for-beginners 10 day circuit, which I didn't opt for. They not only told you the best way to hike the trek but they also went through what you needed to bring with.

I was hoping to meet another "single" at the meeting so I wouldn't be hiking alone and there were two guys. Both were from England and nice enough for sure but when they started talking about doing the thing in 4 days, then maybe in 3, I politely said "peace". I'm not in bad shape but I'm not a professional hiker either. And I was going to see things and take pictures, not break a world record, which I think is around 18 hours for the whole thing by the way.

Later that day, a few of us decided to go out for a nice Christmas dinner then on to a club, which is where I met my first Irishman, Ross. I will have to say that for a brief 12 hours we almost were on our way to Antarctica. He had met some American guys on the Navimag who were trying to get there. When he asked me if I'd want to go I don't even think I hesitated when I said "Yes!" He then wanted to make sure I was serious, which I was, so it was planned, the next day we would either go to Antarctica or pack our things to head on a 5 day trek. Obviously by the title of this blog, Antarctica wasn't in the cards for us.

After going to three different stores, we finally had rented everything we needed, including trekking poles, which if you haven't ever used them aren't just for losers. They really do come in handy, especially when the wind is gusting up to 90 km an hour and you have a 15 kilo pack on your back. We had also decided on our menu for the trip and had plenty of snacks. One of the coolest things about hiking in Torres del Paine is that you can drink the water out of the lakes and streams. It's amazing that on the same continent where in one country they warn you about eating fresh fruits because they were probably rinsed with water that hasn't been boiled, that you can also go and drink lake water. Something I try not to do even at home. But it's true and I did it along with probably 98% of the people who hike there. And it is delicious water. I know that sounds odd but it's the truth. It's amazing!

So, what did I experience? The same thing that Daniel had been telling me the first day we met. When we started hiking, it was raining and absolutely frigid and windy. It was absolutely miserable. It had been sunny just before we took the boat to the trailhead when we walked to the milky-teal colored waterfall. Which if we hadn't missed our boat we would have missed out on...some things really do work out for the best.

We started trekking at Pehoe which was 15 km away from where we wanted to stay the night, Los Guardas. Our plan was to sleep right next to Glacier Grey that night. And I can tell you, I found it really hard to put back on my boots after stopping at Refugio Grey for some hot tea. It was still miserable out and although I was seeing some beautiful scenery, it wasn't anywhere close to really fun and incredible, although it did have some moments with spectacular scenery.

We did make it to our destination though and once we got the tent set up and had gotten changed out of our wet clothes we were ready for our first meal, spaghetti. That was until we figured out that the gas cans we had wouldn't fit the burner. After searching the campsite for a burner that would fit, which only was the temporary home to about a dozen other trekkers, some very nice girls from Israel loaned us their gas and burner. Talk about relieved. I think we both needed that meal more than we realized. It had been a long, wet, and cold day and the night was about to get colder.

If you've ever been getting ready for your second day of lake bumming and realized that you had to put on a wet swimsuit, then you know exactly how I felt when I had to put my 'day clothes' back on the next morning. They weren't really that wet but they were definitely cold. So cold that when I touched them I almost decided it was better to stay at Los Guardas another night. That way I could just stay in my nice dry, semi-warm clothes I already had on. But that wasn't possible and I knew that come nightfall I'd be glad that I kept my 'dry clothes' in the plastic bag in my pack.

We had another long day of hiking which just so happened to include hiking back the way we'd come plus another 7.6 km for a grand total of almost 23 km for Day 2. Fortunately the weather was better as there wasn't much rain. It was still cold though and most of the time I was hiking with full on gear just to stay warm. That night we camped at Italiano. Because we left late we arrived about 10:30 that night...about dusk. It's pretty wild when you think about getting over 18 hours of daylight. While it makes it hard to go to sleep at 10 o'clock, it also beats hiking in the dark down a trail you've never been on.

The next morning after a bowl of oatmeal with enough brown sugar to keep you buzzed for the rest of the morning we set off for Valle del Frances, without our packs. It was so nice to not be lugging around that extra weight and it made for much easier hiking. We hiked the 5 km up to the clearing, stood in amazement for a bit, then took some pictures, did our daily weather report (I have the video and will someday post it), and then took off back down the trail to pack up our tent and head out for Los Cuernos which was another almost 6 km and along the way to the final and toughest part of the W.

We got there much earlier than usual, which had a lot to do with our starting time. But still had a hard time finding a place to set up the tent. We finally did and since it was raining cooked our pasta dinner while sitting inside the tent. We were going to have a long day ahead of us, so long that one of the sections doesn't list how many kilometers (I'm looking at the map while typing so as to be as accurate in my storytelling as possible). Lets just say it was somewhere close to 20 km as we were going up to Campamento Torres and then on up to the Towers that night. We got up that morning, the earliest of the 3 days, and headed out with bellies full of the sweetest oatmeal on the planet, sore knees and feet, and fortunately, good spirits.

Several times we'd seen our friend Geronimo along with Owen, Jenny, Rustyn and his two boys, Noah and Finn. Before we got to Los Torres we headed with them up the short-short cut, the one that's not on the map. When we reached the top of the mountain, although our trail wasn't a walk in the park, I was sooooo thankful that I didn't have to walk up where those other poor people where walking. It would have been incredibly miserable, even on that beautiful, sunny day. From that point, we still had several hours more of walking, up and down until reaching Torres. Once there, it didn't take too long and we both had enough energy to head up to see the Towers that night after we set up the tent.

The entire trail, up to this point had been marked really well. But this part wasn't, and I could understand why. At first, it was like a field of small boulders, then the field turned into a mountain, which you had to climb. There were times when there were posts painted bright orange, in other spots they had put reflective tape on rocks. (Keep in mind that a lot of people hike the 45 minutes to the Towers at 3:30 in the morning, in the dark, so they can watch the sun come up and see them turn bright red.) Things were going really well, I was enjoying bouldering a lot more than hiking up and down the normal trails but then something didn't seem right.

Now, I'm a smart girl, and this smart girl started thinking, "Do they really expect tourist to hike up rocks that move?" It seems like every boulder I stepped on would either move while my foot was on it or shortly after I had progressed on to the next. Then I started thinking, "I bet this is how avalanches start." Like I said, I'm a smart cookie.

I started looking around and it looked like I was almost to the top but I couldn't really tell because the mountain was at such an incline. I also couldn't see much below me because there were some really large boulders at this point. I also couldn't see anyone else near me, that's when I thought, I gotta get outta here. I had ditched my poles a ways back because I needed both hands in order to be able to climb. I stopped, looked around and decided to head to the right as I could see a good portion of the Towers from where I was.

Once I got over far enough I knew I had gone way, way, way too far. I was almost at the top of the mountain across from the Towers and the mirador was about half-way up. Once I got to a point where everyone else could see me, they started yelling, "What are you doing up there?" All I could say was "Don't ask...you don't wanna know." It seems that Ross was at least worried about me as he had gone looking for me after I never showed up. He really is a good guy. Of course, he had quite a few things to say in a very strong Irish accent when he made it back and found me safe. We stayed for awhile but it was really windy and very cold, so cold that the rain had turned to snow. So, we headed back down and went to crack open the two beers we had bought to celebrate.(By the way, I did go back to the rock where I stashed my poles just in case you were wondering.)


The next morning we got up early again, as we had to catch the 2 o'clock bus back to Puerto Natales. After all, it was New Years Eve and although exhausted and sore, both of us had great visions of staying up to ring in the new year. And we did. After making the 4 hour hike in less than 2 hours, we were changed into our flip flops and Birkenstocks, and ready for a drink and a sandwich at the bar at Las Torres. Taking those hiking boots has never felt better and I don't think my feet had ever looked worse.

At the time, I was quite sure I was going to lose at least two toenails. I had some major blisters, one underneath a toenail??? I really didn't know that was possible. My ankles were also swollen beyond imagination. I think in my email back home to let them know I made it, I described my ankles as looking like I was about 8 months pregnant. My ankles didn't hurt though...my achilles, both of them on the other hand, really hurt. It took weeks for the swelling to go down but they finally look like my ankles and feet again, with the exception of 2.5 black toenails. But what do you expect after 82 km in 5 days?

But was it great? Oh yes. It was incredible. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

So Many Stories So Little Time

It´s amazing but it´s almost been a month since I last wrote. Believe it or not, I haven´t been hiding out. I´ve just been busy having fun. It´s hard to sit inside in front of a computer when there´s a beach within 200 feet (like today), or a mountain to climb like at Torres del Paine, or a glacier where you can see ice crash into the lake like at Perito Moreno, or snorkeling with giant sealions like at Puerto Madryn, or hours upon hours wandering the Recoleta Cemetery in search of Eva Péron´s crypt. All things I´ve done in the past three weeks or so.

Right now I´m in Punta del Este, Uruguay, which is where the elite of Buenos Aires vacation, and I can completely understand why. It´s beautiful...lots of beaches, clear skies, blue water. Yep! My kind of place. Although, I will have to say that I am longing for the more nondiscript travelers´road right now. There are some really cool things about hanging out in popular places but there´s also something to be said for getting off the beaten path. I´m ready to head somewhere where I can´t speak English because no one will understand me and where no one will attempt to speak English. For the past week, being here and in Buenos Aires, I´ve felt as if I have been in Europe, which is pretty much the look they were going for. So I suppose you could say at least they were successful.

I´ve still got a whole list of places I want to see before I head back to the States and while my list seems to keep expanding, my time remaining seems to be shrinking. What´s up with that? If I were going to stick to my original plan I would be heading back to Miami in 10 days. I´m not though. I´ll be heading back to Buenos Aires at some point, then on to Iguazu Falls, then through Bolivia, a stop back in Arequipa, then on to The Galapagos, and finally Columbia. Not really sure how long that´s all going to take me. But that´s sort of the plan...at least for the next 5 minutes.

Promise to find some time to write about the following:

My excellent and amazing 5 day, 4 night, tote around all your own stuff adventure at Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile.

The Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina, and the crazy way I ended up getting there.

The wildlife at Península Valdés, near Puerto Madryn, Argentina, along with stories about tango in the street and how to get kicked off a bus in Buenos Aires.

For now, the most exciting thing (besides lying on the beach) that´s happened in Punta del Este is that I missed yet another bus. I know...you´d think at some point I´d smarten up...I did, too.

So, stay tuned...not sure when it´ll happen but hopefully it will be worth your while to check back. I was going to upload some pictures but it´s not going to happen today...so sorry! Got some really cool ones, too!

Sì, estoy viajando...solita! ¿Y a ti que te importa?

I´ve been waiting to use that phrase for awhile now...¨Y a ti que te importa?¨ It means basically, ¨What´s it to you?¨ I can´t count how many times I´ve heard this word clouded in surprise...¨Solita?¨ Single? Yes, I´m single. I´ve been single for I don´t know how long now. Why is it that we´re in the 21st century and people still seem shocked when I say that I´m traveling by myself? I actually enjoy traveling by myself. I can make my own rules, go where I want to go, stay where and when I want to stay, I can...well, I´m now sounding like I´m a street pup. Anyway, I live by my own rules.

So when I´m tired of a place or like something especially well; I can decide to move on down along the road or I can decide to stay. Today, I decided to move on along the road. I´m heading to Puerto Natales tonight on a bus. I have enjoyed my time in Punta Arenas though. I went to see the penguins this morning. And I visited the Alice in Wonderland type cemetary here while it was open. I shared the rest of my bottle of Chardonnay with some women sitting next to me at lunch. I helped a guy from Colorado ask about his hat that he had left at the restaurant four days before. I´ve had a busy day.

The penguins first, and probably because the rest of the stories really aren´t that interesting. We took off at 8:00 and after mysteriously meeting up with my trip-mates we headed on to Otway Sound to see the penguins. It reminded me of my almost kidnapping story in Arequipa. Some taxi-driver showed up and asked them if they were going to see the penguins. They said yes, so off they went, in the wrong taxi. I´m still not sure how in the heck we found them...I thought about asking but knew I wouldn´t get a straight answer so I left it alone. Miraculously we caught up to the taxi on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere. Seriously...I didn´t fall off the turnip truck last night. Anyway, the five of us, including the driver and the guide took off to the penguin place after an odd start.

The penguins were incredibly cute and had to be incredibly cold as the wind was blowing probably 30 miles and hour or better. At times it would be raining, then it would turn to snow. It is an absolutely beautiful place but cold. The strange thing is that it really isn´t all THAT cold. It´s windy but I just had on a thick pair of pants and my windbreaker jacket with a fleece pullover under it and the only things that were uncomfortably cold were my fingers (I had forgotten my gloves...very smart Holmes!). There are around 10,000 penguins at the location we visited compared to 150,000 some odd at the other spot.

They were all cute though and very into their daily activities. There were some digging holes, some waddling around (semi-lost looking), some hanging out at the beach looking at the frigid water, some in the frigid water taking a bath and playing with their rubber duckies (okay, I didn´t really see any but I´m sure they have bath toys). They looked cold though. There was one bigger penguin talking a lot and when he did, everyone seemed to listen and head that way. It was kind of like a preacher with all his disciples....very cute. Apparently his sermon wasn´t that good because it didn´t take long for the crowd to disburse. I think he might have been trying to convince them to enter the frigid water. They didn´t fall off the turnip truck last night either.

I would give you more interesting facts about penguins but I don´t think you really care. I took some video but of course I don´t have the correct cable out of the 20 that I brought with me so you´ll have to wait for the trip recap sometime next year. It´s amazing I have two backpacks, one big one and one small one and in total I´m probably carrying close to 20 kilos. I don´t really even have that much stuff with me. I think it´s my hiking boots. Too bad I can´t ditch them somewhere to lighten the load. Something tells me I´m gonna need them on down the road though. But in all that stuff that I´m carting around I don´t have the right cable...figures.

Anyway, I´m gonna go try to find some lunch then catch my bus. Up next...Torres del Paine. Not sure how long I´ll be able to stay there. Hopefully at least a couple of days. Merry Christmas all!

What´d you do with the pit?...I hid it.

In the past week, or two weeks perhaps, more funny things have happened that I can count on my little fingers. Since I last wrote to you from Valparaíso, I´ve been to Viña del Mar (which is right outside of Valparaíso, another beach community), I went to Mendoza, met the Sarfatis back in Santiago for a few days, and am now about to leave Puerto Montt for penguins in Punta Arena.

Fortunately, I´m not as jaded as I was the last time I wrote. I´m doing much better now. And am ready to tell you about some of fun and not-so-life threatening adventures. After leaving Valparaíso last Monday, I found a bus headed to Mendoza, Argentina. Their motto? ¨Tierra de sol y vino¨...Land of sun and wine. I figured you´d like that one. I certainly did.

I found a pretty cool hostel called Break Point where I met some really neat people...Joe (the plumber) from Virginia, Victoria (from Sweden...and yes, she had blonde hair and blue eyes), and Youandi and Meryn (from Holland). Joe and I ended up taking a somewhat dangerous bike and wine tour. Everyone always says never to drink and drive but I´ve never heard anything about drinking and biking. It really should be added to the list. After the third stop I was feeling pretty good.

The first stop was a chocolateria, which was where I thought I was going to get some treats. And I did, it just happened to be chocolate liquor, which was about 19% alcohol. I thought I was going to be able to blow flames! It´s a good thing I didn´t try their 80 proof absinthe made from I don´t remember what. That would have laid me out on the floor right there. Needless to say, I was ready for the probably 10 mile bike ride to the winery at the end of the road after that. It was a beautiful day, there was a light breeze, the sun was shining, a few clouds in an all blue sky. I was enjoying life...until the trucks started whizzing by at light speed.

It said the in the book that it was a beautiful ride, except for one thing...the busy road, with no shoulder. Now, on my bike at home, which I haven´t ridden in probably three years, we´re friends but we´re not one. My bike has no problem throwing me at any moment. Okay, maybe it´s not my bike, maybe it´s me but still, the end result is the same, I end up on the ground. I didn´t have any crashes on my one-speeder fortunately. I could have used another gear going up those little hills however. It was amusing though and I did really love the ride when the traffic slowed a little and I could thoroughly enjoy the Cottonwood tree lined road.

As for the wine (with the exception of the chocolate stuff), it was incredible. We technically only drank at two bogedas (wineries) but between the two, had between five and six glasses of wine each. I´ve decided that if you pay for your tasting, you get a full glass, not just the traditional sip. I know they put those little spitton thingys there for a reason. My friend Cary used to call throwing out alcohol ¨alcohol abuse¨ so in order not to be an abuser of alcohol, I drank all of mine, except for the last glass which Joe helped me out on. I told him if he wanted to bike back with me, he´d have to help.

Besides having tons of vinyards in Mendoza for grapes such as Malbec (the most popular in the region), they also have Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Bonarda, among others. They also produce a considerable amount of olive oil. (I´m a fan of the trees, which when in the sunlight have leaves that look like they´re made of silver.) Mendoza is located in the desert and is a great place to grow wine. Apparently, the Malbec grape came from France where it wasn´t growing very well and because of the sunny and dry conditions, it thrived here. I went to five bogedas in total ranging from 70,000 bottles a year to 30,000,000. That´s a lot of wine. I learned how they make it (I didn´t realize that they also age wine in bottles as well as in barrels), how to tell if it´s good or not when you swirl it in the glass, and of course, it didn´t take me too long to figure out how to drink it. Patagonia is another popular region for a different type of wine so you can only imagine how much fun I´m going to have this week. :o)

After my wine country tours, I took a bus back to Santiago, which got stuck at the border for over three hours, which meant I was late for meeting the Sarfatis. I could only imagine how freaked out they were when they got there and couldn´t find me and couldn´t call me because my cell phone was dead. While I was trying to find a phone to call them, I ended up running right into them...literally. Apparently, they had gotten hung up in the airport with filling out their paperwork. We got them settled into their hotel and after eating breakfast I headed to my hotel to get settled back in for a few days.

We originally had plans to meet up at 1:00 that afternoon and finally about 4:30 they wandered into the lobby of my hotel...horror story in hand. After countless wrong turns in a taxi, wandering the streets of Santiago on foot, and asking countless strangers and policemen for assistance, they finally found my hotel. Fortunately, we were at least able to giggle about it a little. We then took off to visit the largest church in Santiago, see the local market, and have dinner. The next day we planned to meet at 9:30 am outside the Palace to watch the changing of the guard.

The changing of the guard was...well, not happenin´. How is it that you can travel thousands of miles to see something and then it doesn´t happen? So, we took a picture in front of the palace and headed off for the famous outdoor market. I´ll have to admit, it was pretty impressive, full with fresh fruits and vegetables, all kinds of meats, including pigs´ hearts, anything that you would ever want to buy and some things you wouldn´t care to. I also found some herbs on the street that were for a variety of illnesses, one even said it cured impotence. Interesting.

There really isn´t a whole lot to do in Santiago besides museums so we opted for the pool. When I got there, Helen and Peter both told me they had gotten scolded for having food at the pool (pastries, strawberries, and apricots) so Helen had moved the food up to a shaded area above the pool. Dr. Sarfatis was having fun while swimming and Helen and I were playing the part of Greek Goddesses. It wasn´t long and Peter said, ¨Helen, throw me an apricot.¨ So, she dropped one down to him. After awhile she said, ¨What´d you do with the pit?¨ And he, in his funny Greek accent answered, ¨I hid it.¨ I couldn´t help but laugh as it sounded like something a 5 year old would do...if you´re not smiling, then you had to be there.

That night, we decided to meet for dinner. I couldn´t get a reservation for the restaurant my uncle´s friend had recommended so the hotel the Sarfatis were staying at suggested one. When he called for a reservation they said they didn´t think it was possible, then, okay, sure, table for 4 at 8:15. My friend, Anton, whom I met in Cusco, had come to Santiago for the day in route to Mendoza, so I invited him to join us for dinner. It´s amazing what you need a reservation for these days. Apparently in Santiago, you need a reservation for a buffet. You can´t imagine the looks of surprise on our faces when the waiter said there wasn´t a menu, only a buffet. We went ahead and ate there. There is a reason the guidebook says the food in Chile isn´t all that much. A Chilean told me the other day he though it was similar to American food...and he didn´t mean that as a compliment.

Anton had to catch a 10:30 bus to Mendoza so he left a little earlier than we did. So when I got to my room and saw his bag and jacket still sitting there I was a little surprised. I thought maybe the desk people wouldn´t let him up. So I went to check. No, he hadn´t been there. That´s strange. So I went back up to my room to wait. About 5 minutes later there was a knock on my door and a frantic Anton was standing in front of me. Just in case the bus was late (which is frequent here) we took off for the station, via the Metro. When we got there, nada. The Metro was closed and we already knew a taxi was out of the question since a football game had just finished...the streets were crazy. So much for trying that one. All I could offer as a consolation was good company and a bed for the night. So, we stayed up talking about great 80´s bands the rest of the night. I got an email from him yesterday and he had made it to Mendoza and was getting ready to leave for a wine tour.

Puerto Montt is another port town. Thankfully I haven´t had the same luck as in Valparaíso. I went hiking Volcano Osorno yesterday. Even though I was the only one on the tour, I still had a good time and I´ll have to say that my guide was really good at taking my picture. It was incredibly cloudy though so I wasn´t able to see the crater. It was a little rainy out but generally a good day. I got some amazing photos of the lake though when the sun started to come out from behind the clouds. Today, I´m heading for Punta Arena for probably the next day or two, then I´ll be off to Puerto Natales. I´m not sure if I´ll make it down to Tierra del Fuego or not. I might head north to El Calafate in Argentina. The book says that if you´ve seen Torres del Paine and The Perito Moreno Glacier then you´re not going to see anything except more of the same.