I never want to see (let alone eat) another

Pizza, empanada, slice of ham or any variation: miga, tostado, ham and cheese croissant- while I'm on ham, meat of any kind, while I'm on croissants, croissant- alfajor, smidgen of dulce de leche, slice of bland quiche, boiled egg, or anything that has "beef fat" as an ingredient.

I plan to live on a steady diet of fresh vegetables (squash not included for the time being), ethnic food (Middle-Eastern, Thai, and Indian), the salad bar at Whole Foods, and fruit when we get back. And a nice cold Izze to wash it all down.

Punta Tombo - More Pinguino Pictures!

More Penguins and a Guanaco (llama relative) at Punta Tombo in Patagonia. Original post here.

Iguazu Falls - More Pictures

Just a few more of the many pictures we got at Iguazu Falls in December. The original post is here.

Mendoza

We're deep in wine country now, and back in the hot summer weather. Supposed to be 36 degrees C today, ouch. Mendoza is located right in the desert, but you wouldn't know it by all the trees and the giant park. Thanks to a complex irrigation system devised by the indigenous Huarpe people that runs throughout the entire city, Mendoza looks like it gets rain, when in fact, less than 200 mm falls per year.


Yesterday we rented bikes in Maipu, a town just a short bus ride south of Mendoza, and did a self-guided tour of the wineries in the area. It was fun, but sooooo hot. Couldn't tote any cases of wine back on the bikes, but I seriously considered trying.

On the way back, we had to take 2 different buses. The first one, from Coquimbito to Maipu, went fine (well, except the bus overheated and we had to transfer), but then we got on the wrong "9" bus, and ended up going all the way to the bus terminal, into the center of Mendoza, and started heading towards Godoy Cruz (far from where we were staying). Ended up getting off at a Walmart (joy!), and had to pay for a cab back to the hotel. The ordeal took probably 3 hours when it should have only taken 1. Sadly, this sort of thing happens to us all the time, so we weren't too surprised, even though we were just as pissed as usual.

Woop!

I'm an aunt! Wish I had pics to post! Mom, have Zach upload some and email them to me!!

Hooray for Bariloche!

Moon rising



We have arrived in the Lakes District in Argentina. It's so nice to be back in a larger city. The beautiful surroundings are an added perk. There are so many things to do here- hiking, biking, and rafting, to name a few. After we left our hostel in the city, we headed up closer to Nahuel Huapi National Park, and are staying in Green House Hostel. By far my most favorite place so far (and most expensive, of course). The atmosphere is super laid-back, and even though it is at full capacity, it doesn't seem to get crowded. Feels more like a home than a hostel.

A few days ago we took a chairlift up to Cerro Campanario, where they boast having one of the top 10 best views on the planet. I couldn't argue with that- it was absolutely gorgeous in all directions.


On 1/10 we took a canopy tour through the forest, which was very cool. It is probably the last of the tour-type things we'll be able to afford to do, at 160 pesos per person.






Yesterday we made some mistakes in our planning, and ended up taking a 2 hour hike up Cerro Catedral ski area along a mountain biking trail. No fun to hike in the hot sun, on a very dusty road, with flies relentlessly harassing you. Not recommended- take the gondola up before beginning the real hike. We were exhausted and annoyed by the time we reached the top. wish we could've seen more, but what can you do?

Taking in the full moon view over the lake

El Chalten 1.1.09

The next day we travelled 3 hours to El Chalten, a tiny town nestled in the mountains, just below Cerro Fitz Roy. Spent 4 nights there, and took some fantastic hikes. The weather was unpredictable as usual- constant wind, some days sunny, others cloudy and spitting rain.

Cerro Fitz Roy

Laguna Capri

On the trail to Laguna Torre

Playing catch-up, once again

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, and our connection to the real world limited. Patagonia is so vast, so remote...and so inconvenient sometimes. But each place we go to amazes me more than the last. Some of the things I've seen down here are so incredibly unique and beautiful- I almost can't believe places like this exist on our planet. But before I get into all that, let me explain what I mean about inconvenient...

Left Ushuaia on December 30. Another 12-hour bus ride lay ahead, but I wasn't too bothered, since the trip down went smoothly. My optimistic attitude was soon crushed, as border crossings took three times longer than before. But the worst came when we reached the Strait of Magellan, where a ferry was supposed to be waiting. Driver told us it would be a bit of a wait, and that we could get off the bus and stretch our legs...hours later, we were still there, no ferry in sight. Winds were too strong, they told us. We had to wait until they died down.

7 hours later, after numerous circuits through the over-crowded cafe (the only thing around), the bathroom, back on the bus, and the shore, we FINALLY got on the ferry. It was about 11:45pm when we arrived in Rio Gallegos. Having missed our connection (8:30pm) to El Calafate, we were lucky enough to catch another that left at 12:30am, but had to pay for new tickets. 4 hours later, we arrived in Calafate. Went to bed at 5:30am December 31st.

Luckily that is all behind us, but my New Years resolution was to make the next long journey by plane, despite the ridiculous cost ($500 USD for 1.5 hour flight).


Spent a day at Moreno Glacier, one of the few glaciers that is still advancing, despite climate shifts and global warming. I have never seen such forces of nature on display. My pictures don't do it justice.




We took a shuttle with Cal-Tur up to the park, didn't do the tour. Cost was 80 pesos each r/t, plus 40 pesos per person for park entry. That's about 35 USD each.



Each time a piece of the wall broke off, it rumbled like thunder as it crashed into the water.

Just to get an idea of the scale, the walls of the glacier were incredibly tall.