Bryce joins us!

Bariloche came and went almost as quick as holidays and elections do (or maybe those weren´t the best comparisons... Well if those feel like those examples drag on for what seems like centuries beyond your wishes then maybe imagine waiting for that greatly anticipated day in the week when you get to see the newest episode of your favorite TV show...? or... waiting for that moment, when whoever's baking that bomb banana bread that's perfuming your entire house with that sweet, warm & cinnamon-y aroma, to open the oven and invite you to have at it!! ...Anyway... you get the idea). It seemed like so long, in my initial planning, that I was going to have to wait for Bryce to visit, but as time always does, it has just flown since his arrival around the 14th of November.

We had some amazing views and great chocolate while down south, along with Bryce catching some fish that he claims, based on size, and I quote, ¨may have [my] dad for rainbow and brown now!¨. I was a personal photographer and witness to his greatness these long days in the sun, while I practiced Spanish tongue twisters and did abs along the waters edge. And you know what? I liked it so much that I signed up for the position again in Junin de los Andes! :)

We parted ways with Dana for a bit as she went west into Puerto Montt and Valdivia, Chile and we ventured back up north of the Lake district past San Martin and into a small fishing town. We knew that fishing season had just barely opened at the beginning of the month, but had high hopes of experiencing some of the best in the world. We stayed at this hostel (more like home with extra rooms) and enjoyed many scrumptious meals (and me having bites of the famous Argentinian beef -which, in sasuage form (not the steak -still not for me), I liked very much!) and much quiet and alone time. We met Miguel there, a chocolate store owner from Córdoba who had been camping along some lakes and fishing, and immediately latched onto Bryce as a fishing buddy.

He had driven down, so this convenient transportation helped Bryce fish the Curruhue, after the Quilquihue, his first few times out, had only left him with a few small trout. With no luck there, the third day we ventured (as in walked...) 9km down the road past the Military base to the Chimehuin river where Bryce finally had some big catches. While journalling, stretching and occupying myself throughout the day I was able to document two of his 30in plus brown trout successes. Overall, he feels the need to come back again to see how much he can experience during high season, but is optimistic about all else that South America has to offer him :)

Wine and Bike Tour with Mr. Hugo

Before I get ahead of myself and deeper into my travels (which I am well into as of now) I need to share another story about Mendoza. Mendoza was a place of a million memories (as Bryce can attest -it´s been Mendoza this and Mendoza that so much that we´ve now come up with code names to avoid annoying him) as 3 intended nights turned into 6, then into 8 and may have worked it´s way to 12 waay to quickly before we were forced to leave.
Anyway, from the beginning... As we checked in early in the morning of our arrival, Coco and Juanma (two of our favorite hostel guys ever!) outlined all the excursions, activities and events the hostel offered ranging from High Andes adventures to Hot Springs and trekking. The one that instantly caught our eye, obviously, was the wine and bike tour :) As a background helper if you don´t know the area well (which I didn´t until talking to other knowledgeable travellers and reading up in my Lonely Planet guide), Mendoza is known for it´s wine, especially the Malbec grape, and has hundreds of vineyards and wineries lining it´s borders. Going on some sort of tour was a must while experiencing this lovely city. We decided to sleep on the offered excursions, and ask around a bit before we made up our minds.
As we dug for information, we found out a lot about this possible day tasting. The main consensus was that the wine and bike deal was a go, but that it was easily compiled without going through the hostel and was a heck of a lot cheaper at that. So after a fun Asado night at a neighboring hostel (where Dana and I were served a special vegetarian Tart option) we made some friends from Denmark and decided that we´d head to Maipu the following morning.
The third day in esta ciudad linda (this pretty city!) we took a bus out to Maipú and got started at Mr. Hugo´s bike shop. He set us all up with bikes (with baskets!), bottled water and outlined a map for our day´s adventure. We began at an olive farm and paid 15 pesos to taste their incredible oils, vinegars, spreads, liquors (including Absinthe -that strangely had little taste, but left our throats on fire for at least ten minutes after!) and chocolates. We then ventured up the street to El Museo del Wino San Felipe where we had a couple complementary glasses of wine and wandered around exploring the enormous barrels and old wine equipment they had on display. From there, came Familia al Tommaso (a beautiful family run winery), El Patio (a beer garden where we tried a ruby (la rubia), typical of that area), and finally Historias y Sabores (where we each tried a liquor and were treated with a cup of chocolates). 
We finally made our way back to Mr. Hugo´s at around 7 where we were greeted with more wine (and consistent refills of more wine) and a table full of laughs until 930 when Mr. Hugo himself escorted us out to the bus stop and paid for our safe rides back home.
Every city we have been since, we have celebrated his name and business! It was a wonderful day, with all too many great memories, pictures and friends.

Villarrica!

We could see the active volcano from our Tree House hostel, which was lined with colorful hammocks & playful pups, standing at 9,341 ft. We booked our trek the instant we arrived to climb that very next day. Sized for shoes (which turned out killing my heel & leaving two painful blister friends on either side) & coats by our guide Mauricio & given the paperwork to sign our lives away, we began to fuel up for the big day ahead of us!

Rising to see the sun rise at 630, Mauricio picked us up, drove us to our departure point, gave us our stylish orange gear & we all decided that its stature didn't frighten us all that much anymore. Then after 6ish hours of hiking switchback in Crampons & ice picks, we may have changed our minds a bit on that initial assessment. Every crevasse we thought was the final one, we were pleasantly surprised with another peak -over & over & over again.

About three quarters of the way up (after holding it for at least two hours already) I decided I was going to need a pit stop before the day was over. Just after we, & many other groups, finished up eating lunch and rejuvenating, I took my opportunity! Mauricio lead me down a few feet off our tracks & with Dana laughing hysterically above me & snapping as many inappropriate candid shots as humanly possible, I let my bare bum nearly freeze in my makeshift ice crystal seat :) I would not have made it any other way & was very relieved.

Then we arrived. The top was purely incredible. With a 360 degree view of the other neighboring volcanoes, lakes, rivers, towns, & even the Pacific was barely visible off in the distance, this was unlike anything I could have imagined. The smoke & steam billowed up over the edges of the cravasse as we cautiously peeked over into an active lava lake inside its crater. Some days, visitors can even see the lava spilling up, over & down the mountainside!

The air was warm, with a crisp wind, & every once in a while a breath of hot smoke would leave you wheezing & gasping for air -Summitting Volcán Villarica was unbelievably breathtaking, to say the least.

Then, with some very temporary initial hesitation (after we had breathed in enough smoke & steam & snapped enough summit pictures -& pictures of us in the ultra-reflective glasses of our guide) we used our ice picks and sleds to slide down the face of this mountain at outrageous & terrifying speeds! Laughing & still all feeling in awe of our day, we headed back down the mountain to our hostel where we crashed instantly upon arrival.

Is this real life?

After a 20 plus hour bus ride ALL ON MY OWN, I now await Bryce´s arrival in the ever-mountainous and green lakeside city of Bariloche. I seem to be making progress on my Castellano, as I continue to gain the appropriate confidence to get myself around down here. I owe a lot of thanks at this early point to Dana (obviously) for being a wonderfully patient teacher/example/friend and also all those we made friends with in Mendoza over the last 10 days. I have been able to go beyond just sitting in conversations now, and I am actually contributing -every once in a while I can even give sass (to bed bug nicknames) or make a joke (Dana can tell you my snail joke haha)! -the best method for measuring growth, right? :)
The last few days I spent in Mendoza have been a scurry of itching and cleaning, far differing themselves from the rest of our stay here in this beautiful little city. We had thought originally, that we were going to need to stall in northern Argentina a bit so we could meet Bryce down in Bariloche when he flew in the 14th, but turns out we did not want to leave at all -as four nights turned into six, which turned into eight, which turned into ten! HA! This is precisely why we do not want to have concrete plans for this trip. Some places turn into home real quickly.
So let me begin with the bed bug story: I was eaten alive. It all began when one of our roommates, England, complained of bed bugs our third or fourth night in. Since Dana or I had no signs of bed bugs and he didn´t seem too concerned, we stayed put and pushed the warning aside. Next, I had a bunk mate who again brought up the concern, saying that she couldn´t sleep because it was so terrible. I had noticed maybe 3 bites on my wrist that morning, but after she requested to switch rooms and they immediately fumigated the MarcoPolo room, I thought everything would be fine -quite the contrary. The next morning I awoke early, went for a run, walked the streets and was fine until 2ish when I sat down for a bite to eat. I noticed my back was itchy and when I showed Dana, her reaction was enough. We began to search my body and found more and more bites that had popped up, totaling 78!

So it was all downhill after this with them again fumigating, me switching beds, sleeping in my sleeping bag, waking up to Dana crying "watch out there's one by your face!", them fumigating for a third time, us switching rooms, and all day sitting stiff with itchiness while dozing off every other minute... We at one point went to the hospital thinking I had an allergic reaction of some sort. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least, feeling lost for the first 13 minutes wandering around abandoned hallways from a horror movie, then being seated in a room next to a man that sounded like he was heaving his guts out... Time, care (with Benedryl and Caledrin) and patience was the "secret cure" I was given as a prescription. With all of this and looking forward to leaving my favorite place, I can tell you that I was not in the best of spirits.

Anyway, other than that mess Mendoza, like I have said, was an incredible experience for us. We did a wine and bike tour with Mr Hugo (infamous here!) in Maipu with some wonderful Danish girls and explored the town's beautiful Plaza's and sprawling parque, but mostly just laid low and enjoyed our company. We instantly made great friends with all of the hostel workers and fell into a rhythm with the local groove. We got to explore the city from a native standpoint, and were A okay with hanging around, drinkin Mate, playin the guitarra, singin at the top of our lungs, and chattin in Castellano with friends -real friends. Doing nothing seemed like everything. It was an amazing feeling, one I hope to recreate many times over on my journey -if not, one to go back to after Christmas :)

The adventure has begun!

Already two and a half weeks have gone by and while feeling like just yesterday we set out on this adventure, the time still seems infinite in front of us. The urge to communicate is pressing more every minute, but big picture, seems to be coming along surely, even though still slowly, enough. I am forced to take my time and be deliberate with my words. Quite a daunting task when you’re in a country known for having the quickest tongues around. Delving back to my primary years in Spanish is working, yet Castellano is such a different sound -a melody. Literally like everyone is singing around me (not to mention Danas actual belting of "Marry Me" by Train everyday all day -which I LOVE) and my flow is a tad broken, leaving me to observe and listen -two fascinating and empowering tools. Being such a jovial and outgoing person, leaving others to guess at my persona is tough. With all of Dana’s amigas, though, life has been made easier as they are extremely patient, leaving me with more confidence to practice and engage with them. Reflecting and being leisurely with my time are gifts I have rarely taken advantage of in my twenty-two years, and now, with all the time at my fingertips now I plan to do just that.


Our trip began with us having to pay a US$140 entrance fee (apparently because we do the same to them... way to go US -haha pun intended). We then took a bus downtown and arrived in the booming ciudad de Buenos Aires where we stayed with 3 amigas de Dana en un departamento in Recoleta blocks away from Evita Peron’s grave, la calle 9 de Julio (honoring their Independence Day and infamous for spanning an entire block -seven lanes in each direction and is flanked on either side by streets with an additional four lanes. The distance between adjacent streets is roughly 110 meters, greater than the equivalent distance in Manhattan, New York) and Called Florida (an incredibly long pedestrian street filled with shops, cafes and beautiful buildings -not to mention, our second Starbucks find!).

After spending a week wandering around, seeing a traditional gaucho Rodeo, slacklining, drinking Mate in one of the largest cities in the world, we made our way to Rosario. A quieter city, but still a large one, nonetheless. Arriving at 7pm on a Saturday night without hostel reservations may sound silly looking back now, but we had no idea what we were getting into. After trekking well over a dozen blocks in circles and asking directions our backs ached and we gave in hailing a cab. We had our handy Lonely Planet Guide (thanks to Sandra!) and had looked up the cheapest spot to stay. When the cab left and the lady on the speaker outside the hostel said they had no room, we hailed yet another cab because our second option was over 20 blocks back over our path. Once again, after the cab had left and the lady on the speaker outside the hostel said they had no room, we began to feel a tad nervous (given that there are hundreds of places to stay in Rosario, it wasn’t too much of a crunch but we had even come up with the plan of going to a 24hr cyber, or internet cafe, and taking turns sleeping). So we hoofed it to the next hostel, refusing to pay yet another taxi fare, where we finally were let in. But the relief of setting our bags down was quickly pulled from under us when they too informed us that they had no room. Not a single bed -we were dumbfounded.


The sweetest chica working at the front called nine different hostels with no luck before a Brasilero (Brazilian) suggested we try this one he had previously stayed in, and we finally found two beds! We decided to make a deposit on a spot for the following three nights as we couldn’t imagine going through all that hassle over again. The Brasilero and another friend kindly walked us to the other hostel and we hunkered down for the night with waaay too many laughs and a tight squeeze of a snuggle in one single bed. We rode bikes up the river’s coast, met The Wanderer in the park while being pooped on from above and watching our stray dog friend eat at least three birds, and then left a quick four days after for the city of Córdoba.


Without much prior planning, Natasha and Adrian (Sandra’s cousins, an incredibly loving and compassionate couple) picked us up from the bus platform and drove us out to Villa Carlos Paz where we were to stay with Tia Lidia y YiYi (Sandra’s aunt and uncle, a ridiculously hilarious and inviting pair). They showed us la ciudad y el lago and then took us to their house for a home cooked meal of tortellini (actually a relative of tortellini, because they were circle shaped, not square... but the name has escaped me now) and lemon pie (Natasha has her own business called Plaza Ducle (you can find her on facebook!) where she does surprise breakfasts and makes all sorts of delectable treats!). Once we got to the cabañas we drank Mate and chatted for hours to only get picked up again and go out for dinner (at 10pm! -normal here...) at a place called Angus in town.

I cannot even begin to describe the palatability of this pizza, but it is a must try. Don’t pose judgments, just do it! :) Eggs (yes! eggs!), onions (red and green), oregano and then pizza sauce and a slather of mozzarella... Fantastic! Then the next day tia brought us freshly baked Media Lunas (a pastry commonly eaten for breakfast with café con leche o sometimes during siesta time with friends and Mate) and delectable homemade tomato, yes tomato (we wouldn’t have guessed it while consuming it), jam (don’t worry, I have the recipe and am brining it home to share with all of you!). She then made us una ensalada for lunch and we went out again with Natasha and Adrian for empanadas and dulce de leche helado. Same thing the following day with slacklining, eating with the family (including an apple salad, without lettuce, and with mayonnaise...), and buying Danas first Mate! We left with much love and great friends for la ciudad de Córdoba to stay with muchas amigas.

We have laughed much, eaten more and have soaked up the heat here so far. Vikky y sus amigas have shown us around, taking us out, making dinner with us and chatting it up for hours about Manifestations over Terere (Mate con jugo!) y leche con chocolate.

Overall, we have struggled finding tortillas and have yet to find penutbutter, but have made several amazing new dishes including Dana’s mango salsa (with mangos, red peppers, onions, cilantro and limes), una tarta (with chale, onions, egg and cheese), y una pasta con salsa de atun (tuna, tomatoes, some sautéed veggies on top of pasta and we also did one without tomatoes and tuna, but with cream and cebollo -which is a fish that neither of us had heard of). Have so many things to try and places to see!

Bueno.

So far, so great!

cinco dias

En 5 dias, voy a Buenos Aires, Argentina!