Friends!!!!

The next morning it felt good to get up late. We hugged and kissed our grandparents goodbye and walked them outside to catch a cab to take them to the airport. Once I watched the cab drive away, I felt a sickening lonely feeling in my stomach. We all sadly walked back into our apartment without talking to each other. Finally, Dad suggested we take a walk.

We got up and slowly walked to the door. We walked around and then to the park and sat down on one of the benches and watched a stray dog try to catch pigeons. He would leap into the air with his mouth open, but the pigeons were too fast. We sat there and watched the dog try over and over again. I looked around and saw a small park with a playground.

"Dad," I said, "can we go to the small playground and play for just a few minutes?"

"Sure!" he said.

We walked over to the park. I like this park, not because it was where we met our friends, but because it was small and it had a lot of playthings that looked like a lot of fun. I tried the monkey bars, they were like a snake. I got halfway through and then I couldn't do any more so I dropped. Then, I saw my mom beckoning me over.

Meghan and I quickly ran over. Mom and Dad were talking to someone in English. He had two girls next to him that were also speaking English. "What?" I asked.

My mom said, "Say hello."

We both said hello and told them our names. They said they were Gaby and Laura and they were from Queens, New York and they went to school in Buenos Aires. They spoke fluent Spanish because their Mom and Dad were from South America. They were 10 & 8. We played with them and when we said good-bye, my sadness had melted away and was replaced by great new friends.

Highland Tour

Hoping to get a glimpse of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the western hemisphere, Debby and Barbara booked a highland tour toward the Chilean border. No sleeping in today and no stroll to the panadaria for media lunas - we were up early and waiting outside for our tour bus by 6:45. By 7:30 we were all convinced that the on-line booking through California might not have been a good idea....Bummer!

The 6 of us walked a couple of blocks to a cafe but it wasn't open yet - more bad news. Debby and Barbara returned to the apartment to send nast-e-mails while Tom and I and the girls went searching for early morning pastries. A block in the other direction we scored and by 8:15 we were having our sweets with a sour taste in our mouths wondering what to do today. Then the bell rings, I joke that it's our tour guide, and it was! Incredible!! I am sure that we looked like novice travelers to the full bus of travelers outside as we scrambled back into tour mode, spilling out of the apartment and onto the sidewalk - stunned.

As we were the last to board the bus, we quickly left our urban setting and began driving through vineyard after vineyard with pistachio, and fruit trees also along the way until the landscape quickly dried and darkened, driving west to the front range of the Andes. After clearing the front range we entered the Uspallata valley were the giant peaks along the Chilean boarder became visible. Route 7, which will also take us to Santiago next week was the route taken by San Martin's army back in 1817. Our tour stopped at an old stone bridge crossing an ice cold stream from that journey years ago. Back on the bus we kept heading west, climbing and climbing. The wind was picking up and it was cooler but with it the clouds that would block our view of Aconcogua - booooo.

The last nine kilometers of our trip was gravel and dirt switchbacks that headed up the old pass route to the Cristo Redentor monument at an elevation of 4000 meters (13,123 feet). This was our first return to these altitudes since Bolivia and my head did not enjoy it much. We were pounded by fierce winds and our guide told us not to run due to low oxygen levels. I know, I know. The views were incredible but the cold cold wind made for a short visit and photos for the memories. We headed back down the mountain and to Las Cuevas to Puenta del Inca, the natural land bridge over the headwaters of the Mendoza river. The remains of an old hotel and spa at this location of natural hot springs were adjacent, destroyed years ago in an avalanche. The minerals in the water spilling out of the old structure have turned everything a yellowish gold and therer are vendors near by that will sell you a crystalized golden buddah or tennis shoe if you like as a token. We passed.

Next and last stop was lunch were we dined on home made vittles and some malbec before heading back on the bus. I got a good nap on the 2 hour return trip to town, my head decompressed along the way somewhere and the temperature began to rise with each kilometer. Last on the bus and last off, it was a great trip!

It Was A Christmas Like No Other!

Tom and I flew to Mendoza, Argentina via Santiago, Chile the week before Christmas to spend the holidays with daughter-Debby, husband-Michael and granddaughters-Meghan and Helen. I really had no idea what to expect as this was our first trip to South America but I did know it was summer and most of the old holiday traditions of the Hughes family would be on hold this year.

First, we found there were no trees for sale that we could bring back to decorate even though we brought a few ornaments and even our friends, the Brydes, sent a few made of olive wood from the Holy Land. Second, it was unbelievably HOT. At one point when we returned from our trip the week before to Iguazu Falls, the cab driver pointed to the thermometer that showed 38C or 100 degrees. I did say HOT. Next, all but a couple of the gifts we brought from everyone were in the bottom of a duffle bag - each very small and suitable for a family trekking through the South American continent.

Christmas day was spent in our small but cool apartment. Both the girls slept in (another change for Christmas morning). We sat around the small kitchen table with all the presents piled up in the center. One by one the gifts were opened - luggage tags, sunglasses, scarves, 3-D drawing paper, nail polish, jewelry, small stuffed toys, three pieces of clothing for each girl and also a Kindle so Meghan and Helen can download books to read while traveling. I loved watching as each present was opened followed by thanks with hugs and kisses.

The afternoon was spent putting together another Christmas present of an African animal puzzle. Both these girls are really good at this.

All the stores and restaurants were closed so master chef Michael fixed us "Christmas Spaghetti",salad and toasted bread with olive oil - a good dinner that we all enjoyed. Following dinner we had fun with the one traditional event we love - opening English crackers. We did it the correct way this year - each of us grabbed the string of the person beside them and crossed arms. When the count was up, the strings were pulled and the craker makes a loud "pop". Out spills a paper crown, a joke and a toy. We laughed, put on our colorful crowns, played games and read each other our joke. A really fun way to end the day.

Yes, it was a very different Christmas - but one basking in the love of family, of just being together and sharing precious moments is as close to understanding our Lord's love as we can experience. Welcome, Baby Jesus!

The Day Before Christmas

Today is going to be a great day here in Argentina. We were going to visit a couple of wineries. We were picked up at our apartment by Guide Tracy and were off to the Trapiche winery which was closed for production. After asmall intro by the winery guide, we enjoyed the tasting of several different wines. Bought some wine. Left from there to go to the Familia Zuccardi winery, where the girls are riding bikes while we drank the samples. After lunch, Meghan, Helen and I had our photo taken with Julia of the Santa Julia label wines.

We got back in the apartment in time for a good afternoon nap. Next thing I knew, Barbara was waking me up to get dressed for the Christmas Eve Service at the Basilica de San Francisco for a Catholic mass. Very interesting service and I am sure the head guy gave a great sermon, if only I could have understood Latin and Spanish. In the middle of the service, a large dog walked down the aisle and layed down in the aisle beside Helen. The main guy never slowed down in his sermon.

I am going to off chanel this and say that on the 17th of December, Barbara and I celebrated our 43rd anniversary with a pizza and wine (Oh! Mendoza and the wine).

This has been a great overall trip. I have seen Santiago, Chile, Mendoza, Iguazu Falls, Guira Oga (rehabilitation of animals and birds), the wineries, and had an excellent time with the Vance Family.

I am proud of Meghan who is turning into a real girly-girl and never fails to impress me. Helen exhibits a certain amount of patience which I am always short of, and she is to be congratulated.

Debby and Mike are great parents and have done a great job in raising their children.

I look forward to giving up my naps every afternoon and re-establishing myself back into the real world.

Iguazu Falls

First of all today was pretty rocking. We saw all the main "have to do's" and a couple of others. Our first stop was the train station. After the train got there all the passengers got on (it was a big train). We rode it to the last stop, El Garganta Del Diablo (the Devils Throat). On the way there we walked on foot bridges the whole time because the rivers that were leading up to the falls were under us.
Finally the bridge opened up to a circle where you could go to any perspective to see the falls. The falls were... hard to describe. Imagine a circle about two miles around. Two thirds of that circle was falls. You could only see about three meters into the canyon because of all the mist. The sound was amazing and you could feel the mist on your skin. Beautiful thats what I call it.
We went back to the train station to go back to the station that we skipped on the way to El Garganta Del Diablo. We left Grandma and D-daddy there so they could take the train back, eat lunch and then take the bus back to the hotel. We had our own lunch that I didn't like but I ate anyways.
Then we followed our guide to the other part of the tour. There we saw all the different falls. San Martin, Dos Hermanas (two sisters), Bossetti (the first park ranger in Iguazu) and many more. Finally we got to the lookout where we could see the whole chain. It was spectacular. Not all of them were connected but there were probably one hundred different falls ranging from a couple of feet to twenty meters wide.
All I wanted to do was sit and stare but dad had other ideas. He wanted to go on the adventure tour that most people called "the shower". Helen wanted do go badly so after we saw the last waterfall we headed for the docks. Before we got on the boat we had to put all our possesions in a waterproof bag to take on the boat with us and get life jackets.
Once we got on the boat the driver did a few fancy tricks then headed for the falls. Fall number one was San Martin. Getting closer the mist was so dense it felt like rain. After about a minute we came out of the mist and headed for the Three Musketeers. There we were almost under the falls. Everyone was screaming so loud my ears hurt.
Finally we took the boat down the Iguazu river to get a jeep that would take us back to the entrance. There we met mom and got some icecream. Today was a day I will never forget!

Flight to Iguazu

This morning we woke early because we were going to take a plane to Iguazu and I was so excited! We got dressed quickly and joined Grandma and D-daddy at the elevator to go down to breakfast. Breakfast seemed even better then any other day. I filled my plate with food because I didn't know if they served food on the plane. At the table we were excitedley talking about Iguazu Falls. As we finished breakfast we went up to the hotel room to finish packing and brush our teeth. Once we were finished we took our suitcase down the elevator to check out. We were leaving three of our suitcases here because we were only staying in Iguazu for four nights.
After we checked out we went outside and caught two cabs to the airport. It felt like the taxi drivers were speeding down the road so it looked like a blur of colors outside, and then we were at the airport.
We ate a snack and a drink at one of the restraunts in the airport. Then we got in line. We were first flying to Salta and then to Iguazu. The line took forever until finally we were next. We showed the man our tickets and he checked them and then gave them back and pointed at the door he was standing in front of, "pase" he said. Inside was an x-ray machine to make sure that we didn't have any guns in our bags. I waited at the end of the machine for the bag. We walked out of that room and outside and on the plane.
The seats were three in one row and three behind so we had to split up. The plane ride wasn't bat at all. Taking off was pretty fun and they gave us cookies and a drink on the plane. Soon we touched down in Salta and most of the pasengers got off, some people (like use) stayed on. Soon we were off again and then the land looked like a bunch of tiny dots pushed together. Some times the plane went through clouds and everything out the windows went white. It was pretty cool. At last we touched safely down in Iguazu. I was bouncing in my seat I was so excited!
We passed through security and met our bus driver who took us to our new hotel. It was amazing! It had a large pool outside plus a hot tub. Our room had a double bed and a single, Grandma and D-daddy had the same. Meghan and I dressed into our swimsuits as fast as we could and went to the pool. It was cooler than I thought. It had a bridge and a small waterfall to another pool. Meghan and I had so much fun in it. We went back up to the room and took showers adn then I layed dwon in my bed feeling so glad that I was in Iguazu at last.

Sizzling Mendoza

Our first full day with my folks we slept in a little and headed down for an elaborate buffet breakfast at our swank hotel. We ate a yummy breakfast and my parents and I headed off to talk to a travel agent about a little side trip while they are here.

After we returned , we made a plan to head out to the Museo del Area Fundacional. This museum covered the history of Mendoza from when it was founded.

Mendoza was pretty unlucky in that its first established government buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1861. It also leveled most of the town and killed 11,000 people. This museum is built on the ruins of the original city hall and the location where they signed the documents that created their city. There were large excavated holes in the floor that expose the original floorplan of the building.

The silver-lining of the earthquake is that the government was able to move the town a few kilometers to the south and west and make their streets in a grid pattern around an large central park with 4 other smaller parks a few blocks off the corners of the central park.

The city is a very pleasant place to walk - large tree lined streets, wide sidewalks, and if it weren't so darned hot, we'd be out more. The temperature here today was 93 - and it looks like we're in for more of the hot stuff for the time we are here.

We returned to the hotel for my dad to take a nap, the girls to take a swim and to start trying to catch up on our blogs!

Around 7:00, we dressed for dinner and headed down to the wine tasting the hotel offers every night. We were lucky because the wine was a Merlot and it was excellent! After our glass we walked over to dinner at Azafran for a great dinner. In fact, this was hands-down the best meal I have had in our whole time here in Argentina (It certainly helps that it was pan-seared ahi tuna - this is the first place its been on the menu)

I'm looking forward to more yummy meals here in Mendoza!


We're looking forward to eating well here

They're Here! They're Here!

I have to say it's very hard to wait a whole day while someone special is coming... we did a good job wasting time though. The best thing you can do is sleep in. So, we slept in until 9:30. The only problem with that was the breakfast ended at 10:00. Once we woke up, we had to hurry, hurry, hurry to get to breakfast on time.

After breakfast, we went upstairs to pack our bags and move to our new hotel. It was far so we had to take a taxi. Unfortunately, taxis are nightmares. 4 people, 4 suitcases, 4 backpacks, 2 violins and a charango is a crazy amount of stuff to put in one vehicle. We ride carrying things on our laps.

Once we got to the hotel and checked in, we took the tour, settled in and went to the pool. It was a very nice pool. On the first floor you pass through a room full of gym equipment then go out on a little deck and there's the pool. Most of the pool is in the sun, so the water is a nice temperature because it wasn't very deep.

Helen and I swam for half an hour before we got hungry and went to lunch. We found a nice place to eat lunch and sat outside while they served us a good lunch full of many courses. After lunch, we came back and took naps. I did not.

Finally, it was time to go to the airport. We decided to take the bus to the airport and take a taxi back. While we were at the bus stop, we bought flowers then got on the bus. 20 minutes into the bus ride, Mom went to the driver to ask when we would arrive at the airport. The driver responded, "This bus does not go to the airport". So, we had to get off and wait forever for a passing cab to take us to the airport.

We got there 20 minutes after their flight had landed. At least they were still there!!!

After many hugs and kisses we loaded up 2 taxis to take us to the hotel. In the hotel, we got more hugs and kisses. I think in the next week we will have lots of hugs and kisses.

Publishing Delays due to Travel

Due to travel (ha ha) and intermitent internet connections in Patagonia all blog updates have been delayed. We appologize and hope to resume a regular schedule soon. All is well and our writers are eager to get back to work.

Editor

Mount Tronador

Traveling up to Mount Tronador was hard but it was worth it. Mount Tronador used to be a volcano and now loads of snow is on top of the mountain and lots of blocks of ice slip and tuble from it's grip. The road was dirt and going up was painfull but after a few minutes of a bumpy road trip we were up. At the base of the mountain it was freezing. I knew it once I put a foot out of the car. We were going to eat lunch here so we took our bags to go sit down at a picnic table. Eating out in the cold was not fun but luckily the food was good. Finally I couldn't stand it any more, I asked for the car key. Meghan felt the same way so we both walked to the car together. After I was finished with my sandwich I got out of the car and walked with Dad to see the snowy mountains above us. There were three waterfalls, the one nearest us was the biggest. We saw some snow fall and then BOOM!!! it hit the ground. Dad made a rock pile then set the camera on it to take a picture of all four of us. We took our last looks at Mount Tronador then got into the car and headed on to Bariloche.

Ruta 40 The Return Trip

On our last day in Los Antiguos we ventured further south along the now all dirt road of Ruta 40. They are in the process of paving this section and we could see some evidence of progress but it looks like years of work lie ahead. Our destination was the Cuevos Los Manos (Helen's blog) and this would be the furthest south we would get. Tierra del Fuego would have to wait for another day. There were no kilometer markers to document our furthest point but 14 kilometers shy of Bajo Caracoles or 48 degrees south of the equator.
The next day we retraced our path back north a full day's drive moving back up to the lush edges of the lower Andes (more trees, fauna, wildflowers). Stayed 3 nights in Trevelin, a small town just outside of Esquel of Welsh descent, cute little buildings and Casas de Te. Some kind of head cold caught up with me there so our first day was very tranquillo - Meghan tells the rest in her blog.
From Trevelin we headed north, taking a detour from 40 through Los Alerces National Park. It rained steadily and was cold so the clouds kept us from seeing the peaks of the park and our views of the lakes were limited. A nasty day in a beautiful place... too bad, but we really haven't had too many rain days the entire trip. Once we left the park and headed NE the weather began to break a little, we drove on past the last permanent residence of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (although we never saw it) and caught 40 again taking us up to El Bolson. Got there intime to settle into our cabana before the rain caught up with us again. We went downtown to a brewpub for pizza and beer before calling it a night. Also learned that the hole in our windshied really was a hole and water gets in when it rains alot.
Friday it rained all day... steady rain all day except for a short break around 4pm and the girls and I got our for chocolate and helado and a short hik in the mud at Cascada Escondida, not far from our place. Saturdayteh weather cleared and looking up we noticed that the rain was snow on the mountains. Blue sky, valleys and white mountains... very nice. We drove out of town to Lago Puelo National Park for the day. Most of the hiking trails were closed to to rain but we did hike to the mirador over the lake were we at our picnic lunch and also walked along the boardwalk through the very wet Bosque de la Sombra. Back in town, we strolled through the craft market there, sampling some fresh juices and beer amongst the local hippies. It felt like Asheville. Sunday we said goodbye to El Bolson and headed north back to Bariloche with a detour to Mt. Tronador. We returned for a last night with our friends at Bosque de los Elfos for a last night and will be catching the bus to Mendoza Monday and Tuesday.

Trevelin

Trevelin is realy small but very nice. Basically I've said that every little town we have been in sas nice but... well they all were. Anyways. The center of town was mostly on the main road that came off a pretty circle. Our cabana was on the main road and very close to everything we would need. There were roses everywhere in the yard. The first night Dad was kind of sick so Mom, Helen and I went out to find food while Dad ate soup. We couldn't find anything. All the restaurants were closed and we were starving. After a half an hourof walking around it started raining and we gave up. We went to the store, bought soup and went straight home.
The next morning we woke up to a large marching band. It was police day! All the police in the entire Chubut Province came to Trrevelin to march in one parade. It was really cool. helen and I ate breakfast really quick then went outside to watch. There was a big stage between two lanes and the police officers were marching in front of it. Occasionally someone would come up to the stage and receive an honor but mostly the band was playing. We mostly hung around town that day because the parade didn't stop till 12:00 and we we couldn't get our car out of the drive.
The next day we drove to some really pretty waterfalls. There were four of them along this very pretty hike but we couldn't get very close because the trail didn't go that far. My favorite waterfall was the last one. It was HUGE. It was little at the top then it came down to a big bottom that made a rainbow. The sound was AMAZING!
After our hike, back in town, we went out for high tea. The tea house was called Nain Maggie. First came the bread then the cakes. My favorite cake was the raspberry. It had rasberry jelly on the inside and iceing on the top. I loved it! After eating we explored the gift shop, bought a few things and then went home. All of us say that Trevelin was a good place to go.

Cueva de las Manos

Today we went to a place called Cuevo de las Manos ( in english it is cave of the hands) to see art, I thought it was going to be paintings on easels but I was totally wrong. We got there and got out of our car to breathe some fresh air, in front of us was a tiny house we walked over to it and went inside it had a big desk and a tiny museum and next to the door there were nails that were sticking out of the wall and hemets were hanging on them. Wondering what the hemets were for I walked inside, the man at the desk beconed my mother toward him there he gave her a slip of information paper I watched my mom fill out the piece of paper. After she was done I turned around and saw a family a mom a dad and a little boy they were all wearing helmets and talking in some languge that I did'nt know the name of. A woman soon came over and took helmets off the wall and gave them to us,us and the small family gathered around the woman who gave us our helmets. She said her name was Narcissa and she was from Buenos Aires then she turned toward us and and said "Where are you from" and we told her the United States and then she asked the family next to us and they said they were from Germany. Narcissa lead us to the back door and outside then we stopped and she told us that the helmets protected your head because when it was windy rocks fell and hit places. She explained that the paintings were painted by the hunters. They made there paint by rubing two rocks together and making dust then they would mix the dust with blood, water, animal fat and urine, they would mix it all together and make paint. Narcissa lead us down steps and I looked around it was an enormous canyon. In front of us were steps and around us were enormous rocks when I looked down there was a river and a grassy field with bushes. We kept walking down the steps then we stopped and I looked at the rocks around us and they had hands like stencils with paint around it. There was even a 6-fingered hand! Narcissa asked us to find it - and we did. Narcissa said that the hunters liked to paint pictures of their hands and animals by putting the paint on their lips and also putting their had on the rocks and blowing around their hand making hand stencils. Narcissa said that the hunters came and lived in a cave and made the paintings, she said that we would go past the cave and see the paintings of the animals. So we walked on and soon we found ourselves at the entrance of the cave. It had a fence all around it. Narcissa explained that people would sneak in here when there was no fence and chip off some rock with paint and take it. They did it so much that the people working here had to put up a fence to make them stop. We walked past the cave down some steps and stopped on the rocks were hands and what looked like horses. When we reached the paintings Narcissa asked us what the animals represented. Meghan said Guanacos (bigger llamas) and Narcissa said "that is corect!". She also said that lots of guanacos used to live here and they were very useful to the hunters. They ate the meat, they used the bones for knives and wepones, they used the blood for paint and they used the fur for coats and blankets. We kept on walking then stopped again and on the rocks were perfect paintings of black guanacos there was also a picture of a person dancing his hands were on his hips and he was a stick man and his face was a circle that was blank. There was a red circle with a circle inside with a circle inside and so on. Narcissa told us that the circle meant the sun, the water and the land. We walked farther on and then we saw that the steps stopped right in front of us. We had come to the end and we turned around.

Patagonia

Aside from the never-ending unpaved roads the scenery doesn't change much (which, by the way, will be ending soon - as they are paving Ruta 40 as quickly as they are able in this area of Argentina). Most of the winding roads have small hills that keep you from glancing the snow-covered Andes in the distance.

After we left Bariloche, we headed south on Ruta 40 to Esquel. This town was a little more confusing but the people were helpful in the tourist office and loaded us up with maps and several full color brochures about areas to visit while we traveled. This is another town just outside of a major ski area, but it lacks the 'cutesy' feel of Bariloche. It's where the rest of the people go, and where nearby Chileans drive for skiing. Much more down to earth.

After spending a noisy night in our guesthouse in Esquel, our next stop was in Los Antiguos on Lago Buenos Aires. This lake is the 2nd largest in all of South America and half of our view of the lake was surrounded by the snow-capped Andes. Breathtakingly beautiful! We took a small hike here down a long and unpaved road to a lovely river. The guy in the tourist office told us to pull off at KM55 and hike to the lake from there. Only, he didn't mention there was no signage and that we would have to cross cattle/sheep fences or ford streams to get there.


We didn't make it to the lake but we had a great walk. Patagonia is a desert and there were very few trees to see on our drive. Fortunately, near the river was a small wood. We enjoyed standing in the shade, until the cold winds blew and we needed the sun for warmth. On our walk we saw sheep, cows, a rabbit, ants... very humdrum as it turns out. We did much better animal watching from the windows of our car.

On our trip we saw a deer, a Nandu and her many chicks (very cute as they ran in and out from in-between their moms' legs as she ran from the car), an armadillo, many guanacos (some with babies), and several thousand sheep. Very beautiful drive - even though in some places the roads were horrible (unpaved with large dips and wash-outs).

At this point, we are looking forward to our long bus ride and arrival in Mendoza. My parents meet us there on the 15th. We can't wait!

Ruta 40

Spending 2 weeks with our own wheels exploring northern Patagonia from Bariloche to Los Antiguos with stops in between, a stretch of 950kilometers along the mamoth and infamous Ruta 40. As we headed further and further from Bariloche, the distances between towns and all signs of life increased dramatically. Other than the occasional estancia, there was nothing between the towns of Esquel, Tecka, Gobernador Costa, Rio Mayo and Perito Moreno. But the landscape was dramatic and the long straights though sage brush were interupted often by a river canyon, snow capped mountains or some critter bounding across the highway. We drove through cattle and sheep grazing land that stretched out in every direction, some times the highway was fenced off and other times it wasn't. Honking our horn to ward off sheep too close to the road became more than just safety precaution as they would high tail it into the sage brush at the sound. Spring time here is baby time and all the animals had younguns by their side. In addition to the livestock, we saw guanacos (type of wild llama), nandus (ostrich), flamingos, rabbits and armadillos.
Patagonia's Ruta 40 and it's wild reputation called to me and fond memories behind the wheel crossing vast western states deep in thought with little concern for traffic or difficult conditions. Although we were warned in books and by our car rental agency that the roads are bad in Patagonia, we headed out on good paved roads from Bariloche in a 2 wheel drive wagon with all the clothes we owned (just in case), musical instruments to bide the time if stranded, mate, and food rations that might have lasted us 6 hours. The lake district of Bariloche is very picturesque with blue lakes and white mountains in all directions, the spring colors are in full bloom and it is just georgeous - I could drive through this forever... paved roads in good conditions. We stopped in El Bolson for lunch, paddle boats and helado and continued south to Esquel for the night. Day 2 was our long drive and I was gettting comfortable doing 130 km/hr on our 2 lane hwy as we headed further east from the Andes and into flat plains of sage brush and sheep as far as you could see. We started the honk at sheep game here and as the kilometers flew by we had thoughts of traveling as far south as El Chalten, the rugged south with jagged peaks and glaciers abound. As we approached the border of Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces the roads started to deteriorate slightly and around the km marker 1500 a nice sized rock was kicked up from an oncomming truck right into our windshield. It was a hard enough smack to send glass shards into my lap. Pretty scarry and a rude awakening to the true road conditions here. After a brief stop along the road to collect myself and duct tape (blue) the windshield (not in my direct line of sight thankfully) we continued on at a much slower pace and the thoughts of a long road trip south vanished like sheep into the sage brush.
Still a good ways from our planned stop in Perito Moreno, we stopped in the next town of Rio Mayo to get gas and look around for someone who might be able to fix our windshield or comment on it's safety. Gas yes, but this sheep shearing capital of Argentina did not offer much else and we decided to trudge along. It was at this town that Ruta 40 went from asfalto to ripio. I was glad at first because I didn't like the wind pressure against our windshield and Patagonia is very windy all the time, driving 90 into the wind is probably like 150 on a calm day, but as the gravel hwy carried on with the ruts and the large stones scraping things under the car that you don't want scraped I was no longer enjoying the ride with the wind blowing through my hair (parts of it are longer than they have been in years, maybe 1.5"). The town of Perito Moreno was a welcomed sight and a paved Ruta 40 about 10 km before town. The visitor center gave us the bad news right away that we had arived just in time for their town's festiva dia and all hotels were full for the occasion. The next town of Los Antiguos was 60 km away on the shores of Lago Buenos Aires, the second largest lake in S. America after Titicaca. We drove on thankful that the sun doesn't set until 10pm......

Bariloche

Bariloche is mostly a "ski resort" town. This technically isn't in Patagonia, its in the Lake District, but its the best place to rent a car from to drive south. This town was a little strong on the cute factor. Swiss-looking stone and wooden buildings around a city center overlooking Lago Nahuel Huapi and the snow-covered Andes in the distance. Large Saint Bernards roaming around in that park with their barrels under their necks - their owners keeping a sharp eye out for tourists wanting their photos taken with their dogs. This reminded me of the llama girls in Cusco - but the men were definitely not dressed to be photographed as well.

The main streets are full of high-end hotels, chocolate shops, heladerias (ice cream) and touristy nick-nacks, postcards and t-shirts. We were able to resist all of the above, except for the ice cream.

Helen got sick during our stay so she and I hung out at the house while Mike and Meghan did the running around (see Meg's blog post below).

On the day Helen felt better we took a little drive on the Circuito Chico. This lead us out to an aerosilla (chairlift) to the top of Cerro Campenario. I can't begin to explain how gorgeous this all was - the pictures just cannot do it justice. We had a clear day but the wind was bitter cold - so we took refuge in the hilltop cafeteria and exchanged photo ops with other tourists.

Once back down, we took a drive through the park at the end of the peninsula. Stopping at a lookout on a boulder outcropping facing the lake and the Andes. The wind, though now not quite as blustery as the hilltop, forced us back into the car after a short lunch here.

The road back into town was gravel, so we took our time winding our way through the low hills back to our cabana.

The next morning it was raining, so we decided to tackle the longer car route - the Circuito Largo. This took us past two small villages - one on a lake of its own and the other on the north side of the same Lago Nahuel Huapi.

The drive to Villa Traful was long and the weather was miserable, but we preservered and were delighted with gorgeous blue lakes surrounded by snow-topped mountains. The road was, again, unpaved, and slightly trecherous in some places. We seldom passed another vehicle but could see that in the summer months there must be hoards of people in the area, for we passed lakefront campground after campground for almost an hour.

Our reward for the long trek was an ice-cream/chocolate stop in Villa Angostura. A cute little village that had plenty of places to stay but seemed more intimate. I think it would have been fun to stay there and stroll around a bit more (as the rain had let up) but we headed back to our place for a quiet dinner and an evening of packing up for our long car trip adventure.

Waterfall Hike

Bariloche is gorgeous. The town is nestled in between a big lake and a very pretty mountain range. There are also mountains on the other side of the lake but I think the ones behind the city are prettier. Most of the mountains have snow on them making it an amazing drive just from our hotel to the city next to the lake. After Dad got the car, since Helen was sick, dad and I went to a waterfall. The drive there was amazing. We got to drive beside two lakes . The best part was that I got to sit in the front seat. We accidentaly took a wrong curve (since I was directing) and ended up driving to a golf course. Whoops! Once back on track we got all the way to the waterfall without problems! The hike to the waterfall was very pretty but not very steep or long which was good. We crossed a couple rivers and I stuck my hand in one of them. IT WAS SO COLD! We crossed one last bridge and took the path to a little clearing. Right across from the river was the waterfall. One of the falls fed into the other making a very pretty sight. The foam disapeared as soon as the falls hit the water forming a beautiful blue that was crystal clear up close. In the middle of the clearing there was a tree that was cut into a very comfortable chair. On the way back to the car we passed a sign that said Mirador 1 kilometer. Dad said " We should do it. We can always turn around if we need to." I thought about it for a minute than agreed and we started going up the hill. I must say it was a pretty hike but it was really steep too. Remember the part about we can turn around if we need to? Dad wouldn't let me turn around. Well I guess I am glad he made me do it. The first part of the hike was really pleasnt. It was a nice up hill slant and then it got steep. What I mean by steep is that we had to climb. After about a half an hour we came to a sign that said Mirador 10 minutes. Of course we arn't super climbers so it took a lot more time thatn just ten minutes. On our last really steep climb we had the most scariest experience in our lifes. Dad almost fell off the cliff. Luckily I was carrying the camera and I got to snap one picture before I rushed to his aid. Picture below. We were a little shaken up after that but we kept going. Finally we got to the top. It was really pretty but really windy. We took a break behind a big rock before starting the climb back down. The view was so gorgeous that you could probably take a picture, sell a million postcards and be a millionare. Shame we didn't do that. The way back down was a nightmare. Dad found a walking stick but I decided to do the duck walk. Just as we got to the bottom we saw our first school group. We waited for them to pass then started walking. 2 minutes later we saw another school group. We let that group pass as well but just behind that one was another. It took a while to get out of there. Once we were in the car we went to a "kiosko" to get chocolate before going the long way home. It was heaven sitting in the front seat, eating chocolate, watching the scenery and directing daddy. We took some wrong turns but still heaven. And that was the end to my very nice day. I would like to stay in Bariloche longer. Its a very nice town and I think it would make a very nice vacation spot.

P.S. Dad didn't really fall off the cliff. He posed for the camera. Don't let me get you worried.

Whale for Thanksgiving

Our second full day on the Peninsula Valdez, Thanksgiving Day and a day set aside for whale watching, the Southern Right Whales that are in the waters of the Golfo Nuevo this time of year raising the whale calfs. Our home base for 3 days, Puerto Piramides is the launch zone for all of the tours into the gulf. 2 hour trips that get you up close and personal. We scheduled a 4pm tour and decided to spend the morning trying to get a glimpse of a tail, fin, or hump from land as we were told possible from Punta Pardelas just south of town. After breakfast in our room we were in our car heading down gravel roads through sheep pastures following signs to mirador ballenas. We had the point to ourselves for a short while and had commanding views of a calm bay off of the gulf waters. Having only seen whales once in my life off the coast of Oregon as they migrated north, catching a brief glimse of a hump and a spout off in the distance with binoculars, I didn't know what to expect. This was quite different and got us all excited. Without much effort we could see several groups of whales in the bay, pairs momma and baby side by side, some were close enough to hear their exhales. Helen insisted that we get a closer look so we climbed down to a reef shelf above water due to low tide and got to see a couple whales rounding that point, less than 100 yards from us - we were getting very excited about the possibility of getting even closer on our boat tour. We hung out a while longer watching whales and watching tour boats watch whales and then headed back to town.
At 4pm we joined 47 other life jacket wearing tourists and boarded our boat and headed to the same area we had been earlier that day. The water had roughened up and I had some concern that we might not have the best conditions but it all worked out well! In the hour of viewing (not cruising) our boat captains pulled us along side 3 different sets of mom and baby whales. Other than a jump (which would have been spectacular), we saw it all, tails, fins, bellys, noses (do whales have noses?) and humps. And the sounds of the exhaling spouts and splashes from fins slapping the water was wonderful. Although our boat was full, we all had great views and Helen and I couldn't pull our cameras from our faces. I will be culling photos for a couple of days. The time flew by and rather quickly our captain told us to take our last shots before we headed back to port.
Back in our hotel we feasted on pizza for dinner and wished we were home with friends and family for Thanksgiving enjoying pie and a turkey leg - but the tail of whale would have to do.

Sea Lions and Penguins and Whales, OH MY!

We slept really late today. It was awesome. I got one of the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. There were no sirens late or car alarms. This is a blissfully quiet town. Something about the waves and the sea, I think.

Today we drove a 200 km loop (128 miles) on a gravel road. This was not something that originally I was looking forward to, but the day was fantastic and I'm so glad that Mike's a die-hard motorist.


First, we drove to an area called Punta Cantor, where there is a colony of sea lions. We walked down a little path to a lookout on the beach to watch the sunbathing sealions. There were some massive ones - really big and fat. And we read in the guide that these males could have up to 20 females (called a harem, ha ha) that they have to constantly defend from the bachelor sea lions. I have a feeling if you work out here and know them by sight, it could be a little Melrose Place-ish.

Next we drove to Punta Norte. Here is a larger sea lion colony in the Spring - when they beach to have their babies. The fun part of being up there were the photos. If you were here in the Spring, you get to see the Orcas beach themselves trying to flood the baby sea lions out into the ocean to feed on. Apparently, it gets all "National Geographic" up there. I guess I'm a little sad to have missed out on the action, but the sea lions' faces are so sweet, I doubt I would be able to handle watching them be eaten by orcas.


On our final stop, we went to Estancia San Lorenzo. They own a stretch of beach where 400,000 Magellanic penguins come to nest. They had a biologist there to make sure the conditions of visitation were "appropriate" for the penguins. She led us right down to the area where the penguins were nesting. We got to see 4-6 day old penguins. Believe it or not, they look like little grey puff-balls - sort of like a chicken. And they make these really sweet peeping noises. The girls and I couldnt' get over how cute they were.

We returned our room late, but went out for dinner at a really "hip" place (according to Lonely Planet). When we got there at 8:30, there was only 1 other table of people. When we left at 10 - we had watched several people come in and not find a table and leave. The wifi was similar to 80's dial-up. :)

On our way home, we visited a few gift shops, but we were all exhausted so we decided to put off buying anything until tomorrow. What a fantastic day at the beach!

Puerto Piramides

Today we took a 21 hour bus trip to Puerto Madryn to see the whales on a boat. The bus trip wasn't so bad, I woke up at 5AM and then fell back to sleep in no time.n Later, all four of us woke up at 7:00 AM because the bus attendant was yelling the name of the city we were in. Some of the passengers left the bus, but others stayed on, including us.

Our stop was at 10:30. Finally, in what seemed like a year, we got off at Puerto Madryn. It was very hot, it was burning just like I had walked onto the sun.

The first thing we did was to get a car. It was a white one and there were no doors to the back. So, we have to climb through the front into the back. We stayed next to the car for a few minutes and then we decided to go eat lunch.

The restaurant where we ate was called Cantina El Nautico, and it was really good. I had raviolis with a meat sauce and there was spinach in the raviolis. It was delicious!

We returned to the car. The trip to Puerto Piramides from Puerto Madryn was 2 hours. Finally, we got out at our new place. It had 2 single beds and one double and a kitchen. We got all excited because it had DirectTV.

We really like DirectTV because it means that the remote can turn the tv shows into English. It only works for the shows that were taped in English and then dubbed into Spanish. The shows that are on television that are filmed in Spanish can't be changed into English.

After we finished looking at our room, we walked over to an office near the beach to have them give us directions on where to see the whales. She told us that it would be windy the following day and we decided to go the day after next.

We went to the beach and put our feet into the water. We jumped back just in time because the water was freezing cold! We figured out that the whales thought this water was WARM!

While we were on the beach, we met 3 kids who spoke English!!! They were from Bedford, New Hampshire and were in school in Buenos Aires because their dad works for the US Embassy in Argentina. We played a game together and then they had to go. They were taking the 6:00 boat to see the whales. It was no fun playing without them on the beach, so we decided to leave.

We went back to the hotel and ate dinner. We watched some Disney TV (in English) and then I laid down and before I knew it, I was asleep.

Helado

I must say other than meat and wine Argentina is very famous for their ice cream. Here in Cordoba we eat ice cream almost every day, only excepting the days that we are sick, its too cold, or we dont have time. Here are lots of ice cream places but I think that Grido is most well known. Every time we go into a Grido they are packed and the Gridos are everywhere. Sometimes I dont think that you could throw a stone without hitting a ice cream place.
The categorys of most ice cream places are: fruit sorbets, special creams, regular creams, chocolates and dulce de lece. The chocolates are very good. My favorite chocolate is Chocolate Bariloche. Usually it has mandarin cherrys and nuts. That all depends on the makers though. Recently while we were in Cordoba workers tore down the old Bariloche and built a knew one. The new one was very nice and took a suprisingly little time to finish. We as a family went and it was superb.
Ice cream places dont only sell ice cream here. Helen and I have tried Grido Batido which is just like a milk shake. Except you dont have to have the usual chocolate, strawberry or vanilla. You can pick any cream on the board and they make it for you right there. We have also had fruit bars when we have to grab it and go. They are made by all sorts of companies. Mom and I have also tried the Grido "Chocolate Bath". That means that you pick any ice cream on the board and they dip in chocolate. Its so messy that they have to give you an extra cone to hold the messy one. I LOVE IT!!!
This blog isnt the most important thing on the planet but I think that you have to know everyones favorite flavors. Mine is Chocolate Bariloche, Helen's are Dulce de Leche and Lemon, Moms is Dulce de Leche Chip and Dads are all the chocolates. I think he has tried all of them but one. I must say I am going to miss all the ice cream when we move to Peru.

Jesuit Estancias

We rented a car today and headed North out of town to visit three Jesuit Estancias within close proximity to Cordoba - Caroya, Jesus Maria and Santa Catalina. After driving right past the touritica office in Caroya and taking a very scenic though unplanned detour we made it to our first estancia. Along with Alta Gracia, which we visited weeks ago and Candelaria, a little out of the way for our tour today, there are a total of 5 estancias in the province of Cordoba built in the 1600s to financially support the church and university in the city center. The four that we have visited are very similar and resemble convents or missions with a chapel, dormatories, and beautiful courtyards. Massively tall walls walls suround these compounds set on well maintained grounds. The estancia at Jesus Maria made wine, Caroya served as a country retreat and Santa Catalina specialized in mule raising. Santa Catalina is also the only estancia of the 5 that is privately owned, operated and enjoyed by a collection of 140 families. During the week they offer tours and on the weekends use the beautiful estate for retreats and gatherings. Set away from any town on a long dirt road, this one was definitely the largest and best maintained and our favorite.

Villa Carlos Paz

Today we went to a city called Villa Carlos Paz. We thought it would be a sunny day but it turned out cloudy. We took a one hour to the city. We got off at the bus station and started wondering around, looking for place to eat. Finally, we stopped at a place called Junior B's. While we sat there waiting for our food, Mom asked us if we wanted to go swimming or on chairs to the top of the mountain. We immediately chose the chairs to the top of the mountain because it was too cloudy and we were afraid when we got to the water it would start to rain.



We walked up the street to find the chairs. When we got there, it was still closed. It opened at 3:00 and it was only 2:42. 18 more minutes.



We waited until finally it opened but we had to wait again because there was a whole school in line and they got to go first. We climbed a set of stairs and waited in another line. There were two cushions on each chair, it was for 2 people. Meghan and I were going to ride together. We walked over to a yellow rectangle painted on the ground and the chair came around.




When it reached us, we both immediately sat. I was careful not to lose my flip-flops because we were going straight up. We got to the top and there was some sort of house. We hung out there for a little time and then went back down.



Then we decided to go to the coo-coo clock. We walked over it. It looked like a house. It had a door and three windowss. We waited and then the top window opened and a bird came out. He did not say coo-coo, it made some sort of "gwak"-ing noise and then the window shut tight. It was over.



We decided to go back to the bus station from there. We got on the next bus back to Cordoba.

Manzana Jesuitica and Other Musings

Okay, so I'm going to start with the musings... you can skip down to the photos if you'd rather.

We're unhappy here in Cordoba. Nothing I can really put my finger on. The people here are very friendly, the city itself has lots of thing to do, the food is good ... there's just something missing. This country is beautiful, but the culture is really about the same.

For example, when I went shopping for a skirt for my birthday, I walked into a store in the mall and there were probably 20 people in there. I kid you not, at least 15 of them were texting someone else. Not to mention that there's been a Christmas tree in the grocery store since the week of Halloween. sigh.

So, after meeting my parents in Mendoza (wine country) for Christmas, we'll be heading back to Peru. We're really excited about the holidays with some familiar faces and then being back on the road for a few weeks. We leave Cordoba on the 22nd.

Manzana Jesuitica

We went on a tour of the Jesuit buildings here in Cordoba today. Since we've decided to leave, we're doing the tourist things we thought we'd have time to do.

The Jesuits first settled in this area in 1599. They built the first university in Argentina (it was the 3rd or 4th in South America). They built 5 estancias (ranches) outside the city to fund the running of the school. Alta Gracia was one and we are planning on visiting more of them next week.


We got a tour of their Chapel (for the indigenous), their Church, part of the University itself and their Library. The library was my favorite (go figure). They had books that were printed on the first printing press in South America. They had maps from the early 1550's to the 1700's.

The 2 coolest things they had were:
1) a copy of the bible translated in 7 languages (none of which would I be able to read- Aramaic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, etc) It was on books the size of an end table and the stack stood about 4 feet high. Apparently there are only a couple of these still around.
2) a set of Spanish - Guarani dictionaries. This is how they were so successful in converting the locals, they were willing to communicate with them in their own language.



The Jesuits believed that the power of God was bestowed on the people and the people gave it to the King. At that point in time, the Kings of the world believed in Royal Supremacy (that they had a direct link to the will of God). The religous beliefs that the Jesuits espoused were responsible for insiting revolution. They got the royal boot from Argentina in 1767.

Villa General Belgrano

All of us were craving to get out of the city so we took a trip to Villa General Belgrano. The town was settled by German men who were shipwrecked off the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay. They decided to not go back to Germany so they found a place two hours outside of Cordoba to build a town. I loved it there. Everything was made out of wood. Even the street names were carved very nicely into wood stuck on posts. The main street (San Martin) had lots of souvenir shops and some restaurants. We checked in at our hotel to find that we weren't actually staying at the hotel. We had a space in a little cabin a block away. It was very nice. Helen and I shared a trundle bed and mom and dad got the double. We also had our own kitchen that we didn't get to use and a bathroom. We got there, checked it out, dumped our bags then went to lunch. We ate lunch at "El Ciervo Rojo" the red deer. My old Spanish teachers mother owns the restaurant and she told my mom via email to eat there. we ate lunch which was very good. Dad had sausage with sauerkraut, Mom had pork chops with potato salad and Helen and I had hamburgers. Here a hamburguesa simple means the hamburger, tomatoes on the side, no bun, no lettuce, and no mustard or ketchup. Well now I know!!! After lunch we went to go see if the staff remembered my teacher. Yes they remembered her and I got to meet her brother. We talked for a while then left. The rest of the day we enjoyed moms birthday. That means of course ice cream. We shopped until it was really late then we went to go eat dinner around eight forty five. dad and I decided that we would split a big Picada. Picada means a little bit of everything on one big plate. We got salamis, hams, bacon, olives, cheese, bread, sauces, pickled veggies etc. Right after dinner we all went to bed because it was ten. We all agree that the third birthday was a good one!
Above is a picture of Helen and I by the deer in front of the restaurant.

A Sad and Happy Day

We said goodbye to our teachers this week. Thursday, we did a crossword puzzle. Everything on it was Spanish but I understood most of it. While I was doing it, Analy was taping and cutting pieces of paper that had a word like 'to sleep' on it and a picture of 'to eat' on it. When I finished the crossword puzzle, we played dominos with the cards. The picture and the words were totally different. Since the picters were all different we had to attach them together the first time we got it all wrong by putting one picter with the wrong word because the picters were very confusing . We played two times and both of us won one.




On Friday, Analy (my teacher) and I made a poster. I drew pictures of our family because I had no photos. So we glued my pictures to the poster. We designed the poster and I wrote in Spanish what the drawings meant. I wrote on a piece of paper what my name was and how old I was and so on. At the end, we both signed our names to the poster and taped it to the wall next to other pictures of other students.





We got medialunas after we were done. Meghan and Dad and I went to get them. We came back with 10. I was very sad to say goodbye to my teacher because I'd learned so much Spanish with her. I finally was able to tear myself away from her and Carlos he is Meghan, Mom and Dad's teacher.

House of Che

We traveled outside of Cordoba City for the day to the little town of Alta Gracia - an hour south by bus. Small buses leave the Mercado Sud (just 5 blocks from our apartment) every 10-13 minutes. We packed sandwiches and headed out around noon. The main attractions of Alta Gracia are the Jesuit Estancia there and the childhood home of Ernesto Guevara.
After getting to town and learning that the Jesuit mission didn't re-open until later in the day, we headed on foot, following our map and an occasional directional sign through a cute, older, middle class neighborhood to the Casa del Che. Other than the signage, and folks milling around the front porch and yard, the house appeared much like others on the street. Inside, the rooms were full of photos, maps and memorabilia of his facinating life. We all had english guidebooks and even the girls enjoyed walking from room to room reading about his past. His bicycle that he rode across the country was there as well as the motorcycle that he traveresed the continent on. After crossing paths with his legacy since Bovivia guidebooks, it was enjoyable to see the beginings. Che enjoyed golf, which he is credited with introducing to Cuba (although I never saw a picture of him with a 9 iron, gun, cigar and beret), and chess which he only played while drinking mate - convinced that it improved his skill (I will definitely test this theory in my next match with Helen).
From Che's house we stopped for some helado (super cucharachos) and then headed to the Estancia Jesuitica for a glimpse back to the 1800s when this town was centered around this church. Today it remains the only functioning church of the once many estancias in the region. The well preserved buildings and courtyards attached to the church have been converted into a museum full of period furniture, paintings, clothing, tools etc.
After poking around for a short while, we caught our return bus and headed back to the big city.