Pathways Argentina

Early last month, we took a road trip from the bottom of Spain to the top, to Pamplona, and then onward to San Sebastian, and then into France. The first day we drove north from Malaga, stopping over night outside of Madrid. The next day we proceeded on for 6 more hours to Pamplona, arriving the afternoon before the opening ceremony of the San Fermin Festival. (which Ernest Hemingway helped make famous in the 1920s) The Festival which runs continuously for over a week features The Running of the Bulls each morning at 8. We were happy to watch the first Running of the Bulls from our seats in the Bullring. We had been advised to go to the Bullring since we would be able to watch the entire street running craziness on the large screen ... read more

Posted here are pictures taken on our two trips to the opposite corners of Southern Spain The first photos were taken in Tarifa, which is just west of Gibraltar. At Tarifa, we enjoyed the warm waters of the Atlantic which we expected to be colder than the Mediterranean. We figured that the warm water was mainly due to the fact that the shallow depths extended a lot further out from the beach. We camped next to a tower that was constructed during the time that The Spanish and British Navies were at war. (around the time of The Battle of Trafalger in 1805) We couldn't resist climbing the tower which turned out to be a real adventure. The top of our climb rewarded us with a great view of the coast which is one of the ... read more

These pictures were taken during the first three weeks of our stay here Spain. We are in Andalucia in Southern Spain, which is new territory for all of us. Our house is located on the side of a hill overlooking a small valley northwest of Comares which is approx. 15 kilometers northwest of Malaga on the Mediterranean Coast. Comares is a gem of a little pueblo that clings to the top of a mountain just 2 or 3 kilometers away (as the crow flies). We are surrounded by groves of olive and almond trees which cover the hills. There are cacti and other exotic plants all around. Because it's been such a rainy Winter and early Spring here, the hills are especially green for this time of year. The sound of the goats and sheep as ... read more

This blog entry covers the first half of our trip from Bariloche, Argentina north to Iquique, Chile. We crossed into Chile from Villa La Angostura and then stopped at a river near Puyehue. There we dug out pools in a streambed which filled with natural hot spring water bubbling up from below . We relaxed in the hot springs till the stars came out and then drove on for another hour to Orsorno, where we spent the night. The next day, we drove to La Serena where we stayed in a great hostel and made friends with some of the other travelers from France, Australia, and New Zealand. La Serena is a really nice town but we decided to push on since the town was covered by a cool fog and we were hoping to find ... read more

A few kilometers behind our house, there is a vast and secluded area of forest and streams. This place, like much of the region around Bariloche, has a stunning variety of vegetation since three distinct forests converge here. We are on the western edge of the Valdivian Rainforest which brings a dense canopy of alerce, arrayan, cipress, and the giant coigue trees with thick patches of bamboo on the ground. A Deciduous Alpine Forest blends in from the higher elevations and a Coniferous Forest located to our east adds pine trees. This fusion of wildly different vegetation makes a simple walk throught the woods a real experience. On a Sunday afternoon, we discovered a stream called "Casa de Piedras " that became more amazing as went further upstream. The weather was overcast with a light shower ... read more