Passing the border wasn’t very difficult between Chile and Argentina, one long line, lots of stamps, and we were in. The first day in Argentina, I took a minitrekking tour with Sonia, a German girl that I met on the bus to the Perito Moreno Glacier. Perito Moreno is one of the only glaciers in the world that is actually stable. It sits in a cold valley below the Southern Patagonian ice field where the snow from the Andes collects. It towers 50 m above the water surface with enormous blue spikes of ice. After a quick boat ride over to [View Full Entry]

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Nacho and I were headed back to the bus to Puerto Natales when a guy in a truck offered us a ride. After hiking many miles in the previous days, we were happy to accept. As the driver rambled on in crazy Argentine Spanish, I sat there thinking how lucky Nacho is that he can understand what he is saying. The first thing Nacho said when we got out of the truck was... "I couldn't understand anything that guy was saying!" Haha. We decide to hike up a little hill to look for guanacos (wild llamas) and condors. Only after about [View Full Entry]

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Early on the third day, the rain had stopped and the sun rose over the valley, coloring the mountains in a beautiful rose color. Nacho and I had breakfast together and started our adventure. Hiking through the grasslands, we came to a river crossing that was engorged with rainwater from the previous night. Leading, he decided to take a small side trail to avoid crossing the raging river. The tiny trail peters out. OK, OK, no problem. I knew which direction we should go, so I lead him through some bushes that turned into a wetland. Ha. I try to stay [View Full Entry]

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The next morning, the snow turned to rain. And more rain. and you guessed it- more rain. I decided to descend. Many hours later I arrive at the Refuge, throw down my backpack, and order a chocolate caliente... completely soaked. Dear REI, All the Goretex in the world would not withstand the diluge of southern Patagonian storms. Not only was I soaked, but so was my camera. The rain collected in the pocket of my Arcteryx rain jacket which retailed for $500, and drowned my camera. Sincerely, Completely soaked Note to readers... sorry for the lack of pictures for a bit. [View Full Entry]

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I arrived at the Torres Del Paine National Park ready for a 7 day trek. The rain was pouring and the wind was whipping. People whom had just descended from the mountain, huddled in the refuge tyring to thaw out from the bitter cold rain. They said everything they owned was soaked; somehow the little plastic poncho and trash bags didn´t keep everything dry. Others were waiting out the storm... which was forcasted to last 3 more days. I didn´t want to wait 3 days. And besides, I had Goretex. Dear REI, Thank you for all the great deals you provided [View Full Entry]

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A little story about the origen of the Patagonia. Once upon a time as Mother Nature was just about finished painting the earth from top to bottom, she ran out of ideas. "I have already created huge mountains, huge valleys, huge deserts, and huge forests. What is left?" She sat and sat and sat, but could not think of something new to create. "OK, I will take the most magnificent parts of the whole earth and put them all together in one place. First, I will take the huge mountains of rocks from the tallest mountains in the Himalayas making sure [View Full Entry]

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I snap the chinstrap to my helmet and hop on my rental mountain bike grinning from ear to ear. Gung ho as can be, I am off to La Cuerva del Milodon (La Cueva del Milodon is a huge cave where an extinct monster used to live thousands and thousands of years ago. Ok, OK, it´s more like a bear, but reaching up to 25 ft. tall!! Three huge caves still exist in the Patagonia and for a mere $3,000 pesos, one can take a tour of it. Most people take buses there, but I decided to rent my bike and [View Full Entry]

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Oh man! What a crazy trip! No one told me that I had to recheck my baggage when I got to Santiago and now they say it has disappeared. Ahh crap. To make matters worse, when I got to town, I walked all over looking for my hostel becuase the taxi driver dropped me off too early. On top of that, I got sick and threw up all the meat I was served on the plane! The only thing I can add to this crazy story is... APRIL FOOLS!! Ha Ha Ha. just kidding. I made it with all my baggage, [View Full Entry]

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And She's Off! (again) Having settled in the Bay Area for almost 2 YEARS (I know!!!) my roots were a little difficult to pull up this time around. But with the freedom of travel on the horizon, I look forward to the anticipation of what's to come and the adventures to be had. Packing, tying up lose ends... There never seems to be enough time! Scramble scramble scramble. Goal #1: to sip some Chilean coffee at a cafe by the Strait of Magellen. [View Full Entry]

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