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Published: June 26th 2007
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Ciao, Buenos Aires
We ended our stay in Buenos Aires with a bit of shopping, a few great dinners and a brush with celebrity. As we were leaving the restaurant Divina Patagonia, the hostess asked us if Rachael Ray was famous in the US. Sure enough, she was "in makeup" at a nearby table prepping to shoot a segment for her show. She did not seem happy. I asked if I could take a picture and was denied. Not the perky reception I would have expected, but I'm sure her dinner was Yum-O. The next day we saw a banner welcoming Angelina Jolie to a local school. With no sign of the superstar nor any word of a Latin American adoption, the banner may have been wishful thinking.
Bariloche
Reluctantly, we left the high-life in Buenos Aires behind and boarded a 24-hour bus to Bariloche, in Patagonia. From the Paris of Latin America, we arrived in the Switzerland of Patagonia: snowy mountains surround a bright blue lake and the town brims with chalets, chocolaterias and fondue restaurants. We stayed at the Hotel Edelweiss in the center of town, overlooking the lake.
Cerro Catedral, the largest ski resort in
South America, is about 30 minutes out of town. It had great conditions for opening day: good snow and sunny skies. Decked out in our all-in-one, straight-from-the-80s rented snow suits, we hit the slopes. It took a few runs to get our boarding legs back and the opening weekend crowds didn't help. While runs are marked beginner, intermediate and advanced, it is pretty much a free-for-all. Skiers launched 360s next to toddler ski schools and advanced boarders screeched past beginners making their first turns.
Once the workweek began, the crowds disappeared and we pretty much had the mountain to ourselves. And it began to snow, and snow and snow. On the way to the resort on our 5th day of boarding, our taxi weaved past stuck buses, SUVs and minivans. By mid-day, the resort was just beginning to dig its way out and the snow was still coming down. Most of the stores and restaurants were closed and only one lift was running.
Riding up the lift, no one in front or behind us, we watched a handful of boarders make their way down the powdered slope. A few glided, but most only made it a few yards
Em models her suit from the 80s
We rented these in town. The guy who rented them to us was nice enough, but we did have to rouse him from his nap from behind the counter, he had bloodshot eyes, and kept insisting these suits had never been worn. They did their job though especially as we were somersaulting down the slopes. before coming to a complete standstill, knee-deep in snow. We quickly joined the latter group. Right off the bat I sunk in past my knees. We somersaulted to get ourselves free, only to get stuck a few yards downhill.
Clearly out of our league, we called it a day after one run and decided to focus on getting back to town. We joined a small group waiting for the public bus. The taxi stand was snowed in, the shuttles and private buses were full and most were stuck in the parking lot. After waiting for more than an hour, we decided to hoof the 17 kilometers back to town. We began walking on the snow-packed road, channeling our Machu Picchu trekking days and hypothesizing about possible newspaper write-ups "...it was then the US tourists made the critical and seemingly senseless mistake of attempting to walk down the mountain."
After about 30 minutes, a flat bed pickup truck stopped to offer us a ride on the back. We went 11km that way. We couldn't have imagined 6 months ago that we'd be riding through the Andes, in the back of a pickup during a blizzard and be ecstatic about
it. But that's how it was. Once off the mountain, we caught a city bus the rest of the way to our hotel.
Santiago
We enjoyed Bariloche so much that we extended our stay to 10 days in all, leaving only 3 full days for Santiago. More reason to plan a return trip to Chile (and, of course, Argentina).
Santiago, the capital of Chile, has a population of 6 million people and sits in the shadow of the Andes. While we're staying in the city center, our neighborhood looks more like turn-of-the century London - winding cobblestone avenues, decorative street lamps and stone mansions. The City is experiencing a cold front and each day the newspaper warns of dangerous air quality. So far we've ducked the smog and cold with indoor activities like eating, drinking and going to the ballet. I threw that last one in there so quickly Dave didn't know what hit him till we were in our box seats. It was opening night, the opulent Teatro National was celebrating its 150th anniversary and the dancers were exquisite.
As you would imagine from a country that is all coastline, the seafood is outstanding and a
Dave in action
You don't really need a protactor to measure the angle of this "slope." nice change from all that steak. We had a delicious dinner at Zully's, one of the coolest restaurant I have ever been to, and toasted to the end of our travels.
Tomorrow we make our way back to the US. We will spend some time with friends and family before heading back to San Francisco. It has been an incredible trip. Thanks for reading along. And thanks to Aaron for letting us know about Travelblog. It's been really fun to share the stories with everyone. Can't wait to see everyone soon!
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Heidi
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ok may i just say that i can't stand rachael ray? sorry if anyone is a fan, but her coldness doesn't shock me in the slightest! now...i need to get me one of those 80's snowboarding suits! seriously!!