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Published: February 1st 2010
We All Scream for Ice Cream!
Screaming for ice cream is better than screaming at MikeWhen you are on the road, most travel books and websites recommend travel insurance. I say forget travel insurance and get life insurance. So I had a small incident with the camera while downloading our recent pictures onto the computer...no big deal. Talk about a language barrier! You don't think twice about random dialogue pop-ups when they are in your own language. This lack attitude is a problem when you don´t read Spanish all that well. The look in Jess' eyes when she nearly hurdled the happy hackers, stiff-armed the Skypers and barrelled over busy bloggers as four hundred of our pictures went down the digital drain had me running for the door. I still hold the computer responsible. Fear not, inter-couple communication is back online and we thought of only one way to fix the gut-wrenching feeling that ensues after dumping your memories...ICE CREAM! Yes, ice cream has made it into the top three of consumables on this trip. Thanks to ice cream, I have a wife who has currently been distracted from my recent photographic transgression. We would love to share some images of what I will briefly describe but unfortunately we only have a few of our own
Swiss Bliss
View from our tenth floor hostel pictures that were reclaimed from the wreckage. A few others have been shared by friends or lifted from the web. Ok, on with the show. Where were we...
Having left El Bolson, we headed north to the town of San Carlos de Bariloche. This town is recognized by Argentines and travelers alike for its numerous lakes, premier skiing, hiking and chocolate. It is very Swiss-esque. The days spent here were either extremely windy and rainy or gorgeous. We arrived several days before the New Year and spent our time in the comfortable Hostel 1004 where we spent the week with couple from Alaska/New York. We celebrated the New Year at the hostel where everyone was encouraged to bring an appetizer, a main dish or a dessert. I made Mike's Famous Cheese Peppers (a noble title having been made only once before) and Jess wowed the masses with baked brie topped with an incredible raspberry jam and pecans. Whether I was shmoozing my way through the crowd or taking
another trip to the bar, I kept overhearing people ask, "Have you tried the brie yet? It is incredible!" That's right folks, she can cook too. Bringing in the New Year
Sky High
Atop Cerro Catedral with so many fun people from all over the world was a welcomed treat after our flop attempt at celebrating Christmas. Being the busy little bee that I am, I decided the only way to ride out the following day´s headache was to organize a gathering of folks to head out to catch
Avatar. It wasn't quite a theatre with surround sound but it rocked none-the-less.
The following day Jess and I headed out for Cerro Catedral where we would spend the next three nights. It turns out that this place is a rock climbers paradise. Many travelers were camped out for weeks at a time so they could master the rugged slabs of rock that surrounded the pristine alpine lake. We were a bit bummed not to be able to try out the ol' figure-eight knot I used to tie with my eyes closed as a young lad but we figured we would give it a go sans-rope and scramble our way to the top with some not so entirely vertical routes. Once at the top of the tallest ascent we could manage, Jess decided it would be a good idea to test my nerves as she demanded
Hammock Chillin
Certainly worth the extra pack weight! I take some pictures of her jumping high in to the air for some wild shots. Although I wouldn't exactly call this an extreme sport, I still
refused to let my feet leave the ground. Big tree fall hard if you know what I mean. Jess could try to throw my skinny carcass over her shoulder but we all know this bag of bones would be dragging on both ends. So I entertained the wild child as she caught some air before we descended to get some much needed hammock time. Once again we lucked out a window of incredible weather before the rain caught back up with us upon our return to town.
With rain in the forecast we decided to head west into Chile to hit some of the volcano treks. Unfortunately, we did not carry the foresight to check the weather in Chile and ran right into the storm on the other side of the Andes. Rather than waste five days waiting out the storm, we decided to say goodbye to the Patagonia we have come to love and head north to Santiago. We had not planned to spend much time in Chile but this city
was a
pleasant surprise. It also helped that we arrived on the weekend of the city's annual craft beer festival. This event was quite enjoyable as we were fortunate enough to be present for the live band's undertaking of Queen´s
Bohemian Rhapsody while we sucked back some high octane beverages wearing funny little paper hats resembling those worn at Oktoberfest. Cleaner and better organized than Buenos Aires, Santiago provided a nice
layover point before heading to the beach at Valparaíso.
The coastal city of Valparaìso shares striking similarities with San Francisco. Hilly is an understatement and with 52 cerros this town is sure to work your glutes. Valparaìso is famous for the acensors used to access the tops of the hills. Some are well maintained and cost more to ride than the less frequented cars. These antique boxes shudder as they crawl up the mountainside. When descending there is a feeling in your stomach similar to anticipation before taking a plunging fall on a roller coaster. We spent the few days we stayed here wandering the cobbled streets and lounging on the beach. Highlights included a tour of the eccentric house of Pablo Neruda and dining at one of
the oldest eateries on the wharf. We left the cool coastal breeze behind and turned west into the stifling heat of Mendoza.
Photos:
Acensor www.panoramio.com/photo/2826518
Valparaíso blog.pucp.edu.pe/item/77664/catid/452
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Andrea
non-member comment
hatred
I hate both of you.