EandK

We have arrived! Our hotel in Buenos Aires is in the neighborhood of the city called Palermo Viejo, which is actually made up of two smaller sections called Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood. Our hotel, the Hotel Home, is in the latter section. It's kind of got a Bucktown meets River West feel - it's trendy, but still very urban (graffiti included), and has many small bars, cafes, and boutiques. It is quiet here during the day. The hotel is cute, contemporary / minimalist, and environmentally conscious. We like it enough to call it 'Home' for the next few days. We had a really rough start this morning, tears included. Before heading out for a day of sightseeing, I wanted to back our pictures from Uruguay up on the iPad. I asked for Eric's help and ... read more

We woke up Saturday morning relatively well rested. Our room rate includes breakfast, so we head towards the restaurant for what we expect would be your standard continental breakfast. Nope. It was a massive spread of local meats, cheeses, Narbona yogurts, breads and pastries, cereal, fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, etc. Yum. We enjoyed it thoroughly and then caught a ride to La Tierra de Caballos for some horseback riding. Eric and I were the only two on the trail ride, which was led by an authentic-looking gaucho who tried earnestly to communicate with us. My horse had a mind of its own, generally ignoring my directions to stay in line and out of the thorny trees and bushes. Eric's horse had a, como se dice?, gas problem. We both laughed at that one... Thankfully my horse ... read more

Today is our travel day. We said goodbye to our new friends last night (they are hiking and kayaking Tierra del Fuego for the next week) and to Daniel this morning. We have a long drive back to Punta Arenas, a late flight and overnight in the Santiago airport, and then an early morning flight to Buenos Aires... We end up biding our time in Punta Arenas - Eric at the casino and me at the spa. :) Hasta manana.... read more

On Tuesday we were up early for our hike from Lake Pehoe to Lake Grey.  The hike was a measly 11 km so we were looking forward to it after our insane hike the day before.  It took us about 4 hours to complete the hike, which was mostly through a valley and some forest.  It was relatively flat compared to the French Valley, but harder than we and our sore feet, ankles, knees, and hips had anticipated. We had lunch at Lake Grey and waited for a boat to arrive to take us to see Grey Glacier and then to bring us back to the landing.  There was a natural landing for the boat's dingy, so we hopped in and boarded the bigger boat.  Seeing pieces of glacial ice floating in the water got us ... read more

This morning we woke up well rested, despite sleeping in a hot room with a leaky ceiling.  I cannot be underestimate how happy we were, however, to have had a comfy bed and a hot shower after travelling on a plane (actually five planes) for more than a day. We woke up this morning excited to begin our adventure, which started with a search for water.  Being nervous to get sick before the trek, bottled water was key.  Much to our dismay, the entire tiny town of Punta Arenas apparently sleeps in on Sundays (or observes Sunday as a Holy day) - none of the stores were open!  We took a walk down by the water and headed back to the hotel for an unimpressive breakfast of plums, warm yogurt, watered down juice, etc.  Eric managed ... read more