1.30.2007

cabanas del arroyo

we went to the beach, for a day. it was really nice and warm and we swam...the water was absolutely disgusting, so we didnt stay long, but it was fun watching all of the little kids run around. regan happened to leave his bathing suit in bariloche, so he hung out at the beach in his underwear. if you dont know regan he wears bikini style underwear and let me tell you it is a sight to see. everyone on the beach was laughing and pointing and whistling, it was then i realized that my life would be like this now, everyone whistling at my husband. sweet.
we left the beach to pick up the things we left in esquel and bariloche. we arrived in bariloche and called the cabanas that we had stayed in before. they were full, but felt bad so they let us stay in their house, free, as a gift. we hung out with our friend seth and now are heading back to the beach, mar del plata.
the man at the cabanas knows someone who builds houses there and he said he could find us a house for about 500 pesos a month and regan a job. he is going to pick us up from the bus station. we feel pretty stoked and excited.
hopefully, we will have a phone and we will give the info asap.
misses and loves.

1.26.2007

goodbye patagonia

well, 10 days ago we were in el calafate, since we´ve left the country and come back...
first, el calafate was a great city. we loved it. not too expensive and some good crepes. the artesanal markets were so fun and the weather wasn´t too bad. plus, the place we camped had really nice bathrooms, that´s always a good thing.
we stayed for about 3 days, visiting glacier perito moreno(pictured below). it was incredible. so huge and gorgious. it´s about 14 kilometers long! i wish i could desribe it better, but the picture will have to do. pieces kept falling off too and it make the biggest noise. it was really fun.
the next morning we left for puerto natales, chile. upon arrival we were bombarded with people we were trying to sell there hostel. it was so funny to me.
regan, decided to treat me to an actual room, with a bathroom. oh, it was so nice to not camp!
the next morning we heading back into patagonia, chile side, to torres del paine(towers of pain: sounds fun, huh?) national park. we too a boat to the first refugio. it was so fun. the water stared out this sea foamy green and then turned a dark blue, it was amazing. there were glaciers and waterfalls and huge mountains that seriously looked like nothing i have ever seen!
we arrived at about 7 and headed into the park, hiked along a beautiful lake, towards another incredible glacier and camped by a HUGE waterfall. the next day we hiked to the next refugio which left a bit to be desired so we hiked back to the first refugio and on to another campsite.
we ended up sleeping in the next day, oops, until about 11 and then from about 12 to 6. i think we were tired. with a ´wasted´ day we hiked to the next refugio, which was farther than we thought. it rained on us and i lost my hat. we were pretty unhappy. the rain didn´t let up for 2 days, so we sat in the tent and were sad. but then, the clouds lifted and we saw hints of sunshine, excited we hiked to the next campsite, only an hour away and then we hiked to the torres del paine lookout. wow. torres del paine are three huge peaks the jut out of nowhere, there is still a bit of glacier which empties into a beautiful lake at the base. it is so pretty and we had sunshine for about an hour before the clouds rolled in, but no rain!
the next day we hiked back down to town, which we allotted 6 hours for and it took 2. so we sat around for awhile until our bus came. we got back to town and went back to our hostel(yes!) and then headed to the beach. we are still on our way, with one more bus that leaves in about 1 1/2 hours(hopefully).
real quick though. i need to say something about the food here. a typical day: breakfast: orange tang, coffee or tea, bread, some bread and some bread. mmm- lunch: milanesa(breaded meat) on a sandwich with lettuce maybe and tang- dinner: steak with water or beer. no sides, no veggies, no eggs, so weird. we are ready for some good food.
the other day we went to a restaurant and thought we would share a steak and salad. the steak was tiny and the salad was tomatoes and some onions. just tomatoes. okay.

love you miss you

1.16.2007

calafate

well. about 13 days ago we left for el chalten. we were hitch hiking and got picked up the first night, by a truck driver named jose. jose was kind of strange, a little moody. but he drove us half way there in about 10 hours. sweet. he left us in perito moreno. worst town ever. we sat on the side of the road, in front of a military academy, for 3 days! a couple people stopped. one just wanting directions. thankfully, regan finally gave in and we got a bus to el chalten. the next day we went into the moutains and began a6 day hike, mostly in the rain and cold. the first and second night we stayed at a lake below a hige glacier. once the fog lifted we could see the mountains above the glaciers and it was good. the next day we hiked for 4 hours, in crazy wind, to campamento poincenot. it was a really pretty hike, but somewhat miserable. then we went to the last campsite. it was a long and tiring hike, but well worth it. that night the clouds lifted and we had sun for the next 3 days!!! the morning after the clouds lifted we hiked to the base of mount fitz roy. there really aren´t words to express the beauty we saw and our pictures won´t do justice. we were awe struck, speechless. all around us were massive glaciers, mountains, lakes. it blew us away.
we reluctantly, hiked back to town the next two days, one of the days hiking a total of 12 hours! we left el chalten as soon as we could, as it was so expensive.
now we are in calafate. a bit of a break from trekking. we leave for chile in a few days and then hopefully, off to the beach! it´s been too cold in the mountains for me.
love you miss you.

1.03.2007

el chelten


so much has happened since i last wrote, it seems impossible.
first we discovered that some money we put into my account from regan´s didn´t go through, but we had been spending it! we were dirt broke for a while, luckily it´s all worked out now, but for awhile we were a little scared.
then, yesterday, yesterday we tied her up outside the grocery and came out to find her gone. we looked everywhere and asked everyone. no one had seen anything. after about 30 minutes we decided she was probably long gone, so we went to get a remise home. regan asked if anyone had heard or seen anything...right then one of the drivers pulled up and said that he had just taken someone home with a little puppy. he took us way up the mountain, to an area that is nothing like the rest of town. he stopped at a house and sure enough there was the little girl.
she has worms too. so we got her some medicine and she´s been pooping them out for a day. mmm.
we are headed to el chelten next. it is about a 3 day journey.
hope you are well. miss you love you.