Verano aqui

My days in El Bolson have been very tranquilo. A couple of days ago Alicia and I bought an Andes porter cervesa and some mani (peanuts) and sat in the shade in the middle of the artesanal feria. We people watched and listened to a few people playing music, one guy strumming his guitar and singing outloud while another man became one with his jembe, a girl slowly rocked back and forth on her heels with a tambarine in hand. Nearby tourists eyed pretty pieces of handmade jewelry, wood carvings, and trenzas for the hair. An elderly man slowly walked through the crowd and sat by us. He was wearing complete gaucho clothing from head to toe. A baret hat, light blue scarf around the neck, beautiful wool vest, bombacha pants, and gaucho boots. We talked to him for a while and found out that he was looking for a woman. He asked how old we were and we had him guess. He thought I was in my 30´s and Alicia was in her 40´s! We had a good laugh because no one has ever thought I was that age and Alicia is in her 30´s. He was quite interested in taking us home but Alicia told him she has an esposo, husband, which she does. I told him I had a very serious relationship back home. He still insisted we come back to his estancia and ride some horses and maybe a bit more. It was quite entertaining, eventually he headed off in search of other canidates and we wished him much luck in his endeavors.

I have so many stories like this but not enough to time to write them all out. Well, I have plenty of time but using the internet at the locatorios here are expensive.

We´ve been pretty much in El Bolson for our entire vacation. We went on a six day backpacking trip in the mountains close to El Bolson. We backpacked a total of 80 kilometers and stayed at refugios which are cabins in the woods. Some are only seasonal while others are ran by families year around. We named our backpacking trip the Stair Master because the entire trip was mainly up hill. We had a great time. When we got back we ate tons of pizza and beer then headed north of Bariloche in search of hot springs. The tourist office said we had to go to Angostura for more information so we went there. Takes about five hours by bus.Long story short, we couldnt make it to the hot springs for christmas so we camped in an area called siete lagos, seven lakes then headed back to El Bolson. We were ready to just chill out and not move around so much.

I spend my christmas eve with four argentinos. Made friends with to guys riding their bikes all the way from their home Cordoba to Tierra Del Fuego. They stopped in El Bolson for a break. The other two guys were on vacation from a small town near Uruguay. Celebrating christmas is like new year´s here. They counted down the minutes until midnight and got a bunch of cider and dulces out for the event. Once midnight stuck a bunch of fireworks went off in the distance and they got many calls on their cellphones. I eventually went to bed while they went out partying until 6am.

Alicia and I have been camping at Refugio Patagonico, a nice campground next to a stream and free hot showers. We often wake up to screeching birds of all sorts and dogs barking. My allergies have been extremely bad here. I had the worst day yesterday while we hung out at Lago Pueblo. My eyes felt like they had sand in them and got swollen. Swimming in the freezing water helped a lot. Today I feel much better. It´s hot out, clear skies, and all the tourists are arriving. I´m researching for my independent study in February. Would like to go to Tierra Del Fuego to explore the mountains and galciers there. Looks like we will be in Bariloche for año nuevo. Hope everyone had a great christmas and feliz año nuevo!!!!

Backpacking and Puerto Montt, Chile

I was gone for six days backpacking in Nauhi Huapi National Park outside of Bariloche. We started in Villa Catedral, a ski resort and made our way up the valley to Refugio Fray which lies on a lake and cirque of mountains. From that point on we were hiking in snow over a pass to another valley. Did some plant surveys and plenty of plant identification. Near the end of our trip we had to go over another pass which was absolutely insane. It had started raining the previous day so people were getting drenched and had to wear plastic bags in their shoes. We then had to kick step our way up to the top of the mountain while pushing against 50mph winds, sometimes the huge gusts were greater. Some of us had bamboo sticks for support and somehow we all made it safely to the top! We then had to scramble down scree and once in the next valley make our way through huge patches of mud and ford a river to get to the next refugio. We were greeted with warm tea and a dry place to hang out. Later that night Alicia and I treated ourselves to some wine while writing in our daily field journals. After this we headed out the valley back to Bariloche. Hopped on a bus to Puerto Montt, Chile and now here I am in a hostel wearing my new alpaca wool jacket wishing I could stay longer. We just arrived yesterday 10 December and leaving tomorrow for Bariloche for two week ¨winter¨ break. Alicia and I plan on heading north to some hot springs then heading south to do some backpacking. Chile is definetely different than Argentina. The food has more spice and the money is so different! It´s hard trying to think in terms of 10,000 pesos which looks like 10.000. The US dollar is roughly equal to 500 pesos here whereas in Argentina $1 US is approx. 4 pesos. whhheeeew. At least they always have enough cambio (change) unlike argentina where they have a shortage and always ask if you have cambio. There are similarities like the homeless dogs roaming the streets, although here they spend their days laying in the middle of the street or hacking up oyster juice of some sort. Puerto Montt is close to the Pacific Ocean so their markets are full of a variety of seafood and strange animal parts. For a while I thought dry animal intestines looked like some type of seaweed. Last night we ate in a bar and an old gentleman shook hands with every girl that came through. We were often called the gringos. Had plenty of beer and meat so I skipped breakfast today, I think this is why breakfast isn´t so popular. Random musicians would come inside and entertain for money. One guy even strummed his guitar, went to each of us and made fun of us. I got it easy, being the one he said was the most responsive to him. Whenever he came by I would look at him and smile, which he apparently enjoyed. Another wonderful week full of adventures.

Bariloche

I had written a blog a couple of days ago on the hostel computer but then the mouse quit working and then the keyboard failed so I lost it all. Not much time now to write because I`m getting ready for a five day backpacking trip in Nahue Huapi. This week we went rafting on the Rio Manso starting in Chile and ending in Argentina. It was a lot of fun! We got to jump in the water a couple times and flip the raft over (on purpose), the water was muy frio but very refreshing. We have been learning a lot about plants, yesterday we went on a plant walk with Manuel, who has a doctorate in biology and is doing research in areas outside of Bariloche. Today we went on a plant walk with Sarah who is an ethnobotanist and medicinal doctor. Both of them only spoke spanish so some of the information was translated but I could understand bits and pieces. Have to get going now to prepare tons of food for the trip. ¡Chau Chau!