Argentina

Driving into the base of Mt. Tronador (sometime in September, 2011)







October 14 - keep having that "this might be my favorite place in the world" non-problem. I visited this place three times during my month in Bariloche... I'm using the fact that I had guests as an excuse to return there twice, but really, I just wanted to go there again, climb up the hill, eat lunch, and take an hour long nap with this mountain as my view. It obviously looks spectacular, but my favorite part about it is that snow falls off the top of the mountain (it's a calving glacier) and lands in a sort of volcanic cone, reforming as a second glacier known as Ventisquero Negro. The sound this falling snow makes is like an intense thunder... hence the name: Mt. Tronador.






No big deal, I'm just going to put my hands inside my hoodie pocket instead of hanging on. Somewhere near Malargue, Argentina.






Futbol. ~5k from Los Alerces National Park, Chubut Province, Argentina





Magyar toting the driest chocolate chip cookies in production. Ruta 40, Argentina.







Storm clouds - Ruta 40, Argentina







October 10 - wickedly hungover. Magyar and I stayed up until 8am. I woke up at 3pm. My stomach hurts. Time to find out of Chile does Bloody Marys better than Argentina. Photos of stuff below...


Ruta 40. Sunset over a river gorge.








Ruta 40







Steve's dog, Evo (Bariloche, Argentina)








Evo's brother, Winston.








Ruta 40













October 7 - finally hit Ruta 40 after an extra day in Bariloche. Had a hard time saying goodbye to the place and the friends I made there. Day two on the road and we are in Malargue Argentina. As we move north everything seems more and more like Mexico. It's strange. The countryside has a way of looking like nothing I've ever seen, and yet other places I HAVE seen jammed into one. I think we're going to Mendoza tomorrow.







October 2 - today is my last full day in the cabin and I'm pretty bummed about it, but there are a ton of other incredible things that lie ahead in the next few months. Sort of winging it tomorrow as the resort Magyar and I were going to stay at emailed me about 5 times... and then suddenly said, "hey, BIG misunderstanding on our part, but the hotel is actually not even OPEN tomorrow." ? It'll be fine.

Here's a few randoms from the past few weeks...


Cascada in Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi






Colleen as we departed Isla Grande, Brazil.





Cero Capillo on Lago Nahuel Huapi during sunset on a kayak ride from the cabin.





A wasp whose love for wine led to his ultimate demise - Salentein Wine Bodega, Mendoza, Argentina.




A cow on the road to Cerro Tronador who didn't want me to get through.




Kayaking on Lago Moreno (view from the cabin)





September 29 - on my second day with a rental car I picked up a hitchhiker. It's very common here. At first we spoke spanish (locally, Castellano), but when I apologized for my inability to speak well he said, "Oh... do you speak English?" He then told me that he was an English teacher so we obviously adjusted languages. He then asked if I was American because I "sound like an American country music singer" when I speak. The conversation changed to music and before I knew it we were about one full minute into the car ride and both singing Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" in unison. We parted ways with plans to hang out again. Last weekend he showed up for some kayaking, bbq (this never happened due to a hangover) and more music.

This is Mariano (aka Hermano Sol) and he loves classic rock.











Yesterday Paul and I decided to make boilo. We're in the mountains, it's often chilly, and I can see snow in the mountains. Good enough for me.


Ginger Ale is hard to come by, so we improvised, using 7UP and chopped up ginger root.








Old Smuggler is the new Four Queens.










Enjoying the finished product on the back porch.







September 22 - leaving in a few minutes to pick up Magyar at the bus station. He'll be joining me for the rest of my stay in Bariloche, the drive north, and hopefully a successful hike to Machu Picchu mid next month. In the meantime, may God have mercy on our livers. Here's a few from Iguazu Falls that I never posted.


























September 20 - Life at the cabin is still good. If I'm not snowboarding, hiking, or just exploring the town and its outskirts, I kayak to "my spot" across the lake. One day last week I went out to watch the sunset. There are horses that live out there.








September 15 - I guess I don't even know what day it is because in looking back through my old posts, I have the dates wrong. I'm fairly sure it's THURSDAY and I can figure out the date by counting the days since Colleen's birthday. Today is sort of overcast with volcanic dust as the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle eruption continues to take it's toll. The clearest days we get are after precipitation because the falling moisture pulls the dust down out of the air and onto the ground.

Here's another from Nahuel Huapi. This is the ranger station for Cascada Los Alerces.




Here is the river feeding into the cascada.







September 15 - about to run into town to grab some supplies, but in the meantime, here's a view from Nahuel Huapi last night as I was on my way out of the park.






September 14 - Spent the day exploring Nahuel Huapi National Park... which I currently live in. Cerro Tronador is an absolutely amazing site to behold. More on that later. Buzz and Bethany left yesterday and now I have the cabin to myself. Travel safe, amigos!







September 10 - sometimes when you randomly meet people in Patagonia and let them crash with you, they tell you that they are a fire dancer. Then you go to the lake and drink whiskey.








September 7 - slight international shipping snafu has me scouring Bariloche for the most impossibly gigantic snowboarding gear that Argentinians have ever imagined... until everything finally gets here. I think it will work out. Made some new friends yesterday - Buzz and Bethany - and went horseback riding. Meeting them for lunch in a few minutes. Anyway, here's what it looked like.







































Atreyu was going to come along, but he had a lunch.









































































Buzz wanted to bring this dog home (and they actually said we could have it), but there's paperwork and stuff.



















September 6 - today I woke up in a hostel (what am I? 20?) I overheard a girl saying (in English) how she would like to whitewater raft or horseback ride.. or something. While I snacked on generic Corn Flakes and checked email, I heard the woman at the front desk tell her that she couldn't do the horseback riding trip without a group. I told her that if my inclusion in said group would complete said group that I'd join. And since it was confirmed that my inclusion in said group makes said group a group, it looks like I'm riding a horse through the Patagonian mountains in 45 minutes. Sounds like a pretty good Tuesday.

Here's where I taste wine sometimes.

Salentein Winery, Mendoza Argentina










Andeluna Winery, Mendoza Argentina

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