Farewell South America.....for Now

What a close to an adventure. The feeling that I had getting on the plane in Buenos Aires was bittersweet. I'm sure it was time for me to go home, but I felt as if I was leaving something very familiar and going to something quite foreign. For months I had been living out of a backpack and moving from place to place seeing new things everyday. Every element of my travels varied. From weather to people to setting to language, it was all sort of new and exciting. I think Jon may have been worried that I would not get on the plane with him to go home. Now I'm back in Texas trying to sort out all of the admin duties (like paying off traffic tickets from April). I would much rather be sitting on a Bolivian bus stuck at a blockade at 3 AM, no heat, and a large woman sleeping with all of her belongings in the aisle next to me.

Early on in the trip, I decided to extend my travels to include places in Asia which I have and have not seen already. Jane was right. One year off can easily turn into one and a half. I hope that the next leg of my travels brings me as much enjoyment and learning as this last one. Patagonia still beckons and you can bet that I will be back boots-n-all.

Bariloche.

The drive into Bariloche was so nice. We did the overnighter, so we missed the barren landscape in the evening. After changing buses in Neuquen, the scenery started to get better. By mid-morning, we started seeing mesas, trees, and crystal blue lakes. Once we reached Lago Nahuel Huapi, you could see the city.

Bariloche is quite small and before we knew it, we were checked into the hostel. Hostel Pudu was recommended by a few people I met back in Argentina. It was a nice little place run by an Irish couple (Emma and John). The best thing about the hostel was the bar downstairs which had three different kinds of home brew (HH from 6-8 PM).

We quickly made friends with an English guy (who works as a guide in Verbier) and another American. Both Jim and Tarn had been to Cerro Catedral that day, so they were sort of familiar with the mountain. The report they gave me was as I expected from talking to another American a couple weeks ago. THE SNOW IS CRAP (but better than last week where it was crappier)! Well Jon and I didn't take two overnight buses just to sit in a hostel and drink beer. The next day, we shared a cab with Old English (Jim's new name) and Big Drop Heath (Tarn's new name). Confirmed! Crap conditions! Although recent snowfall allowed people to actually ski to the bottom, the snow was heavy and not nice. My rental gear was also shit! The second day was even worse with rain towards the end of the day.

I woke up on the third day to see John at the computer. "120 KM/hr gusts at the top! There is only one lift running." There is only one thing to do now and that's shop, drink, eat, and repeat. We found some great restaurants in Bariloche. Jon was continuing his quest to eat every possible cut of beef on the menu. He went back to the bife de lomo, but it was no match for the 800 gram ribeye he would order the next evening. Tomorrow would be our last day on the mountain, so we were going up regardless of the conditions.

We were delighted to see that the storm that brought the screaming winds also brought a massive amount of snow. The report said 55 km/hr winds at the top, so it was a bit calmer than the day before. The website said that 50 cm had dropped over the last two days. I'm not sure how accurate that report was, but based on our estimate a solid 30 cm was fresh. One major disappointment was how poorly the mountain was managed. The two best people movers (Nubes chair and the big gondola) were not running all week. All of the other lifts were slow to open. There is no such thing as a high speed quad in Catedral. It is all slow and the queues are looooong. By 12 pm the four of us completed one long run from top to bottom. The powder was sweet, but it would take a local to show us where the goods really were.

Sophie is married to an Argentinian and spends half of the year in Bariloche and the other half in Verbier. She is a good friend with Old English and lucky for us, she knew how to get to some steep open powder fields with a little bit of a hike. I had the best two powder runs this season my friends! The second run was highlighted with a 3-4 meter launch off of a fallen tree. That was it for me. My legs were shot, but it was worth it.

Pictures are from the mountain.
I also have one of the 800 gr ribeye.

Patagonia in Winter

Jon is getting aquainted with overnight busses now. We left BA in a rush getting in our last bottle of wine before leaving. We have been on a gastronomic blow out since his arrival. With BA in the rear view mirror the excitement started to build. It would be the first time for me in Patagonia and I was hoping to see something spectacular every day. Morning came and we both looked out the window to see absolutely nothing other than flat land and sparse bushes. I kind of knew that it would be like that, but not the entire way! It was a relief when we entered the bus terminal in Puerto Madryn. The wind was absoluely whippin´! We quicky walked to the hostel and booked the whale watching tour to Peninsula Valdez.

Everyone piled into the van and we set of to Puerto Pyramides. The first stop was a beach about 20K up the coast where we were able to see mother whales with their calves. They were so close (about 20 meters away)! The rest of the trip ended being a dud since the wind had not dies and the seas were really rough. However, you could see whales everywhere along the coast! Although we didn´t ride on the zodiac out to the bay, the tour exceeded my expectations. Once back, it was on the bus to Bariloche. The weather report was promising and I could feel the fire inside me starting to burn hotter. Freshies...Here I come.

Jon and I had the most expensive dinner do date in Argentina. It was well over 2X what Jane and I payed for our final meal together in Lima! My backpackers buget is beat up and bloody!

Shock Treatment

Jon´s flight arrived a bit late in Buenos Aires, but he arrived to the hostel without any problems. I Jon carried all of the gear I had requested from home, even the items I said were optional. After dumping a couple items in Lima, my backpack was just under 20 kilos, so I didn´t really want him to bring down too much. Looks like I'll need to get rid of more crap before going home. With Jon in tow, we walked around the city checking out the different neighborhoods. We covered the city tour much faster than I expected. It was just like my first day in BA where Jane and I seemed to walk for hours on end.

Buenos Aires Spanish is much different than that of Peru and Bolivia. I have been getting adjusted to GOOD South American Spanish over the past two months only to come back to BA and not understand anything people are saying. The pronounciation is a bit different and I'm working through the shock of learning the sounds again. Still practicing every chance I get.

I took Jon to El Trapiche for his first Bife de Lomo. We arrived at 11:00 PM and the place was packed! The locals tend to have a different timeline that what we are used to in the US. Times for all the meals are shifted by a few hours later. This would be the first of many dinners where I would suff my belly full of red meat. After eating light fare such as ceviche and sushi, the body is not taking to the red meat assult too kindly. The lomo was just how I remembered it from the first time. The entire meal plus drinks cost us about $23 per person. GREAT VALUE!

We decided to cut our time in BA short. Looking over the schedule, we decided to take a detour to Puerto Madryn for some whale watching. This will be good since I will not be back during the whale watching season in Feb.

Separation Anxiety

Our last day started out no different than any other over the past few months. We both slept in a bit late and slowly pack our things to move to a hostel with better service and location. Once situated in the new place, we took care of some trip admin such as confirming our flights and mailing out some post cards. It was business as usual with out any sense of urgency to see things or be some place. The afternoon quickly came and we sped off to San Isidro for some ceviche. We ordered so much food which seemed to be the standard method of operation since returning from the Santa Cruz trek. After lunch we strolled down to the major round about to see what was playing in the cinema. By then it had hit me that by tomorrow at this time, we would be miles apart. Jane nor I mentioned anything about it being our last day together on the trip. After seeing the new Angelina Jolie movie, we went to Osaka (a Peruvian-Japanese restaurant) for our last supper. I think it was at that point we started talking about the end of our adventure together and the things we had done and were going to do. We spent a lot of time in the restaraunt and I decided not to go out for drinks since the taxi was going to be at the hostal at 5 AM. We just went back to the room, packed our bags, and brushed our teeth. Again, business as usual.

At last 5:00 AM came, we hugged and said our goodbyes. And just like that, our time traveling together was over. Now I have to get used to speaking Argentine Spanish again. The folks in Peru speak great Spanish for gringos. Nice and slow....Just how I like it.

I have spent nearly 7 months with Jane in 2008. I feel we have learned so much more about each other over the past three months. For example, the top of Janes left hiking boot shows a ton of wear. The right boot doesnt have a scratch on it. I know that this is caused by a weak left leg which was causing her some problems during the ski season as well. I got to know how sensitive she is to cold weather and luke warm showers. And of course there is the low blood sugar "Hulk Mad!" Jane which I experienced as well.

I will miss the dynamics of having her as a travel partner. Who is going to repeat the street addresses to the taxi drivers now? The one thing that I will always remember was that she was always supportive of me when I was struggling with my Spanish or when I was having a tough go with my bag getting stolen. I just hope that I was able to return the support when she needed it. The other characteristic that I liked was that she had no fear for hard physical activities. She was the one who propsed the idea to climb the 6075 meter peak in Arequipa! And did it! Not once did she complain about me talking about fly fishing (and I talked about it A LOT). Although she did get tired of my rants about the weight of my backpack.

She has been an excellent travel partner and I couldnt ask for anyone better. She knows that there will always be an open invitation when I go to Asia and back to Patagonia next winter,

The Soundtrack

Like most other events in my life, I have thought about the songs which have popped into my head during those times. In the last three months, I have experienced a myriad of emotions both good and bad. Through those experiences and people I've met, I came up with ten songs which span the duration of this trip. Some have deep personal meaning and others just popped in there. A few others I will also mention, but won't be added to the official list.

The South America Soundtrack:
1. Air - La Femme d'Argent. This song comes from the album Moon Safari which is by far Air's best work. The song is the standard background music for any hip loungy bar or restaurant. I'm still surprised when I hear it even ten years after the album was released. Actually, I could have used any of the first four song from that album for this soundtrack.

2. Amy Winehouse - Any friggin' song from that damn album. Our first hostel in BA played that entire album 24 X 7.

3. New Order- Crystal. In BA, there was a girl from San Fran in Jane's Spanish class named Crystal. She was a typical laid back hippster who reminded me of my cousin June. I also watched a VH1 live performance by New Order that week.

4. The Shins- Saint Simon. The video for this song is so crazy beautiful. The lyrics have nothing to do with Iguazu, but I kept on singing this song (to myself of course) as I was walking through the park. The falls were amazing and dare I say crazy beautiful. It became the default song when I would go to a place that was jaw dropping gorgeous.

5. The Replacements- When It Began. Like all cities in South America, there seems to be a ton of stray dogs running around. The song comes from the album "All Shook Down" which has my favorite album cover of all time. The dogs on the streets of Valparaiso reminded me of the album and the song popped into my head.

6. The Stone Roses - This Is The One. The Salar de Uyuni was one of the highlights of my enitre trip. Both the scenery and the people I met on that trip were unforgettable. Sometimes you meet people only for a moment, but you immediately have a connection. I do plan on seeing Molly B, Jon, and Heather again in the future. There is some deeper personal meaning for me on this one folks.

7. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers- Californication. This should be the gringo national anthem. Every gringo bar played this song. It didn't matter which country. It was like a beacon to summon all gringos to some place familiar and cool. I could have easily put Coldplay or Jack Johnson here, but Californication was so ubiquitous, that it had to be on this list.

8. Vetiver- El Rio. This was the perfect song to listen to while floating along the river watching fresh water dolphins swimming beside you. Rurrenabaque was a nice break from the cold of the mountains.

9. The Kinks - This Time Tomorrow. The song was on repeat in my head as we were flying over the Nazca lines.

10. Nico - Fairest of The Seasons. I've always loved this song. The opening bars definitely expresses the joys and regrets I've felt during my time here. It is an excellent song to close out this part of my South American adventure. This one also has a deeper personal meaning.

Honerable mention>
Portishead - One of Justine's favorite bands.
Righeira - Vamos A La Playa. This song was huge when we were in Bolivia.

Parting ways

Jane and I will be splitting in two days. It is hard to believe that I have spent nearly six month with her during this wild ride.

Here is a glimps of two of my favorite conversations with Jane.
Sam: Hey Jane, Do you have Red Lobsters (the restaurant chain) in London?
Jane: Well what other colors are there?
Sam: I guess that is a no!



Sam: Hey Jane, did you see that kid with the nun-chucks?
Jane: What are nun-chucks?
Sam: (after a long pause) Are you fucking with me? You don't know what nun-chucks are?
Jane: (in silence just shrugs)