Patagonia Family

Sunday, December 25th, 2008

Day 179 on The Big Trip. “Patagonia!”

A BUS from the airport is how the first tiny chunk of time is chewed on but soon we leave the pantry of Bariloche and enter the kitchen. That is, until the ceiling springs a leak and soon my family minus my dad is looking for shelter and good food and wine. No surprise there!

SNOWSTORM in Rochester, NY means that dad will arrive even later than expected: two days later. The mountains and the exact level of grandeur bestowed upon the lakes in this region are hidden by the inclement cloud weather in Bariloche as well. So, no big shakes, I suppose!

Thursday, 22-12-08: Cerro Otto

DAD makes it here!

BESIDE the road, we experience the bus waiting in Argentina. The days are filled with hanging out, exploring the town of mountains, a big lake, chocolate shops, and hanging out.

Then we catch a gondola up to Cerro Otto.

The weather is nice as noted in the percentage of white in the decolorized, expansive pictures we take.

We aren't satisfied with the views from the top.

So we hike a bit.

For the CookOff ’08, Jon and Nicky take there churn out a polenta, veggie stew, birthday cake and bubbly combination that stirred the beast in my stomach for mealtime! Mm…Mm!

Friday, 23-12-08: El Bolsón

BARILOCHE is sweet but Patagonia was the main destination for this Christmas vacation retreat for a family of seekers. As such, we rent a car for a few days and first hit up good old Berkeley.

I mean, El Bolsón. It’s a Tuesday, which is one of the three days of the week that this town standing a mere 2 hours tall houses a large market. The market forms a rainbow around an otherwise nonplussed grassy park.

Although Alisa has to work 8 hours each of these days, we’ll likely trip to El Bolsón again. Mom stretches her market legs and meets nearly every vendor! Friends and girlfriends back home are taken care of, and the sights and sales are seen. Sean finds himself a nice mate and bombilla, too! We get back home in time for a dinner at A Ver, the new restaurant run by Chains and Bandit. Although the English version of the menu has some mistakes, the food doesn’t. Here's the menu in Español:

Saturday, 24-12-08: Seven Lakes

CRUISING the paved and dirt roads out of Bariloche, we pass through Villa La Angostura, Villa Traful, Confluencia, and are back. Of course we packed a small picnic that we enjoyed along Lago Espejo Chico (Small Lake Mirror). We stopped at miradors and other crystalline lakes that couldn’t hide their bottoms.

Back in Bariloche we enjoyed dad’s cookoff meal and a surprise dulce de leche dessert!

Sunday, 25-12-08: Cerro Campanario

WAKING up early, I drive into the sun with Alisa. It gets too hot so we turn around and head back to Earth and head to her hostel for work. Then I return to the house in time to leave and hit up KM 17.5 on Bustillo where an empty Cerro Campanario parking lot beckons us up the 30-minute hike. The view at the top is definitely worthy of being National Geographic’s Top 10 Views in the world. It’s stunning. We record a vlog entry:

And take the cardinal pictures:

BACK to town for a church mass in Spanish. It’s a good day for a Christmas in the sunny town of Bariloche, Argentinian Patagonia! The day is not over yet! Keep posted to get posted! Happy Holidays to all!

-N8, et al, your landscapers!

Birthday Whoas

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Day 168 on The Big Trip. “Reflection”

ONCE upon a time sat a place. The place was 7 kilometers from the center of a small city in Patagonia named Bariloche. A couple of youngun’s found an ad for the house-apartment in the ABC magazine of classifieds and decided that this house might be the place they have been looking for should they settle down for a year or so. So they snatched it up, real fast.

BECAUSE the house was not equipped with such luxuries as bedsheets, toilet paper, and silverware, the couple had to fetch an ATM card and a market before they could christen their house: kitchen, bathroom, bed, and all!

IN no time at all, the couple was accustomed to the house. Taking the bus for $1.60 (that’s Argentinian pesos, folks) a piece for 30 minutes into town seemed the norm. The tiny fruit and vegetable shop next door felt like destiny poked its head into reality. And the funky outlets, match-lit stovetop, key-to-close front door and huge upstairs windows just 3k from climbing, swimming, and even less to a conversation in español were all considered available for a deeper past than actually held true.

THE moral of the story is: Hoping for good weather on a cloudy day is like skydiving: you never know if it’s going to open up.

FOR two days, the couple went to work. The girl went to work, training at a hostel, while the boy went to work looking for work. He applied online and in person to hostels, institutes, and institutes again. Until one day it was his birthday. He woke up to find an outstretched hand offering hot chocolate in a folded cup. Perfect!

BEFORE the girl had to train from 4pm to 10pm, the couple went for a sunny hike up Cerro Otto. On the hike down back into town they stopped to do some bouldering at the Piedras Blancas. This energy-consuming task was followed by 6 hours of relaxation and reflection for the boy, now 24 years of age. You see the boy had just traveled from the west coast of the USA to the east coast, followed by a crash course on traveling in Spanish-speaking countries from Ecuador to Argentina. For this reason, this boy from small towns in Maine felt like the 24th year seemed to bulge with significance and size. Age seemed more relevant than ever before, where before it was practically negligible.

THE moral of the story is: There are many ways in which you can save money, you can save the earth, you can save a drowning doe or a burning bulldog; but as far as I know there is only one way in which you can save time.

T-5 for your landescaper, n8

Frey

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Day 162 on The Big Trip. “Frey in a Day”

FREY is a place just outside of here, where here is Bariloche, Argentinean Patagonia. To get to there from here might I suggest taking the No. Cerro Catedral bus to the base of Cerro Catedral? From the parking lot, follow the banderas (flags) to the sign that says Frey and the path that says Frey, just quieter than the sign – at first, that is.

FOUR hours is the expected duration of the trek there for hikers with large packs full of morsels, tents, and could it be – climbing gear? We are without these large packs and have been told by those who have ventured this far that three hours is our expected trekking time. Being competitive, we want to smash the three hours in a trekking battle. Off we go! We pass a forest fired. Lakes, the Andes and songs about Chains and Bandit are the backdrop. By the by, Chains and Bandit are the names we give each other when adventuring.

A MERE two and a half hours after parking lot departure, we strike gold. Alisa poses for the first picture, behind her the astounding mini lake captured by the cliffs and spires. We rest and eat two of our 13 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we made for the trek, and drink some of the six liters of water that we also lugged up these 1700m.

TIME to walk! The scenery here is amazing. I notice nice crack systems in spires for climbing and spot a few bolts, if I’m not mistaken. But alas, we only brought our shoes. No chalk, no nothing, no else! Regardless I give this boulder a run for its money. That is, until it takes my spare change. Soon my fingers hurt and I just can’t get past the crux move on what I guess is only a V4 or V5. All this traveling has made me soft!

I HOP up on another boulder surrounded by its very own mote, to record the vlog for this little adventure that isn’t quit over.

FIRST we run back to the refugio. Can you see tiny Alisa running near the water? And, after a little rest and snack, we’re ready to leave Frey and the Refugio Frey for our descent trek. Hopefully we’ll go even faster back to C. Catedral!

IN just under two hours, we’re back! Unfortunately, we missed the bus that arrives every 1 ½ hours by 20 minutes. I hope we like waiting around! We rest, take off our dirty shoes, and think about the days to come. On the 12th I turn 24. On the 9th we move into our house. On the 19th my family visits. There are a lot of momentous events on the horizon! I look forward to all of them, some out of turn!

Bariloche 4

Saturday, December 6rd, 2008

Day 160 on The Big Trip. “Back to Earth”

You may be wondering where I go at night. Well, if I'm not on a bus, I go to a bed. Usually I find a bed in a hostel. These days, I'm staying at Hostel "La Bolsa" because "1004" raised their prices. As a math minor I know that 35 is better than 40. However, I also know that 1300 for all 30 nights or so is better than 35 per night for the same amount of time. It is for this reason that I've decided to stop completely escaping the land and come back to Mother Earth for a house on Kilometer 7 in Bariloche, Patagonia! I'm moving in on Tuesday. It currently lacks any dishes or silverware (cuttlery), but has a workable kitchen with a mini-fridge! It's great! Our own place!

More pictures are soon to be captured and loaded to this address on the world wide web. More news is on its way! Why, just the other day I had my first lengthy interview in español for an English-teaching job...! And then I received a random phone call asking if I can teach Adobe After Effects. I wonder if they meant in spanish? No jobs yet, but cheaper living is an improvement I'm ready for!

I hope all is well wherever you're reading this from!

-Returning Landescaper, n8

Buenos Aires

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

Day 157 on The Big Trip. “Buenos Aires”

I CAN now say that I’ve been to the capitol of every country that I’ve been to; and I had a great time in the last capitol: Buenos Aires. We spent a week there visiting family and friends, seeing sites, running errands, eating well, drinking well, and sleeping more!
ED and Adriana and Virginia and all of the family and friends thereof made this trip spectacular, if I do say so myself. For one thing, it’s nicer sharing a place with good people than not. To boot, experiencing a large city such as Buenos Aires with friends who are familiar with its ins and outs makes for smooth traveling! So officially: thanks! Thanks for the hospitality, the good times, and so on!

THOSE are the main high points of the stay. Here are the subtle things that pet the soul with a cool breeze on those hot Buenos Aires days: learning that no matter how much you eat like a hog, you will never eat more dulce de leche than an Argentinian!; there are question marks in the park near the bus station and I have no idea why; watching a movie such as Che just doesn’t seem right unless you see it in spanish in Argentina!

MORE: walking through the small city of mausoleums known as Recoleta Cemetary was very surreal with the living city just beyond the cemetary’s walls; having bagels with locks from Zabar’s in NYC in Buenos Aires was an unforeseen treat; not getting robbed in Buenos Aires – ditto!

Bariloche 2

Tuesday, Nov. 25th, 2008. It’s Day 149 on The Big Trip.

Today we're catching an overnight bus - is there any other kind in Argentina? - to Buenos Aires! We'll be there for up to a week, or so we prognosticate. A quick update of our goings-on in Bariloche, Argentina would not be sufficient without noting a nice Sunday bike ride around Circuito Chico, just outside of Bariloche. The views were - dare I say - Patagonian?



In other news it's nearing December. That means a few things. It means a December (birthday) in warm Patagonia. It means February is soon upon us, which means I need to find the cheapest month-quantity of food and thereby determine whether I can afford a month in Valle de Cochamó. Most of all, though, it means a chance to make new family memories!

Cochamó, Puerto Varas

Now in Bariloche, Argentina, it's time for the brief blog post about the past. On the way to Valle de Cochamó from Bariloche, Argentina and back, there are some places and things that you missed. For instance, we stayed in Cochamó and Puerto Varas both ways. Also, what you perhaps don't know is that for the first border crossing we took an expensive one-price-option bus. For the return border trip we had the pleasure of sharing the trip with Daniel Seeliger and NPR, who drove us all the way, even taking us the scenic route back through Cochamó and backroads! What is to follow is a briefly narrated picture account of our activities and locations visited thus far unaccounted for in this blog. I hope you enjoy and are curious about what else is being left out!


Nathan in Puerto Varas, after hiking to the skirt of town for a better view of the lakes and sideline volcanoes.Alisa practices cooking meat in Puerto Varas by making deliciously simple hamburguesas con queso, lechuga, y tomate.
Alisa walking down to Hostel Edicar in Cochamó town with its cute grandeur in the background.Nathan going for a walk by the water in the town of Cochamó.
Alisa enjoying an ice cream walk in Puerto Varas after our valley excursion before returning to Argentina.
Nathan and Alisa share a churrasco and a hamburguesa streetside in sunny Bariloche for a cheap and juicy lunch!

Back in Bariloche

It's now Friday, November 21st and we're in Bariloche, Argentina. That's Patagonia! I haven't written about all of our trip. For instance, I have not mentioned in pictures or enough words the towns of Cochamó, Puerto Varas, or Puerto Montt. So soon to come will be a little picture blog entry for a few snapshots into our trip that you've missed!

For now we're job-hunting and house-hunting in Bariloche. Wish us luck! Yesterday we took a brief break from this race for comfort and hiked up nearby Cerro Catedral and found an incredible view. I'm still incredulous about it! Check out the video from atop, below:


That's all for now! -Your landescaper, n8

Cochamó Valle Day 4

La Junta: Valle de Cochamó

DAY 4: Same New Route & Return to Cochamó

Saturday, November 15th, 2008. It’s Day 139 on The Big Trip.

It’s Saturday! Unfortunately, we’ve planned to leave Cochamó today in order to get a start one day ahead of Daniel, who is also returning to Bariloche, Argentina. If you haven’t heard the story yet, here it is: Valle de Cochamó, with its near limitless opportunities for climbing and enjoyment for me, does not offer an income, which I desperately need. Also unfortunately, neither does the town of Cochamó. And since Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt don’t “strike our fancy”, we’re headed back to Bariloche, which has skiing, climbing, and hopefully a lot more to offer for jobs.

Daniel Seeliger is also headed to Bariloche, planning to cross the border on Monday from Puerto Montt. So, we’re thinking that today we’ll leave the refugio a day ahead of him to snatch up some long lost internet and get in touch with our parents. I hope they haven’t yet bought the plane tickets to Puerto Montt’s airport (PMC) yet, although it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to rent a car for a 5-hour PMC to Bariloche drive. Plus, they’d get some passport stamps and beautiful Cordilleras de los Andes scenery! Although it’s cheaper if we can fly them direct to Bariloche! Enough said on that subject!

Before we leave Valle de Cochamó, we have some thanksgiving to do. Thanksgiving to Daniel for letting us get the first two ascents of the route he made that he let me help name! Here’s the naming bit: Daniel tells me I should name it. I say, “What?!” Because it’s his route, really. He should name it, or am I wrong? Either way, I enjoying silly creative pressure points such as naming a climbing route on the La Luna wall. So I come up with “Where the cow jumped over.” I don’t remember what nursery rhyme scheme this came from, but Alisa does. It’s goes like this:

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon, the little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon.

Daniel liked it and chose, I believe, the first three words of the rhyme, which of course will logically lead anyone with knowledge of this rhyme to the part of the rhyme that references the moon! Plus, hey diddle diddle does sound cooler than where the cow jumped over, and it won’t have people sniffing the air for fear that they’re standing near a cow carcass!

Although this climb puts us behind schedule for catching the bus from Cochamó town to Puerto Varas; although this climb will precede a hefty, minimally five-hour trek; although it’s early and Alisa hasn’t had her Yerba Mate yet, this climb will be a mixed 5.10b FA (first ascent) on a dirty route! What isn’t there to love about this opportunity! We start out on the trail that we now know and giddily approach the wall. The dust lines from where the rock has been drilled and bolts placed are still very evident. This is awesome! We get set up and I start leading. Thankfully Daniel made sure I had enough gear before I left. I was about to leave with only 4 large cams when he added about 7 smaller ones to my rack. Thank goodness! I’m placing pieces wherever I can find crackspace without dirt crammed in it still! It’s nice to see a route mature in its cleanliness. Soon the route will be able to wipe itself, but for now, we’re still picking dirt out of its cracks. The route is a cool trad route for six placements or so when you hit a small tree and begin the four-bolt sport section. It’s nice to yank and balance and twist again! I feel like there should be music on, until I look around at my surroundings and hear the noise of the streams colliding behind me! Come to think of it, one would-be route beside me is clacking softly with each drip!

After both of us sharing this nice, will-be-classic climb, we head back to the refugio, sign the registration book, say our goodbye-for-now’s, and start trekking our trek. Alisa makes a contagiously simple song we sing, “Here come Chains and Bandit, we’re Chains and Bandit, Bandit and Chains!” This helps pass the time going down the trail that now can be done comfortably in shoes. We make it down in 3 hours and 40 minutes! However, we still have 12 kilometres until town so we begin our dirt-road hiking and hitch-hiking with families to get back!

More to come on this adventure back to Bariloche from your landescaper, n8!

Cochamó Valle Day 3

LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ

DAY 3: Pared Seca & New Route

Before you read this post you should meet the wonderful family that we’ve been staying with at the Refugio Cochamó: Daniel, Silvina, and Zenon Seeliger! We had nothing but great times with these very friendly, hardworking folks and I really hope to get back to them and the valley for more excitement and adventure! Just hearing about their stories and the way they’re living their lives in three countries every year is inspiring and encouraging! So thanks!

Friday, Nov. 14th, 2008. It’s Day 138 on The Big Trip.

Again we set out. This time we know what trails to follow! Follow the horse chunks! Not really. The trail to Pared Seca, literally “Dry Wall” passes some pretty waterfalls on a rickety bridge and finally plops you down by this shaded, bolted wall that is – believe it or not – dry. It’s also very cold right now. We use the matches we borrowed from the Seeligers to light a fire. The fire is a nice smoky blue and a welcome warmth to our cooled bodies.

Enough firesitting, the fire’s no baby! Let’s get climbing! We hop on a really nice overhanging 10b flake-filled route that I have to dispatch with speed before 1) I get too pumped to finish it and/or 2) my fingers get too numb to bend (over the holds) to my will!

After we both manage this route, I try a 12a in hopes of toproping a 12 c/d or 13a or something with an awesome dyno! To my somewhat expected dismay I can’t finish it and have to down-climb the half I climbed to rescue Daniel’s quickdraws!

Happy with our newfound tiredness for the day – a sign of accomplishment in the valley, we head back to the refugio to check and see whether or not Daniel and Silvina made it out climbing with all of the work on their hands. We find Silvina hard at work beyond the greenhouse they’re building. Of course, Zenon’s there, too! Silvina tells us that Daniel has headed out to clean a new route that he’s been looking at on La Luna. That’s all I need to hear! I pack up the bag again and head out running down the trail to La Luna. I find Daniel happily hucking chunks of dirt and branches off of La Luna, about 26 meters off the ground.

I’m very interested in making new routes and hope to be able to do so in Cochamó, so I observe him carefully and ask any questions that come to my mind! Soon I get to belay Daniel as he climbs and cleans, even hauling a massive rock off of the halfway point of the route! Yikes! Then he bolts the anchors so that we can toprope it. It’s dirty, but it’s undoubtedly grande! 10b he thinks. Mostly trad with a sporty few last meters where he’ll bolt. It’s clear that Daniel has made routes – lots of routes – before this. The route flows and is definitely clean enough to start climbing even after this relatively short hard workout/cleaning session that he’s done! I would definitely enjoy doing this!

After we each have our run at it, he puts four bolts before the anchors. And tells me I can get the first ascent in the morning if I like. If I like?! Is he serious?! I assume that he’ll come with me since it’s his route, really! You’ll have to stay tuned to see!

[If you have any tips for jobs in the Bariloche, Argentina area or jobs that can be done via computer from there, please do share!] - Your landescaper, n8