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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

Cochamó Valle Day 2

LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ

DAY 2: La Luna & Wetsuit Bouldering

Thursday, Nov. 13th, 2008. It’s Day 137 on The Big Trip.

Last night we drew up plans. For the plans we need climbing gear from Daniel. Lo and behold, Daniel goes over the top to provide us with what we need. I wanted to check out the climbing wall nearby called La Luna (The moon) and also the boulder in the middle of the river that already has a few DWS (deep water solo) routes on it. For all of this, Daniel gives us the following: a set up stoppers, a set of cams, a set of quickdraws, a rope, a nice Metolius bag to carry all of this in, and a wetsuit for my DWS desires!

The sad part of this otherwise non-sob story is this: we got lost on the way to La Luna. I mean really lost. We were hacking and pushing and ducking (all with heavy packs on) through thick patches of bamboo mixed with pricklies. For a few hours! Only to give up and begin returning to the Refugio when I spot a bolt on the rock wall that we had passed by hours ago noting how dirty and uncouth it seemed for it to already have routes on! I am biting my tongue while swallowing my words for that!

Rejoicing takes the form of looking up each route and climbing one. I lead the route. Alisa topropes it. She mocks me because her arms don’t get pumped (tired and permanently flexed) on it, saying that it must only be a 5.9 or so. Later at the refugio we look in the comprehensive guidebook that Daniel has compiled over the years from climbers’ notes to find that we climbed Amber, a 5.11 a/b! Alisa’s first! That’s a great way to start climbing in Cochamó!

But first, before we return to the refugio, I have other “business” to attend to. Namely, the Roca Island. To do this we find a beach of white rocks from which we can spot the rock island. Sadly, it’s too far away for a starting point given the frigid quality of each and every lasting water molecule between the island and myself. So, we hop back up through the brush to the path and find a place further upriver that offers a more proximate approach that also happens to be shallower. I put on the wetsuit to find that it’s a knee-high, armless wetsuit – a muscle wetsuit. After readying myself for this stunt, I push myself into it, jumping as far as I can from the boulder to avoid the stronger and deeper part of the current that runs right by the boulder. When I hit the water, I steady my legs and try to hurry onwards knowing that each moment that I am in the water I am weakened.

I hit a patch of rocks that I can hop on, avoiding the water patches. At the end of this rock hopping section lies another small water channel that I ford to get to a would-be beaver-dam. From there I can hop onto the boulder without a problem. I wait for Alisa to run around on the path back to the white rock beach. From there she can watch me boulder and fall! While waiting I can’t help but notice that there are now clouds in the valley, some of which could very well contain globules of anti-fun. I pray for Alisa to hurry so I can get this boulder problem underway!
Soon I am climbing, and happy. That is, until I realize that my climbing will be short-lived thanks to wet, fungi-loved rock, wet climbing shoes, and an ever-closer section of the boulder traverse that is difficult for its small foot holds. So you can imagine me pretty accurately if you picture in your minds eye a person in a black wetsuit with yellow climbing shoes and bare legs and arms yelling, “I don’t want to fall” across freezing waters, hanging onto wet holds on a boulder in the middle of Valle de Cochamó, in the middle of granite peaks, in the middle of crystalline waters, in the middle of a fearful but enjoyed experience of uniqueness. Yup.

Splash! I’m hurrying to Alisa on the beach. My breathing is fast and my arm movements wild as I begin to feel the effects of the water particles ganging up on my senses, beating them senseless bit by bit. As a result in progress, my breathing slows and slows and I begin to feel like I might cry! It’s not that I am sad or worried but that my body might be! Luckily I make it to shore and stand up, exhausted! It’s time to retrieve our bags and my real clothes back at the shoreline takeoff rock and then return to the refugio for some well-earned dinner times 4!

Cochamó Valle Day 1


LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ
[More Videos and Pictures Pending]
DAY 1: Arcoiris Trek

Wednesday, Nov. 12th, 2008. It’s Day 136 on The Big Trip.

As if one day of sudden uphill hiking isn’t enough, we take Daniel’s advice to do the Arcoiris (Rainbow) trek, which he forged and maintains. To get to the base of the trail you must cross back over the river. Weee! Why aren’t more transportation services comprised of harnesses, cables, and pulleys?

Daniel crosses with us and gives us more specifics for what we can expect on our 4-ish hour ascent and 2-ish hour descent. The 2:1 up:down time ratio means that the trek will be steep. The trek starts out in the forest and continues to edge up to the side of the ridge opening views to more of the valley. Cresting the tree line happens at about the same time that the trek encounters fixed ropes – some with knots, some without – that you utilize to make going up (wet) rock easier! The views at this point are nothing less than stunning on a sunny day.
When you think the hike is over at the snowy top, you are wrong. For the somehow better vistas, continue trudging through snow to the real top, further along. Proceed with caution if you are entering the summer because the snowmelt runoff beneath what the eye can see in coordination with softening snow makes burying a leg possible.

We make it to what we think is the top and record a vlog entry with stunning backdrops. All of this granite is making me incredulous to the fact that I’m in the Valle de Cochamó but still haven’t climbed! What am I thinking? I suppose I trust the weather and the ability to stay long enough to get my fill of climbing. Regardless, this is a gorgeous spot to hike and well worth the second consecutive day of hard hiking for us! Unfortunately, before hitting the real peak of this trek from which you are supposed to be able to see the sea and much more, our very hungry stomachs call us back down.

I start running down through the steep snow banks. My feet are soaked anyways at this point, so there’s no reason to go slowly down semi-steep rock to save me from wet socks. This reminds me of sand-boarding. It also reminds me of playing around on the snow-topped steep roof of our house and barn in Winthrop, Maine with my brother way back in the good old days! The scenery for this snow-running is really nice. And we’re putting the first steps into this snow up here, it seems. I’m guessing that in December, January and February there will be many more steps and perhaps even other people trekking along with you! It’s nice to be the first guests at the Refugio – which includes getting some quality time with the Seeliger family and friends! What a treat!

Soon we’re back down and ready to cross back over the river. But what is this? Daniel has finished yet another one of his busy-day tasks: he put up the cart on the cable! We don’t need the harnesses and pulleys because we can just sit in the cart and pull ourselves across the river. Or Alisa can sit in the cart while I pull from one side! It’s not nearly as fast as swinging on a pulley for most of the way, but it requires less of the traveler!

After eating a massive dinner for 4 – Sean, you’d be impressed! – we hang out and hit the sack, ready for tomorrow when we’ll get to check out some of this amazing rock that we’ve heard all about and that I’ve dreamed about!

Cochamó Valle Day 0


LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ

DAY 0: Trekking to the Refugio

Tuesday, Nov. 11th, 2008. It’s Day 132 on The Big Trip.

It takes us 5 hours and the sacrifice of dry socks and dry shoes to get to what could be the refugio but is not. Because there is no place for us to take cover unless we ford the rivers and we cannot find anyone to guide us to such places, we are beginning to think that we’ll be sleeping outside tonight. With no tent or shelter, that is. So, we don’t give up but we forge on. Alisa fords a tribulet with waist-high freezing water. And back. We relax in the field for the moment, taking in the sights and sounds of the valley.

Then we go yelling for people. Thankfully, Daniel Seeliger, savior and owner of the refugio yells back across the river. He returns with an extra harness and an extra pulley. That’s how you cross the river, of course! He also reminds me that you Never leave home without your harness and shoes. It’s a cardinal rule. I didn’t want to break it for this trip, but I did! You can watch this fun crossing in the video!


We meet Daniel, Silvina and Zenon, the awesome family that runs the Refugio Cochamó in the heart of the valley. And at dinner we meet many friends thereof, as well. The refugio reminds me of a warm family camp. Except this warm family camp comes with a window into a fairytale land of granite mounds, whose iceburg tips and tips only rise up from the foliage amidst a constant rushing and crashing of a system of waterfalls and tributaries.

I think we’re going to like this place!


Even the nearby town of Cochamó is gorgeous.

Bariloche

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

Day 130 on The Big Trip. “First Taste”

OF PATAGONIA, that is! We’ve made it to Bariloche, the wonderful lakeside city protected by snow-topped mountains whose full name is San Carlos de Bariloche. After yet another long bus ride with yet another set of declined offerings of Styrofoam cups and still more airplane meal shadows, it’s great to see the scene that I’ve dreamed of. It’s Argentinian Patagonia and it’s sprawling views. It’s like a nude beach on the moon: untouched and unheard of.

THE WATERS of the lakes here range anywhere from a turtle’s turquoise tongue to a blue-footed booby’s big webbed toe. Stretch that out and plaster varied increasingly hazy layers of jagged mountain tops around it. Our hostel, 1004, stands on the 10th floor of Bariloche and gives us a smashing view of the city both by day and by night, as if the view from anywhere in town isn’t enough. Walking down the street blocks to explore the town or to go to the grocery store you can’t help but notice that windows of this very view are available when you look waterwards from any street corner. The water breeze is refreshing as well. The inserted travel tip for this paragraph is as follows: if you’re heading into a touristy town reserve a hostel at least a day in advance of your arrival. If you arrive and find a better hostel with available rooms, so be it. But if you don’t reserve a room finding a hostel can be a drag on your would-be good times!

BARILOCHE thus far feels like Tulleride cleaned up with more activities to offer. The streets are comfortable to walk down, the shops flashy-nice, the chocolate shops inviting, and the views from within the city low-evelation breath-taking! Tomorrow we plan to do some hiking and potentially some climbing as well to see how Bariloche stands up to other places we’ve been to, and to our future visit of Valle Cochamó and Cochamó, Chile!

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Day 131 on The Big Trip. “Wind and Water”

TREKKING isn’t interesting unless there is something unusual about it. In this case, upon arriving atop Cerro Otto, the wind nearly picked us up off of the ground. In order to prevent this from occurring we were forced to lift our feet a maximum of a few inches above the ground, lest they be wipped up. My mind and senses compare it to being taken by an undercurrent in the ocean!

DESCENDING is simple, save for the fact that I find some rocks with bolts. Of course I brought my climbing shoes for this hike, so I strap them on. This sounds easier than it was for the simple fact that after five seconds of exposure to the air my fingers were just things stuck onto the palm of my hand that I could look at but had little control over. As such, my solo-ing was short-lived. I’d go up a bit but for lack of feeling in my hands I didn’t want to push my luck!

BACK TO the hostel, we eat big meals that we make for ourselves. It would be nice to eat out. But it would also be expensive to eat out. Drats! At least we have a really nice kitchen to cook in! Drats again! It looks like the rain is coming down hard. Our once gorgeous views are now washed away by cold smokeyness. This, in combination with a three-day forecast that calls for more of the same prompt us to look elsewhere in Patagonia. We have a decent taste of Bariloche for now. And we can always hop back over the border when we want more!

ELSEWHERE is in Chilean Patagonia. We buy bus tickets for 7:30 in the morning to Puerto Montt, Chile. Instead of staying in Puerto Montt, we plan to stay in Puerto Varas, the nicer town that is only a short colectivo ride away. From there, Cochamó will definitely be within striking distance, but we wish to chill in a larger town to let the bad weather pass before going into the valley!

AS A NOTE to the students in English Composition 04 at Saint Mary's College in California, I welcome any and all questions you might have. Be they in regards to the wonderful wine country of Mendoza, Argentina, or the magnificently strong Cordillera de los Andes, which stand beside me now, in Region X of Chile. You may expect a similar but more direct note coming your way in an upcoming Vlog entry!

TO FRIENDS and family alike who are planning to visit, I will soon be in Cochamó since it is a mere two (2) hours away from where I sit now. I foresee this place working out for me and so it is that I invite you to communicate with me as soon as you think you might be visiting so we can coordinate climates and timezones!

GOODBYE for now, your landescaper, n8!

Mendoza


Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

Day 126 on The Big Trip. “Bus to Mendoza”

TASKS. Seems to be the name of the day. Breakfast. Check out by noon. ATM since Argentina swallows your money when you’re not looking. Hang out at hostel typing up events of yesterday. Look forward to wine and presidential election. Look forward to friends, family, and Patagonia! Don’t look forward to an 18-hour bus ride! Oh yeah: bought snacks for ride. Got tired last night for ride.

Wednesday, November 3th, 2008

Day 128 on The Big Trip. “Argentina Has Good Meat”

Besides checking into our hostel with whom we reserved two dorm beds, our first priority after the 18-hr trip to Mendoza was lunch. We ate out on the streets that could have been in California for all we knew and enjoyed the best steak ever, a glass of wine, breads, and dessert, all for 25 pesos, the equivalent of EIGHT US DOLLARS! Wow.


Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Day 128 on The Big Trip. “Wine and Obama”


WINE TOUR starts with a bang. I grab a shot of Absenta. Alisa picks a mandarina version of the screwdriver. So our wine tour starts with a chocolate and liquor family factory. The chocolates are good and so are the liquors, but we save our spending for the bodegas (wineries)!


FIRST UP is Baudron, a bodega that produces white and red wines. We see how grapes are processed and eventually packaged. We are showed how to judge wines. Then we judge two wines. Then we buy a chardonnay and a malbec! Now we’re looking more ready for this election!


OLIVE OIL is not wine, but it’s on the wine tour. The way they come up with the olive oil is different than the way they come up with wine. Apparently they pull it out of the olives through a magic hat of distillation!

FINALLY we hit the last winery, which only produces vino tintos (red wines). I enjoy the first of three wines they give us free glasses for: the malbec. So, we buy another malbec for the road! FYI: This is an amazing opportunity because these same wines cost at least $60 a bottle in the US, if they are even shipped out of this country. A lot of the wines they just keep for sales at the factory itself since exporting is anything but cheap. In any regards, we are purchasing these excellent wines for prices ranging from 10 to 18 Argentinian pesos. Divide by 3.3 for the price in U.S. dollars!

CAMP is set up by the TV in Hostel Lagares. We have bread with brie and a mix of oregano with our newly purchased unfiltered olive oil! To boot, we also have bottles of wine dripping with fruity goodness! Luckily the time difference is such that we have a few minutes to wait before the polls close! BBC will be calm and steady in comparison to CNN so maybe we’re lucky it’s all we have! Our laptops are on CNN and NYTimes for media references. For something this important we want more than one source!

OBAMA doesn’t pack the punch at first but we know he can pull it out. Long story short, the better candidate won and sealed it with nothing less than an inspiring speech offering a glimpse into a better future! 2:30am strikes and we clean up our mess in the main room and head to bed! We can afford to stay up late because tomorrow all we have to do is

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

DAY 129 on The Big Trip. “To Patagonia”

BUY the newspaper here and wait for an 8pm departure to Bariloche in Argentinian Patagonia! To give you an idea of how close we are to a potential resting spot: we’re close! After Bariloche, Ar we’ll go to Puerto Montt, in Chilean Patagonia. From there it’s only a 2-hour bus ride to Cochamó and Valle Cochamó. This is where I imagine landscape perfection and a happy resting spot. We won’t know until we get there, but it’s only 3 stops away! We might be there within a week! For more information about Cochamó such as activities, lodging, directions, et cetera, go to the following helpful website: http://cochamo.com

E-mail me at Nathan.conroy@gmail.com if you have any questions about our plans, about traveling to meet us (there), or traveling in general!

Salta

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Day 125 on The Big Trip. “Argentina?!”

SALTA, Argentina is like many other traveling destinations in that it is not what I expected. When I arrived in Quito I was surprised. For some reason when I expected another culture, I didn’t expect a Venn Diagram with my own culture but rather an entirely foreign experience. Instead this entire trip I’ve found myself very able to latch on to familiar things and learn to grasp an embrace the new ways and the neverending list of new words.

AND SO it is in Salta where I had heard it was gorgeous and there was a lot to do. In fact, I bought the story of Salta hook, liner, and anchor so much that I took a 12-hour busride across the Cordilleras de Andes from sunny Chile to check it out. Lo and behold, Salta is nice and very much like what you’d see in some twisted version of a US city. There are more vendors, slightly fewer different outfit styles, but the count is on the “up” it seems, and there are more dogs as pets than in a lot of other places in S.A. where you’d find dogs with dogs, with trash cans, and with appetites.

BESIDES, to me adventure does not mean paying a guide a bunch of money (whether it’s the equivalent of US$20 or US$130 is not the point) to drive a 4x4 through streams, go river rafting for a few hours, bungee jump, rappel, or anything that I can foresee the event in my head to the extent that I will not be surprised even if I do enjoy it. That’s why I feel ready to leave Salta for Mendoza with its great wines and liveliness.

TOMORROW, the 2nd of November, a mere two days before the U.S. Presidential (and Vice Presidential) election, we are taking an 18-hour bus ride directly to Mendoza. There isn’t much in between that differs enough from what we’ve experienced or could experience anywhere to make us do otherwise. For the extreme duration of our little trip I almost wish there was! I hope to be able to enjoy a good bottle of wine with a TV on the 4th and hope for the world’s sake that the election goes to the better candidate.

GOOD NEWS for me has been the safe, stomach-happy, sporadically adventure-filled travels that have gotten me nearly all the way to Patagonia thus far. It’s only a few weeks away! But more good news has come frequently! My family might visit me in Chilean Patagonia for Christmas. This would be more than memorable! Even more than this, friends from sunnyside of Seattle and Stone Gardens as well as friends from the good old Maine School of Science and Mathematics have expressed solid, trustworthy interest in visiting me in Patagonia. This makes more than my day! I’m really excited for what the future holds. I truly revel in the unknown anticipation of job-searching and adventure-forging in the depths and summits of Patagonia at the extent of my abilities with people I love!

A STORM is what we’re cooking up to save money! We split our meals that we make four ways with the Padraig and Caroline. For dinner we make tuna melts with onions and a tomato soup with tortellini. We all get stuffed to capacity on just three dollars or so a piece. And now it’s time for Alisa and I to start preparing for our night out. While running a grocery errand to the supermarket, the man behind us waiting with us in the queue started up a conversation. A direct result of this conversation was an interest and the hope of going dancing for our last night in Salta. So we start polishing off a rum and coke and then leave the hostel to find the area of clubs that he’d said was happening. The short story is that we didn’t find the clubs and had to return to the hostel for actual directions.

VOILA!: A very posh area of town where drinks and clubs and restaurants with live music formed a strip sectioned off by barricades with guards for pedestrians only. Pedestrians in Salta’s hotspot include the following genarlized groups: teenagers spicing up their bright-color fashion and social lives, tweenagers (twenty-agers) with a bit more confidence and looking for a date and a good time, adults with hungry bellies and sometimes with kids and sweaters around their necks. It’s an interestingly diverse crowd in an area of town consuming massive quantities of electricity, I’m sure. Since the club Nuevo XXI cost more money than we wanted to spend, we bought an energy drink and sat on a stoop watching all of the people come and go and watch like us. By the way, it’s something like 2am by the time we finish people watching and decide to head to

SALON VIP, a club across town that you should taxi to that is the real deal for Salta. The strip we’ve been hanging about is apparently the pre-gaming dinner area. This place stays open ‘til 5am and people generally begin to shift there at 1am. We start walking and on the way catch a secure taxi with a timer – the first timer-priced taxi we’ve taken this entire trip. Come to find out, it’s cheaper to enter Salon VIP with the drink-included price than it was to enter Neuvo XXI. Perhaps they can afford the better price because of the sheer grand number of people that they attract daily. The short stick of the story is that we ended up back at the hostel after trying to dance to some redundant Argentinian-bass songs and a bunch of great songs accompanied by music videos, body-to-body. By the time we return to our hostel it’s something like 5am. That means it’s time to sleep! It also means we're in a different country than Ecuador, where some towns thereof seemed to close at 5pm, or 8pm if you're lucky! Anyhow! Tomorrow we head to Mendoza and I'm happy about that! Goodnight! Or should I say goodmorning?!