LA PATAGONIA -El Calafate - Perito Moreno Glacier

El Calafate - (January 13th - 16th)

In El Calafate I took a day trip out to the Perito Moreno Glacier. The glacier is said to be the only Glacier in the world that is still moving forward or growing. All other glaciers are moving backwards or I guess I really didn’t even need to mention that since my last sentence explained it. It moves at a pace of about 5 feet a day. It is known for having huge ice breaks (See video, even though it’s not mine…). The last major one was in March 2006 and before that in 2002. I saw a lot of chucks of ice break of and it was very impressive to see. The glacier measures 60 meters high above the water and another 120 meter below. It is as big as the city of Buenos Aires, but I don't really believe that.

It was very interesting/weird that it was completely green all the way up to the glacier. I imagine there are bigger and better glaciers, but I doubt the scenery is anything like this one.

Perito Moreno Glacier PICs

LA PATAGONIA - EL CHALTEN

El Chalten - (January 13th, 2007)

Before arriving in El Chalten I had heard from several people that the weather was always cloudy and rainy. Apparently you could spend weeks there without seeing Fitz Roy, the famous mountain in El Chalten. I had anticipated staying a couple of days in order to get a glimpse. As it turned out the first day I was there was perfect. There were no clouds and for a majority of the hike up to Fitz Roy I wore short sleeves. The mountain did not disappoint.

The hike took about 3 and a half hours up and 3 hours down. I didn’t have the proper shoes so I ended up getting some pretty gnarly blister. I hiked with 4 other Americans from Southern California. (Joe, Adam, Brandon, and Dio) They were all really cool guys and 3 of them were members of a band called Aeon's Age. So in case they make it big you heard it here first..

After the hike I changed my schedule and left that night for El Calafate. I probably would have stayed longer because there were plenty of more hikes to do, but my feet were hammered and I figured the weather was about to turn bad anyways.

El Chalten and Fitz Roy

La PATAGONIA - RUTA 40

Ruta 40 - (January 11th & 12th)

Considered the worst rode in Argentina, Ruta 40 stretches north and south along the western border. It took 2 days on a bus to get from Bariloche to El Chalten traveling at an average speed of 45 miles per hour and 13 hours per day. The bus had no air conditioning, no movies and it was very dusty. There was nothing, and I mean nothing, to see the whole time as the pictures will show. The bus driver did throw in some Nirvana and CC and R and got pissed when someone told him to turn it down, so that was cool.

ROUTE 40 PICS

LA PATAGONIA - BARILOCHE

Bariloche - (January 7-11)

Bariloche is located in the lake district of Argentina. It is a beautiful city (although others say the surrounding cities are nicer) and reminds me a lot of northern Idaho or even Switzerland. It was actually founded by the Swiss (or so they say) so there is some similar architecture. They also pride themselves on their chocolate too. I spoke to some Swiss people that were not impressed with the chocolate or the architecture so I am not sure what my mom would think about it.

The weather was perfect unlike my previous visit in March. I didn’t do much other than work on the internet and take 3 hour horse ride in the mountains. I did meet up with a friend from my Spanish class in Buenos Aires, David from France, and we ended up traveling together for a couple of days.

Bariloche was the starting point for my travels in the Patagonia. Some say it falls within the boundaries of the Patagonia and some say it is just to the north. Whether it is or not I am not sure; I just know it was not as good a gateway into the Patagonia as I had hoped. In order to get to El Chalten, my first stop in the Patagonia, I had to take a 2 day bus ride on a gravel highway known as Ruta 40. If I Could do it all over again I would have just flown into El Calafate and traveled to El Chalten from there. We’ll chalk it up as an experience.

Bariloche PICS

The Jacobs

This entry is dedicated to Murray Jacobs his successful oral surgery practice for sponsoring me for a week while his family was in town. Micheal Jacobs, my college roommate John's brother, was in town with his mom, Janea and his sister, Rebecca. They invited me to dinner every night as well as a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay and a tengo show. It was a good time and really nice of them.

Tengo Show at La Ventana Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGW5uB_Eydg

Pics

Christmas in Mar Del Plata

I spend Christmas and News Years in the beach town Mar Del Plata. It is the most popular vacation destination for Argentines, especially at this time of the year. As far as beach towns go, it is pretty run down. I probably would have cut my trip short and spent News Years in another town, had I not met a lot of friends to make my stay enjoyable.

For Christmas, a girl named Rocio, who I met at church, invited me to spend Christmas Eve with her family. In Argentina, Christmas Eve is their Christmas. They celebrated it very similar to us in the States. We had diner, read the Christmas story, and then opened gifts. The family was so nice and it felt at least a little like Christmas, even though I didn’t understand 50 percent of the things being said. Christmas Day on the other hand felt nothing like Christmas. I spend most of the day watching football on my Slingbox in an internet café and of course the Laker/Heat game. .

For New Years, I went to another girls house, named Silvina, to celebrate with her family. We started eating around 10:30, which is the custom here. As an appetizer they fed me cow tongue. I actually thought it was pretty tasty until they revealed what it was. As midnight approached, I kept thinking we would be leaving soon to celebrate New Years in a public place like we do in the U.S. Is didn’t happen. It was just me and the family, including the 85 year grandma who didn’t go to bed until 130. At midnight, all around the city, everyone sets off tons of, what we would consider, illegal fireworks. It was actually really cool to watch. We didn’t end up going out until 3 or so in the morning to an area in the city called Alem.

Christmas day with the Hortal(I might be way off on that one) Family

On the beach with Rocio and friends.

At Silvinias with Maria, Guillermo, Marcos and Silvinia

















Trying some really hot Mate with mucha Azucar or course














More Pics.