FarmFAIL, Ruta del Vino, and traversing the Andes...

Soooo, about that 2 weeks on the farm...

I actually only ended up staying 2 days because let's just say it was not a welcoming place for enthusiastic volunteers like myself. Unfortunately everything on the website was a thing of the past and now it is a pretty depressing place. A few years back a fire destroyed the volunteer house, the husband lost it, ran off to Buenos Aires leaving wife and two young kids behind. Immediately upon my arrival the woman (from the US) gave me a rant about the sad tale and several expletives about her ex and I realized that no one comes to this place to volunteer anymore - for a reason. Then she invited me in to sit in their little shack and I played with the two kids who were pretty cute (3 and 8)and despite the underlying weirdness of the whole sitch I was still feeling motivated to help out...whatever that was going to entail. In the dark with a tiny flashlight I made my way up the hill to my, umm, lodging. It was rainy and windy and there I was in what used to be a loft barn. No animals on the farm anymore because like I said, this "farm" doesn't really exist anymore, so you can erase any images of me curled up next to horsies and rabbits. It was pretty ridiculous though, and I am still laughing/shivering thinking when I picture myself there.

My first full day of work involved digging up and transplanting currant bushes, then fertilizing with heaps of fresh manure from a nearby grazing horse borrowed from a neighbor. Day two, after a full day of preparing beds for planting and then planting a ton of garlic I started losing steam quickly because of the really bad vibe I was getting from the woman and the place. I felt like I was more in the way than anything, she seemed annoyed by me being there even though I was doing a lot for her and the WHOLE time she was off somewhere on her cell phone talking to a boyfriend in Buenos Aires. It was so bizarre, so not the farm volunteer experience I was looking for, plus I wasn't feeling so great so I told the woman I had to leave. It was kind of awkward, she called me a taxi and I made my way to a hostel in town. THEN the next day as I was heading to a bus out of town they pulled up right in front of the bench I was sitting on. Super awkward. The kids got out of the car and came running towards me, shouting "Jenny!!" and the woman told me the best place to buy a ticket to Mendoza. Farm #1 = fail, BUT I have gotten some leads on places that look much better for what I am looking to do in terms of farm volunteering/learning, so we shall see.

When I fled the farm I decided to hightail it north to Mendoza, the Napa of Argentina, and treated myself to a nice hostel with a pool. Ahh, the weather was my idea of perfect- dry, sunny and warm - very Fresno late spring, so I was loving it. There was a really fun asado (BBQ) at the hostel Friday night, a meat + vino feast by the pool with everyone who was staying there. Great fun... excellent food, pool, ping-pong, and hilarious convos with new Aussie friends - just what I needed to recover from farmfail 2010.

Saturday I spent the entire day on bike touring the vineyards of Mendoza along the "Ruta del Vino." There are tons of bigger, fancier ones to visit, but I LOVED checking out these family run, artisan wineries instead. I've only seen the large-scale models of Napa so this was quite a different experience and I learned a lot about the wine-making process. AND you can tool around from winery to winery doing tours and tastings on bike! Pretty great. I really enjoyed the city of Mendoza itself as well. Pretty plazas, a cute center square area, and a relaxed vibe. A lovely 4 days.






THEN, I decided to change my plans up again and see central/northern Chile after all. So today I hopped on a 7 hour bus, had an amazing day watching the scenery change as the bus crossed over the Andes, went through a super quick border crossing, and here I am at a hostel in Santiago! Not to fear, it has been business as usual in this area for awhile now, and after getting the consensus of many fellow backpackers I decided I had to see Santiago, Valparaiso and the northern coast, eventually getting to the desert of San Pedro de Atacama where I will start a 3 day trek of the famous salt flats, crossing into Bolivia to see Salar de Uyuni.

Excited to start my city exploration tomorrow!

Buenos dias, Bariloche!

Another beautiful day, another endearing town and waaaay too much to report that I am a little overwhelmed sitting down to write a post - which will inevitably be the longest thing ever, so bear with me!

First things first, pics of my wild glacier trek in El Chalten! I set off at 7 am and returned at 7pm, a FULL day of hiking which definitely surpassed my craziest/longest/hardest hike ever record. It was a hilarious group, me and 5 Spanish-speaking males - the whole day was in Spanish, two Argentinos and three Spaniards. By the end we were buddies and they all congratulated me over and over for my ability to gracefully put up with being the only chica en el grupo de los machos for a really long and difficult day of hiking. I will never forget the act of walking on a glacier - it was like exploring another planet! Once we arrived to the glacier after about 4 hours straight of uphill climbing we put on crampons and set off onto the ice. It was pretty scary at first but once I got a feel for how much the crampons really hold you to the ice it was SO fun!



Arriving at frozen tundra... time for crampons!



Our guide ice picking footholds for us....yikes!

Cuidadoooooo!

Ummm, ice climbing? Who am I?!

Wheeeee!

On our descent into town we happened upon a rodeo, gauchos in full effect!!!

El Chalten was a really rustic, tiny town set in a dramatic valley below the beautiful Fitz Roy peaks and I met two great girls from Colorado in my hostel, Hannah and Amy. We really hit it off, cooked some amazing dinners, and shared stories of travel and life. I was having a lot of fun with them and hopefully can meet up again somewhere along the trail.

Currently I am in Bariloche in the gorgeous lake district of Argentina, arrived Wednesday after a 36 hour bus ride - yes, you read that right. I will officially be unfazed by any travel distance from here on out and have graduated to South American bus traveler extraordinaire. I actually find it really fun, love seeing the scenery change, chatting with randoms, listening to music, working through my Spanish novel and practice books from school. Bus travel is really relaxing for me and it usually puts me right to sleep. So yes, got in on Wednesday and when I arrived to the hostel my German friend Connie who I traveled with in the glacier land was sitting on the couch. I didn’t know she would still be here and I am in Bariloche sooner than expected so it was a nice surprise. Oh the gringo trail, it is such a funny little circuit. Immediately upon arrival we went out with another girl who we met in Ushuaia and her friend for St. Patty’s Day. Definitely the most festive St. Patty’s I’ve ever had, complete with shamrock face painting and green beer at a local pub and a great band/multicultural dance party. Good times.

Today I went on the most amazing hike, and I swear I feel like I keep saying that but then keep topping it somehow! Connie and I set off early and were able to catch the gorgeous pink sunset that you see in the picture above (taken from our hostel balcony, yeah this place is fabulous) and took a local bus to the trail head of our chosen hike. OMG, perfect hiking weather, the lake was so still, 2 hours up to the most amazing vista at Refugio Lopez - cutest little pink place where you can stay overnight or enjoy food while passing through on a hike. We sat in the sun with our legs dangling off the ledge just in complete awe of the view while condors circled overhead. It was indescribably peaceful, definitely had a moment up there. We headed back down from our new favorite place in the world and walked a few miles down the main road to Colonia Suiza, a tiny little Swiss village right by the lake. Not much there, but we sat on the dock and again marveled at the beauty of this lake. I have obviously seen lakes but this lake area has something special. The water is clearer, the green is greener, there aren’t 5000 boats, and it feels really untouched by humans. We got off the bus at a recommended local cerveceria that crafts up their own brews. Happy hour as the sun set on the back patio alongside a lush meadow/bog of sorts…. What a day.




Tomorrow is my last day in this lovely lake land and then I set off for adventures… in farming!!! Sunday I am taking a bus 2 hours to a tiny little town called El Bolson, the Berkeley of Argentina, where I will be living and working on a farm for 2 weeks. The farm is called Chacra del Cielo and I have been arranging my stay with a nice woman named Rosa for the past month or so… Ahhh excited! Check it out: http://www.chacraelcielo.com.ar/
They no longer have the cabin and house for volunteers so Rosa offered me their barn, with a mattress and blankets. Cost free lodging for 2 weeks in a barn on an organic farm in Argentina. Love it. I will most likely be off the grid during this time but at least you know exactly where I will be and will report to town with photos and stories just as soon as I can pull myself away from the farm bounty:)

Buenas noches, mis queridos amigos y familia!

Perito Moreno Glacier!!!

What a sight to behold… another amazing day and more pictures that I am excited to share. 2 days ago I took a bus from my hostel in a little town called El Calafate to yet another national park ( I am collecting entradas like no other) que se llama Las Glaciares. From there I spent the day viewing the famous glacier from different vantage points and also went on an hour boat ride to get right up next to the glacier. Wow. So massive, like nothing I have ever experienced. Ice as far as the eye can see. The creaking noises, breaking off of huge ice chunks… que impresionante! I think these pics can speak for themselves, but seriously I had no idea how beautiful this place would be.






Yesterday I took a 3 hour bus ride from El Calafate to El Chalten and have entered yet another wonderland of hikes, glaciers, and amazing Patagonian landscapes. This town is tiny and completely surrounded by mountains. You can enter all sorts of hikes from down the street from my hostel and for tomorrow I have booked a full day of hiking, climbing, and glaciar trekking with crampons. So excited! Today I went on a more mellow 2 hour hike to visit a nearby waterfall, more beautiful scenery - Patagonia continues to blow my mind.

I am loving how each hostel and stop on the gringo trail brings a new cast of characters. Yesterday I had a very entertaining day all in Spanish - as most people staying here currently happen to be from Buenos Aires, and one from, Mexico, yay for Spanish speakers! The weather was really stormy (wild winds and rain) so immediately upon my arrival they invited me to join them. Together we ran to the cutest little chocolateria and sought refuge from the rain and wind, drinking hot chocolate and sampling their artisan chocolates:) So fun, great peeps.

Two more days here in El Chalten and northward I go… more info about what lies ahead coming soon!

date el gusto, es el fin del mundo...

"Enjoy yourself, it's the end of the world"... clever little marketing slogan they've got going on in Ushuaia, and enjoy myself I did.

I am currently making the most of my stopover in Rio Gallegos, en route to El Calafate on another 18 hour bus ride that departed at 5 am this morning from Ushuaia. I opted to just stay awake rather than wake up around 4, which proved to be an excellent option, as I was able to enjoy a few more hours in the company of the great people I met in my hostel the past 4 days. Not only was the hostel the most fun, clean place I have ever stayed, I fell in love with the charming town of Ushuaia itself. I could have stayed put there for longer, but onward ho! I wish I had a picture to capture the look on my face when flying into the airport on Sunday afternoon from Buenos Aires. Seriously the most beautiful scenery for an airplane touchdown...the mountains of the Tierro del Fuego National Park that surround the town are incredible and the crisp, clean legitimately "buenos aires" was, well, a breath of fresh air... the town itself while geared to tourists on the main drag wasn't obnoxiously over-run with tourists as I imagined and I think March just might be the perfect time to visit. January and February are the peak times, and it felt really calm and quiet walking around the town. Definitely not a feeling of foreign invasion at all. It was about 55 degrees with intermittent sun, clouds, rain, and it felt great after a month of humid heat.



So, I definitely kicked my Patagonia portion of my trip off with a serious bang. I woke up early on Monday morning to get myself onto to the first shuttle into Tierro del Fuego to do some hiking, but didn't have an exact plan for what hike I wanted to do yet. On the bus I started chatting with a man from Australia and a woman from Germany who were also in my hostel and we decided to join forces to do the all out hike of hikes, "El Cierro Guanaco." They say that it takes 4 hours up and 4 hours down (we knocked it out in 5.5, no big deal) and in order to do it you have to leave your information at the little kiosk before entering. Umm, I know it was marked strenuous, but we had no idea how intense this was going to be. When they say steep they mean uphill the whole time and several stretches towards the very top where the mountain was essentially parallel to our bodies. I don't know what was more crazy, the ascent or the descent. On the descent we were seriously loopy, bodies like marionettes is the comparison we drew. But, I officially conquered the most intense, most amazing hike I have ever experienced and two days later I can barely walk. So worth it though!!!:) Chris, Connie, and I made a great little team and hopefully the pictures can convey a bit of what we encountered. What is not captured is the unforeseen swamp portion of the hike, where a clearing of pure mud and swamp appeared with no other option to but to trudge through - except for this funny little spongy green "pods", so it looked like we were characters in a video game trying to maneuver ourselves across to drier land. Well, I was wearing tennis so did the rest of the day with sopping wet, mud feet. The pics also do not convey just how high up we were, on top of the world and the end of the world, nor do they demonstrate how cold it was at the top. Hands completely numb, noses like faucets, yeah gloves would have been smart. When we reached the summit we huddled behind a small wind barrier, took some pictures and ate our sandwiches at warp speed and then we had to make a quick exit. A cute little fox appeared right on cue for a photo opp., and stuck around in hopes of enjoying some of our "dodgy" sandwiches. Ahhh, what a day! We returned to town after giving ourselves several pats on the back for our accomplishment then enjoyed some fabulous parrilla and vino with a big international dinner that formed from our hostel. I bonded with a fun girl from Dallas and the hilarious hostel staff and we had a really fun time at the local Irish Pub. Scots, Brits, Ushuaians, Aussies, Germans, what a blast...












Today was an amusing and involved process of crossing into Chile in order to cross the Magellan Strait and then promptly re-enter Argentina again. A whole lot of passport stamping, cattle hurding, and bag scanning, but hey, I can say I was in Chile if only for 1 hour AND in the Magellan Strait:) I joined Connie from Germany for this El Calafate journey and we should arrive at our hostel around 1 am. Tomorrow morn we are heading to see the main draw of the area, the Perito Moreno Glacier in Parque Nacional Las Glaciares. It is supposed to be really impressive - we will take a boat to get right up next to it and then do some hikes around for different vantage points.

Chau for now folks!

xoxo

Chau, Buenos Aires...

I graduated! Woohoo! Proudly showing off my diploma, and to my left is Paola my amazing professor and amiga who has taught me muchisimo in a quick month. On the far left and right are Lorena and Carlos who founded the school together and are the sweetest couple ever. They are 29 and I have been so impressed by them professionally and personally. Lorena also teaches some of the classes and they are both at the school every day watching over us like mother hens, juggling many tasks. They have been so helpful with arranging activities for the group, assisting with travel planning, damage control, and just really go the distance to make sure everyone has a good experience at BueSpanish. They make me want to start up a language school! If you are looking for a nice place to study up on your espanol I highly recommend it.

We had a little moment of commemoration in my class as well- here I am with Paola and Nils our compadre from Sweden who taught us both a lot about the ways of the Swedes and always entertained us with his tales of life here in BA. Many serious debates and political/historical commentaries also went down as we tried to make sense of each others cultures and respective countries. So not just spanish have I learned but also a TON about Scandinavia and Argentina, and of course Holland - my joke the whole time was that I am going to leave Argentina speaking more Dutch than Spanish because everyone at the school speaks it and everyone who lived in my apartment as well.



Below is a compilation of sights and moments in BA that I have yet to share...

The famous Cafe Tortoni has been around since 1858, a classic hang-out for important artists, tangueros, and important people over the years. A must-see on the tourist checklist and a nice place to relax with a cappuccino and alfajores (the national dessert consisting of dulce de leche in between two flaky cookies and usually covered in chocolate).



I didn't know why this curious statue was sitting on a bench in San Telmo but had to take a picture with her. Now I know her name is Mafalda, a popular Argentine cartoon character in the 60's and 70's. I like her.

Ok. I have been wanting to write about this for a whole month and now I finally have a pic to demonstrate the wonders of the paseaperro (dog-walker)!!! Those with money here in BA pay for a dog-walking service, but never in my life have I witnessed such dog-walking talent. Never just 1,2, or 3 dogs. We are talking 15+ dogs here and all the dogs are ALWAYS suspiciously under control considering the circumstances. Doggie drugs anyone? I kid, but these paseaperros are no joke, really good at what they do, and they are everywhere! This moment captured was pretty classic. He realized we were running after him trying to get a photo and was loving it.

Flatmates Pieter and Natasha posando en el Subte.

The most famous soccer stadium of BA, La Bombonera, named with love after the box that holds bon-bons. The stadium itself resembles one and there is a serious sweet tooth sitch going on here in BA, so it fits perfectly.

The brilliant architectural hodge-podge of La Boca. I LOVE the colors!

Yo soy el Hiphopopotamo, mi lyrics are bottomless.

Stumbled upon a great indoor mercado in San Telmo that I wish I would have discovered before. The farmer's market bounty looked amazing!!!

Cheers to a successful month in Buenos Aires, Suzie selling her house in Holland, and new life chapters for both of us!

Now onto somehow cramming all my stuff back into my backpack and hitting the road tomorrow morning...