Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to put this up. We had a very busy (and amazing time) on break and weren't always surrounded with internet. Then when I got back I had a partial (mid-term) exam on Tuesday... BOO! So, here, (better late than never) is the first installment of my spring break in Southern Patagonia:
Friday was spent running around frantically packing and gathering everything needed for the vacation. This of course included a trip to the famous Wal-Mart for more peanut butter (which of course is an essential food item). By the time 5pm rolled around, I was somehow packed with 20 minutes to spare before I had to catch a taxi to the bus station. We all met up without issue and boarded the first of MANY busses to come. This first one was about 15 hours and would take us to Buenos Aires. All 8 of us were super excited and could hardly sit still. After playing a round of bingo and eating merienda (afternoon snack) we all settled down to reading or studying. The unfortunate thing about this break is that many of us are missing classes and most of us have exams the week (or even the day) we get back. As a result, 6 of us were studiously reading or preparing assignments to mail to professors. Dinner was served around 10pm and we quickly settled in to sleep. It still amazes me the service we receive on these bussed: food, movies, comfy chairs. Its almost better than airplanes and usually cheaper too.
The dawn of Saturday morning found us nearly in Buenos Aires. Once there, we grabbed a couple of taxis and headed to the airport. I was vividly reminded of how happy I am to be in Mendoza instead of in BA. Although Mendoza is a pretty big city, its nothing compared to the size of Buenos Aires. I was discussing this with my friend Whitney the other day and we realized that there are two main reasons Mendoza doesn't feel quite like a city. First, there are trees EVERYWHERE! On every street! Second, none of the buildings are much over 6 or 7 stories because there are still laws against tall buildings for fear of earthquakes. As a result, you can usually see over the buildings and also lots of blue sky, making it feel much smaller and more open. Anywho, we arrived at the airport and checked in with minor issues. For a few minutes we thought we were going to have to pay more for our tickets because the prices we received online were for Argentinean residents (and the tickets are more expensive for foreigners). However, when I presented my provisional visa and was able to explain that we are all studying and living here for 5 months, we were ushered through checkin. Since we had nearly 4 hours until our plane was supposed to leave, we grabbed a quick bite to eat in the food court. Everyone wanted something more substantial than the alfajor that was "breakfast" on the bus. Then we explored the shops as an excuse to walk around after so much sitting on the bus and finally settled in the sun to read/study/sleep for a bit before grabbing lunch. After a quick lunch we waited in the long lines of security and then spent a fair amount of time waiting on the plane. Go figure it left late... and we were on our way to Ushuaia! When we landed you could CERTAINLY tell we were farther south. It was cold and raining slightly. All 8 of us were tired but excited to make it! Taxis took us to the hostel and we all got settled in. The hostel was AMAZING! Like 5 star quality for hostels: with heated floors, a large kitchen, wifi, and breakfast included. We decided that instead of cooking we would eat out the first night so after everyone had showers we went in search of a restaurant that the Lonely Planet guidebook named best in the town with great seafood. The menu looked a little pricey, but we decided to go for it anyway and most of us split entrees. The food was DELICIOUS! I split a salmon filled pasta with smoked salmon and shrimp in a cream sauce. It was really good! When we got back to the hostel everyone crashed pretty quickly. I unfortunately had an awful time trying to sleep. The window was open and so I was freezing! I spent the whole night curled up in a ball trying to stay warm and rolling over when one hip started to hurt...
The next morning dawned far too early for me, but I was still happy to be on vacation. We had our first excursion all lined up and the guides were coming to pick us up at 9:15. We drove about 20 minutes into the mountains and found ourselves in the middle of a beautiful glacial valley. The excursion was dogsledding and snowshoeing with hot cocoa in the middle. We started by putting on snowshoes and hiking out into the valley and up the mountain on the other side to a GORGEOUS view of all the surroundings. In the upper meadow we built snowmen and had a snowball fight. It was a ton of fun! Then we hiked back down into the valley (sometimes backwards when the hills were super steep). While waiting on the dog sleds we enjoyed hot cocoa and cookies in an old Wood Cutter's Refuge in the forest. Then we finally got to load the sleds! I was SUPER excited! Dog sledding with real Alaskan Huskies! Our driver's name was Federico and my friend Whitney took a liking to him immediately. It was a blast riding back to the starting point. Unfortunately the conditions weren't the best with slushy snow and warm weather, so it made it hard on the dogs and they couldn't pull the sled as fast. All in all it was a GREAT time! We got back to the hostel and started thinking about what to do for lunch. Due to the cold, soup seemed like a great idea and we all sat down to a hot mug of soup before a much needed siesta. I spent the evening relaxing and working on some hw. When we finally decided it was time for dinner, we realized that we couldn't have the dinner we planned because the black beans we had to eat require an entire night soaking in water first...first time cooks have to lean by experience right? So Louisa, Audrey, and I decided on plan B: PIZZA! We knew the bakery one block over sold pizzas, so we walked up to buy pizza for 8. Complete with crust, cheese, and sauce we arrived back at the hostel to realize that although there were stovetops, there was no oven to cook the pizzas... As a result, we got creative! Creating a double boiler (here called a baño María) out of pans in the kitchen, we placed the crust in the top pan to cook and then added cheese and another pan to cover the ensemble. It was pretty entertaining to attempt and definitely took a bit of practice to get it right but by the time we baked the last pizza, it was delicious! No one had any desire to go out for the evening, so we relaxed in one of the rooms talking and watching episodes of Friends on someone's computer.
The next morning we decided to adventure down to the bay and inquire about another excursion. WIth the help of our friend Deven, we found a company that would take us on an adventure of the nearby islands to see the animals and the most southern point of Argentina. We all left together and took a small boat out into the bay and then the channel. Beagle Channel separates Argentina from Chile and is split in the middle between the 2 countries. Our first stop was the sea lion island or "Lobos Marenos" (sea wolves). There were tons of them scattered all over the rocky island sleeping in the sun or barking up a storm. There were 2 huge ones, "machos", that are the dominant males. We went around the island taking photos and listening to the history from our guide. Then it was off to Isla H or Island H (the southern most property of Argentina). On the way we saw 2 rogue penguins who apparently have arrived early to the area. My friend Audrey was SUPER excited since that was the one thing on the top of her list. When we arrived at Island H, we left the boat and climbing the rocky shore to walk around the island. We got to hear all about the history of the indigenous people who lived there and how they lived. Then we climbed the hill to see the view of Beagle Channel and Chile! It was absolutely beautiful! Then we hopped back into the boat to go back to the mainland. Tea/coffee and alfajors were on the snack menu and we all enjoyed them. When we got back we headed to a local chocolate shop for a free hot cocoa and then walked the town for a bit enjoying the scenery. Eventually we got hungry, so it was off to the store for lunch/dinner items. We decided to get creative, so lunch was rice, black beans (soaked overnight), corn, peas, and sausage all mixed together with rolls and juice on the side. It was great! I think everything tastes good when you cook it yourself. Its the pride element... It was nearly 4 by the time we ate lunch, so a siesta was shortly after along with more hw and reading. In the evening we met up at a local bar for free beers (courtesy again of the boat company) before heading back to pack. Our bus was set to leave at 5am, so we had all decided to just not got to bed and stay up talking instead. At 12am we finally decided to make dinner (there was finally kitchen space at this point too) and got to work on Breakfast for Dinner: scrambled eggs (not a common item), dulce de leche, bananas, pancakes (also not common here), and the rest of the black beans. It was delicious! After we cleaned the kitchen, we sat in a circle playing a game of questions to get to know each other better. It was a ton of fun and before we knew it, it was time to head to the bus stop. We met up with Deven, and the 9 of us headed into the night to the "terminal" and our next adventure in El Calafate!
Look for the next installment soon! I hope everything is well with you all. Keep in touch and know that I am thinking about all of you!
All my love!
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