The Argentine Adventure: February 2011

1. Whale Watching

In Puerto Madryn, we spent one day on a boat tour with about 30 other tourists in bright orange life jackets searching for whales. We were very lucky, as the day was sunny, warm and we got to see a few whales. We even got to see a 'mama' whale with her calf- but this baby was especially rare because it was white, unlike it's gray mother. We learned that this baby wasn't albino, but had a rare genetic disorder that made him temporarily white, but that he would fade to gray by the time he matured. No matter what the color, all the whales had the same 'jaw-dropping' effect...seeing a gigantic (50-60 ft. long!) whale surface right next to the boat, hearing it's blow hole, and feeling the mist from the splash of it's tail...pretty epic.

2. Sea Lions/Kayaking

Also in Puerto Madryn, we spent a morning sea kayaking with about 6 other tourists and 2 guides. Again we got really lucky with the weather- gentle breeze, cloudless blue sky, and calm seas. We paddled near 2 sea lion colonies, and as we approached we heard them barking and calling to us. A few even swam out to meet us. With their curious little whiskers right above the surface, circling our boat and popping up here and there...it reminded me of the movie "Andre".

3. Bus rides

I can't really say that all the long bus rides were a 'high-light' of the trip, but you have to understand the shear volume of of time we spent on bus rides criss-crossing Patagonia. The longest bus ride we ever did was 26 hrs., and so you can see why we begin to think of 8 hr. rides as 'nothing', haha. But the bus trips actually weren't all so bad- we got to see a lot of the country side, and the buses themselves were quite comfortable (think first class on an airplane.) Yep, all the seats reclined, we got meals (think airplane food but slightly better), and got to watch movies. We also kept busy by planing cribbage, reading, writing, and listening to music.

4. Glacier Hike

When someone asks me for my all-time favorite moment in Argentina, I usually tell them about the hike to (and on) Glacier Viedma, near El Chalten in south western Patagonia. This 12 hour (yes 12 hours!) hike lead us through some of the most diverse and amazing scenery I have ever seen. We hiked through forest and valley, over hills and through meadows. We even got to cross a river via zip-line! But the coolest part of this hike was of course, the glacier. The glacier is a HUGE mass of ice, snow, and rocks. It looked like a giant cascade of water had gushed from between the mountains and been frozen to a stop half-way through the valley. But in reality, the glacier formed very slowly over many centuries, and it is still changing and moving, growing and recessing. You can attest to this movement because the glacier makes lots of eery sounds as it cracks and shifts. Once on the glacier, we got to hike along its ridges; it's not flat on top, but rather like a series of balance beams (4-16 inches wide), with deep blue gorges on either side. We also found an ice wall, which we got to climb with pick axes for our hands and crampons on our feet. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch on the glacier, and then hiked back to town. Needless to say, we were quite exhausted and slept for nearly 14 hours that night.

5. Seven Lakes Drive

Near Bariloche, there is a famous highway that winds around some of the most breath-taking landscapes in patagonia. So we rented a car with some girls from our hostel, and hit the road. Unfortunately, we had rain that day, but it let up in the afternoon and we got to experience the true beauty of the area. Each lake is bright blue, lined with bright yellow poppies and purple lilacs, and the snow-capped mountains make the perfect backdrop. I felt like I had fallen into a calendar of Switzerland. Simply lovely.

6. El Bolson and Around

On of my favorite places in Patagonia was the 'hippie-town' of El Bolson. It was one of the few places in Argentina where they actually had recycling, and the population had fought to keep big developers and chain stores out of the city. They also had one of the best Saturday markets- you could buy everything from wind chimes to beer to mittens to jams to veggie pizza- and nearly all of it was organic/homemade! We also loved our hostel here- it was a little wooden house in the countryside with hammocks on the porch and a wood-burning stove in the kitchen. Also near El Bolson, was the 'Sculpture Forest'- which is a a collection of chainsaw tree sculpture on the mountainside. The area of the sculptures had a forest fire years ago, but instead of clearing the all the trees, they left some for local artists to carve. Now the forest is an international legend, displaying everything from elves to indian women to robots to human hands- all carved from trees! We were there on a day when the artists were actually carving, so we got to see the art in action! And the view from up there- just stunning! I don't think I've ever had such a view for a picnic lunch. Also near the town were a few lakes, similar to the ones near Bariloche. So we spent a few days on the beaches- playing frisbee, writing, and wading in the chilly water. And to top it all off, El Bolson hosted an international jazz festival while we were there! All in all, we actually loved El Bolson so much, that we ended up staying 7 days here instead of our originally planned 3!

7. Cordoba

This city is located in north central Argentina, and it's the 'cultural capital' of South America. Here we visited lots of churches and museums. We also hit up an awesome market with the BEST calzones I've ever tasted, mmmm.

8. Mendoza

This city is the capital of wine tourism in Argentina. The highlight of our stay here was a bike tour of all the local vineyards. We linked up with some of our guy friends from the hostel and biked all through the countryside- tasting lots of wine, some chocolate, a few jams, and even some beer too. It was a very happy day.

9. Digging for Dinosaur Bones

En route back to Buenos Aires, we stopped at the dessert city of Neuquen. This dusty town isn't really much for show- but we weren't here for the city anyways. We signed up for a day of 'digging dinosaur bones' at a nearby excavation site- and it turned out to be legit! We left really early in the morning, drove to the site, and toured the museum and work shop. Then we got to spend most of the day digging in the dirt with little scalpels, picks, and paintbrushes. It was like my childhood dream of becoming an archeologist had come true! We dug up lots of bone fragments, as well as a few raptor teeth! We even got to help out in the lab afterwards- we fitted and glued back together broken bones and turtle shells- each of which was millions of years old. IT WAS SO AWESOME. We found out later that this is the ONLY excavation site in the world open to the public...very cool.

10. My Travel Buddy

Throughout all of our travels, we met some pretty amazing people along the way. We got to keep company with travelers from all over the world, and people from all walks of life. But one person I'm truly thankful for is my travel buddy and best friend, Nakita. Even though she always made me sleep on the top bunk and do all the dishes (don't worry, she did ALL the cooking), I don't think I could have been blessed with a better travel partner. She kept a level head when I freaked out, and she kept me organized when I forgot what the word organization means. She was my partner in crime, my leader, my follower, and my best friend. I don't think I would have been able to have all the amazing experiences that I did if she hadn't been there with me through it all. So to her, I am eternally grateful.

The Argentine Adventure

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Adios!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Top 10 Defining Experiences of Backpacking Argentina

So Long Overdue...