Part II

I woke up this morning, and I remembered my dreams. Grandma was picking something off my face like a monkey, but with tweezers, and then I had a vision of myself with these gnarly eyebrows that needed plucking. Not so warm and fuzzy. My feet were really quite swollen from sitting so long, so I made a point to make more trips to the bathroom and walk around. The snack pack got passed around again, and I passed. My apple and oatmeal cookies seemed healthier. There were music videos and an Argentine movie today, so I was less entertained. This was a good thing, I hope, because I studied some Spanish instead. I made faces at the little girl some more and slept a little, too. Gratefully, the morning seemed to fly by a little faster. It took me forever, once in Cordoba, to find where I could check my backpack. Once liberated from its weight, I walked towards the center to do some shopping and walking. I contemplated seeing a movie, since I knew where the cineplex is, but I guessed I might get some on my next flights. No helado. A first. I had a lovely conversation with the taxi driver on the way to the airport. He thought I was from Alemania, but no. I didn’t think we would ever get to the airport, convinced he was taking the extra long route for the big fare, but we made it, and I had enough time to rearrange my bags – can’t carry my knife on the plane or the beer! I cleaned up a little in the bathroom. I have been homeless for a while – in total two days and nights. The Andes looked a whole lot different on my way to Santiago (layover). I kept waiting for the massive mountains of snow, but there isn’t so much snow six weeks later. Hard to believe so much could melt in six weeks! Wow!! Once again, they didn't have a veggie meal for me, which upset me because I was hungry. Instead I had a couple glasses of wine. I watched "No Reservations" and "Gracie" (great soccer movie that made me think of Claire!) along with a little sleep. I couldn't really sleep because I was excited to be seeing Erik soon. Once in Lima I was familiar with the cusotms routine and re-checked my bags. I debated about making a trip to the bathroom or the snack line. I made neither before I heard that Erik's flight landed. It may have been the longest hour I can remember. Waiting and waiting...the people ahead of me got upset with the other people who kept standing in front of them and the cord behind which we were supposed to wait for arrivals. Typically in foreign airports, people cannot come into the baggage area and have to wait in the front hall. Everyone in Lima was there Friday night. One woman, who seemed to be newly engaged, had at least twenty people come out to greet her. After we got Erik checked in to his morning flight, we made our way to the waiting area. He had goodies for me: a song to listen to, apples, sesame sticks, wasabi peas, and trail mix! What a delight! Plus he found a great travel cribbage set, which we didn't actually pull out. It was tough to sleep in those chairs, but I was tired and happy. On to Cuzco...tori

The first half of my 24 hour ride

What a near waste of a day! If it wasn’t for four movies, I would not have much to show for my day. I got up at a decent hour and packed up what I didn’t yesterday. I had my last breakfast with the crew and said my goodbyes. I bought alfajores to share with Erik, but they are really soft and goopy. They may not make it to Lima. (Alfajores are a specialty of the area. They are typically two delicious cookies with dulce de leche in the middle – a local version of an oreo. The cookies can range from biscuity goodness to a crispier cookie. The creamy goodness is sometimes flavored with other stuff, and generally not as delicious.) I shared a taxi in to town with my friend Alana from Australia and checked mi mochilla grande at the bus stop. The feria was pretty well set up, so I wandered through a couple times for souvenirs and un litre de cerveza for Erik and I to share. I love the beer and wine in Argentina, all the products of the land really, and Peru just doesn’t hold a candle to it. I got my last helado, this time from Mony, because the guy I talked with yesterday told me it is less famous, but much older than Jauja: manzana con canela y roseta musquetta (apple with cinnamon and wild rose hip). Delicious! And it wasn’t the ice cream’s fault at all, but there were a million and one people in the baggage office. Gratefully, the guy who complimented me on my Spanish yesterday came and pulled me aside and got my bag for me. I did not want to miss that bus!!! The first twelve hours on the bus: so I am always grateful for packing snacks because the snack tray was pretty lousy, and the full meal didn’t come for ten hours. I saw four movies: The Contract, Disturbia, Four Brothers, and The Shooter. The Shooter played on my way to El Bolson, but it was in Spanish without subtitles, so I didn’t pay attention. This time I did pay attention because it was in English with Spanish subtitiles, but there still wasn’t volume. Bummer! I didn’t really read and write a ton like I hoped, but I did finish a bunch of sudoku. It was mostly uneventful. In Bariloche we had to disembark for twenty minutes. I went to call Erik to make sure all was in order for our rendezvous, and when I came back, the bus was gone! There were more than a few things going through my head, but I kept cool and went to the ticket office to ask which platform to wait at. They sent me to another counter where a line had formed. I waited, looked out the window, waited, and looked. I have no concept of twenty minutes. I thought it had only been ten, but the crowd had dispersed from my bus, and I couldn’t see the guy who sat next to me. The woman at the counter looked really confused, which didn’t settle my nerves, but then she reassured me it would come back in 10 minutes. I waited long enough that it did arrive, and I didn’t lose my seat. Phew! My neighbors changed in Neuquen, and a mother and baby sat down in front of me. I wasn’t especially pleased at first because the baby was really fussy. The mom kept pouring 7-up into her bottle, and when it emptied, the crying and refilling began. I started to think about how judgmental I was being. I was thinking if it were a mom I know, a baby I know, I would be more understanding that sometimes it is tough to quiet a child who cannot speak and reason with you. I was still a bit edgy about this noisy girl. In the end we made faces and shook hands a lot. She was really quite sweet and probably thoroughly upset that her mom was taking her on the bus for 14 hours. In Cippoletti we switched buses, which meant a bit of time waiting in between, but this time I didn’t leave sight of the bus. Dinner was tasty: a cucumber and tomato salad, amended with the rest of the red pepper I had, flan, and for hot dinner, a potato and cream stuffed squash. It is the shape of a pumpkin, green in color, and about four inches across. It was really tasty. Sadly no wine this time, but I passed on the coffee. No caffeine at night necessary! Twelve more hours to go...tori

My last day in El Bolson

I am so forgetful when I sit in front of the computer.  I tell myself throughout the day all the things I want to share, and then after I post, I remember all the things I forgot.  For example, I really wanted to share that yesterday I received a very nice compliment from the man at the bus station.  He said, and is the first Argentinean to say, I speak Spanish very well.  I have had foreigners laugh at my Spanish, and Luis and the man from the kiosko both said described me as the girl who doesn´t speak well.  So this was really nice.  And Barry witnessed it and made a big deal of it.  I was quite flattered.  In reality the other travellers who speak less than I think my Spanish is fabulous.  And I have picked up four rides hitchhiking now and had no problem speaking with the driver.  (I really love hitchhiking...two times a day for the last three days.)  Anyhow, this I forgot to mention yesterday, that I have been complimented.

 

Today Barry took off for El Bolson, and the last of the Irish, too.  The place was clearing out until at least half a dozen arrived today, too.  I was looking forward to a laid back day, especially hoping to visit the lake.  I am really quite keen on the lake, so I thought I Would go again.  I also wanted to see the hidden waterfalls on this end of town.  The trail was pretty close to the hostel, so I thought I could start with it and catch a bus to the lake after.  Things change, such is life.  The cascada escondido were amazing!!  The trail to them has officially initiated me into rock climbing, and a few times I thought I might just fall off the edge.  Barry would have hated it because he doesn´t do heights.  I bet Angela would have loved it.  Anyway, I went by myself and took lots of pictures.  A couple German girls caught up to me, and we hiked together for a while.  They had a map, but went the wrong way anyway.  I followed them and felt very useful getting them back on the right track.  My toe, darn it, split open yesterday after a kid stepped on my foot on the bus back from the lake (just my luck that a day of hiking would be safe and the bus would not be).  It was a bit tender for the trail, but I wore my boots to keep it clean.  I had a delicious avacado and cheese sandwich and watched the waterfall.  I read a little, and not too long after Alana, another chica from the hostel, arrived from a different trail.  We had a great conversation about Australia and life and work and plants on the hike back down together.  We took the road in hopes of a ride.  The third time was the charm, and I felt elated to hitchhike again.  I sat next to an old man in the back seat, his son was driving, and he asked me all sorts of questions and wanted a picture with us.  He was so cute.  They stopped to pick lupines when they picked us up, so we talked about the flowers and the city and all the mountains.  Sweet!  They dropped us off in the center, so we could get ice cream and groceries before returning to the hostel.  I had lemon pie and mascarpone with raspberries.  Delicious!  Tomorrow will be my last one.  Alana and I split ways, and I ended up having a half hour conversation with an Argentinean man.  We talked about the mountains and small town life and how beautiful El Bolson is.  I am so content here, and if there was nothing to return for, I could see myself settling down.  As it stands, I am returning because I do have much to return for.  Marcel and I talked about how he looked a long time for a place to be, and he fell in love with El Bolson.  He has been running the hostel for three years, and his friend Julian joined him a year ago.  The owner retired, so they rent it from her and run it with other friends.  It makes me so happy, and I think I want to do the same thing somewhere like this.  Just the idea of the day.  Carbondale, anyone?  Any friends that want to open a hostel with me? 

 

I need to go pack up my bags.  I didn´t really unpack, except for my dirty clothes.  Tomorrow I catch a bus at 11:45 am from El Bolson and arrive in Cordoba on Friday at 12:15 pm.  Wish me luck!  That´s a long day and night on a bus.  Hope for me that I get good movies!  And good food!  It won´t be long...tori

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An even better Tuesday?

Angela left this morning, which was sad.  But I also did laundry for the first time since October!  (I washed underwear by hand on the farm, but my other clothes were starting to smell.)  Laundry is exciting, but it left me with a skirt and short sleeve shirt today.  Un poco frio!!  I planned to meet Peggy and Tatiana, but I didn´t know if it was only to say goodbye or to do something.  In the end I went off with Barry, a new friend from Ireland.  He is also traveling alone, and as he only had one day in El Bolson, which I learned is names because the mountains in every direction make the town like a bag - un bolsa, we went off together to walk to the cabeza del indio y mirador del rio azul.  This was quite fun.  I already had my ice cream in the morning - Andean chocolate with peanut butter.  We hitched a ride down to catch a bus to the lake, lago puelo.  The views were amazing.  We also hitched a ride into the park.  The mirador was amazing, and luckily we happened upon a shortcut, better luck than hiking with Angela at cerro amigo.  We had lunch together and enjoyed much conversation.  Barry arrived from  the south today and affirmed for me that I made the right decision to stay here instead of traveling to Puerta Madryn to see penguins and whales.  I am lucky to be in such a beautiful place.  We caught the next bus, and on our way back to the hostel, I cought my ticket for Cordoba.  I leave on Thursday - 24 hours on a bus!!!  We´ll see if I can hack it.  There won´t really be much choice in the matter, but we´ll see all the same.  I splurged the extra ten bucks for a bigger seat, una cama.

 

Barry leaves tomorrow for Bariloche, so tonight we went to the Cerveceria El Bolson and tried many flavors of beer- con trigo, chocolate, aji, frambuesa, cassis, miel, y una negra doble y una negra ahumada.  Everything was delicious.  It was a lot of fun, but now I need to shower and go to bed.  Tomorrow will be a laid back day.  Maybe I will go back to the lake by myself and chill out.  Suerte!  tori

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My best Monday!

Holy cow!  Just wait till I can post pictures.  I took over 180 today.  Yesterday I don´t remember what I posted, but I am sure I mentioned running into Tatiana and Peggy at the Jazz Festival.  I probably didn´t mention all the Argentinean haircuts that make me want to laugh and take pictures.  The best was a fauxhawk-mullet.  I did get a picture of that one, and gratefully I can say it isn´t hereditary.  His son was quite cute.  I also saw a String Cheese Incident t-shirt which made me happy.  Jonny was they guy´s name, a kid from BC who is a big fan and lived in Colorado for 9 months.  And I hope I mentioned the delicious cinnamon ice cream. 

 

Anyway, today I got up later than I wanted, but I still made it out of the house at a reasonable time to meet Peggy and Tatiana from the farm.  We planned to hike Cerro Piltriquiltron.  It is a mouthful to say once or three times fast.  It is only 2200 meters or so, but coming from about 500 to 800 meters, it is a pretty good climb.  I took a taxi to meet the girls, and then after talking about hitchhiking, I said we needed a truck.  And the next car was a truck and picked us up.  This was great because it is about a three hour climb to the refugio, but it is mostly dirt road.  So we got the lift up, and after hiking for about 40 minutes, we came to the bosque tallado, a forest of totems.  Mostly just carved tree trunks, but all quite fascinating.  I took many pictures of these.  Then another twenty minutes to the refugio, a small little cabin where someone lives year round to provide shelter for hikers, as well as delicious homebrew and pizza.  We signed in to hike a la cumbre - to the top, though the clouds were so dense Peggy thought we would only climb to the mirador, a twenty-five minute climb.  We did that, and afterwards it was hard to choose not to keep hiking.  The vistas were amazing!!  It was my first time in boots in over a week, and my toe was mas o menos.  I was convinced it was bleeding in my boot, but I didn´t need to take it off.  We hiked through a lot of wind and a lot of snow.  As we got closer to the top, there was a lot of loose rock and steep grades.  I had a little fear of being blown off, but we all persevered together.  It took about two and a half hours to summit, and I was freezing.  There was bits of snow and ice coming out of the clouds at us periodically.  More photos...a video...a few bites of banana and apple, and then we were out of there!  The trek down made me nervous because it was so steep, but I found a rhythm and made each step last two feet or so.  It made the descent easier on my knees, sliding out each step in the loose rocks.  And on the snow it was a fake skiing, similar to cross country.  It was a lot of fun, and the descent was no more than an hour and a half.  I was grateful for the flat spot, though it was super windy in the valley, but it was easier on my right knee.  Lots of photos!  Stunning to see into Chile!  Stunning mountains in every single direction!  If I was more stable on the top, I would have taken a three-sixty of photos, but safety first! 

 

Back in the warm cabin, we ate snacks we brought and bought a beer.  It was a delight to rest for a bit in the warmth, though it got cold after a while.  We made friends with other people and headed off with a guy from Colombia.  Peggy and I snagged a ride from a truck, which actually took me all the way in to town after she got out.  I was grateful to be rescued from the hike downhill.  I went to Jauja for ice cream and a submarino, hot milk with a chocolate bar inside.  Stir it up for a version of hot chocolate!  They had been wuite built up for me, and it didn´t meet expectations, but it was still really good.  I grabbed a few groceries and walked back to the hostel.  I read along the non-main road, and I felt so at home.  It was nice.  I am staying till my flight.  No sense trying to rush away from a place that feels so comfortable.  Angela was here when I got back, so we made dinner, drank homebrew, and talked.  Her birthday is in a week, so it was a pre-birthday treat for her.  We talked with a couple guys that work here, and everything was so comfortable.  I really enjoy this space, so welcoming and cozy and comfortable.  I think it is better now that some of the rowdy people have left.  Tomorrow I MUST do laundry because I stink!!  I am off to take a shower and get ready for bed.  Tomorrow I will sleep in, do laundry, meet the girls in twon when I go in to send off Angela, and the rest will be abother adventure!  Suerte!  tori

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What a day!!

I couldn´t help but get up this morning because there was a little girl screaming in the common area directly below my bed.  Not very nice.  I got up and had breakfast.  It is so tasty, even if it was a complete repeat.  Tim and I chatted a bit, and Angela, too.  Hans offered to share a cab in half an hour, so I busted a move.  Angela, Tim, and I were heading in for jazz, but Hans was catching a bus to Bariloche.  We all had a gerat chat in front of the tourist booth killing time before Hans´ bus.  So funny, these guys!  I wanted to stretch my legs a bit, and Angela joined me for a hike up to Cerro Amigo.  It was supposed to be half an hour up, though we took a little longer.  I think it was because we stopped for lots of pictures.  Then we summited and took more pictures.  A couple guys from the hostel were up there, and they shared their mate with us, quite nice.  Our walk down should have been shorter, but we chose a different path down and got lost.  We ended up heading in the wrong direction and missed the road back in to town.  As we tried to cut back, we crossed into someone´s property and had to break trail in some wild rose-y areas.  There was a little river to cross on a 2x6.  Gratefully, we both crossed without falling in.  It at least brought us in to town, instead of back to the road to hike down. 

 

The jazz today was fabulous.  The first group was really lovely, and the second was afroperuano beats, which I couldn´t sit still to listen.  Ice cream was particularly tasty today - calafate (a local berry) and crema de canela.  I will go back for that tomorrow.  We made sandwiches with avocado, cheese, and tomatoes - so delicious!  The flavors are so rich.  The third and fourth bands were okay, though I was less interested.  I did have to laugh when the fourth, a brass band, played "friend in Jesus".  It was during this band that I ran in to Peggy and Tatiana from the farm.  We chatted and agreed to get beers after the show.  Two Canadians from Montreal made it back from a trek and joined us for jazz and beers, too.  They are really quite funny, and better yet they shared beers during jazz.  Tomorrow I will hike with Tatiana and Peggy.  It should be a treat.  Now I am just so tired, I need to shower and go to bed.  It is a Monday tomorrow, and while I do not have work, I kind of need to get up and get going!  love you....tori

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Tired girl...

I made a new friend last night. Angela is from Tasmania. She is a vegetarian, too, and traveling without her boyfriend. We hung out today. Breakfast was really nice. I had cereal with milk, a first in two months. I also had a roll with dulce de leche and raspberry jam. Delicious! Just what I needed before going into town for the big market. It is similar to Saturday market, but smaller. I enjoyed looking at all the neat-o crafts, and better yet, enjoyed drinking some of the artesanal beers. The porter was my favorite and what I ordered. The cerveceria has too many choiceÑ double dark, porter, honey, strawberry, cassis, cherry, raspberry, aji (red chile), for celiacs, with trigo, chocolate, and so many more. Really going to spend a lot of time there, and it is good it is so close to the hostal. Not much else is. I also bought a bag of strawberries, which were so flavorful. Angela and I walked down to a bar patio for the first of the free music for the jazz festival. Afterwards we walked back and sat in the park with the last of the berries and a bag of peanuts for some good conversation before the second band started. The wind picked up, so we decided to call it a day. Of course we got ice cream first - super samboyan and cardamomo. I think better than my choices yesterday. Tonight is an asado at the house, but Angela and I are making a tortilla con espinache, cebollas, ajo, y queso. It should be tasty. Tomorrow there is more music, and I think more beer. I can´t decide what to do.I would like to see more than El Bolson, but I also love El Bolson. I could spend the rest of the week here easily, but I can´t shake the curiousity of seeing other mountains. They are so amazing!! I want to eat them whole. My pictures of this week will be quite boring if all I do is take pictures of every mountain I see. And another one. And another. I also love all the lupines in bloom. And the wild rose blossom I picked to day from a rosehip bush smelled like apples. Wow!!! I just feel so at ease here. Anyway...I think I better go give Angela a hand with dinner. And I need to refill my glass of wine. love to all, tori