We're gonna party like it's [my] birthday

Actual Birthday

My 28th birthday was on a Tuesday, but despite it being a work day I still fit some fun in. I made pancakes in a wok for breakfast since it was the best option available. (Would that make them wokcakes?) Amy has a stash of maple syrup, a true luxury here, and although they were a bit dense they were still highly enjoyable.

That night I went to dinner at my favorite Peruvian restaurant, Inka Si Señor. It’s a great name and the food is fabulous, the portions are huge and it’s cheap. Despite their relative proximity, Argentineans are not in the habit of eating Peruvian food as a general rule, so it was very adventuresome of my friends Fay and Nico to join Beth, Amy, and me at dinner. Here we are:

After we had eaten most of our food, all of a sudden a scratchy musical recording came on. It was a pre-recorded version of happy birthday, accompanied by one of Argentina’s delicious cakes (dulce de leche frosting AND filling, obviously) that Beth kindly picked up for me, plus the most amazing birthday candle I have ever seen. It was a firework on top of a cake! I was so in awe I forgot to blow it out. The recording was quite long, I think it played happy birthday three times in three different styles, but everyone in the restaurant – waiters and other customers the same – were singing and clapping along.

Turns out it was one of the waiter's birthdays as well. Apparently in Peru it’s customary to throw eggs at the birthday boy (not sure if girls are included in this custom) so there was a lot of hooplah in the back of the restaurant as he tried to escape. Yes, they were throwing raw eggs inside a restaurant. No, it did not surprise or offend us in the least. Then he got his own cake complete with firework candle and scratchy recording and we all sang and clapped along. I gave him a piece of my cake and he gave me a piece of his and we were all in a jolly mood. It was a great energy and totally fun and unexpected.

Party!

Saturday night we threw a party at our apartment. For the first time I got to experience what it was like to have a summer birthday: it was hot and half my friends were out of town. Luckily Amy invited her friends, and all of mine that were still in town invited some of their friends, so we had a pretty good turnout. Here's Amy with some of the boys she plays soccer with, rocking the hats that someone gave me at 8 am on New Year's Day as I walked home:

I really wanted to make French bread pizza but couldn’t find French bread, so we switched at the last minute to pre-made crusts which ended up being a very smart and delicious choice. I also made my now-famous bleu cheese dip (salad dressing is a scarce and expensive import here so I just crumble bleu cheese into cream and add salt, pepper, and lemon juice – voila!) with cut vegetables for dipping. This is the beginning of the party:

We had some drinks but it’s normal here for people to bring drinks to a party, and bring them they did. Everyone did their best to finish it all off but at the end of the party we had: two half bottles of gin, a half bottle of vodka, a half bottle of scotch, three bottles of red wine, two of white, and one of champagne. Suffice to say we are set for the foreseeable future.

Another key player of my party was the cake. My sister Anne is an incredible cook AND baker (a rare combination) and for the past few years has made me Malted Milk Ball cupcakes. She wasn’t here to make them for me but she did the next best thing: sent all the ingredients and the recipe in my Christmas box. Amy and I had a lot of fun making it, largely because we had to substitute a very literal translation of ‘hand mixer’ i.e. use our hands. Also because we ate more of the chocolate chips than we put into the batter, since hey, they don't exist down here and we couldn't resist.

We didn't have cupcake pans so we made it as a cake, and the frosting could have been fluffier since me beating it with a wooden spoon was not quite up to snuff with the whirring power of two beaters, but it was still INCREDIBLE. (For an amazing photo of Amy's hand-beater hands and other birthday photos, check out Picasa.) Here I am shortly after licking the bowl:

After we lit the candles and sang, I told everyone the story of the cake as it was being served and that they were in for a real American treat. It was a hit, of course. Then I hid the cake away and when someone asked me later if there was any left I said no. I hoarded it for about 5 days and even on the last day as Amy and I split the last two bites it was still delicious. See how excited I am to cut into this cake??

Side note: Did you know that in Argentina you get THREE birthday wishes, not just one? That is a custom I fully plan on bringing back with me. I spread them out over a few days and a few cakes.

Like I said, it was hot. A lot of people spent the majority of time on the balcony or directly under the fan.

I tried my best to get a dance party going but there were two warring factions of music taste, one of which was composed of one very aggressive dude who was convinced it was in everyone’s best interest to listen to hard-core techno music. Every time someone changed the music, he changed it back. It was pretty funny but slightly annoying so I wasn’t too bummed when he left to go dancing at – you guessed it – a techno club.

There was another individual who was very set on singing karaoke, so we you-tubed a variety of songs plus the word karaoke so the lyrics would show up. This went on for a good hour and there was an enthusiastic group of about 7 of us who belted out some standards like Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Gloria Gayner’s “I Will Surive.” There is video but I'm not sure how it turned out.

The aforementioned gentleman serenaded us with a song from Rent called "Glory," I believe, which had some pretty high notes. We all very politely listened to with straight faces. However, I couldn’t help but crack a smile when he told me shortly after that once everyone left he would sing me “Bésame mucho.” I weaseled my way out of that one even though he was among the last to leave. Luckily one of Amy’s friends took pity on me and helped me shoo him out the door. Speaking of Amy, here we are toward the end of the night:

The last partiers left at around 6 am – sounds crazy to us U.S. folk but I assure you it’s quite standard here – and Amy and I decided we were hungry. We didn’t want to reheat the leftover pizza for some reason, so we made one last pizza with all the leftover toppings - we each did our own half - and I cleaned while it baked.

This was also when we finally found the cat who at some point went missing. We figured he was curled up in a safe, quiet place somewhere but there are only so many places to hide. So Amy went looking for him and found him at the top of the stairs 3 floors up, terrified in a dark corner and ready to pounce. The next day he developed an eye infection, probably due to stress, but at least he didn't fall off the balcony. He's also not all that interested in escaping any more, so it was a valuable lesson learned.

Cat rescued, pizza eaten, and house mostly cleaned, I slept from about 7:30 to 5 pm the next day, woke up, watched two movies, and went back to bed around 11.

All in all, it was a successful birthday. Except for the fact that all my friends here seem to be in the 20-24 range, so I am officially the "old" friend. Awesome.

Vacation Part III: Bariloche

Sorry for the delay and the length of this one. I just had to get it all out! I considered doing it in two different posts but it wasn't going to make the total reading any shorter so you'll just have to forge through or forgo it. I did include lots of pictures to keep you interested though.

Speaking of, note that vacation photos with detailed captions are available here on Picasa for the abridged version.

Special update: I have just this moment finished both this ridiculously long post AND finished the last of the Chex mix. I still have the taste of garlic powder and peanuts in my mouth. Mmmmm. Ok, back to the vacation.

Tuesday December 22: Welcome to Bariloche

We arrived in Bariloche from El Calafate in the evening and were met by a very amicable remis (private taxi) driver named Ernesto. He explained many local features, flora, and fauna on our way to the hotel. For instance, he pointed out the broom (non native and invasive, says Ernesto, but creates an amazing yellow landscape) and lupine blooming everywhere.

We also gave a ride to another couple we had done the Big Ice trek with, who happened to be on our flight, and who totally randomly had reservations at the same hotel. When you consider that 80% of the businesses in Bariloche are lodging-based this was a pretty big coincidence.

The hotel was nice enough, amazing views and our room opened right onto the lake and was a stone’s throw to the heated pool. The room itself was a bit dated and we suspect that the other half of the hotel was recently remodeled while our half was still waiting for an update, but it was right next to the lake and we fell asleep to the sound of waves hitting the shore. Here is the view from our room:

In order to get to the reception/restaurant area, we had to go outside. Since it poured rain and howled wind most of the time we were there, this was not always the most pleasant walk.

The service was pretty hit or miss but that was part of its charm… kind of. If you’ve ever seen the Seinfeld episode when he dates a woman who is either quite lovely or quite hideous, seemingly without explanation, then you have a decent idea about what we experienced service-wise. We were checked in by a very nice lady (who gave us and the couple adjoining rooms which apparently creeped out the Ice Princess – she was a bit cold – and they switched rooms right away) and once in the room had a variety of needs: massage appointments, extra pillows, TV didn’t work. All of these were resolved quickly and pleasantly. We got massages the very evening we arrived and then we wanted to go into town for dinner so the receptionist called us a remis. (We naively ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Dias de Zapata which was hands down the worst meal we had the entire trip. Will I ever learn to stop trying to eat Mexican food in the southern cone??)

By the time we got back to the hotel, Ugly Service had emerged. We turned down our beds to find that they were made with a single sheet, no blanket. I opened the closet and found just one blanket. The room was well heated but the wind was so strong it came in through the windows and a blanket was necessary. So I called reception and got a lot of attitude for such a simple request, including “there’s no one to bring it to you.” I gave some sass back and 15 minutes later a confused-looking boy knocked on the door handed Beth a blanket.

The rest of the trip was more or less back-and-forth service-wise, but we slept well that first night and all the nights after and overall really enjoyed our stay.

Wednesday, December 23: Rain, rain, here to stay

Any cab driver I asked about the weather was spot-on. Ernesto had told us that the next day would be windy and rainy, but by the evening it should clear and then be nice for two days. I got the same forecast from our driver Tuesday night, and that is exactly what happened. I asked almost every driver we had about the weather and they were always right. So, Wednesday was ugly.

We woke up around ten, headed to the restaurant for our free buffet breakfast which was almost entirely composed of sugary, bready items, and then caught a bus into town (the road is measured in kilometers from the Obelisk in the city center, I believe, and the hotel was on kilometer 7.8). We had to pay for our white water rafting trip and then planned on checking out the town and trying to book some other day tours. We arranged for a short tour that afternoon that included a quick hike to a waterfall, a paleontological museum, and a tour of a trout hatchery. Here's a shot of Bariloche's main square. It has a very Swiss chalet feel.

We also booked a boat trip for Christmas day (which ended up being a big fat lie and the sleazy tour guide didn’t refund us the correct amount) and then set to work finding the Perfect Restaurant. But what had once been a sprinkling turned into a dousing of rain and after unsuccessfully looking for a place that had been recommended to us we took refuge in the first decent place we found, called La Marca. It was almost entirely empty but the food was decent and the service was attentive. Beth ordered trout no doubt caught in the very lake we could hear from our room, and I ordered venison, a local specialty. Here's Beth walking into the restaurant; you have to imagine the rain but I promise you it was ever-present.

Our afternoon tour was shared with two women from Argentina and what we think were their husbands, one from Mexico and the other from Venezuela. Finally we had met people more ill-prepared for the weather than we were! But they were pleasant and our driver/tour guide was a gem of a man named Esteban, who was very enthusiastic about his job, his city, and life in general.

We drove into some higher kilometer marks and turned onto an unpaved road to access part of the ginormous park (2 million acres) that surrounds Bariloche, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. The largest lake inside it (on which our hotel sat) is also named Nahuel Huapi, which means “Tiger Island” for some reason that I now forget.

Recreational motor boats are not allowed – the only motorized boats are those that leave Puerto Pañuelo for Isla Victoria, which I will explain when I get to Saturday – and all the water within the park is potable. The city draws all of its water from the lake and sewage is treated at a plant far removed from the shores. This results in the same fierce protectiveness of the natural resources that we saw in El Calafate and El Chalten, and there are signs everywhere shaming people into not polluting. ("Do you know how long it takes [fill in litter item here] to decompose? Respect our parks!")

We got out of the van and took a short walk through a forest that could have been plucked right from the Pacific Northwest. Honestly, Bariloche looks like the San Juan islands, and the rainy climate contributed to my feeling right at home.

We walked until we got to a small but sweet waterfall, dawdled for a bit, and then turned around. It was raining after all.

From there we went to the paleontology museum which was actually really cool. It was TINY yet somehow managed to house over 10,000 items: rocks and gems, a meteorite, taxidermied animals, fossils, and mixed in was the occasional plastic figurine or dinosaur poster.

The place had an eccentric personality, as did the awesome archeologist who runs it. We spent a lot of time in that tiny museum and then went next door for some hot chocolate and churros.

Now, at this point I was starting to feel sick and we were both frustrated that the café service was taking so long. Also, the sun had finally broken out of the clouds and yet we were stuck inside. It also seemed pretty obvious to both of us that the trout hatchery tour was now for some reason not going to happen, though I think Beth was more disappointed by this than I was. All this added up to us getting back into the van a bit grumpy, a bit tired, and in my case a bit sick, ready to get back to the hotel.

However, not long after we started someone asked if he would drive us up to Cerro Catedral, one of the largest mountains in the area and one of South America’s hottest ski resort destinations. This is not a very common ‘tour’ to take in the off season so there was no way we would have seen it otherwise, and Esteban amicably agreed as long as we promised not to tell anyone at the company he had done so.

Our moods changed. We climbed in altitude and started seeing obscenely expensive houses and hotels, many of which are under construction. And just as we got to the look-out point for the mountain itself the clouds cleared for a few seconds and we had a view of the top.

The snow on that mountain is from the day before when it was pouring rain! There was speculation the whole time that it would snow in the city itself. After this shot he drove us into the ski town itself, completely abandoned the other 8 months of the year. It was eerie but cool. Finally on the way back down we made a stop to take this photo. I will never forget hearing one of the Argentinean women say ‘what a privilege this view is.”

That night we were tired and knew we had rafting the next day, so we ordered room service (taking advantage of a loophole in which they won’t deliver normal items off the menu – there is a special room service menu that we weren’t interested in – unless those items are vegetarian. Bingo! We had soup, salad, and ravioli with tomato sauce.) We also watched Iron Man, what an awesome flick! I hope they make a sequel. Unfortunately by the end of the night I felt quite a bit worse - the cold that wouldn't go away - and one of my eyes was pretty swollen. I was afraid I would wake up with pink eye and not be able to go the next day.

Thursday, December 24: Christmas Eve on the River

Finally, some sun! Just in time for our big day of white water rafting. When I first saw that Bariloche offered this adventure I tentatively asked Beth if she’d be interested. Turns out she’s been rafting all over the world and was stoked on it. She was even more excited when she found out it would be my first time.

When we woke up the first thing Beth said was, "How's your eye??" I said, "I don't know, how does it look?" and she said "It looks normal, thank heavens." So no conjunctivitis and I felt OK so rafting was still on. We were picked up in the morning and quickly started talking with a young couple who lives in West Seattle. I mentioned that my sister lives there and about an hour later the girl said to me, "I'm sorry, but is your last name Archer?" Turns out she used to work with my sister Anne! Small world. (For those of us who don't know us by sight: my sister and I could almost be twins.)

The drive to the river is largely along unpaved roads, and though it is through beautiful country I had a hard time appreciating it because I was trying not to pee my pants. We arrived at the farm where we get our equipment and eat breakfast not a moment too soon, and after bolting for the facilities I was able to take in the surrounding beauty of the area. Check out the ever-present lupine:

Soon we were all clad in head-to-toe wetsuits and back in the van heading for Rio Manso. We got a quick but thorough training and were split into two boats.

My biggest fear was that we were uncoordinated as a boat since we had to use English as a common language among English, Spanish, and Israeli speakers, and Beth was the only one besides our guide who had done this before. But we pulled it together and ended up being ok.

The trip was advertised as up to class IV rapids which we were both stoked on. I was secretly hoping to get flung from the boat. And although I did my fair share of screaming, it was never really that scary and Beth thinks it topped out at III. Also, the ride was quite short. The river was high and fast which also contributed to reduced rapids and we were only on the water for about an hour and a half.

But it was a lot of fun, the price was very reasonable especially considering the equipment was in excellent condition, all transportation was included, plus they fed us an asado at the end.

Once we got off the river it didn't take long to peel our wetsuits off and stand in our bathing suits in the glorious sun before climbing back into the van to go back to the farm for our lunch. Afterward we looked at all the pictures (which you can see some of on Picasa) and lazed around in the sun before heading back to Bariloche.

Once back we went to "Argentina's best ice cream," Jauja, with Robin and Jake the West Seattle couple. It was good but it certainly wasn't the best I've ever had in Argentina so that has been debunked. Then Beth and I split up to buy Christmas gifts for each other, went back to the hotel an hour later, took a swim in the heated pool, had a nap, and then had plans to go out for a night on the town with the other locals celebrating Christmas Eve. This last part did not happen.

We woke up at 11 and called the front desk to see if they could call us a remis. "Umm.... I can try?" was his dubious response. Turns out we should have reserved our ride earlier in the day and much like New Year's Eve at 2 am there was no way we were getting one. We were stranded. Unfortunately we were also starving and they were only serving the special Christmas dinner at the hotel, which was for all intents and purposes over. We called the kitchen and begged them to feed us. "Ok, come into the restaurant" they said. Perfect.

So we wandered into the restaurant where everyone else was finishing their meal with a champagne toast and were immediately handed two glasses of champagne and kisses on the cheek by our two waiters. They then proceeded to serve us the full three-course menu with champagne, wine, and a dessert buffet. We seriously wanted a plate of pasta or something fast and easy but hey, we were at their mercy. And although the dinner really wasn't very good, it was a memorable hour.

Other than a few dawdling guests we were by far the last ones there and everything was cleaned up and ready for breakfast the next morning by the time we finished. Our waiters could not have been nicer, so attentive and patient, didn't rush us at all and seemed more than happy to chit chat with us. At one point one of them offered to arrange a ride into town for us with one of the staff, but we were over it by then.

Here's the real kicker: the whole dinner was supposed to be $200 pesos, or about $50, each. But since we came late and had a 'reduced quality of service and a lessened experience' (which we absolutely didn't agree with) they only charged us $70 pesos each! We tipped very well, went back to our room, and watched New Moon, the vampire movie that has captivated pre-teens across the world and was filmed in my neck of the woods. I have to admit I really, really liked it.

Friday, December 25: Strange Christmas

As soon as we woke up Beth said to me, "Want to open your present?" I have to give her all kinds of credit for Christmas. She's Jewish and doesn't celebrate, but was committed to making sure my day was as good as it could possibly be. I warned her that it was going to be weird for me - it was my first Christmas away from home - and from the very start she said we could do whatever I wanted. I was vaguely depressed that morning, so despite the fact that it was one of two sunny days we were granted in Bariloche and although many things were closed we could have gone on a hike up a local mountain, she did not say boo when I decided that what I wanted to do that morning was lay in bed and watch Sense and Sensibility.

Later that afternoon we caught a bus into town and sat at a cafe playing rummy, eating pizza and french fries, and drinking whiskey (me) and beer (her) for about 4 hours. At some point in those 4 hours I experienced what my brother unknowingly dubbed a "Christmas mugging." Turns out that one of the 3 or 4 groups of tourists that occupied the table behind us during our stint there reached into my purse (hanging on my chair, zipped up and covered by my coat), pulled out my wallet, emptied it of the cash, and put the wallet - complete with a copy of my passport that would have been mixed up with the cash and a credit card - back into my bag. I didn't notice for hours since Beth paid for the meal.

I've always wanted to go a church service in Spanish and Bariloche has a lovely cathedral.

I thought it might help me feel closer to my family so Beth very, VERY amicably agreed to go with me to the 7 pm service. Unfortunately it was pretty depressing. My favorite thing about Christmas mass is the music, and not only did they not sing Christmas songs (despite their presence in the songbook) but the "choir" was a raspy recording that no one sang along with. The priest was old and discombobulated, and his sermon was uninspired. I noticed I had been robbed of my 400 pesos - about $100 - when I opened my wallet to contribute an offering.

I grabbed 2 pesos out of Beth's purse instead and we bolted out of there before communion. At first we thought maybe I had accidentally left my cash in the room since I was sort of mopey and distracted when we left, but no. It was stolen. It was much more Christmas-y than the last one though, since 1) it was nonviolent, and 2) they ONLY took cash instead of the whole bag. I was a good egg about it. It's just money.

From church I called my family and spoke to everyone for at least a few minutes each in what should have been a much more awkward/painful call considering I made it in a very public and loud internet cafe. I tried my hardest not to cry and succeeded.

Then we went to the next logical place: the casino. We played blackjack and met two dudes who had just arrived and were starting a biking trip the next day. From there we went to an Irish bar and met two girls who were also travelling and who ended up on our flight to Buenos Aires a few days later. At midnight I officially gave up my rights to call the shots for the day and Beth graciously said nothing. (I had been making jokes the whole day about how Santa and Jesus were on my side.) We made plans with our 4 new friends to meet at the Irish bar the next day at 1o pm and all went our merry ways.

I will definitely be in Seattle for Christmas next year.

Saturday, December 26: Bambi’s Forest

My friend John, who had also spent a Christmas in Bariloche some years back, recommended we see "Bambi's forest." I thought he was crazy but it turns out he was right.

For Saturday, we signed up for a lake tour that stops at Isla Victoria and then goes to a peninsula where Bambi's forest can be found. (The same tour we thought we had arranged for Christmas day.) It was rainy but we were used to it by then. Here is a shot of me at the port, with hotel Llao Llao behind me (see Sunday.)

The boat was packed which would have been fine except they insisted that every person be in a seat for docking. There was an outdoor area which was fun for taking pictures and getting whipped up by the wind. I'm telling you, it was like being on a boat in the San Juan Islands.

The first stop was Isla Victoria. We were hungry so we had a bite in the cafe and then wandered through a stark but beautiful pine forest. I took a few minutes to be by myself there. It's been so long since I've had access to a full-on forest that I almost forgot just how tranquil and healing time with nature can be.
Then we all piled back onto the boat and it was time for the peninsula. The Arrayan tree is native only to Chile and Argentina and is usually very small and crowded out by other species. However, for some reason - they speculate it's because it gets so much rainfall - there is a forest on this peninsula with a high density of unusually large Arrayanes. They are a beautiful orange color with white spots where bark has peeled off. Rumor has it that Walt Disney came to this forest and designed the forest in Bambi after it.

I loved this tour! It was crowded but I was able to fall back and take it in on my own terms. (Despite a very obnoxious guide who kept urging us along before finally giving up and going on ahead. I mean, we had a set time to be back at the boat; I wanted to tell her, I'm an adult. Leave me alone.) The trees were beautiful and the simple walkways they constructed out of pine stained orange to match helped contribute to the experience. There were birds calling to each other and even some native orchids blooming under one of the trees. This was one of my favorite parts of the entire vacation.

That was our last night and we went back into town as promised to meet up with our friends from the night before. The girls bailed but the boys showed and the four of us went to El Boliche del Alberto, a famous (though in my opinion overrated) parrilla aka grill restaurant. We had to wait over an hour but once we sat down the food came quickly and we had a lot of fun just shooting the breeze. We briefly considered going dancing but, like all the other nights we had considered it ended up opting for a cab back to the hotel and some late-night TV watching instead.

Sunday, December 27: Classing it up before saying goodbye

We had made lunch reservations for our very last day of vacation at the fanciest place around, Hotel Llao Llao. It’s hundreds or thousands of dollars a night and is allegedly booked through 2012. My favorite part about that is that llao llao is the native word for a tree fungus. Awesome.

We checked out of our hotel (not a moment too soon - they were having plumbing issues and our bathroom had started to flood), left our baggage at the front desk, caught a remis and arrived at the hotel 20 minutes later.

The hotel sits on top of a hill and has amazing and varied views in all directions. We were immediately scolded, first for wandering on a patch of grass that apparently we weren’t supposed to be on, and then for video recording the lobby of the hotel. Clearly we did not fit in. Here is a view from the hotel:

Our lunch reservations ended up being at the less fancy of the two restaurants inside the hotel, but it was still a delightful meal. We had a beautiful view, the waiters were great, and we enjoyed observing the tourists around us. I ordered a lamb burger which came with real Heinz ketchup – Oh, the ecstasy! – and Beth had a delicious tomato soup and a decent salad.

The weather was iffy but we decided to risk it and trekked to the bottom of the hill en route to a local series of hikes along a small lake. It never started raining and we enjoyed a pleasant nature walk through bamboo groves.

We soon came to another, smaller Arrayan forest.

Then we made a quick stop at the lake to take photos of the hotel in the distance.

We started back for the hotel and tried to hitchhike for the third time during the trip. It may sound strange but my biggest disappointment was that in 3 attempts on 3 different days, not a single car stopped to pick us up. I think that says a lot about the culture of the area and the type of people that frequent it. To me, hitchhiking in a small city is a sign of the strength of the community, and it made me sad to see what a closed-off, snobby community Bariloche seems to breed.

Suffice to say we made it back to the hotel on foot and settled into a lobby table to play rummy, have our last hot chocolate of the trip, and wait for our ride. Although it took awhile to come it was worth the wait – the chocolate was thick and rich and the whipped cream was fresh and fluffy.

About halfway through we noticed two people dressed in what seemed to be Renaissance-era costumes parade through the lobby and up to a piano. We would be regaled with live music! Unfortunately, after the initial charm wore off it ended up being more distracting than anything. They were singing and playing very strange music and the man’s voice was doing very, very weird things. We tried not to laugh because all artists deserve respect even if you don’t like their particular brand of art.

We had arranged for Ernesto (our original remis driver) to pick us up at Llao Llao at 5 pm and take us back for our luggage and then to the airport. He was right on time, came into the lobby, and good naturedly watched the weird musicians while we finished paying our bill and ran to the bathroom. Once outside he proudly opened his trunk to display our luggage. Now, he does work with the hotel so it’s not like a stranger walked in and asked for our bags, but we still had to have one of those “that would never have happened in the U.S.!" moments.

He took us on a scenic route to the airport and explained more local flora and fauna and answered some last-minute questions we had about the place. We arrived pretty early and had lots of time to finish our rummy tournament. The flight was uneventful, our bags made it without a hitch, and we both caught cabs on the street outside the airport, refusing to wait in the ridiculously long taxi queue. One man waiting in the line who saw us bolt for the street called to us, “No, you can’t do that.” I called back, “It’s fine, we live here!” and he smiled and seemed placated, waving us on. It was good to be back “home.”

THE END

Christmas box, Cat, Cumpleaños

I am taking a breather from writing vacation part 3 but never fear, it will be posted soon. In the meantime I wanted to do a quick write-up on 3 different notable events.

1) Christmas box

My family sent me a huge Christmas box. We're talking thirteen pounds worth of holiday cheer! It arrived while I was on vacation, and by 'arrived' I mean 'was sent to the post office across town for me to pick up because it was so insanely huge.' So last Tuesday my roommate and I (who also had a package waiting) trudged down to Retiro, ready to wait up to 3 hours first for them to call our number (they love to take numbers here), then for them to assign us a new number, then to wait in the sitting area straining to hear the 6 numbers being called in rapidfire Spanish. Imagine our delight when a mere 1.5 hours later we were on our way out the door, giant boxes in hand!

I then made plans with my family to do a video chat on Thursday afternoon. Wouldn't you know it, the internet went kaput an hour before the call and I scurried over to an obliging friend's house a few blocks away, computer and presents in tow, to steal his wifi. Of course, I had opened the box itself beforehand, only to discover the following unwrapped items:

• A box of Cheezits (heaven but being hoarded until I finish the:)
• Two pounds of homemade Chex Mix (No one makes Chex Mix like the Archers! After consuming about a quarter of it in one sitting, I have since allowed myself a medium-sized bowl every day)
• All of the necessary ingredients (well, almost - not eggs or water, duh) for Malted Milk Ball cupcakes for my birthday (Anne that was so thoughtful and will be SO DELICIOUS)
• Various other joys like candy canes, gum, wire-formed book marks, and so on

(The Archer secret: Cheeto puffs! They are crucial. I cut them in half so they last longer in the mix. We also like to put it in the freezer for 20 minutes before we eat it, yum.)

Ok so on Thursday I tied the obligatory ribbon in my hair (I don't know when I started it but every Christmas I tie ribbons from presents in my hair, this year I saved the ribbon from my official present which was the gorgeous, sleek video camera I so adore), started the video chat, and began ripping presents open only to find that it was a THEMED Christmas box! Seriously, whose family puts in so much thought as to create an entire theme just for you and ship it halfway across the world? Mine, and specifically my little sister who mastermined the whole thing.

The theme was Alice in Wonderland. You may or may not know that I hold a special place in my heart for this inquisitive and brave heroine (NOT the bratty Disney version of her). I dressed as her for Halloween and have read the book many times; it was actually the first book I read in Spanish in 2003.

Alice's gifts included:

• A pendant of her consuming something suspiciously marked "drink me"
• A charm bracelet filled with images of her in various scenes, plus little charms like a rabbit, a diaper pin, and a spoon, among others
• A journal with her on the cover (ALL of these gifts are old-school illustrations and images, none of the Disney iconography, how well they know me)
• A 1923 hardcover book in PERFECT CONDITION that smells like old book which I love and has all my favorite illustrations in it

As if that weren't enough, I also got:

• A handheld Brookstone supercharged fan for this wretched humidity and heat
• New headphones for Skype-ing
• Specially imported Betty Boop bath products from Hong Kong (for my birthday)
• The most delicous lip gloss ever and a Tide pen (again, how well they know me...)
• MY VIDEO CAMERA! (A combined Christmas/birthday gift)

I was very moved by the whole thing and just wanted to publicly laud my incredible family for making Christmas a special event from so far away.

2) Cat

This will come as a giant shock to anyone who knows me and my non-affinity for cats, but two nights ago my roommate adopted a cat and since I'm the one who is home all day, I agreed to be part-owner until I leave. As long as I know a cat from his kittendom I generally like him better, and he's friendly and hilarious so so far so good.

We named him Fernet Trago Nacional (Fernet, National Drink) because Fernet (pronounced furnet with the T, not furnay) is black and so is he, and it seemed appropriate to give him an Argentina-inspired name.

He's super cute, very skinny with HUGE ears, and shockingly chill (for a kitten). Right now he is lounging on the couch next to me ripping newspaper to shreds. I anticipate that in about 2 minutes he will pass out on that pile. He also really loves ribbon and Christmas ornaments. We take him to the vet tomorrow so hopefully he only has the normal gamut of worms and needs vaccinations and nothing crazy.

You can read the full story on Amy's blog here.

3) Cumpleaños

Today is my birthday! I am 28. I don't feel old but like Christmas it does feel WEIRD to be here for some reason. Maybe because I've never had a hot birthday in my life, except for that one freak day in Philadelphia (2008 I think?) when it was 72 degrees and the Mummer's parade had been rescheduled for that day and we wandered around the city in short sleeves and bare legs saying, "This just isn't right."

I have a full day of work ahead of me (yes I should probably get started on that) and then dinner tonight with some friends at my favorite Peruvian restaurant called Inka Si Señor (who wouldn't love a place with a name like that??). Then on Saturday we're having a little party at our apartment. Amy has semi-willingly agreed to arm the cupcakes for Saturday, so hopefully tonight someone brings something with a candle in it!

Vacation Part 3 coming later this week, I promise.

Vacation Part 2: El Chalten

Hello and happy New Year's Eve! Welcome to part 2 of my Christmas vacation story. This one is shorter than yesterday's and has plenty of photos. Enjoy it while it lasts since I think the Bariloche segment will be another rambler.

Monday: December 21: Summer Solstice, or: Twenty-four hours of rain in El Chalten

Monday we woke up early in El Calafate to catch our pre-reserved 2-hour bus to El Chalten, a tiny little frontier town that was founded in the 1980s as part of a border dispute with Chile. It's within Glacier National Park and its big claim to fame is Mount Fitz Roy, plus a variety of other hikes available.

After some confusion at the bus terminal (since there were 6 buses leaving at once, half of which were destined for the same place and run by the same company but with entirely different systems of ticketing) we were underway. Halfway through all the buses make a stop at a roadside refuge/hotel called La Leona, named after a puma that attacked Francisco Moreno, the very same explorer "Perito Moreno" for whom the glacier is named. It's a sweet spot and we had coffee and fried bread and dwelled on the appropriateness of naming a now-famous refuge after a violent attack against a famous explorer before getting underway again. This interesting distance meter is posted out front:
It had been a bright, blue day when we left El Calafate. It stayed that way until about 2o minutes outside of El Chalten, when dark clouds rolled in and rain started to dot the windows. By the time we pulled up to the park ranger building and went in for our explanation of the park and rules to abide by, it was more than drizzling and the wind had picked up. Fifteen minutes later as we unloaded outside our hostel (blessedly the bus stopped right outside Rancho Grande where we had a reservation) the wind was literally howling around us and two minutes outside resulted in being absolutely drenched from head to foot. Clouds obscured Mount Fitz Roy and any other mountain in sight. Lovely.

We checked in (to what we would later learn was the wrong room, their bad) and decided to venture out for food. We made it a whole block before stopping at the first open establishment, a cute little restaurant called La Waflería. We ordered fancy coffees and then I ate waffles with bacon and eggs (longing for it to taste like what I would have made for myself in the U.S. and only being slightly disappointed by what it actually was) and Beth ate an omelet.

We sat and played cards (the beginning of a vacation-long 7-series rummy tournament which I won narrowly at the Bariloche airport a week later) in this cozy spot with other tourists in various stages of dry for about two hours before deciding to "check out the town." What were we thinking? It was freezing cold. And windy. And wet. And we did not have very waterproof outfits on. We walked as far as the internet cafe which did not have internet installed, and then back to our hostel. In that time water actually started to run off each of us like tiny rain streams. I was cracking up laughing, better than the alternative which was concern for my ever-worsening cold. Here we are at the end of our mini-town-trek:
Once back at Rancho Grande, we settled into the "rained in" scene. It's a pretty hopping place, especially on days when the weather prevents all but the most hard-core/stupid hikers from venturing out. El Chalten is a destination for serious mountain climbers, but the generally inclimate weather means that people must come for days at a time with the hope of catching one or two nice days. Apparently there had been 10 sunny days just before we showed up (a theme for us, since the glacier guides said they had also had extremely nice weather on the days before our hike) which hadn't happened as long as anyone living there could remember.

We sat down at one of the few open tables, ordered soup, and set to work playing more rummy. After a nice long nap we went back out to the main room, ordered dinner, checked our email, and played even more rummy. By this time my cold had made some impressive advances and the combined delirium of being sick and being cooped up made for a lot of sniffling and giggling. This photo sums it up nicely:

The whole day we kept saying to ourselves "Maybe it'll clear up after we... eat lunch. Take a nap. Eat dinner." It never did. I kept wishing people a happy Summer Solstice and most of them looked at me blankly before realizing it was true. Seemed more like winter solstice to me but it made me feel connected to my brethren in the northern hemisphere.

We went to bed early with an alarm set for 5:30 am in the hopes of catching a break in the weather and a glorious sunrise that is rumored to turn Fitz Roy orange.

Tuesday, December 22: 5:30 am wake-up call

Beth's alarm went off as scheduled and she immediately looked out the window. "Ooh, look" she whispered to me and I strained from the top bunk to catch a glimpse of a crimson sky. Mostly clear. Obviously the park ranger had lied to us that the sunrise was at 6 am (we later found out we should have set the alarm for 4:30) but we still got dressed and rushed outside to catch some of the red sky:

In addition to the beautiful sky, we were also greeted by a group of Argentines who had clearly been up drinking all night and were appalled by the thought of our early-morning hike. The bartender who was stuck serving them, on the other hand, showed us mad respect. There was still no Fitz Roy sighting but we started off on what should have been a 3 hour roundtrip hike, with the midpoint being a view of Fitz Roy from a glacial lake. Here is a shot of the town about 10 minutes into the hike:

Almost as soon as we started the weather began to turn. But, we figured that with the forest cover we'd be able to withstand it. Once we came out onto a clearing we were nearly knocked over by the wind and the sharp rain drops stung our faces. We took a few quick photos and were on our way through the forest again. We made it about 30 minutes before good-naturedly throwing in the towel. Here is the storm coming at us again:

And here is what Fitz Roy allegedly looks like at sunrise (photo stolen from a blog called "The Little Stray Cat" who was luckier than we):

We got back to the hostel, ate breakfast, and then I went back to sleep for a few hours while Beth read. We had reserved a shuttle to pick us up and take us back to the El Calafate airport at around 10:30 and it all went smoothly. We even saw some guanacos (wild relatives of the camel and llama) and choikes (aka emus) from the road and our driver was a very affable man who pulled over to let us and the older half American/half British couple we shared the shuttle with take pictures. Here is a cropped shot of the guanaco family:

Before we knew it we were in Bariloche, and that's where this blog entry ends and the next one begins! See you all in 2010.

Vacation Part 1: El Calafate

I arrived back in Buenos Aires late Sunday night and immediately started downloading pictures and videos. Turns out it takes a long time to sort through my photos, Beth's photos, and our combined memories of the trip, so my apologies for the delay.

Here is the first part of the blog entry I started while on vacation but didn't want to finish without photos included. This is part 1 of 3. I know it's long so for those of you without the strength to make it through: very soon the ADD version of captioned photos will be available via Picasa.

Friday, December 18: Let the vacation begin!

Day one of vacation included getting to the airport late and begging the people in front of me to let me check in ahead of them, which they did. Due to some inexplicable system Beth and I were on slightly different flights (Oh, Aerolineas Argentinas, you crazy ham-and-cheese airline you) and mine included a layover in Bariloche, so I actually got to see it before our vacation days there. It was lovely from the plane:

On the second leg of our flight we got our second ham and cheese sandwich with a hunk of bready dessert, naturally. I hate ham but I eat it like it's my job in Argentina because it just can't be avoided and, well, I was hungry ok?

We also flew over some really cool mineral lakes in the middle of absolutely nothing. No roads, no towns, not a single structure as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately the camera doesn't fully capture the range of blues, greens, and even reds of each individual lake, but it's cool nonetheless:

Landing at the El Calafate airport is sort of odd, since there is literally nothing around it. Nothing at all. I asked someone how far the city itself was and then asked why they build the airport so far away. She scratched her head and said, to employ taxi drivers?

Let it be said that the city of El Calafate is, from a distance, ugly. Observe: The city has exploded over the past few years and it looks like it could have used a good city planner. Luckily, up close the main drag of this two-horse town is quite sweet, with lots of quaint wooden buildings housing all manner of tourist-oriented shops: travel agencies, places to buy and rent mountain equipment, chocolate shops, and many restaurants, most of which feature whole animals roasting over an open fire. It is bordered by a tall hill/mountain to the east and part of Lake Argentina to the west, the third largest lake in South America. Here is part of Avenida del Liberator, the main avenue:

Beth's flight was late but we met at the hotel and then ventured into town together. We had a nice meal of meat and red wine and then went to bed at around midnight, knowing we had a 6 am alarm waiting for us.

Saturday, December 19: Big Ice Glacier Trek

Our first full day of vacation was also our single biggest day of the whole trip: a full day of glacier viewing and trekking. The ice field in Argentina's Glacier National Park (plus all the ice on Chile's side) comprises the third largest reserve of fresh water in the world, and as such is protected with a vengeance by both governments. There is only one company authorized by the Argentinean government to do tourist glacier walks, so naturally it is super expensive, but we were committed to the experience.

The hike itself is on Glacier Perito Moreno, named after an explorer from back in the day. This is a great shot Beth got of it from the runways:

It is one of the most famous glaciers in the world for two reasons: 1) it is the only one in the park that is accessible by land (and not just water), and 2) it has the famous "ice rupture" every so often in which the ice forms a dam with a nearby land mass, cutting off part of Lago Argentina until it builds up so much pressure that it breaks through in a furious roar of ice and water. Here's a video of part of it (only good for the first 30 seconds):

We were picked up right on time and our group of 24 was quickly on its way to the entrance of the park. After a quick unofficial stop to see the glacier from a distance (where we also got a taste of just how windy the day was), the first official stop were the viewing runways built to one side of the glacier. I took my video camera with me which unfortunately does not take very good still shots, but they wouldn't do it justice anyway. It stands about 250 feet above the water, about the height of a 25 story building. Suffice to say it is impressive.

Unfortunately we did not see any major ice breaks (and just one really tiny one) but we heard plenty of cracking and groaning of the glacier which is pretty interesting to listen to.

We got to take a boat ride to the start of the glacier hike which resulted in some funny, windy videos. Once there we had to hike about an hour to the ice entrance, which unto itself was a heart-pounding climb filled with slippery rocks and rickety stairs. We were outfitted with crampons and a harness ("just in case" they said; "just in case we fall into a crevasse?" I responded, and got a dirty look from one of the guides, but hey, that's what they meant!) and then divided into two groups. This is where it got a little weird. But first, us in our harnesses:
Ok, on to the weirdness. Normally the groups are 40 people total, so two groups of 20 are generally formed for the ice walk. That day we were a small group of 24, so two groups of 12 seemed natural, but for some reason two of the guides wanted an ultra-small group and took the group of 5 "Spanish speakers," of which only one of us was a native Spanish speaker, plus an Italian girl and 3 Americans who happened to speak Spanish. Pretty soon it became obvious that our guides were eager for an abnormal day on the ice since, let's face it, catering to tourists day in and day out is probably kind of boring.

The cool part was they took us off the "beaten path" and we had the chance to be part of a very rare, tiny group on the ice, which just accentuates how giant the glacier really is. They showed us some interesting things, like the only organism adapted to live on the glacier, a tiny insect with relatives in most cold water areas of the world. The bad part was, they weren't very attentive and didn't do a good job of taking care of us once on the glacier, especially considering we were all new to crampons and ice walking. Toward the end when we were tired Beth and I fell behind a little, and while one guide should have been with us, they just walked ahead together, chatting and not even looking back to make sure we were ok. Naturally I was pissed and so was Beth, so we went in to the office to complain and were asked to write an official email, which we did. It didn't ruin the day but it definitely left a slightly bad taste in our mouth.

On to the glacier itself: holy cow it was amazing. It was a cold, rainy, windy day, and walking with 2 pound crampons attached to your feet is definitely a sensation that requires some adjustment, especially since you have to dig in like you mean it with each step (see Sunday: Recovery). That combined with wind trying to knock you off balance and rain marring your vision made for a heart-pounding adrenaline-filled afternoon. We look the part though, don't we?

Beth and I had both naively presumed that the glacier would be flat. FLAT?? What were we thinking? Our trek was a constant up-and-down, straddle-this-glacial-stream and jump-over-this-crevasse experience. Observe how not-flat the glacier is here, plus a bonus shot of how crappy the weather was:

Water runs and pools everywhere, the most delicious water I've ever tasted. I must have refilled my water bottle 3 times. Sometimes the water runs right on top of the glacier which makes it look like a slushy puddle that your foot will plunge through, but you have to trust that it is solid ice underneath and step with faith. Sometimes the water turns into a full-blown glacial river that would project you straight into a deep, dark crevasse with no hope of rescue. They held on to our harnesses as we hovered over one such river-meets-crevasse hole; I didn't make it more than 3 seconds before retreating to the relative safety of the slippery ice behind me.

At one point we got lucky and the sun broke through the clouds. I've never seen so many beautiful shades of blue in my life. Any thoughts I had about the appearance of the glacier before were shattered by the sunlight that illuminated every tiny peak and dip within it, hues of blue so rich my heart ached to look at them, water so clear it was hard to believe it was real. If I weren't so worn out and annoyed at our guides I might have cried. It was one of the many moments in my life where I stopped to remind myself what a privilege my life is.
After our lunch break (a delicious meal of salame and avocado sandwiches Beth and I made at the pre-trek refuge from ingredients bought the day before) we started the walk back, which blessedly was a more straight-forward and flat-ish route. Then we had to do the return land trek, another hour on very sore legs, where we were met with coffee at the refuge and then the real delight, whiskey on the rocks on the boat ride back. But not just ANY rocks - it was glacier ice fished from the lake! Very classy touch in our opinion.

We got back to the hotel about 6 pm and immediately decided to head back out to drink hot chocolate, return our rented hiking boots, and eat something (for fear of passing out if we didn't leave the room right away). Argentina is known for its slow, leisurely meals. We may have broken a record with how fast we ate. From the time we sat down to the time we paid the bill was maybe 45 minutes, but that doesn't mean we didn't thoroughly enjoy our mixed salad and homemade thick pasta noodles with bolognese sauce at this adorable little place called La Vaca Atada. They were very understanding when I explained that we had just done 'big ice' and didn't seem annoyed that we were in such a rush. Of course, it's a place dedicated to catering to tourists, so they're probably used to serving dinner 3 hours before normal (for them) and having it last half as long. In fact, I think some places were surprised by how long Beth and I lingered until we explained that we live in Argentina! But, I digress.

Sunday, December 20: Recovery

Sunday we woke up with super sore legs. Those sore legs would last us a good 4 days, often resulting in hilarious groaning noises followed by laughter as we tried to go up or down any stairs or even a slight incline. Hell, sitting on the toilet was a challenge the first two days.

We hobbled downstairs for breakfast and then had to figure out how we were going to get from El Calafate to Bariloche. Originally we planned to take a long-distance bus equipped with "bed seats" that go flat, but since it was the high season the only bed bus was already booked. Our alternative was a series of 4 buses, none of them bed or even semi-bed, taking a total of 30+ hours to arrive with none of the comfort or luxury of Argentina's long-distance buses (which usually involve huge comfortable seats, lots of free wine and whiskey, multiple meals, plenty of movies, and sometimes even bingo). There was a brief moment of panic - renting a car was also out since neither of us drives a stick - until we decided to check on flights.

We had originally decided against flying since 1) Beth was eager to try one of these long-distance buses (I took one last year to Iguazú), and 2) they were really expensive. But, two weeks later they were the same price and suddenly seemed like a steal. So, we bought airfare and had 2 extra days to do something with. We decided to go to El Chalten the next day, and with everything settled drank some (more) hot chocolate (they're really big on chocolate in Patagonia), took a nap, and then went to the casino for some Blackjack.

Tune in tomorrow for Vacation Part 2: El Chalten (much, much shorter, I promise).

Hectic week in my new 'hood

On Sunday I moved from Caballito ("Little Horse" - ode post coming in January since I really did love it there!) to Barrio Norte ("North 'Hood") without much complication. I really like this neighborhood, the new apartment is lovely, Amy is as chill as chill can be, and I am especially in love with the huge kitchen. I immediately started cooking and haven't stopped since. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but here is the kitchen:

Here's a shot of the living room, which also doesn't fully emphasize what a nice, large, airy, bright room it is (note Amy's awesome Christmas tree):

Here is a picture from our balcony (we're on the 5th floor which in the U.S. would be the 6th):

And here is our constant companion, adorned in Christmas lights:

This week has been pretty hectic. Luckily it hasn't given me a chance to be sad about missing the Christmas season in Seattle (that plus the gorgeous, warm weather and mosquito epidemic just doesn't make it feel like Christmas, despite Amy's decorations). I moved/unpacked, had some friends of a friend over for dinner (just in from the U.S. - welcome newbies!) during which we also made and decorated sugar cookies, quite possibly the most Christmas-y thing I'll do this year despite the fact that we had chocolate frosting, dulce de leche, and green sprinkles as our only decoration options. We did the best we could. (Amy holding "Christmas cactus man," Jameson working on his mad design skillz, Natalie in the mirror):

In addition to all the other stuff plus a full work week, I also had about six must-dos (special shout-out to my Mom for letting me off the hook on one of them) that all seemed to take at least 2-4 hours which included picking up a now-out-of-town-friend's paycheck, paying off the beach house, going back to Caballito for my bed (and then hoofing it up 6 flights of stairs, fun times), having a going-away dinner for yet another friend, and seeking out the various bits of gear I felt I needed for the upcoming vacation. Which leads me to... the pants.

It's ironic that I would finally give in to a quintessential Pacific Northwest fashion trend way down here in the southern hemisphere, but I quite literally do not own a single pair of pants (I'm a dress girl and even hike in chacos and a skirt) and I am about to go closer to Antarctica than I'll ever be again in my life. So, yesterday I broke down and bought.... wait for it.... absurdly expensive, brand-name, water-proof, wicking, zip-off pants. Observe: (Clare there is something special in this photo just for you)

They might look non-offensive, but one friend already threatened to withdraw from our relationship now that I own pants-that-zip-off-to-become-shorts. Also did I mention they are insanely expensive?? At least if I had bought them in the U.S. I would be a normal size; here the woman's XL didn't fit me and I had to go for a men's L. Ouch. But, they're high quality and will now last me through many days of PNW hiking and camping, where I will finally fit right in with the other nerds.

Beth and I leave tomorrow for El Calafate and on Saturday we'll be trekking the Perito Moreno glacier. Christmas Eve will find us white-water rafting down the Argentinean/Chilean border, and beyond that we're going to fill in the gaps as we go. I have made the scary decision to take my video camera with me, and my New Year's resolution is to learn to edit them together, for reals this time.

I will try to blog from the road but if I don't get to it I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah/Bah Humbug.