One reason why I love traveling...

...are the awesome fools you meet on the road.

After 3 solid weeks of seeing sights, climbing mountains, and trekking on glaciers, I´ve just been bumming around with people that I´ve met here and there the last 4 days. Translate: drinking copiously each day and everyday. The funny thing about traveling in a country is that you tend to run into a few people time and time again. And when you´re traveling alone, you make friends instantaneously. And for some reason, I kept meeting loads of irish folk (which explains the copious drinking and why we got along so well. lol). I had by far the best 5 hour delay in an airport I´ve ever had. Imagine what you´d get when you put 4 irish, an american, and an english gal together...too much fun, I say.

I ended up traveling with an irish couple (as a ¨stray¨ :p) for the rest of the week to a little town called Bariloche. The game plan was to go go go, but ended up sticking around for Thanksgiving (which ended up being a meal of potatoes and steak) since I couldn´t give up being around fabulous fellow travellers! It was a treat considering I got a little depressed reading everyone´s thanksgiving plans on FB and I thought I was going to be alone on the road. So yay! Happy thanksgiving everyone!

And now two towns later, I made it all the way up the Santiago Chile. Not much to report. Since my new job starts in a couple days, I figure I´d just kick back and relax in the small time I have left here. I´ll consider this a vacation from my vacation since as you all know, cc does not relax much on vacations!

Walking on ice!

I worked my way back north and am now back in Argentina, in El Calafate. It was a quick 5 hour bus ride from Puerto Natales.

FYI, for any americans who wants to get into Chile, you can avoid paying the $100(US) visa fee if you simply avoid flying into Santiago international airport. You can fly into any other Chilean city or take the bus across the border for FREE! The word on the street is that it´s some scam to get foreigners to pay for the new and shiny Santiago airport.

I spent a 12 hour day at the Glaciar Perito Moreno. A boat ride later, I strapped on some crampons and crunched my way on a glacier for hours! Definitely an amazing experience crawling through ice caves and hopping over deep deep deep brilliant blue cravasses.

Now after 3 weeks of crazy adventures, I´m ready for some real R&R doing absolutely nothing but drink wine and sit around soaking in some sun. Heading north tomorrow!

Loco Coco

After a short bus ride from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales, I hit the trail in Torres del Paine.

I´ve hit a new personal record backpacking. I tallied up the mileage and just realized that I did 75 miles in 72 hours (4 days and 3 nights) on the trail. I put in 24 miles in one single day...totally ridiculous in hindsight. Being a stupid american and all, the distance in kilometers didn´t register in my brain before the hike and I only realized it after the fact. Ok, I cheated a little and didn´t bring a tent, but carried everything else. I just felt surprisingly good and fit and my legs didn´t object and ended up doing the ¨W¨circuit 1 day less than what normal people do. I was fortunate to meet 2 crazy guys (one brit and one australian) who were just as crazy as I was on the trail to hike with the entire time. It was all stunning, spectacular, wonderful, stupendously awesome out there! If anyone goes to Chile, I highly recommend it! I ran across a wide array of landscapes...beautiful green lakes, craggy mountains, green valleys, hiked up snow, hiked up to a glacier (AMAZING!), lots to see. I just love being outdoors, dirty, and being disconnected from the world!

And now that I´m all showered and clean, it´s time to rest. :)

How many wonders can one cavern hold?

What day is it? I can´t keep it straight. Different day, different city, this time different country. Just hit Punta Arenas in Chile, a little port town in the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego. It´s so peaceful and relaxing here...I need to remember to bring back this vibe when I get back to the states. It´s good for the soul.

Went on a boat ride to a pinguino colony and saw the them roaming around in nature!!!! Funny how each little bird has it´s own personality...some aggressive, some curious, some fat, some skinny, some mean (a girl I was hanging out with got attacked!). Yay for the south! I wonder what penguin meat tastes like. Just kidding, though I would probably try it if I could find it. Probably tastes like chicken-fish.

To the end of the world

Here I am, finally, in Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world and just inches to Antartica. I´m now going to make it a goal to reach Antartica before the end of my life...even better, to make it to all 7 continents before the end. Seems like a good goal.

Climbed a snow-capped mountain to reach a glacier. CHECK

Hiked 11 miles in Tierra del Fuego. CHECK

Saw a beaver IRL for the first time (and not at a zoo...funny how I´ve never seen one until now). CHECK

Went to the end of the world. CHECK. Well, went the end of Route 3 anyway, the southern most piece of highway that exists on the planet.

Mini road trip

A few days later and my ass is feeling mighty numb. I have finally driven in a foreign country (Mexico and Canada don´t really count).

I met 2 other travelers (one swiss guy and one english girl) and took a mini break ¨into the woods¨ so to speak. We rented a car for a few days and drove on and on on unpaved roads into the mountains that made my brain jiggle like jello on an automatic massage chair. We ventured into areas where few go except tourists like ourselves and the handful of locals and gauchos who live on the land (from El Cerill to Cachi to Molina to Cafayette). I must say, even after being in California for so long and seeing so much of the majestic mountains the sierras have to offer, I was still blown away by these landscapes untouched by man. It did remind me a lot of Death Valley. At the same time, it´s always shocking to see the conditions of the poor people living on the land. One room houses were made of mud bricks sheets of corrugated metal haphazardly slapped together....Despite it all, sometimes I think I would mind living in such a remote place...at least you can wake up each day with a spectacular view in front of your eyes.

Then we went wine tasting at one of the local boutique vineyards in Cafayette (thanks Renee!). Such a juxtaposition of lifestyles that made me *almost* feel guilty, but not, since the wines were so yummy. I can´t deny that I´ve had a pretty good life so far in Argentina...wine and steak every day so far, which makes cc a very fat and happy cow!

I´m tired of desert and heat and sun. Time to get cold!

Art caring(ish) in Salta

A night to remember in the books. I, and some peeps I had met the previous night, randomly stumbled upon Salta´s very own gay pride parade...full of BIG dudes in drag (and lots of them) , the whole shebang with fishnets, inches of makeup, and mere inches of clothing, and loads and loads of people in the streets, a couple lit-up floats, all rocking electro music BLASTING as it overtook the streets. It was a grand parade, with dancing, celebration, and fiesta in the middle of the road, a stark contrast from what I´ve experienced in SD´s rallies (but of course NOT taking anything away from those marches). The Saltans know how to party and celebrate and they do it right! We were all dancing and shaking with everyone else in the street. aieee iee ieeee woo woo!!!! AND the icing on the cake when I heard ¨work it make it do it makes us harder better faster stronger¨and instantly all of us were bouncing. The sound of Daft Punk in my ears always brings the oontz oontz in the feet, and even better that it came blasting from a sound system on a decked out truck, totally playafied-style with blinking lights on decks with people hanging off the scaffolds. If only they knew! It was a glorious moment. Truly and simply glorious.

And to top it off, we found one of the local grub spots for dinner afterwards with a full on Argentinian dance performance by the locals. And of course audience participation was a highlight and half of us were recruited to strut our stuff (embarrassingly) on stage (videos will forever be locked away). But by the end of the night, we were all hooting and hollering and skipping around the restaurant without a care and just enjoying the moment.

Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

I got the gumption to sign up for white water rafting in the Rio Juramento today. It was a 2 hour drive to the mouth of the river, certainly not short of spectacular views along the way. As we turned into the mouth of the valley, I was graced with the awesome view of a lake beneath the mountain sides. Our drive continued along this body of water to its very end, were our launching point was. I´ve never been white water rafting before, but figured it was close enough to sea kayaking, plus a constant adrenaline rush with each approaching rapid. Fun fUn FuN!!!!!!! I got drenched from head to toe, but thank the lucky stars I (nor anyone else) got pushed off the boat (this time :p), at least not on purpose.

And to close it off, during the last leg of the river, I hopped out of the raft and drifted the rest of the way on my back, feet first downstream. It was the most relaxing experience I´ve had in a long long while. I felt finally free, without a care in the world. And it didn´t hurt that a break from the beating sun was in order. THE BEST BBQ was waiting for us when we got back to our departure point. I stuffed my face with ribs, steak, and sausages until I could eat no more. (I feel sorry for all the vegetarians, especially the Argentinian vegetarians, if they even exist at all). I love how some of the best food I get are in little towns.

I met some people in the hostel last night and a couple of us decided to rent a car together and tour the south for a few days. So much for my original plan of going up to the mountain towns. But that´s exactaly why I love traveling! And now, I go find somewhere to stuff my face again.

Getting salty in Salta

20 hours on the bus later, I finally arrived in Salta, a little city in the northwest corner of Argentina. It´s located in a valley just below the Argentinian Andes and so picturesque with all the surrounding mountains, blue blue skies, and green green pastures.

Since I had a half day to kill, I managed to explore most of the city by foot. I started with a teleferico (cable car) ride up the nearby top of Cerro San Bernardo peak. Gorgeous views on a gorgeous, hot day. I saw the city end-to-end then hiked down on the cobble stone steps, and got spat out near the city center. I always forget just how much you can do in little tiny towns...I walked north, south, east, west...so much of it! Salta reminds me of the mountain town Huaraz in Peru, with the same moutain surroundings and peak up top. De ja vu. I wandered around and stumbbled onto several markets in town...one being the normal markets where you can find cheap necessities (like duffel bags for extra souvenirs you didn´t account for space-wise in luggage) and other local craft markets (which I found lots of good stuff). Ended up at a happening local spot at the north of town on Balcarce with a half bottle of wine and the equivalent of Pancake softrock mix in my ear (seriously started with Toto´s Africa, then Bon Jovi, More than Words, Firehouse, to the End of the Road, no jokes no jokes) to end the day. Rest now...big one planned for tomorrow! :)

Damn Chankies!

I learned a new way to insult americans...Chankies. It´s Yankies, but with the Argentinian ¨che¨coloquial speak (yes, for some reason they add the ¨che¨ sound to lots of words. La Jolla is pronounced La Jocha (hocha) and parilla is pronounced paricha. Don´t ask me why). And Chankies is a not a nice name. It´s in fact a derogatory term for all those rude and loud-mouthed americans who don´t realize just how loud and disrespectful they are to the rest of the world. American tourists, to me, are on par with french tourists as the most loud, obnoxious, and rude species on the planet. And no, this was not a term directed at ME...it was another american chicita who was overly boisterous at the bus stop when we were heading home. Funny thing was, she was on the exact same bus when I was heading out many hours previously. Quirky.

Bring it!

I've rolled my own dice in life again and finally made my second south america trip happen. This time it's Argentina, the home of fine vino, vast landscapes, incredible meats (of all kinds), and hot latin american tango. I've decided to let this trip happen as it happens, with the only itinerary being that I need to make it to Santiago Chile by November 28th to fly back to the states. Freedom is a glorious thing. And this comes with special meaning since I'm no longer bound by the reigns of anything! ...well, for the next month at least there´ll be no meeting to prepare, no conferences to go to, no bosses to report to.

My first destination is Buenos Aires. It's springtime here in November, one of the best times to visit this city...one of the best times to visit south america in general since you're avoiding the high season of summer months down south (Jan-Mar), you're graced with spectacular weather (i.e. no humidity!), AND the patagonias are open for access!

First 24 hours have already been a ride. Naturally as a chinese woman, the first thing I found when I went strolling around the neighborhood was...Chinatown. Chinatown as in a collection of restaurants and shops spanning 3 blocks with the constant cling and clang of woks in the air. It is argentina, after all. AND since it's argentina, food has been exceptionally good. I've had the best meat, empanadas (yum yum!), and wine for the best price! Wandering around the big city has been super fun, but I think I've eaten my fill of museums and shops and ready for the big outdoors. Perhaps I had my fill of big cities during my europe trip this summer (paris can suck the museum juices out of anyone), or I'm just naturally drawn to the majestic outdoors, or I have a short attention span. Whatever the case may be, I'm ready for the the adrenaline rush that nature has stored up for me. Mountains, here I come!

But before signing out, here´s my top 6:

1. MEAT MEAT MEAT!!!! Parillas are the thing here, or ¨grill restaurants¨. Of course they serve a variety of meat, but steak is really the only way to go. One of the best places I went to was a restaurant in a gym (or club, as they call them down here), equipt with the eerie creepy yellow lights. It was a local gem and I stuck out like a sore thumb as the non-argentinian there. And boy do they do steak well there! yum yum yum! I´ll never be able to go to a steakhouse in the US of A again. US$15 per person for a steak, salad, big yummy chorizo, and a bottle of wine.

2.Vino. I´ve had vino every single day I´ve been in argentina and don´t intend to change that! Excellent wine exists in the world that won´t kill your pocketbook. Had some from Mendoza, Norton, and one other that I can´t remember. All excellent!

3. Markets. Leather goods are the thing to get here. They´re cheap and good quality made goods. My friend Jimena lives just 2 blocks down from one of the local markets and I was lucky enough to catch it over the weekend.

4. Dancing, of all kinds. Need I explain more? I unexpectedly ran into several local couples dancing tango in a local park under a giant gazebo (I later found out that they were FREE lessons given to anyone who showed up). It was a surreal moment and I knew I was in south america at that moment and the sight was so befitting of something you´d see in Argentina.

5. Empanadas. Absolutely the best I´ve ever had! It was a little shop called Nas Sarapia that you would just normally pass without a thought. But, the strong unequivocal scent of baked empanadas filled the street that would make anyone turn around!

6. Icu Creamu. Perfecto. Deliciously creamy, succulent, melt in your mouth, so, so good. Better than any I´ve had.

So there you have it. Don´t mind that 5 of the 6 things are all food related, but I´m asian afterall and I like to eat. :)