March 15, 2006 Day 20, Patagonia Trip

March 20, 2006 Seattle!

We finally landed this morning. I waited for Terri to land an hour later than myself, and we shared a cab back home. BACK ON US SOIL! Door to door, the return trip took 21 hours. I COULD USE A SHOWER! The weather here in Seattle as what we had hoped to leave behind. 39 degrees, rainy, with the cabbie reporting some hail and spitting snow the last couple of days. Geez.I gotta tell you, after 3 or 4 weeks away from the US, there are certain things you appreciate a little more. Anyway, before I get too crazy, I'll share just a few of the striking differences between the Americas:1. The people themselves. Living in Seattle, you come to see lots of different styles of people. Although other areas are more or less diverse, Argentina is very distinct in their people and culture. A high majority of their ancestry is Spanish and Italian. That remains highly prevalent, along with a Catholic faith. Southern Argentina does have more Germans, reportedly due to the Nazis seeking refuge when things unfolded in Germany. But for the most part, very few blacks, asians, or other minorities can be found in Argentina. Even fewer would be the native peoples of the region. The history we've read and learned state that nearly all were killed by either war or "new" disease 200 years ago. Other than the rabidly crazy people in La Boca the night of the soccer game, most everyone we came in contact with were very nice. Many locals in Buenos Aires were happy to help us get around, some even offering help in English. Of course, as a traveler, this comes with a grain of salt. Terri and I might as well have had a dollar sign on our foreheads, as a majority of people we got to know were guides or workers in the tourist industry. Regardless, the people of a country to me are the most important thing you take back, and Argentina was very welcoming.2. Food. If you've been reading these blog entries, our love of the food in Argentina is well documented. An average steak here is above and beyond what you'd get in say, Outback Steakhouse or even somewhwere nicer. It's like eating fresh salmon in Alaska. You just won't get better. Anywhere. The eating schedule for me was difficult to acquire in Argentina. Breakfast is minimal. Just some juice, coffee (which I hate), and bread. Lunch is usually very modest as well. And dinner. Well, the locals just pile it on there. But at REALLY weird hours. We would go to restaurants at 10PM and they wouldn't fill up till closer till 11 or midnight. I just don't know how they all stay so thin.That said, I clearly did not accomodate for this the way I should. Upon hopping my fat rear on the scale, the numbers don't lie and aren't suprising. 5 pounds added on to the frame in the last 3 weeks. Terri would annihilate me if I reported her figures, but let's just say our next vacation will be tonight at 7PM on the ol' treadmill--quite the foreign place for the last month.... And was it worth it? Yes. And Terri would tell you the same.3. Smoking--If you're a smoker, I don't write this as a jab at you. I simply just don't do well with it due to my eyes. Having lived in FL, CA, and now WA, it's wonderful that public smoking laws are in effect in buildings. Going to Buenos Aires, it was an all-out aerial assault on me. Am I just being paranoid or does it seem every smoker here in a 10 meter radius is magnetically attracted to blowing smoke directly into my face? It's very evident everywhere--hotels, restaurants, internet cafes, and on the street in general. Pretty much anywhere but an airplane as far as I can tell. Enough said about that.4. Traffic--I've been told India and some other places is worse. However, in B.A., there are no rules to the road. I've noticed people don't run red lights at all here and will SLAM on the brakes to avoid doing so. Otherwise, the road is first-come, first-serve. Lanes are broken through with reckless abandon. Turn lights and blinkers are never used. If you can wedge your little car into a spot to cut someone off, well that's part of the game. People don't get mad about being cut off. Want to know what they get mad at? Waiting at a light for ANY reason. Someone could be bleeding and lying in the middle of the road. And guess what? You'll have 25 cars BLARING their horns till someone scrapes that poor soul off the pavement. For completely reasonable situations, people will just lay on the horn for 15 seconds at a time. And not just one person--it's usually ten at a time. It's ridiculous.The other big difference is the pedestrian traffic. I learned quickly--cars have the right of the way. At all times. If you're not completely aware of where you are on the slim sidewalks, getting hit by a car is a very real consequence. Buses come whipping by and leave almost no room for chance. The sidewalks are definitely 2-3 times bigger in Seattle--we recognized it immediately upon getting home. And with far less people... B.A. is a HUGE city---13 million people is what Lonely Planet says. In contrast--New York is 8 million. Enough said.5. Architecture--Buenos Aires is grand, huge, and magnificent. If you were magically placed on some of the streets, you'd swear you were in Paris or New York. There are fountains and monuments everywhere, and it's all a bit surprising. However, the grafitti is a major problem in Argentina and Chile. They really don't seem to combat it, and upon closer inspection of some of their major statues and landmarks, there is just far too much grafitti. It's quite overpowering. Upon returning home, I can look out my window and see a striking contrast to the environment we expect. Of course, Seattle is pretty much Ground Zero for "Tree Hugger Nation," but it is nice to have clean surroundings.6. Summer Style--We were fortunate to spend 2 or 3 great sunny days in Buenos Aires. We're talking 80 degrees, very humid, and sunburns for all pasty white-skinned Americans around... So imagine me--T-shirt, shorts, trekking shoes, backpack, and camera around my neck. Not a stretch to imagine I guess. But the locals NEVER seem to wear shorts. The guys wear slacks and nice shirts, the women--mostly pants and some long skirts. I commented on this to Terri, and for about a 5 minute stretch, walking through downtown B.A., we could find NO ONE wearing shorts on a hot summer day. Really weird. Also running out of clothes, I spent parts of 2 days shopping for just a basic T-shirt to make it through. Sadly enough, the only thing I could find were soccer jerseys that would have ZERO re-wear value upon returning home. No T-Shirts. I'm beginning to think perhaps that we as Americans meet the stereotype that other countries have tagged us with. Yep. That's right! We're bad dressers in public. You won't find sweat pants in B.A. Nor will you find shorts, tennis shoes, or anything comfy. The same was true in Tokyo. Society apparently sets the bar much higher in other parts of the world. Good or bad? Not sure... It just is. 7. Landscape--Patagonia was the big draw on this trip for me. It's an area in southern Argentina/Chile, and it came as advertised. It is incredibly remote, and the desert wildlife and mountains were surreal. I'd recommend it to anyone. Unlike our mountains in the West, the Andes and Patagonian Andes are sharp, distinct, and jagged ranges. It makes for dramatic scenery, no doubt. Despite our poor weather in the national parks, I still greatly value the experience. The intensity of the wind in Torres del Paine was far greater than the swiftest wind I've ever been part of. The dynamic and colorful changes in weather were also impressive. All 60 miles of the hikes were wonderful, and I'd definitely do it again. If you'd ever consider a trip like this, I definitely recommend it. You definitely would have to lower your living conditions requirements, but the things you see will blow you away.Pictures are coming to this website. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading,Brian

March 14, 2006 Day 19, Patagonia Trip

March 14, 2006

We woke up late today to attempt to train for the 5 hour change in time. After packing and storing our bags, Terri checked her email while I hit the grocery store. I found the GREAT wine we had with dinner last night, for the whopping total of about $9 a bottle. Again, the US$ to Argentina Peso is roughly 3-1. So the dollar takes you far, and prices here are consistent with what you'd pay in dollars. Except, gloriously, we pay in pesos! With a limit of 6 bottles allowed on the plane, we opened up the Lonely Planet guidebook and headed to Palermo Viejo for another walking tour. First off--WHAT HAPPENED to the sun! It was overcast and rainy today, despite the perfectly warm sun yesterday. Oh well--I guess this is just a way of transitioning to Lord-knows-what in Seattle. Palermo is a neighborhood quite similar to where I live in Seattle. It is downtown living, with highrise apartments and condos. Restaurants and small grocery stores dot the corners, and there are plenty of parks and entertainment options available as well. After failing miserably to communicate with a cab driver, we gave up and took the subway. Why we didn't try sooner, who knows? Following 3 different maps, we finally found our much-needed destination---->Rio Alba, the area's famous steakhouse. The parilla did not disappoint either. Appetizers of chorizo sausage, more provoletta cheese, and a MASSIVE basket of bread started us off right. Terri dug into a giant filet, and myself, a ribeye. This was some of the best meat we've had in all of Argentina. I'm starting to realize one of the main differences in the way steak is cooked here. I like steak in the US too, but many times it's the seasoning or marination that makes it taste good. In Argentina, they are all about the flavor of the meat. If anything, it comes underseasoned. But the meat is always so fresh, lean, and flavorful, it doesn't need all that salt. That's probably the major difference between a great steak place in your nearby city and any parilla available on any street in Buenos Aires. Terri and I have joked that some day in the future, we'll just jump on a dropped-rate fare to B.A. for a weekend, have 2 or 3 huge steaks, and come right back. They really are THAT good.The rest of the day was spent trying to walk-off our giant caloric intake. Although the Latin Art Museum (MALBA) was closed, we did check out a Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and dove into some Italian-style ice-cream. It was a nice lazy day, and a great way to finish off the trip. Terri and I both decided there was no way to top today's steak, so we just had dinner on our respective planes.We left for the airport at 7:15. Upon arrival, we thanked our lucky stars we left 3 hours before flight-time. The lines were the worst I've ever seen. Arriving at the airport at 8, I BARELY made my flight at 10:30 (American). Terri made it just in time as well for her earlier flight (United). Just 5 zones to cross back and the trip is over!

March 13, 2006 Day 18, Patagonia Trip

March 13, 2006

Buenos AiresDue to such a late dinner, it was time to finally catch some sleep. As a result, we arrived late to the ferry terminal for the first ride to Colonia, Uruguay. After sorting it all out, we figured it would cost us about $60 US to visit Uruguay for about 5 hours. Not worth it. So we ended up doing a GIANT walking tour of B.A. in the 80+ degree heat. I loved it! Today was by far the warmest day yet, but at times it got pretty heavy due to all the humidity and street pollution. We visited 3 primary areas of the city--Puerto Madero (ports), Plaza de Mayo (governmental area), and Microcentro (business and shopping district). The highlight of the day was by far the visit to Teatro Colon, their world-famous theater. Built in 1908, the building is magnificent, inside and out. You'd expect a work like this to be in Italy, not in Argentina. The theater itself seats about 3,000 people and is in the shape of a horseshoe on the inside. Terri is most impressed with the curtains, which all still are original and nearly 100 years old. The main curtain was 1.5 tons, and there's a fire door curtain that weighs 3 tons. They say the room is acoustically perfect, and is in the top 3 in the world. People on stage to this day do not even use microphones or amplification for sound, as you can hear even talking from anywhere inside. The tour was actually great, as we visited a the balcony, orchestra rows, and then the underground maze of rehearsal rooms, prop rooms, and inner workings of the theater that went 4 stories deep. You'd have to see it to understand, but it seemed more a work of art than an actual functioning theater, all the way from gold trimmed rooms to painted mural ceilings. Unfortunately, the next performance is in a week...Grabbing a smoothie in an adjacent cafe, all of a sudden the opera music got really loud. HELLO, turn down the speakers! Then we realized that one of the waitresses was belting it out! She was awesome. We stayed for 2 songs, as I've never seen anyone sing that loud, so perfectly, and from about 2 feet away at times. Terri got a great video of it on her ultra-cool camera as well... After a bit more walking and cleaning up, we headed over to grab some Italian for dinner. It was amazing. Terri had some pasta in cream sauce. Myself, lasagna filled with filet mignon, ham, sausage, and spinach. We also tasted a few bottles of wine to attempt to bring back the right kind. A corner grocery store has some bottles priced at about 5 pesos (less than $2). Not that it has to be cheap, but things are ridiculous in the stores...Again, off to bed. Tomorrow is our last day...

March 12, 2006 Day 17, Patagonia Trip

March 12, 2006 Buenos Aires

Today we woke up for the first day in about 15 that there was nothing on our plate from GAP Adventures. The trip with them is officially over, so we have a few days to ourselves to collect a few things, eat a few more steaks, and transition back to normal life. We said our good-byes to the rest of the group this AM, heading to the Recoleta Cemetary for some sight-seeing. The Recoleta is the nicest part of B.A., and it's like the ¨Manhattan¨ of the area as far as housing goes. There are fancy shops, and historically, it's the "in" part of the city, with shopping and housing coming at a premium. The cemetary is well known and similar to those in New Orleans (above ground). It's actually more like a city of tombs, some that were so ornate and huge that it was sickening that $ was used in such a way. We're talking granite and marble structures. Stained glass windows on the insides... Domed ceings on some with mosaics and painted ceilings. Some were huge and beautiful. Many others were old, beaten down, and the caskets almost falling out of them. There is a lot of history in this place, as the oldest person we saw was born in 1880. Eva Peron's grave is also here, but very modest compared to the bigger ones.After a quick saunter through a street market, we hit up our favorite Steak joint, La Caballeriza. Although not as good as the one in Puerto Madero, we enjoyed a 20 ounce steak, chorizo sausage, the mandatory 2 pounds of bread for Terri, and the glorious grilled provoleta. Mmmmmmmmm... The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some shopping and preparing for the evening.We were to meet at 4:00 with some of our new friends---Roberto, Ted, Paul, and Mufti. After waiting for over an hour for Roberto (our GAP Leader), it was apparent he would neither show up nor call. Kind of a bummer, as Ted and Mufti have a grasp of Spanish. Terri, Paul, and myself---nearly worthless. Anyway, tonight's event was truly unforgetable. We headed out to La Boca for the big soccer game. The Boca Juniors is the most popular team in B.A., and a Sunday night match against Quilme was a great draw. After piling all 5 of us into a cab, we arrived to Boca, a somewhat shady neighborhood with a reputation for eating up tourists and spitting them out.A cop quickly informed us that the game as sold out and we should just go back to where we came from. We would not be getting tickets. However, like in the US, scalpers easily spotted us and we let the negotiations begin... It took nearly 2 hours, and I thought we'd have to give our first born to indeed get the tickets. But ultimately, 100 pesos each ($33) got us Club Seats in a nice area. It's very important to get the right section for these matches, as it can be quite dangerous if you're in with the riff-raff. The rough section is called "el populares," and the activity from this area was just as entertaining as the game itself. I saw a few people get pummelled at the game's end...Terri can vouch for me on this: It was a bit scary even getting into the stadium. It seemed everywhere we went, many eyes were following us. We had all agreed to not speak English, as this was definitely not the element you want people to know you're a tourist and likely have a money pouch somewhere on you (Ted actually got scammed of $200 and a credit card earlier in the day).Once we found our seats, the game was ELECTRIC. We've all heard about how passionate non-Americans are about soccer. Let me tell you--it's all that and more. I've not seen energy like this at any sporting event I've ever attended. A majority of the stadium sang songs through the ENTIRE game. Never stopped. Just one song after the other. And LOUD. People were yelling and screaming the entire match, which Boca won (Thank God cause it could've been bad had they lost) 3-1. There are some blazing differences between US Football and Argentina Soccer.1. The opposing players must enter the field in giant blown up tubes that goes halfway out onto the field. That way, no fans can throw batteries or harmful objects at them as they near the edges of the field. 2. The opposing team bench is built INTO the stadium so no one can get at them.3. There are 20 foot fences around the playing field to keep the fans out. Some fences are barbed wire, and some have REALLY sharp spines on them.4. Those same fences (as well as bulletproof glass) kept the common fans out of our Members Only section. 5. There was no scoreboard or time clock. However, EVERYONE was very into the game and followed very closely. Including the women, which actually were very few.6. The opposing team's fans were kept away from everyone else. When the game ended, it is common policy to let them leave for 30 minutes before the home team leaves. That way no one gets maimed or worse...7. The opposing team SET FIRE to their section of the stadium as they left. I'm not joking. It was a big fire that burned for several minutes as we made our way from the seats. Lose the game? Fine. But we're gonna set fire do your bleeping stadium. 8. It seems in US football, people spend great energy and $ on showing how big a fan they are. People dress up, trick out their vehicles, wear goofy clothing, and it seems to be a lot about image. Here, it seems ALL energy is put through vocalizing, singing, and completely FREAKING OUT. I've been fortunate to attend some exciting sporting events in the USA. None of them come close to matching the energy tonight, minute for minute.... Not even close.9. In the US, no one likes the referees. In Argentina, you might get shot if you're a ref. Yes, it's happened. The fans actually booed and cussed the refs just as much as the entire team. And this was BEFORE the game even started.10. I've learned some new swear words... From the mouth of an 8 year-old at the game with his parents. I won't give you a verbatim definition, but let's just say that the words "punta" and "madre" is no way to give someone a compliment. Especially when used together.11. Cheerleaders. The cheerleaders come out only before the game and at halftime. This is the the tune of about 60,000 men whistling. The cheerleader outfits reminded me mostly of a bad high-school team, and their dancing was pretty unorganized as well. The interesting thing, however, is that 3 women flag bearers decorate the field with the cheering squad. Yup, in a tiny sports bra top and a G-String. Mufti (Brit) more appropriately calls them "cheekers," which might be my new favorite slang word for the trip.Anyway, despite the highly anxious acquisition of tickets, leaving the stadium was much easier. We again instituted our "No English" policy until we found a cab. Boca is no place to be milling about on your own after dark. But there were 5 of us, and despite the seemingly scary situation, we never really met any imminent danger. It can just feel a little intimidating when you find yourself in an element 100% foreign, you speak just a little of the language, and your guide decides not to show up! Once home, we cleaned up and headed straight over to Rodizio, a highly recommended steak place. Dinner time: 11 PM. This is very typical of the locals, as they usually eat dinner 10PM or later. This is served Brazillian style, where the waiters come by with skewers of various types of beef. Options included Steak, pork, chicken, chorizo sausage, intestines, blood sausage, goat, and ribs. Needless to say, I ate till the next bite may cause illness. Although Rodizio came highly recommended, I'd say it was way overpriced, at about $20 US per person. The service was great though, and overall it was better meat than in the US. Just not as good as hoped. I'm sure we'll find more tomorrow...A quick cab ride home was time enough for me to learn that I tried to pay with counterfeit $. That's right. BC dishing out the fake 10 Peso bills. Apparently the lovely ladies in the souvinier shop passed me a fake bill after I bought a hat at the game. Nice to know their gift stand has a stack of counterfeit bills for obscenely obvious non-locals. So I guess the hat was actually 40 pesos instead of 30. Just the nice touch I'd hoped for to end off a crazy night. You all would have loved the interaction between me and the cab driver as he told me my 10 peso note was "no bueno," offering no other explanation due to the language barrier. It was a bit tense, and perhaps Terri saved my life by stepping in with real money, as it wasn't till later I figured out I was duped. Time for sleep.

March 11, 2006 Day 16, Patagonia Trip

March 11, 2006 Buenos Aires

Thank God! The Argentian Air 24-hour strike was lifted yesterday, and the pilots/mechanics here in Argentina decided to work one more week before they go for the big strike. The last one lasted 15 days, and the reason they're striking is the management decided NOT to pay them 5 million of the 16 million pesos promised. That's about $1.75 million, US. So although our flight was delayed 2 hours, our 4 hour flight back to Buenos Aires went as planned. Interesting enough, we saw Stacy in the airport--the 18 year-old initial member of our group who had a ¨family emergency.¨ Ten days ago, she left 10 minutes after meeting us, and she unsuccessfully attempted to recover her trip costs. Turns out she lied about the whole thing, including attempting to get Roberto (group leader) in trouble over the ordeal. Drama, drama, drama. She must've been really embarassed when our entire group spotted her and Roberto confronted her in the airport. Yes, drama!We arrived back at Hotel Splendid. I could think of a few other adjectives other than ¨splendid¨ for this place. How about: stinky, cramped, tiny, dusty, or puny. Once Terri and I dropped our behemoth backpacks on the 3 square feet of open room, we pretty much have to hop on clothes and shoes to reach the bathroom. And this is coming from a guy who's perfectly happy in a 600 sq. foot studio in downtown Seattle... We had little time to shower, as we hit up the store for some empanadas, as well as some shaving cream/razors for myself. Today was the happiest I've seen Terri in many days--I shaved the Grizzly Adams beard. The lumberjack look just isn't very accomodating to the fashion world of Buenos Aires. Of course, I'd hate to look out of place. As if my 60 pound backpack, glacier terrain clothing, and camera strapped around my neck aren't enough...Tonight we said our good-byes to some of the group. The rest of us headed to Complejo Tango, providing tango lessons, dinner, and a 2 hour show. It was pretty fun. The tango is a 7 step dance that wasn't terribly difficult to learn. However, to learn the steps, lead a partner, and dance in time to the music.... That ain't happening. It was fun regardless, and the pictures are indeed hilarious. The dinner was good, as we're back to being strictly carnivores (STEAK!!!!!!!) the rest of the trip. The show also provided 1 bottle of wine per person, so by the end of the night, all was good. Time to hit the sack and enjoy the last few days of sunshine.

March 10, 2006 Day 15, Patagonia Trip

March 10, 2006 Ushuaia, Argentina

Good news. Today we learned at 6:00 that the airline strike is over. Although we'll certainly be delayed, we will indeed make it to B.A. without difficulty. Fingers crossed... Even a 1 day strike has completely crippled some people's vacations. Many were to leave today on the last boat of the season to Antarctica. Apparently there are 100 people who did not make it. Some did make it, but not their bags. Can you imagine flying all the way to B.A., only to not make your boat because you the connecting flight is dead?Today we woke up in a new room at the hostel, but nothing different. The bugs again paid us a visit, this time dining on both Terri and myself. Not fun.However, the rest of the day was fantastic. Today was quite sunny, hitting the low 60's for a high with a nice breeze that picked up in the afternoon. I'll give you one guess what breakfast was. Good job--bread and juice. The croissants they give us have a sticky honey cooked into the top, so they're actually quite good.At 10:00, we headed out to the ranch for some horseback riding. Of course, Terri thinks it's hilarious that I got the ugliest horse on the ranch. It looked more like a cross between a donkey and a sheep, but got the job done. The trail ride couldn't have been better. We rode up into the nearby mountains, offering views of the bay, islands, and mountain ranges. It was actually spectacular, as the sun was peeking through the clouds all day. The ride was 2 hours long, which is actually perfect for me. We even got some beach galloping in, as well as crossing a river and settling back into the ranch in the early afternoon. Terri then went into the town to shop, and I headed to the obvious activity. GOLFING. Yesterday I spotted a course, and the urge to play in the southern-most course in the world was just too much. To rent clubs, play 18 holes (9 hole course twice), buy 3 balls, as well as tees, it ran me about $60. For the quality of the course, I'd say I got ripped off. Especially since the locals only have to play $16 for a round. But throw in the views of the mountain peaks jutting straight up, a beautiful day, the wild horses running around the fringes--- it was a wonderful day for any price. This is the first chance I've had to just do my own thing and relax on this trip. Nearly every minute of every day has been planned to this point by GAP Adventures. Today was our first free day since Buenos Aires, 2 weeks ago. Not that I don't enjoy Terri's company (or the the rest of our group), but to ramble around a golf course in a spot like this will definitely be remembered.Dinner tonight was back at the Crab Shack we ate at 2 night ago. Tonight we had dinner with the whole group, and I had a Parmegian King Crab Dish (Yum). Terri had the spicy crab, and has now decided this crab doesn't meet her expectations. Dungeness all the way for her. To me, it pretty much tastes all the same. But for the next 3 days, BRING ON THE STEAKS!!!Time again to get to bed. We have a date with the bugs. We don't want to keep them waiting, as they can get very upset with us...

March 9, 2006 Day 14, Patagonia Trip

March 9, 2006

Weather: It's COLD here! I'd say upper 40's or low 50's for a high, and it is summertime. The weather is cloudy as well, but at least no rain yet. A warm jacket, hat, and gloves will be required for anything outside.Sleeping Guests: Apparently Terri has made friends with the local bedbug population. She had about 6 fresh new bites on her arms and legs. About half our group has experienced evening interludes with these unwelcomed guests. Although the accomodations we've encountered have no-doubt been modest, I would say only one place we've stayed at has been seriously "below par." But waking up with new bites is never comforting. Roberto (tour leader) has agreed to switch rooms with us, as our window is right next to the noisy road as well. Otherwise, our place is GREAT!Breakfast: Yup, you've guessed it. An assortment of hot teas, coffees, and other unidentifiable liquid options that I want no part of. And the other constant--bread. I have eaten more bread in the last 2 weeks than in the prior year combined I think.Today's morning adventure was actually a pleasant suprise. We did a boat tour of the Beagle Channel, which is the harbor and island-filled waters surrounding the southern tip of the continent. The terrain is mountainous all around us, with distant glaciers visible and waters FILLED with wildlife. Before even exiting the harbor, we saw albatross, playing seals and penguins (TOGETHER), and a surprising humpback whale. We followed the whale for about 15 minutes, as our moronic tourboat captain obviously has ZERO clue about how you might want to treat the gliding undersea beast. We were on a much smaller boat than most, hosting about 20 passengers. By US standards, we got VERY close to the whale. Not that I'm some raging PETA follower, but I must say I got pretty upset at the proximity we encountered the whale. At every opportunity, our boat pretty much puttered right over the top of the whale, forcing it to flash his massive tail and dive down deep. Of course, when the whale came up minutes later, it was full speed ahead, straight at the whale until we went right over it again (with motor running). This happened over and over. I know there must be regulations, but my complaints fell on deaf ears today. Despite this, the tour was a smashing success. Paul, our British birding enthusiast, gave me an education on the birds of South America and all the rare things we were observing. We visited a few islands to observe the birds, with the final island offering a hike to the top of a hill to catch a panoramic view of the mountains and water. It was very nice. After a quick bite in a cafe with Richa and Eddie, we were suckered into the biggest joke of all time. The Mother of ALL tourist traps. We all heard and read of the supposedly nice train ride through the Tierra del Fuego National Park. How nice this could be, to just catch some views in the mountains and enjoy a lazy afternoon? A $3 cab ride brought us to the entrance, and the sign should've been our first hint. The "Sponsored by VISA" portion of the sign was literally bigger than the name of the train ride. Not joking. We paid for our tickets, which came to $25 US. This is one of the costliest things we've come across in all of Argentina. Our 5 hour boatride (covered by GAP), for example, would have been only $30. So this train should be pretty nice.So the one thing I'll put in the trains favor was that it was an actual steam engine on a small gauge track. It was what I'd imagine a tour in Europe to be like, with spectacular mountain vistas even seen in the taxi ride to this place.HOWEVER...... It was the biggest hoax of all time. If you could imagine the crappiest ride in the worst amusement park you've ever been to, this was about it. I could literally run as fast as this train went (even after a 20 ounce steak and king crab). The train only went about 4 miles, and it stopped twice for 20 minutes each (constituting most of the 1 hour travel time, each way). The stops were at man-made spots to look at crappy waterfalls and exhibits they had set up. In addition, we were "supposedly" in inaccessible areas of the National Park. That must've been news to the tourists who travelled there in their cars to take PICTURES OF US in the train going at Mach .0000000001 Speeds. To top it all off, the tour operator went into great detail on the microphone to explain to us how the prisoners in the early 1900's had to cut down all the trees surrounding the tracks. So what was our view? You guessed it. Tree stumps. Not just a few. Thousands. I'll get over it hopefully soon, but I swear the taxi ride to the train offered better views than the train itself. You could see the looks on the faces of the people getting off. This place is a roundup for suckers from out of country---and today we got took. At $25 US a pop, this place is a gold mine. Eddie and I argued whether it was even worth $5 US. I thought maybe it could be. He is even more bitter than me, and I think he will make it his personal mission to educate all of Australia on this possible mishap. Lesson learned.Upon returning, we received some stressful news. Being at the literal End of the Earth, what could be the worst thing to happen? Perhaps getting stuck here? Yup, that's what might be happening. Argentina Airlines has decided to go on a 24 hour strike. We are supossed to fly out in 2 days. We're a 4 day busride to Buenos Aires, where we fly out next Tues. I'm thinkng this might be a problem! Anyway, this could all be resolved tomorrow, or it could be the worst ending to this trip possible. We'll see. But ARG Airlines is the only way to fly from Ushuaia. If not, it may involve a 12 hour busride back to Puerto Natales, a flight to Santiago, Chile, and a subsequent flight from there to B.A. At the FASTEST, that could take 2 days. Houston, we may have a problem! More details to follow. Work will love this one...Dinner tonight was much better King Crab. Dripping in butter, it was cooked with garlic and parsley and was awesome. Even the connesiour, Terri, offered compliments. Time for some sleep. Buenas noches...

March 8, 2006, Patagonia Trip, Day 13

March 8, 2006

Today we woke up in Puerto Natales, Chile. We said our sad good-byes to our Sanford n' Son Suite, off for another adventure. Today's trek started with carrying our bags about 4 blocks to the train station. To combat destruction to our backpacks, Terri and I bought gigantic duffle bags to house the packs. This makes things pretty darn difficult when carrying 60+ pounds around, but we made it OK. Arriving on time for the 8AM bus, we were again happy to see that our seats were rather comfy on a legitimate bus, as today's journey was scheduled southward for 12 hours. We had both immigration borders to cross, and YES, the Chilean border again had the soap opera on the TV--although this time at least the guards looked at us. Let's hope our border control is a bit more alert... Anyway, the road was again desolate, windy, and jumped back and forth between actual paved and dusty dirt roads. If you wanted to find a more remote spot on Earth, I challenge you to show me one more so than on these "highway" roads. There was little more to look at than wild sheep, birds, and rolling desert hills. So 11 hours later, we finally arrived to our destination-- Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia has self-proclaimed itself as "The End of the Earth," as demonstrated by the countless T-Shirt shops and promotional materials scattered about. It reminds me a lot of the villages of Seward or Homer in Alaska, as it's a port town on the VERY southern tip of South America. Mountains, islands, glaciers, king crab, and a great outdoor scene are what makes this town famous. Upon initial view, it has a bit of a touristy feel to it, as it's the official launching point for the large boats to Antarctica. However, I think there must be a good reason for so many people to find their way down here, so we'll see.We checked into our new hostel, La Mustapic, a fairly decent place thankfully with private rooms for us. It has the largest bathroom we've seen for the entire trip, so it can't be that bad, can it? A quick stroll through downtown found some window shopping and then Terri's delight--King Crab!! This stuff looks perhaps a bit smaller than Alaskan Crab, but the legs are thicker and the crab itself looks a bit more spiny. The prices are a bit steeper here (by ARG standards), as this town is so remote. Still not bad though. Fifty bucks (US) bought us 2 crab dinners, 2 sides, a bottle of local wine, and 2 desserts. I was pleased with dinner, but Terri thinks we can do better. She's the expert, so we'll keep on plugging away. The crab is definitely fresh though, and there are some fun things to look forward to in this area. And Thank God we're done with that 11 hour busride!!!A few notes about this trip in general... So far I have found two ways in which, if you choose, you could completely REVOLUTIONIZE Argentina.1. Come down here and offer services as a grafitti removal operator. If you've got the equipment and know-how, there isn't one building I've found that does not need a good scrubbing. Also in Chile, there isn't a storefront that is not void of Spanish nonsense, Nazi symols, or anti-Bush slogans. It's quite out of control. Even decent looking homes have grafitti all over them. The really nice homes will have 10 foot high metal fencing around them to protect them.2. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, does anyone around here know a good locksmith?! How about someone who actually has a key and lock that is functional? Hotel rooms don't follow the US format of "put the key in the hole in an obvious manner, turn, and unlatch the door." No, that'd be too easy. Here, they are still back in the ice-age in locksmith technology. They have these old "grandfather clock" looking keys that are symmetrical and you can't tell up from down, right from left. The keyhole is just a wide-open hole, and upon attempt to enter your domain, it it takes the delicate touch of a surgeon to actually approximate the key to the necessary contact points of the lock. I'm not kidding, it can take upwards of 10-20 tries before one of us will luck out and actually get the ?&"%$"% thing to work. So if you're looking for a life change and have the necessary skills, I've laid out your big shot at MILLIONS. These Argentinians have no idea what kinds of advances are waiting for them!

March 7, 2006 Patagonia Trip, Day 12

Punta Arenas, Chile March 7, 2006

Today we woke up in a much warmer, dryer, windless private room in Puerto Natales. It was really nice. After another quick breakfast of bread and juice, we again hopped on board a bus and headed to Punta Arenas, also in Chile. A 3 hour busride allowed us to arrive sometime after noon, and this town was much more complimentary to the country of Chile. It's a bit more cosmopolitan and is what I imagined Chile to be. Although the store fronts look nice and there seems to be reasonable shopping here, the roofs are still made of corrogated tin and things still seem to be below standards we expect back in the ol' US of A. Suprisingly, prices are still much steeper than Argentina. A quick lunch with Roberto found a cheeseburger and Fanta for about $5 US. Terri was not feeling well with a migraine, so I cruised over to the grocery store and did some shopping for us. It took me about 45 minutes to locate peanut butter and jelly, as the MANY private duty cops and store managers watched me like a hawk with my backpack on. Apparently thievery is a big problem here. Or perhaps they saw me stuffing all that ice-cream in my pockets.At 4:30, we all met at the travel agency for Terri's highlight of the trip--Las Penguinas!!! We drove 1.5 hours down a dirt road to reach the Otway Penguin Colony, which during peak season is home to 60,000+ Maggellan Penguins. They were pretty darn cool. Although their numbers were significantly decreased (we saw several hundred), it was quite an experience to view penguins in their natural habitat. The babies had nearly grown and lost all their new feathers, and many have already let. They have to drop all their baby feathers before heading to the Faulkland Islands for the winter, as they would freeze otherwise. These penguins were about 2 feet tall, and we could view them on the beach as well as inland in the holes they use to burrow as homes. Many of them were doing their crazy mating calls and were really loud at points. In addition, today offered great views of other wildlife, as we were truly out in the wilderness. We saw a wild yellow-eyed owl hunting (I think I got a great photo of this guy), wild coyotes, rheas (like an ostrich), pink flamingos, and caracaras (like eagles). Overall, it was an incredible experience. Quite unique, and I'm glad Terri improved enough to be able to see it. I think the frequent mentioning of this excursion was how I finally convinced her to do this trip!The hostel in Punta Arenas is noteworthy in itself. If you could transport yourself to the early 70's, this is the decor of this place. Although it is REALLY old, it has a kind of character to it that is welcoming. Call me crazy, but things could be worse. The temp. continues to be cold, as we are now even further south. Thankfully, the sun was out for part of the afternoon and it was comfortable with just a thin coat on. But for summertime in South America, I'd still call it colder than expected--no more than 50 degrees for a high.Dinner was initially fun, then an experience I won't soon forget. La Luna was the place, specializing in Italian food. It was a cleverly designed restaurant with good woodwork and even a fully set table upside-down on the 2nd floor ceiling. Roberto, Terri, myself, Herbert, and Ted were at our table. After an initial round of pisco sours, Terri had the filet and myself, the spaghetti. Terri's steak was no doubt completely BATHED in a marinade comprising of nothing more than a giant bowl of SALT. It was pretty bad. After the initial shock, it was at least edible. I had dug into my spaghetti and meat for a couple of minutes, when out of the corner of my eye something seemed awry. There seemed to be perhaps a bit more motion than I had expected coming from my dish. Perhaps something moving within the noodles on its own. Was it the pisco sour playing tricks with my mind? Ummm, negative. How about a nice 3/4 inch sauce-covered cockroach making a mad dash from my bowl of noodles and meat. CHECK PLEASE!!!! I didn't make a giant deal of it, but my dining experience terminated immediately. They gave me a pisco sour on the house, and that was good enough. I think I am ready for soom Argetine food. It's much better, free of bugs so far, and less than half the price... Time for bed and a long busride tomorrow. Hasta! La Cucaracha Out!

March 6, 2006 Patagonia Trip, Day 11

March 6, 2006

Not only did it rain tonight, it rained HARDER. And it was very windy all night. Notice I haven't mentioned anything about hot showers. They actually have showers in the park, but it's now very cold outside. I can't imagine getting out of my clothes for more than the time it takes to change underwear. So not one of our group has bathed, to my knowledge, and it won't be till tonight that this will occur (3 days off from feeling clean). Looking at my watch at 7:10 AM, I had to take a quick bathroom visit. It was probably in the upper 30's this AM, but when I looked outside the tent, I had to do a doubletake to comprehend what I was looking at. With our tent set up near a giant glacial lake, the mountains "were out" this AM. Despite the intense wind and misty rain, the most amazing sunrise I've ever laid eyes on was outside waiting for us. I yelled for Terri to wake up, which she begrudgingly did. The sky was fiery red in some places, purple in others, and a shade of rose behind us. Terri freaked out too. Running like a drunkman through the field to the shores of the lake, I squeezed off a few great shots. I will share upon return. So I turn around, and here comes Terri, also running wildly through the field to get to the spot. Her jacket was half-on, her shoes not even tied, and she couldn't see because of the wind and debris flying around. Pretty funny. We're still laughing about how ridiculous we both must've looked, but let me tell you, it was the rarest of displays. Despite this great start to the day, we had our (again) yummy breakfast in the driving rain an hour later. The mountains left us, although I was glad to have the chance to see them earlier. This park is truly magic, even if getting to see a portion of it. Being an outdoor enthusiast, there are a few spots I've been to that just drop your jaw. Alaska is one. Yosemite, for me, is another. This place clearly is among them, if not above. It's unfortunate for the weather, but what can you do? So after saying good-bye and tipping the staff, today's hike left at 9:30 for the Grey Glacier. This trail is famous for the wind, climbing up a steep hill for an hour and entering the wind canyon. It rained the entire time, although it was on-and-off and not the driving rain we had yesterday. The following is not at all an exaggeration. The Wind Canyon, in a storm, was one of the most intense displays of nature I've ever been a part of. It got from windy, to really windy to "knock you down" windy the further we went. At one point we had gusts well above 80 miles an hour. Most likely, some eclipsed 100 mph. I'm not joking. I was blown over once, as was Terri. I've been in a tropical storm in Florida, and that was nothing compared to this. We hiked the entire 7.5 miles INTO this wind. At some points, I was walking forward, but the wind would knock your step to about 1 inch length instead of 2-3 feet. You actually had to KICK your legs forward. The wind canyon only lasted about 1-2 miles though, so it was an amazing experience. Coupled with the wind, a condor also flew overhead for a major portion of the hike. Most of the time it glided all over, but at it's closest it was 50 feet overhead and we could see detail, the whites of it's tail and chest, as well as it's enormous 12 foot wingspan. Yes, it's bigger than the American Bald Eagle. By a lot. Paul, our British Bird Enthusiast, describes it as a large dog with a 12 foot door to fly with, as it's wings are rectangular. Crazy.Once arriving to the Grey Glacier, I'd about had enough. Terri and I stayed for about 1 minute. Literally. The weather was really nasty and we'd hiked for over 4 hours into the wind. It was a much shorter hike back (about 3 hours), as the wind now pushed us down the trail. It was a lot of climbing and dropping down into valleys and canyons, so after all the other hiking, this one took its toll. Today's distance was 15 miles in about 8 hours, now totalling 60 miles hiked in the last 6 days. Time for a break.We waited an hour in the lodge of our ferry to arrive. A thirty minute ride brought us to the awaiting van, with another 2.5 hour busride back to the hotel. It was now 10PM, and still no dinner after hiking 15 miles. The battle of "food vs. shower" was a tough one to decipher, but food won out. We headed right back to Don Jorge's, and a 25 ounce Argentinian steak found it's way to my setting. Of course, it was brilliant. We all ordered steak, and the table got REAL QUIET once it arrived. Anyway, after 4 days, the much needed shower did occur, and again, sleep arrived seconds within hitting the pillow. Good night!

March 5, 2006 Day 10, Patagonia Trip

March 5, 2006

We woke up early today to prep for our second day in the park. Today's hike is supposed to be a beast. The cooks again put together a ridiculous assortment for being in the middle of nowhere. Scrambled eggs with bacon mixed in, fruit, cereal, cheese, toast, and an array of hot drinks. No, no pisco sours for brekkie...I should state how bad the weather was last night. They had us put in North Face tents, and Thank God they were nice. It was extremely windy and poured down rain all night. Not a drop got in though... After breakfast, we grabbed our backpacks and hopped in the bus for a 2 1/2 hour busride to the ferry. We boarded the ferry around 11:30, for a 30 minute ride to the heart of the park. The scenery here is amazing. The lake is as blue as any water you've seen in Hawaii or the Caribbean--again, due to the glacial silt supsended in the water and the lights reflection beaming off the brilliant color. It was still raining, and is now much colder than yesterday. Probably low to mid 40's. Uh, not exactly what we were expecting. Today's destination was the French Valley, a monstrous 20 mile hike through beautiful mountain peaks and scenery. We could see a little of this with the occasional cloud clearing, as today's view was "The Horns," twisting peaks that spiral into the sky at odd angles and defying gravity. However, upon departing for this hike, we entered a driving rainstorm and strong winds. Terri and I both were prepared with raingear for our whole body. But it was still pretty unpleasant. Only part of the group went on this hike, and it was pretty miserable. Very disappointing, as Jose (guide) says this hike offers the best views in all of Chile. Two miles in, it was just too nasty, cold, wet, and windy. We all give in to the elements, stopping after 4 miles. There was very little to see, although we did catch a clouded view of The Horns at the very end. So we're up to 45 miles hiked so far, and the pads of our feet our a bit sore. Terri is pretty much wrapping hers in duct tape every morning. It helps fight off the blisters, and is quite effective. She's turning herself into quite the little Mountain-Girl! The service of our camp-help knows no boundaries. Not only had they set up our tents, but I found them drying our air mattresses by hand over the cooking stove. These guys will have earned a very nice tip when we leave. Terri and I took a much needed nap in the afternoon, and dinner again was perfect. We had salmon, fresh guacamole, mashed taters, veggies, and pineapple for dessert. Of course, this was after the identical snack setup with wine, cheese, crackers, fruit, chocolate, and pisco sours. We went to bed early tonight, probably around 10. Terri and I are both very tired, and also tired of finding all these little earwig bugs in the tent. They look like little scorpions, and we kept finding them everywhere. Terri says they're called earwigs because they like to crawl in your ears. I am still disputing this, but if it were to happen, uhhhmmmm, there's going to be a problem. And it won't turn out pleasant for the earwig.

March 4, 2006 Day 9, Patagonia Trip

March 4, 2006

Anxious for the the big hiking adventure, I'll just say it right now: RAIN! That, painfully, pretty much describes the next 3 days. But I'll continue with the more detailed and entertaining story. We started off with a 3 hour busride to Torres del Paine National Park, one of the world's most famous hiking circuits and a destination for travelers from all around. It rained the whole way there, although not too badly. Upon arrival, we had time to stretch our legs and grab a quick snack, and we were on the trail by noon. With Jose as our guide for the next 3 days, he quickly led us up a steep hill for about 2 hours. At the top we had lunch and grabbed shelter in a refugio which was warm and DRY. The temp. today was probably in the upper 40's, but with the wind and rain, it felt pretty cold. However, keeping a good clip on the trail, temp. wasn't a problem--only when we stopped. The sweat inside your clothing gets cold, and before you know it--you're freezing. After lunch, we meandered up the trail along a raging glacial river, which was actually quite scenic. The last portion was to take us to view "The Towers," a famous granite rock structure that many of us paid big $ to see. The result--clouds, clouds, and clouds. Of course, there are no guarantees, but due to an even harder rain, Jose wisely didn't allow us to do the final 2 miles of the hike. It's up a glacial morraine, which would basically require us to climb up large boulders for about an hour in the rain. No trail. Just climbing wet boulders with no chance of seeing anything. So we turned back and called it quits. Despite this, the scenery was fantastic, as we entered and exited forest after forest, crossing the river probably 10 times over rock jumping or log bridges layed across the river. We returned around 8 PM after eight hours of hiking, covering 12 of the 14 miles we'd planned on. Not bad, upping our total for the trip to 41 miles hiked. Terri and I both did pretty well on the trail today, finally getting our hiking legs in gear.Upon returning to camp, we learned we actually had a great setup. Our travel company subcontracted this portion of the trip to Antares, a local Chilean company that provides trips to the park. Upon arrival, all of our 2-person tents were set up. A cook and assistant were slaving away in the cook-tent. And in a gigantic dome tent capable of accomadating 15 guests, we had a spread of snacks, soda, wine, and beer ready for us at the end of the trail. PERFECT! We set up our tents after filling up, and then it was time for dinner. This group had EVERYTHING, including my newfound love, Pisco Sours! Terri took great delight in the fact that I was reserved to sitting at the end of the picnic table on a cooler, as we ran out of seating space. Because of this, my chest was at table-height and I could pretty much eat the entire dinner just by leaning my head forward (No Mom, I didn't do that!). But the group renamed me tonight, and now I shall go by "Little Brian," since it was like sitting at the Little Kiddies table at Thanksgiving... Anyway, dinner was REALLY good--chicken with a hot chili, some kind of Chilean tamale served in a leaf, hot homemade soup, and pudding for dessert. I have no idea how 2 cooks came up with this kind of meal for 15 people, but it was far better than the Dinty Moore Beef Stew that is the pinnacle of my camping cuisine. Sleep tonight took about 10 seconds after lying down.

Feb 3, 2006 Day 8, Patagonia Trip

March 3, 2006 El Calafate to Purto Natales

Today we woke up in the much nicer hostel in El Calafate. After a quick breakfast of (again) burnt bread and water, we boarded a nicer bus and headed out to Puerto Natales. Today's busride through the desert was again very scenic, but long. It totaled about 5.5 hours to Puerto Natales, but we had to stop at both the Argentinian and Chilean borders for immigration. The Argentine exit-border patrol were quick and painless, although with a bus of about 50 people, takes about 30 minutes. Four miles down the road we got our first ¨taste of Chile.¨ Due to high winds whipping through the dessert, we all piled into the patrol shack. It took these guys forever. I'm not sure why, as their secret detective was doing a most remarkable job with the baggage inspection. It was pure comedy. First of all, they were supposed to X-Ray and randomly inspect all luggage on the bus. For about 50 people, this is a considerable amount. Not only did they not even open the luggage bins for the bus, they didn't even board the bus. So if you were bringing contraband, it wouldn't take a brain surgeon to simply realize to leave it on your seat. So back to Sherlock, the great baggage inspector... He had a Chilean Soap Opera on the TV literally inches behind him. As he zipped open 1 of the 4 zippers on my backpack, he didn't even look away from the TV, as he briefly put his hand in the bag and then let me go. During Eddie's baggage check, the inspector was turning up the volume because he was annoyed with all the noise. The guy couldn't have been more uninterested in the security of his country. Kinda scary. By the way, we saw some really great scenery on the drive today. Although it's technically desert, it reminds me of travelling through the Southwest US. There's plenty of mountains and water to look at, but the mountains are more jagged with peaks vaulting into the sky. In addition, our group member Paul is a bird enthusiast and has been educating Terri and I on the sights along the way. We saw plenty of buzzard eagles, condors, caracaras, and pink flamingos along the way. No, not plastic flamingos! The real deal. Pretty cool.So another hour of driving has brought us to the small town of Puerto Natales. Given the remote location of the area, I will have to reserve judgment on Chile later. But this town reminds me a lot of some bad places in Mexico. From what I see now, it's pretty dirty and the people seem poorer than in Argentina. We've only done a quick run-through, but the hostel is at least nice and we do have a private room. It's still quite windy, with the temp. probably around 60. I'm feeling even sicker today, and it's been a pretty rough-go the last 24 hours. Due to arriving late from the busride and the long busride today, it's been more than a full day since our least real meal. I devoured a huge burger and salad for lunch, and Terri, some pasta. We'll eat again soon before heading off to the National Park tomorrow (Torres del Paine).The next 3 days we'll be camping in the mountains. The hiking is reported to be treachorous and much more difficult than what we've done. We've been briefed that the hikes will measure 15+ miles per day, with some difficult terrain. They're world-famous and a destination in itself. I'm sure I'll make it fine though, as these next hikes are the primary reason I signed myself up for this. It'll take a lot more than this nasty sinus thing to keep me down... Terri is excited for the hiking too. I'll write again March 6 or 7.UPDATE: After collecting ourselves and settling in a few of us headed out to Don Jorges Restaurant. They had a skinned lamb hoisted up over a wood fire there, as lamb is the specialty of the region. Although prices here were consistent for American food (a little cheaper for the quality), the meal was remarkable. I had the lamb (huge chunks of different cuts), and Terri, an Argentine Bife de Chorizo (huge cut of sirloin steak). Being in Chile, of course they had fresh chili salsa that they served with the bread, and we were introduced to the local drink--Pisco Sours. It's made with brandy, egg white, limes, and sugar. It's quite strong and is sipped in a glass just larger than a shot glass. YUM! We also knocked out 2 bottles of the local Chilean wine, also quite tasty. I'll be looking for it more often when I return. Also of interest was the friendly grillmaster, dressed in traditional Chilean gaucho attire. During the day, he was happy to let us photograph the parilla (meat, grill, and lamb cooking). After cooking all our meat, he came out with his guitar, stood in the middle of the loud restaurant with no microphone, and belted out several tunes with his guitar and flamenco style fingering. Very impressive. Anyway, we left the restaurant more than happy, and although I've not had lamb that good anywhere, I have to admit that Terri's steak was probably even better.

March 2, 2006 Day 7, Patagonia Trip

March 2, 2006 El Chalten, Argentina

I awoke this morning feeling even more sick. I cannot explain how I feel about the smoke in this hostel, as a true reflection would require verbage elevating this blog far above a PG Rating. So I got up early and headed down for breakfast. Eddie and I hung out around 7:30, as they already had the music blaring in this House of Satan. Guess what today's early morning music selection was? Yep, you got it. The extended remix, 15 minute version of ¨I Want Your Sex¨ by George Michael. Grrrrrreat... There's no better way to start your day than this, let me tell you. Do I forsee that song making it to my Ipod upon return to Seattle? I'm thinking not, as this wonderful brekkie of burnt toast and Tang will be one I hopefully forget soon. In addition, Richa and Mufte came to breakfast with reports of hives from the bedbugs. I guess I should be thankful I only got a nasty cold from this place... Aunt Diane has asked about the weather. In Buenos Aires, it was pretty much perfect. It was about 80 degrees during the day, and cool enough at night to have dinner outside. Here in the mountains, it's much cooler. I'd say without wind, it's in the upper 50's or lower 60's. But once hiking, the temp. doesn't matter. We wore pants and a long sleeve shirt, and we were actually sweating due to the difficulty. In the evening, it probably hits the low 40's. HOWEVER, today the wind was unreal. It came whipping down the valley, revealing to us why Patagonia is so famous for it's unpredictable and harsh weather. They say here there is no such thing as bad weather--there's only bad preparation.... They also say to expect 4 seasons in the same day. It could be hot in the AM, snowing in the afternoon. Against all logic, the wind actually slowed down once we got into the mountains a bit. But again, at the top, the gusts were topping 60 mph, I'm sure. Both Terri and I were nearly blown over several times.After some last-minute scrambling, we met our guide Santiago for the hike into the mountains. Today's scamper into hills targeted Lagunda Torres, which did not disappoint. As I mentioned, the start of this hike quickly climbed into the mountains and through forests. Today's 12-mile hike was slightly shorter than yesterday (15). The views were slightly less spectacular, as the towering peaks were obstructed by the low-flying clouds. Regardless, the scenery was excellent. Alaska is the only other place I've seen that is similar. You can find yourself in spots that are absolutely magic in all directions. No airplanes overhead... The nearest real town is literally hundreds of miles away... Cell phones? Forget about it... Telephone or electric lines? Nowhere to be found... Anyway, we hiked up to a lake with a huge glacier meandering its way into it, but it was too windy to spend much time there. So we hiked back into the forest and had lunch next to the glacially-fed river. The hike back was relaxing and uneventful, and now we've gone 27 miles in 2 days. Time for a break!After waiting 2 hours for our bus back to El Calafate, we boarded on the smaller of two buses and made our way back down the dirt roads for 4 1/2 hours. Yet another great musical moment of the trip was heard by all on this bus. Imagine bouncing through the desert at ¨turtle-like¨ speeds in a bus with no shocks. Imagine now that after the initial burst of air conditioning, that fresh feeling lasts 5 seconds and then dies for the next 4.5 hours. In addition, the windows on the bus are sealed shut, and only the driver's window opens. Now imagine 20 stinky hikers who've tramped through the mountains of Patagonia for 10+ hours, and the only spot of refuge is a smoke-infested hostel specializing in bad food and sexual George Michael tunes. Now imagine that on this bus, the driver has no care for the personal comfort of his passengers. Yes, we listened to the musical interpretations for various artists singing nothing but old Phil Collins tunes. Yes, in broken English, and extrapolated so poorly that some songs were barely recognizable. And in case you're wondering, ¨In the Air Tonight¨ has some sweet rap rhyming near the end. How do I know this so well do you ask? Maybe cause we made it through the blaring tape not once but TWICE! It was classic, and so ridiculous we were all in the back laughing...Safely back in El Calafate at 11 PM, it was too late to deal with dinner. We've found that in South America, there's really no such thing as fast service. A typical meal will take an hour and a half at the quickest. I struggled briefly at the internet cafe to update this blog. However, the powerful stereo system the teenage employee had engaged at this place twice blew the electricity on half the computers. You guessed it, I was hit both times. Operating at archaic internet speeds in the first place, I gave up and went to bed. I'm feeling much sicker at this point, by the way. Despite all the sarcasm and weird events of the day, it was still a blast. The hiking was very good, but we're left pretty tired.

March 1, 2006, Day 6 Patagonia Trip

March 1, 2006 El Chalten, Argentina

I awoke around 6:30 this AM to the breakfast noise downstairs and the sweltering smoke. It was really hard to breathe. Lovely. My favorite way to wake up is not because you're no longer tired, but because you literally can't breathe in the room you've paid for. I'm most disappointed that we have one more night in this place.A quick breakfast and last minute preparations had us ready for hiking by 9 AM. Santiago was our guide, and we hit the trail for Fitzroy straight from the hostel. Our group leader, Roberto, informed us this would be a nice warmup hike for the rest of the 4 following hikes we have scheduled. So I thought it wouldn't be too bad. Little did I know, Fitzroy leads us through a winding trail at a decent incline for about 6 miles. The last 1.5 miles, it's at a much more dramatic incline and was quite tough. I was sucking air, bigtime! The views were spectacular.Fitzroy itself is a mountain structure in the Andes that is about 12,000 feet high. Although we climbed to about 5000 feet of elevation, the steepness of the peaks were unlike I've seen in the mountain ranges in North America. The peaks are like granite swords sticking straight into the sky. Imagine a pitchfork upside-down, but made out of solid granite and with attaching glaciers and dramatic vistas. I snapped some great photos today, so I look forward to posting them. I should mention now-- age level has no bearing on trips like this. ANYONE can do it with training. Among our group, the Aussie couple (Richa and Eddie) and ourselves our the only ones in our 30's. The other 2 couples (Brits and Swiss) are well into their 50's and handled themselves quite well on the trail. The hike in total took us 10 hours and totaled 15 miles. The trip down was intense and banged the knees up pretty good. We were all ready to take a break after this one.Terri and I were to the point of starvation upon returning, so we walked straight to town and hit up a recommended restaurant, Esteppia. I'm sure the people inside loved watching us enter with our backbacks on and all grimed out. The decor was really nice, but the music was straight out of some cheesy 70's movie. It was a CD of some Argentinian dude singing U.S. love ballads in poor English. The worst part--the songs were picked from the 70's and 80's and rarely would you even hear the original version fo these tunes. It was pretty funny.Anyway, Terri learned herself a nice little lesson tonight: If you don't understand a word in the food you're ordering, it might be best to NOT ORDER IT. Lasagna Aubergine, we now know, is actually Eggplant Lasagna. I'll vouch for her--it was disgusting. It looked like a brick on a platter, as it was the single largest piece of lasagna I've seen in my life. The catch---there was no pasta or noodles. Just huge thick pieces of eggplant piled on top of each other with a couple of sliced tomatoes and cheese in between. I ordered a pizza, which contained no sauce, really funky cheese, and undercooked crust. It's a rare day in this world when I encounter a pizza I can't eat. But this one fit the bill. So out of our 80 peso dinner ($25), we did enjoy a couple of sodas, and the empanada appetizers were great. Lesson learned. You win some, you lose some. Due to the remoteness of this area, the prices are definitely creeping up. It's still cheap by American standards in most places, but no longer the 3 for 1 deal we got in Buenos Aires.Walking home from the restauarant, the day has really started to take a toll. The sun has been far more draining than I realized. I'm sunburned, tired, and a little dehydrated. Time to drink up and get some sleep. We have another long hike tomorrow.

Feb. 28, 2006 Day 5, Patagonia Trip

Feb. 28, 2006 El Calafate, Argentina

Luckily, misfortune has not affected Terri or myself on this trip. The couple from Switzerland has been unable to join us due to one of them having an obstructed esphagus. Not a good thing! They've spent the last 2 days 150 miles from us at the closest hospital. In addition, we met Stacy from Calgary prior to dinner last night. This AM we learned she had a family emergency and will not be joining. So our group of 10 is down to 7 for the time-being.Today we woke up early and packed our bags. We grabbed a couple of those tasty sweet croissants, and a private tour bus whisked us off to Los Glaciares Parques Nacionales (Glacier National Park). Our guide, Frederico, was filled with knowledge and provided great details on the 90 minute drive into the park. Unlike the rest of our group, I've seen some glaciers in Alaska, Canada, Montana, and throughout WA State. It would take something big to impress me. And Wow, does this glacier do it. It's absolutely massive. The front face of it is 3 miles long and 200 feet high. Frederico said it also goes back about 200 km, back into Chile, which then merges into another glacier. That's one big chunk of ice. We boarded a boat cruise to garner a closer view, which was FREEZING cold and fun. I snapped about 150 photos today, so I'll need to thin them out a bit later. The other amazing thing with glaciers of this magnitude, is calving, or the process of them breaking apart and falling into the water. It is unexpected and hard to predict, and due to the size, VERY difficult to photograph. I did manage to steal a few images, so we'll see how they turn out. Regardless, unless you've seen this in person, it's hard to explain how loud it truly is when you watch ¨car to house-sized¨ pieces of ice fall off a 200 foot vertical cliff of ice. The only thing I could say is to imagine 100 shotguns going off at once. On one occasion I actually felt the pressure against my chest when the sound hit me. Not kidding.After a quick snack, we headed to the north side of the glacier for some hiking. It was nice to escape the crowds, as this is THE destination for this area. The other interesting aspect of this glacier is that it repeats a very unique process over the years. This glacier actually advances forward about 10 feet per day, and it blocks off the HUGE and BLUE Lake Argentina. In doing so, it dams up one side of it, and the water can reportedly rise up to 60 feet on one side. At this point, it can take one to three years before the pressure of the water will create a tunnel in the ice. Once this occurs, there's no stopping it. The water will erode that part of the glacier until there is a total collapse. There has been about 10 recorded events of this in the last 100 years, and our guide had pictures of it from the last one in 2004. It looks like a bomb going off, and reportedly the sound of the ice breaking up could be heard 20 miles away. Amazing. Right now, the ice is dammed and a very small tunnel is starting to form. It's been like this for about a year now, so no luck with the ice explosion for us...We took the bus back to El Calafate (Terri and I slept the whole way). At 6:30 we boarded the public bus (not bad) toward El Chalten. The ride was 4.5 hours, mostly down dirt roads winding through the desert. It was pretty amazing how desolate and barren this area is, as we literally didn't even drive through ANY towns in the nearly 5 hour drive. We arrived at the hostel in time for a quick bite and then bedtime.The hostel here is, to put it bluntly, terrible. It is a 2 story building with a restaurant and common area on the bottom. Terri and I were suprised to learn that we have shared accomodations upstairs with the British couple (Paul and Mufte) and Ted, the Aussie. This is not a major deal, but it was about 90 degrees in our room, the windows are sealed shut, and there is literally no space for 5 people, 3 bunk beds, and all our backpacks. It's crazy. In addition, the whole place smells like an ashtray due to all the smoking allowed INSIDE the hostel. It's not helping that our room is upstairs. This is one major difference between the US and Argentina, as smoking is clearly allowed almost anywhere--restaurants, internet cafes, hostels, shopping malls... I've already witnessed a few classy pregnant ladies smoking, and the only place I've not encountered it is the airplane. I hung out with Eddie till about 1:30 AM while we charged up our camera batteries. Time to hit the sack.

Feb. 27, 2006 Patagonia Day 4

Feb. 27, 2006 Buenos Aires to El Calafate

Waking up early for our flight to ¨south¨ South America, our fearless guide Roberto was the first culprit of the group, ignoring his alarm clock. We all sat in the hotel anxiously this AM wondering if he just took our $ and skipped town! Not a big deal though, since upon arrival, we learned our 9AM plane was ¨broken¨ and was delayed till 2PM. Let me tell you--when an airport official verbalizes to you that your plane is indeed ¨broken,¨ you start to wonder if a 12 hour busride might be the best choice...Terri and I made use of this time, as we've had VERY poor luck finding a place to cash our travelers checks. Lesson learned--at least here, cold hard US cash will buy you a much better rate. Here in Argentina, most places won't even take our trav. checks. The ones who will will hit you with a 10-15% reduction in rate. Citibank was finally the agreeable spot, although the process took 30 minutes and we seemingly went through an FBI background check to simply cash in $300.Now, the part of the trip you knew was inevitable. The McDonald's taste-test. The lure of the Golden Arches, when timed properly even in a city such as Buenos Aires, will pull Teri and myself in. I'm also always tempted to sample the consistency of the food, as my buddy Rob and I have a longstanding debate on the topic. Feel free to chime in with the guestbook where you stand on the issue. To Rob (and everyone else who cares), the cheeseburgers WERE DIFFERENT. Much saltier, with a smaller patty and different cheese. The fries were the same, but perhaps cooked in different oil. What is sad is that this meal is probably the lowest in calories we've had yet! Of course, this is entirely due to volume. Tokyo still holds the record for the best tasting McDee's. And yes Rob, I look forward to more spirited debate. The rest of the early afternoon involved a failed attempt to tour the operahouse (closed today), and a visit to the internet cafe to check up on some things.Upon arrival back to the airport, our plane was pushed back another 30 minutes. Somewhere before takeoff we were informed we will first fly to Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world. What nimrod planned this flight itinerary? We actually flew 3.5 hours south, when a simple 2 hour flight south would have landed us to the destination. So we landed, dropped off passengers, then flew 1.5 hours BACK in the same direction. Literally, this would be the same as flying from NYC to Atlanta, but with a stop-off in Miami. Hopefully the Einsteins planning the flights aren't the same ones flying them.So we finally landed in El Calafate around 9PM--quite a long day. El Calafate appeared absolutely gorgeous, as we watched the sun set around 10 PM. Being in the South Hemisphere in the summer has it's advantages. Living in Seattle, an extra 6 hours of sunshine per day is quite welcomed! Anyway, El Calafate has lots of pure blue lakes, certainly from the glacial silt suspended in the water. We are on the doorsteps of Glacier National Park, as tomorrow we will be visiting the Moreno Glacier. The terrain looks similar to Nevada, as the ground looks like desert in vegetation. The nearby mountains and water make the area somewhat distinct, and I believe it's just a small taste of what the Andes will offer.Our group hit up an Italian Mom & Pop type place for dinner. Very good eats. Terri and I both had ravioli, wrapping up veggies and mashed potatoes while covered in meat sauce. Yum! We all ate well, drank Argentinian wine, and swapped good stories. Our group is collectively very well traveled, so it's been fun learning about everyone and hearing of other adventures. Can't wait for more.

Feb. 26, 2006 Buenos Aires Patagonia Trip Day 3

Feb. 26, 2006The weather today couldn't be more perfect. Blue sky, about 80 degrees, breezy, and a tan (Probably sunburn) is on its way soon. Again Ines has come through for us. She booked us a tour of the city in the largest tour bus I've EVER laid eyes on. It was a double-decker monstrosity, delivering us to all the hotspots of Buenos Aires. High points included Plaza de Mayo and its monument (a smaller version of the Washington Monument), as well as the colorful ¨La Boca¨region and the Presidential Palace. This included the famed balcony where Eva Peron gave her speeches. Or for your Madonna fans, the same balcony they filmed her singing away. And yes, I ATTEMPTED to watch that movie before this trip. I fell asleep 10 minutes into it, about the point where I realized sleep was far more valuable than watching Antonio Banderas attempt to sing. And act, for that matter. Anyway, although tours like this are like a ratrace and freetime is limited, it's a great way to taste a city, and we now know what areas we'll return to when we come back to B.A in March. The tour finally stopped at the Sunday Market in San Telmo, where we finally found a crowded Italian spot for lunch. Terri again inhaled a basket of bread, as she could certainly sustain herself for years on bread and manteca (butter). While I just had some empanadas and salad, Terri hit up the spaghetti--here it is served with red sauce on top, with cream sauce underneath. The calories certainly are out of control, but nearly every bite of every meal make Buenos Aires a travel destination for the food alone.It should be noted that the rest of our trip will be spent with GAP Adventures, a group we booked with based out of Toronto. They lead trips all over the world, and our group to Patagonia will include 10 people and our leader, Roberto from Peru. We met him at the ¨Splendid Hotel,¨ which appears to be a stretch of the naming process. But not too bad. Tonight we met the other members of our travel group. We are quite the mixed bunch. Terri and I are representing the USA. There's an Aussie contingent of 3-strong. There are 2 Brits as well, and we're supposed to meet some others from Canada and Switzerland in El Calafate tomorrow. Appropriately, the international influence of our trip has an Olympic feeling. We've already taken the urine tests, and luckily neither Terri nor myself tested positive for all those anabolic steroids we took a few months back. We need strong lats to carry our 50 pound backpacks. A quick overview of the history and culture of Argentina- Like the US, there was a steady influx of Europeans into Argentina in the early 20th century. It was predominantly from Spain and Italy, as well as a few other European countries. Thus, there is a heavy Euro feel to the city, architecture, and culture. The people look very European, with some sporting perhaps a shade of darker skin. If you could somehow be immediately transported to the center of B.A., I swear your first guess would be that you were in Rome or Madrid. As a result, the people have brought their customs with them, as well as their RECIPES. Prior to our tour briefing, I asked the concierge to book us at the best Italian restaurant in town. Armed with a 10:30 reservation, we made our way to Bice in Puerto Madero. You can probably guess how it was. Of course, great. I hit up some large pasta/cheese/red sauce dish, and Terri went for the fungal risotto (mushrooms are gross). It was a larger scale restaurant, and apparently can be found in a few other cities in the world. This particular one has been in operation since 1926. So far it's the only place we've seen with prices even remotely close to US Standards. I think our ¨full-on¨ meal came to $50 US, including wine and dessert. The tuxed wait-staff were beyond attentive and sweating throughout the entire meal service. Thanks to Terri for treating me! I promised her a Happy Meal on the way to the airport. Of course, I know she's planning on a 20 ounce porterhouse and 2 baskets of bread... Time to pack our packs, as we head South manana.

Feb. 25, 2006 Buenas Aires Day 2 Patagonia Trip

Feb. 25, 2006Finally with a chance to sleep in, Ines picked us up at Noon for a day in Tigres. This is the summerhome area for wealthy Argentinians. It's a spot on the confluence of the Tigres and Pirana Rivers, a delta area that reminds me of Florida or marshy bayou. Upon arrival via car and train, the 3 of us arrived competely starving. Ines suggested a local parilla, which of course means more STEAK! It should be noted, also, that another local dish is provolone cheese that is actually put on the grill and then meshed with olive oil and then some sprinkled basil on top. It is ridiculously tasty, and served in ANY restaurant in the US would be a huge hit. Disregarding our wishes for filet, Ines ordered the table a traditional parilla. It's a gluttonous amount of meat, probably totalling 6-8 pounds. Huge chunks of asado (ribeye), chorizo sausage, sirloin, and then several unidentifiable cuts of meat. They actually serve all of this on your own personal grill with coals underneath, and it's continuing to cook while you dig in. Fear Factor Moment #1 of this trip came right about this time. Ines proceeded to deliver some blood sausage and sausage filled into intestine to our plates. I think either bite was the smallest amount of food possible to put on a fork, but I made it. And yes, I would've lost the prize on Fear Factor. Otherwise, lunch was yummy. And by the way, yes--I've already commited myself to 3 hours of gym-time per day upon arrival. The quantities of food available for next to nothing is overwhelming.While in Tigre, the day was filled with sunshine, a boat cruise, and shopping. The whole area was a little over-the-top as far as touristy stuff, but it was nice. Ines also brought us some Mate, a local drink that is ¨must-have¨ drink of Argentina and Uruguay. It's an actual event to drink Mate, and people will stop their day to circle up and pass it around. The taste is like a sweet tea, and is served hot. People actually carry their little thermos bags around with them all day, as it is that important to them.With just enough time to pick up some local items from the market, we made it back to Buenos Aires to clean up. Dinner tonight is at Cattares, a tapas restaurant and flamenco show. Upon arrival at 10, we were seated about 5 feet from the stage and promptly met a guy at the next table from--you guessed it--Seattle. Weird. Among the other 60-odd people in the cramped room, no other tourists were present. The authentic tapas were great, as was the sangria ($6 a pitcher). The show started after 11, and it was one of the more amazing things I've ever seen. It had a 4-piece band with a flamenco guitarist, bass player, and two singers (one of which sat on and played a wooden box as a drum). This guy was unbelievable. The rhythym and speed he engaged that wooden box is believed only if seen. The guitarist was outstanding, and then the ladies came out. I've not seen true flamenco dancing before, but these chicks strutted about the stage with a THUNDEROUS lower body and an amazingly graceful upper body. It was surreal. The older of the two scowled as she moved about, and at one point she had a look like she was gonna jump on onto our table and kick my a$%. It was about 3 hours of dancing and music while munching on tapas and sipping on sangria. For the money (about $15 each), I felt like I robbed the place. It was the most intense show I've ever seen, bar-none. You'd dare not blink it was so intense, with the crowd hooping, hollering, and clapping the entire time. The owner made several visits to our table to make us feel welcome, and I hope we have a spare night to go back...Walking home at 1 AM, it should be noted what the city looks like. The streets are dark, cobble-stoned in the alleys, and the overall scene is kinda scary. In any big city in the US, you wouldn't be caught in them in dark at all, let alone 1AM. But here, it's totally safe. Tonight was a big Carnivale celebration, and kids and families are out partying without regard for the seemingly scary environment. Even after 1 AM. Even in the flamenco show, we saw several kids below the age of 5 with their parents just hanging out and watching the show. One of them even had a black cowboy hat on, was sipping a whiskey, and smoking a Camel Light. OK, maybe not that far, but they teach em' early here. Buenas noches.

February 24, 2006 Patagonia Trip--Day 1

Feb. 24, 2006 From Rainy Seattle to...... RAINY Buenos AiresIn case you're wondering--Door to door, Seattle to Buenos Aires--20 hours. Other than the "disastrous" malfunctioning coffee pot in First Class, all went well on the plane. I met Terri in the terminal in B.A., as she cashed in United miles and I, a voucher on American.Upon first impression, Buenos Aires is similar to many other cities. It's European in architecture, but for some reason it reminds me of San Juan, Puerto Rico. For starters, it's HUGE. 13 million people. I had no idea. Per the books I've read, it also seems quite beaten down. It appears that B.A. is one of the few cities in the world that had First World status, lost it, and in many parts, remains Third World. About 5 years ago, the country went through economic crisis due to defaulting on many loans. As a result, their peso remains severely damaged, and our US$ will buy 3 pesos each. There are absolutely nice looking people and sights. But the buildings themselves, roads, and infrastructure apparently has not had financial resources for awhile. Getting a cab was quite the experience. It took 20 minutes with our "director," as we were now the angry foreigners with only a touch of Spanish on our tongues. We watched local after local hop into cabs in front of us, which after 19 hours of travelling, can feel a bit unsettling. Unable to speak the language, the threat of finding our own cab was finally enough pull to get us on our way. Our hotel (hostel) is actually built out of an old mansion. It's very old, cool, and quite nice for $20 a night. Not to mention the cable TV perched high up on the wall (15 foot ceilings). Upon just flipping a few channels, I settled comfortably on ¨The Dukes of Hazard,¨ an old-time favorite. It was dubbed into Spanish, and let me tell ya--The Dukes rock in any language.Immediately after checking in, Ines, a business contact of my Dad's, picked us up. The initial plan was to go to a resort area (Tigres) on the river delta, but the weather is actually quite bad. It's fairly cold, windy, and rainy. Not altogether different from a Seattle winter day, and it is supposedly very cold for summer here. I hope this changes, and quickly. So Ines then went to Plan B, "shopping or museums?" After reading about all the interesting shopping and local markets available in the city, we decided to check out the local goods. Ines was really great and interesting to talk to. It was about an hour and a half drive through the busy city, but much to our suprise, we ended up at the equivalent of a US shopping mall. My first thought was, "Uh oh..." but it ended up OK. By this point we were starving, so we ended up at a Steakhouse in the mall. The food was excellent. And yes--a 20 ounce tender piece of prime Argentine beef will run you $7 US. Unreal. The beef here comes from the Pampas region of Argentina, which is their grassy plains and quite similar to our midwest. The beef is supposedly world-class due to being so lean, and I can't at this point argue against that. Outstanding.Ines was great enough to have her secretary make reservations for a tango show tonight and a flamenco show tomorrow. We finally got back to the room in time for a ¨short¨ nap before dinner. Four hours later, I hopped out of bed and we had promptly mised our 9:30 reservation. Great! We recollected and ended up at an AMAZING steakhouse just a few blocks away. I have a favorite place in Seattle (El Gaucho), which will cost you an arm and a leg and actually is REALLY good. This place will give it a run for top spot on my list. Dinner consisted of 4 appetizers (grilled provolone cheese, chorizo sausage, and 2 beef empanadas), several glasses of wine, a 12 ounce filet mignon, potatoes, bread, and a gigantic piece of chocolate mousse cake----$25. Total. That's right. 25 bucks. Ridic. The other cool thing about dining in Argentina is the timing of it all. No one goes out till 9PM. We got to dinner around 10, and left the still full restaurant at 1AM. And people were still quite active. Apparently the clubs don't even get busy till 2 or 3, but we'll leave that for another night. Gotta hit the sack, as Ines has been cool enough to offer us another trip to Tigres tomorrow. Hasta manana!