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.
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