And it´s been a while...

since we last updated-- we´ve been to Carnval in Guayleguachu, back to Buenos Aires, and way down south to Bariloche and El Bolson.

Carnaval in Guayleguachu was a blast. Guayleguachu, reputed to be the center of Argentina´s Carnaval festivities, is a small town on a beautiful river deep in the Pampas. They have a mini-Carnaval celebration every weekend of the summer, which we didn´t quite put together until we were going up there, but we enjoyed ourselves in spite of (perhaps because of) the hordes of Argentinean weekenders that gathered there. We camped out with Claire and Mike, two of Stew´s buddies that happen to be in Argentina, which was a bit crowded in our tent, but we cuddled and made it work AKA Mike slept like a puppy at our feet. The Carnaval parade was like an acid dream. Picture lots of feathers and even more nipple tassles, not to mention body paint -- all aboard african-inspired floats (elephants, bones, temples, ect.). It was out of this world. The scene at our campsite was equally outrageous. Who doesn´t love 24 hour cumbia music at 100 decibels?

From Guayleguachu we went back to Buenos Aires, where we hit up all the tourist attractions we had yet to see (that weren´t closed for restoration in preparation for BA´s 400th anniversary) -- many beautiful albeit mosquito infested parks (we have coined a new term: dengue den....Go to Buenos Aires for the fiesta, but stay for the dengue) ; the tango district of La Boca, where we saw couples tango as we ate a great dinner; and the port of Puerto Madero, which houses a 1903 vessel which once saved Norwegian explorers in Antarctica. The coolest exhibit we saw was in the Musuem of Latin American Modern Art, and charted Andy Warhol¨s career, including all the dark scary little details....as we said, most everything we really were pumped about was closed, but it still was great to explore the touristy aspects of Buenos Aires. We also got to see our friends Zach and Megan, whom we met in Panama, which was great! It´s pretty cool to meet up with someone that you met earlier in the journey.

Thanks so much to Claire for letting us crash at her apartment in Buenos Aires, she is a fanstastic hostess! We had a ton of fun cooking dinner and hanging out with her in Belgrano, one of BA´s hippest neighborhoods. That´s right, we can hip.

From Buenos Aires we headed down South with Mike, whom Stew met while studying abroad in Peru. Our first stop was Bariloche, about a 23 hour bus ride from BA. We sprang for the cama (bed) bus, which meant wine was included! We all slept well :) We arrived in Bariloche just in time to book a room for the night and visit a fantastic chocolate shop. We also saw a totally insane Scandinavian chick swim in the bitter cold -- ie: hailing, snowing, raining, unbearable cold--and then sunbathe. This only confirms our prior beliefs that all Scandinavians are at least a little bit off their rockers.

Bariloche is in the Lake District of Argentina, which is disputably a region of Patagonia. At any rate, it is situated picturesquely on Lake Nahuel Natuapi, in the middle of a national park -- a perfect place for hiking. Our plan for day 2 in Bariloche was to take a bus out to camp ground, then do a day hike up to waterfall. We somehow managed to screw this up: we hiked up a mounain each with 50 pound packs to a refugio on stony plateau at the side of a lake. Even though going straight up hill for 6 hours with WAY TOO MUCH weight on your back is a killer, the view made it totally worth it. Plus, camping at the refugio was free, so we saved money! Yay! Also, we didn´t bring enough food, so we lost some weight. At this point, that day may sound miserable to you all, but it was nonetheless magnificent to us.

Upon returning, we intended to get to El Bolson as quickly as possible. The first stop, however, was lunch. Thus, we ended up missing the bus out of town, but we didn´t care at this point. We re booked our ridiculous (continue reading!) hotel in Bariloche and went looking for bus tickets, wine, and a (closed) chocolate factory. Success on two fronts is still a good day. Later, we went down to the lake to take pictures of the sunset, swing on the playground, drink beer out of plastic bags, and eat delicious venison, trout, and bife de chorizo, which is a cut of steak prepared in a way that makes it very tender.

When we got back with our boxes of wine (sorry, parents...) we sat down and conversed with the owner of the hotel. Tori retired quickly, which turned out to be a good move. The owner quickly drilled Stew and Mike about Minnesota, Scandinavia, The South, and Australia. Only later did we realize these were The Whitest Places in the World, and the guy was in fact a Nazi. As the evening grew later, his Nazi tendencies and our extremely anti racist tendencies became clearer, the night got more awkward, but more wine was consumed, thus creating a general equilibrium. Still, it was hard for us to hold our tongues which was necessary to maintain our increasingly desirable beds. Anyway, go to Bariloche for the views, chocolate and wine. Don´t talk to any locals unless you´re really into the Aryan Nation. (This may be harsh but it reflects our experience)

The next day we bought a bunch of yogurt and bread and ate in the street beside a supermarket. Aren´t we classy? Then we got on a bus to El Bolson. It is known as a hippie town with beautiful hiking in the very near vicinity. Both are true and fantastic. Hippie towns can be obnoxious at times, but this one embodies all of the positive stereotypes of hippies and moreover is located in a valley between two ranges of gorgeous mountains. From town, you can do many hikes, which we took advantage of. We´re camped at a great place called Ni Nada (Nor Nothing) which is an organic farm with camping and a cabin-dorm which we are staying in. It is so cheap, we can afford the dorm and do not have to camp every day.

Our first day we took a hike to El Bosque Tallado or The Carved Forest. While generally underwhelming, the area around it is overwhelming and there are a few sculptures made out of dead trees which are fascinating. On the other hand, how surreal can you get with a dead tree before it just looks like a lumber yard in a hurricane?

The next day, we set out for a three day trek up to Hielo Azul and Lago Natacion (BLue Ice and Swimming Lake). The trek up was hard: 5 hours straight up if you´re Tori and 6 hours if you´re Stew and Mike and get lost and spend a long time running up and down looking for Tori only to realize You´re the one that is lost. Props to Tori for being right and a big WTF to Stew and Mike. Legend has is that they got intentionally lost in order to eat their turkey sammiches early. The lake was gorgeous and there were glacier capped mountains above our refugio (a sort of hostel at the top of the mountain usually spaced about a day apart and complete with campsite, kitchen, expensive food, and beer). If you camp and bring your own food, its the same as a US shelter but nicer.

The next day, we took a hike over to the glacier at Hielo Azul (the refugio there has a very nice bathroom). THe trail is basically straight up a mountain and full of scree for 3 hours, but the view is absolutely worth it. Unfortunately, the glacier is now melted and much more of a green lake than blue ice. Nonetheless, the ice is magnificent and there are icebergs floating in the lake. Hurry: supplies are limited.

Today, we came down just in time to catch a bus back to town where we came across a fair. After days of rice, we treated ourselves to fair food: empanadas, matambres (hunger killers which are steak sandwiches), milanesas (country fried steak sandwiches), and pizza. Afterwards, wine and apples. Tomorrow, we leave for Calafate on a 26 hour bus. There we will see the only glacier in the world that is expanding.

Yeehaw and off to bed.

Love,
Tori and Stew