Bariloche is south west of mar de plata about 23 hours and one Will Smith film. Suprisingly the long bus rides aren´t that bad. The give you food, soda, booze if you splurge for the first class ¨full cama¨. We arive at the station and a greated by a over animated guy who talks us into staying at his hostile, HostitInn. This is the view from our room. {insert picture in near future when im on a computer that doesn´t suck} Bariloche is a ski town in the heart of the lake district and even though its spring here is supprisingly cold. Luck for us the guy hooked us up with an amazing hostile. $10 a night, the three of us are in a four bed room with a private bath, free internet, with breakfast and dinner provided. Also they will basicly book anything you want to do for you, so we sign up to go white water rafting early the next morning. We then go to the hostile 3 doors down for our dinner, its owned by the same peeps. We wonder up to the bar and the bartender directs us to the kitchen to get our dinner. We´re met at the door by the same guy who meet us at the bus station 11 hours ago, he´s cooking and serving for about 40 people who are there at the same time as us. We end up staying at this hostile for the night drinking wine because they´re showing David Bowies greatest work at the bar.
We get picked up early the next morning in a van with 7 other packpackers from around town and drive and hour and a half to the camp next to the river. We go in for breckfast and out back of the cabin are two men butchering a full hanging cow, about 10 feet from where were eating. Then we all get dressed in half wetsuits, wind breaker tops and helmets. After a short brifing we take to the boats and down the river. The first few rapids are pretty tame and it seams things are going well. An Irish guy and myself are possitioned in the front with three others behind on each side. Basically the only direction is paddle the way he yells and me and the Irish buy stay in pace and the people behind keep with our pace. All in all very simple. Apperently when the guid yells to paddle backwards chaos breaks loose, im still in pace with the Irish guy but continuesly hit paddles with the guy behind me and i can tell from the lafter behind him that things are going as badly for Amber in Janet. Janet who had asked the girl at recpection the night before if ¨anyone has ever kicked the bucket¨ while rafting. So we finaly get to some more serious rapids and the guids say that we´re gonna have to paddle really hard not to run into the rock wall on the left side, and always yells ¨no fear¨as we approach things. So things are going fine untill we have to paddle backwards, so not only do we smash right into the rock wall, we bounce off and some how we hit the wall on the other side. After that the river was kinda tame. Janet and I jumped in toward the end even though it had been almost unbearably cold. After that it was back to the cabin to eat the they had butchered this morning and drink wine. They probly did serve about a cow a day between two groups of rafters. We were so full we slept most of the ride back.
After warming up and dinner we met up with three aussys we had met rafting and one of there mates. It had started pouring rain and didnt let up all night. After the first 4 rounds of whiskey on the rocks, or wickys, they started telling jokes. The Best of which was this:
Q: How do ya get a dog to stop humping ya leg?
A: Pick it up and suck its dick!
Three bars later Janet and I are at a club dancing and crushing vodka speeds with some guys from NC. I end up stumbling home soaking wet just before day break. The next day it was pouring rain and we did next to nothing, This has started a bad cycle, after a big night we do nothing, so the day after we make up by doing tons of stuff.
Day three:
We´re of at 8 to go horseback riding despite the fact that its snowing. The cook/recruiter was working the front desk. Apperently he doesnt sleep. Janet and I had to run down town before we left to buy gloves which might have been the best decision of my life. The ride was actually pretty awesome. It was three of us and a guide and four dogs troting by lakes and through a path in the woods. Then about and hour and a half in our jeans were soaked, it was windy as hell and we were riding through river beds and marshes. We get back in the afternoon cold and sad cause it is still snowing. We get fondo for lunch, instant happyness. Then we´re off to explore the cave of wonders! All week i had sugested going on a caves exploration hike thing and Janet and Amber shot me down. I finally broke them down and we went spulunking. AND IT WAS AWESOME. We hiked up a mountina side and checked out 4 or 5 caves onthe way up still in the snow. The last one we crawled into was massive and an under ground spring had formed a lake in the back. By the time we got out of the cave it was sunny out and we hiked to the top of the mountain where you had a 360 view of snow covered mountains and caves.
After we get out hostile dinner from our jack of all trades, at this point we´re convince he´s a coke head or has a twin, we head out for the night. We had booked a tango for the evening but since the pass to Chile was closed for snow the dancers couldn´t come. But there was wine. Another late night or dancing leades to a shitty day, so why not spend it on the bus. We get to the station and buy tix for the next bus which is 15 minutes later. Amber had decided to catch a bus back to Buenos Aires so Janet and I rush to get the bus to Mendoza with and English girl we had met in line, Emma.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Adventures de Jamon
So the trip started out as usual, Amber and I got the airport and went to the bar to wait for Janet. we meet up with Janet a solid two hours before the flight and have a few chardonnays. We get caught up in catching up and almost miss our flight. We run to catch the plane and are the last three people to board. It was a short flight to DC and when we land we have about 30 minutes to get to our next flight so we're running through the airport once again. Luckily for us its delayed two hours, which we spend people watching, throwing banana nut muffins at eachother and this. 
The best character strolling around is a Albert Einstein look alike, in his disheveled later years. I have to mention that Janet has a not so small obsession with the elderly, he normal response to seeing an old person is "awwww, he's cute, I like him." The plane gets delayed another hour and we end up napping. Alby actually wakes us up to let us know there was a gate change and we stumble down to the other end of the terminal. For the next two hours there are delays to the point that the airline brings out snacks and sodas it the disgruntled soon to be passengers. We finally get on the plane and we're all in center seats, Janet in the front, me behind her and Amber behind me. I have never seen a more happyface than that of Janet when Alby sat down next to her and said hello in his thick Argentine accent. Apparently he is a concert flutist who was on his to perform outside of Buenos Aires. Amber's face was the opposite when midway through the flight i turn around and the person to her side had mummified herself in her blanket and secreting odd noises the whole flight.
Buenos Aires is a beautiful city full of statues and amazing architecture. We check into Hotel Alchazar in the down town area and the man hands us a set of dungeon keys for our triple room. A triple room consists of three single beds one foot apart from eachother, a closet, and a bathroom. The bathroom has a sink, a toilet, bidet and a shower head with not even a shower curtain to separate the four. It also comes equipped with a drain in the floor and a 4 foot tall squeegee to carve a path to the door through the moat the accumulates while you shower. due to an odd combination of peer presure and curiosity Janet and I both tried the bedit. We tested the shower and beds then went out for the night around 8 for dinner and drinks.
We end up bar hopping and getting apps at a few places that were boarder line empty. One of the highlights was going into the Musem de Jamon and asking to sit at the bar. The angry hostest reluctantly allowed us to sit there then stood at the end of the bar sips soda out of a glass like a strange bird and stared at us. The reason we had so much trouble finding a bar is that Argentinians eat dinner at 11 and go out to bars around 1 or 2 and go to clubs at 3. We were at least two hours early on every one of these events. Amber was sit tired from the flight and head to bed, Janet and I continued to taste the local flavor. On the plus side we had had a full night of drinking before we got to Bahriem, a disco that a waiter recommended and drew us a map to on a napkin. The club was a old bank and the main room has huge cathedral ceilings that loud remixed 80s song blare through. Drink of choice: Vodka and Speed. After a little while I leave Janet dancing between two gay men and wonder downstairs into a giant electronic dance party. Next thing I know its about 5 am and I'm drenched in sweat. I'm suddenly worried that i haven't seen Janet in three hours to I rush up stairs to find Janet sandwiched between the same two guys. We ended up leave the club soon after that despite it was still pack with people.
Day 2, time to get some BA culture. We get into a cab and this conversation happens in Spanish:
Janet: Can we go to Palermo
Cabby:ok
5 minutes goes by
Cabby: Where do you want to go?
Janet: Palermo
Cabby: Where?
Janet: Palermo
Cabby: Yes, Where?
Janet: Palermo
Cabby: We're in Palermo, where are you going?
Janet: I don't know
Cabby pulls over, we exit.
We spent most of the day walking around Palermo going in shops and parks. The first park we went into was a botanical garden full of statues, pools, trees, flowers and cats. Finding this odd I looked it up in the lonely planet book and found this description: "Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays, which will appeal to both botanist and cat-lovers(it's full of feral felines)."
After a fairly uneventful day we head back to the hotel. About three blocks away we hear load music and horns. We turn the corner onto our street to find a giant parade with hindered of people dressed up dancing and signing. We walk around and take some pics then head in. This parade lasted another 5 hours going back up and down the street and finally ended just before 10. We attempted to go out later this night, got some steaks at a restaurant then drank wine at the hotel until it was time to hit the clubs.
We roll out of bed around one missing out 10am check out and having to pay for half a day. Vodka on the rocks is Janet's Nemesis and she spent the whole day trying not to throw up in public. Luckily we had a 6 hour bus ride to Mar de Plata. After much confusion trying to get a bus and thinking we missed it cause it was an hour late we finally leave. The buses down here are amazing. They're two stories, chairs are extra wide, they recline to almost flat, there's a thing that folds down from the seat in front of you and goes to the front of your seat for your legs to rest on and they show Will Smith movies, we've watched The Pursuit of Happiness and I am Legend.
We get to Buenos Aires around 11 and Claira pics us up. Claira and I worked at the Maggy in Breckenridge last year and is going to be one of my roommates this winter. She brought us to a hostile and then to a friends house for an Argentinian BBQ, which is cooked in a huge brick BBQ outside the house all day long. So we hung out with 17 of her and her brothers friends eating Delicious meat until 3 am before returning to the hostile. The next day Claira toured us all over town. Mar de Plata is a beautiful ocean side town which is know for its crowded beaches and bumping night life... in the summer.
Those frams on the beach are closed in cabanas in the summer, familys rent them out for the whole season so you can keep all you beach gear at the beach. This time of year is like vacationing to Wolfeboro in April. Most of the business were closed, the beaches were empty and the town was empty of people. So we got on a bus... for 23 hours.
Next Stop: Bariloche
The best character strolling around is a Albert Einstein look alike, in his disheveled later years. I have to mention that Janet has a not so small obsession with the elderly, he normal response to seeing an old person is "awwww, he's cute, I like him." The plane gets delayed another hour and we end up napping. Alby actually wakes us up to let us know there was a gate change and we stumble down to the other end of the terminal. For the next two hours there are delays to the point that the airline brings out snacks and sodas it the disgruntled soon to be passengers. We finally get on the plane and we're all in center seats, Janet in the front, me behind her and Amber behind me. I have never seen a more happyface than that of Janet when Alby sat down next to her and said hello in his thick Argentine accent. Apparently he is a concert flutist who was on his to perform outside of Buenos Aires. Amber's face was the opposite when midway through the flight i turn around and the person to her side had mummified herself in her blanket and secreting odd noises the whole flight.Buenos Aires is a beautiful city full of statues and amazing architecture. We check into Hotel Alchazar in the down town area and the man hands us a set of dungeon keys for our triple room. A triple room consists of three single beds one foot apart from eachother, a closet, and a bathroom. The bathroom has a sink, a toilet, bidet and a shower head with not even a shower curtain to separate the four. It also comes equipped with a drain in the floor and a 4 foot tall squeegee to carve a path to the door through the moat the accumulates while you shower. due to an odd combination of peer presure and curiosity Janet and I both tried the bedit. We tested the shower and beds then went out for the night around 8 for dinner and drinks.
We end up bar hopping and getting apps at a few places that were boarder line empty. One of the highlights was going into the Musem de Jamon and asking to sit at the bar. The angry hostest reluctantly allowed us to sit there then stood at the end of the bar sips soda out of a glass like a strange bird and stared at us. The reason we had so much trouble finding a bar is that Argentinians eat dinner at 11 and go out to bars around 1 or 2 and go to clubs at 3. We were at least two hours early on every one of these events. Amber was sit tired from the flight and head to bed, Janet and I continued to taste the local flavor. On the plus side we had had a full night of drinking before we got to Bahriem, a disco that a waiter recommended and drew us a map to on a napkin. The club was a old bank and the main room has huge cathedral ceilings that loud remixed 80s song blare through. Drink of choice: Vodka and Speed. After a little while I leave Janet dancing between two gay men and wonder downstairs into a giant electronic dance party. Next thing I know its about 5 am and I'm drenched in sweat. I'm suddenly worried that i haven't seen Janet in three hours to I rush up stairs to find Janet sandwiched between the same two guys. We ended up leave the club soon after that despite it was still pack with people.Day 2, time to get some BA culture. We get into a cab and this conversation happens in Spanish:
Janet: Can we go to Palermo
Cabby:ok
5 minutes goes by
Cabby: Where do you want to go?
Janet: Palermo
Cabby: Where?
Janet: Palermo
Cabby: Yes, Where?
Janet: Palermo
Cabby: We're in Palermo, where are you going?
Janet: I don't know
Cabby pulls over, we exit.
We spent most of the day walking around Palermo going in shops and parks. The first park we went into was a botanical garden full of statues, pools, trees, flowers and cats. Finding this odd I looked it up in the lonely planet book and found this description: "Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays, which will appeal to both botanist and cat-lovers(it's full of feral felines)."
After a fairly uneventful day we head back to the hotel. About three blocks away we hear load music and horns. We turn the corner onto our street to find a giant parade with hindered of people dressed up dancing and signing. We walk around and take some pics then head in. This parade lasted another 5 hours going back up and down the street and finally ended just before 10. We attempted to go out later this night, got some steaks at a restaurant then drank wine at the hotel until it was time to hit the clubs.We roll out of bed around one missing out 10am check out and having to pay for half a day. Vodka on the rocks is Janet's Nemesis and she spent the whole day trying not to throw up in public. Luckily we had a 6 hour bus ride to Mar de Plata. After much confusion trying to get a bus and thinking we missed it cause it was an hour late we finally leave. The buses down here are amazing. They're two stories, chairs are extra wide, they recline to almost flat, there's a thing that folds down from the seat in front of you and goes to the front of your seat for your legs to rest on and they show Will Smith movies, we've watched The Pursuit of Happiness and I am Legend.
We get to Buenos Aires around 11 and Claira pics us up. Claira and I worked at the Maggy in Breckenridge last year and is going to be one of my roommates this winter. She brought us to a hostile and then to a friends house for an Argentinian BBQ, which is cooked in a huge brick BBQ outside the house all day long. So we hung out with 17 of her and her brothers friends eating Delicious meat until 3 am before returning to the hostile. The next day Claira toured us all over town. Mar de Plata is a beautiful ocean side town which is know for its crowded beaches and bumping night life... in the summer.
Those frams on the beach are closed in cabanas in the summer, familys rent them out for the whole season so you can keep all you beach gear at the beach. This time of year is like vacationing to Wolfeboro in April. Most of the business were closed, the beaches were empty and the town was empty of people. So we got on a bus... for 23 hours.Next Stop: Bariloche
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Preflight
Wellllllllllllllllllllll hello,
So myself, Amber Green and Janet Jock are leaving for South America for tomorrow night on a six week trip of awesomeness. We're flying into Beunos Aires then headin south from there. I'll be updating this blog in lue of sending emails like I've done on past trips. So if you wanna know what we are doing check in about once a week or so. Alright, good talk, see ya out there...
PS my cell will be down untill thanksgiving so if anyone needs to reach me, sharpysharp@gmail.com
~Sharp
So myself, Amber Green and Janet Jock are leaving for South America for tomorrow night on a six week trip of awesomeness. We're flying into Beunos Aires then headin south from there. I'll be updating this blog in lue of sending emails like I've done on past trips. So if you wanna know what we are doing check in about once a week or so. Alright, good talk, see ya out there...
PS my cell will be down untill thanksgiving so if anyone needs to reach me, sharpysharp@gmail.com
~Sharp
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