Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Casa Dulce Casa.

Let’s just say that Bariloche is starting to feel a lot like home.


We’ve moved our few belongings into a spacious two-story apartment at kilometro 7 on Pioneros, we’ve befriended the local transportation system, I’ve started my job training at a hostel downtown, we frequent the verdurería down the block, and are starting to fall into the swing of things.




This is the view from our bedroom window!




The sun is hot. Very hot. Please remember, dear readers, that the days here are sunny and summery. It’s my first real December summer. No matter how much sunscreen I put on, I inevitably get burned. It’s unfortunate, but with the sky so crystal blue, who can complain?

About a week ago, we put on our hiking shoes (both of us sport sneakers with gaping holes in them) and made our way to Cerro Catedral. From the lower parking lot, we followed the signs to Frey. The sign said that it would take us 4 hours. We heard from fellow backpackers that without packs, it would take us 3 hours. Nate wanted to do it in 2 hours.




We hike. The sun scorches. The flies circle. The view takes breaths. The dusty path winds.





We pass the dead forest and look over Lago Gutierez. We’re making good time when we get to the edge of the forest. We jog and make up silly songs to pass the time.




After the 2nd hour, the path heads up. Up! The going is a little tougher, but we’re still passing people. We reach the snow line and keep moving. All of a sudden, the view opens up! It’s incredible! A serene blue lake sits within a chain of snow capped mountains. We munch pb&js as we take it all in.





Nate tries his hands (and climbing shoes) at a boulder or two.





After a brief rest and a tour of the refugio, we start heading down. We didn’t have a tent or sleeping bags, so we had to catch the last bus into down. GO!


We jog past families until my knees can take no more. Then a fast walk will suffice. We make it down in under 2 hours.



Here are some more pictures from Cerro Otto (only a few km from our house) where we spent a few hours of Nate's 24th birthday! Feliz Cumple!




In other news, after a couple of weeks of job searching, I got an offer from a hostel chain, TangoInn hostels. I started receptionist training a week ago and I love it. It’s fast-paced, energetic and sociable. Perfect! I’ll use my English, practice my Spanish, and probably learn some Hebrew through osmosis. It feels good to be working; too much idle time drives me loca. Meanwhile, I haven’t given up my relentless search for an English-teaching job.

And the Conroys and Larner-Lewis descend on Bariloche in T-3 days. Bienvenidos!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Success in Bariloche!


November 25. We left on the 12:15pm bus to Buenos Aires. That meant that we arrived the morning of the 26. It’s funny how each 20 hour bus rides gets easier to handle. Especially when there are alfajores are involved.

The taxi driver and I got into an argument on the way to the corner apartment building. Nate and I picked up the key, figured out the elevator, explored the never-been-lived-in apartment and settled in.

My Dad and Adriana arrived shortly thereafter. Bagels, cream cheese, and lox! And real Zabar’s coffee. Mmmmm… Luxurious dining.

After breakfast I explored the goodies my dad had in his suitcase for me. Oooh, interview clothes, climbing gear, peanut butter, and a whole host of awesomeness from home (thanks, ma!)

The next few days Buenos Aires were like being in a pressure cooker. Walking down the street was draining. On the third day, the sky opened up and shot down rain in amazing quantities.

The days passed and we did a few touristy things. Saw a Che movie, which taught me that the Cuban accent is terribly difficult to understand. Went shoe shopping. Explored an old theater converted into a bookstore. Walked through a street market in search of mates, tango, and super panchos. Watched Kung Fu Panda. We ate some tremendous food, drank copious amounts of fantastic wine, and talked the night away with hilarious people.

On Tuesday December 2, we said goodbye to Dad, Adriana, Virginia, and all the wonderful people we met in Buenos Aires. I wish I could thank them enough for all the kindness they showed us during our visit. Che, ¡qué bárbaro!


We had front seats on our semi-cama ride to Bariloche. Which meant that the panoramic view was our travel companion. We must have slept for 12 hours before waking up the movie, Jumper, being played three times in a row.

Wednesday, December 3 found us back in Bariloche. But as of December 1, the hostels had abandoned the temporada baja prices for the heftier temporada alta prices. Yikes. That meant that we had to leave our beloved 1004 in search of a more economical hostel. But we found the awesome Hostel la Bolsa. Fully equipt with a kitchen, grassy outdoor patio, pingpong table, and a beautiful wooden interior.

On Friday, December 5 we picked up the ABC classifieds magazine promptly at 4pm and flipped through it for apartment listings. In the cabina we called the first place and it was still available!! We arranged to see it that very afternoon.

The #50 bus took us straight to the doorstep of the yellow house with the black roof. We loved it. Two floors, not too spacious. Perfect.

Sunday, December 7 we paid the deposit. It was ours! We move in on Tuesday. Pictures to come.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Let's just say, I'm falling behind in my blogging.

Sunday November 15.

We miss the Cochamó-Puerto Montt bus by 8 minutes and are left to our own devises. Instead of hovering on the dusty street corner, we decide to walk. We shoulder our packs. Mine is the size of me and is adorned with chains for discouraging ladrones. Nate has two backpacks and the water bottles. I’m left with the tiny guitar and machete. We look pretty silly. Some car headed to Puerto Varas is bound to pass by and offer us a ride. Famous last words.

Cars don’t really drive much on Sundays I guess.

A sign announced that we were leaving Cochamó. We kept following the dirt road along the picturesque lake lined with thick trees and wise mountains proceeding over it all.

After an hour, our bags started getting heavy. The only vehicles that had passed us were rather large trucks with no room for us or our bags. They shrugged apologetically as they passed.

Our first ride of the day came from a father and son. The son had lived in Olympia, WA and the father insisted on speaking English with us. Fair enough, he’s giving us a ride, I’ll play along.

They invited us with them to some termales. We declined with a gracias and were dropped off neatly on the side of the road. We had ridden a good few kilometers and had at least passed into paved road territory. We had hardly walked another kilometer when we smiled at the next car as it pulled over. We piled our bags in the back and found that the driver was headed straight to Puerto Varas. Fantastic.

The car ended up being a cab. The driver had just dropped off a couple of German tourists in Cochamó, so the journey had been paid for; he didn’t want a cent from us.

The cab itself had 13 mirrors. We counted.

Nate napped as the driver and I small talked. Before we knew it, we were pulling into the comfortable cobble stone tourist haven of Puerto Varas. Food preparation and cleanliness was in store. Ahhhh… the comforts of modern technology…


Monday, November 16

We were going to leave at 11am for Puerto Montt to meet Daniel. It swiftly turned into 2pm. We jumped out of the combi right after the retorno and crossed the at least 6 lanes of traffic to the Esso Station.

Daniel pulled up, we threw our bags in the trunk and hopped inside. Daniel just had to check one thing… the papers for the car. Without them we would not be allowed across the border. They hafta be here somewhere… right?

We pull over and search the car. Nada. Where could they be? Daniel decides that it could be in Cochamó, so we start driving. Two hours of NPR later, we arrive in the little town. We search for the papers. Nada.

It starts looking like we won’t be able to cross the border. As we begin the drive back to Puerto Montt we pick up an officer of some sorts. He tells us without those papers we have no chance of crossing. And all the offices are closed because of the general strike. Great. Just our luck.


So we take the opportunity to pull over and start stacking the contents of the Land Rover on the side of the road. Suddenly Daniel puts on a grin and holds something triumphantly in the air. The papers!



Ok. It was about 7pm. The border closed at 9pm. There was about two hours left to drive. LET’S GO!

We dropped the officer off in Ensenada and took all the back roads to the border. The unpaved roads. The secret roads. Wahooo!


We flew. We absolutely HAD to cross the border. After all we had gone through that day, they HAD to let us across. It wouldn’t be the first time I argued my way across a border… and probably not the last either.



We arrived. We passed through. It got dark as we drove into Chile. Steak and gnocchi dinner. Hostel and sleep.

Tuesday November 17.

We got beds in 1004. Home again! Translated our resumes into Spanish.

November 18-24


Can’t say that these days were particularly exciting. A lot of resume printing and distributing, apartment searching, steak-cooking, wine-drinking, hostel lounging, and mountain gazing.




I’d like to bring to your attention a few notable events:

November 20. We climbed Cerro Catedral. We took a bus out of the city to the mega ski complex and then climbed up the ski trails following the teleférico. At points it was a pretty rough climb. Nate convinced me to go beyond the teleférico lodge, through the snow, to the tippy top of the mountain. But whoa was it worth it! Here are some pictures.





November 23. We rented bicycles to ride the circuito chico. Stunning views, colonia suiza, well-oiled bikes, steep hills, and alfajores! These pictures just might blow you away.





November 25. We jump on a bus to Buenos Aires.