Coyhaique and northern Patagonia

Ive been here in Coyhaique for two full days now and Ive been so busy preparing for the next two weeks that I haven't had much time to enjoy the local area as I would have liked. The city is nothing fancy but the surrounding area makes up for it by leaps and bounds. Surrounded by mountains and clouds on all sides, Northern Patagonia is one of the most verdant places Ive ever had the privilege of visiting. The wind has held up to the name it has made for itself and proved to be a challenge for both the pilot of the jet as we landed in Balmaceda as well as the mini-bus driver who ferried us into Coyhaique. About halfway there we had to pull over for one of the other passengers, a local, to be sick. I felt bad for the guy but as the only foreigner on the bus, I was glad that it wasn't me.

Tonight, myself and two others met with the archaeologists who we will be working with and prepared to head out tomorrow morning for southern Patagonia near the Chile-Argentina border. I'll post pictures when I can but there wont be any internet while out in the field.

Also, the D'olbek brewery is a fine establishment that produces a very delicious beer made from the water in Patagonia. I'll see if I can bring some home!

The 11th hour

I made the flight to Santiago Chile even after they changed the gate on me and now I have another 10 hours to kill before the flight to Balmaceda. I would really......really.........really love to sleep but I feel like I cant until I check one of my bags.

Tomorrow I'll arrive in Balmaceda and then take and hour long taxi ride to Coyhaique where I'll finally be able to get some sleep at the Las Salamandras Hostel. It looks pretty cozy!

Recoleta y La Boca

Todays events were on the refreshing side of unexpected and that goes for more than just the beer! Taking the bus seems to be the cheapest method of travel at about 25 cents per ride even from the hostel to the famous Recoleta cemetery which was the first destination on the agenda. This place was absolutely amazing. Its an above-ground cemetery that comes complete with crypts and tombs. From a distance it actually looks like a city as it is walled in similar to a castle or an older Spanish town. The cemetery yielded plenty of photographs and could definitely double as a horror movie set or an amazing place to play hide-and-seek. Some of the tombs date back 300 years and possibly more. While strolling through the necropolis we(my mother and I) came across a pride of cats that seemed to have taken over a section of the cemetery. she came prepared and the gatos got to enjoy an entire bag of treats.

Food and beer are two of the things high up on my to-do list while traveling and today I made a couple of amazing finds. The Buller brewing company, located in the Recoleta barrio produced quite possibly the BEST burger I have ever had. Now if you're asking why I would eat something as American as a hamburger in Buenos Aires, let me tell you that they can do it much better than anything you get stateside. It came "complete" with a fried egg, amazing cheese and fresh tomato and lettuce. Paired with the legendary Argentine beef it was mouth watering to say the least. An egg on a burger, why didn't I think of that? To go with it I had a tough choice between either a honey beer or an IPA. I ended up going with the latter and made a promise to myself to make a return trip when I come back from Chile.

Id say I managed to burn of the calories from the afternoons meal after we met some fellow travelers in the hostel. Amy, who is from Ohio and Erik who is from Holland and an artist who knows his way around the city better than some of the locals. Together the four of us made our way through the La Boca barrio which is said to be one of the shadier and more dangerous parts of the city until you make it to the center. San Telmo was historically the art district until inflation drove the cost of living up and as a result, many of the artists moved to La Boca and you can definitely tell. The setting is incredibly vibrant and very much alive with music, dancing and art. The tour through La Boca eventually led us back towards an ice cream parlor near San Telmo that gave us a nice reprieve from the heat.

I think I can now leave Buenos Aires without feeling guilty for not exploring it fully. Definitely a great day!

Buenos Aires: first impressions

To be perfectly honest, I thought I was going to be in much more trouble than I actually ended up being in as far as the language barrier. Maybe it has something to do with being in the capital where English, or at least broken Spanish is readily accepted.

After a 10 hour flight, of which I managed to sleep half of, I landed in Buenos Aires and passed swiftly through customs where I forked over $140 USD to gain a visa for Argentina. The good news is that it last 10 years and since BA is most likely going to act as a hub for the next month and a half, I wont go broke coming and going.

Finding the "Radio Taxis" was easy enough thanks to Lonely Planet and my mother and I paid roughly $28 USD for a 30 minute ride to the hostel inn at Humbert Primo 820. Its possible that we may have been ripped off but the driver was friendly enough and spoke pretty good English. The rest of the day was spent at the San Telmo market which is only open on Sundays and surprisingly, the peddlers had some interesting wares for sale.

Now initially it was supposed to be 99 degrees when I arrived and then it was changed to rainy. Thankfully it was a milder 89 degrees and mostly sunny until about 2pm when the rain finally hit. I took advantage of the time and had myself a little siesta and talked with the staff here in the hostel. Dinner plans on my end included empanadas which seem to be sold everywhere and look delicious but n the other hand, maybe I should take advantage of the steak that is supposed to be famous worldwide? We will see...

Pictures soon!

Terminal Illness

My bag is checked and Ive managed to make it past the TSA agents unscathed and with most of my dignity still intact! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited even though I already miss my friends and family beyond belief. Any nervousness that I had been experiencing has been lessened mostly by Jessica who saw me off at the terminal and who will be returning home to Magellan and Ponce. JEALOUS!!!

Its boarding time soon so I'll close with my packing list.

1x Kelty day pack

1x TNF Crestone hiking pack

1x Canon 5D with 2 lenses, filters extra batteries and a sweet case (thanks to Chris!)

1x Asus Eee netbook with accessories

1x par of hiking boots

1x pair of vibram 5 fingers

1x pair of crocs flippy floppies

2x pair of shorts

1x pair of pants

4x pair of hiking socks

2x pair of six-weeks-at-a-time undearwear (not gross!)

1x ring of +5 Strength

1x spanish phrase book

1x Nalgene

1x pair Native sunglasses

1x pair eyeglasses

4x pair shirts

1x fleece

1x pair of thermals

1x beanie

1x sun hat

1x bag of toiletries

1x marmot 2 person(not really) tent

1x marmot 15 degree synthetic sleeping bag

cooking equipment

1x headlamp

1x pair of working gloves

1x ipod but no charger. fml.

1x notebook and pen

1x leatherman multitool

1x Gerber knife

1x water purifier drops.