Patagonia es Bonita

Not sure where to begin. It´s been almost 2 weeks now and I´ve done so much. Hike 8 or 9 hours to Fitz Roy. It was brutal. Sprained my ankle, but the view was worth it. It was just amazing. You see the peak close up with the two glacial lakes below it. We have been VERY fortunate with the weather. Fitz Roy is known for not being seen. Patagonia is known for rain and unpredictable weather. We had both. We saw Fitz Roy and all it´s glory. We had unbelievably warm weather. I wasn´t but other people were wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts. We also camped out and hiked Torres del Paine for 2 nights and 3 days. We did what they call the W trail. The first day we hiked 8.5 hrs and saw the 3 famous peaks of Torres del Paine. Next day was 4 hrs and the follow was 6 but I think I stopped around 4 or 5 because of my ankle. I´m not sure I enjoy the act of hiking but the final outcome if it is worth it. It´s beautiful here. I definitely recommend it. And if you can learn to speak basic or conversational Spanish, your trip will be enriched a little more. The locals are very friendly and funny but they are more open if you speak or try to speak their language.

I also went to Punto Arenas to view the Otoway Penguin colony. I got some cool photos there. At first, I thought I wouldn´t be able to get very close to them, but as we kept walking we discovered spots where the babies settled near the boardwalk. They were a bit stinky but adorable! Today I took a tour of the Beagle Channel. I saw some Sea Lions and Cormorants (sp?). Tomorrow I´m planning to go diving. Everyone thinks I am nuts. Apparently I´m the only one on the boat tomorrow. I guess they´re right. I´m actually looking forward to it because I get to say I did it. I don´t think I will get to see much besides some kelp, crabs and star fish but I enjoy the actual act of diving... even if the water is only 4 degreed Celcius. I´m only doing one dive so hopefully it won´t kill me.

So far, what has been memorable? Definitely Fitz Roy. It was really beautiful. The majetic peaks with the beautiful glacial milky blue lakes sitting in front. I also walked on a glaciar but that wasn´t as exciting. It was fun for the first hour but it got a little old quickly. It was similar to walking on large large piles of ice cubes. Not really what I expected. I was hoping to try the ice climbing but it was sold out way in advance. Note to self... book early if I want to try ice climbing in Patagonia.

Torres del Paine was a more impressive natural wonder than Fitz Roy. If you do one, you have to do the other. Camping was interesting. We shared tents and really got cozy with our tent mate. My tent mate is cool so we had fun just chatting for a bit and going to bed. We had a 4 star camping experience. For dinner, we had an actually dining room with ceramics and silverware and a chef. Split pea soup, turkey with rice and dessert. That was only for 1 night though.

Considering how bad my memory is, I think I will take away the following things when I get back home.

1. The beautiful colors of Patagonia. Rich greens mixed with red, purple, white, and yellow folowers.

2. The friendly people. We´ve encountered great people along the way and the international group in my tour were also amazing and caring.

3. The difficulty of reaching each of the sites. The remoteness of the destinations are both a mix of pain and pleasure. Because they are remote, they are not over run with more tourists than they already are. Think unpaved highways and 12 hr bus rides. (But there is are signs of highways coming up.) Then again, it´s difficult to get from one destination to another which is why I went with an organized tour.

Buenos Aires

I have a day to kill in Buenos Aires. Misunderstood the itinerary for the tour and booked my plane ticket to arrive a day earlier than I needed. At least it's not a day later. Knowing me, it wouldn't be something unheard of. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? I done the major site already. I'm thinking of hitting the street fair/flea market. I think it's in San Telmo. Other than that, I'm not sure what I should do. I was thinking of going to Colonia but I don't know how long that ferry ride takes. Anyone have any friends out there willing to hang out for one day?

Seattle

A couple of weekends ago, I went to Seattle. I had a great time. It's really beautiful. I would consider living there if it didn't rain so much. U of WA actually has a program for out-of-state students who have S.A.D. You come in once a week (or something) and get exposed to a sun lamp. If you condition is really bad, you take one back to your room. So in other words, that's how 'frequently' the sun is out. I was told June-August is the best time to visit because it's sunny. The weather was actually pretty good while I was there. I even got to do some diving in Puget Sound. It's cold -- about 50F so I had to rent a dry suit. Once I got into the water, I just fell in love. The viz was pretty good, and there were so many interesting things to see. We swam along a wall with lots of nooks and crannies. Saw shrimp, star fish with 100 arms called the sunflower sea star, scorpion fish, sea lion, bull kelp (which I mistook for squid at one point), etc. I really wanted to see a wolf eel or octopus but I missed it. Some other people saw both. Oh well, I guess this gives me another reason to go back. At the boat dock, I could see Mt. Rainier. It's beautiful. The photo doesn't do it justice.

I really wanted to get close and maybe hike a bit but didn't get the chance. But I did get to do and see some cool things. (1) Took a tour of the underground which is the original Seattle but was built over, (2) went to Whidbey Island but it rained so I couldn't really see much, (3) went to see the soapbox car race after it was over and took photos of the cars, (4) met up for dinner with some friends who live in Seattle, (5) Pikes Market which I thought would be really cheesy turned out to be charming, (6) visit Snoqualmie Falls.

Seattle is great for access to outdoor activities - climbing, hiking, biking, diving, kayaking to all the little islands (which was something I want to do), wineries (not really outdoors), etc. But it has a decent night life for party people also. Some really good restaurants. I didn't get to try the local fare much. Huckleberry is big there so I tried huckleberry popcorn which was okay. I had crab cakes at Anthony's Pier 21 which was really good. Steak at Gaucho's which was good but nothing to write home about. If you do go there, I recommend getting the Ostrich steak. Really good and tastes like beef.

I really did end up in the paper!

As I say in my title, I really did end up in the paper. I couldn't believe it.
Don't they have anything better to report out about? So anyway, later that day, Jairo offered to take me to Arikok National Park. I was greatful since I kept getting lost to and from the dive shop. He took me to see a cave which was really cool and got to walk inside. We also saw miniature natural bridge which looked more like a plank. The park is beautiful and I definitely recommend going. It's so arid and different from the rest of the island. The outline of the mountain range is beautiful as well.

At night I was too tired to do anything so I headed back to the hotel and had a drink and ordered dinner in.

The next morning, I woke up at 6am to finish packing. I was planning to go back to bed but thought better of it since I was leaving that day so I checked the weather, my flight and email then headed out towards the lighthouse. There really is nothing special about it but it was the only site I could get to without getting lost.

Throughout my trip, Jonathan and I kept bumping into each other. We met while having lunch in the hotel during the hurricane. So of course it would be fitting that we would bump into each other on our last day on the island. We had breakfast at Matthews and parted ways. We were both headed back to NYC but on different airlines. And of course, I got lost on my way to the airport. Haha! Before going to airport, I decided that I needed to try at least one of the restaurants I wrote down so I went to La Graja, a chicken place and got 1/2 chicken with rice and yuca. It was okay. Flor de Mayo is better but I can say I had it.

Reflection: Taking a solo trip isn't so bad. I kept myself busy with my journal and book. I wish my parents were able to make it because they were really looking forward to it. One day in the near future, I will make it up to them.

Blub... blub...

I'm leaving Aruba today. The trip was so short and with the hurricane, it feels even shorter since I couldn't do much on Saturday. I hope I can return. I had a great time, the people were friendly, I feel like I've made some friends here.

Yesterday I rented a car and went diving. I was hoping to follow the dive shop car but I missed them so I ended up having to find my own way down to Baby Beach. It was an adventure to say the least. The signage is not very good here. They are few and have many circles. Sometimes the sign doesn't correspond to the available outlets in the circle and of course I chose the wrong one. On my way down, I was almost at Downtown but I made a wrong turn and went back north and ended up on Eagle Beach. Eventually after about an hour I found my way to the shop on Baby Beach. The shop's name is Jads. The owner is Jean Pierre or JP for short. Jairo, my dive master, was originally from Bonaire. I did two one-on-one shore dives with him. Our first dive was at Rocky Beach. We took a 10min drive and parked the car at his friend's house. We walked to the back where there is an area you can walk into the water. The waves were a bit rough so it was difficult swimming out but the water was serene once we finally made it down. The visibility was not very great... about 15-20 feet. There was not much to see -- coral, pipefish, christmas tree worms in different colors, parrot fish, some kind of blue fish, black tang, etc. I was still glad I got to dive during my vacation. We went back to the shop and relaxed for a bit before our second dive. I was a bit hesitant to go out again because there wasn't much to see but I'm glad I did. The waves at Baby Beach were rougher so it was even more difficult to swim out. The waves were pretty high and I was having a difficult time keeping my head above water. Despite the current, the visability was better, the coral a little more colorful and more fish to see. I even saw a baby sting ray! When I first got down, the current was strong, so I could see the shrub-like things, floating left and right. It was pretty amuzing because I knew I must look like that too. We followed the fiber optic cable lines back to shore and used the current to float inland. When we came up, there were a whole line of people waiting on the shore. Jairo joked and said that they were looking for me. The funny thing was that they really were. A woman in the watchtower saw 2 snorkelers go down so she called 911, the coast guard, and the fire department. There were also 2 news reporters. I might end up in the paper! Haha. There were even going to send out a helicopter but the dive shop called it off. I wish that heli could have bring me out so I didn't have to take in so much water trying to swim out.

Felix

I'm in Aruba now. I arrived yesterday. My father was supposed to come down and arrive around 6:20am and we were supposed to cab it to the airport and make it to a 9am flight. Unfortunately his bus was delayed so we changed my parents flight to today. Again, unfortunately hurricane Felix came through last night and all flights were cancelled. I know they are really disappointed and I feel terrible for them. I am disappointed as well since I wanted them to be here with me and have a good time. It would be nice to have some company. On top of it all, I fell asleep on the bed around 8 or 9pm last night on top of my covers with the AC on and I think I caught a cold. My throat hurts when I swallow. Yesterday, I made the most of it by going downtown and walking around a bit. There is nothing but shopping down there. Tons of jewelry stores, fast food joints, and some chain-like restaurants. Before going to get a bite to eat, I went to the supermarket and picked up some juice, water and cereal bars. The cereal bars were pretty good. This morning, I've been trying to cancel my parents' flight online. I'm waiting for an aa.com password to be assigned to my mom.