The Beach

So Im down to my last week and Im wondering what to do...but not really! I know exactly what I want to do I wanna go to the beach. So I book my bus to Uruguay and get ready. I started off in La Paloma. A very small beach town with not much going on. I really wasn't feeling it and wanted to leave pretty much as soon as I got there. So I went to the bus station and ordered up a fresh ticket to Punta Del Diablo. My buddy Robbie traveled thru Argentina last year and recommended the place. I booked my hostel at a place that looked good and I was on my way the next day. We roll into Punta Del Diablo and the first thing that went thru my head was "Fuck YeAH!!!!" Very small, quaint fishing village like something out of a movie. Big waves and lots of sand and boats on the beach. After once again wandering aimlessly looking for my hostel..(.when will I start taking down directions??) I make it to the hostel. It is amazing. Its like a hotel except its 10 dollars a night, right on the beach and our rooms windows open up to see the ocean. I just hung on the beach and chilled, played a little soccer and frisbee with some Argentines on holiday and partied it up pretty good. I met some really great people for my final stay and had a great time. I couldn't think of a better way to end this journey. It will be sad to go home but I am kinda excited. Its been a long time away and I am ready to get back into the kitchen and start working. I know who I was before this trip but who I am now...I am not sure. I have deff changed for the better, I am very proud of myself and can't wait to do it all over again.

Big, Big Falls!!!

After hangin out down on the farm I decided that I better make the trip to Iguazu. It was a tough decision because it meant losing two days on a bus for 1 day at the falls. Iweighed the options many times and cane up with this. 5 or 10 or 20 years from now when Im sittin back watchin the tv and a clip of Iguazu falls comes on Ididnt want to say...Oh yeah I was right there but I didnt go...I coulda seen that. So I ordered up the bus and took off. I got to the park and walked through the rainforest snapping pictures hearing the distant roar of the falls. After a small little train ride Iend up walking across a steel walkway going up to Garganta Diablo. The biggest fall there is. This walkway will take you right up to the edge on top. You can see the mist coming over the treetops as the roar grows louder. A few mor meteres and I am there! It is amazing, beautiful, loud and the mist soaks you ever few minutes. There are about 20 different falls and they look like someone designed them on the computer. I sat there for about a half hour just taking pictures or staring into the mist below. I am suprised more people dont die here because all of a sudden you just wanna jump into it. It seems so peaceful. I then walked the lower route where you can acctually get right next to a fall and almost reach out and touch it. A little later Ijumped on a boat and they took us right under a smaller fall and into the mouth of the Diablo. Everyone was laughin and soaked at the end. Ithen walked around a bit longer and headed back to the hostel. Have to get on a bus in the morning!

La Pampas ...and my day at the farm!

So I roll into General Pico (and when i say roll in im not all hip hop gangster...im comming there on a bus dammit!!!) Where you say?? General Pico..In La Pampas..The place nobody goes in between Buenos Aires and Mendoza. A beautiful place mostly shrubs and small trees. I met 2 brothers when I was in Bariloche...Diego and Facundo really cool guys and we talked of cooking, we talked of girls, we talked of music...you know the shit guys talk about...Somewhere once or twice or fifteen times i chatted of meeting a cool Argentine family where I could experience the culture. They really had no help for me but we agreed I would meet them in Cordoba where they lived, they^d put me up and pay for a big spread Id cook for them and friends...Sounded good to me!!! Free food, Free drinks and Im sure they'd bring some chicks!!! Well that never happened... but what did happen was Diego emailed me sometime while I was down south..The email subject read...Are you still looking for sexy food!?!? Now with the amount of spam I get and not having Diego's email on file..I thought...ahhh spam and almost deleted it...but I read it and it was an invite to hang with him and his family in the ever so famous La Pampas!!! I emailed him right back...hoping that this email had not ben sitting in my inbox for ever and he had forgotten...Yes!! Definitely! Im gonna go LOST here and Flashback!!! So I roll into La Pampas and its not like some hip hop...ahhhh you know...and Diego picks me up at the station...we go out for beers and they say the hottest Argentinian girls are in Rosario...well I bet half come from La Pampas...they were young...but DAMN!!! The next day we wake up and were off to the Carceneria for Pork Matambre, and Blood Sausage (which was amazing) both acct. We chowed til we were fat. We then went to the army camp where Diego's dad has a few horses and I tried to play Polo..See I have rode a horse maybe 4 times in my life the last time was 9 years ago in Atlanta. I felt just as out of place as I did then except this time I had a polo mallet in my hand. I smacked the ball a few times but my main concern was..don^t fall off this horse! I made it back to Diego's house in one piece...No problem tomorrow we^re off to ride his dads equestrian horses..bigger and faster!!! But tonight we go to his uncle Luis^ house to dine. He is cooking from his legendary Disk. A cast iron disk, kinda like a wok which he acct made up a sorta Chinese chicken stir fry but without the chino flavors. It was delicious. We ate, we drank, we laughed....Diego translated! I left thinking these people were great. The next day Diegos dad cooked up a mean Milanese (mmmmmm more meat) before we headed out to ride the horses. This time it was a little more brutal..We acct rode them and ran and galloped and all that stuff...My ass screamed for mercy!! In an hours time Diego and I were both worn out...It could be for the fact I forgot to mention we were out till 530 that morning and both a little foggy rollin in. But no biggy nothin left to do but go to the farm and watch a lamb slaughter!!! We head back over to Luis^ man I love this guy..super friendly always laughin just a cool soul. and He^s ready to go...Its Luis, Diego, Luis 3 kids and me. Luis runs back inside to grab a i dunno 1938 pistol and some shells... I felt like Michael Corleone and I just ordered a hit on this poor animal...I feel this car ride wouldn^t be happening if it wasn^t for me. We head to the farm...and we get there. We are greeted by a skinned lamb hanging in the garage. Head attached bloody... My stomach turns...I need to see this I tell myself...I turn around and there are 5 lamb in a truck hog tied...You^re just in time we^re going now! Ok here we go and everyone looks at me!! Diego says...Some people wanna go to Disney world...you wanna see lamb slaughtered...Some Dream!! And with that the farmer raises his knife and slits the lambs throat...GOOD!!! Blood pills into a pan and the eyes go blank...They then proceeded to bleed, skin, gut, and hang this animal in roughly 15 min. All pieces and parts are saved except the entrails which go to the dogs and chickens. Every piece of this animal is used for something or another. We continue to watch the other 5 slaughtered as we walk around the ranch..I geek out and take a bunch of pictures and everyone thinks Im nuts. We then take our lamb home and Diego's pops is havin an asado at his house with beef, pork and a nice hack of our fresh lamb. MMMMMMM More meat. I love it. Also the general of the Argentinean army is there and he is a really cool guy. Very friendly made me talk spanish even tho he knew english and Diego said If he wants you to leave the country....you just go! There was no disco this night..I was tired and full....Its cool cause tomorrow is the last day in La Pampas!! You know what that means...ASADO!!!! We had the rest of our lovely lamb at Luis^s house...Such a great family. He cooked up the lamb and some pork sausage while his wife made Brain sausage from Vaca (cow)... All in all that day I ate.. Pork Sausage, Beef Brain Sausage, Leg of Lamb, Rack of Lamb, (now the good stuff) Lamb Liver, Lamb Kidney, Lamb Tongue, then the best which im not sure which...The Lamb Eyeball and the brain scooped out of the skull...It was amazing. Luis is the man..He laughed and called me chancho due to my love for pigs and his family was very receptive and hospitable. It was everything I wanted out of Argentina and more. So much thanks...so much love...Viva La Pampas!!!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So last night me and a few hostel buddies rolled out to see Mendoza take on the fury of Buenos Aires bad ass hail to be reckoned with Boca Juniors. I say hostel buddies cause you meet people in the hostel and sometimes you meet cool peeps and sometimes its more aquaintance style. Although there was Richard a bloke from England who was really cool! So we grab a cab and they drop us off right in front of the stadium. Perfect!!! No Walking! All I do is walk so this will be a great break considering we will be STANDING in the ...i dunno end zone, goal zone...wtf do they call it??? As soon as we get out of the cab we hear the drums...boom boom boomboomboom and the trumpet and the singing. We look over to see the crowd jumping the flags waving the crowd just loving it. The game dosn´t start for 30 min. This is when we find out that thats the Boca Juniors side. We have to walk to the other end...Simple enough not a big stadium. A mile and a half later we get to the gate... But its cool were happy to roll in. We get into the stadium and as i walked through the tunnel it was like every movie in America where they say how the grass was so green! It hit me like nothing before, so strange to see this different type of field with the goal, the fences and then the look to the right and the Mendoza crowd going crazy. The crowd was loud, the banners were bright and you could tell that this was life to these people. I am sorry but American Football has nothing on this crowd performance. Maybe Saturday Game Day on a huge rivalry but thats outside the stadium. These fuckers sing the entire game..Great songs...Catchy! You wanna sing but you just dont know the words. The game was alot of fun, Many yells of ¨Puto¨and Moreno were yelled. Mostly at the ref but sometimes the players of the Mendoza squad. There was one goal scored by each team and we were lucky enough to see both on our side. Richard said it was boring and uninventive and I told em it was cool I was from the US we all think its boring! So we leave the stadium and begin looking for a cab, we walk and look, we ask and follow directions and walk there and look. We ask to borrow phones or people to call and everyone says no. 15 cabs pass as we walk and dont stop as we yell TAXI!!! So we walk and look...When we find out we´ve been walking the wrong way we turn back walk and look. 2 hrs goes by...we get a cab and make it back to the hostel. Then I fell asleep!

Cerro Fitz Roy and El Chalten

So we are off to El Chalten!!! The mountains are steep, jagged giants that play amongst the clouds. The weather changes every 20 min the winds howl up to 80 miles an hr daily and everything remains in place, no telephone poles are blown down the houses are intact, winds that would crumble Florida!! The Patagonia frontier!!! The place I chose to do my first ever 3 night trek into the wilderness. We roll into town and the sky goes from partly cloudy to torrential down pour. We arrive at the hostel and they tell us tomorrow will be a very bad day, and promises that the next day would be better and the day after that great! We decide to just stay at the hostel and delay our trip one day, we go to the store and I buy all kinds of good food you wouldn´t think about taking camping. But there was no way i was spending 3 days in the cold and eating dehydrated meals. We also grabbed a bottle of Jim Beam. The day has arrived and we strap on our packs and head up the mountain. The weather is nice..a few clouds in town but nothing too bad. Jenny and I are moving up the mountain...passing people without packs and just cruisin along when suddenly the clouds start movin in. The next thing I know we are walking thru an open area exposed to the elements. That being A forceful wind blowing rain, sleet and SNOW! WTF! We are getting drenched but the walking is keeping us warm. We finally make it to the camp site which was nestled in the trees and it seemed much calmer. We set up camp...freezing cold and get into out sleeping bags, drink whiskey, eat half the food and play rummy. It wasn´t bad but if I had to do this tomorrow I was going back to the hostel. I fell asleep to the sounds of heavy winds and snow. Around 3 am I woke up from the roots digging into my back and Its silent! I can acct hear the river in the distance. Jenny gets up to use the bano and comes back all excited. You could see every star in the sky, the entire milky way and not a cloud to be seen. We wake up at 5 am and set out to see Fitz Roy, the peaks I have seen in countless pics all around Patagonia. Jenny says it will be ab easy trek and the next thing I know we are climbing a pretty descent mountain covered with ice and snow from the previous evenings activities. We make it to the top right before the sun breaks and watch these magical peaks change colors from a ghostly gray to a deep orange to yellow and back again. I must of snapped 100 pictures and we just sat in awe. The most amazing thing I´ve ever seen. It´s also very cold since we are standing in ankle deep snow! Did I say it was summer?? We cruised back down and chatted with folk on their way up...Sissys couldn't make sunrise! Turns out one guy had camped in the snow and rain for 4 days waiting to see it and with last nights weather he decided not to wake up for sunrise...He was pissed. We got back to camp and had Tortillas with avocado salami and cheese a couple hard boiled eggs and then set off on an 8 hr trek. It took us through a massive boulder field up to a huge glacier then along a river, through a really cool forest up to a refugio overlooked by mountains and waterfalls. We made it back to camp and I was ready to die. A couple shots of whiskey and I crashed out on the roots and slept like crap. We couldnt move the tent because the site was full, the downfalls to camping in a big tourist destination. The next day we moved camp to the base of Cerro Torre. The camp was amazing but the peak was covered in clouds and never came out. We chilled for the day, woke up the next morning and started our descent back to town. I cant wait to take a shower!!!!

El Calafate and Perito Moreno

After the grueling 27 hr bus ride we finally make it to Calafate. From the looks of it its a one horse town. A few houses scattered along the hillside a lake that is such a crazy shade of blue green it looks surreal and stunning mountains as a backdrop. The bus rolls down the hill into the town centro and its actually a little bigger than it looks, Ok maybe a 2 horse town. We get off the bus and make our way to our hostel, its a nice little place on the hill and has a great view of the lake. We get settled in and make plans for the ¨Big Ice¨ tour the next day. We fig we need lunch and dinner so we head to the store to some merch. We have Steak and Veggies on the grill and then crash out early. 27 hrs on a bus acct takes alot out of you. The bus arrives at 7 am and brings us to Perito Moreno National Park. We take a small walk out to observe the glacier. The glacier is massive and the shades of blue and white are like nothing I´ve ever seen. The glacier protrudes down the mountain and all the way into the lake. Every once in awhile you hear a ´crack and a rumble that sounds like thunder. It´s quite eerie. The walk takes you along to diff vantage points and I am watching this 1 piece that looks like a slice of bread hanging off a loaf. I think how it would be cool to see it fall in, and not 1 min later there is a loud crack and down goes the slice of ice. Its roughly 10 stories high and hits the water with tremendous force. The wave that results is powerful and rushes down the glaciers edge sounding like loud tearing paper. We then get on a boat and cruise over to start the glacier hike. We get our equipment consisting of gloves a safety harness, in case you fall into a crevasse and our crampons which are spikes that go over your shoes to grip the ice. The wind id ripping and it starts to snow!! Oh great 4 hrs walking on one of the worlds biggest ice cubes and its snowing. Once we get walking we warm up and we see our first crevice. It is filled with crystal clear water and has the coolest shade of electric blue. We walk around for 3 hrs checking out diff ice formations, rivers, waterfalls under the ice and spikes in the ice that look like Superman's fortress of solitude. Quite an amazing site. We have lunch on the ice and then head back to the boat. The tour ended with a scotch on the rocks which was acct a piece of the glacier. I had 3!!

3 blog night...El Bolson

After gettin out of Bariloche I thought my next stop should be El Bolson. El Bolson is a really cool town surrounded by rocky peaks and know for its artesenal brews and small town hippie feel. As soon as I got in I felt pretty comfortable even though I hadn't a clue where I was going. Whenever I get off a bus in a new town its kinda a pain in the ass to try and figure out the city, the busses, the cabs and the streets. After a day or two its all so easy. I found the bus stop fairly easy and when the bus came I thought I was supposed to take I was ÿelled at by the driver telling me something or another way to fast! The next bus came with the exact same results. A hand jesture led me to believe I was on the wrong side of the road so I went to the other side. I waited for a good half hour and came to the realization the bus might not be coming..I should grab a cab...but I havn´t seen a cab in the hour I´ve been in town...I did see a taxi sign though. I stood there for a good 20 min gettin pissed and upset and muttering to myself how this city sucks wtf are the cabs!?!? I then go to the tourist info center and they inform me the only way to get a cab (Remise) is to call for one. Hmmm this info woulda helped me an hour ago. I get into their cab and off to the hostel feeling much better and enjoying the town again. Upon arriving at the Hostel Publeito I meet a couple guys and they are all going back to town to check out the town fair. Pretty much a bunch of hippies sellin hippie stuff. We walk a bit and my amigo Lee finds the beer stand. We have 1 then 2 and then Jeremy and Brian want to get waffles. Lee and I kinda look at each other like WAFFLES?? But we go with and whataya know the ice cream waffleria sells EL Bolson beers...12 diff varieties. Lee decides to buy 1 of each and we all have an El Bolson beer tasting. They were OK Nothing to special but we continued to order more beers and then partied into the night. The weather in Bolson was crap so this became an everyday ritual, the drinking that is. Lee and I would plan treks to the mountains wake up and see it was raining or snowing or the wind was blowin some 85 miles an hr. A few days in a couple girls came in Jenny and Ava and they were from Seattle. Jenny lives in Ballard and Ava in Wallingford. We chat a bit and I was telling them I planned on going south to Calafate. Jenny was wondering if I was camping and I told her I had no gear. Ava was returning home to Seattle and Jenny had a bus ticket to Calafate in 2 days. She had a 2 man tent and if I wanted to roll along I was more than welcome. I thought about it that night, booked my 28 hr bus ticket the next day and left for Calafate. I need a break from drinking anyway!

Bariloche On top of the world!!

I roll into Bariloche and its got a pretty weird vibe to it. I thought I was in Argentina? It seems I have been transported via 21 hr bus ride to Switzerland. The City Centro is very quaint with the buildings made of log and stone. There are Saint Bernards runnin around everywhere for the way too many tourists to snap photos of. A chocolatier on every corner and 2 more in between makes this a fat kids paradise! Then there is the deep blue lake with the backdrop of picturesque mountains. It is quite amazing. I walk around the city for a bit and after a bit grow tired from the bus ride. I take a small nap back at the hostel then jump on the internet. I overhear a guy talking of a day trek hes looking to do and I jump in and tell him Im lookin to do the same. The blokes name is Willy and hes from England. We chat for a bit then head out to get provisions for the hike and decide to cook up some steaks for dinner. After a bottle of wine and a few beers at the local boozer I head off to sleep for the alarm will ring at 7. Its 3 AM!! I think the sun went down an hour ago...7 am comes EARLY...not that oh I got to go to work its early early...I mean the I just went to sleep leave me the hell alone early. I kinda hurt but damnit I really cant take another day in town. I get up and we make some eggs and sandwiches and get ready to roll out. We grab one of the two buses that head out to the trail head. The return bus is only at 5 45 or 8 10. We were told it would be 5 hrs up and 2 hrs down to The Refugio Lopez so we plan on makin the 5 45. We get there and notice the sign says 4 hrs. Sweet a nice easy pace and we will be kosher. We start walkin up the trail and come to a kinda dead end..Then we look up..Is that the trail?? We start going up. Then up some more and up some more. Loose rocks, sand and flies the size of volkswagens make the thought of the way down horrifying. We keep pluggin along without a break because said flies like to bite...Hard! Bastards!! Waving my hat to shoo them away for a second before they come back buzzing. We were walking about an hour when we see the refugio up on top of the hill. It looks crazy bein way up there in the middle of nowhere. We keep trekking and make it there in just under 2 hours. Now I dont think Willy and I are world class athletes but 2 hrs ahead of time seems quite odd. So we sit there have lunch and talk of how the bus will arrive in apprx 7 hrs. I suggest we continue on and Willys a bit tired but is game. We will just go for a little more. We take a look at the trail up and its steep. It looks scary but we decide to go for it. We get to climbing..No longer are we walking or trekking we are climbing stone through waterfalls and snow. We run along 2 Isralea girls and they say its 2 hrs to the summit. I dunno if we have enough time to get the bus. We then ask them how long it took them to get to the refugio and they reply with to our amusement 4 hrs. Shit we got this!! We get to climbin and scramblin up rock faces and cliffs. If my mom woulda saw me she would freaked out. We make it to the snowline and we are thinkin we are almost there so we start climbin quicker. We´ll make it in 45 min we think. Then there's another peak behind the one we´ve been climbing. We keep going pulling ourselves up the rock. Damnit there is another peak. We got plenty of time for the bus as Willy keeps me updated on the time every 20 min. We then run across some friendly Argentines who are on their descent and they tell us to cross a road of snow then up a quick climb and we are there. We have 3hrs 25min before the bus. The whole way up the path was marked with distinct arrows in red paint. When we made it across the snow road there was a line...not an arrow not a pointer just a line going across. So I tell Willy and we make a decision to go to the right. A rocky, jagged cliff face that immediately says...Don´t go this way! Of course we do. Willys leadin the way and all I hear is Be careful here loose rock kinda scary! We warned each other back and forth the whole way up of certain dangers. I get goin and my fear of heights all of a sudden jumps into action. The rock is loose...we are hanging off the side of a mountain and all you see around is blue sky, lake and trees miles down. It felt like I was going to fall all the way down to sea level even though the ground was only 200 ft down. Falling definitely meant you wouldn't be making it back for supper...ever! This sucks says Willy...Fuck I say!! What the hell are we doing...Then Willy breaks out onto the summit and is like get over the hump and you made it... A couple more steps and I break the summit and its the most amazing view I have ever seen. I dunno if it was that I almost died 3 min ago or what but it was frickin awesome. Willys screamin out and Im just smilin...a big high 5 and its all good. We decide to take a few quick snaps and head back down...Bus in 3 hours. We start headin down and forget all about the arrows. I mean its the way down right. Thinking the hardest part is over we carry on walking down the mountain. Next thing we know we are going down 85 degree rock without foot holes. Just our upper body holding us up. Were on the side of rock squeaking by narrow passages between rock and snow that looks like it would eat you alive. Dying of thirst I take a nice long drink from the mountain stream praying I wouldnt regret the decision later. After plenty more cursing, some slipping and lots of rocks tumbling we make it back to the refugio 1 50 until the bus. We grab a quick drink and start heading down the jeep path Willy thinking we have plenty of time. I feel we should start taking shortcuts and start taking paths that cut through the switchbacks. We then run into the Argentines that we met at the top of the mountain and started walking with them..Now walking and chatting Im thinking we´re never going to make it. Then they say...Hey were taking a shortcut...It was kinda the same path we took up..Lots of loose dirt and rocks and this guy Fransico and I decide to bomb the hill. We gotta make the bus cause I dont wanna sit around until 8 waitin for the next. We start running down fast! We are haulin ass down this mountain over roots and drops...huge rocks and cliffs are also a challenge. Laughing our asses off and the occasional Holy Shit or I almost died there were all that was really said but we made it down in a bout 15 min. 20 min till the bus. I grab a couple beers at the cafe at the bottom and we soak our feet in the water. Where the hell is Willy. I get half my beer down and Willy comes around the corner. 7 min he says. We cruise out just in time to grab the bus and make it back to the hostel. I go out and treat myself to a nice trout dinner and head to bed early. Today I just relaxed and kicked it around town. Gotta plan something for tomorrow!

21 hr bustrip...Heaven or Hell??

On Sunday I got on a bus from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. The trip would take a total of 21 hours and I was quite nervous that I would go stir crazy. I was told by many that the buses in Argentina were very nice and quite comfortable. I sprung for the executive cama (bed) which was a humongous bus seat that reclined to 160 degrees. It was as they say...quite comfortable. We headed out of Buenos Aires and into the pampas lands. Nothing but green grass and cows grazing. Here unlike the U.S. they feed their cows grass instead of corn. Quite novel actually. After cruising a little bit the movie Fracture with Sir Anthony Hopkins came on with spanish subtitles. Then a light lunch of Croissants with jamon y queso was served. So simple yet blew away any meal I ever had on an airplane. After a bit of reading and a self taught spanish class the movie 2012 came on. I watched about 10 minutes and said to myself...this may be the stupidest movie ever made and drifted into a nice nap. I woke up an hour later and watched about 20 min of 2012 and said...this is the stupidest movie ever made!!! I threw on my Ipod and after a little while the sun set. A super Orange sun with a purple sky set the night off. I then had the urge to use the facilities so I go downstairs and the light reads Occupado. So I sit on the steps waiting to use the lavatory. I was looking out the window and this girl says something to me in spanish..I say hablas poquito espanol and she speaks to me in broken english we chat for a bit and the bathroom is still occupado. Finally the stu comes and tells the girl they lock the bano for dinner service. So I return to my quarters and am treated to roasted turkey and butternut squash. It was a little weird I was diggin the croissants much better. After dinner I wait a bit and make it back to the bano. ALAS!!! It is Libre (vacant) Im in there maybe 30 seconds and their is a pound on the door 3 times BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! I almost pissed on myself. Tranquillo I yell out. I exit the bathroom and see my stu friend who scolded me earlier for my feet being in the aisle talking to the girl i was chatting with earlier. I sit next to her and ask her what that was all about. Turns out Im not allowed to smoke in the bathroom. After telling her I dont smoke we were chatting for a bit...me in shitty spanish her in slightly better english this guy in the seat behind me erupts loudly in spanish and rips his jacket off my seat back where he had it hanging. It seems like everyone is pissed at the gringo but Minla the girl informs me that guy is muy loco and not to worry about it. We chat for a bit more and I go up to my seat. I read listen to music and drift off into the best sleep in 5 days. I awake in the National Park right outside Bariloche and its Beautiful. I feel more relaxed then I was in the city. Something about mountains rivers and big sky that put me at ease. I get off the bus exchange info with Minla..which I have lost already and wonder to myself if I can change in my flight back to Baltimore for a bus!

Off to Patagonia

Well I made it 2 days in Buenos Aires and it is an amazing city. Beautiful architecture and people make walking the streets very relaxing. After the party in Costa Rica I feel I need some time to relax, take it easy and get healthy again. Buenos Aires is seeming like a big party. I accidently checked into a busy party hostel with no a.c. It is hot as shit in the room and sleeping has been tough. I decided yesterday that I would start my trip in Patagonia. I will relax, hike, go to the lakes and try some fishing. I will then finish my trip in B.A. when Im ready to have a couple cocktails and hang out a little later then 10 o clock. I am heading to the bus station right now for a 20 hr trip. I went to this amazing bakery and got a few pasteries and a sandwich. My seat on the bus reclines to 160 degrees. Im hopin to get some rest and see some amazing scenery.

Montesuma and OUT!!!!

...to all my Costa Rican friends this is just my opinion...
After the weeklong party that kicked the crap out of us. Dusty and I decided to cruise over to Montesuma. A small beach town, with a hippiesh culture. Very laid back, beautiful turquoise water and chicks everywhere. We met a couple girls from Argentina on the boat ride over. We exchanged info and may meet back up a little later down the road. I started catching a cold which I am sure is from the partying that insued. It was a very chill time, we hiked to a waterfall that was about 60 ft and I was going to jump off but the FEAR crept in and hindered my jumping ability. Dusty jumped a few times. I was starting to grow tired of Costa Rica. The cuisine is just not what I thought it would be. We ate at 3 good restaurants the entire time. For a country whos staples should be Rice, Beans, Ceviche, Dorado, Fresh Fruits and so on. Why the FUCK is everyone selling Hamburgers, Pizza, Sushi and everything except some typico Costa Rican fare. I believe Pura Vida means put the money in my hand. The country is overpopulated with tourists and evryone is trying to make money off it. I wish I could have seen Costa ten years ago because I think it would have been something special, but all I see is America in a less fortunate country. I decided to change my flight plans to Buenos Aires a week early and start my journey across Argentina. My cold is still here I have been coughing alot and I hope it leaves soon. I have my hostel booked in BA and am ready to go. Bye Bye Costa!

Party Time!!!

I arrived in San Jose last week sometime and after a much needed night sleep went to the airport to pick up Dusty. We cruised to Jimmy T's house, Dustins buddy who lives in Costa. Real cool guy and we had many beverages and dinner. We we're then picked up the following day by Jeff and the rest of the wedding party in a big ass bus. A party it was. It was noon and everyone was partyin, the next thing I knew we were in the bus...drinkin beers and rum and havin a great time. We got to the house and it was amazing. F'n HUGE!!! it looks like an 80's druglords house and the view is really hard to get sick of. That day was a party. Swimming, drinking and all other types of debauchery. The next day we rolled down beachside and did some body surfin and had some really tasty ceviche from some vendors on the beach, the beers and coctails were flowing by 1 and another late night party ensued. Hey! When in a drug lords house do as the drug lords do!! The next day we went on a jungle walk and ended up getting into some shit when we tried climbing over the se slippery ass rocks trying to find a trail. We climbed for about an hour and finally found the trail head. We were thinkin we might be campin the night with the howler monkeys. We made it out and the trail ended at a beach where a guy was selling beer...Ok Why not..I had 1 and then took the night off from drinkin. The ext day to everyones delight Dusty and I cooked dinner and just relaxed it was quite tasty..we got mad props from everyone. Lots of Shopping and cooking for the wedding took up the next couple days and the wedding was really cool. Laid back, chill Mike was the m.c. and married them. He did a great job and kept it light and cool. The party got a little out of hand after and I believe I drank a bottle of Tequilla myself...So today its poolside and a nap..Someone call Betty Ford!!!

Hard Turns, Crazy Bumps and Too Much throw Up!

Woke up early this morning so I could go check out the market in Puerto Escondido. I had heard great things and was pretty excited. I also needed to hit an ATM to pay for the Hostle. I made it to the market and the produce was amazing. Fruits and vegetables all in their prime and some amazing looking bunches of herbs. I strolled around for a bit snapping pics and then cruised back to the hostel. My bill was a little more than expected. I need to leave Mexico soon or get an accountant to keep track of my Mezcal intake. After the shock wore off I headed to the Servicio Express..The last bud I took was first class and it took 10 hrs. The Servicio was half the price and half the time...SCORE!!!! We get on and its a descent lookin bus... I mean hell its a Mercedes...I was a little nervous of the non bathroom option but I figured dont eat anything drastic and keep the water to a minimum. Also when I read about the bus on a review they said if you have motion sickness to avoid it...I thought nothing of this...I mean I worked on a couple yachts Im fine. Sooooo off we go. 6 hours to Oaxaca and Im kinda pissed cause my spanish sucks so bad I cant communicate with people. I really need to work on this. So were about 20 minutes into the trip and already in hardcore mountians. Back and forth your body is tossed after we hit switchback after switch back. The brakes are slammed on to avoid potholes the size of bathtubs. All the while looking out my window straight down into a valley some 10,000 feet below. I throw on some Pearl Jam so I can sing along and not think about anything...Suddenly I look forward and there is throw up all over the floor..I naturally say..In English "Oh NOOO!!!" I turn down Eddie and hear from behind me wretching...Im thinkin as my cousin Tim said....Domino Effect! I know Ill be fine as long as it dosent smell like puke. Which somehow Thank the lord it never did...Another hour goes by and soon the poor little mexican girl with the black pony tail couldnt handle it anymore and threw up again...10 minutes later the girl diagonal from me...burying her nose in her sweatshirt calls out to her mom for a baggie and proceedes to fill it up. The bus driver has had it and im thinking...Oh shit hes gonna drive this bus right over the edge! We all die here...We stop in this small town which is really only a street in the mountains to use the bathroom and the driver makes the little girls dad clean the bus. We finally make it to the city and I just wanna get to the Hostel and put my bag down and grab some food. Well I get off the bus and step into a festival of people. People are everwhere and there are booths and people screaming shit over megaphones and I have no clue where im at...Just in this maze 40 minutes later I recognize some street signs and make it to my home for the eve. I then went back to the maze and ate and ate and ate...and never once did I throw up!!!

Side Trip to Puerto Escondido

After hangin out in Oaxaca City for a few days I kinda got the itch to get out of town. I had heard many great things about Escondido and decided What the Hell and booked an overnight bus to the beach. I mean what a great idea the bus leaves at 11 and arrives at 9 am. So I devised my plan...Have a few beers (a few is around 7 or 8 these days) grab a bottle of mezcal and a half a xanax and I will be out like a light. Itll be perfect waking up fully refreshed and ready to face the day. Well leaving town we stopped every 50 ft for a speed bump...everytime the bus slowed down i woke up...then around 2 in the am we hit the mountains...switchbacks upon switchbacks I couldnt keep still...i finally did get a little rest though and pulled into the Puerto at 9. It was beautiful. Small quaint town with a beautiful beach. I checked into my Hostle which was very nice...Like a little tropical paradise with palm trees and little huts for rooms $10 a night. I then set out for the beach and relaxed and drifted off to sleep. I returned to the Hostle where they have a bar and a girl named Kelly who is the hostle cook was making some shrimp stuffed chili rellenos. I gave her a few suggestions on cooking em and she was grateful. Lots of Mezcal that night..was hangin with two guys on holiday from university in Switzerland. They left the following morning and I headed out to Carrazillio Beach. Im walking and walking lookin for the playa and finally come up to this cove with the most beautiful beach Ive ever seen. This huge semicircle wall of rock with crystal clear water. I sat there for 4 hrs, met a cute little mexican girl and 2 people from Seattle. They{re gonna go check out The Table when they get home. Back to the hostel and it was all gringos...and they all knew the owner so it was more like a frat party in West Palm then chillin in Mexico. I was a little annoyed so went to sleep early. The next day I leave back to the city.

Oaxaca

Happy New Year! It is now 2010 and I am chillin at the Hostle El Quijote in Oaxaca, Mexico. A very vibrant and busy city. I was a little overwhelemed flying in and checking into the hostle. But I went out the doors and headed to the market. It was amazing. Fresh Breads and Vegetables everywhere. Many different kiosks of people selling all kinds of food from frijoladas, tacos, empenadas and a whole bunch more I cant even think of right now. I then went to the city center, the tourist area with concerts and street performers and alot of restaurants. I looked around awhile and felt very alone in such a big place. I know what will cure that I thought...A few beers!! I sat and had a couple and watched the people go by. I relaxed and felt a little better. I then retired to my home in oaxaca and slept for the night. I then woke up and met a few people and planned to meet for beers later on. After seeing the city in daylight and taking many photos I met up with Greg and we headed to the cantina. We had a few beers then headed to another. We drank and drank our way till midnight. Mucho cervesas and Mezcal were had. After the ball dropped we headed to this rock bar where a mexicali cover band played everything fronm Billy Idol to Metallica to System of a Down. Thrown in with some Mexican Ska which really got the crowd going. It was a great evening. Probably the best New Years in a long while.
Oh Yeah...The Moles and Chocolate in this town are BOMB!!!!

Travel Woes

I have learned two important things about traveling already. When in a super busy town and you want to take a bus out of there you need to book your ticket in advance. You can just show up at 9 45 for the 10 10 bus without a ticket, it just doesn^t work. Also after returning to the hotel from said missed bus trip, and you are knocking back a couple of beers to go along with the tequilla shots and half a xanax you ate for the bus ride, now is not the time to book your flight. You might just learn that you booked it for the next day when you were planing the day after. Oh well we live and learn!