Rafting in Argentina

First, good news -- I have some pics to share with you guys today! I'll explain how I got them in a sec.

Now, onto the more interesting stuff: what has your non-Spanish speaking Argentine traveler been up to? RAFTING! Today I decided to throw on my swimsuit, lather on the sunscreen and hit the rapids. It was AWESOME! I went with a group of about 15. The group was very international -- it included another American, an English couple, two guys from Luxembourg, a French woman, a few Mexicans and a couple of Argentines. We split into two boats -- an English boat and a Spanish boat. Needless to say I was in the English boat...

The river we were rafting down was the Manso River. It is fed by various Patagonian glaciers, and there are even a couple of waterfalls that run into it (although we're NOT talking Iguazu here...). It flows toward Chile and the Pacific ocean, and the closer you get to the border, the more difficult it gets. We were rafting over Class IV rapids at one point, which was a bit scary I must admit!

The scenery, by the way, was INCREDIBLE. This was the Andes I was waiting for. Think beautiful mountains covered with luscious green trees and brush, and bright blue streams cutting through the landscape. It is like a story book.

Anyway, after rafting to Chile (yes, I stepped foot -- illegally I think -- into Chile!) we ate a very Atkins-friendly lunch of steak and sausage. I am still stuffed from it! We also got to see some of the photos that the professional photographer took while we were rafting. He put all of the images and movies onto a disk, and we could buy one for $160 pesos or two for $75 pesos each. Huh? Yeah, we were confused too. Anyway, my group (the English boat) bought two and we're meeting tonight at a bar to copy the CDs. I already put them on my computer, so I'm just handing the disk off to someone else. I would have been fine paying the $75 for myself only, but everyone else wanted to share (and save moola). Illegal, I am sure, but I'm ignorant to Argentine copywriting laws, so....

In the meantime, here are some of the images from today. Enjoy! Tomorrow I head off to El Calafate and then to El Chalten. I can't believe my trip is almost over! It is so depressing, especially when I meet Europeans who are traveling for 6 or 7 months straight. And we Americans get excited when we're given three weeks vacation?!?!

PS - Here is a video of me rafting. Notice how someone fell out -- and no, it was not me! (It was Will, the other American -- and military brat! -- from San Diego.) More videos to come soon at www.youtube.com/jenpearsall. (And some of them are a lot scarier.... :))

More gorgeous scenery. Incredible.

Rafting and getting completely soaked. Our guide was this guy Juan, or "John Smith." He was a total dead ringer for House. He also thought the word "funny" meant "fun" (i.e. "It is very funny when you fall in the water.") We thought he was totally demented until we realized his confusion.