Missing in action

Sorry I have been missing for the last few days. I came down with an AWFUL cold on Saturday, so I have been living on the couch with Kleenex, Tylenol and Airborne. I am feeling better today, but I'm still pretty snotty and sneezy. Yeah, its gross. And I have to fly back to Houston today, which means I'll probably infect the plane with my cold.

Btw, the photo I posted is of my family on Christmas. I am also posting some of the glacier pics I promised I would post a while back. Aren't they great? I love my camera!

Tomorrow's post should be interesting...will be discussing new years resolutions!














And the trek begins!














Walking on water isn't that hard!














Love this pic. This was my guide leading the way as we trekked away.














Once again, it was windy....one of the Aussie girls took this shot. You can't tell but the glacier behind me is HUGE!

Not home yet, but...

I have some time now, so you guys are going to get an early update on my travels! But first, some bad news -- "THE" job didn't work out. They ended up offering it to someone with a more traditional background. They said it was a really hard decision, and they even tried to get additional budget money to hire both of us, but with the economy the way it is, well, the money wasn't there and the job didn't work out. I'll stay in touch with them, and who knows, maybe something else will come about. In the meantime, I am refocusing my search, so if you hear of anything, let me know. I'm also holding out for a lottery win...hey, you never know?

Now, on to the more fun stuff...

Patagonia was AWESOME! Loved, loved, loved it, and cannot wait to go back and hit Chile too. I basically just hiked my butt off with Alexis and her friends. The first day we tackled Laguna de los Tres. Was a great hike...'til the end. The last mile was basically straight up hill. I was sweating up a storm in the cold, cold weather....even the crazy wind couldn't keep my body temp from rising. But as my dad says, "no pain, no gain" and oh, was the pain worth it! We were rewarded with a fantastic view of two gorgeous glacier lakes, and we came thisclose to seeing Fitz Roy. (As a heads up -- the mountain was petty elusive the ENTIRE trip. Thank goodness I saw it the night I got in!)

That night I gorged on an awesome pizza dinner, complete with three (yes, count 'em!) THREE bottles of wine, shared between a few of us (although Alexis and I definitely enjoyed the majority of the glasses. Love the Malbec!)

It was early to rise for our Saturday hikes. My butt was killing me but my feet somehow kept moving, and before I knew it we were back on the trails. The plan was to do this very long and arduous hike (Laguna Toro), but our plans were thwarted by a swampy trail about half way in. I was bummed but also relieved....I sort of wanted to retire to my hotel's wine bar. But Alexis is a trooper, and she insisted we find another hike. We ended up tackling Loma del Pliegue Tumbado, and we were again greeted with amazing views -- AND SNOW!

By this point my legs were seriously hurting, but Alexis and I are psycho. Instead of taking a siesta, we decided to go and hike to Laguana Capri. We followed much of the same trail for Laguna de los Tres but eventually broke off...before that final mile of hell, thank god! Laguana Capri was stunning and reminded me a lot of the lakes in Adirondacks...save for the snow capped mountains in the background. When we crawled back to town that evening, we realized we had hiked close to 24 MILES. Yes, this is totally insane. I sort of felt like a super hero 'til I realized I could barely walk....

That night we chowed down on sandwiches, pizza and gelato before hitting the hay. I went back to El Calafate on Sunday. I was flying Aerolineas Argentinas back to BA, so OF COURSE my flight was delayed. While waiting, I met a woman named Terri. Turns out she works at the embassy with Lena, the woman I met in Mendoza! Lena was kind enough to say I could crash at her place on Sunday night, but since it was so late by the time we finally took off, I ended up staying at Terri's, even though she wasn't there! (She was going to Bariloche.) Anyway, long story short, I have another friend. I feel so blessed to have encountered so much kindness from strangers on this trip. I have made so many new friends...

So that's it for now. I got the email about "THE" job early in the afternoon today, so my inspiration to get out and do some last minute exploring was pretty much shot. This is probably a good thing given that I'm ready to collapse. Let's hope I can pass out on the plane...

Lots of love,
Jen

PS Even though the trip is over, my blog is not. So keep checking it for random updates on random things...just what you would expect from moi.

PPS Doesn't the photo on top look like it came from the Land Before Time? LOVED THAT MOVIE.














Felt like Hurricane Ike at Laguna de los Tres. I thought the wind would blow me over, but apparently the extra steak and ice cream I have been consuming helped me stay put. Thank goodness for weight gain!














Summer snow. An oxymoron that should never be repeated.















Alexis and Jen at Laguna de los Tres. And yes, we are wearing WINTER jackets.














Laguna Capri. Ignore the snow and see what I mean about it looking like a lake in the Adirondacks. Reminds me of my summers at Camp Whippoorwill...

Don´t cry for me Argentina...

Hey ya´ll...

I head home tonight/tomorrow (flight is at midnight, so...). My trip has been AWESOME! I have lots to update you on regarding the last fews days, and I will when I get home. In the meantime, hope all is well!

Jen

Patagonia....

(NOTE: This blog is for yesterday night in my hotel, but with slow internet access, everything will have to be a day behind. Patagonia is AMAZING!!)

No pics today since internet access is both difficult to find AND extremely expensive, even for US standards. But trust me when I say that Patagonia – deep in Patagonia, as I am now -- is one of the most beautiful places in the world. As soon as I get real internet access back, I’ll post a bunch of pics for you to see. It is amazing.

Yesterday I ventured out for a Glacier Trekking adventure at Perito Moreno, near El Calafate. Was a total blast! I had an adorable guide (is it a requirement that all Argentine guides be hot or what??) and met a group of cool Aussie gals. I thought I was a bit glaciered out from Alaska, but Perito Moreno is simply stunning – just wait ‘til you see the pics. Alaskan glaciers are like ice cubes next to this Argentine baby.

Here are some facts on Moreno for those of you not in the know: Moreno is enormous (30 km long, 5 km wide, and 60 meters high) and it continues to advance, or grow, every day. This is a huge rarity in the glacier world, where global warming is eating away at most ice fields. Moreno’s stabilization and growth is largely due to its “funnel” shape; the accumulation area of the glacier (where the snow falls and compacts to ice) is considerably larger than the ice portion (or bottom portion) of the glacier. So the glacier is able to make up for its losses more easily – the large accumulation area “flows” into a smaller area.. Also interesting: this glacier is at the same latitude as the US/Canadian border. Fortunately for us tourists, wind patterns produced by the Chilean fjords and the Andes allow for the formation of glaciers.

Anyway, your glacier lesson is now over. After the trekking I took the bus to El Chalten, and I already love it! The town is TINY – it was developed as a true border town in 1985 (had to beat Chile to the land claim!) and the year round population is only 600 people. Its entire economy is built around hikers and trekkers like me. Best of all, I actually know someone here! My friend Alexis is coincidentally in town at the same time I am, so we’re going to become hiking buddies. Let’s hope I can keep up. This butt hasn’t been to the gym in three weeks, and my belly is definitely holding a few extra pounds….

Oh yeah, and good news – I already saw Cerro Chalten! In fact, I have a view from my room! (As some of you know, I “splurged” on these final accommodations….I am paying less than 80 USD a night for AMAZING room. I have a king size bed, marble bathroom, and view. Um, can I move here?)

El Calafate

Hey folks,

After a pretty rough plane ride today, I landed (safely) in El Calafate, the central "terminal" you can say for anyone heading to Patagonia. I had low expectations -- I heard El Calafate sucked, with the exception of the amazing glacier up the road (Perito Moreno, which you can check it out here). I, however, love the town. It has something very wild and organic about it. It isn't completely built up yet, so you sort of feel like you're at the edge of civilization (which, for all intents and purposes, you are sort of are). The town is definitely geared toward tourists, but the unpaved roads, roaming dogs, and relaxed attitudes of the locals serve as reminders you that you're not in Disney World (or Bariloche, for that matter....). I suspect the town will have a very different feel in a few years, so get your butt down here soon!

Anyway, tomorrow I am off to a Glacier tour. I am not only seeing the Glacier, but I'll actually be trekking on it! Then it is off to El Chalten for two full days of pure hiking. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and I have the opportunity to see Mt. Fitz Roy, or Cerro Chalten. See the pic below. This is the view I want. I suspect that I'll get it too, since I am usually pretty lucky when it comes to views. After all, I did see Denali in all of her glory not once, not twice, but three times. And besides, I lost my camera -- God has to have SOME sympathy for me. Not letting me see Cerro Chalten would just be cruel. (Btw, just in case there is any confusion, I am NOT planning on climbing Cerro Chalten. I am not ready to die just yet....)














I am about to pass out, so I'll have to say Adios for now. El Chalten is REALLY in the middle of nowhere, so I am not sure what my internet access will be for the next few days. However, keep checking the blog, and I will post if I can.

Love,
Jen

PS - KUDOS TO ALEXIS for rescuing my camera! I have it back! Yay!

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.













The English-speaking crew, pre-rafting.














At the Chilean border. I am next to Lucy and Rusty, the English couple. Rusty is also one of the funniest people I have every met.

Words cannot describe how awesome it is.....

...but they will have to do for now.

I accidentally left my camera in BA. I know, it TOTALLY sucks. Fortunately, my friend Alexis is going to try to pick it up and leave it for me in El Calafate, so I'll have it back in about 2 days. But in the meantime, I'm stuck using disposable Kodak cameras. Once I get back to the states I'll develop the film and transfer them to digital images, so you will see them eventually. But in the meantime, my outstanding writing skills will have to do for y'all :)

But enough about that. Here is what I have been up to!

Got into Mendoza late on Friday.....and promptly crashed! I didn't even eat dinner!! The next day it was off for a full day wine tour. 'Twas splendid! Our wine tour leader was this awesome American guy named Adam (he's a huge ski bum, so I liked him right away!), and I met two super nice women who work at the US Embassy in BA. They have very sweet jobs -- both Adam and I were like "we want to join the Foreign Service!" Anyway, I ate and drank way too much during the tour, so I headed back to my hotel and just chilled for a while -- needed to digest! Then I hit an outdoor concert and a late dinner with an English couple staying in my bed and breakfast. I tried to get in touch with my new friend Cristian (from my flight to Iguazu...), but we missed each other! I guess we'll just have to meet up in Miami...

I went to bed early on Saturday (early by Argentine standards -- 1 AM!) in order to be up at 7:30 for a high mountain tour of the Andes. It was AWESOME but very strange scenery. This part of the Andes is very desert-like, even when you reach high altitude. But it was gorgeous! We got to the Chile border and even saw Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America. (And since I saw Denali/Mt. McKinley in July, I have seen the tallest mountains in both North AND South America in one year!) The tour itself sucked -- our guide's English was, well, non-existent, but I was so lucky to be sitting next to an Argentine woman with PERFECT English! She basically translated everything for me. After the tour, I used a coupon to grab a free glass of wine at the Vines of Mendoza tasting room. While there, I met a nice French guy from DC. He had just come from El Calafate, so he gave me lots of advice that will be useful when I get there.

Sunday night I took the bus to Bariloche, arriving around 1 pm today. It was surprisingly nice -- big leather seats that fully reclined! I actually slept pretty well, and met a nice American woman from California. We're going to try to meet up tonight for dinner.

Bariloche is a very cute little mountain town. Sort of like a little Swiss village, except everyone speaks Spanish! It is also a HUGE backpackers town -- everywhere you look you see people with sacs on their backs! The scenery is gorgeous too, but (to be honest) not nearly as amazing as Switzerland, Banff, Alaska or even Lake Placid. That is one thing about Argentina that has been a little disappointing -- I was expecting scenery that just blows you away, but I haven't really seen it yet (Iguazu excluded, of course!) That said, I have not REALLY reached Patagonia yet, so hopefully I'll be awestruck when I get there on Wednesday (and -- fingers crossed -- hopefully my camera will be waiting for me!)

Lots of love to you all!

No more vino!

I went out last night...my first Argentine night out! It was a lot of fun but I am SOOOO tired and SOOO exhausted. While the falls of Iguazu are awesome, the town itself if pretty lame. My drinking partner and I downed a couple of 3 dollar cosmos and diet coke and shared traveling stories...and before I knew it it was 2 AM! And drinking diet coke was not a good idea since I couldn´t get to sleep until about 3:30.

No more to post today since I am just traveling from Iguazu to Mendoza. My flight connected in BA, but the trip to Mendoza is delayed, so I ventured into BA for a late lunch and hot chocolate at Cafe Tretoni, a very famous Argentine cafe. Yum!

Heading back to the airport soon. Will get in to Mendoza at about 10 and will probably crash.....

Day 2 in Iguazu....

Hola, Day 2 in Iguazu!

And oh, what a CRAZY day!

I woke up very early for vaca – 6:30 AM! – and after showering and such, headed down breakfast. The buffet, which was included with the room, was awesome: all the basic breakfast foods, plus loads of meat, bread and cheese. Being the cheapskate that I am (see previous post about FREE hotel room) I loaded up on all the protein and carbs that I could. And it paid off – with the exception of a little ice cream (of course!), I didn’t need anything to eat until 4 pm!

And then the day started! First stop – Devil’s Throat. Words cannot describe how magnificent it is. It is incredible. I actually had to go 2x (camera battery died the first time, ugh!) so I have photos from both the AM and the afternoon. Some of the images are below, and you need to check out the video here. Wow.

Then, it was off to under the waterfalls – literally! I forked over 75 pesos to take a rafting trip that went under some of the falls. It was awesome – sort of like being doused by a fire hydrant, as my new American friends (two very cool guys from UCLA biz school) said. Speaking of my new friends, I am so stoked -we’re going to be in BA at the same time, so we’re going to try to meet up again. Yay!

So by this point of the day I was totally exhausted, so I ate a couple of empanadas and chilled before a jungle tour. The tour was a blast – think Tarzan without the sexy shirtless dude. Lots of photos below! (Btw, super cool monkey photos to come -- my camera died on me, AGAIN, but a super sweet gal from Missouri is emailing me her photos!) The jungle tour was also a little embarrassing – a lot of my photos included the tour guide (who, btw, was totally adorable, although not nearly as cute, smart, or amazingly perfect as my boyfriend, Christian…love ya babe!) and he thought I was taking photos of him! Um, no.

Tomorrow I head to Mendoza. AKA Argentine wine country. Oh baby, bring it on.

Lots of love and hugs (and kisses for the boyfriend!) from South America!

PS The music playing right now in the Sheraton is "These Dreams." I mean, I love Heart, but come on... Gotta love Argetine music taste. (Speaking of which, funny story -- I was in a super trendy BA store -- think coed BCBG -- and they played Celine Dion not once, not twice, but THREE times. Daddy, you would LOVE it here!)

PPS Just got an email informing me of my ELITE status for Continental! Yay!

PPPS Heard it snowed in Houston. Um, CRAZY! But loved the pics from the real Jenny P.! Thanks girl!

Me, in front of Devil's Throat. It was amazing.

Devil's Throat. Don't go here if you have to pee.

Jungle boogie, get down with the boogie!

My tour guide! He kind of reminded me of Christian, actually -- they have the same facial expressions!

One BIG ASS bug. Ick!

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle...see, the Argentine's music taste is wearing off on me! Help me Pandora!

Niagara? What's that?

I am in Iguazu and....WOW! As Eleanor Roosevelt put it when she first saw Iguazu -- "Poor Niagara." For those of you unfamiliar with Iguazu, here are the facts:

- 2.5 miles long
- 275 (yes, 275!!) individual waterfalls
- the falls plummet almost 300 feet into the gorge below

The falls are SO huge and SO impressive that you can hear them from miles away. It. Is. AWESOME.

I'll let the photos do most the explaining. Seriously INCREDIBLE. Tomorrow I'll be heading to Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) and doing a boat tour under a waterfall. I may even venture to the Brazilian side of the falls....I don't have a Visa but for $150 USD, that doesn't matter... :) (Btw, $150 is LESS than it costs to get a Brazilian visa! Good deal, as long as I don't end up in Brazilian jail.)

Also, I made an Argentine friend today! His name is Cristian and I met him at the airport in BA. He lives in Miami now and will be going to fashion school soon -- he wants to design couture gowns. Um, AWESOME! He is in Argentina visiting family in Mendoza. He was super sweet and we're going to meet up this weekend in Mendoza!














View from my *free* Sheraton hotel room. Thank God for Starwood points!














Yours truly, in front of a bunch of waterfalls. And you can't even see the HUGE (and super famous!) Devil's Throat from here....














Some cute monkey thing. I have no idea what it was, but it was cute! Probably had rabies though. Yuck.


















Another waterfall (and me!). I am so sorry, but I really have no idea which waterfall this is. There are too many! (I forgot my map in my room, but I'll update the name when I find it!)

Argentina Schedule

Here is all the info ya need!

[IMPORTANT ADDITION -- YOU MUST DIAL 011 BEFORE ALL NUMBERS LISTED BELOW!]

4 Dec, 2008: Fly from Houston to Buenos Aires (Continental Flight 51, leave at 9:00 pm)

5 Dec, 2008: Arrive in BA at 11:20 AM. Staying at a rented apartment here:
Paraguay 4419, 1st Floor Apartment A, Palermo Viejo
Phone number is (+54-11) 4833-3765

10 Dec, 2008: Fly from BA to Iguazu (LAN flight 4026, leave at 1:20 pm and get in around 3 pm). Staying here:

Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa
Parque Nacional Iguazú, Iguazú 3370 Argentina
Phone: (54) (3757) 491800

12 Dec, 2008: Fly from Iguazu to Mendoza w/ connection in BA (LAN flights 4025 and 4228, leave at 1:50 and arrive at 6:30 -- assuming no delays when I connect!)

Staying here in Mendoza:

B&B Plaza Italia
www.plazaitalia.net

14 Dec, 2008: Overnight bus from Mendoza to Bariloche. Details TBD, but I look to leave at about 9 pm and arrive in Bariloche at around 1 on the 15th

Staying here in Bariloche:

www.hosterialasmarianas.com.ar

18 Dec, 2008: Flight from Bariloche to El Calafate. Aerolineas flight 2694. Leave at 1:20 and arrive shortly after 3.

Plans are to go to Chalten that evening either via bus or rental car. Rental car may be the preferred method given that the flight to El Calafate is almost always delayed and I don't want to miss the bus!

Staying in Chalten from the 18-21 here:

Senderos Hosteria
www.senderoshosteria.com.ar

21 Dec, 2008: Drive back to El Calafate. Fly back to BA on Aerolineas flight 2899 (leave at 7:30 and arrive at 11:30 pm)

22 Dec, 2008: Go home :( Fly from BA to Houston (Continental Flight 50, leave at 11:50 pm)

23 Dec, 2008: Back in Houston around 6 AM

Plans on getting home are TBD...but it will probably be on miles since I am so late to book anything!