Snapshots of Amy's life

I hung out with a group of guys for a day who are visiting Bariloche from Buenos Aires. You can't ask for much more than mate, a guitar and a beach.

Yesterday I wandered all around Bariloche with a girl from Germany and a guy from France (Spanish being the shared language). This meant kilometers of random paths, trails, roads and sidestreets. During all this wandering we came to this awesome overlook. What a view!


During all this wandering around we also came across a really cool tree!

Living the rough life

Me, Anabela and Andrea hanging out on a Sunday afternoon at Andrea's pool in Funes (a town near Rosario). We went over for an asado... once again yum!

Mate

So how did I really spend my last week? I spent it drinking mate. I learned the ins and outs of preparation and all the associated customs. What a cool social activity! Pour the hot, but not boiling water, over the yerba; pass it to the next person in the circle; drink the savory drink in a timely fashion; pass the mate back to the person in charge; pour more water out of the thermas onto the part of the yerba that's already wet; never stir; continue all afternoon, perhaps into evening. Everyone makes mate slightly different. Some pour the sugar on, some like it amarga. Some mix in orange peels, some mix in coffee. Some like gords with larger openings, some with smaller openings. Basically it's a bit of an art and a very tasty one at that.

Flying sola

For some reason, this computer is being down right stubborn (yes.. computers can be stubborn) about loading more photos, so I'm going to write a few words for now and then finish posting the rest of my photos from Rosario later today or tomorrow.

I got into Bariloche this morning after a 20 plus hour bus ride. The bus ride was actually quite pleasant, complete with food service, reclining seats and a good book (Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum) . While on board I wrote these thoughts in my journal:

-The old man in the quiet coffee shop in the bus terminal in Santa Rosa with whom I chatted during a 15 min. leg stretch while drinking a cup of coffee with milk, but free of sweetener of any sort -- how this country is obsessed with sugar, or sweetener to be more accurate, the calorie free way of making everything and anything tongue-numbingly tasty seems to be a forceful trend which worked it's way into the coffee served on the bus.

-The endlessly flat landscape sprinkled by cows and hay, an occasional tree. Bathed in green. Soaked in boiling sun until washed away by the watery torrents of the still warm evening. Flat. Endlessly, vastly, widely, visibly flat.

-The 12 year girl who sits across the isle starstruck. Utterly and completely starstruck. Unable to peel her gaze away from my braided pig tails, white cardigan and smiles sent in her direction. Eventually she works up the nerve to ask me where I'm from and how old I am. I try, maybe futilely, to explain where Alaska is located. She tells me she thought I was 27. We chat.

- My eyes creek open under the whisper of the morning. The glow outside the window catches my attention, instantly waking up my travel-weary body. Pinks, oranges, yellows and golds sing on the dry canyon landscapes, silver lakes, dense clouds and vast spaces. A big deep breath. A calm. I'm almost to the mountains, I'm almost home.

-Sola? It's always, or usually, asked with the same disbelieving look. Yep, I am traveling alone and I even enjoy traveling alone. Not that there aren't moments that I long for the reassurance of a travel mate. But how would I talk to the old man in the cafe where I ordered sweetener-free coffee if I was preoccupied talking to a travel mate? How would I learn that this old man is a rare exception to the Argentine mentality? That he shows only surprise, but not fear that I'm "flying sola?"


On a side note, chatting with some fellow travelers from London in the Hostel this morning was really nice. Every now and then it's good to be able to tell a story, without simultaneously having to run through a catalogue of verb conjugations =)

A Friday night asado

My friend, Pame, eats an asado every Friday night with neighboring dog enthusiasts (everyone knows each other from walking their pets in the same park). Last Friday Pame invited me to join the festivities. It was a really nice evening. Everyone was really laid back, the meat was ricisimo (extra tasty), and we ate in this somewhat rustic fishing club by the river (meaning good ambience). Yum!

Friends

Anabela and here mom, Isabela, in a really cool cafe called HomoSapiens (what a fun name). Joshua made the comment that I should travel the world and rate coffee and cafes. Not a bad idea if you ask me. This place would definitely get a two thumbs up. So would the Esso gas station between Buenos Aires and Bariloche. Those people knew how to make a cup of coffee. I was impressed.

Anita and Anabela at a restuarant where we ate pizza (Argentine pizza is distinct and oh so yummy)

Carlos and Ines (I knew Carlos from last time I was here, but not Ines)

Anita, Anabela, me and Maia

Virginia and I had a lovely dinner out last night. Not only was the conversation great, but five hours of talking Spanish proved to be excellent practice.

Scenes of Rosario

The view from Anabela's balcony

The bustle in one of the larger department stores downtown

Truly a pedestrian street

Rosario

Well, here I am in Rosario... kind of a weird realization. A lot has changed since I left over five years ago (both within myslef and here in the city), and yet a lot is exactly as I remember it. The best way I can describe my immediate reaction is a vivid dream that has suddenly become reality. Anyway, day one was good and I'm happy to be here.

Anabela, Carlos and me in Funes (a town 14 km. from Rosario) where Carlos has a vacation house.

Rio Paraná which borders Rosario. Anabela and I drank coffee at a cafe that overlooked this river this morning.

Portrait by the river

A memorial to those who died in the Falklands war. This memorial is new since I was last in Rosario and very well done.

The wind of my soul

Well my family leaves tomorrow and then its just me and my backpack... very exciting, somewhat nerve racking.

During this past semester, as I pondered the question of "What now?," I listened to this song by Cat Stevens on quite a regular basis. The lyrics have come to have a lot of significance in my life and therefore are worth posting. Enjoy!

I listen to the wind

To the wind of my soul
Where I'll end up well I think,
Only God really knows
I've sat upon the setting sun
But never, never never never
I never wanted water once
No, never, never, never

I listen to my words but
They fall far below
I let my music take me where
My heart wants to go
I swam upon the devil's lake
But never, never never never
I'll never make the same mistake
No, never, never, never

Video

So the whole video thing still isn't quite working for me, so I'm going to redirect you all to Jorge's site (our guide for the six day trek) where my video is quite successfully posted.

The link is: www.andescross.blogspot.com

Check it out!

A country of mullets

Meandering home from the disco at 7 a.m. I pondered a shocking realization... Not only is shag the moda (style) when it comes to hair, but shaggy mullets seem to be "in." The priniples behind mullets appear to have a ubiquitous influence on both the cuts of guys and girls -- guys just wear the shag a few lengths shorter. Attractive? Each to their own.

Beach party

So, posting the video hasn't quite gone as planned... I'm still working on it though. If anyone has any tips, ideas or suggestions as to what I might be missing feel free to send them my way. In the meantime, here's some images from the Argentine beach scene.

The guide book said something to the effect, "You should go to the beach in Argentina in January just so you'll never again say, 'this beach is crowded.'" That pretty much sums it up. Buenos Aires et. al. flocks to the beach in January.

Some of my friends from Rosario (where I was an exchange student) are staying in a nearby town. We spent Sunday with them. What better afternoon beach activity in Argentina than drinking mate and snacking on medialunas!

During the day the activity is at the beach, at night it's in the town. The streets are alive from about 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (Nope that's not a typo... and yes I know... Brad and I went to the disco with my Rosario friends on Sunday night... I mean Monday morning... we didn't leave for the disco until 3 a.m.)

Despite the swarms -- through local knowledge -- we were able to find a relatively uncrowded beach. As the sun set what people were on this beach scattered, leaving a gorgeous calm.

Video of Cerro Catedral Sur

So I'm branching out in the world of blogs and attempting my first video post...we'll see how this goes!

Trekking Photos Part II

Refugio Jakob where we spent two wonderful nights

Reaching the summit after a challenging roped ascent on day 5

The view from the peak of Navidad

Me pointing out the gully we descended off of Navidad... the same day we did the roped ascent

Hanging out by a still (literally and figuratively) frozen lake

Leave it to the Schencks to come up with interesting ways to pose for photos

Brad carrying me on his shoulders over a snow patch... just for fun

Mom leaps across the river

Trekking Photos Part I

Mom and dad tackling the bushes

Jorge pointing out the "path" from the ridge

Suprise, suprise... mom doing Yoga

Chillin' on the rocks

Maria -- Jorge's girlfriend who hiked with us on our second day

Heading up to Cerro Catedral Sur from Frey Hut

Jorge, our guide, leading the way up the mountain

The view from the top to Cerro Catedral Sur

Hiking in the Andes

I just got back from a fantastic, amazing and wonderful 6 day hut-to-hut hiking trip through the Andes... yes life is rough! The highlights included:

1) A roped ascent of a fairly steep snow field intermixed with crampon rock scrambling... talk about family initiatives.

2) New Years Eve at Frey Hut... a world class rock climbing destination. The party was fun, the people were dynamic and the views were unparalleled.

3) Standing on the peak of Navidad with views of Tronador and Volcan Lanin.

4) Skiing off the peak of Navidad... we made some sweet turns on our skis... I mean hiking boots... or in my case tennis shoes.

5) Hanging out a Jakob hut... by far the least crowded, best run and friendliest stop on our trip.

6) Standing on top of Cerro Catedral Sur surrounded by rock spires.

PHOTOS COMING SOON!