Puerto Natales to El Chalten for Xmas to Bariloche for Año Nuevo

So we missed you all for Christmas. We spent it in El Chalten in Glaciers National Park. It was actually a beautiful sunny day and we cooked a ton of good food to celebrate. The wind in this place was relentless though. But we had a good two days and two nights to just relax. Our Christmas Eve dinner was actually one of the best of our lives. We ate for about four hours with our Romanian friends (pictures below) at a local place and there was live music and awesome locals. The best part was seeing how they all celebrated Christmas. A bunch of locals came into the place around 11 and they all sat at a huge table and served the lamb that they had been cooking all night long. The entire lamb by the way. A few minutes before midnight they gave everyone a glass of champagne and we counted down to Christmas like it was New Years. We all toasted with everyone that was in the restaurant and then continued to drink. They drink on Christmas Eve, I mean drink. We tried this Naranja (orange) liquor that smelled like Tequila but was actually pretty good. It was a great evening and awesome to have them include us in their celebrations. We are so happy to have experienced their traditions. Then for the rest of the time in El Chalten we splet, cooked, went for a walk, and watched some shows on our ipod (How I Met Your Mother and The Office), and chilled in our awesome apartment because it was rainy and windy. Overall El Chalten was very relaxing and we enjoyed being there for the holidays. Then we made the bus ride from hell up to Bariloche. The first day was a 13 hour ride to Perito Moreno on a dirt road the enitre time, not the best bus either. Then a 9  hour sleep and eat at a hotel straight from the 70´s. Then back on the bus for another 14 hours. Like I explained in the pictures, our bus broke down on this part of the trip and we had to wait a couple of hours for another bus. But we made it by midnight to Bariloche. The bus trip was the hardest yet so we are planning not to travel that far again while we are here. We did pretty good though and just tried to make the best of the situation. We are now in the town of Bariloche Argentina, in the Lake District and the beginning of Patagonia. The area looks a lot like lake Tahoe in the summer. A huge clear blue lake, surrounded by tree covered mountians and some really nice homes. We are so happy because once again it is hot. About 85 degrees everyday and at night you are in shorts and a shirt. We have decided to stay here for the New Years and not get back on a bus for another 12 hours. The city is large and their is a ton of outdoor activites to do. Also thier is chocolate stores everywhere, and we have already tried it- soooooooo good. We are getting low on funds though so we are going to rent some bikes and go for runs to see more of the towns surrounding the lake and stay cheap. Overall we are looking forward to New Years Eve and our dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant (more on this later, I am incredibly excited to have this place with real tortilla chips and beans. This is the first time we have had Mexican food since Cali I dont know what to think!) We are also thinking about the rest of the trip, we can´t really go to the north of South America because we didnt get any vaccinations, so we are planning on maybe working in Pucon Chile next and then exploring the North of Chile. After that maybe a trip to Costa Rica, but we are not sure yet. In a couple of weeks we will decide how funds are looking and then go from there. We are just trying to live in the now and really enjoy the traveling while we have the oppurtunity. Hope that you all have a great New Years. Please be safe, we will too. If you go to the snow please be extra careful. One of our friends had a freak fatal accident and another is lost right now on a mountian in Tahoe, so please send you thoughts to them and thier families. Make sure that you are always with someone and someone always knows where you are on the slopes. Peace in 2011. Felizes Fiestas and Feliz Año Nuevo. Ciao and Salud.