A Few Pictures of Bariloche and Lake Nauhuel Huapi

Here are just a few pictures, the lake is so clear it is hard to capture. More pics and stories to come. We hope you all have a great year in 2011. Let us know what you are doing. Ciao.

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.

El Chalten Pics

Awesome wine rack, Duffy can you make us one as a hexagon?

Our last breakfast at Casa Lucy, you can see the gift we gave her under the tree. If anyone goes to Puerto Natales you have to stay at Casa Lucy she is great. MMMMM.....cheese for breakfast.

The distances to various countries from the middle of nowhere on Ruta 40. This is the beginning of our two day, over 24 hour bus ride.

Merry Christmas salsa. This was the first and only we have made so far because we have been craving Mexican food. No tortilla chips here anywhere so we had to eat it with bread and rice cakes. Very festive colors, yes?

Amber enjoying our three course Christmas Eve meal at Como la Vaca. Steak, mashed herbed potatoes, caprese salad, lamb empanada, and two bottles of wine. BOMB!!!

This is the little town where we stayed for the holidays. It is in the middle of Glaciers National Park. That is Mount Fitz Roy in the background. The town was tiny but we enjoyed relaxing there after the hike.

Another shot of our Christmas Eve dinner with our Romanian friends, Christian & Ramona. Thanks Julia and Duffy!

So we stayed at the restaurant pretty late and got to eat with the locals. They had an entire lamb cooking the entire night and they served it up at like 11:30 at night. This is me grubbing on a delicious piece.

So we had some live local entertainment at dinner too. We bought a CD to remember the awesome night. They played all sorts of instruments.

Another shot of El Chalten. You can see the torres on the right as well.

Ambers awesome shot from the bus of the entire Fitz Roy range.

So this is about  hour away from Bariloche, on our 2nd day of travel, after about 22 hours or so, and our bus broke down. At least the weather was awesome and we only had to wait about 2 hours for the other bus to come.

This is how we filled our time waiting for the bus. Patience and Balance.

Torres Del Paine National Park Chile

So we have made it back from one of the most beautiful National parks on Earth. We had an epic adventure to say the least. We are now at one of our favorite Hostels, Casa Lucy, in Puerto Natales. We are once again warm and cozy and looking forward to being in El Chalten, in Argentina for Navidad. We hiked a total of about 51 kilometers, which is about 30 miles. We started the first day going to Campamento Las Guardas which was next to Glacier Grey. The hike took about four hours and it was probably the hardest at the end of the hike, non-stop uphill. We were literally almost blown away by the wind. Patagonia=windy!!! We had to hike up this mountian and at the top the winds were about 60-80 mph, it was insane. The rain hurt so bad when it hit you at that speed and it almost knocked us over a couple of times. Our camp was by the glacier and of course it started to rain as soon as we got to camp. But we set up and had a good pasta dinner. We camped with a couple from Australia and England. The funny thing was his cousin started the Banana in Pajama´s T.V. show, if anyone remembers that. Also before we left to the park we met a couple at Casa Lucy who were going to do a shorter trek than us. He was born in Punta Arenas, Chile (a town south even of Pureto Natales) and she was from New Jersey. We entered the park with them (Danielo and Stephanie) and he gave us some intersting tips. He showed us the Calafate berries (like blueberries) that grow in the park- very good. The town of El Calafate in Argentina where we stayed is named after them, also a pretty good beer has them in it. He also showed us a section of the Torres del Paine National park that is owned by his distant family. We asked for a discount or some free room and board, but even he has been excluded from the discounts :) It was cool to meet a local who had hiked in the park a couple of times and knew some intersting history. Plus his family gets paid annually from the park because they own some of the best land, score! Anyways the next day we hiked a total of 16 miles and it was no easy task. We hiked all the way from the glacier to Campamento Italiano at the base of the Torres. The hike was epic to say the least and we were dead by the time we got there. We got to see a lot of the park this day and probably the best views of the trip. We were so excited to be at camp that we ate and then passed out for 12 hours on the dirt- our backs hurt in the morning. So day three was probably the hardest. I bitched and moaned (ask Amber about it, Cuz would be saying I was cuzin´ extra extra hard) because it was constantly raining. I mean we hiked 10 miles in the cold rain and were wet the entire time. I like rain but when you are wet for four hours it becomes a little hard. We had planned to stay at a closer refugio but we decided to mish to Refugio Las Torres for our last night to be close to Torres Del Paine. A refugio is a place where they have bunks where you can sleep so you dont have to stay in the rain and you can be dry and warm. Plus you can buy a warm meal and booze. Lets just say that this was probably the best Amber and I have felt this entire trip. Can you imagine after a day of hiking with wet clothes while it continues to rain on you how good a bottle of wine and a warm authentic Chilean meal would be?!?!? We were in heaven. We met some guys from San Diego at the refugio (Matt and Steve) and spent the evening chatting and drinking beers with them by the warm fire. So because of the rain and our tired bodies we decided to go home the next day. We had seen most of the W trail and wanted to have time here in Puerto Natales to get ready for the next chapter of the trip North. Plus our bodies felt like we had been beaten with a stick for twelve hours. This trek was amazing and Torres Del Paine is a beautiful place. I know we have been saying this a lot but the pictures do not do it justice. The park is huge and I know I will be back here someday with my own family. It was an epic adventure and it was great to see it all with Amber. We talked about it and one of the best things about backpacking is that is puts everything into perspective in life. Not only do you have to provide your own shelter, food, warmth, and self motivation, but you have to pack it all on your back and use your own energy to get through each day and to each place. In our modern world (or the middle class of the USA) we are so use to cars, planes, trains, grocery stores, a roof over our head, a heater or fireplace and the ease of our lives that we forget how hard ot can be if none of that was there. This trip allowed us to struggle and fight to make it to the next camping spot and understand that even with all the hard work we have all we really need in life. Simplistic = true happiness. This whole trip to South America has provided us with a new perspective and a new greatfulness for all that the both of us have in life. We want to be able to bring that to others in the future somehow. We love Patagonia and are glad we get to be here for a couple of weeks. Please send us a comment or an email, we miss you all. This is only a taste of the trip and we can´t wait to tell you more of the details. Also to all the people that we love (dads, moms, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, COUSINS, friends from childhood, friends from high school, friends from college, grandparents and every other friend/family member and person we have met in life) you help us get through each day in some little way that you can´t even imagine. You really are here with us and we are greatful to have the memories that we do with you. Happy winter or summer solstice (depending on which side of the equator you are on)! Feliz Navidad. We will try to be in touch with the family in the next couple of days. Salud and Peace over the holidays!

Pictures of Torres Del Paine National Park Chile

The torres in the background on the right, just as they escaped from the storm!

Another shot of the Torres Del Paine

Amber crossing a sketchy bridge, the warning picture is below!

My favorite shot of the trip, you can see the Cuernos del Paine and the back of the Torres del Paine. The lake in front is the Lago Nordenskjold which is a massive lake maybe the size of Lake Tahoe.

Amber throwing up the peace sign in the middle of Patagonia on our 16 mile day, it was beautiful, but hard as hell!!!!

Lake Pehoe in the distance. It was teal because of the glacier melt and also the depth. Insane colors!!

Here is the lake again, it matched Ambers jacket, the water here was sooooooo tasty and all you did was dip you water bottle and you were good to go, cold and fresh.

So the weather in Patagonia, always windy!!! I mean 60mph winds, but at least we had a sunny day!

Here is another great shot of the Torres! The middle of the mountains is lighter becasue it is granite, the top is dark sedimentary rock.

How stoaked do I look! I wanted to trek here forever, I know that I will be back someday, we only saw a fraction of the park.

These fungi looking things grew on the trees and we think this is the way the tree dispersed its seeds. Almost like a pincone, except they looked like apricots-crazy!

One of the many snow melt waterfalls. The trees look like pines, but they are actually way different and the leaves almost look like mint leaves.

Glacier Grey in the distance with some Chilean firebrush. We camped at this glacier the first night.

A waterfall into Lake Pehoe, at the beginning of our trip.

We hiked sections of the W trail for three nights and four days. This is at the beginning before we knew what was ahead of us. Although it was epic and hard, it was worth every second (it´s easy to say that now when I am warm and inside!)

Wildflowers everywhere!

A Capertillar! They were all over the trail, we moved them off so they did,nt get tromped on.

El mirdor de Glacier Grey and Lago Grey

Yeah Amber! You can´t really tell that the wind is blowing like 60 mph. Man it was so strong it would push you in different directions and all over the place.

Ambers great shot of the Guanacos, they look like llamas but are much cuter and all over the entrance to the park. We saw a lot of wildlife including condors, pink flamingos, rabbits, hawks, butterflies, and a ton of other birds.

Our first night camping at Los Guardos by the glacier. We had a nice spot protected from the wind, but the rain still decided to welcome us, luckily it was just a drizzle.

A river carved canyon

Us again in the wind, staoked to see our second glacier.

A closer shot of the glacier. In the middle of the night we woke up to a sound of thunder, but it was just a huge chunk falling of of the glacier- the sound is like nothing you could imagine.

This lake reminded me of rock lake, the color is so different because a glacier does not feed this particular lake. This park has hundreds of lake from all of the frozen water all over the mountains.

Cuerno Principal!

This is the bridge that Amber is crossing above. We were worried that the both of us plus our packs would be to much weight but we made it across alive!

Our second campsite at campamento Italiano, before the none-stop rain hit.

The final day at the Torres del Paine, this is me excited to be finished, sore as hell and stoaked that the weather cleared so at least I could see the Torres.

The towers of Torres del Paine, one of the largest granite rock faces that we have ever seen.

Off to Torres Del Paine

So tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning we are off to Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile. I honestly am sooooooooooo stoaked. I have been wanting to go to this park to see the Torres since I was 19 and started working at Adventure 16. For some reason they called me and tomorrow I am answering that call. I am reading a book called In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin (written in 1977) and  he explains better than I can why this place is so alluring, "Patagonia is the farthest place to which man walked from his place of origins. It is therefore a symbol of his relentlessness. From its discovery it had the effect on the imagination something like the Moon, but in my opinion more powerful." So far for the last two days we have been preparing for the trip our backpacks are packed and we are ready to go! We are ready to see it on our feet! I cannot believe that I get to do it with the woman that I am in love with. I know that this may sound cheesy, but I feel so lucky that I have a girl that is willing to brave the snow, rain, wind and sun with me all in 5 days. Amber is ready to go and probably is taking less clothes that I am--badass! I will let you know after about how long the trek is and how high we go. I think it is about a 25 mile hike and we are at about 6,000- 7,000 feet. More details and pictures after the trek. So the previous post about the tentaive plan is correct. We got it all booked and we will be sticking to that plan formentioned. We will call the family when we get back to civilization on the 22nd of December. We got everything booked!!! We have it all booked until the New Year which is a relief!!! So here we go, following a dream. I am cuzin´ hard as Dan would say. I am wearing Patagonia gear in Patagoina, who would have thought! Love you all and we will be sending you thoughts from the mountians. Take care and take advantage of each moment you have in life. We are trying to focus on that as we hike through the unpredictable weather. Peace and Ciao! (I probably say that at the end of every message huh?) Hasta Luego.

Puerto Natales

Feliz Navidad from Amber and Sean in South America. This is a local Christmas tree sending Joy and Peace!

So we have made it even farther south and are in the process of planning our next two weeks. Just so you all know where we will be for the holidays and just in case we disappear in a storm on our backpacking trip. On Saturday Dec. 18th we depart for the W trek in Torres Del Paine National Park for a 5day hike that puts us back here in Puerto Natales, Chile on the 22nd (We both went to a meeting today with a ton of info and cannot wait-it sounds pretty epic and it will be the longest trek that we have done together, in one of the most beautiful places in the world). I am sure we will have some stroies after this trek, it sounds wild. Then on the 23rd we go to El Calafate, Argentina for a night. From Dec. 24th-27th we will be staying in El Chalten, inside Glaciers National Park for Christmas. This is at the north of the park and we can do a lot of hiking right from the town, more glaciers!!! From Dec. 27-28 we will be traveling north to the lake district of Argentina, Bariloche. We should be staying there for a couple of days. This is a tentative plan and we are trying to book everything now so that we make sure everything is open for the holidays. We are not sure that we will get service in El Calten for Christmas because it is in the middle of the National Park and it seems like a small town, there is not even an ATM or a big grocery store. But we will make sure to call the family when we get back form the trek. Happy 50th mom!!!!! I love you!!! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Winter Solstice! We will be thinking of you all and missing the family. Miss you guys! Feliz Navidad!

Commenting on the blog

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PATAGONIA and THE ANDES!

Okay so here I go. We are in the town of El Calafate, which is about 100 kilometers from Glaciers National Park. We are really close to Chile and are going there tonight (hopefully we have a hostel). Anyways, we took a tour yesterday with a guide in the park. It started with a busride on the local dirt road through Estancias (ranches) where we spotted condors (they look like gigantic turkeys and hawks), sheep and goats, bunnies, hawks, a gaucho on his horse and with his three dogs, and a ton of birds. Then we entered the south entrance of the park to see the Glacier Moreno, one of the many in the huge park, the biggest in Argentina. It was great to have a guide who spoke in English and Spanish. We got to practice our Spanish. We have been trying to talk to everyone in Spanish and it has been coming along. We can understand it better and our next step is to only talk to one another in Spanish for a couple of days. We went on a trek by the lake and learned more about the Glacier. It is stable, meaning that every season it freezes out to the same point and it is not receding, since 1917. We then went to the look out boards. These are a bunch of metal trails that they have laid out so you can see the glacier from different angles. We ate our lunch there and watched for pieces of the glacier melting and falling into the lake. The sound was so so loud and you had to watch because they would fall first and then you would hear the sound later. We saw a couple and even got one on video- so lucky! Amber saw a huge piece fall and crash into the water, making a huge wake. Then we took a boat ride across the lake and got pretty close to the glacier. It was pretty cold there, but not too bad. This day was really life changing, we felt as if we were in a movie. Seeing something so large makes you feel so small and puts things into perspective. These glaciers hold so much of our worlds fresh water and if we have anything to do with them melting all over the world, we have to stop it now. They are amazingly beautiful and really undescribable. Our natural world is crazy, we feel so lucky to live in a time where we have the freedom to see it. We want to see more in Chile and then back again at the the top of this park. So it was a great day and worth every penny it took to get us here. El Calafate is a cool town, the most American tourists of any place so far though. It is like Mexico, Tahoe, and the Nevada desert all wrapped up into one. The outdoor scene is big here- gear stores everywhere. Cuz would say that I am cuzin' hard as I point it all out to Amber. But the scenery is amazing. Tonight we are off to Puerto Natales in Chile, even farther south. We are so far south that it gets light at about 4am and gets dark at 11pm. Long summer days! It is really windy here though but still around 65 degrees. So off to Chile to see and trek Torres del Paine! I have wanted to see this place since I started working at Adventure 16 and got the poster in my room. It has awe inspiring red peaks, lakes and glaciers. Patagonia and the Andes mountain range is definately one of the most amazing places in the world. I am glad to share it with all of you on this blog and will update it before Christmas. We don't know where we will be for the holiday, but we miss you all and wish you the best with your friends and family. Stay warm and know that we are thinking of you all. Happy Holidays and winter solstice from Amber and Sean!

El Calafate and Galciers National Park

Pura Vida restaurant, my favorite so far, a little hippie joint. I had a meat stew in a squash (in front) and Amb had a vegetarian lasagna. So good and so filling, best flavors yet!

Lago Argentine, the largest in Argentina and it was named after the colors on the Argentina flag. The landscape is very different from the north, si?

Livestock is everywhere here on the Estancias (ranches). Amber itched this ones head and it kicked like a dog!!!

Our first view of Glacier Moreno, the third biggest in Argentina,  one of the only stable glaciers in the world, take that global warming!

Our first glacier ever!!

Iceberg right ahead!!!!

We heard and saw one of the icebergs split and break! 

The Chilean firebrush, this bush/tree was all over the park!

Us on our first Glacier watch, it was cold but our gear held up and kept us warm.

The glacier up close! It was insane and we spent a couple of hour listening and watching as pieces fell hundreds of feet into the cold lake.

A view of the glacier from our boat ride. This glacier has been the same size since they first started recording it in 1917.

Amber taking it all in. How awesome is this picture, love you baby!

We were trying to get a picture of the deep and rich blue of the glacier. It looked like a gemstone when the sun hit it.

The glacier goes way back into the mountians and was really jagged on top. It went back a couple of miles in two directions and looked cold!

You can see an arch starting to form. Our guide explained that in a couple of years it would become a full arch and then will eventually break and collapse. Crazy to see one of the most powerful acts of nature!

Another angle of the glacier from the boat ride. You can see how jagged the top is in this picture. It was about 300 feet tall, which is hard to see here. Truly breathtaking.

Here is a picture of the rock that has been carved by the glacier. In some ways it remined us of the Grand Canyon. The lake was surrounded by this red rock. The rock was rounded and carved in crazy angles.

So stoaked to be in Patagonia!!!! I love this place and cant wait to backpack in the next week.