Entering Patagonia via San Carlos de Bariloche in the Lake District

San Carlos de Bariloche is a sleepy ski town and the biggest city in the Lake district of Argentina. I think its the biggest city in Patagonia but do not quote me on that. It feels like I’m living in a giant postcard. This place is breathtaking.

Ben, Billy, Garrett, and I took off from Mendoza at about 8 in the evening. The bus rides in Argentina are normally very pleasant. However, I think that once you hit the 20 hour mark things tend to take a turn for the worse. My first problem, is that my ass has been in extremely bad shape since the horseback riding episode in Mendoza. Problem number two is that we were supposed to arrive in Bariloche at 1:30 pm. Unfortunately, our bus decided to blow up. We had to sit around at a gas station in the middle of nowhere until a new bus arrived. Nonetheless, it was a monumental day.  We can wear our first South American bus breakdown like a merit badge. According to the seasoned travelers that have been here for months, this is something we better get used to.

In reference to the music that we have heard so far, See if you can picture this:

At 9:00 in the morning on the bus, most of the people were quietly relaxing or asleep. When, out of nowhere, the most outrageous video medley of all time appears on the TV screens with the volume at full blast. It was so loud you could not help but stare at this jaw dropping spectacle. It was not possible to concentrate on anything else. It woke every single sleeping person including myself.

Here are some of the highlights from quite possibly the most disturbing/entertaining hour and a half of music I have ever experienced:

(All of these songs have an electric drum machine bed that unifies them into one glorious medley)

• Forever Young
• The Eagles, Hotel California
• Love Hurts
• Lady in Red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek….
• I want to know what love is, and I want you to show me
• The Bangles, Is this burning an Eternal Flame….
• UB40, I can´t help falling in love with you
• Toto, Africa
• Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer
• Amedeus Amedeus
• Roxette, She´s got the look
• Phil Collins,I can feel coming in the air tonight
• Please don’t go
• Starship, Nothings going to stop us now
• Top Gun Theme Song, Take my Breath AwaySa
• Peter Gabrial, Sledgehammer
• Tears for Fears, Shout
• Boy George, Do you really want to hurt me
• Men with Hats, Land down under
• Olivia Newton John, I’m Walking on Sunshine
• Rod Stewert, If you want my body, and you think Im sexy
• Inxs, New Sensation
• Ghostbusters Theme Song
• Fine Young Cannibals, She drives me Crazy

This was a true mix of 80s trash and “songs you wish you could hear more”.  It was a true Argentinian musical experience…

Sidenote: While sitting in the Internet cafe right now they are playing Starship’s “Nothings going to stop us now”.  Damn it I love this country!!!!

Hike Around the Lake

The other day the Aussies, Garrett,  English Tom,  an American from San Francisco named Graham and I hiked the circuit around the biggest Lake in Bariloche. It was probably a 5 mile trek. We stopped for lunch on the side of the lake. The picture above is me writing in my journal at lunchtime. We also took a dip in the lake and the Aussies got naked again and took ridiculous pictures. Lets not confuse this with skinny dipping. There was no true gayness, just ridicoulousness. All of the pictures were staged. They have a serious goal of taking naked pictures in every city they visit. Both Ben and Billy are sending the pictures home to all of their friends and family, including their Moms.

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Notes:

> I have been carrying around a giant man purse everywhere I have been for the last month. It is extremely large. Yesterday, I finally broke down and bought a smaller backpack as the Aussies were making way too much fun of me and I could not take it anymore.

> We are taking a bus to El Calafate tonight at 8:00. And, it is going to take us–Drum roll please– 32 hours to get there. I am going to be finished my 1200 page book in no time. Garrett the Canadian is staying in Bariloche for a bit longer before traveling back to B.A.  I have decided to travel with Ben and Billy to El Calafate, where we will say our goodbyes. I would like to get over to Chile for a bit to do some hiking.  The boys have to get south in a hurry to catch a flight to Rio for Carnival. I am going to miss those crazy bastards. This first month of traveling has been everything I hoped for and more. The Aussies have had a lot to do with it.

> My hair is in the beginning stages of getting completely out of control and I am loving every second of it.

> Thanks for the comments and emails. My friend Melissa helped me immensely with this message. To convert to Fahrenheit simply follow the rule: “Double and Add 32.”Lets say it is 10 degrees: When doubled 10 becomes 20, then add 32 to 20 and the answer is 52 degrees Fahrenheit.

> I am sorry to hear it is 7 degrees in Baltimore. It is colder in Patagonia then in the rest of Argentina. Today it was 60 degrees with high winds. The other days in Bariloche it has been around 80. I had to buy some warm weather gear for my travels south.

> Does anyone know how Skype works. I think I can call landlines over the computer for 1 cent a minute. Post replies in comments or email me.

> Internet service is getting spotty at best. As we move further south I am anticipating that it will get tougher and tougher to find reliable service. Nonetheless, I am going to do my best to keep the blog going strong. It is really supposed to suck in El Calafate. This blog is a lot of work but it gives me a sense of purpose. It is something that I feel like “I have to do”.   At least as far as that goes it is the only thing that I “have” to do. It works well to counterbalance the flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-lifestyle I am enjoying. For the most part, I just need to find a way to get into the Internet cafe for a few hours every few days. I would like to figure out who exactly is reading the blog. I am not exactly sure how to go about it. I guess send me an email to daveford88@gmail.com if you are checking it out. Or post a comment at the bottom of this blog if you have a free second. Thanks.

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