My Adventures and Travels

The strange thing about the South American school schedule, at least for my school, is that we have our long 9-week break in the middle of the school year-so when we return to work it is to the same students. Then after our shorter break, 3 weeks in July, we have a whole new group. In many ways it was nice-for now at least, I'm not sure how I'll feel in July! It takes the kids awhile to get back into the swing of things, just as it does for the teachers. But it's a lot easier to review your routines and procedures than it is to start totally from scratch when you don't even know the kids' names to begin with! Mentally, some things were really nice about being back after 8 weeks away. Laundry, my kitchen and spices, having my own space and my own bed, and not living out of a backpack are all the little things I miss during travel. The main difficult thing was the oppressive heat. I've never lived (or even visited) somewhere this hot AND humid. I've been i...

The United States uses dogs to search for explosives and drugs. Chile uses dogs to make sure you're not illegally transporting produce into the country. I'm sure there is a good reason for this, but it makes going through customs at the border a time-consuming ordeal! I had friends who were stuck at the border crossing for 4 hours so I was a little nervous about it, but I think my bus got through in about an hour and a half. Since the border dividing Chile and Argentina is the Andes mountain range, it's quite a scenic location! We had to get off the bus, go inside, and everyone had to go through a line to get stamped "out" of Argentina. Then go through another line to get stamped "into" Chile. Then we went back to the bus, where they take all the luggage out from below, and it goes through a metal detector (apple detector?) while dogs sniff all the bags. While that is happening, passengers take all their other luggage from the bus and put it on...

WHERE TO STAY I stayed in Mendoza, and at Hostel Mora, longer than any other city on my trip. I really liked it and was happy there. It was warm and welcoming, the staff was helpful in arranging excursions, and I especially loved the outdoor area with hammocks and tables as a spot to meet other travelers! Oh yeah, and did I mention WINE HAPPY HOUR? Hello! I stayed in the dorms most nights, with some single rooms thrown in for a break. Yep, this is the only picture I took of the hostel. PROS All the stuff I mentioned above, plus it is easy walking distance to lots of places in the city if you want to do some sight-seeing. It's also only about 4-5 blocks walk from the bus station. BREAKFAST WAS AMAZING. Every morning they had freshly made crepes, tons of fresh fruit, good coffee, and eggs to order. As I said, great common areas and free wine make it an easy place to start up a conversation with other travelers. In addition to setting up tours, they offered activities in the h...

The last organized tour deal I did was for a half day of rafting and a half day of hiking. It was so much fun! It was very close to the area of my first hike. We got bused (vanned?) from Mendoza to the "base" area in the mountains. Then we got all outfitted down to the sexy moon boots for rafting. Just like rafting in CO, they use old school buses to get you to the start point. Then they give you the unnerving "what to do if you fall out" speech (I hate that part). Luckily there was a guide that spoke English so I was with him, along with 2 Aussies, a couple of Australians, and I think an American guy. Here we are "before:" There were enough rapids to make it a pretty exciting raft trip. Obviously, our guide (back) wasn't too worried, although we were paddling our little hearts out! And the "after" shot! Don't judge. I'd been rafting all morning and then wearing a hat. Of COURSE my hair is a disaster!  Af...

I wish that every time I cooked, all the ingredients were measured out for me in bowls!  One of the best things about my hostel, Hostel Mora, was that there were always lots of activities. Many were through travel agencies around town, but they also had some classes offered right at the hostel. One of these was an empanada-making class, which was lots of fun! This cute little Argentinian lady came in and showed us how it was done! Our instructor It was kind of funny-first she showed us how to hand make the dough for the empanadas, but we couldn't understand why she was making such a tiny amount of dough. After she made one, she explained: "You CAN make it by hand. Everyone pretty much buys the disks here. But, once you return to your countries, now you know how to make it if you can't buy the empanada disks there. We chopped up some onions and browned ground beef with them and some seasoning, and then put in a chunk of hard-boiled egg. We learn how t...

One cool thing about Mendoza is that even though it's in a valley, it has all these mountains around it. So, there are lots of tours and outdoor activities you can do.I looked around at the tourist agencies in town to find a hike in the nearby Andes mountains. Several had minimum people requirements or multiple activities. All I wanted was a ride to somewhere I could hike! But the closest "package" I could find included rappeling. So I figured, what the heck. Why not try it out.  Here is some of the hiking. It was easy, not too steep at all. Lots of times crossing back and forth over this little stream.  A little waterfall on the way up.  The guides went up ahead to set up the ropes and equipment for rappeling. We left all our stuff at the bottom, and scrambled up to the top (it was a bit more gradual on the left). Then...time to rappel! I was one of the last ones to go. It is kind of unnerving, backing off a cliff backwards! It was okay but I didn't lov...

OK, fine. Mendoza isn't really part of Patagonia. Get over it, it was part of the same trip! Perfection. After all this running around, hiking, exploring, kayaking, and bus ride after bus ride, I was ready to stay in one place for awhile, so I booked a whole week in Mendoza. It was really nice to be in one place that long. I didn't feel like I had to pack every day with every activity and experience I could fit in, and I could afford to have some lazy days-yet I still did a ton of stuff. It was a perfect last leg of five weeks traveling. I was there long enough, and was busy enough, that I'll need several posts to cover it all. My first activity in Mendoza was the most obvious: a bike and wine tour! The hostel I stayed at arranged tours and this one included 3 wineries (tour and tasting) and short bike rides in between. The first vineyard, Tapiz, was the most extensive, giving lots of information about the whole process. Here is vineyard ...

When I left you, dear readers, I was holding on for dear life in the brutal Patagonian wind, looking for a place to spend the night. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. But it was pretty bad. Anyway I got to the bus station in El Chalten after the bus out of town had already boarded and I had to ask the bus driver to find me the ticket seller so I could get on! Predictably, she was taking a break, but luckily it was a break with the bus driver. Anyhoo I got a ticket and had a couple hours to relax and thaw out on the way back to Calafate. It is kind of nice, when traveling, to get to a city that is even the slightest bit familiar. Apparently the downside of that is that I didn't take a single picture this time. Oops. Even though I only spent 2 nights in Calafate I knew the main street and was able to find my new hotel easily. Did you notice I said hotel? Not hostel? Well I decided it was time to splurge a little bit and I sure did enjoy the luxury of not only my own room but also...