Que ricos sueños granitos...y estan pasando ahora!
Well, the bad news is that I have unfortunately had a bit of trouble connecting to the web in a place with the ability to upload pictures lately. I did get one picture of myself climbing at a place called Piedras Blancas on Cerro Otto yesterday here in Bariloche before my connection stopped working today though.
The good news is that I have been taking some pretty good pictures, and been able to have some new and exciting adventures in Patagonia and around Argentina. Since I last wrote, I have been traveling quite a bit. Right before Christmas, I rode a bus for about 24 hours to get up to Santiago in Chile, where I was to meet my friend Michelle from Oregon to begin our 2-week-long trip from there to Valpariaso in Chile on the coast and then through Argentina. But when I got to Chile, I found a message from Michelle letting me know that her flight had been delayed indefinately due to snow in Portland! Instead of going to Valpariaso alone for Christmas where I might feel kind of lost and a bit sad (I couldn´t understand anyone in Chile! They speak really differently from the people here!) I decided I would take a bus right back to Argentina, to Mendoza, and wait there for Michelle to start out trip late. Luckily, I ended up meeting some really cool people at the hostel in Mendoza (where I once again could understand the Spanish or Castellano they speak) and ended up going on a bike ride through wine country to visit ¨Bodegas¨ with them in unbelievably warm Christmas weather.Swimming on Christmas! What a treat! I had a good time right up until Christmas Eve, when Michelle arrived in town in the evening and we all went out for dinner together. We dined with travelers from Norway, Germany, Holland, Australia, and Finland just to name a few! And it ended up being a really special night together. I had almost forgotten just how much I really miss all my friends back in Oregon. But not really. It was wonderful to see her, and, even though our trip with abbreviated, we high-tailed it all over Argentina together, laughing and having fun catching up. From wine-tasting and running in the parks of Mendoza, we trekked by bus to Puerto Madryn, a cute beach town centered around whale watching, surf, and Argentine culture on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. From there, we went camping in Puerto Pyramides, one of the world´s most pristine wildlife refuges. The whales, (or bellenas)had already left for the season, but there were still penguins, guanacos, and insteresting regional creatures of all types in the park. We also had a good time kicking back in the campground and meeting some locals who spend vacations there.
From there, we headed on a 16-hour bud right to Bariloche, where I showed her all around my haunts for the past 3 months. It´s hard to believe I´ve been here for that long. ALthough I have met so many cool and amazing people, only a handful actually live here--many have been travelers in the hostel on their way through town. It can be hard sometimes living such a transient lifestyle. It´s not my nature really, I´ve discovered--it just the way it has to be for me to accomplish the things I am accompliching right now--meeting all of those amazing people and sharing cultures, adventures, and educational experiences with them. Although I´ve had some problems retrieving money from the ATMs and other trivialities lately, I have found that I can work through just about anything with a bit of ingenuity and a lot of patience. It´s all worth it. And coming through hardships to see the light on the other side (the other side of a few days without cash, the other side of a few days when it feels like there´s no one else around and I am so alone..) to see that once again I have hope and am excited to start the days and that there are indeed connections to be made and meaningful relationships to be forged with the people and world around me makes me glad. I realiize that the there is room and space for me to shine the light I have to share in the world, and that doing it still makes me feel good. Resilience. Love. I´m coming to find out their what it´s really all about.
It definately hasn´t hurt that my friend Sebastion had come from Buenos Aries recently to Bariloche and we have decided to go together on the trip I had been planning down south. And recently, as well, I met up with some really cool climbers at my hostel and went climbing with them here in town. Climbing always lifts my spirits. It reminds me of what I love. That´s it´s still out there, and always has been, for me to reach out and touch. I still feel like I´m flying, kind of, even now.
And I´ve decided that after I get back from my trip trekking and climbing in southern Patagonia, I´m going to come back up here to northern Patagonia to work on a wwoof organic farm in the El Bolson region if there is space for me there. I´m extemely excited to develop some more long-term relationships with a community of like-minded individuals around here, while still connecting with Argentine culture. After that, in March, I am thinking about heading to some beach towns in Brasil to dance and perhaps work with children, but there are many options out there. For now it´s all just something to ponder while I´m engaged in the business of living today. It´s suprising how much more there really is out there to learn as the moments unfold.
Piedras Blancas! Que ricisimo! Que granitoso!
The good news is that I have been taking some pretty good pictures, and been able to have some new and exciting adventures in Patagonia and around Argentina. Since I last wrote, I have been traveling quite a bit. Right before Christmas, I rode a bus for about 24 hours to get up to Santiago in Chile, where I was to meet my friend Michelle from Oregon to begin our 2-week-long trip from there to Valpariaso in Chile on the coast and then through Argentina. But when I got to Chile, I found a message from Michelle letting me know that her flight had been delayed indefinately due to snow in Portland! Instead of going to Valpariaso alone for Christmas where I might feel kind of lost and a bit sad (I couldn´t understand anyone in Chile! They speak really differently from the people here!) I decided I would take a bus right back to Argentina, to Mendoza, and wait there for Michelle to start out trip late. Luckily, I ended up meeting some really cool people at the hostel in Mendoza (where I once again could understand the Spanish or Castellano they speak) and ended up going on a bike ride through wine country to visit ¨Bodegas¨ with them in unbelievably warm Christmas weather.Swimming on Christmas! What a treat! I had a good time right up until Christmas Eve, when Michelle arrived in town in the evening and we all went out for dinner together. We dined with travelers from Norway, Germany, Holland, Australia, and Finland just to name a few! And it ended up being a really special night together. I had almost forgotten just how much I really miss all my friends back in Oregon. But not really. It was wonderful to see her, and, even though our trip with abbreviated, we high-tailed it all over Argentina together, laughing and having fun catching up. From wine-tasting and running in the parks of Mendoza, we trekked by bus to Puerto Madryn, a cute beach town centered around whale watching, surf, and Argentine culture on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. From there, we went camping in Puerto Pyramides, one of the world´s most pristine wildlife refuges. The whales, (or bellenas)had already left for the season, but there were still penguins, guanacos, and insteresting regional creatures of all types in the park. We also had a good time kicking back in the campground and meeting some locals who spend vacations there.
From there, we headed on a 16-hour bud right to Bariloche, where I showed her all around my haunts for the past 3 months. It´s hard to believe I´ve been here for that long. ALthough I have met so many cool and amazing people, only a handful actually live here--many have been travelers in the hostel on their way through town. It can be hard sometimes living such a transient lifestyle. It´s not my nature really, I´ve discovered--it just the way it has to be for me to accomplish the things I am accompliching right now--meeting all of those amazing people and sharing cultures, adventures, and educational experiences with them. Although I´ve had some problems retrieving money from the ATMs and other trivialities lately, I have found that I can work through just about anything with a bit of ingenuity and a lot of patience. It´s all worth it. And coming through hardships to see the light on the other side (the other side of a few days without cash, the other side of a few days when it feels like there´s no one else around and I am so alone..) to see that once again I have hope and am excited to start the days and that there are indeed connections to be made and meaningful relationships to be forged with the people and world around me makes me glad. I realiize that the there is room and space for me to shine the light I have to share in the world, and that doing it still makes me feel good. Resilience. Love. I´m coming to find out their what it´s really all about.
It definately hasn´t hurt that my friend Sebastion had come from Buenos Aries recently to Bariloche and we have decided to go together on the trip I had been planning down south. And recently, as well, I met up with some really cool climbers at my hostel and went climbing with them here in town. Climbing always lifts my spirits. It reminds me of what I love. That´s it´s still out there, and always has been, for me to reach out and touch. I still feel like I´m flying, kind of, even now.
And I´ve decided that after I get back from my trip trekking and climbing in southern Patagonia, I´m going to come back up here to northern Patagonia to work on a wwoof organic farm in the El Bolson region if there is space for me there. I´m extemely excited to develop some more long-term relationships with a community of like-minded individuals around here, while still connecting with Argentine culture. After that, in March, I am thinking about heading to some beach towns in Brasil to dance and perhaps work with children, but there are many options out there. For now it´s all just something to ponder while I´m engaged in the business of living today. It´s suprising how much more there really is out there to learn as the moments unfold.
Piedras Blancas! Que ricisimo! Que granitoso!
posted by Rachael at
1/12/2009 11:44:00 AM
