Our 1st Anniversary, Bariloche Argentina

Heading north through Argentina from southern Patagonia, we arrived to the the region of Argentina known as the Lakes District just in time for Semana Santa. To celebrate, the town of El Bolson kept their weekly fair open all week and added a little umph with some live music. The fair was an unbelievable place to people-watch with jugglers, sitar players, and people walking around on stilts. The irresistible food offering, which included waffles with fresh berries and whipped cream, shwarma and empanadas, was unbelievably cheap and SO YUMMY! We had a nice day hike into the hills to an overlook of the valley, and we stayed at a great hostel, but the fair was the most memorable experience in El Bolson. 

To celebrate what I would describe as an absolute dream-come-true of a first year married, we headed next to San Carlos de Bariloche, and stayed at penthouse Hostel 1004, which wins the "hostel with best view" award, no contest. Still resting and recovering from the weeks of hiking in Patagonia, we decided to treat ourselves to a much-needed massage & spa day at LlaoLlao, a world-class golf & spa resort in the Nahual Huapi National Park wilderness overlooking the lakes. Hana lives for this kinda thing, but I´d be lying if I said I wasn´t super-excited about it too. Our afternoon there was perfect, and we went out to Alberto´s for the best parrilla  (Argentine grill/steakhouse) in town. Now that we are headed north, we are in no hurry, so we spent five nights there, relaxing and enjoying being back in a city with some pastries fresh from the panaderia, homemade chocolates and a couple of movies at the cine.

Los Glaciares Nat´l Park, Argentine Patagonia

Lucky for us, the unforgiving elements of fall arrived late to Patagonia this year, and we were once again blessed with unbelievably beautiful weather as we traveled north from Chile through Los Glaciares Nat´l Park. We first visited the Perito Moreno Glacier one of the few glaciars still advancing and perhaps the most active icefield on the planet, a spectacular site and quite a show. The giant white & blue glacier ascends to the mountain tops and up into the sky for miles, aglow with white light. We could hear the ice cracking loudly as it shifts, and occassionally part of the 200+ ft face splinters off and thunders into the lake below, causing a roaring eruption of water and tidal waves running across the lake to the shores. Witnessing such an event sends chills down your back and we were lucky enough to see it happen twice. From there we headed to the north side of te park for a three day trek through more amazing mountaoin scenery. Although it was overcast when we began our hike, the clouds lifted as we reached the first mirador, and we enjoyed excellent visibility and comfortable temperatures for the entire three days! Our first destination was Lago Torre, a glacial lake filled with small icebergs beneath Cerro Torre, an unbelievable tower formation, which is surrounded with glaciers. We shared some very special moments there alone for hours in the light, and intense energy of this spectacular poece of creation. The next day we had a fantastic hike along two beautiful lakes and up to the Laguna de los Tres, just beneath the Fitz Roy peak. The trees were changing, and we were in constant wonder at the beauty of the incredible rainbow of color painting the landscape around us. Our time here certainly marks a high point in our trip, and the beauty and solitude of being in this amazing wilderness will stay with us forever.

Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia

Between creature comforts and spectacular scenery, which is more important to you? And to visit the world´s most amazing natural scenery, how long are you willing to sacrifice physical comfort?? Our early Fall visit to Torres del Paine Nat´l Pk in far southern Chilean Patagonia presented us with exactly this issue. Months ago, planning our trip intinerary, we made a main goal of arriving in Patagonia by April before the weather became too cold and icy to hike. That said, the weather here is equally unpredictable year round, and we experienced every kind in our six days trekking through the park, from heavy sideways rain pushed by freezing 50mph winds coming directly off Glacier Grey (but dazzling sun & rainbows 15 minutes later), a blizzard in Valle Frances, and then gorgeous sunny skies for 3 straight warm days, for which we were OH SO appreciative, as we made our way up to the Torres peaks. We learned a lot on the way and managed to keep warm, dry and cozy in our tent with a few tricks. After a warm dinner every night, we would bring water to nearly boiling, fill a water bottle, and throw it into our sleeping bags to keep us nice and toasty. Works GREAT! The mountain wonderlad scenery we enjoyed is surreal and beyond description, so a return trip to Patagonia was tops on my list of planned destinations. Andean condors soar through spike-y granite monolyths towering overhead, and waterfalls spill off them to turquoise glacial lakes surounded by yellow and orange forests of southern beech trees below. And you can safely drink the delicious, crystal clear, and slightly sweet water that comes directly from the glaciers, right out of the rivers and falls. An unforgettable week full of rewarding challenges that deliver us closer together than when we started.

Pucon & Volcano Villarica

We spent four lovely days in Pucon, Chile. This small town is a major outdoor adventure destination and we got experience quite a bit. We started out by going to the Pozones hot springs which were a natural rock hot springs followed by cold plunges in the river, que frio!!! The next day we had a great time white water rafting down class four rapids. It was a beautiful sunny day and the rapids were very exciting and we even got out of the raft and did a jump off a huge rock! Yes, I screamed a lot! There is a nice lake called Lago Villarica and we sat and read by it, very relaxing and beautiful. We saved the best for last and climbed up to the top of Volcano Villarica, an ACTIVE Volcano. Trekking to the top through volcanic rock, snow and then to the top was spectacular. The vistas of the mountains and lakes below were breathtaking. However there were toxic gases that come out of the volcano so when walking around the top you have to be careful! When we reached the top, inside the cone of the volcano were layers of different colors of volcanic rock and you could see and smell the gases and hear rumblings below. Then we got to slide down part of the mountain in the snow which was a lot of fun. We had a blast in this adventure town!