Bariloche

   Taking the bus into Bariloche was an experience on its own. The more than friendly bus attendant made sure that my cup was full of wine and I was very comfortable. It was my first "cama" service which is equivalent to business class with the seats declining back to 45 or so degrees and comfortable leg rests to give you a better sleep. It's a good thing because this bus trip took around 14 hours but I was too busy getting pampered to notice.

   Bariloche is famous for its lakes and this was evident when I woke up in the morning to stunning views from every direction. I dove from one side of the windows to the other trying to snap some good shots. I don't think I got any good but the most important ones are in my memory anyway and will last me a life time.

   I liked the charming city of Bariloche. It's full of cute houses that are a cross between a ranch design and a winter cabin. As it was the holiday season many were decked out with huge red bows and decorations and for the first time the cold weather matched the atmosphere. There are 2 main streets here that run parallel to the lake and they are filled with chocolate stores which is any girls paradise. All you had to do was go in and you were handed samples of twisted white chocolate, nut balls, and melting mouse that took your taste buds to heaven.

   To work off the calories I did a short 1049 meters hike to Cerro Campanario. This was one of the best view points I've ever seen with 360 degrees of mountain peaks and lakes. The heart shaped island fit right in as the center piece of this extraordinary scene. Vicky, my new roommate, and I sat there for ages first enjoying our delicious freshly made sandwiches and then a magnificent cake oozing with chocolate and dolce de leche. The whole country is crazy about this condensed milk with a caramel texture they put it on all their desserts and I'm totally okay with that!

   My evenings here were spent on the Marcopolo bar / restaurant. Mostly it was because every day they offered dinner for $2.5 which is very affordable for any standards. It was good food too like pasta, chicken and potatoes with white sauce, and great home made pizza. I did go out on the final night at sat down to dinner at 11:30 pm (peak dinner hour in Argentina) and enjoyed a fresh made lasagna with additions like hard boiled egg and pastrami.

   On my third day I gathered some fellow hostel guests and we headed towards the Swiss Colony. Here we found a gathering of cultures as vendors offered everything from craft beer, to empanadas, tacos, or ground buried pork. We were supposed to do this expedition by bike but the wind seemed way too fierce so we decided to take our two legs instead. After the Swiss colony we walked for about 6 hours around what we thought was different lakes just to find it out was one big giant one. We lost track of the route and ended up making up our own attractions like merging of the waters (the two lakes connecting). We still had a great time full of exhausted laughs and unsuccessful hitch hiking attempts.

   There was more to my stay here than just great food which was obviously a high light in my books. On my last day in town I gathered some troops and we managed to hire a car. We took it around the magnificent lake district that reminded me a lot of the sea to sky hi-way in Vancouver. The day was super successful as we saw 7 lakes, a river, a waterfall and a rainbow. Of course after such a long day we were craving dessert and ended up polishing of a kilo of ice cream between the 4 of us. The sweet tooth just can't get a rest here and I love the country even more for it!

View of the lakes

Dolce de Leche cake with a view. YUM!

Swiss Colony bar

Ready to Celebrate!

The lakes with a violet tint

Waterfall :)

27-30 DEC 13

Merry Christmas from Puerto Madryn

   The unknown is always a scary place. As Christmas was rolling around I had no idea where I was going to be and the old me, who is quite the planner, was terrified. I was contemplating whether or not to make a trip home. After all the holidays are one of my favourite times of the year to spend with my family but I'm happy to report that the my new easy going side won the internal battle so I headed to Patagonia instead. I was expecting glaciers and snow, which I thought would be a great place to welcome Santa. What I found in Puerto Madryn was 400,000 penguins but no sign of Mr. Clause or any weather even close to the negatives. Instead, this dessert like coastal town reached highs of 35 degrees celsius and I was happily running around in my shorts and bikini.

   I was determined to see the area but the tours to where I wanted to go were way out of my budget. I wanted to hire a car to make things more affordable so I took the opportunity of the free breakfast at El Gualicho hostel to find me some new travel mates. After getting turned down by all the locals, departies, and tour payers I was happy to find two fellow Canadians, Marie and Mariane, that were keen. We tested out the water, or in this case the loose gravel and sand, with 2 wheels each. What seemed like an easy bike ride quickly turned into up hill hell. The near sand storm didn't help the unpaved road that lasted a gruesome 32 km. The benefit, other than my tighter ass, was seeing some seals from an observation deck which was a bit disappointing after swimming with them in the Galapagos. A new addition to my list of seen animals was the rock shags, which were mostly great for their name.

   The next day the plan was to rent a car but of course everything is tentative till you are doing it when your traveling. We realized the 2 other Brazilian women in our room already rented one and were interested in exploring the area the following day. With a day to kill I headed to the beach for a long romantic walk with my tighter butt and then gazed at the ocean as I stretched out with some yoga. To cool off from the scorching sun I ran into the Ocean grinning ear to ear.

   The next day it was Christmas, the car was packed and we were on our way. We were headed to the Peninsula and I found myself in a dry dessert full of sand and shrubs. The living occupants consisted of elephant seals, sea lions, guanacos, rheas, and penguins. I felt like a little kid in the zoo without the cages or the cotton candy. The day just continued to get better. The hostel hosted a pot luck dinner which was my first ever orphan Christmas. I put on my favourite dress and cooked up an exotic dish of baked potatoes accompanied by mushrooms and dressed with lots of cheese. Surprisingly, it was the first dish to go out of the delicious variety. There were around 30 of us strangers but after a few bottles of free wine it felt like a large group of friends.

   Around midnight we heard the sound of fireworks. Instinct took over to get to the highest point possible so we climbed our way up to the roof and were delighted to find we were surrounded by fireworks. These were shot by all the locals near and far instead of the conventional city sponsored ones that usually lights up the sky just beside the beach. As the colours flashed we sang "we are young" at the top of our lungs while enjoying a roof top boogie. When the spectacle was over everyone headed back to the drinks but the tango music kept me back. I guess the Argentinian saw me strike a move as he pulled me into his arms for a dance under the stars. Needless to say this was my favourite tango lesson of all time.

   On Christmas Day we headed to the penguin breeding ground that hosts 400,000 of the tuxedos. The darn things were so cute walking around awkwardly and dipping their heads side to side to get a better look at us humans. The nests that they dig up in the sand are a great place to raise them young-ins that were sometimes as tiny as my palm.  I took so many pictures that my full battery quickly died. Somethings can't be captured but I'm sure going to try!

   This Christmas season was a massive success and I'm so glad I stuck it out and didn't go for the easy route of coming home. Living in the unknown can sure be scary but those are also the memories that you look fondly back on for the rest of your life. To all those I love around the world I hope you also had an unforgettable holiday season. Wishing all my readers all the very best and daring you to be brave enough to live out your dreams. Happy Holidays everyone! 

They were so cute!

The Christmas LOVE

happy feet

penguin paradise

Rhea

Guanacos!

Christmas Dinner

21-26 DEC 13

Buenos Aires: My other home

   Buenos Aires has been a city I've wanted to live in for years. The 3 main reasons are tango, Spanish and meat. I've had dreams if me standing on my balcony looking out onto the city even though I've never been there (or any where else in South America till this trip). As my plane was landing in Buenos Aires I had tears in my eyes and I felt like I was coming home.

   Everything about this place was amazing. Tango was spilling out of every corner on to streets, theatres and bars. The metropolitan city was full of beating life and passionate culture flowed everywhere. I loved the European feel and the sweet BBQ smell that roamed about luring people into restaurants. In my 2 short days there I had 3 BBQ meals, a tango lesson and I was moved by the many tango shows I witnessed. The most amazing night was my tango lesson, followed by a delicious steak meal and of course a spectacular show at Sabor a Tango.

   Yes there will be somethings that I will need to get used to. Dinner hours here are after 10 pm and money is changed at the black market. The official rate is 6.5 pesos per dollar compared to the street rate of 9.5. As dodgy as it seems it is practiced everywhere even though it is technically illegal. The Spanish is also very different and the locals say they speak Argentinian instead of Spanish. As a result a lot of the phrases I knew only get me puzzled looks around here. Beyond the differences there is a beauty in this place that is so inviting I can't wait to return. I've decided to keep traveling but I will honour my soul and make this city my home. I'll be back for you Buenos Aires much sooner than later. That's a promise. But for now the backpack is packed and I'm heading South!

Tango is alive

The pink government house

City views

trying out the tango for myself

18-20 DEC 13

Mindo Lindo

   After missing my flight to Buenos Aires because of tardiness I decided to put it behind me and enjoy the new possibility of seeing more of Ecuador. With a few days to spare I decided to head to Mindo. The place is small and friendly with not much English which was great for my Spanish learning. I stayed at Cecilia's Hostal and shared a private room for $9 per person with the 2 girls I met on the bus. Jen and Luz were also traveling on their own and the 3 if us blended perfectly.

   On our first night in town we decided to check out the frog symphony. The name was intriguing but much to our surprise there were no conductor or orchestras only the harmonious sounds of nature. After a glass of wine we got a tour around an ecological hotel that was a frog breeding ground. Flash lights in hand we spotted frogs, insects and even some algae that illuminated the trees which sparkled in the dark. We finished the night off with some delicious empanadas filled with cheese that were cooked fresh to order.

   The next day we decided to hike the waterfall trail. This trek is 7km from town so we got a lift and took a cable car through the dense cloud forest taking in the birds eye view. We visited 6 waterfalls and dipped in all of them. The trail itself was much easier to follow than some of the others I've done but it still had some challenging uphills. The second waterfall was my favourite as the pool was large and great for swimming after a long hike. After our hard day of work, we spend the evening chatting over beers, Mexican food and empanadas. I love meeting people as I travel because there are no filters to conversation and things are just so real. You really get to bond and get to know each other much quicker than at home.

   The following day the girls left so I decided to hike through the bird watching trails. At first I got mixed up and ended up climbing up steep hill in farm land. I got bites all over me and finally realized this was not part of the trail. When I was about to give up I found the right path and completed the hike while practicing my swapping insect skills. It was all worth it though as I found a great gazebo up in the cloud forest overlooking all of Mindo. To give thanks to my surroundings I practiced yoga and appreciated my blessings. I love taking the time to stop, breath and enjoy the moment. After all, this moment is the only concise thing we have. The past is history and the future is still unknown. I've learned to live life now and not worry about the rest!

there were so many gorgeous waterfalls!

Frog Symphony

The trek to the waterfalls

The first one of the day

14-17 DEC 13

Tastes of Ecuador

   I was meant to have one last night in Quito and I wanted to make the most of it. I checked myself into the Community Hostel again and was delighted to hear they had a free old city tour. We started off at the market and were ushered through the endless meat, produce and flower isles. We then got to the food and drink section and I was hungry. After careful selection of my booth of choice I went with the award winning fried sea bass and fried rice dish that came with ceviche. My intuition was correct and I even ended up going back for some another day since it was the best sea bass I've ever tried.


   Next we got a brief description of Ecuador's history along with a show and tell about some key squares, old buildings, and churches. I enjoyed the tour especially the candy stop where we got to see some locals making their beloved delicacies out of sugar, nuts and other sweets. My personal favourite was a peanut covered in chocolate and sesame. I got seriously addicted to this stuff and I'm still experiencing withdraw symptoms.


   In the evening the hostel organized a food tour. This time we had a local perspective with the restaurants serving anything from tripe, cow womb, and intestines on their menus. I skipped it all but did give the BBQ tripe a shot. It didn't go so well and I was unable to swallow it with its rubbery texture. The next stop was a lot more successful with variations of sausage on a stick. I held out for the fried pork which I really enjoyed.


   The last stop was on La Floriana. This is a local hot spot that boasts with life during the evenings. It is a really charming cobble street that is lined with pubs and restaurants and only open to pedestrians. Local artists preform at the venues and to our luck we got a whole kids Christmas choir to entertain us. We settled at a place offering giant empanadas stuffed with cheese that 10 of us couldn't finish.


   I would call this night a success and I even checked my self into my awesome bed before midnight. I had a flight to catch at 7 am and I was stoked to see Buenos Aires. If I had a great story to excuse myself from showing up late I would feel much better. Of course, I could make one up like the time I pretended I rescued a baby from a shark attach when I actually just lamely fell of my bike. However the truth is I just thought it was a local flight first but instead it was a stop over without exiting the aircraft that continued internationally. So of course I showed up 15 minutes after the gate closed and had to pay the change fee to postpone my flight to 4 days later. As an ex travel agent I should have really known better but there is no point in crying over spilt milk. In the mean time I have more of Ecuador to explore!

the fruits at the market

outside the market

candy shop

delicious pork

giant emapanada stuffed with cheese and coated with sugar

13 DEC 13

Galapagos With LOVE

   The Galapagos are a set of islands that are 1000 km away from the mainland of Ecuador. They give us a rare chance to experience life as it once was with animals occupying all parts of the land. Anyone that has seen my vision board can confirm that I have wanted to come here for many years. Right in the centre of my board I have a full sized image of a blue footed booby. I always thought of myself as very similar to this unique bird as they are so different, vibrant and have a great courting dance. I don't usually use my dancing for courting even though its not out of the question. The point is dreams do come true and I found myself in this paradise and never wanted to leave. As you can imagine it's not a cheap place to be and I did have to fly away after 5 days but not before I had the experience of a lifetime.
   I landed on San Cristobal Island and I was met by friendly crew that took 17 of us on board to the Monserrat. This beautiful yacht had comfortable cabins with ensuites and loads of space to relax and spread out. I was thrilled to have my own room as everyone else was either in couples or male. I knew that being a single female would pay off one day and I took full advantage of my own space along with the hot showers I could enjoy for as long as I wanted.
   The first activity was checking out the Jacinto Gordillo Breeding Center were we saw Giant Tortoises of all different ages and sizes in a semi-wild habitat. It was interesting to observe these gentle beasts as they attempt to sprint across the landscape in complete slow motion. We even saw two males battling it out which resembled a slow kung fu.
   The next day we got to take in the views from Cerro Brujo which is a magnificent fine powder beach on San Cristobal's north coast. Sea lions occupy the beach and use the water as a playground to get up close and personal with humans that are snorkeling. In addition to the many fish and sea lions I also came into arms reach from a few marine turtles swimming around. I didn't think the day could get any better but I was so wrong.
   The next activity was snorkeling through the channel of Kicker Rock. This is a magnificent basalt remains of a crater in the middle of the sea that rises 150 meters above the surface and is divided into two parts by a narrow channel. I almost missed the whole experience as I didn't hear the bell gathering all of us up to take the dinghies to our activity. Panicked, I noticed I was the only one on the boat. I nearly threw myself off into the shark infested water just to make sure I got to snorkel here. Luckily the captain stopped me and turned the boat around to catch up with the dinghies. I still had to swim on my own through half the channel which was terrifying as I was sure no one would hear me if I became delicious shark bate. I reached the group just in time as hundreds of sharks passed below us and completely mesmerized me. There were schools of white tip, black tip, silver tip and reef sharks just casually passing by without taking any notice of us. I froze in this moment for what seemed like forever just taking the site in. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.
   The next day we arrived at Espanola Island which is the south most island making it remote and spectacular. It is the breeding site for nearly all of the world's 12,000 pairs of waved albatrosses and home to colonies of blue footed and masked boobies. Here you can also spot Galapagos doves and mocking birds. There are also thousands of marine iguanas lying around and spitting on each other (apparently that is how they monitor their body salt levels). There are so many of them it was hard to not step on them as we navigated through the paths leading us to amazing cliff top views of this magical land.
   On our last day we cruised up to the beautiful Floreana island. First we visited Punta Cormorant beach where the sand is made of fine olivine crystals, which is a glassy volcanic mineral that gives the beach an olive green color. As we pulled up on our dinghies we spotted a few penguins in the water which turned everyone on board into major paparazzi. As the group headed off for a hike I stayed back and decided to go for a solo swim. I didn't have my bathers with me but that wasn't going to stop me. I sprinted into the water and enjoyed the best swim of my life. The penguins took me as one of their own as we swam together in perfect harmony and the sea lions continued their water activities including me in their game of chase. Blue footed boobies circled over top of us landing on the water at times and even the crabs seemed to be intrigued by my addition to the groups. Just as dreams get interrupted by reality, I too had to say a sad goodbye to my new favourite place. I found a new freedom and appreciation to wild life that will remain with me for the rest of my days.

The Monserrat

For more info on this boat visit: www.monserrat-cruise.info

Giant Tortoise

Males at war

The benches here are not only for humans...

Sea Lions like to spoon too!

Cerro Brujo beach

The turtle photo bombed my shot of the sea lion

Marine Turtle

Playing with the sea lion

Sally Lightfoot Crab

Kicker Rock

School of Sharks

Under the Sea

Fish and Shark

Under the Sea

I wanted to keep him!

Marine Iguanas

Mask Booby dancing

Espanola Island

baby Waved Albatross

baby sea lion less than 1 week old

swimming with the penguins

octopus

Welcome to paradise!

8-12 DEC 13