back to reality (well, almost)

sigh. back in BsAs and really not too excited bout it to be honest. if my mom wasnt arriving tomorrow (reallly excited bout that, of course), i could have easily spent another two weeks or even a month in the south. too much land to see in two short weeks.

i'm still on my kindle so typing is slow going and this will be short but i promise to give a full debriefing when im back on my mac.with so many pictues o mountains and glaciars i fear ill bore you. and for those who have emailed me in the past two wks and ive been an ass and not responded, forgive me, but i think you would be as equally unplugged if you were where i was... again, a sigh.

i have one last night in a hotel with the group and my roomie for the trip is already on her flight back to zurich so im enjoyying a night in completely alone for the first time since ive gotten here. and you know how i like my alone time.

ah, gotten some headway on one of the mendoza job prospects, with a small but well-regarded winery that is actually outside of a small town called san carlos. so mendoza is a small city, san carlos is a small town an hour or so away from mendoza(from what ive been told, obviously need to research this more when at a computer) and then the winery is a 30 min bike ride from there? looking more and more promising that i'll soon be hippy'ing it out on an off-the-map winery for a few months. and then helping them open a tasting room, working out of their office in mendoza. if not.... still a few options on the table.

stay tuned for the full Patagonian update, coming soon, pending mom and i dont get too carried away with our malbec consumption over the next few days...

chee-lay

disclaimer: typing on kindle. excuse typos and brief entry.

arrived in chile today! border crossing wasnt as bad as many have had, but they def focus on customs rather than immigration, which i found interesting. guess people are more apt to smuggle in exotic fruit than oversta their 90day tourist visa in chile?

tonight we're in puerto natales (had great sea bass a la papillote tonight and lamb a la parilla last night in calafate. dad, i know youre at least interested.)

tmrw we wake up bright and early to start our three day hike in torres del paine. we will be doing the "best of"the w circuit.

oh damn! can hear the male half o the british couple snoring away in the room next door, which is making christine and me giggle like mad. mainly bc he is married to such a cold woman. ok christine is putting her ear plugs in, i should go to bed.

catch ya in three days time, when we return to puerto natales expert hikers.

Wet-agonia

First full day in el Sur and loving it. Yesterday was our travel day, arrived in El Calafate and immediately drove to El Chalten, a tiny hiking town near the border, with Mt Fitz Roy and Glaciar Viedma at your fingertips. The view from the van was breathtaking, and our driver stopped a few times for photo opps and so we could experience just how damn windy it is here. You literally can get blown away. Huge mountains (duh), bright green lakes, had a row to myself on the van, reading my Kindle (ok, girl who played with hornet´s nest... still not as good as girl with dragon tattoo...), we had sweet 80's music playing on the van (Sweet Child of Mine stands out), snacking on a dulce de leche alfajor... the 2 1/2 hour ride was pretty much heaven.

Got to our Fitz Roy Inn sometime in the afternoon and had a rendezvous with our local guide. She warned us the forecast for today was not so good (actually to quote Alvaro, our GAP guide, ¨the worst I´ve ever seen!¨), so we were prepared for the worst. I rented a pair of awesome bright orange waterproof pants and went for it. Woke up this morning to howling winds and rain hitting our windows, but, hell, we paid how much to be here, traveled how long to be here? What´s a little rain and wind? Natalie, another local guide, met us at 9 and we were on our way. Our 6 hour hike turned into 2 hours. The forest protected us from the wind, but the rain was pretty consistent. Despite goretex waterproof shoes, everyone´s feet were sponges after 2 hours. Saw some woodpeckers, hare and a few other species... really enjoyed smelling clean air after 5 weeks in BsAS. The scenery is of course stunning, very green, with snow caps peaking out behind rolling hills. Of course now, it´s sunny and clear.

My GAP group is only 9 people, out of a max of 15. I am the youngest by 3 years. There are 2 couples, one from London and one from Scotland, a guy from Germany, a woman from Aussie, a woman from Chicago, and my roommate and most likely candidate for BFF for the trip, Christine, a 42 year old from Switzerland who makes chocolate! Well, she works for a company that makes chocolcate and chewing gum at least. She´s no food scientist, don´t worry, Rebecca. She does something with exports. Alvaro, our trip guide, is 30 and has been doing this for 5 years. Born in Barcelona, but has lived in Santiago his whole life and is a Chilean at heart. Is a guide for everything, horse back riding, rock climbing, bird watching, trekking, kayaking... tis the life.

After being soaked to the bone this morning, I am now dressed in the most ridiculous manner... turquoise Burton fleece leggings, Uniqlo snowflake heattech socks with ¨sports¨sandals (since my shoes are still soaking wet), IDG TechNet LL Bean fleece jacket and a knit wool cap with a giant peace sign. I cant even get into what my hair looks like. Attempted showering but had no hot water and after trying to wet my hair, gave up and took a nap.

Tomorrow we go ice climbing (not just trekking, CLIMBING, with pick ax and campons) on Glaciar Viedma. Google it. A 9 hour excursion. Then we head back to El Calafate tomorrow night. Ok, back to the Patagonian wind. Fingers crossed for no lluvia tomorrow.

Chau, Buenos Aires

Just finished packing up my room on Vicente Lopez, bidding adieu to the last roommate standing, and about to shut down the computer to keep it safe in Daniel's room while I'm trekking around Patagonia, diving between glacier crevices and tracking down penguinos.

I officially leave tomorrow but the GAP group meets today at a hotel downtown and the last thing I want to bring is my laptop. I'll try to post some updates from internet cafes, but I imagine if/when I find such a thing, I'll be too tired to write much or too busy refueling up on calories. Come on, part of the great part of daily 8-hour hikes are the amount of calories you can consume during and after! Obviously that's why I'm going.

Speaking of 8 hour hikes, I have never done such a thing and bought my first official hiking/waterproof/trail shoes yesterday. North Face, I hope you do me right.

Yesterday I ran around looking at more apartments and hotels for my mom's trip (think I found THE ONE!), finally bought a new watch (a sweet old school Casio from the 80s, only $20), had one last private Spanish class, then met up with Gonzalo for a quick gelato. He gave me 5 or 6 CDs of the top Argentine rock bands that I need to listen to and know. Loaded them up on my iPod this morning for my trip and plan to practice my Spanish via musica.

Had really great dinner last night with Karen, the Californian I met in Mendoza. We went to a fancy pants Peruvian restaurant and splurged since it was her last night here, after 2 months. The ceviche was great, the tacu-tacu just okay. But the conversation was the best part, and something I've missed having, since Jo left and Amy has been traveling in Patagonia and then Mendoza (we just kept missing each other). A real conversation (face to face, not Skype!), in your native language, with someone your age-ish, and no cultural barriers... you take these things for granted. So it turned into a 3 1/2 hour dinner and we closed the place down. Definitely someone I hope to keep in touch with, especially when/if I return to NYC...

Ok, gotta wrap this up. Over and out.

Suerte!

Ah, celeb spotting in Palermo

One more thing while walking around with Ayelen today... she casually glances at some good-looking couple eating at an outdoor hole-in-the-wall parilla and goes... (in Spanish) "huh. he's some famous actor." of course i'm all whoooo? HIM? cool! from what!? and she's just, "oh I don't know. remind me to look later."

anyway, she just emailed she remembered. it was this guy: Federico Amador whoever he is?

ok, so it's no Shakira, but it's still kinda cool. no?

Nearing the Close of Berkentina Act 1: Buenos Aires

First things first, new fotos posted:

• Open-roof bus tour of the city with Jo (no, i would not pay for such a thing, i won a ticket at school!)
• Madres de la Plaza de Mayo - this group of women meets every Thursday afternoon at 3:30 at the Plaza de Mayo. Why? Read the wiki entry!
• Classic Argentine snack of medialunas y cafe
• Homer Simpson hanging out in Palermo
• Mini-fiesta at our apartment
• Mendoza (and some winery videos)

Now, onto Mendoza! The overnight bus: we played bingo (prize was a bottle of wine, of course), they served (airline-esque) food, cheap wine, and apparently I had the misfortune on being on an older bus. After taking sleeping pills and a glass of wine, equipped with the requisite ear plugs and eyemask, I slept on and off through the night, through apparently torrential rain, unfortunately having put my backpack under my seat... woke up to one soggy mess. Fortunately my clothes were more damp than soaked and I had some time to straighten things out at the hostel. Had a huge, bare bones private room and bath at the Hostal Confluencia with A/C not far from the city center. Not bad for $44. The city is laid out around 1 main plaza and 4 small plazas. Definitely a small-city feel with more of a Latin American vibe and less noise, less pollution, less craziness altogether. Was a welcome respite from BsAs.

After freshening up at the hostel and doing my best to look professional considering I slept on a bus, attired in all black (Astor, you've done me well), I ventured out with my map and a raving appetite. Hit one of the Lonely Planet recommended cafes on one of Mendoza's busier avenues (Mendoza busy = BsAs quaint) and enjoyed a grilled calamari salad. Sauntered over to the Bohemia Hotel where my mom and I plan to stay in March, just to make sure it was acceptable. Met Emir, the owner, an ex-NYer who has Argentine roots. Told him about my aspirations to move to Mendoza and he gave me his card in case I needed anything. Had time for a quick espresso at another Lonely Planet recommended spot and then it was go-time.

3:30 interview with the Vines of Mendoza, owned by an American and Argentine. Unfortunately Mike, the American owner, was out of town, visiting the US so I was set to meet with Sebastian, the Director of Operations. He came down and met me in the courtyard of the Vines' tasting room. Really cute venue (for lack of a better term), with an indoor tasting room operated by good-looking, bilingual 20-something Argentines, an al fresco courtyard and another room I didn't check out but saw a huge flatscreen TV inside. Sebastian had the typical "what brings you here and who are you" questions, I explained my experience and goals. Sebastian admitted there wasn't a concrete job position yet, but that I could definitely be put to good use for the Vines' planned expansion into a few different directions (a culinary resort and spa being one of them). After a good 30 minute talk, he suggested I stop by later to do one of their tasting flights, with a discount of course. I promised I would.

Then it was off to see Carolyn, the American woman who has started her own wine tourism company, married an Argentine and has the most adorable baby girls, with the elder 3-year old already bilingual. Her home office allows her to work and be a full time mom. I told her about my interview at the Vines (she is a good friend of Mike, the CEO), as she did their PR at one point but felt it was too corporate for her. She started brainstorming other people I might be able to work with, and got really excited about her friend Karim. Karim runs Alto Cedro, his family's small but highly ranked winery a bit off the map. He apparently wants to open a tasting room, which got Carolyn thinking. She quickly sent off an email with my CV and Astor letter of recommendation, began hyping up the potential of this being my chance to "ganar el piso" or "earn my floor," meaning pay my dues. She also mentioned a possible opportunity for me to work for her on an upcoming internet venture, also in the wine world.

Then it was back to the hostel to drop off my notebook and guidebook, freshen up, and turn back around to check out the Vines at nighttime. I pulled up a stool to the bar and asked for the blind tasting. Ramiro was my charming server for the evening who was pleased to give me the tasting in Spanish. Two whites and three reds, with a hint of possible types, and I got 4 of the 5 wines right. During the tasting, I met Karen, a transplanted Californian who, after 7 years of working for Microsoft in Seattle, is moving to NYC in a month to work at Google. Ah, Google. So glad you didn't offer me a job last year! I would never be here. Anyway, Karen and I hit it off as single traveling American women tend to do, and went out to dinner after. She'll be in BsAs tomorrow night and we've planned to meet again for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant she's been dying to try. And so it goes with people here. Friend for a week!

The next day I woke early to venture out to the wineries with a private taxi, organized by Martin, a friend of Martha's, my Spanish teacher. Chandon was first on the list, followed by Ruca Malen and then Lopez. All recommendations by Jorge, my wine teacher. Chandon, which I loved in Napa, was just okay here. It was decorated in the trendy baroque style (Bulla you would love it), and since I was the first person to arrive, I enjoyed some cafe alone on the terrace, and then had a private tour (en espanol) which I found very informative. I think Constanza, my tour guide, was amused by my furious scribbling in my notebook in Spanglish. The espumantes were disappointingly just meh. Then it was off to Ruca Malen, which was simply stunning. The Andes backdrop and being surrounded by grapevines as far as the eye can see... definitely will be returning with my mom for their renowned lunch. Again, had a private tasting en espanol, this time with Eugenia, their in-house sommelier. Tried 3 pretty good reds, 2 Malbecs and a $180 peso Cab Sav that I'm sure would be amazing with a steak. Lopez was the finale, which was basically like being on a movie set. Super big, impersonal and a bit artifical, except for the fact that I got to see a bottling plant in process as well as one of the machines that de-stems grapes. I had yet to see anything in action until then. Posted some videos to Flickr. The wines at Lopez were pretty terrible, but I guess you don't go there for the wine. You go for the technology behind the scenes. I refrained from actually swallowing most of the wine all day as I had another overnight bus that night and still had some networking to do in the afternoon.

Was back in town by 2pm and had lunch at Anna Bistro, one of my new favorite restaurants (pics on Flickr). Sat in their very floral, green patio with a fresh juice of orange/ pineapple/ ginger. Lunch was gazpacho served with black olive tapenade toasts and a cheese and olive plate. Martin joined me after for a drink (a G&T for him, a cafe for me). Martin is in his mid to late 30s, runs a sommelier school, wine tourism company and leads adventure trips to Patagonia for an Australian company. After learning of my plans to live in Mendoza, he also excitedly started pulling out contacts for me to reach out to. Off the bat, a British friend who needs an English-speaker to teach classes and lead tours for her new company. He called her on the spot and she said to definitely send my CV over. In the meantime, Carolyn called me with urgent news that Karim was definitely interested and to keep him in mind if/when I talk to the Vines again. Martin then drove me through torrential rain back to the Vines, where I had told Sebastian I would stop by before going back to BsAs. No sign of Sebastian, so I enjoyed two glasses of wine (50% off after 7!) while chatting with a friendly couple visiting from Vegas, and called a taxi to the bus station.

Had a first class seat on the way home. Helllllo, big difference. It was only me and one other guy in the whole first class cabin(?), so we had plenty of space and it was super quiet. Seats also fully reclined 180 degrees. I slept like a baby until our arrival in BsAs (after playing AndesMar Bingo, of course).

Got home to a disaster of an apartment, and cannot wait to move out this weekend. Maggie's already moved into a new apartment in Palermo, so it's me, the new Dutch kid Daniel and Tujina, who is back from Chile. Showered, answered emails, napped, had Spanish class with Martha and finally Skyped with my dad. Around 11, Daniel and I met up with Maggie and her friend at a Wednesday night hotspot, some boat in Puerto Madero where everyone goes after work. Pretty standard BsAs scene with too much smoking, smoke machines and bad dance music. Highlight of the night was text from Martin saying he has another lead for me, as an English tour guide at an apparently amazing winery, Pulenta Estate.

Today met up with Ayelen, my favorite ex-teacher, for lunch. She accompanied me around Palermo to check out hiking boots, see apartments for my mom's visit, and dispute a charge at a local restaurant who mistakenly charged me twice for a dinner a few weeks ago. Oh, we also sat in Plaza Italia at one point to rest our feet. I showed her how to make a fortune teller out of looseleaf paper, which I hadn't done in years. Of course we played with it like giddy children. She asked me for a Spanish word, I said burbuja (bubble). So my favorite fortune, in Spanish: You will soon enter a giant bubble. (What?) After 5+ hours of Spanish and walking around the city, I'm pretty fried. Which explains my first Thursday night in since I've been here.

Mendoza, part 1

Quick post while I wait for my dad to jump on Skype (Dad, you're late!).

Taking the overnight bus to Mendoza tonight and will arrive tomorrow morning around 10. I've got 2 days to check out the city and some wineries, have the interview, and decide if it's where I want to be, versus BsAs.

A bit about the weekend:

Friday night we went to an amazing Peruvian restaurant and had very awesome ceviche (with ahi, yes, dad). Finally some spice! Really, really good, but on the expensive side. Great pisco sours too. After dinner, Jo and I met up with Diego and some of his friends at Asia de Cuba since Jo was leaving the next day for London and hadn't been to a proper Argentine club yet. Stayed just long enough for her to feel like she had seen the scene and we were home by 4. Really nothing to write home about... (how ironic, eh?)

Yesterday met up with Amy and her roommate Caitlin who both just got back from almost 3 weeks in Patagonia. We layed out in one of the pretty parks in our 'hood and caught up on the last few weeks. They had some good advice for me as to what to bring, what not to bring, what's a must-see. Perfect timing! After a few hours in the park, Amy was craving a McD's ice cream cone and I'm sad to say I succumbed and had my first McFlurry down here... and it was awesome. Sometimes you just need something from home. Then ran errands at the supermarket and internet cafe to print my bus voucher, resume, etc. A pretty typical Saturday, whether you're in NYC or BsAs.

Last night had a mini-fiesta at my apartment with people from my Spanish school to celebrate our completion of the 4 weeks. Small gathering of Gonzalo and Ayelen, 2 of my teachers (the cool ones who I actually learned from), some of the Brazilians, Maggie and our new Dutch roommate, Daniel. He is 23 and will be here until July doing an internship in what else... wine exports! Perfect. Was a fun, chill night just listening to different Argentine/ Brazilian/ Cuban/ American music and having fun with the Che Boludo book Amy let me borrow. It's the dictionary for all Argentine slang and has some funny pictures to correspond with some of the phrases. (Che Boludo itself is slang - can either mean a really cool dude or an asshole, depending on intonation, etc.). By 3 am I kicked everyone out because I was way tired and knew I had stuff to do today.

After prepping for my interview and sending out lots of emails to organize my mom's trip as well my as my trip, I went for a long run to the Palermo Parks (mini Central Park) and on my way back ended up in Plaza Francia, where there is this artisinal market every weekend. I was dying of thirst and had 10 emergency pesos on me... and the fresh squeezed jugo de naranja just happened to be 10 pesos. Sat on the grassy knoll and watched a musician sing and play his guitar to the 100 or so people lounging about in the plaza, laying out with dogs and kids, doing hippy-esque cartwheels, etc. One of those moments where you just sit and think, yep... this is it. This is why I'm here.

4 weeks is almost over. wow.

it's my last week of Spanish classes with the school (damn 4 weeks flies by!), and i have been taking daily private classes as well. last night, my favorite teacher at the school, Gonzalo, met me at Bangalor, a cool "indian" pub that was more irish than indian, for a few cervezas. we spoke in english and spanish for a few hours and i covered his beers. he's 24, studying literature, has the hairiest arms i've ever seen (we joke about it in class- peludo!), and has a ton of American friends here from all the students he's taught. i've also made friends with another teacher, Ayelen (eye-sheh-len) who is this really interesting alternative Argentine chick who is studying french literature, plays the cello, wears converse and doesn't drink. her boyfriend is american/argentine so i think her English is better than she says it is, but it's good we only speak in Spanish. we're going to try to hang out this weekend as well. she walked with me to my private class today as she was waiting on a friend to call her to meet up. i understood maybe 50% of her Spanish outside of class. hmmm. i did catch that she is in the middle of writing a novel and loves to write poetry. why poetry, i asked? because it serves no purpose, she answered.

Amy is finally back from more than 2 weeks in Patagonia, which she said was absolutely amazing. happy to have her back in the city and can't wait to hear her stories and advice for me (i leave for my own Patagonia trip next Sunday!). Jo has been great to hang with, but she leaves Saturday to swing through Rio before going back to London for her new job. we had an awesome dinner last night at Sarki's, an Armenian restaurant (FIRST HUMMUS IN A MONTH!) unfortunately woke up this morning completely thirsty and bloated. too. much. salt. in. the. hummus. and. falafel. and. tabouleh. twas well worth it though. i miss my hummus.

Apparently a new Dutch dude will be moving in to the apartment once Jo leaves. it's an eternal rotating door with that room... i leave, however, Sunday night on an overnight bus (first class for an extra $12? yes, please) to Mendoza for an interview with the Vines of Mendoza, a hook-up i got through Heather, the woman who i met through Chris, Mooney's brother-in-law who owns a wine importing company in NYC (and may have a position for me this summer... IF i go back to NYC). still with me?

i arrive around 9am Monday, and have the interview at 3:30. should be enough time to shower and freshen up in my hostal/hotel (private room, dont worry). also want to check out the city to make sure it's somewhere i could see myself living for an extended amount of time... after my interview, i will meet with Carolyn from Uncorking Argentina, an American woman i randomly reached out to after finding her wine/adventure tourism company online. she has been extremely awesome in offering to help me sort things out job-wise.

on tuesday, Martha, my private Spanish teacher i met through Heather, has arranged for Martin, a native Mendocino who also has some sort of tour company, to drive me around to a few bodegas (wineries) for the day, before i take another overnight bus back to BsAs tuesday night. i'll have a few days in BsAs before i jet off to Patagonia on the 13th. then mom flies in the day i come back from Patagonia and stays for 3 weeks, but that will have to be another posting.

oooh, just had my first real phone call in Spanish (we only text here), for 10 minutes, with Diego, a potential intercambio i met the other night at an irish pub (dont judge, it's close to the apartment and Milion, the awesome mansion turned bar, was closed!)... anyway, Diego needs to practice his English and in return I get to practice my Spanish (for free! screw this $20/hour stuff). it was surprisingly easy to understand his Spanish... not like the people on the street or in the stores. they still have me completely dumbfounded. this one guy yesterday was trying to tell me something at the bus stop that seemed pretty important and i literally stared at him with my head cocked. he said it again. i shook my head and furrowed my brow. he repeated again in his ridiculous fast porteno accent. i continued to stare blankly. then he pointed at some sticker and said something a few times and it finally sunk in. bus is re-routed. yes. thank you, sir.

favorite new word: Barbaro!

translates to: great!

try saying it and not laughing.