Less useful than an airplane's horn

Wow, let's all give Ally a big hand for that absolutely amazing, disgusting retelling of that story. If you haven't read it, it's a must before you continue with this one!


So we're in Bariloche. For those of you not in the know (which included us until very recently) it is a town in northern Patagonia close to the Chilean border. The town is pretty unremarkable except for the artesanal chocolate and beer produced here (we've tried both, I think I like the chocolate better...it's definitely cheaper) but is nestled within a ring of beautiful, snow-capped peaks. Gentle breezes flow off lake Nahuel Huapi (nah-well woppy) and seem to whisper "relax," a request we have been taking very seriously.

Yesterday we reached the halfway point of our trip, and it is definitely more than symbolic. The hurried pace of the last 2.5 months (11 weeks) has started to take its toll, and we're a tuckered out. That's not to say that we will be slowing down much over the coming half, but Ally and I both feel the need to relax when and where we can, and Bariloche is a perfect candidate. We have been waking up every day at almost noon, walking into town, eating lunch, spending hours at the lake's beautiful blue waters napping and soaking up Vitamin D, maybe grabbing some food to cook back in our hostel, and then settling down for a movie on the hostel's DIGITAL CABLE!!! (first we've seen in South America). Otherwise, nothin' doing. But we're ok with that! The show must and will go on, once we're feeling up to it.

To be honest, we're pretty sure that our stint in Buenos Aires is at least partly to blame for our feelings of fatigue. First, some background: Argentinians, and more specifically Porteños (people from Buenos Aires) are night owls. They don't eat dinner until perhaps 10 or 11 at night and parties don't start until 2, which is to say that doors open at 2, people usually start showing up at 3 or later. We were confused about the subway's lack of service at night, but found that it is not unusual for people to stay out partying until the lines open up again at 5:00AM (9:00AM on sundays) the next morning. So, even though we only spent one night out of 10 in this manner, adjusting to late dinners after entire days out seeing the sights left us exhausted and drained.

Perhaps it is a testament to the draw of Buenos Aires that we were able to continue as long as we did. The city feels like New York City, with the vibe changing abruptly from manhattan to brooklyn as you enter the different neighborhoods. We were impressed by the modern vibe and the REAL COFFEE, which we have found nowhere else in South America. The true jewel of Buenos Aires are its people, though, a fact we learned from our incredibly generous hosts.

We stayed with our friend Ariel, who we met traveling in Chile and found incredibly open and humorous in intelligent and very crude (read: Argentinian) ways. He offered his sister's room to us for 9 nights without any thought of payment, something we could not thank him enough for. His mother, Daniela, took time out of her busy schedule to drive us around the city, straying 30 kilometers (divide by 1.6, ye of the mile standard) away from their house to show us the edges of Buenos Aires we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Besides this, she was constantly cooking for us, making sure we had clean clothes and that Ariel was showing us enough of the city. Ariel and his sister were incredibly accomodating as well, allowing us to partake in an Asado, an Argentinian tradition of cooking as much meat as possible and then trying to eat it all.

OK, perhaps it's not that extreme, and it was certainly delicious, as is all beef in Argentina (free range, grass fed!), and prepared on the parilla, a grill-like installation found in most houses. We also enjoyed most of the nightlife in B.A. in the company of Ariel, and we met many people who I think I would certainly consider friends at this point. All in all, we left B.A. wishing we could spend more time there and feeling that when we do return, we will have people who will be excited to see us.

...and that's why we're tired. But we have so much more to do, and I am certainly excited despite the feeling of enervation that leaves us in bed until 12:00 noon every morning regardless of when we fell asleep. Tomorrow we head to El Bolson, a cute little hippie town formed in the 1970s where lots of good beer is made. Then it's off to Mendoza where we will sample some of the world's best wine. Wow, we sound like drunks, don't we?

This is by no means a full update, simply what I could get out in one sitting. As always, stay tuned!

Love,
Sam