Curbassett Adventurology

Happy Sunday folks,

Writing today from Puerto Varas, Chile (huzzah we made it across the border!).

Things are a bit different here in Chile. The currency is worth about 500 - 1 USD and the super markets have a diverse range of food similar to what you would find in North America thus re-enabling my daily consumption of Greek yoghurt. The people are very friendly but speak at an almost indecipherable quick pace. So perhaps they are not so nice as I'm only catching 30% of what they are saying and they are calling me an asshat in between words. We'll never know ...

If anyone has noticed my lack of online appearance for the past 5 days (my god) it's because Chris and I decided to get on the least functioning bus in Chile and head to the middle of nowhere. Was it worth the 95 KM 4 hour bus ride where the bus driver was continually pouring water on the engine and pulling off cliff side to bang on the motor a bit? Yes, absolutely. It was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. 

The town (peublo) is called Cochamo. It's a sleepy seaside/bay town that typically hosts people for a night or so before they head up to La Junta. We followed suit, spent the evening in Cochamo town and then headed to the trail head the next morning. To get to La Junta and Refugio Cochamo (our ultimate destination) you need to hike about 4-6 hours or go by horse. I figured, hey, I haven't ridden a horse since I was 13 why not take one up a mountain?

So Chris and I became cowboys for the day with our horses Hidalgo and Nino who took us on a guided tour of the area. I would say that we rode the horses but in reality the horse was definitely in charge... Especially Chris's who refused to walk in the mud and preferred a more dry path. However, this may have been Chris speaking telepathically to the horse due to this disinclination towards getting dirty. Thus this paragraph is incredibly confused as I just refuted my thesis statement ... Whatever it's my blog.

The refugio was simply amazing. The view from our room, the food, the people, everything was great. They don't get much meat of there so most of what they serve is vegetarian which suited me juuuuuust fine :) Chris didn't even complain once. That's how nice it was.

Our time in La Junta was spent pretty much just trekking and exploring the area. The first day we did a 5-6 hour hike into a waterfall where we promptly stripped to our bathing suits and jumped in as we were covered in sweat and bug guts. FYI the horse flies (tabanos) are as big as a chipmunk (probably something left over from the Jurassic period). They were fine in the shade but once you hit the sun, bam, tabanos err where. They don't really bite you but they like to buzz around your head as your trying to cross over a log 7 feet above a river. I've been doing yoga for about 5 years now and only when I had to deal with these fuckers is when I learned how to be "zen".

The other highlight of being up there was an area called the Tobbagones (toboggan). Which were a series of waterfall water slides. Yes, natural water slides.

The La Junta area is rustic to say the least. For instance as you're hiking you'll come to river with a few dry rocks peaking out. "Surely this could not be the way" I would say to myself. Buuuuuuuut, yes, yes it was as you could see the little orange tape that marked the way on the other side of the river. So you debate with yourself as to whether you can do it meanwhile Chris is hopping across the rocks leaving you stranded on the other side. There was actually only one crossing that we couldn't manage. However if we had a carabiner and harness we could have used the makeshift zipline that was about 10-12 feet above the river. Alas, no gear...

The trails see a lot of rain so you're essentially walking through rainforest. Which is cool because you get to see some enormous trees and neat colourful lizards. Chris has pictures of both which I assume he will post to Facebook or his blog shortly.

We sadly left after 3 days, hiked back to the trail head and hopped in some very nice lady's truck back into town. Transportation to and from the trail head is a bit complicated as it's about 8 km from Cochamo town. The suggested method of transportation is to actually hitch hike... which is fine because the locals are super nice and totally willing to give you a lift for about 15 bucks/7000 pesos.

That being said, we're going to add a new page to the blog that contains practical information about some of the places we've been, places we've stayed/recommend.

Before all of this we were in Bariloche but I guess I skipped that and will have to let Chris write about it ...

Hola Amigos,

Happy holidays to you and yours from Buenos Aires. If you haven't seen our holiday greeting card here it is in all it's glory:

http://uruguaychristmas.weebly.com/

We just got back from two amazing sun filled weeks on the coast of Uruguay in a town called Punta del Diablo. It was hot. I am now more tanned than I ever have (and likely ever will be) in my life and this was after spending most of my time trying to AVOID the sun.

I had 3 sun burns over the course of 2 weeks and while they were minor I really would have preferred that my face not be subject to the progression of tomato red to brown and peeling ... 

Time on the Devil's Point was spent relatively simply: beach, fish empanadas, surf.. That wasn't every day but we got 4 solid surf sessions while we were there and ... we still suck. I could write about how the waves aren't the greatest but really it's because surfing is hard, damn hard. However it has strengthened my resolve to get better at it. TIP for single ladies: take up surfing. I only saw a handful of females out there and this isn't uncommon on any beach around the world. 

Punta del Diablo was cool. Very chill fishing village of about 800 people in low season. Looks like we picked a good time to visit as it was just approaching its high season with the town beginning to fill up with Land Rovers and other large family vehicles from Brasil, Uruguay or Argentina.

The highlight of being there was being able to walk up to any fisherman's shop and ask which fish was fresh today, take it home and cook it. The restaurants there, while plentiful, tend to leave something to be desired. They were fine but nothing worth writing about.

The other gastronomical highlight was being able to get fresh made fish empanadas right on the beach. They are expertly crafted by local ladies in shacks that line Playa Pescadores and then (if you're lucky) BOOM 20 minutes later you get your empanada. Despite the wait it's definitely worthwhile. 

The first two days Chris and I stayed at a hostel in town with the purpose of meeting some people and it turned out quite well. Met quite a few Nordic folk who I quizzed about Vikings. If you ever want to know why Swedish women are so god damn good looking it's because the Vikings stole the beautiful women from around the world and brought them to Sweden. If someone fact checks this and learns otherwise I don't want to hear it.

Following our stay in the hostel we hiked and arduous 2 km with our backpacks, in thirty degrees to our cabana overlooking the town. Very cute, with a hammock and a dog named Linda. Here is where I found out that beach living is not all it's cracked up to be as in the evening bugs like to crawl into your home and bite you... mosquitoes mostly. This was quickly resolved with a mosquito coil which has made all my clothing smell like I've just returned from an opium den (my assumption here is that opium dens are filled with incense).

Our hosts were very kind and we got to practice our Spanish when Chris broke a pot lid and had to fess up. 

The property is called Bien al Este and I would recommend to anyone. Don't be put off by the bugs, this happens everywhere in town due to their ignorance of screens for their windows and doors. Seriously, could be so easy if you just put ... never mind.

We're back in Buenos Aires right now, enjoying air conditioning. The city is currently suffering from an energy crisis with "brown outs" happening all over. Some people have been without power for 10 days. Allegedly it's been 35-40 degrees from the past few weeks with little reprieve in the evening or early morning. I think Chris and I will be visiting the cities indoor attractions while we're here...

I missed something very important on my last post which I definitely wanted to address: Spa services. They are so, amazingly, cheap. Ten dollars (USD) for a manicure/pedicure. Ten dollars for waxing, anything. I also think it's 10 dollars to get your hair did. This has to be government subsidized ... 

As I mentioned, Chris and I are back in Buenos Aires to celebrate New Years with some new pals. Then we're off to the Andes! I'm really looking forward to heading south and enjoying the montanas. We're likely to stop at Bariloche first (which is a former Swiss colony) and then make our way to Ushuia (the southern most city in the world) but more on that as we progress.

Alright, Sandy's been bugging me since she wrote her post, so here's some text.  

We're currently on a ferry, on our way across, what I thought originally was the Atlantic ocean, or at the very least a bay of some sort, but is according the portenos, it's a river. At least, if you still consider something that takes TWO HOURS to cross a river. Well whatever, it can be a river. Regardless of what it is, the great citizens of Buenos Aires do not seem to care that it exists.

We spent the last month staying in the grand middle-class neighbourhood of Palermo.  On the east side of which is a very large park.  So you'd think river (ocean) front.  You'd be wrong.  It's close to the water, but unless you're looking at a map, you'd have no idea. There's a giant freeway, an airport, and a bunch of abandoned industrial yards ensuring the park and the city beyond are completely isolated from the waterfront.  I know this because I had to go find it.  Getting to a sketchy looking canal next to said abandoned industrial yard was the best I could do.  Figured I'd get back across the freeways and into the city before it got dark.

   (That is the ocean/river peaking out at the end of the canal)

And now we're in the middle of this mythical body of water, but we're on a ferry with no deck and barely any windows...fuck it, it's just water I guess.  And actually, I just went and wondered around, we are moving very fast.  Apparently we're down in the dregs of class economico aka whatever ticket they sold me, but I wondered upstairs without too much trouble...no one seemed to mind.  Business class was pretty much completely empty.  But they do have damn nice yellow chairs for just over twice the price.  I turned around at "Primera Especial" it seemed like it might be a little more well guarded, but, yeah I probably could have still just walked in.  I'm betting red chairs, and even less people, with still no deck or windows for only three times the price.  It's weird how the world sells transportation.  Anyhow, I digress.

  Buenos Aires

  Besides the complete lack of waterfront.  The city is pretty cool.  The central area is a middle class city like any other.  Grungier than Calgary, more like Manhattan, that sort of cobbled together hundreds of years old city, with some areas of European homage.  I'm pretty certain each piece of sidewalk is the responsibility of the building it's in front of, they're all tiles, and they're all different, and they're all in different states of repair.  Pristine not being one of the states.  

The streets vary from cobblestone to pavement.  And traffic is everywhere.  Again Manhattan, but a whole lot more private cars, though I certainly wouldn't want to drive one in Buenos Aires.  The traffic is ridiculous.  There are NO STOP SIGNS.  Seriously I still can't remember what the word "stop" is in Spanish, I haven't seen it written anywhere.  

There are lights, and where there aren't lights, there is an open intersection where cars blink their lights or honk to let the other direction of traffic know that they are coming through, and they aren't stopping.

Over a month of this and I still haven't seen an accident.  Kind of disappointing really.  There aren't even turning lanes here, hell, lanes themselves are just a suggestion.  If you can fit three cars on a two lane road, why not do it right?  I don't know maybe honking constantly actually helps.  Even the buses honk here.  As soon as traffic is not moving, no matter what the reason.  Reach for your horn!

    So in case it's not obvious from the above.  Don't rent an apartment on one of the city's busiest intersections.  Strangely you get used to not being able to hear the television as soon as a siren starts, or people start honking, or revving loudly, or protesting, but as fun as an area as it might be, I still can't recommend it.  Damned loud city it is everywhere, let alone on major thoroughfares.

  But okay, it's not just noise and traffic, right?  Certainly.  It's not a cheap city if you just look at the prices and convert to CAD, with the exception of wine, cigarettes, and probably still steak.  But Argentina, being the economic, er, cycle of disaster, it is has a very functioning black market for US greenbacks that will save you 30 to 70 percent depending on the day and the method (if you come here, talk to me, I'm busy trying them all).  You just have to find a way to get money into the country while avoiding using the 'official' exchange rate.  The simplest method being bringing a whole bunch of cash into the country and hoping for the best.  With this in play, you could live like a king here if you could earn cash from the western world.  Though South America is in the western hemisphere no...?

  With black market exchange.  In a grocery store:  Litre of beer, $1.  Nice bottle of Wine $2.50 to $6.  Good steak in a restaurant, $10 to $13.  Bottle of wine in a restaurant $5 to $15.  Pack of cigarettes $1.50!  Beer and cocktails in a restaurant will set you back a little more, the savings over home starts to dwindle.  But, very easy to have a very nice dinner with a bottle of wine for $25 to $50 for two.  And no shortage of very nice restaurants, as long as you like meat (Parillas) or Italian food.  If you're craving a good sandwich, or hamburger, go elsewhere.  And being a big city as it is, there's plenty of other ethnic food, but as Sandy can attest the quality is very hit and miss.  We've had some decent Mexican food, and we found really good Indian one night, but they didn't have Basmati rice.  Argentina's economic situation apparently makes importing quite difficult, so the best food and alcohol both in quality and price, seems to be what is made here.  Can I complain?  Certainly not.  I could live on steak and wine, and I kind of have.  That and empenadas, meat filled pockets of bready goodness available for a dollar almost everywhere.  And fizzy water, and espresso, and breakfast pastries. 

  Is the steak as good as home?  Yes.  However, the cooking is not quite as much of an art form.  Generally seems to be served "mediano", which is a decent approximation of medium, but has been closer to well some place.  If you ask for "jugoso" (juicy) generally a pretty good medium rare, but has been closer to blue in one case. And there's some word for well done, but the only reason to know that would be to precede it with a loud NO.  Other meats?  I had both good chicken and very good pork, but steak is definitely the winner.

    Okay so besides food, money, wine and traffic.  Well maybe needs another post.  This ferry ride is almost over, and then we'll be in Uruguay. I'll do something titled the people of Buenos Aires (or Argentina) or something like that at some point, not sure I can generalize enough yet.  Maybe I can contrast them with Uruguay.  And perhaps another about our adventures in Espanol.  We've just finished four weeks of Spanish studies last week, and it certainly has made getting around easier, but I still probably have the sentence making ability of a five year old, and a vocabulary not quite even at that level.  Going to try to keep on it, travelling around where barely anyone speaks English is pretty good motivation.  It's much nicer to know what's going on.  

Hi friends, 

Sandy here. For the past few weeks I've been mulling over whether or not to start a blog for our trip as my participation in social media tends to lean on the spammy side sometimes. However due to overwhelming demand (2 people) I put together a quick and dirty Tumblr for our (Chris and I) experiences and musings.

Back story? Why are we here? Did someone kidnap us and bring us to Argentina?

About 3 weeks ago Chris and I both left our home in Calgary to set out on an adventure Southern Hemisphere style. Our goals:

Learn Spanish

Relax

Tan our gringo asses

Make new amigos

Visit friends

Experience some of the coolest places on earth - seriously on all of those "10 ten experiences you need to see before you drop dead" lists at least 3/10 are in this continent. 

We arrived safe and sound with shockingly few complications with Air Canada. We had a brief layover in Santiago where we discovered our first obstacle in South America. Getting a coffee to go (para llevar) is exceedingly difficult. We found out that people here like to sit and ENJOY their coffee rather than power walk with it while caffeine fills their veins. 

The place we're staying is suitable for us. Relatively large by South American standards. However it has quite possibly the smallest sink I've ever seen. Oh! All houses (well most) are equipped with a bidet! That thing that sprinkles water on your butt after you've done your business. Apparently North Americans are "unclean" by not rinsing off post numero dos.

There is a moderate downside to our place. We soon found out that we're on the first floor of a building on two of the busiest streets in BA (Buenos Aires). Luckily the bedroom is in the back so we're sleeping well but sitting out on the terrace is not as enjoyable as expected.

This brings me to another fun fact about BA - drivers here, particularly buses and taxis, believe that if they honk REAL LOUD they will magically move gridlock. My goal in the next week is to understand this misnomer by asking a taxi driver in my best Spanish. I've found that my Spanish gets three times better after about 3 glasses of wine so I'll probably do it then ... 

Chris and I have been taking Spanish at Vamos Spanish School for 3 weeks at 20 hours a week. I can now confidently converse with a 4-5 year old child. It's been no easy feat. My brain feels like mush at the end of the week but it's been incredibly rewarding. Not only are we learning communication skills to survive but meeting some really great people in the process. If you're ever here in BA for a few weeks definitely look into this school. I've had a great experience so far.

Next week is our last week which will be a bit sad but a much needed break for everything to sink in.

The last thing I want to cover in this post is my new game called "Racing Portenos". This city is busy, there are 3 million people mostly concentrated in the core. People here (Portenos) are also busy so they typically walk fast. However you will often encounter a family of 4 walking 4 abreast on small side walks. To get past I just try and knock over the children as they are smaller than me... I digress. So, in the mornings while people are walking to work and I'm going to school I've decided to see how many Portenos I can pass in the three blocks I have to walk to school. The challenge of the game is that when they feel you trying to pass they SPEED up, hence the fun. I can pass about 10 - 12 on my way to school.

I used to have a similar game when I lived in Amsterdam but it was called Race a Dutch Person on a Bike which I failed at about 8/10 times.

Coming up on Curbassett's Adventurology: Chris will talk about his culinary experience (maybe) and how Portenos are ignoring the fact that there's AN OCEAN nearby.

If you want to see pictures from our trip check out Chris's website:

http://worldlikethis.com/

or follow us on instagram:

@sandrabassett

@urbinsky