Pictures from the Ranch

These pictures are from the drive to Michael's ranch and when we got there...These guys were getting ready to cross the road when we were driving past. We pulled over to take a picture but they said we couldn't take their picture unless we paid them. So Michael said 2 pesos...manana! And I took the picture anyway and we drove off!

The valley down which the Alumine River flows, the clouds were spectacular.

Getting closer to the ranch

Crossing the river by boat

I can't believe I'm in Argentina!

The African tent that Michael and Maria Luisa stay in. Maria with Marco and Omar getting the chivito ready to bbq.

Omar, one of the gauchos who works for Michael.

Omar and Marco getting the goat ready. It was so good!

Swimming in the Alumine

Marco and Maeva

PICTURES!!!

This is our little traveling group when we were in Santiago on the top of the hill by the Santa Maria statue. Me, Mom, Maria, Marcia and Frannie

The view of Nahuel Huapi lake from our hotel room at the El Faro. Can you say postcard???

Maeva, Michael and Maria Luisa's daughter. 2 years old.

The crazy 2 hour road from Bariloche to San Martin.

Siete Lagos road, from the car. Beautiful!

Michael's house in San Martin.

getting rustic

Wednesday January 23, 2008

It was nice to have a few days to get accustomed to the lifestyle here in Argentina, especially the “mañana” attitude. They operate in a very slow, relaxing pace, but I am learning that a lot of it is because of their environment and weather. This is their summer, about like what July would be for us. It is also the peak tourist and vacation season and San Martín. It doesn’t get dark until 10:30-11 at night and it isn’t until then that they start thinking about dinner. The hottest part of the day is from 3-6 and most of the store are closed from 2-5. Siesta time! I like this schedule. ;) Then they open back up from 5-10. We haven’t done the late night bar scene, but supposedly the action downtown is the best starting at 2 in the morning! It’s no wonder that they sleep in so late! Meals are definitely a process and you must devote at least 3 hours for dinners if eating out. Now, that isn’t 3 hours of different courses and lots of food. That’s waiting for the waitress, waiting for drinks, waiting and waiting and waiting for the food to come and then waiting some more for the bill. So I’ve learned that I can’t go to dinner extremely hungry because then I just get more hungry and cranky waiting 2 hours for the food to come. Dinners here are more of a social time to visit and time to drink, and then eat a little.

Every meal has some kind of meat, mostly beef. For mom and me this is great! Meat, potatos and ice cream, the perfect meal! For those who aren’t devote beef lovers, not so great. So we’ve done a good job of getting lots of fresh vegetables too.

Michael’s Farm
*I’m not sure what to call this place, Michael calls it “the land,” which confuses me, but I would call it the “ranch,” so I’ll meet in the middle and call it a “farm.” He hasn’t come up with a name for it, but either way, it is a little slice of heaven.

On Tuesday we made the great trek to Michael and Maria Luisa’s farm, a 2 hour drive north, half on paved road, half on dirt road. The landscape to the north is completely different from the mountain and forests that we drove through coming from the south of to get to San Martín. The farther that you go north in Patagonia, the landscape opens up into vast plateaus and high plains surrounded by drastic peaks and even the immense Volcano Lanin in the distance. It was a beautiful but dusty drive. I can’t tell you how far because the metric system still boggles me, but I will learn that soon too!

For the last half of the drive we winded along the side of the river Aluminé. Absolutely gorgeous. Michael’s property is along the Aluminé, only accessible over the river. By boat. Row boat. Leave it to Michael to own something that you have to get in a boat to get to.

As rustic as it was, in every sense of the word, it was simply beautiful. They have an African tent like the ones that they use to stay in for safaris and such, Julie Kirby, you know exactly what I’m talking about! I think I will not try to describe but just show in the pictures. They have also been building a house for the gauchos to live in and are gaining much progress. They build a huge green house and thriving garden with lots of vegetables and have planted hundreds of trees, most of them fruit trees, that will hopefully come into production in 2 years. Michael has 10 horses here and 2 round pens and a tack room/shed. When they bought the property a few years ago there was nothing. So considering that they have had to take all of the supplies across the river on the rowboat has been quite an accomplishment and they are progressing quickly. Maria Luisa’s son, Marco, 15, has spent most of his summer vacation here, living with the 2 gauchos – Omar, 24, and Patricio, 17 – and the carpenter and his son.

Omar is a fabulous cook and bbqed chivito, a small goat, for us and it was fabulous! I have had goat before, but this was so neat to watch him start the fire, put the goat on the spit, and watch it so carefully. That afternoon we also went swimming in both of the rivers that meet on their property, the larger the Aluminé. It was like being in our own little world with no one else around. The water is so clean and clear and refreshing in the hot afternoon sun. It was a blast!

River Rats!
That night Michael, Maria Luisa and Maeva all stayed in the big tent. But Frannie, Maria, Marcia, Mom and me stayed in the closest town (Aluminé). The next morning Michael picked up Frannie to take her back to the ranch, but Mom, Marcia, Maria and I went river rafting! This is my new favorite thing! We didn’t really know what we were in for, knew we were going to float down the river, but didn’t realize that we were actually going to conquer some rapids. We lathered on the sunscreen and met our guide, Julio, and he took us to the raft. We were all taken back when he started handing us jackets, life vests and helmets. I guess that wasn’t what we had pictured. But we were game anyways.

This turned out to be my favorite part of the trip so far! Julio was a great guide on top of having a great sense of humor, even though he barely spoke any English. The whole trip was 2 ½ hours down the river. Apparently we went over some level 3-4 rapids (he said 5 was very hard) and then some very small rapids as well. We all got soaked but we also got to swim in some areas and then float down some rapids ourselves. The Aluminé River is pristine and clear and refreshing. Around every turn and canyon was another breathtaking view. We only passed two fishing boats (fly fishing for trout is very popular here in Patagonia) but other than that we had the river to ourselves. It was spectacular.

After that Michael picked us back up and we went back to the ranch. Marco took Mom, Maria and me on a horseback ride. I had been dying to go! It was wonderful, they have some great horses. It was a special ride because we got to see the river and the property from a whole different vantage point. It was one of those experiences that are made extraordinary because you are sitting on the back of a horse. It made me look forward to the next few weeks when I get to go riding with Marco some more.

Driving in San Martin

Saturday January 19, 2008

We stayed last night at a quaint little hotel, much like a bed and breakfast, called El Faro meaning the light house. This hotel is nestled on the side of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and has views that stretch across the vast body of water, like looking through a postcard to the Swiss Alps. The mountains in the distance are along the border with Chile, snow capped and intimidating. This was a perfect place to stay to rest a bit after the hustles and bustles of traveling. We spent Friday afternoon by the pool above the lake. They brought us tea and croissants, so high society! Haha! It was just nice to be in a safe, secure place that was comfortable, just us enjoying the views, felt like we had the whole hotel to ourselves. I walked down the stairs to the dock on the lake and just sat, enjoying the calmness. The whole time that we were there I only say 4-5 little fishing boats going across the lake. Not like the typical lake in the states, especially California, where there are jet skis and wake boarders and water skiers and party boats and ski boats tearing across the water. It was a very peaceful feeling.

So we woke up and enjoyed El Faro’s beautiful complimentary breakfast consisting of fresh croissants, jellies, a really yummy cherry tart, fresh fruit – honeydew, watermelon, kiwis, pineapple, cherries – freshly squeezing juices, and tea and coffee. Can you tell I was thrilled to finally eat all of this fabulous food? So much for loosing all that weight from being sick!

We left at 10 that morning to get on the road to San Martin de los Andes. This is how Michael described this road: “Well, we better get on the road early to avoid getting stuck behind a lot of traffic ‘cause it can be a little dusty and take a little longer.” Translation to what he really meant: We’re going on a 2 lane, sometimes 1 lane, dirt road for 2 hours through the mountains and it can get a little hairy so we have to leave early incase one of the cars breaks down and we get stuck. Ok!?!?

As bad as that sounds, this driving adventure turned out to be the most beautiful and scenic stretch of road that I have ever been on. Yes, it was long and it was dusty, but the mountains, meadows and lakes were unbelievable. The road is called Siete Lagos, Seven Lakes, and seven there were! Everything is thick, green and lush, cattle on the sides of the road, even came across some sheep and horses crossing the road. Michael’s driving made me nervous at first, especially because the car that we were in isn’t firing on all cylinders, but the dramatic views and vistas soon distracted me. Around every turn was another beautiful fairytale lake or a dominating snow capped mountain. I couldn’t believe this vast, lush land. And then I would be bumped back to reality by Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

The scary thing about the driving here is that there are no lines on the roads, obviously not on the dirt roads, and if there are lines, no one respects them. Passing is done whenever you come to a slower car, even if they are driving in the middle of the road and there is a car coming in the opposite direction. They even pass on the right side if they think there is enough room. So things got a little hairy at times, but for most of the drive we didn’t come across many other drivers. (Thank God!) I keep thinking about all of the factors that contribute to South America having one of the world’s highest driving related fatality rates.

We arrived at San Martin and what a picturesque town! The only thing I can compare it to is Solvang, as far as the unique buildings and well kept landscape, but not as tacky. The buildings are Swiss Chalet Style. Michael’s house is one block from the lake and most of the town and little shops are within walking distance. There are chocolate shops and ice cream shops on every corner. Everyone is very friendly.

The only problem that I am having is communicating with the locals. My Spanish is getting better, however, they can’t understand my. Maria Luisa has been helping me with the differences, but it is taking time to get used to. My Spanish is proper, but I have the Mexican Spanish accent and use that type of grammar – what we are taught and speak in California and Central America. Most of the shop keepers can’t even understand what I am trying to say and I can’t understand what they are saying, even the simplest things. And then they resort to speaking English because they like to practice their English. One big change is that instead of using Usted for formal situations and Tú for informal, they use Tú for formal and Vos for informal. So if I want to say to Maeva, “You are the queen,” I need to say, “Vos sos la reina” instead of “Tú eres la reina.” I’ve never even heard of sos! I had to write it into the verb book that I brought. Also, the ‘y’s and ‘ll’s are pronounced like the ‘dg’ in ‘judge.’ Ay yay yay!!!!!

My funny, or embarrassing, encounter that I’ve had involves going to the pharmacy to get diarrhea medicine for Marcia because she was sick for a few days and needed stronger medicine. So Michael and I were sent on this mission. Mike speaks very good Spanish, but it was a busy afternoon downtown so I jumped out to go into the pharmacy while Mike tried to find a parking space. I took a number, as most of the shops have you do, and waited for my number to be called. They called me and I told the pharmacist, in the best Spanish that I could muster, that I needed some strong diarrhea medicine. They didn’t get it so I tried to use some sign language that described the problem. I definitely entertained the whole store, but they still didn’t understand what kind of medicine I wanted. Then Michael came in, just when I couldn’t think of anything else and said ‘diarrhea’ in a slightly different way and they all understood and then had a great big laugh at my expense. Oh well, I just have a long way to go to speak their language.

Friday January 18, 2008

Feeling much better today! Still very weak but I woke up looking forward to eating something for breakfast. Went to the Llao Llao to meet Aunt Frannie and Marcia for breakfast. This was the first time that I had seen the Llao Llao. I wish I was feeling better to walk around and take more pictures but it was very impressive. The breakfast buffet was very nice. They had a very nice selection of fresh juices and eggs and fruit and croissants and waffles and crepes. All I could eat was some fruit and juice and tea.

Then we all drove to another town to where we are staying tonight. We are in a very quaint town, Villa La Angostura, and staying in a very nice hotel on the side of the lake. The rooms are very nice and we were able to have a nice relaxing day by the pool.

I finally got my appetite back and was able to eat some dinner. Such a relief!

getting better...

Friday January 18, 2008

Feeling much better today! Still very weak but I woke up looking forward to eating something for breakfast. Went to the Llao Llao to meet Aunt Frannie and Marcia for breakfast. This was the first time that I had seen the Llao Llao. I wish I was feeling better to walk around and take more pictures but it was very impressive. The breakfast buffet was very nice. They had a very nice selection of fresh juices and eggs and fruit and croissants and waffles and crepes. All I could eat was some fruit and juice and tea.

Then we all drove to another town to where we are staying tonight. We are in a very quaint town, Villa La Angostura, and staying in a very nice hotel on the side of the lake. The rooms are very nice and we were able to have a nice relaxing day by the pool.

I finally got my appetite back and was able to eat some dinner. Such a relief!

Made it to Argentina!

Thursday January 17, 2008

Not a good day. I can’t remember the last time I was this sick. I woke up this morning feeling ill to my stomach. And then surprise. Diarrhea. Then throwing up. Awful. I was sick all day long, couldn’t hold anything down.

Marcia went in the morning to get her passport papers taken care of at the embassy. Unfortunately she, too, was very sick with diarrhea all day. We all made it to the airport, but Marcia and I kept having to run to the bathroom. Being on the plane, feeling like I was going to throw up at any minute, was not very fun. The flight from Santiago to Bariloche was only 2 hours but seemed to go on forever. Maria and Mom were telling me about the fabulous view out the window, over the Andes. I couldn’t even bear to look out the window. We flew over the volcano that just erupted 2 weeks ago and it was still smoking (so they said, if I were to look out the window, I myself would’ve erupted.) I made it all the way until landing and when we were walking out of the plane I had to grab one of the little bags that they put with the magazines and make use of it. Looking back now, it’s pretty funny because in all the times that I’ve been on a plane, I never thought that I would have to use one of those little throw up bags. I know we’ve all thought it, who that poor soul would be who would have to use it, how embarrassing. Well, that was me! Ha! At the time I was just happy to be back on the ground. I am so weak that I can’t even lift my own luggage.

Maria and Michael met us at the airport. They brought 2 vehicles – Michael’s crusty and dusty Nissan Patrol that he has to jump every time to start it or give it a push down a hill to pop it into gear, and Maria Luisa’s Nissan small truck thing. I don’t think they make you smog check vehicles down here. Every car has a lovely black smoke trail following behind. But then, nobody drives very fast to get anywhere anyways, so maybe they just don’t worry about it. You don’t have to have kids in car seats. And most taillights are out.

They drove us through Bariloche, a nice working town on the side of a HUGE lake called Nahuel Huapi. Because of the European influence, there are many chocolate stores, no doubt I will indulge when I’m feeling better.

Frannie and Marcia stayed the night in a 5 star hotel – Swiss Chalet style – the Llao Llao, (pronounced Jao Jao), very famous here. The rest of us stayed in a quaint hotel. We were all supposed to go to a fancy dinner at the Llao Llao but I couldn’t even think about food, let alone go very far from the bathroom. So I stayed in our hotel room and everyone else went to dinner. I was fine with this because it was nice just to lay down and rest but then I started running a temp. Not fun.

Chile

January 16, 2008 AM

We’ve arrived!

To Chile, at least.

The Great Argentinean Adventure has begun. We left LAX yesterday afternoon and arrived in Santiago, Chile at 6:30 am Chilean time after a 10 ½ hour flight. I guess we get to fly with the wind current on the trip south but because we will be going against them on the way home, the flight home will be 12 hours. All that time in the plane wasn’t as painful as I had expected due to the ways in which to entertain yourself that the airline has invented. The little screen that everyone has to watch in front of you is touch screen, with the capabilities of several choices of movies, tv shows, music and games. Between watching a movie, some catnaps, playing some hands of blackjack and rocking out to Michael Jackson’s number one hits, the time seemed to pass fairly quickly.

So, as American citizens, turns out that upon entering Chile, we have to pay a $131 reciprocity fee per person before being able to go through customs. This is very lovely of the Chileans, but it simply is just a way to get back at Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians because we charge them that much to visit our country so why not charge us to visit their country. It all worked out ok, but it was a bit frustrating after being on a plane all night and then waiting in line for 45 minutes in a big, hot, stinky room that airport employees kept spraying with some kind of germ spray that overpowered the stench of farts…only to find out that we had to go to a completely different line to pay a bunch of money to come into Chile. Customs wasn’t bad except for Marcia who had her supply of prunes taken away. I anticipate hearing Marcia’s complaints about the loss of her prunes for the rest of the trip. So much for regularity! Ha! We eventually made it to our hotel and all crashed, snoozing for 4 hours. Now we feel refreshed and are getting ready to tackle the city of Santiago.

We are only in Santiago until tomorrow afternoon when we take the biweekly flight over the Andes Mountains into Argentina to meet Michael and his family.

I guess I better explain who “we” are. The 5 of us strong headed women are me, my mom, my Great Aunt Frannie, Maria and Marcia. Aunt Frannie, aka Grandpa Frannie since my Grandpa Ed passed away, is my Grandpa Ed’s sister. She is 83, has nine children and lives in Carpenteria. Maria, 31, is a second cousin – I guess that’s what we are, granddaughter of Frannie, and lives in San Fransisco. She is a daughter of one of the nine, Matt, but he isn’t here. Marcia, mid-50s, is also a second cousin, one of Frannie’s nine children, my dad’s first cousin. We are going to Argentina to visit her brother, Michael, another one of Frannie’s nine. Confused yet? J


January 16, 2008 PM

Well, an interesting day in the town of Santiago. After we got rested up, our hotel found a driver for us - Luciano. We piled his mini van and off we went to explore Santiago. I am still in awe at the enormity of this city. Its population is 6 million of the country’s 16 million inhabitants. It is a huge metropolis, jammed in a valley in the Andes. Turns out the downtown area is not especially picturesque, however the government buildings and cathedral were very beautiful. We all loved the cathedral, simply named the National Cathedral of Chile.

It was a very warm day, 33 degrees Celsius, high 80s. So what better to do than sit at an outside café and order some ice cream. Then the shit hit the fan. While ordering, Marcia couldn’t decide what flavor she wanted so she got up to go look at the different flavors. She came back to the table and we proceeded to order. A few minutes later Marcia went to take her camera out of her large, fabric knapsack style purse. It was then that she discovered that there was slash through about 6 inches long cut into the side of the purse. She had been robbed. When she went to look at the ice cream flavors she had been bumped by 3 small Peruvian peoples who apparently proceeded to mug her. They took her wallet (passport included), brand new camera and cashmere sweater. She had $700 - $800 American dollars and 100 Chilean pesos (about 200 American).

Luciano immediately took us to the American Embassy where Marcia had to file for a temporary passport so that she can go to Argentina tomorrow. It obviously put a huge damper on the day, but after we all got over the shock and took care of what we could, it was dinner time. Luciano took us to a fun restaurant and we enjoyed a few Chilean beers to lift spirits. We had an awesome Chilean dinner and dessert (pictures to come soon!).

Then, since it doesn’t get dark until 9:30 at night, we went for a drive up San Cristobal Hill, overlooking a fabulous sunset view of the entire surrounding city with a statue of the Virgin Mary stretching her hands out to the city below. It was a nice end to a stressful day. I think we all learned a very important lesson today. It’s just too bad to start of the trip in such negative manner. HOWEVER, I have gained a great appreciation for the American Embassies and their helpfulness.

Tomorrow afternoon we fly over the mountains to Argentina to meet Michael and his family. I can’t wait! I just pray that everything falls into place for Marcia to be able to get her passport and information in order and that everything goes smoothly for her.


Thursday January 18, 2008

Not a good day. I can’t remember the last time I was this sick. I woke up this morning feeling ill to my stomach. And then surprise. Diarrhea. Then throwing up. Awful. I was sick all day long, couldn’t hold anything down. L

Marcia went in the morning to get her passport papers taken care of at the embassy. Unfortunately she, too, was very sick with diarrhea all day. We all made it to the airport, but Marcia and I kept having to run to the bathroom. I went through 4 pairs of underwear L Being on the plane, feeling like I was going to throw up at any minute, was not very fun. The flight from Santiago to Bariloche was only 2 hours but seemed to go on forever. Maria and Mom were telling me about the fabulous view out the window, over the Andes. I couldn’t even bear to look out the window. We flew over the volcano that just erupted 2 weeks ago and it was still smoking (so they said, if I were to look out the window, I myself would’ve erupted.) I made it all the way until landing and when we were walking out of the plane I had to grab one of the little bags that they put with the magazines and make use of it. Looking back now, it’s pretty funny because in all the times that I’ve been on a plane, I never thought that I would have to use one of those little throw up bags. I know we’ve all thought it, who that poor soul would be who would have to use it, how embarrassing. Well, that was me! Ha! At the time I was just happy to be back on the ground. I am so weak that I can’t even lift my own luggage.

Maria and Michael met us at the airport. They brought 2 vehicles – Michael’s crusty and dusty Nissan Patrol that he has to jump every time to start it or give it a push down a hill to pop it into gear, and Maria Luisa’s Nissan small truck thing. I don’t think they make you smog check vehicles down here. Every car has a lovely black smoke trail following behind. But then, nobody drives very fast to get anywhere anyways, so maybe they just don’t worry about it. You don’t have to have kids in car seats. And most taillights are out.

They drove us through Bariloche, a nice working town on the side of a HUGE lake called ____. Because of the European influence, there are many chocolate stores, no doubt I will indulge when I’m feeling better.

Frannie and Marcia stayed the night in a 5 star hotel – Swiss Chalet style – the Llao Llao, (pronounced Jao Jao), very famous here. The rest of us stayed in a quaint hotel. We were all supposed to go to a fancy dinner at the Llao Llao but I couldn’t even think about food, let alone go very far from the bathroom. So I stayed in our hotel room and everyone else went to dinner. I was fine with this because it was nice just to lay down and rest but then I started running a temp. Not fun.


Friday January 19, 2008

Feeling much better today! Still very weak but I woke up looking forward to eating something for breakfast. Went to the Llao Llao to meet Aunt Frannie and Marcia for breakfast. This was the first time that I had seen the Llao Llao. I wish I was feeling better to walk around and take more pictures but it was very impressive. The breakfast buffet was very nice. They had a very nice selection of fresh juices and eggs and fruit and croissants and waffles and crepes. All I could eat was some fruit and juice and tea.

Then we all drove to another town to where we are staying tonight. We are in a very quaint town, Villa La Angostura, and staying in a very nice hotel on the side of the lake. The rooms are very nice and we were able to have a nice relaxing day by the pool.

I finally got my appetite back and was able to eat some dinner. So relieving!

Blog time!

Hi everyone! I finally had a chance to go to get to a cafe, enjoy a great cup of cafe con leche, a plate of tapas and play on the computer! This blog thing is all new to me, so have patience, put I want you all to see some pictures of beautiful Patagonia. I hope you all enjoy!