Ushuaia

Ushuaia was the departure point for our Antarctic cruise (side note:  AHHHHHHHH!!!!) and I arrived the night before the rest of my friends did.  The city was small but heaving with tourists.  There were tons of shops and restaurants the whole way down their very long main drag, and lots of ships in the harbour, including cruise ships of all sizes (from small expedition vessels like the one we’d be taking, to giant cruise ships with thousands of passengers).  I checked into Hotel Las Lengas – chosen by the cruise company, G Adventures.  The room was pretty basic and lacked power outlets, but the staff were beyond helpful and the views from the reception and lounge area were fantastic.

Because it is the capital of the region which Argentina thinks the Falkland Islands belong to, there is a ton of stuff about the Falklands (or “Malvinas” as they call them) in Ushuaia:  various monuments to the war they started, murals on walls, and random signs in random places (like in the parking lots at viewpoints in the nearby national park).  It all seemed a bit desperate.  Get over it.

I had the next morning free to explore, but opted to take it easy instead.  I slept in, dropped off laundry, did some souvenir browsing, got a haircut, and found brunch at a café called Ana & Juana.  I think I went there five times over the course of three days (including the morning we got back from the cruise).  They had the best alfajores I’ve had.  Ever.

My friends Simon and Alyson arrived in the early afternoon with Simon’s dad, Tony.  They went for a little hike while I waited for my friend Lenora to arrive in the early evening.  Lenora had a little fall on the flight from the U.S. and needed a bit of medical attention.  She had given me a heads up on her layover and I sprung into action.  Upon her arrival, we went around the corner to the local hospital.  I was a bit nervous with it being Argentina and all, but the experience was really impressive for a hospital – especially when compared to the U.S.  We were in and out in 90 minutes, and in that time she had a tooth re-inserted, was examined by a doctor, and saw a nurse for antibiotics.  The staff were lovely and were very patient with our limited Spanish.  And it was all free.  Even for tourists.  Brilliant.  A+ to Argentina.

Unable to secure a rental car to head out to the ranch I wanted to take my friends to, we opted for a museum day.  The Maritime Museum of Ushuaia was much more than just a maritime museum.  Set in an old prison, the museum included information on the anthropology of the region, history, art, wildlife, and a section on Antarctica.  There were old maps (which I LOVE) and, of course, information on the prison itself and Ushuaia’s time as a penal colony.  It was all very reminiscent of Australia!

After lunch, we visited the Museo del Fin del Mundo (Museum of the End of the Earth – referring to Ushuaia’s location at the very bottom of the planet).  It was a much smaller museum situated in an old bank building.  It had some random things including some cool stuffed birds and a beautiful ornament of a woman which used to grace the bow of a ship.  The museum also had an annex a few blocks away at the Casa Antigua, the old legislative chamber.

After a delicious dinner of lamb meatballs, my friends and I went down to the waterfront to get our first glimpse of our ship which had arrived that evening.  It was dwarfed by the much larger ships around it.

As our ship was due to depart late in the afternoon, we had booked in a half-day tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park on our departure day.  The tour took us to two very scenic viewpoints – Mirador Puerto Arias and Lago Roca – and offered a scenic train ride with excellent scenery and a stop at the Macarena Waterfall.  We had booked the tour through G Adventures to ensure we got back in time to make the ship.  The tour was a bit of a rushed typical tourist bus tour and we didn’t really get to dig into the park at all.  If I could do it over again, I’d take a smaller 4x4 tour for a full day and avoid the typical tourist route.

After that, we got our obligatory picture in front of the Ushuaia sign…

And then boarded the G Expedition!  Next stop:  ANTARCTICA!  But first, let me take a selfie.

El Chalten

I departed El Calafate on a reasonably comfortable, spacious, and on-time bus for the 3-hour drive to the smaller town and tourist mecca of El Chalten.  The drive was gorgeous, trailing along the side of Lake Argentino, and then picking up views of Lake Viedma and the Viedma Glacier a bit later on.  El Chalten basically sits within the Glaciers National Park, which extends from down near El Calafate (including the Perito Moreno Glacier) all the way north to here.  It is known for its excellent hiking trails, and a mandatory induction at the national park’s visitor centre helped me plan out my four nights / three full days there.

Mount Fitzroy towers over the small town and it was out in all its glory upon my arrival.  Unfortunately, it decided to hide behind the clouds after that until the morning of my departure, but I didn’t let some cloud cover stop me.

On my first full day, I went out for a 20km hike to the Laguna de Los Tres (Lake of the Three).  I opted to take a bus from the town to another entrance to the trail some 30 minutes away so that I could see different views on the walk to the lookout and the walk back to town.  The first 9km of the trail was relatively flat and manageable, with views of the Piedras Blancas Glacier hanging off the mountains.  The last 1km up to the look was indeed just that:  up.  And it was a doozy!  Steep and a bit rocky, I made it up to the top out of energy, but had some snacks to refuel.  The viewpoint at the lake was very pretty, but Mount Fitzroy – the highlight of the lookout point – was completely behind the clouds.  Bah!

At least I burned some calories.  And at least it didn’t rain!

I awoke on my second full day to some light rain, but I wasn’t going to let weather dampen my trip.  I got dressed, but on my hiking boots, and trekked the twelve minutes into town for a 2.5 hour spa treatment featuring an hour-long full body massage, a half-hour foot massage, a foot regeneration treatment, and a decongestive treatment for my legs, where they were wrapped in freezing cold towels for quite some time to enhance circulation.  Or something like that.  And by the time my treatment was finished, the sun had come out and I had time for a short hike (around 7km round trip) to some lookouts just on the edge of the town.

Mirador Condores (Condors Lookout) had views over El Chalten, and true to its name, it had heaps of condors flying overhead, including one that came super close to me!  The nearby Mirador Aguilas (Eagles Lookout) had stunning views over Lake Viedma and its floating icebergs.

My third and final full day featured a hike that was equally as long as the first hike, but much flatter.  The destination was the viewpoint at Laguna Torre, featuring Cerro Torre towering over the lake.  Just like Mount Fitzroy on day 1, Cerro Torre was also covered in clouds the whole time, but the hike was pleasant anyway, with some lovely viewpoints of lakes and waterfalls.

Of course, the morning I left was sunny and clear and everything was out in full view.  But that’s ok – at least it didn’t rain too much and at least I had beautiful days the week before in Torres del Paine National Park.

I should, of course, mention the food in El Chalten.  There was some fantastic culinary options for all sorts.  I had a beautiful lamb ravioli on my first night, and an incredible wild risotto on my final night at a little restaurant and wine bar called La Bicicleta.  I treated my self to a pizza and brownie a la mode after my big strenuous hike on day one, had some (lacklustre) nachos, and some delicious empanadas.  I may or may not have visited the Domo Blanco ice cream shop three times in four days, and I even found a little Colombian café with arepas and good coffee!

I would definitely recommend El Chalten as a great place to come hike and relax.  From there, I took the bus back to El Calafate to catch a flight down to the “End of the Earth”, Ushuaia.  More about that next time, but first, let me take a selfie!

El Calafate & Perito Moreno Glacier

The bus from Puerto Natales, Chile to El Calafate, Argentina was on-time, comfortable, and inexpensive.  The five-hour journey included a fairly straight-forward border crossing.  But crossing the border was noticeable:  roads on the Chilean side were nicer, as was the immigration building, and even the rest stop on the Argentinian side of the border was a wee bit dingy.  Despite those little differences, Argentina is mostly just as nice as Chile.  The country has similar beautiful scenery, a European vibe, is very gay-friendly, and seems to have an abundance of gluten-free and vegan options touted at all restaurants.

I didn’t go to those restaurants.

The town of El Calafate was super cute.  Despite being roughly the same size as Puerto Natales, El Calafate was a lot busier.  There were more shops, more restaurants, and just more stuff going on.  I accredit this to the fact that many travellers base themselves in the town and do day trips out to the sights.  Puerto Natales, on the other hand, is more of a stopping point for just a night before travellers make their way to spend a few nights in the national park.

The most noticeable inconvenience about being in Argentina was cash.  It’s hard to come by.  Argentina’s economic woes mean that the government and financial system have implemented cash restrictions.  The maximum withdrawal I could find at an ATM in town was for roughly AU$48, plus an 18.9% fee (WTF?)  I knew this would be a problem in advance, so I brought actual cash and converted that to pesos.  USD – and even AUD – were like gold, and I got a fantastic rate by exchanging my AUD for pesos with some dude in a little room upstairs from a restaurant.

It all seemed very sketchy at first, but it was actually really easy.  What an odd place.

I arrived in the evening, and I knocked off to sleep early as the next day was a big day for me.  I was about to check-off one of my 103 Things:  the Perito Moreno Glacier! 

I booked a fancy tour with Glaciar Sur because it was a special occasion.  Not just solely the glacier, the tour also visited an estancia (ranch).  Estancia Nibepo Aike was the one on the agenda, and despite the pouring rain at the very start of the day, the estancia was truly gorgeous:  it had beautiful flowers, horses in big fields, and a real taste of Patagonia:  gauchos on horseback and border collies herding cows into a paddock.  A sheep-shearing demonstration was performed and I was shocked that they take the wool off all in one big pelt!

There were tons of historical photos to look at about the sheep industry in Patagonia, along with plenty of old photos of the family who own the ranch.  The highlight, however, was the lunch.  What must have been the best meal of my trip, they served us lamb straight off the spit, with a whole buffet of fresh salads, and the most delicious bread which seemed as if white bread had an affair with a sopapilla and out popped this deliciousness nine months later.  The most delightful malbec was supplied to wash it down, and flan with dulce de leche was served for dessert.

Fuck, it was all soooo delicious.

From there, the tour embarked to see the main event.  The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the world’s most stable glaciers – it’s not shrinking – and it’s also one of the world’s fastest glaciers, moving about 2 metres per day.  It empties out into Lago Argentino (Argentino Lake).

The tour started off with a little boat ride.  We rounded a corner to see a bit of the glacier at a distance, but then veered back into a cove to step ashore for a short hike.  The hike ended at a great viewpoint of the glacier.  From there, we re-boarded the ship and were served a bit of whiskey in a glass with glacial ice (or so they said) as we approached the glacier.

The glacier is truly spectacular.  The glacier face is about five kilometres wide, though we could only see about half from where our little boat was.  From the water level, the glacier didn’t look enormously tall, but then I noticed the triple-decker tourist ship right in front of it.  The ship – which was many times larger than the little boat I was on – was dwarfed by the glacier towering over it.  Ranging from 40 to 70 metres high, the glacier suddenly became immense.  At one point I guessed that we were 300 metres from it, but in reality, we were two kilometres away.  It’s just so enormous that it plays tricks on your mind!

After cruising on the lake for a bit, we docked and then took a minibus to the main visitor centre.  There are kilometres of viewing platforms to walk around: some way up atop a hill; others almost at lake level.  We had less than 2 hours here which was disappointing.  I could have spent all day.  But the time I did have there was amazing.  I went toward the right, which was away from the side of the glacier that we saw from the boat, and gained a whole new perspective on just how massive it was.  From the upper platforms, you can see the glacier reaching far, far back into the mountains.  It looks like it never ends.  Then, out of the silence, came a big crash and splash as a chunk of glacier calved into the lake and became an iceberg.  This happened every few minutes, though none of the calving I saw was notably large compared to videos I had seen online.

The drive back to town featured creatures that I had forgotten about after living in Australia for a decade:  skunks!  Some car hit a skunk or two in the road, and a whole bunch of other skunks were in the road mourning.  Everything just smelled terrible.

I had a whole day and a half more in El Calafate, so I visited the Glaciarium the next day.  It’s basically a museum dedicated to snow, ice, and glaciers.  It has a ton of information on the impacts of climate change (including terrifying maps of glacier recession in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field), and overall it was arranged logically and in a digestible way.  I spent a few hours there and really enjoyed it.

Aside from that, I spent quite a bit of time checking out the plethora of souvenir shops, boutique alfajor shops, and restaurants.  I even ate guanaco tacos!  And then it was time to travel a wee bit north, a bit deeper into the mountains.

But first, let me take a selfie.

Torres del Paine National Park

From Punta Arenas, I headed north to the smaller town of Puerto Natales – jumping off point to Torres del Paine National Park.  The town itself is very cute:  with nice shops, a small historical museum, and lots of colourful flowers everywhere.  Puerto Natales is built along a lake with gorgeous views of the mountains beyond and quite a few birds to see as well.

But enough about the town:  the Torres del Paine was the main event!  Torres del Paine National Park contains mountains, glaciers, rivers, and lakes, all with a very well-maintained trail network.  I was there for the W Trek – a trek that is shaped like… you guessed it:  a “W”.  The trek takes 4 to 5 days to complete, and we did 4 full days so I think we ended up skipping a wee bit of it, but we got most of it done.  I say “we” because I joined a group tour for it.  I didn’t want to have to deal with tents and sleeping bags and logistics so I just booked a group tour.  It was great to have local guides and have everything arranged for me, so I’m glad I did it, but I must say that the trek would have been just as easy doing it on my own.

The facilities along the trek were superb.  There are well-placed campsites all along the way, with dedicated camping for people who insist on carrying their own tents, pre-pitched tents available for hire, and even dormitory beds (and I assume private rooms too) in some of them.  Each site has a restaurant which serves breakfast and dinner, and they sell bagged lunches for your daily trek.  There are kitchen facilities which you can use if you insist on cooking yourself, and the bathrooms were largely clean with warm showers.  They rent out sleeping bags and towels, so really, if you have a reservation, you can rock up with your hiking clothes and a small backpack and you’re set.  You don’t need to worry about anything.  The whole operation of the national park is truly impressive, and I might even throw it out there:  luxurious.

It wasn’t 5-star accommodation, but compared to the Inca Trail a few years ago, the Torres del Paine was pretty luxurious!

The first day of the trek was by a long mile the most rigorous.  We left our hotel in Puerto Natales at an ungodly hour, but at least the drive was pretty:  with Andean condors flying around, lesser rheas (sort of like an emu or ostrich) roaming about, and guanacos (essentially undomesticated llamas with very pretty eyelashes) along the side of the road (alive, not roadkill).  We stopped at Mirador Lago Sarmiento (Sarmiento Lake Viewpoint) for our first views of the famous Torres del Paine.  “Torres” is Spanish for “towers”, and Paine means “blue” in a local indigenous language, the Torres del Paine roughly translates to “Blue Towers”.  They are three steep granite peaks which – despite the myriad of other beautiful sites in the national park – are the true highlight of the trek.

After 11km of trekking, much of it uphill, we made it to Mirador Las Torres (Towers Viewpoint).  The sky was absolutely clear and everything was gorgeous!

We had a bagged lunch for the day, which ended up being a vacuum sealed chicken burrito – and it was still warm despite us leaving super early that morning.  I was in burrito trekking HEAVEN!

After doing the same exact trek back, we had a campsite for the night just outside of the national park, at a place called Laguna Azul (Blue Lake).  My tent was just a few metres from the water, and the views were stunning.

We also got our first glimpses of some Chilean flamingos roaming about the shore.

Day 2 started with a few stops at two lovely viewpoints:  Mirador Cascada Paine (Blue Waterfall Viewpoint) and Mirador Nordenskjold.  We then took a ferry across one of the big lakes to reach our campsite for the night – Paine Grande – and to do a day trek to a viewpoint overlooking Lago Grey (Grey Lake) and the Grey Glacier.  The glacier ends in the lake so there were quite a few icebergs that had calved off were floating south through the lake, being pushed by the winds.

And by winds, I mean tropical storm force winds.  We only stayed at the beautiful viewpoint for a few minutes because the winds were literally tropical storm force.  But if that’s the worst weather we had on the entire four-day trek, then I’ll take it!

Day 3 started out from the Paine Grande campsite, ending at Los Cuernos campsite.  Unlike the previous day, the wind was completely still, which meant Lago Skottsberg was acting as a sort of mirror for the stunning scenery.

We also stopped at Mirador Glaciar Frances to see the hanging glacier of the French Valley.  The glacier just hangs on the side of the mountain, and bits and pieces fall off below with a thunderous roar.  These avalanches happened quite frequently here and at a bunch of other hanging glaciers that dot the park, but they were indeed more common on Day 4.

After spending New Years’ Eve at Los Cuernos campsite, I promptly made my way back to my tent and was in my sleeping bag by about 12:05am.  It was my fifth continent bringing in the new year – I just need to do it in Africa and Antarctica at some point!

Day 4 was a flatter, easier day, and while it wasn’t nearly as exciting as the first three days, it was still gorgeous.  After our trek – totalling around 60km in 4 days – we made our way by minibus back to Puerto Natales for a group dinner.  The rest of the group left very early the next morning to make the treks back to either Punta Arenas or El Calafate (Argentina) for their flights back to Santiago or Buenos Aires, and beyond.  I, on the other hand, wasn’t going too far.  So, I did what any reasonable person would do:  I booked in a 10am massage, then had brunch and did some souvenir shopping before catching a 2pm bus for the 5-hour journey across the Argentine border to El Calafate.

More on that in the next installment.  But first, let me take a selfie.

Punta Arenas, The Sequel

I visited the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas in 2016, and I kissed the toe of the statue in the main square.  Legend says that if you kiss the toe, you’ll be sure to return to Punta Arenas one day.  And… voila!  There I was!  The city didn’t appear to have changed too much, though they installed a big “Punta Arenas” sign on the waterfront.  I took a selfie with the view from the Cerro de la Cruz lookout point, and the biggest difference from the same photo I took in 2016 was that I grew a beard.

I do have to mention that the protests that started in Santiago had spread all the way south to Punta Arenas.  There was more graffiti, but it wasn’t as terrible as in Santiago.  I also got to witness a Friday night protest, which was more of a rally than a riot.  There was a speaker and lots of flags in the crowd from various different movements that had come together, including the gay pride flag, trans pride flag, anarchist flag (yikes), and the Mapuche flag (the indigenous people of the country), alongside the Chilean flag and the regional Patagonian flag.  It all seemed very civilized, and didn’t really have an impact on my travel.

The real biggest difference was that the days were longer and stuff was open.  I had visited Punta Arenas in June – winter – in 2016, which is very much the low season.  It’s also the season when the penguins go away, so this time I wanted to come back and see them (because they certainly wouldn’t have been impressive after going to Antarctica!)  This was pretty much the only touristy thing I did in the day and a half that I spent there.

The penguin colony is on Isla Magdalena and a group tour is required to get there.  I arrived for my reserved spot on the 6am tour to find that it had been rescheduled for 3pm due to wind.  Grrr.  Morning Phill is not a happy Phill.  Luckily, the wind calmed and the 3pm tour proceeded (YAY!) despite some rain.  I was put on a bus to a boat to travel to the island.  The boat ride there was great for birdwatching, with sightings of imperial cormorants and petrels, along with swarms of birds likely feeding on sardines just below the water’s surface.

Upon arrival at the Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos, I was greeted by 15,000 breeding pairs of penguins – many with their chicks!  Penguin colonies are measured in breeding pairs rather than by individuals (I don’t know why… they just are.)  I hadn’t really made the effort to talk to any of the other tourists in my boat – most of them were Brazilian – so I just wandered onto the island and stood there staring in excitement at the little Magellanic penguins in their little Magellanic penguin burrows!

That’s when I heard a voice.  This man came up next to me and started explaining to me how the penguins make their burrows.  I understood most of it.  Then I looked over at the stranger and there was this big, juicy hunk of gorgeousness.  This guy was tall, handsome, and talking to me.  It was odd.  He wasn’t a model or anything, but there was just something about him that was very sexy.  He was a complete silver fox, but not yet silver.  I did my best to respond, but as soon as I opened my mouth, gringo came out, and he knew it.  I had a good 20-second interaction with this delicious looking specimen before he wandered off.  More to come.

I started to walk around the island, watching the penguins frolicking about.  There were so many cute penguin chicks, and I got to observe them being fed and cleaned by their parents.  There were also plenty of seagulls in the mix, and they too had little chicks with them!  I think the seagull chicks were actually cuter than the penguin chicks, but that’s just because they were so small, and small things are generally cuter.  I was surprised that at only 3-4 weeks old, the penguin chicks seemed nearly as big as the adults!  There were also several skuas hanging around.  Skuas are nasty brown seabirds that like to eat penguin chicks.  Skuas are evil and they need to be destroyed.

A bit later on, I encountered one of our guides and started walking and chatting with him.  We were forced to stop when we approached a group of people on the highest part of the trail.   It appears it was a group filming a documentary, and the host was the hunky daddy type who spoke to me right when I got on the island!  Of course he was the host – you have to put someone that pretty on television.  His name is Francisco Saavedra.  He hosts a show called “Lugares Que Hablan” as well as a bunch of other stuff.  He’s pretty.  He’s gay.  He has a hot, younger husband.  Of course he does.

Photo courtesy of the interwebs.

For the Americans reading this, he’s basically the Chilean equivalent of Anderson Cooper.  For the Australians reading this, he’s basically the Chilean equivalent of… Anderson Cooper.  Or maybe Hugh Jackman if we can count that?  For the straights or lesbians reading this, I don’t know how to convey this to you.  But he’s a big deal!  He’s beloved in Chile.  With all of the protests and political change, he’s apparently been encouraged to run for president.  I’ve not met many famous people in my life – hardly any actually, unless you count a few Australian politicians.  Francisco Saavedra is probably the hunkiest, most famous person I’ve met, and I didn’t even know who he was until it was too late!  I missed a prime selfie opportunity.  Life is unfair.

The boat stopped at Isla Marta on the way back to land.  Isla Marta is famous for sea lions.  There were lots of them.  They were nowhere near as enjoyable to look at as Francisco Saavedra.

It was then back to the mainland to prepare for the next part of my trip:  a hike.  Details to follow in the next blog.  But first, let me take a penguin selfie!

Santiago, The Sequel

I began my seven-week trip in Santiago, Chile.  I had visited Santiago in 2016 on my gap year, and spent a good amount of time there.  I fell in love with the city:  modern and clean with efficient transport, great restaurants, world-class museums, and a level of safety likely unrivalled anywhere else in Latin America.  None of that has changed for the most part, but there have been some other events that have altered the city.

For those who don’t keep up on the news, there have been protests in Santiago and around Chile since mid-October.  The protests were triggered by a nominal hike in the price of their metro (subway) fares.  Despite being a small increase, it appears to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Chile is a very successful country, but with success has come problems, most notably a growing level of inequality.  Chile is the most unequal country in the OECD.  I have quite a few friends in Santiago, and they all seem to agree that there are problems and that many – but not all – of the protestors’ demands are reasonable, and it appears that change is on the way.

The protests, however, have often turned violent – more riots than protests, complete with looting, arson, vandalism, and several deaths.  Many argue that they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without the violence, which very well may be true, though the extent of the violence seems unnecessary.  Metro stations were destroyed and buses set ablaze across the city, leaving people unable to get to work (often those who most need the income).  Other buildings have been torched and some riots have certainly gotten well out of control.

Despite all of this, Santiago remains safe for tourists, though a bit of extra vigilance is warranted.  I had ticked off many of the big-ticket tourist items on my last visit, but there were a handful that were new or that I didn’t get to last time.

Bahai Temple

The Bahai Temple of South America has newly opened since my last visit.  I had visited the main Bahai Temple in Haifa, Israel, back in 2008 and toured its exquisite gardens.  Unfortunately, it’s the dry season in Chile – compounded with a drought – so the gardens here were lackluster, but the temple itself was absolutely stunning.  It’s an architectural marvel, perched gloriously on the side of a mountain overlooking the entire city.

Museo Ralli

This art museum – which also has locations in Uruguay, Spain, and Israel – focuses on works by Latin American artists.  The collection had some brilliant pieces, and was neither too big nor too little.  I don’t know how I missed this last time around…

Cajon del Maipo

Wanting to get out of the city a bit, one of my Chilean mates – Ronny – drove my cousin and I out to the Cajon del Maipo – a gorge just outside Santiago.  The area has some great hikes, but at nearly 40 degrees Celsius, we opted to skip those.  We attempted to drive to a major dam and reservoir which is apparently very scenic, but it was unfortunately closed due to rock falls.  The restaurant we wanted to eat at was also closed, but we found ice cream so at least that was something.  I will try to visit again on a future trip, maybe in a cooler season.

Food

I had done pretty well with local food last time, but there were still some things to be eaten!  Of course, I had an empanada, and visited my favourite ice cream joint: Emporio La Rosa.  My opening meal was at a brilliant Peruvian restaurant called Sarita Colonia (Peruvian food is super popular in Chile as it’s considered the best in South America).  The décor was eccentric and fabulous, and the food delicious.  They even did a little Aussie-Peruvian fusion with a pavlova de chicha morada (a purple corn drink).  Yum!  Elsewhere, I had pollo a pil pil (a spicy chicken dish), sopapillas (which are similar to the ones in the USA but not sweet), and even a new type of wine:  carmenere.  It was too sweet, but when in Rome…

Family and Friends

I actually have a cousin in Santiago.  How random!  She and her husband moved there from San Francisco nearly a year ago and are enjoying it despite the protests.  It was brilliant getting to hang out with them every day and getting the expat view of things.  I also have a few good mates in Chile whom I hung out with:  Claudio (and his mother!), Ronny (and his mother too!), and Sebastian.  Claudio’s mom was sort of my “host mom” when I visited last time, and she continued to fulfill her duties by feeding me a full lunch (just after I had had lunch).  Ronny’s mother was also very motherly and provided some outstanding Christmas cookies!  I did not meet Sebastian’s mother but she surely would have loved me too!

Jewish Christmas

Speaking of Christmas cookies, it was indeed Christmas while I was in town, which meant traffic was heinous and the main mall was a zoo.  Lucky for me, I wasn’t on my own while all of my Chilean friends spent time with their families:  Karen (my cousin), Matt (her husband), and I (me) had a very traditional Jewish Christmas… with Chinese food!  We had Chinese on Christmas Eve (because there was literally nothing else open), and then booked ourselves into a very fancy Chinese-American restaurant on Christmas night.  I feel like the Jews of Australia don’t have this tradition – likely because the Chinese food down under is too authentic – but I was happy to keep the Jewish-American Chinese-food-on-Christmas tradition alive while with other Jewish Americans in South America.

Next stop:  Punta Arenas!  (not to be confused with Puta Arenas!)  But first, let me Claudio take a selfie.

Me with Claudio’s mother, Claudio’s brother, and (of course!) Claudio on Christmas Eve.

So, Facebook has now disabled the links to share a photo album with the public, which is really annoying.  So I won’t be sharing any more albums apparently.  Maybe I’ll switch to a Google option in the near future.  If you're my Facebook friend, you can view my photos there.

A Grand Adventure

Soooo… it’s been a while since my last blog.  No surprise there.  But I’m on a big trip now and thought I’d do my best to keep up with this one since it’s rather exciting.  With that, I will skip over all of the other trips since my gap year, but I will go back and get to them… eventually.  Just so you have an idea of what you’ve missed (because I’ve been a slacker), my last three years of travel have included some new places – Vanuatu, Sint Maarten, and Saint Barts – and some repeat visits too:  South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and London.  I’ve also done a wee bit of domestic travel, with some repeat visits to Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, and the Great Ocean Road, plus some new places:  Ballarat, Bendigo, Byron Bay, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, and Fraser Island.

But for now, I’ve embarked on an adventure to rival my gap year (though, sadly, not nearly as long).  I departed Sydney just before Christmas on a seven-week trip.  My itinerary includes Chile and Argentina – repeat visits but seeing new places in both!  The highlight, however, will be my seventh and final continent:  ANTARCTICA!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will soon be embarking on a three-week expedition to the Falkland Islands (country # 73), South Georgia Island, and the Antarctic Peninsula, along with one of my most trusted travel companions, Lenora.  She and I are friends from high school and Antarctica will be our sixth continent travelling as a duo, previously visiting all but Africa together.  I’ll also be joined by my friends Simon and Alyson from Melbourne, along with Simon’s dad from the UK.

Throughout these seven weeks there will be friends, cousins, Jewish Christmas, lots of hiking, a big anniversary, a not-so-big birthday, camping, empanadas, glaciers, penguins, more empanadas, more penguins, whiskey, museums, hot Latin men (I hope!), alfajores, three of my 103 Things, and utilization of the arsenal of seasickness medications that I’ve acquired… enough to kill a horse.

It is going to be painful going back to work in February.

Details to follow as they happen, but first, let me take a selfie.

In Santiago with my cousin, Karen, and her husband, Matt.