Playing Catch-Up from Bariloche, Argentina

Okay I am just going to tell you that the Salt Flats Tour was incredible, but after three days of freezing nights and cramped days looking at rock formations, lagunas, volcanic mud pits and hot springs; with the main focus being on an excess of rock formations, one gets a little tired, a little sick and a little ready to be done. Even better yet when you are 15 kilometers from the end, you reach a roadblock, manned by mine workers protesting the nationalizing of Bolivian mines, and the sun goes down, and the temperature drops to about 27 degrees Fareinheit, or -3 degrees Celsius and you are waiting in a cramped jeep for another two hours waiting for another vehicle to meet you on the other side of the roadblock. Then you are really ready to just get on the trian and head back to civilization, or La Paz. But better yet when you reach Uyuni, and find that not only was that road blocked, but all others leading in and out of town are blocked as well, the train has been stopped, the temperature is still dropping and the best food you can find is at a cantina. Then what do you do? You do what any money touting foreigner would do, get 4 people together, hire the only jeep left in town for $200, and conduct a blockade run in an old jeep, driven by an old man and his companion, down a sketchy road that requiered four-wheel drive and a little more, under the cover of darkeness and ever-plummeting temperatures. We passed 4 busses that had been stopped by the roadblockers, with gringos, and Bolivians and God knows who else, whom, in the middle of the night had exited the busses and begun to burn the brush on the side of the road to keep warm. We finally arrived in Ororu at 8 the next morning, after leaving at 11 the night before, a 9 hour journey that usually takes 5 by car.

Upon arriving to La Paz all I wanted to do was sleep and be warm again. Two sleepless nights of sub-freezing temperatures do something horrible to you, where the only things that make you feel better are your bed, hot showers, hot cups of tea and steaming bowls of soup. I procrasinated in La Paz, soaking up the civilization, and running a sub-temperature, trying to warm up and recouperate from a simple 3 day tour. After 4 days of procrastination I decided to head to Chile, to try and snowboard. Little did I know that a flying-in entry fee on all Americans would cost me $100. A heavy dent in a backpackers budget.

Chile greeted me with all the civilization and comforts of home, standard freeways, hot and cold water tap, sanitary systems capable of flushing toilet paper, heated rooms and warm cushy beds. I soaked it in, and properly got sick. I guess my body finally broke down knowing I was in a comfortable warm environment. Nevertheless I went snowboarding, which wasn't that good, wasted too much money, as Chile is the most expensive country in South America, and promptly evaded Chile for Argentina.

20 hours by bus later, and chance encounters with more Americans than I had seen in all of Peru and Bolivia, I arrived in Buenos Aires, a shining star among South American cities. I met up with Dhiresh and Andrew, whom I had met in La Paz prior to the Salt Flat Tour. We had fabulous food, did a bit of shopping and planned to evacuate the city the next day and head south to a quiant ski town of Bariloche, another 20 hours by bus. I was glad to leave Buenos Aires, though I didn't get to shop as much as I wanted, the notorious pary scene there would have wrecked me, just as it had all those who had gone before me. There, clubs don't open until midnight at the earliest and then carry on until 7, 8, 9 in the morning. I enjoyed the steak, the shopping and the city, which was modeled after Paris in its plan. Then I promptly hopped on a bus to Bariloche with Dhiresh and Andrew, slept the night away and arrived in Bariloche at 11 the next morning.

Bariloche is fabulous, quiet nestled on the edge of a lake, with snow-capped peaks rising behind to provide some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the country, not to mention, marginally cheaper than Chile. So here I am in Bariloche, a town renouned for beef, chocolate and skiing, three of my favorite things. I hit the slopes on our second day, with snowboard and boots that had never been used, edges still sharp, base untouched and full of pop. While Dhiresh took skiing lessons Andew and I took off to explore the mountain. There hadn't been fresh snow in a few days, but the day was warm, with a little rain, the snow softened up quickly, and although was a little sticky, made for an excellent day of boarding. I decided to wait for new snow before committing myself to the slopes again, and have spent the days meeting people at the hostel, having fabulous dinners, sleeping in and staying up late. Some good rest and relaxation. Though the weather hasn't improved, in fact it has been raining hard and steadily for two days striaght, the drum of rain on the roof is nice, and unless you have to go out, it casts a hazy feeling over everyone, making for mellow days watching the World Cup games, and movie after movie in the common room. So here I am, and loving it.