The Adventures of Dave, Lindsay, Cora and Edie

Yep, we´re hiking in Glacier National Park. Sadly, it´s nothing like the Park we have back at home. There are a few mountains in this park that are like nothing we´ve ever seen, but more importantly, the glaciers here are gigantic. About 200 miles long. They make our glaciers look like someone dropped a roll of paper towels on a windy day. Little here, little there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hielo_Sur We tried to get a guide to take us up to the ice field, but it´s late in the season and we missed the opportunity. But we still got to see some amazing smaller glaciers, and enjoyed views of Mount Fitz Roy (first two photos) and Cerro Torre (third photo). Lindsay and Kori went on a nice overnighter by themselves and enjoyed their own pace and didn´t have to endure another night of stinky boys. I think they liked it and were lucky enough to have clear views the entire time. The boys went off to climb on some ice and get to a peak where we could at least see the ice field. Again, the gla...

Somehow we`ve managed to have pretty incredible weather in a region that is known for drastic weather changes and unbearable wind and temperatures. I am convinced that Pacha Mama, the Inca goddess or "Mother Earth" who is responsible for the weather, is watching over us because we purchased a sculpture of her while we were in Peru. In ancient rituals, they used to sacrifice guinea pigs or llama fetuses in her honor but it seems all you really need to do is buy a little sculpture and think of her when you get a beautiful day. Although our weather in Torres del Paine wasnt´t perfect, we didn`t encounter the heavy rain, random snowfall, or debilitating wind that we kept hearing about. And the weather was so bad the night after we left the park that many fellow travelers cut their trips short after waking up to rain, snow and freezing temperatures. And then we arrived in Los Glaciares National Park on a day with strong wind and overcast conditions (which we hear is how it had...

This place is off the charts! Typically, when people talk about Patagonia, they´re talking about a few of the national parks down here. We just drank in one of the classics. Some believe one of the best hikes on earth. 9 days, 8 nights, 98 miles, 12 pounds of salami and cheese, and 10 bags of pasta later.... we completed a trek of the entire Torres del Paine National Park. The scenery we saw along the way was varied and elaborate - glaciers, jagged peaks, thick forests, snow-capped mountains, roaring rivers, glacial lakes, ice bergs and more. Truly a life changing trip. Along the way, we battled mosquitos, intense wind, rain, sore feet, an awful cold for Lindsay and some very unappealing bathrooms. As you can see from one of the photos, (no doctoring needed) the weather was as unpredictable as the next turn of the trail. But there were also some moments of luxury with hot showers and hot meals to balance it out. Some folks do what´s called the ¨W¨ while some folks do the longer ¨Circui...

Ushuaia, Argentina is a charming place that claims to be the world`s southermost city. Regardless of whether or not that is true, the location is just miles away from Tierra del Fuego National Park and is right on the Beagle Channel. To tell you how far South we are, cruise boats leave Ushuaia daily for Antarctica. Breathtaking! Definitely a tad touristy and overpriced but we were able to find some funky spots along the way and thankfully, every hostal in town includes access to a community kitchen so we got to know the local grocery store. And we also got to experience our first dorm-style hostal. Thankfully, we had a room full of incredibly quiet sleepers! Brent and Kori arrived the day after we did and we headed into the park for a short backpacking trip with our new Dutch friend, Jill. The views were incredible and it was a great way to get our legs moving before we start some long treks further North. Yesterday, we spent a long day on the bus on our way to Puerto Natales, Chile. A...

We have been on quite a journey the last few days! After our 3 day Salar de Uyuni tour, we made our way across Bolivia and into Argentina. We left Uyuni, Bolivia and took a seven hour bus trip to Potosí, Bolivia for a night before taking a three hour bus trip to Sucre, Bolivia for two nights. Potosí and Sucre are both quaint UNESCO cities with lots of charm and Potosí is actually the highest city in the world. Potosí, at one point was the second largest city in the world, thanks to huge silver deposits found in a nearby mountain. Of course, at the time of Spanish colonialization, this was hugely important for Spain and for the economy of South America. From there, we took a short flight to Santa Cruz, Bolivia where we had a day to look around this tropical city and link up with our new Bolivian friends, David and Jorge, before moving on. Next, we took a long flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina where we only had a few hours to look around, eat a tasty steak and get to bed early so we...