The Adventures of Dave, Lindsay, Cora and Edie

The perfect place to end our adventures in South America...Buenos Aires. A city with grand architecture and a european flair. Buenos Aires is known for it`s futbol (American soccer), carne (MEAT) and tango, a romantic style of dance. Last night, we attended a local futbol match and enjoyed both the game and people watching. The Argentinian people go crazy over futbol! A few more days to explore before we catch our flight home.

Our mode of transportation through the wine country of Argentina.

After a few relaxing days in and around Talca, we headed north in Chile for a vibrant city by the sea, Valparaiso. We spent our time wandering the streets to check out the artwork and murals that covered the city. A college town with a great vibe. In Valparaiso, it´s clear to see the effect Pinochet´s dictatorship had on the psyche of this town. The older folks are subdued and quiet about it all, while the youth express anger and sadness through some truly unique street art. Our next stop was Santiago, where we did a whirlwind tour of the city (and also slipped in a few movies at the theatre near our hostel). Parts of the city were very cool but one day was enough to see the highlights. So long, Chile...back to Argentina we go for our last week! **Yes, Dave did shave his beard and was sporting a mustache for a few days on the road. I had to beg him to get rid of it because he thought it was cool.

If you have ever looked at a world map, you know that both Chile and Argentina are incredibly long countries. We initially started our travels in the southermost part of Argentina and have been slowly making our way North. That being said, we estimate that during our time in South America (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile) we have probably done at least 25 fairly significant bus rides ranging from 3 to 27 hours. Travel Days are often exhausting and at this point, we have a system down that seems to make them more tolerable. Many of the long-distance buses leave early in the morning so our day begins with an early alarm clock so we have plenty of time to pack up our belongings (which at this point fit in two large backpacks and two small day bags), stuff down a quick breakfast that usually consists of bread, butter, marmalade and tea before making the trek to the bus terminal. Before your big bags get thrown under the bus, you must be sure to have certain things on the bus wit...

We climbed an active volcano in Chile. Seriously. Crazy thing is... it only took us four hours to get to the top. The views were great and we had a blast. The volcano sits at 2,847 meters (9,340 feet) and is a short drive from the tourist hub of Pucon. We spent a day sitting in hot springs and waiting for the weather to clear up and it paid off. We drove to the trailhead at the base of the mountain which also happens to be a ski resort... much like Mt. Hood in Oregon. Sadly, this is a very easy and therefore popular volcano for folks on the South American circuit. So we were in lines on the trail. But, we had a good time nonetheless. It was Lindsay´s first time with crampons and an ice axe, so she had fun with that. The top was windy and very cold, but the worst of it was the fumes coming from the volcano. Huge plumes of stinky sulphur stuff. I think that´s what the geologists call it. Anyhow, Lindsay´s mom will be happy to know that she climbed an active volcano without incident. And ...

The city of Bariloche is actually within the park boundaries of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi and is located on the grand and scenic Lago Nahuel Huapi. It reminded us a little of Coeur d' Alene but Bariloche is 150,000 strong. After a few days of checking out the area via rental car, we began our much anticipated hut to hut trek in the park. Packing was a breeze without tents to worry about but somehow we managed to still have gigantic backpacks to carry up the hill. Too much food, perhaps? The traverse we planned to do was open only to experienced trekkers so we took full advantage of our collective experience and enjoyed a strenuous but spectacular hike through the high peaks of Argentina's lake district. The descents were long and difficult and the climbs often required a version of rock climbing wearing packs but the views were unforgettable. The huts were all situated on various mountain lakes and had large bunk rooms set up for stinky backpackers to catch some shut...

After leaving central Argentina, we ventured north and stumbled upon a mellow little town in Argentina that ended up being a trip highlight. The town of Esquel. Few tourists, a great park in the middle of town, a cozy place to stay, great food and access to a gorgeous, but quiet, little national park. We rented a car one day and drove into Parque Nacional Los Alerces, which is named after the stands of giant alerce trees which we never actually saw. We did a scenic hike through thick bamboo and took in the views. The only other people in the park were some local trout fisherman who were testing out their equipment on the local lunkers. And to end the day we found a parrilla, an Argentine BBQ, where we enjoyed juicy steaks with the locals. It was nice to be off the typical tourist route for a few days and we will definitely return to Esquel at some point.