TravelStream™ news feed for member pattyv on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/pattyv en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:49:42 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1165024200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1165024200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1165024200/tpod.html Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:49:42 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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El Chalten, Argentina

David´s entry....
Ah Chalten,
As an introduction, let me give a quick guide book style summary of Chalten.
El Chalten is a hiker's paradise. A sleepy town with nothing much to do, so get to bed early and wake up early, ready to hit one of the numerous trails heads that line the outskirts of town. Several day trips are available that can provide breathtaking panoramas, unbelievable views of the striking Cerro Fitz Roy, and mountain streams so clean and pure you can dip your glass and drink straight from the source. A must see!
Sounds great! Pam and I arrived pumped, ready to tackle any and all challenges no matter the physical consequences. We step off the bus and wham! Physical challenge numero uno has presented itself early. A wind like I have never before witnessed is blowing so strong that Patti and I struggle just to get our packs on straight and walk down the road. We stagger into the hostel and shake off the dust, but it was some time later before I was able to get all the dirt out of my ears, nose and butt crack. Not to be discouraged, we eat a hearty lunch and head for the trail. After 30 minutes of struggling to walk in a straight line, fighting off the incessant bombardment of pebbles that seem to have homing beacons targeting my eyes, we make the 1/2 mile to the trail head. Finally we get some relief from the ridge in front of us, and as we make the initial accent my spirits are renewed. The sun is shinning, the wind is sure to subside, and we seem to have some protection now that we are in the woods. Just as I think everything is going to work out, we make the top of the first ridge and the wind hits us with a renewed vigor that I thought only existed in tornadoes and hurricanes (the weather forecast stated 50 mph winds with gusts up to 80 mph!) I was actually enjoying the challenge when another gust hit and it just turned scary. Two older women were descending as we reached the ridge, and the gust that came this time knocked Patti and the other women to the ground, and sent some decent sized rocks hurtling past our heads. The excitement turned to anguish as more, and bigger, pebbles continued to pound our bodies and make it near impossible to see. It wasn't much further that we turned around and headed for home. I felt no shame in turning around, and am reminded of how minuscule we truly are in comparison to the forces of mother nature.
Part II
That night we decided that if the weather didn´t improve, we would at least enjoy the one other gem of El Chalten; it´s welcoming and glorious microbrewery. As fate would have it, we awoke to find a cold and rainy day so we without delay we hurried to the serenity of the brew house and there we share liter upon liter of beer until all of our troubles, and consciousness, drifted away. Two faithful Irish had joined us in our quest of drunkeness, John and Rita.
(Dave never finished the entry.)
Patty:
Basically we got wasted with the Irish couple who kept forcing beer down our throats. Dave tried to sneak off a couple of times and pass out but we always managed to find him. The next day we were on a bus for 14 hours, needless to say I wanted to die...I had the hangover blues.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1165370400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1165370400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1165370400/tpod.html Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:48:35 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

After the longest two days of my life crossing the desolate, dry, and flat lands of Patagonia via Route 40, we finally arrived in Bariloche. Most people come to Bariloche to visit the National Park Nahuel Huapi. the first day Dave and I hiked around the lakes of the circuito chico (short circuit). It such a beautiful park!
But thats not what you want to hear....so here is Dave´s accident story.
On our second day in Bariloche, Dave and I parted ways for the day. I took the gondola up the mountain (Cerro Otto) and Dave decided to rent a mountain bike to go up and down the mountain. We met briefly near the top and decided we would meet up later. When I got back to the hostel in the late afternoon they mentioned that Dave had an accident and was in the hospital. So what had happened wuz this..... David the Daredevil decided to go down a tiny trail when he was almost at the bottom and it turned out to be a BMX ramp so he went flying in the air, lost the bike and landed unconscious on the side of the road. Some guy found him and took him to the hospital. When I saw David for the first time his hand was about an inch to the left of his arm....pretty sick. Anyways he had surgery in Argentina and is probably undergoing another one back home. Check out the photo shoot we had in the hospital....
Dave is home now and I will be back tomorrow morning!!!! Thank you to everyone who read my blog and responded. I have had an fabulous trip, made wonderful friends and seen the most amazing places!!! See you soon.
Love,
Patty
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1164764340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1164764340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1164764340/tpod.html Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:50:11 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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El Calafate, Argentina

El Calafate was short and sweet. It is a beautiful little town about 80 km from the National Park Los Glaciares. Dave and I went to the park and did some moderate trekking around the Moreno Glacier! It is the most famous glacier in the park and the only reason people come here. The glacier is MASSIVE. It stands about 60 meters high and stretches over 15 km long. Check out the pics! The glacier moves about 2 meters a day in the middle and on the outside about 40cm a day. Due to this movement huge pieces of the glacier come crashing down almost hourly. Next stop is Chalten where all there is to do is hike...you can imagine my excitement....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1164755340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1164755340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1164755340/tpod.html Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:37:39 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Ushuaia, Argentina

Alter a 7 hour flight with a terrible hangover from Thanksgiving, we arrived in Ushuaia, the southern most city in the World!!!! It really feels like it...the sun rises around 4:30 AM and does not set until 10:30 PM. We went on an excursion that took us through the Beagle Channel where we stopped at several islands to see the sea lions, birds, and some famous lighthouse. The following day Dave and I headed out to the Tierra del Fuego Nacional Park. We did a few small treks and at the southern most point of the park where Route 3 ends, we ran into contestants from the AMAZING RACE!!! (that might be the most exciting thing we saw in Ushuaia) Dave and I tried to run and get in on the action but we were ignored. PS, it is soooo staged. I don't have many pics because I need my battery to last longer. We are in El Calafate right now but I cannot do this blog any longer...I will write about it later...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163886000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163886000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163886000/tpod.html Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:08:43 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

After yet another marvellous stop in Montevideo, Dave and I headed to Buenos Aires to meet Andres and Leigh!!! Andres gave me a surprise care package that Paba had sent me...it was so good that I cried. Paba sent me all the essentials: a chocolate pie, Elle magazine, warm socks for Patagonia, smarties, and lemon tart candies....oh yeah and whoopie cushion. It doesn`t get much better than that.
Unfortunately I didn't get many pics due to my laziness which stemmed from my drinking the whole week with Andres. Leigh, Andres and I headed to Uruguay to check out my second home. I cant seem to get away from that place. We had a marvelous dinner with my Uruguayan family and headed out to Punta del Este for a couple of days.
Thanksgiving dinner was drunkenly held in Buenos Aires with some of Andres and Leigh`s friends from Atlanta. Andres and I played drinking games with a couple bottles of champagne before dinner just to be sure we weren't the sober ones at dinner, that plan really backfired on me! I asked David if I was acting redonkulous at dinner and he said I was alright in comparison to everyone else...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163085180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163085180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163085180/tpod.html Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:55:10 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Porto Alegre, Brazil

Dave has a few things he wanted to clear up....
A few words about CRAZY GIRL, as Patty has so accurately named her. I will admit that my spider senses were ary that day, and I made a slight miscalculation of her character. While she seemed fairly normal at first, it didn´t take too long before she started to show serious signs of mental instability and it took all I had to fight off her relentless attack on my zipper. Alas, I am alive and unscathed, but will no longer invite anyone to join in our travels without Pam´s approval in writing, signed and notarized.
David

After an exhausting trek through southern Brazil, Dave and I arrived in Porto Alegre to relax. We stayed with some family friends of mine, the Penz family. It was SWEET!!!! We slept in comfy beds, ate delicious meals and did laundry!!! The Penz were kind enough to give us a driver to show us the city. Porto Alegre doesn´t have many touristic places but it was charmng city.
We visited Gramado and Canela, two mountain towns just outside the city, which reminded me of Vail. In Canela we visited a park where we saw the Caracol waterfall. Dave and our driver decided to go down the 1,000 steps to get to the bottom. I made it halfway and realized it wasn´t for me. We also visited the beach and lounged poolside at thier beach house. It was a fantastic stop!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163691540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163691540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163691540/tpod.html Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:34:40 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Montevideo, Uruguay

Ok, so I decided to give Dave a little say in what was said on the blog....plus I have already written about Montevideo...So here is Dave´s side of the story...
Montevideo,
We have been hosted by two of the locals here in Montevideo the past week. German y Martin have been great, although a little crazy, and I feel like I am starting to soak up a little of the local passion for life.
Notables: Hot Spanish teacher that loves my american good looks, I am nervous that I will begin to grow hooves for feet because of all the meat I have been eating, and I found a cool used classical guitar that I am confident will bring the chickletas crawling to my feet.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163033460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163033460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1163033460/tpod.html Thu, 09 Nov 2006 20:00:05 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Florianopolis, Brazil

After Foz do Iguazu we took the night bus to Florianopolis! Floripa, as the Brasilians call it, is a city that lies on the continent and an island. The island, Isla de Santa Catarina, is the part worth visiting if you want to see beautiful beaches. The island, which stretches 52 km from north to south has about 42 beaches.
Dave met this girl on the bus from Iguazu and decided to invite her to hang out with us (which would have been fun if she was normal). It turned out to be cheaper BUT she was freaking crazy!!!!! Like seriously has MANY loose and missing screws. I noticed it right after we got off the bus and Dave did not see it until the second day.
The first day was MISERABLE!!! It was raining, cold, and hazy. Despite these conditions crazy girl wanted to go see a beach on the ugly north side of the island...I said no but was overruled. So we went, got off the bus, and got lost...so we tried to hitchhike because we were like 20 minutes away from the beach with no taxis or buses around and it was raining. We finally arrived and it looked like any other beach on a rainy, cold and hazy day!!!! I wanted to kill crazy girl! I was so pissed and Dave was in a bad mood too but he did not show it as much. So we eat lunch and the crazy girl is getting worse (she was harassing the wait staff...see the pic), so I downed a couple of 40´s to make it better. She got better but not too much.
The next day Dave had finally realized how crazy she was so Dave and I set off to see the southern part of the island ALONE! It was great! The southern beaches are little fishing villages and have spectacular beaches! It was not sunny but we still enjoyed the afternoon.
Crazy girl had a huge crush on DAve and had already freaked him out but nonetheless gave him her email...I hope Dave learned his lesson...I am now the official screener of all people we invite to travel with us!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1162600200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1162600200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1162600200/tpod.html Thu, 09 Nov 2006 19:41:35 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Foz do Iguazu, Brazil

Foz do Iguazu was AMAZING!!! Probably one of the coolest sights I have ever seen...EVER! The main and most important attraction in the town of Foz is the Cataratas do Iguaçu (Waterfalls of Iguazu). These waterfalls stretch 3300 meters wide across two binational parks in Brasil and Argentina. The first day we were able to visit the Brasilian side of the falls. The main attraction on this side and perhaps of both parks is the Garganta del Diablo (the Devil´s throat). The Argentine side does not have as many falls but it has many trails to hike and offers boat rides for a much cheaper price than in Brasil. Dave and I splurged on a boat ride which took us under a huge waterfall and left us drenched (see pics)...we stupidly decided to do the boat ride first and I hiked around soaking wet for the entire day. We were able to walk pretty close to the falls on both sides and probably took 300 different pictures. It really is indescribable.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1162393860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1162393860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pattyv/southern_living/1162393860/tpod.html Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:24:14 -0500 A South American Adventure...

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Paraty, Brazil

Paraty was great! We were only here two days but we got to see alot. Paraty has a beautiful old city with cobblestone streets and coloful houses. Paraty was formed in the 18th century as an important port city. It is surounded by beautiful beaches and located at the foot of the mountains. There are over 300 beaches and 65 islands!!!
Dave and I took another boat trip yesterday and explored 2 islands and 2 beaches. I have no idea which ones because the tour was entirely in Porutguese. I am working on a nice dark tan. I have taken some great pics but the computer I have been using will not upload my pictures...maybe later this week I will have them up.
Today we are leaving to go to Foz do Iguazu. We have a six hour bus ride to Sao Paulo and then catch a 16 hours bus to Iguazu...not looking forward to it.
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