Feliz cumpleanos

Dallas skyline from the Bar Belmont as we celebrate Megan's birthday. Great evening for a patio!

Way Down South: Torres del Paine and Estancia Cerro Guido

I am finally ready to start posting photos. I thought I'd start south and work north. Our southernmost point was Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. During our brief visit, we stayed at a massive ranch called Estancia Cerro Guido. The ranch itself was beautiful with stunning views of the landscape (including some amazing cloud formations). The hiking pictures come from a trail near Salta Grande within the national park.



At Cerro Guido, Megan and I got the chance to see how lamb asado was prepared from beginning to delicious end. First, the lamb is "crucified," or placed on a large metal rod. The rod is then leaned next to a fire so the lamb can slow cook over a period of four or five hours. The only seasoning is a light rub of salt, an epic load of smoke, and the herbal seasoning of the grasses the lamb ate.



We hiked up a hill above the restaurant at Cerro Guido to take in the views.





The black and white shot is of the front porch of the restaurant (and, oddly enough, matches a similar picture on the Cerro Guido website--an inviting view for others too apparently). The food and service was outstanding. Best pisco sour I tasted during my time in Patagonia. The picture with the horses was taken from our breakfast table.





After leaving Cerro Guido. We headed into the national park.











Some nourishment for the road back to Argentina . . .

Leaving Buenos Aires

We are now at the airport waiting another hour or so to board the flight home. Unlike previous trips (Africa, for example) we are not quite ready to go. Our stay here has been wonderful, but we reluctantly head back to reality. A few thoughts as we leave.

Fireworks. We assumed we would not see any on new years. During dinner, we heard of a show from a nearby plaza, so we decided we would run back to our hotel to watch the show from the roof terrace. As it turns out, nearly everyone launches fireworks, and our rooftop terrace quickly became the center of a multicolored war zone. Great fun.

Steak. We ate lots of it, and it was cheap and delicious. Ate two filets yesterday at $7 and $12 respectively, each at or over eight ounces and each very delicious. A meat eater's paradise.

Flushers. Toilets here are far from uniform, and finding where to flush was often a puzzle.

Markets. There were craft markets, antique markets, and nearly anything anyone could need or want is bought and sold in streets and plazas. Today we went to a massive antique market in a public square.

Walking. Great city for walking. We wandered yesterday with Erin and Martin. Left from the architectural wonders of the Ricoleta Cemetery and wandered through gorgeous avenues and beautiful parks as well as along the Dakar rally course. Great hosts for a beautiful trek.

Once we return we will sort through our nearly 2000 pictures and post the best online as we are able. For now 11 hours on a plane, taxi to our house, and then I head to the office before an afternoon court hearing. The vacation is now over.

Buenos Aires

Happy New Year!

We have had a great two days here in Buenos Aires. Our hotel, The Cocker, is fascinating. Recently remodeled, the place is gorgeous, and our room itself is an architectural marvel with the bed in an alcove underneath the bathroom. Interesting place to call home for a few days.

The evening of our arrival we met up with one of Megan's friends from the Brenham days who now lives in Buenos Aires. Erin and her boyfriend, Martin, offered an orientation to the city and excellent conversation while also guiding us to a restaurant that served our best steak yet.

We have spent most of our time meandering the city's boutiques and cultural sights. We wrapped up some Christmas shopping, and Megan ordered custom boots that should be gorgeous (the bootmaker has made boots and belts for multiple presidents of various countries, including the US, and recently designed a pair of boots for Carolina Herrera). The 2011 Dakar rally leaves from Buenos Aires in the morning, so we checked out the rally vehicles today. After seeing the fine art of off road vehicles, we went to the MALBA, which has an excellent collection of modern Latin American art (Rivera, Kahlo, Wilfredo Lam, Berni, Xul Solar, etc).

On Thursday, we went to the Plaza de Mayo to rally with the Madres of the Desaparacidos. Having studied revolutionary politics of Latin America in college, seeing the Madres was, for me, a pilgrimage of sorts. Even then, Megan and I found the experience overwhelming. For those who don't know, the Madres are mothers of people (largely students in their 20s) who were "disappeared" by Argentina's most recent dictatorship. 34 years ago, they began a weekly protest in a plaza surrounded by government buildings. The gathering continues weekly to this day. As one of the mothers said in a very moving speech: "This is the last march of the year, but of course this is not the last march for the Madres. The Madres will march forever." While the dictatorship fell (in part due to the Madres' relentless struggle), the Madres are a powerful reminder of the dangers of authoritarianism and the ability of normal people to make a profound difference in the world.

Tomorrow we head to the famous Ricoleta Cemetery and then join Erin and Martin for an afternoon in the park.

With respect to tonight's celebrations, we have learned of two new year traditions. First, people throw their calendars and shredded work papers from the year out the window. This has caused a huge mess in the business districts. Second, and a bigger problem for us, people in Buenos Aires celebrate the new year at home with family. As a result, nearly every restaurant and bar is closed tonight. The few that stay open are booked up, and we were not among those who had the foresight to make reservations. In a stroke of luck, we found a small cafe off the beaten path that has a fixed menu and an open table. Should provide more nourishment than our backup option of the Cliff bars leftover from our hikes.

A few thoughts on Patagonia

We head to the airport shortly, so I thought I´d write out a few quick thoughts as we get ready to go.

The daylight situation is remarkable. It is light outside by 5 AM and not dark until roughly 11. We are awake nearly all the time it is light, but it has not left us exhausted. The daylight makes it very easy to play, and you can start a decent sized hike late in the day and still have plenty of time to make it back safely. I understand the winter days are brutally short, but I also get the idea very few people stay down here through the winter.

The mountain ranges are impressive and make for more difficult travel. For example, the house we stayed in on Christmas Eve, Estancia Alta Vista, was only 20 KM from Estancia Cerro Guido, the place we stayed in Chile. Our hike at El Chalten was longer than 20 KM. However, the trip driving was a 5 hour trip over 200 KM through some very rough roads. The overland trip is possible with about 8 hours on horseback, but the Chilean government doesn´t like folks entering their country undocumented. Anyway, always shorter as the condor flies, but the Ford Ka has to stick to roads.

Dogs everywhere. We miss our pup tremendously, but it is hard to walk a block in El Calafate without coming on some friendly stray looking for a small something to eat. Once the sun finally sets, the valley fills with a symphony (okay, cacophony) of howls and barks and yelps. Bob Barker´s message never made it this far south.

There is almost nothing better than the food here. I don´t know if a cuisine could be more perfectly designed for my tastes. The diet consists largely of grilled meats and meat stews. Plus, forget all this organic and free range stuff we pay a premium for in the states. All the animals here feed on grasses along mountain slopes with amazingly large spaces to roam (the 60,000 sheep, 2,000 cattle, and 2,000 horses at Cerro Guido share 100,000 hectacres, for example). The animals here are likely very happy, and they taste very happy too.


Dulce de leche. This is essentially a caramel sauce served like ketchup. It is everywhere. The center of a table is not complete without a bit of butter and gobs of dulce de leche. In order to adequately blend into the local culture, I smear it on all my bread products. Delicioso.

We are already formulating plans for a return trip. There is just so much to explore and so much ground to cover. We never made it to the coast for whales and penguins, and we barely scratched the surface on the hiking. And did I mention grilled meats and meat stew? Any other takers?

It has been an awesome week in Patagonia. Now off to Buenos Aires.

Glacier update

The post-hike whiskey tastes even better with glacier ice. Traveling in Argentina is so tough.

Glacier trekking

Here is a photo of Megan and me trekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier, a glacier with a surface area larger than Buenos Aires. Behind us a pool has formed in the glacier.

Last night in Patagonia.