We took a double decker bus from Las Grutas to Puerto Madryn. It was a three hour ride, and uneventful, with the usual desert landscape to watch. We arrived in Puerto Madryn, and set up camp. This city actually feels like people can live here. Las Grutas was truly a tourism town, with hardly anything going on outside of the summer. Here, there is movement! We took a walk along the gorgeous coastline, and ate some gigantic empanadas at Miguelitos. We tucked in for the night, and found that it was less cold here than Las Grutas too! We all slept comfortably.
The next day, we had rented a car, to make the long trip around Penisula Valdes. The trip took us from 10 AM from Puerto Madryn until 10 PM at night. The roads were mostly rubble, but the animals were worth it! Unfortunately, there were no whales to be seen, and the killer whales thought the waves were too rough to make the trip in shore to eat some seals. We did see the seals, and the penguins, and sea elephants. It was incredible, although we couldn't get too close for obvious reasons. The sea was super blue, quite a contrast to the tan land. The town in Puerto Piramides was a quaint little town that we are considering just taking a day trip to. It is within some mountains, and overlooks the sea, so the vistas are breathtaking!
Tomorrow it is off to Trelew, and today, we are going to rent some bikes, and see if we can see some dolphins in the harbor!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
First lesson learned, and Las Grutas
So we learned our first lesson... ask at least three people what to go and see before you believe one! Carmen de Patagones was beautiful, and so was Viedma!!! We believed the guy at the camp site that there was nothing to see, and then found out that there was an entire gorgeous city to see! The places and sights were spectacular! The kids took horse back rides in a park, we had ice cream, took a ferry across the river, had an asado, played in the park, did a ton of walking, and overall just enjoyed a beautiful day in two incredible cities! It really was a great time. Unfortunately we had already bought bus tickets to Las Grutas by the time we had realized how nice of a city we were already in.
Las Grutas so far are vacant! They take their siesta time very seriously, plus summer is over here. After this, we are headed off to take a dip in the warm sea! It looked beautiful from our lunch view! The air is cold next to the sea, but warm everywhere else! Hopefully it will open up after five, and we'll get to enjoy it as much as Carmen de Patagones, and Viedma!
I will download pictures soon!
Las Grutas so far are vacant! They take their siesta time very seriously, plus summer is over here. After this, we are headed off to take a dip in the warm sea! It looked beautiful from our lunch view! The air is cold next to the sea, but warm everywhere else! Hopefully it will open up after five, and we'll get to enjoy it as much as Carmen de Patagones, and Viedma!
I will download pictures soon!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Tomorrow, Las Grutas!
So the train was a LONG ride! The sights were limited to a few bushes, and cows. We all slept on and off between the bumps, and ate, well, we should have brought some food with us. By the time we arrived, we had eaten approximately 12 ham and cheese sandwiches between us! Not realizing that the selections would not change, we should have eaten in the comedor for dinner Friday night, where there was at least two choices!
We arrived in Carmen de Patagones, and met up with all the other backpackers! The group included a woman from Russia who was travelling to Chile. We all began walking to what we thought was a camp site, and then learned that that camp site is never open, so we kept walking. We came across a beautiful river that reminded us of the Potomac in DC. A huge bridge spanned the river, and there were people riding bikes, and hiking along one side, and having picnics in front of the city front on the other side. This bridge connects Carmen de Patagones to Viedma, so we crossed in order to get to the camp site. We quickly arrived, went to get food, and settled in. We made a stew with some meat, and sausage, carrots, potatoes, and onions. It turned out much better than we had expected!
We woke up to a brisk morning, but the inside of our tent was very warm! We had no idea it had gotten so cold outside! This morning, walked the 15 blocks to the bus station and purchased tickets for tomorrows adventure to Las Grutas. The bridge here and the river seem to be the only attractions here in Viedma, so we are in a rush to leave!
We arrived in Carmen de Patagones, and met up with all the other backpackers! The group included a woman from Russia who was travelling to Chile. We all began walking to what we thought was a camp site, and then learned that that camp site is never open, so we kept walking. We came across a beautiful river that reminded us of the Potomac in DC. A huge bridge spanned the river, and there were people riding bikes, and hiking along one side, and having picnics in front of the city front on the other side. This bridge connects Carmen de Patagones to Viedma, so we crossed in order to get to the camp site. We quickly arrived, went to get food, and settled in. We made a stew with some meat, and sausage, carrots, potatoes, and onions. It turned out much better than we had expected!
We woke up to a brisk morning, but the inside of our tent was very warm! We had no idea it had gotten so cold outside! This morning, walked the 15 blocks to the bus station and purchased tickets for tomorrows adventure to Las Grutas. The bridge here and the river seem to be the only attractions here in Viedma, so we are in a rush to leave!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Last day of preparations
So as you can see our bags are packed! There are a few empty pockets for treasures we may find on the way, but they are heavy!!! At this point, I am almost hoping that it is cold so that we can utilize all our cold weather gear (the weather in Viedma is looking beautiful, and not nearly as cold as we had feared!). If not, we will be having a flea market on the side of a road that heads more south!
Facundo has gone to get a few last items, and then we are off! One of the items that he has decided to get was a cooking stove. We simply can't figure out a good way to keep our tin cans without cutting something in our packs! So much for our handy dandy inexpensive stove!
The kids can't wait! Harrison says that he slept so much last night so he won't be tired on the trip! I wish!! Kaylan is of course, trying to figure out how to convince us that she needs every book, toy, stuffed animal, crayon, colored pencil, carrying case, hair tie that she owns in order to make it on this trip!
For them, we have packed our family favorite card game, Old Maid, along with a chapter book, music, and paper and crayons. Hopefully that will keep them occupied for a little while; there is always sleeping too!
Our first leg of the trip is a 21 hour train trip to Carmen de Patagones. The train stops in every town that it passes, which we will use the stops to get some food. Then, the plan is to see Carmen de Patagones until Monday, and then off to Puerto Madryn. We are hoping to still catch sight of some whales and penguins there!
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Facundo has gone to get a few last items, and then we are off! One of the items that he has decided to get was a cooking stove. We simply can't figure out a good way to keep our tin cans without cutting something in our packs! So much for our handy dandy inexpensive stove!
The kids can't wait! Harrison says that he slept so much last night so he won't be tired on the trip! I wish!! Kaylan is of course, trying to figure out how to convince us that she needs every book, toy, stuffed animal, crayon, colored pencil, carrying case, hair tie that she owns in order to make it on this trip!
For them, we have packed our family favorite card game, Old Maid, along with a chapter book, music, and paper and crayons. Hopefully that will keep them occupied for a little while; there is always sleeping too!
Our first leg of the trip is a 21 hour train trip to Carmen de Patagones. The train stops in every town that it passes, which we will use the stops to get some food. Then, the plan is to see Carmen de Patagones until Monday, and then off to Puerto Madryn. We are hoping to still catch sight of some whales and penguins there!
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Camping stove
We realized last week that the propane tank that we would use for our camping stove is not available here. So, we thought about just buying one here, but then my husband came upon a website that instructed him on how to make one just using two cans, and some alcohol. So he bought the peaches and pate that supplied the cans, and he created a stove that was able to boil a rather large pot of water! A bottle of alcohol is 60 US cents, and the cans came with things that Facundo likes to eat, so I guess you could say they were free! First problem solved!
Are we nuts??
So we have come to the realization that staying in this country is just not possible. Well, possible yes, but the best for our future, and that of our children, no. We simply cannot make enough money to save a cent, nor can continue to send our children to the school in which we want. We thought we could, we thought we would, we can't.
My husband and I have made an agreement. We go on the trip he has always dreamed of, well, a few notches below of the actual dream, but a huge trip, and see Argentina, and then we will go back to the United States.
Then it became the time to tell our parents. The responses were as follows...
my mom - really, well that's good news. Where will you live when you come back? I guess Facundo is happy that you guys will be travelling before you come back.
my dad - long pause - I couldn't be happier! (I don't think he really heard too much about the trip, and took the fears that he had for us coming here, and measured them against the trip, and decided not to say anything about his fears, in fear that we might decide to stay).
my father in law - great, you shouldn't stay here, and you should go and see the country; but not how you are planning, buy vacation packages, and go to one place and come back, and go on another. Regardless, when you are all done, you both need to go to therapy to figure out why you are so crazy.
my older brother - whatever, don't worry about it, the kids were happy here before you left, they will be happy here again.
my sister in law - good luck
my younger brother in law - dad, I want to have an asado here next weekend to celebrate getting our house in the country back.
my youngest brother in law - still not talking to me
my oldest brother - I will keep you updated when I tell him!
But are we nuts?? That is the question. We moved here because my mother in law was sick, and that was an invaluable experience that we will never regret or look back on negatively. We thought we would stay, but realized we shouldn't. It has been 4 months now of being here, and we will leave after having been here for a total 7 months.
Our plan is to travel south, and then north, spanning anywhere from a month to two, with two back packs, two children, and bus and train tickets. We leave on Friday the 23rd of March.
My husband has become obsessed with trying to figure out exactly what places to go and visit, where I just want to decide from one place to the next. The south will be cold, but I don't want to miss too much. Hopefully we will get to Puerto Madryn before the whales and penguins leave. Hopefully my kids will learn how to behave a little better in public, and will remember every detail of this trip, and cherish it forever. Hopefully nothing bad will happen, and if it does that we have made appropriate preparations with our gear. Hopefully this trip will help us figure out what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. Hopefully we don't freeze in the south, or scorch in the north. Hopefully nature, books, music, and family time will be enough to keep my kids entertained, and educated.
Well the trip is already planned, the bags are packed, the kids are excited, so we'll just have to see if crazy is a word that will define our family.
My husband and I have made an agreement. We go on the trip he has always dreamed of, well, a few notches below of the actual dream, but a huge trip, and see Argentina, and then we will go back to the United States.
Then it became the time to tell our parents. The responses were as follows...
my mom - really, well that's good news. Where will you live when you come back? I guess Facundo is happy that you guys will be travelling before you come back.
my dad - long pause - I couldn't be happier! (I don't think he really heard too much about the trip, and took the fears that he had for us coming here, and measured them against the trip, and decided not to say anything about his fears, in fear that we might decide to stay).
my father in law - great, you shouldn't stay here, and you should go and see the country; but not how you are planning, buy vacation packages, and go to one place and come back, and go on another. Regardless, when you are all done, you both need to go to therapy to figure out why you are so crazy.
my older brother - whatever, don't worry about it, the kids were happy here before you left, they will be happy here again.
my sister in law - good luck
my younger brother in law - dad, I want to have an asado here next weekend to celebrate getting our house in the country back.
my youngest brother in law - still not talking to me
my oldest brother - I will keep you updated when I tell him!
But are we nuts?? That is the question. We moved here because my mother in law was sick, and that was an invaluable experience that we will never regret or look back on negatively. We thought we would stay, but realized we shouldn't. It has been 4 months now of being here, and we will leave after having been here for a total 7 months.
Our plan is to travel south, and then north, spanning anywhere from a month to two, with two back packs, two children, and bus and train tickets. We leave on Friday the 23rd of March.
My husband has become obsessed with trying to figure out exactly what places to go and visit, where I just want to decide from one place to the next. The south will be cold, but I don't want to miss too much. Hopefully we will get to Puerto Madryn before the whales and penguins leave. Hopefully my kids will learn how to behave a little better in public, and will remember every detail of this trip, and cherish it forever. Hopefully nothing bad will happen, and if it does that we have made appropriate preparations with our gear. Hopefully this trip will help us figure out what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. Hopefully we don't freeze in the south, or scorch in the north. Hopefully nature, books, music, and family time will be enough to keep my kids entertained, and educated.
Well the trip is already planned, the bags are packed, the kids are excited, so we'll just have to see if crazy is a word that will define our family.
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