Patagonia...

¨There are moments when I think with profound longing of those wonderful areas in our south. Perhaps one day, tired of circling the world, I´ll return to Argentina and settle in the Andean lakes, if not indefinitely then at least for a pause while I shift from one understanding of the world to another.´´ Che Guevara, The Motorcycle Diaries.

Well then,...it was first Hostel Clan in Buenos Aires... A place of fond memories from 2.5 years ago,...or hace dos anyos. A fellow named Natcho and also another dude named Nick were still working there, the only remnants of the Clan. And, as luck had it, it was to be Natcho´s retirement party two days later as he was taking a job with Toyota Corp in B.A. Natcho studied psychology and will be using this in the HR department.

The Clan as always was a gong show. Mixed travellers from all over, mostly europe, couple Canadians etc etc., typically doing the S.American deal. That wednesday was the typical Asado, or Argentine bbq which is very traditional and appreciated. It was also the going away party for Natcho. Just like the old days,...bout 40 souls on the rooftop of the hostel rockin out to tunes, vino and every cut of meat,...followed by a total party. Dinner at around 10pm and then every man for himself till whatever hour your liver holds out.

In Argentina,...the clocks do funny things to you. If you´re say an old fart at the ripe age of 32 and tend to enjoy bed at say 10 or 11pm,...then all of a sudden its 3am, you have a cigarette in your one hand, and a litre of beer in the other. Craig and Colby,...Im back on the train,...well at least for a bit.

B.A. was wonderful to be back into. It´s kinda like New York in that the city can drive you crazy with all the action,...but then theres the benefits. Trendy streets, girls everywhere that you´d marry without asking many questions,...strictly on breeding performance, fabulous restaurants etc etc. Big city walks, in the day...sort of. At any given moment of feeling tired, you can simply flag a cab, hop in and say neuva de julio y alsina, ...the address of the hostel.

B.A. is also a really special place because this is where part of my Spanish heritage lies. Joe Bernard is Franco´s cousin and lives with his wife Stella,...has two sons, Diego and Gaston, two dogs...Ringo and Colitta,...and two grandsons that are super cute. Tommy and Mateo are Diego´s sons and on a couple of occasions it was fun to see how they´ve grown.

Oh right,...forgot to mention that this trip was arranged with months of casual thought and then the pull of a trigger 3 days prior. Jumped on a plane, sent Joe an email,...an the next day Joe came bye the hostel to pick me up. Joe btw is 70. The point of telling you this is because Joe, like many Argentinians drive very very fast. I hopped in his hatchback and the Spanish passion took over from first to fifth gear. I knew I was at home because the roads in B.A. have skilled,...or at least fast crazy drivers, ...which I certainly admire.

Ok,...we did an Asado at Joe´s place and this was fantastic. First you prepare a little fire on the side of the bbq or parilla,...pronounced pah ree jah. Then some carcoal on top,...then 20 mins later you shovel them coals into the bbq. Little Tommy was there helping his grandpa with the fire and coals and there´s an amazing picture to show.

The Clan after 4 days made me think of the Aqua Vita Medical Spa,...because i was about to lose my marbles with noise and action,...it simply is always going. Instead, for im sure all the right reasons,...i booked the ticket to Argentina´s southern region, Patagonia. I left the next day.

Arriving at the Bariloche Airport was amazing,...It felt like one had arrived, at the right place....etc etc. Then I arrived in Bariloche and after about one hour, denial began as I looked and walked around through a 1970´s Swiss tourist nightmare. The rosebud of the story is that its on such an amazing lake,...but even the most powerful Deepak Chopra and Tony Robbins book only lasts so long to be surrounded by tshirt stores and agro. There´s a point to all this complaining...

The genius of Bariloche was the following. Lula,...the chica at the hostel was most helpful at telling me about a wonderful day hike. I asked many times because the word was hard to say and remember. Then I wrote it down. Then I got on a bus to travel 40mins out of town to do this walk. Then I promptly realized I had no idea what she said, and then upon looking for the name she wrote down, realized I couldnt find it! Well then. I got out of the bus,...saw this Holland guy bout 35 years of age and mentioned the scoop to see if he knew where i was etc etc. He just said cool. Cool meant that he´d like to come on this hike that we didnt know how to get to. It took awhile to figure this out but he too mentioned he simply boarded a bus that day for a random day. Well, he spoke some spanish and we figured that la colonia suize was where we needed to go so off we went. The bus turfed us 2kms out of town so we walked in,...talked some life and buz then by random fluke walked right into this really cool chick that was staying at hostel clan in buenos aires. We did the traditional kiss on cheek and before you knew it, her and her friend were both excited to do this hike,...which we kinda knew was ´just ahead´...somewhere. Gosh ok, long story short,...we spent an amazing day together,...hiked up to this cemetary in the mtns, shared some photos together, got to know each other as we walked in two´s always shifting a new partner here and there to talk about each others lives. Bumped into some Auzzies that were going the other way who said they thought they knew where we were going and all they saw were a bunch of bees chasing them around. Quite funny,...we continued on. The boom,...arrived the most interesting resort on a lake. We walked down to the lakeshore,...beach,...had a seat and just chilled with the most amazing view. Took lunch,...then i showed them this really impressive rock tossing game. Goes like this... throw a rock at the bigger rock sticking out of the water. The target is about as big as a baseball so this takes time and skill. Seems boring,...but believe you me,...a group of tired hikers on a random day and random lake got right into it. Ivy,...the girl from england liked this the most and tossed rocks one after another,...like a 13 year old kid playing nintendo video games without stopping. I might marry her.

Ah,...then the going back part,...Ivy from England is quite hot,...she threw out a thumb for the group and we got picked up by a brand new toyota pickup truck for a hitch hike back home. Arriving in Bariloche,...we all sat at a outdoor patio and blasted down some ice cold Quilmes beer.

The next day,...rented a car,...and flew outta Bariloche like Batman from his cave. The future unknown,...with a definite scar on my chest,...the scenery en route to Villa La Angostura was amazing. Things were looking up.

Angostura is amazing and upon arrival went into the poshest hotel,...im still not sure why but i guess just to snoop and it looked like it would have a cool view. Walked into the restaurant which is perched on the hills and the most amazing panoramic view of lake nauel huapi with all its mountains in the background. Amazing!!! I really have to use the banos quite badly so this note is going to end soon. Met some cool dudes in the village,...both mtn bikers and they recognized my whistler jacket and went crazy,...they know all the boys,...dave watson, shandro etc etc., and its their dream to hit b.c. for some riding. There is a race this weekend and i will be their to watch and support as the compete in the S.American downhill cup. Ah yes,...did Cerro Bayo yesterday. This is like their Whistler, about the size of Cypress. Hiked to the top,...saw the most amazing AMAZING views of lakes and mountains,...had some deep thoughts,...and then on the way down met this amazing girl named Nadia who promptly asked if id like some of her Mate drink...traditional Argie tea. We did,...hung out,...then went and did some archery,...like bow and arrows at target practice,...then i took off. Banos calling. Pictures to come soon,...i may have a couple here but just realized my first memory stick is elsewhere.

Ciao!