Southbound Gringos

It has been a wonderful year for Tom, Fuji and me in Latin America. But now we are moving onto new adventures in the good ol' USA...

 

Thank you for visiting over the past year - hope we kept you entertained with our adventures on Southbound Gringos!

 

For more photos from me, please visit my new website, www.tcblue.com, and my new blog, http://tcbluephotographyblog.posterous.com.

 

 

On March 31st we were in Buenos Aires and due to fly home over night to arrive home on April Fools Day, exactly a year-to-the-day from when we left the US for a year in Belize, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. 

 

All day long, Tom and I talked about what an amazing year we had spent together, what beautiful places we had seen and what kind people we had met.

 

We also marveled at how few mishaps there were, how lucky we had been: We were never robbed, were ripped off only once for a mere $25 and traveling with Fuji was not the disaster we had feared. 

 

We were home free! Or so we thought…

 

April Fools!

 

Here is how leaving Latin America after a year abroad went:

 

1. We checked out of our hotel at 11 a.m. as we could not get a late check out. 

 

2. So, we had to leave our bags in the lobby and wander the streets for seven hours until it was time to leave for the airport. Not terrible but not fun either because since we had Fuji so we could not go inside anywhere. It was a long seven hours in the hot sun.

 

3. Finally it was time to get our taxi. Unfortunately, it was rush hour and we spent the next hour and a half battling towards the airport.

 

4. On the way to the airport, our driver rear-ended a car and about five minutes later took a side mirror off another passing car.  We were very relieved to arrive at the airport in one piece.

 

5. We waited in the long check-in line only to find when we got to the front that our visas were one day expired.

 

6. We had to leave our place in line and rush to immigration where waited for half an hour for someone to help and then paid $150 to have our visas extended.

 

7. Then rushed back through the airport and got back in the check-in line. 

 

8. We got our tickets and the airline checked and approved all of Fuji’s paperwork. Since the flight was so long, we were told to keep Fuji with us until an hour before the flight so she could stretch her legs outside.

 

9. An hour before boarding, we brought Fuji and her crate back to the check-in area. We were about to put her through security, when an Argentinean policeman approached us and asked to review her (already approved) papers.

 

10. Said policeman said that we are missing one stamp from an office in Buenos Aires. I had never heard of this extra stamp, and neither had the airline, but the policeman refused to let her board.

 

11. We ran through the airport, pushing Fuji in her crate, to the customs area to see if the vet there could help us. The vet on duty is nowhere to be found. 

 

12. After waiting for the vet for half and hour, we were informed we will not make the plane. 

 

13. Additionally, because it is now boarding time, there were no airline agents to help us. So, we had to wait until the plane took off to rebook and re-collect our checked baggage.

 

14. We waited in the airport, with Fuji still in her crate, watching the minutes tick by until our flight leaft. Goodbye flight home.

 

15. Tom used the time to find a hotel online that accepted dogs, had availability for the night and was right next to the office where we needed to take Fuji in the morning for her extra stamp. Wonderful – something has gone right!

 

16. Just to be sure, Tom called the hotel directly to confirm that they accept dogs. “Yes, yes we accept dogs”. With that out of the way there is nothing to do but continue to wait for our bags…

 

17. Around 10 p.m. we were able to rebook our flight and get our bags back.

 

18. We took an hour-long taxi back into the city and arrived at our hotel at 11p.m.

 

19. When we arrived we were greeted by, “No, we do not accept dogs or animals of any kind”. Tom was furious! “But I just called you to confirm! And you said it was fine! And your website says you accept dogs!”

 

20. Tom showed them the print-out of our reservation where it says they accept dogs. But still, “No, no, no, no we do accept dogs”.

 

21. We were exhausted, Fuji was still in her crate, Tom was livid and we still didn’t have a hotel. Plus we should have been flying through the air home, cocktail in hand!

 

22. We spent the next hour calling hotels at random. “No, we do accept dogs.” “No, we do accept dogs.” “No, we do accept dogs.” Then, “Yes, we accept dogs!” JACKPOT! “But, no we do not have any rooms available.” Etc etc

 

23. Finally, we found a hotel on the other side of Buenos Aires that will take us.

 

24. We paid for another taxi.

 

25. We checked into another hotel and got to sleep around 1 a.m.

 

26. At 9 a.m. we took another cross-town taxi to get Fuji’s extra stamp. They don’t even look at her. We just had to pay more money and get some more ink. So glad we missed our flight and paid oooodles more money for that extra ink mark...

 

27. At 11:00 a.m. we had to check out of our new hotel (10 hours in a hotel for $200. What a deal).

 

28. We waited in the sun, on the street with Fuji for seven hours for the second day in a row.

 

29. Then, we took another taxi to the airport and checked in again, this time with extra stamp.

 

30. Finally, we boarded the plane home – only 24 hours and tons of money later.

 

So, South America got the last laugh and made our final departure less than graceful. 

 

But, we got to catch one extra sunset over Buenos Aires and have one more adventure before returning home.

 

And wonderful thing about home is that it is always there, waiting for you, even if you are gone for a whole year… plus an extra day!

As we contemplate leaving, and heading home after a year in South America, one thing stands out for me from my two and a half months in Patagonia: water.

 

Crystal clear, amazing, unforgettable, mesmerizing, colorful water.

 

Here are a few shots that I have taken during my time here of rivers, streams and lakes that prove my point.

 

Sadly our second to last weekend in South America did not go according to plan... I got sick on Friday night, which messed up the plans we had to do a full day hike on Saturday.

Instead, we took a drive down Rt 23 into the grasslands that make up the vast majority of Patagonia. But, while it was very beautiful, I barely got out of the car and felt generally miserable for the duration of the drive.

 

Here are just a few shots taken while I vallantly tried to push through my fog of feeling yucky. Fumbling with my manual settings and working to frame my shots while grasping my aching belly, made me realize that I must really like to take photos.

 

So, while these images are certainly not close to my best, I do give myself an A+ for effort.

 

On Saturday, we met up with a friend of a friend who is currently living in Buenos Aires, Loree, her parents and her friend, Ruthie, for a four-hour boat ride on Lake Nahuel Huapi to Isla Victoria and El Bosque de Arrayanes.

 

Arrayanes are a rare form of Myrtle that only rarely grow into trees. Their white and orange coloring, contrasting against green leaves made the forest seem alien in the dappled sunlight.

 

A beautiful Saturday in Patagonia with good people… Not too shabby (But I do wish I had a picture of our company for the post - our group shot turned out awfully backlit and dark).

We spent the weekend camping in El Bolsón, a hippie community in a warm microclimate on Chile’s border, about two hours south of Bariloche.

 

Our first stop was the famed artisanal and handicraft bazaar, which although large, seemed to only have the normal offerings: jams, fruits, food stalls, handmade sweaters, wood-carvings, jewelry and the like. I know I am one of the world’s worst shoppers to begin with, but I thought it was over rated. Just yet another crap-fair…

 

But, El Bolsón didn’t let us down when we went to El Bosque Tollado (http://www.elbosquetallado.com/las-obras.html), a swath of forest 5,000 feet high on Mount Piltriquitrón’s slopes that was destroyed in a forest fire in 1982. Artists from around South America have turned the burnt trunks into a large, outdoor sculpture garden, giving death new life complete with sweeping views over the valley.

 

We also found a lovely campsite nestled in a meadow, next to a waterfall. And we were the only campers there!

 

So, Fuji spent almost a full day off leash, bounding through the tall grass like a wild beast, collecting burrs and trying to get the resident kittens to join in the fun (all they wanted to do was hiss at her).

After we left our San Martín De Los Andes campground, we headed back to Bariloche, via a different unpaved (again) road, Rt 63.

 

Along the way, to complete a perfect weekend, our poor car finally succumbed to the road, and we got a flat tire. We bounced cautiously on the dubious looking spare all way back (safely) home...