Monday, February 6, 2012

Windblown in Patagonia!

Patagonia - The Land of Big Foot
(got its name from the Spanish explorers who saw larger footprints, those of the Indians. Since they did not consider Indians children of God they were associated with animals.
(Pata = animal footprint in Spanish)
Simply put, the most spectacular vacation of our lives! Not only was it our honeymoon, but Patagonia is so unique in its own right that it was incredibly special. There should be a season called Patagonia; how many places can you go where you will see wildflowers blooming, wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour, glaciers, and rainbows all in one day? I have not seen any other place like it.
Patagonia is one of the most remote places of the world.  The Chilean side (it spans part of Argentina as well) was almost exclusively home to the indigenous tribes until the mid-19th century when Europeans started arriving and farming sheep. The area is today still untamed and that is its unique appeal to me and why it is so spectacular. Read on if you feel like reading our travel journal with select pictures and video or just click on the link below to view our pictures!


 
Monday - Tuesday, 12/19/2011 - 12/20/11 - Travel Days
Our Andes Adventure began in DIA with a bloody mary at Pour La France.  I had a difficult time stashing the crackberry away but once I purchased several trashy magazines I was officially on vacation. Scott has a weakness for mindless entertainment watching Wrasslin' on TV; my weakness is trashy magazines. It is a good escape. 
Once we arrived in Miami, I thought we had arrived in Mexico or Cuba. English was no longer the primary language spoken. We had just enough time for a snack and a beer before boarding the overnight flight on LAN airlines to Santiago, Chile.  LAN is a treat compared to United in terms of service and movie selection; 52 movies to choose from including many good chick flicks!  The sun came up and we were flying over the Chilean coastline and then over the mountains before the nosedive into Santiago, which is surrounded by mountains.  Arrival in Chile was the first time I felt helpless; I could not communicate as I do not speak Spanish. This has never been a problem for me all around western Europe; I got around just fine with German and French and basic Italian. Suddenly I was lost.  We toured the airport as we missed the turn for immigrations and customs on our first attempt. I was tickled pink when Scott had to pay his $140 reciprocity tax to the Chilean authorities. The Germans must be in good standing with Chile as we were off the hook!  I collected my passport stamp at customs and successfully smuggled candied almonds from the Denver Christkindl market into the country. We had about 6 hours before our next flight further south to Punta Arenas so we toured the city.  There we learned how difficult it is to spend money in Chile. ATM machines do not easily dispense cash and in very limited quantities. Banks are on siesta over lunch time so don't try exchanging money between noon and 2pm. Be prepared to have the bankers tell you your American dollars are no good to exchange if they have any kind of markings on them or writing on them. My blood sugar was dropping wrapidly in search of cash. Scott had given up but I was on a mission to find money for food and drink. I finally found a Citibank that was kind enough to dispense cash to me. I lost Scott in the process but when I found him amongst the sea of people about 20 minutes later I had the means to make him happy and buy him a cold beer! He was still without cash. We arrived in Punta Arenas early evening, a town of roughly 130,000 people.  Punta Arenas means Sandy Point. It used to be a major port as it is right along the Magellan Straits, the safest inside passage from the old continent to the western coast of the Americas. Today, it still has a port of course, but much of the business now flows through the Panama Canal. Magellan was however the first discoverer of Chile.  There is a monument in Punta Arens of Ferdinand Magellan. We rubbed his toe as we were told this would bring us good luck to return one day.  Our first group dinner; a good opportunity to get to know those with whom we would spend the next 17 days. Followed by an evening walk. Did not make it to dark even though we stayed up until 11pm.

Wednesday, 12/21/11 - Penguins and more Travel
We soon learned that we would not sleep in much on this vacation. Not only does the sun rise before 5am but Devy, our tour leader, also likes an early start.  Today was mostly another travel day to get to the Torres del Paine National Park. On our way, we stopped at a penguin colony on Marta Islet. This is a nesting ground for Magellan Penguins. Penguins live 25 - 30 years and always come back to the place they were born for mating season. They usually have 1-2 offspring in late November/early December so we got to see a few little ones also!  Males and females take turns to watch and feed the little ones.  They swim for food every 8 hours and dive 30 to 35 meters deep. Couples are always the same and they come back to the conly only for reproduction season. This is not a place for bachelor penguins as no single penguins come with them!  They are adorable little creatures!  Check out the video we captured of them waddling in their black tuxes down to the water!

Watch our Penguins waddle in their Tuxedos!

We continued our journey in route to Puerto Natales.  On our journey we say Rhea's. These are native animals to Chile and look like small ostriches. Flightless birds. Good prey for the Puma.  The male raises the chicks, what a novel concept! That said, he also has a hareem of women and just takes their eggs.  Different lifestyle I guess.  In route we also saw Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). The island got its name from the early explorers. When it was discovered, they saw smoke coming from the Indians on the island.  It was said "where there is smoke there must fire" and that is how it got its name. It is about 48,000 square miles big.

Our drive continued along the Patagonian step or flatlands.  The land is not very fertile so the main industry in this area is sheep farming and fishing in the port towns.  The Patagonian step remains from the last ice age; the little ice age which took place in the late 1800's. We eventually arrived in Puerto Natales for lunch.  It is along the Cape of Lost Hope which got its name from explorers seeking an inside passage west of Magellan Straits and eventually ran out of supplies to continue on.  I sure would like to know what it was like to be one of the early explorers on this land!
At long last we arrived in Torres del Paine National Park. Torres del Paine is a national park in the southern region of Patagonian Chile. It is located in the southern tiers of the Andes and features mountains, lakes and glaciers.
The Torres del Paine (Spanish for "Towers of Paine" and "Paine" is the old indigenos name for the colour blue), three immense rock towers, give the park its name.
Other attractions include the Cuernos del Paine (Spanish for "Horns of Paine" -- horn-like mountain tops), Grey Glacier, Lago Grey, Lago Pehoe, Lago Nordenskjöld and Lago Sarmiento. We had to disembark from our tour bus and unload all our luggage to load onto a smaller bus that could cross the bridge into the park.  This was a Benz bus! Solid german engineering I must say, made for all purposes! The bus was so narrow that we had about 1 inch to spare on each side, no joking. But, these drivers had skill! I wonder how a job interview for that position goes:))


3 bus loads later our group of 45 was all across and we made it to Refugio del Torres. This is where group dynamics started to play out.  The other honeymooners were extremely disappointed that the accomodations were bunks, separated by girls and boys. Did they not read the trip description? This is a group trip! You want privacy, go to a resort in Hawaii or Bora Bora.  By this time, we had already discovered our new English mates, who along with us could barely hold back laughter, especially when I told Devy jokingly when he came up to ask if Scott and I were ok with the accomodations that I have the rest of my life to spend with him and can survive for one night in separate sleeping quarters. The other honeymooners overheard my sarcasm and adjusted to the separate living quarters disgruntled. Oops, let my mouth run once again....the English understood my humor at least! By evening, we had established that we, the Brits, and Canadian would be the "pissheads" as Sian referred to it on the trip.  Not the first time we have the reputation of being the partiers and ones that like our beer. I am german afterall:)) Little did we know yet that we had the same pace and would accompany eachother on trail throughout our adventure.


"The Pissheads": Sian, Barbara, Scott, Nikki (Neil and Christine are missing)

I tried to make it to sunset but as it was Summer Solstice I had to retreat to bed at 11:30pm....it was still not dark. By now I had figured out that I would likely never see the stars in Patagonia as I could not stay awake later!

Thursday, 12/22: Torres del Paine - 12.3 miles

Who knew that it would take us three days to have our first real trail run! We were in the middle of Patagonia, removed from civilization. No clue where the nearest medical facility would even have been. I was not conerned.

Our first run was to see the Torres (towers) del Paine.  Clearly an uphill run traversing over hanging bridges and soft trail through the Lengas trees native to Chile, and up to the boulder fields at the base of the towers. The Torres are a majestic group of spires, ranging between 7300 and 8200 feet above sea level. They were formed by magmatic intrusions 12 million years ago, and shaped by extensive glacial erosion. So spectacular were the towers once we arrived that we stayed almost an hour gawking in awe.  We also took a dip into the lake just below the towers. Freezing cold water! However, this would become a trademark at all our destinations and later on in the circuit the cold water would have the healing effects of an ice bath on soar muscles. Once we cleared the boulders on the downhill, it was a bomber downhill to the bottom. However, by then it was afternoon and the winds picked up as is typical in Patagonia.

Following a hot shower and a few beers and red wine we chatted with one of the Polish runners, Zibi, who works for the Polish Olympic committee and is preparing an ascent of Mount Everest this April.  We traded ideas about future trips in the world and Island Peak in Nepal comes highly recommended by Zibi. No need to go to Everest, but you can get over 6000 meters high at Island Peak with a 360 degree view of the world's highest peaks. Sign me up!

Devy also gave us our circuit briefing so we could embark on the 80 mile hut to hut circuit bright and early next morning. 

One other unique thing of the day is that I had my first mud bath. It was so much less expensive than in the US I figured I had to try it....and it was Patagonian mud! I was fully relaxed and exfoliated. Can't get myself used to this. That would be fiscally irresponsible in the US!


Friday, 12/23/11 - Fields of Daisies - Run to Refugio Dickson - 20.3 miles
Today was the start of our 80 mile circuit up and around the Torres del Paine National Park.  15.2 pound pack on my back.  This was also the day we split from the 25 hikers in the group and wished them a Merry Christmas as we would not see them until four days later.

We soon discovered that the "Pissheads" also had similar speed on the trail so we ran with Nikki, Neil, Sian, and Christine. What a fun bunch! German, British, Canadian and Nebraskan all in one group! Trouble. We leapfrogged on trail all day pending out biorythms and need for water. We all had a filter water bottle so we could fill up anywhere on trail. Thanks Devy! 20.3 miles of rolling terrain later we arrived at Refugio Dickson, where we would spend the first night on our circuit.  It sits on Lake Dickson and the basin of Dickson glacier.  First thing on arrival was a bath in Lake Dickson to cool the muscles.  This water was even colder than at Torres! The wind had picked up again by now and once inside the Refugio we could hear the wind shaking the hut.  However, as much as we may complain about wind, it was necessary to dry our clothes for next day.  Who needs a dryer when you can let clothes hang in the wind! I bet our environmental friends in Boulder don't even do that! The afternoon was filled with beer, group chatter and laughter in the hut. I devoured two bowls of soup, 3 slices of bread, two slices of lamb with rice and fruit salad and was barely full!
The "pissheads" held up their end of the bargain with Negro Gato Vino Tinto. The rest of the runners all went to bed early.  What have we if not consistency?:))

Not only did the day include daisies but also wildlife siting: we saw a Guanaco (Llama native to Chile) on windy pass.

Did not sleep much; the wind was too strong and loud in our Refugio and we could feel it move time to time.



Saturday, 12/24/11 - Epic Day: Gardner Pass and Greys Glacier - 17.5 miles

Cornflakes, eggs, and toast never tasted so good as this morning. We started our journey into the wind over rolling hills and through forest, which resembled rainforest.  We ate lunch at Perros, where we also saw a fox, and then climbed up to Perros Glacier. We were literally blasted by a wind gust that almost swept us off our feet. Quick stop for photos but the wind made it so cold we had to keep moving.  Onward and upward toward Gardner Pass we climbed.  This was mostly over rock fields and a few snowfields at the top.  The Pass opened up views to Greys Glacier.  The glacier is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It's four miles wide so our next several miles carried our feet down Gardner Pass through the monkey trees and then alongside a ridgeline just above the glacier where we also saw spectacular wildflowers including wild sweet peas. Every corner we turned had a new view.  I took my first fall coming down through the monkey trees.  It was bound to happen.  We had to descend a few canyons by ladder and Scott again mooned me.   At long last we arrived at Refugio Grey early afternoon; more like hotel Grey compared to Refugio Dickson.  We even had real towels after days of showering with just a camp towel! Think of this....this occurred to me at "hotel" Grey. We were bathing, showering, flushing all with glacier water! Can you imagine? 
The banter and beer drinking began on the porch of Refugio Grey once all the pissheads had showered.  This is when our British friend Neil describer the "vomit" moment of the day. Apparently he asked the other two honeymooners, Ryan and Elizabeth, how they had slept and Ryan stated not so well as they tried to snuggle up in one bunk for the night.  Can we say stupid? They are made to be one person bunks. Get over the fact you won't be sleeping together in one bed until we finish the circuit; otherwise, the Ritz Carlton is 4 days by bus and air. 
Today was Christmas Eve after all so Devy broke out the scotch to toast all the runners prior to dinner.  Christmas dinner included guacamole mousse, stuffed turkey, and chocolate mousse...and a half bottle of vino tinto for each person! Marvelous! Oh, and Pannettone for a second dessert.
By the end of the day the Brits were "knackerd", the Canadian was "tired eh", the American/Nebraskan "pooped" and the German "kaputt"; all signs of a tremendous day!



Sunday, 12/25/11 - Refugio Greys to Cuernos, inclusive of the trek up French Valley - 22 miles

As usual, we began our day with the staple Patagonian breakfast of eggs, cornflakes and toast.  Sian, Nikki, Neil, Scott and I took off through very rolling hills along the ridgeline of Lago Grey.  Some more spectacular views of the glacier calving into the ocearn.  9 miles in we arrived at Paine Grande where we had views of Lago Nordenskjoeld and the Cuernos (horns) del Paine, another set of magnificent instrusive formation of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Before we headed on to the turn-off to go up to French Valley, I took a wee, albeit not a very civilized one. Apparently boys learn this lesson early on in their lives but as far as I know girls are not taught to pee according to wind direction.  Well, as you can imagine the wind blew my pee on to my shoes and socks. Thank goodness we ended each day with a dip in the lake! We ate a quick snack at the base of French Valley and then started the ascent.  The trail was technical, steep, and rocky. On our upward journey we saw and heard four avalanches coming down the mountain just up to our left. Incredible! I had no idea they were so loud! The trek up to the Mirador (lookout) at the top of French Valley was so well worth it. We were surrounded by mountains on three sides and had a view down the valley to the lake from above. We lounged on the rocks and soaked in the views and ate some more before our descent. I had been ahead of Scott all day and on the descent so I decided to wait for him at the bottom where we had our lunch stop. Well, turns out I was waiting at the wrong turnoff to our next destination, which was Refugio Cuernos. I finally realized after half an hour of waiting that I might be in the wrong place so I ran back to Campo Italiano and saw the correct trail marking. Needless to say, I arrived a bit later than the rest of the pissheads. They already had a big meal and a beer in front of them.  Tragic. The food was wonderful but none of it looked appealing on arrival. I had to force myself to consume some calories before we went for a dip in the lake. This foot soak actually turned into a swim as the waves were so large that they took Christine and I down.  I felt like a little kid it was so much fun. After a hot shower in the Refugio, Devy took us up to our "Cabana" (courtesy of a wedding gift from Colleen, William, Pat, and Karen).  Yes, we were moving up in this world.  The Cabanas were little private cabins on the hillside above the Refugio.  My trekking sandals, aka walmart slippers, did not work so well on the little hike up the hillside but we did at last arrive in the "gated community" overlooking the "ghetto" of Refugio Cuernos, where others were sleeping in triple bunks! We took the first nap since arrival in Chile. What a treat! Our Cabana was highest on the hillside so we had the best views of the lake, and surrounding panormaic views. Little do you know, I was hungry again two hours later and devoured our dinner which included two bowls of soup, pork chops and a heaping mound of mashed potatoes; finished off with none other than fruit cocktail (the patagonian staple dessert). The other high maintenance honeymooners had to be reseated because they couldn't deal with the sun glare coming in from outside; guess they should have arrived earlier for a better seat at dinner! The "pissheads" had it all figured out, as usual...we always established the "Stammtisch" right away where the evening would carry on.




Monday, 12/26/11 - Refugio Cuernos to Refugio Torres - 8.1 miles
Our run today was just a mere 8.1 miles to finish out the circuit and arrive back to our starting point at Refugio Torres. However, one could argue that runners staying in the "gated community" abvove Refugio Cuernos got bonus miles! It was an early start at 6am and we took off into a beautiful tempo run. We had a long day of driving ahead to get to El Calafate, our next stop before heading on to El Chalten.  (El Calafate is the arrival point for climbers that are taking on Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. It has been been commercialied but still poor and sits at the base of Lago Argentino, Argentina's largest lake.) On arrival at Torres, we enjoyed a quick shower, breakfast, and then loaded the Benz bus to take us out of the park.  This time our bus driver must have had more confidence and did not make us disembark off the bus to cross the narrow bridge with just an inch to spare either side. He must have figured he can handle any movement that occurs with 15 runners loaded on. Once out of the park, we met back up with the hikers at Cerro Castillo.  This is where we left Chile and crossed into Argentina. The border crossing was rather primitive; it looked like a cattle crossing. We drove for 4 hours across the Patagonian steppe (flatlands) to arrive in El Calafate, where a lovely dinner awaited us at La Tablita.  It was a traditional Argentinian meat fest; inclusive of lamb, chicken, beef, pork, sausage,etc; in other words, we at all the animals that you would have found on Noah's Ark. The waiters must have thought that we, the runners, had not eaten in days....hard to believe that we were still in a calorie deficit but we were indeed. Early to bed tonight.



Tuesday, 12/27/11 - Los Glaciares National Park and drive to El Chalten - Tourist/rest day

Today was a a rest day for our feet.  We toured into the national park to see one of the biggest tourist attractions in Argentina, the Perito Moreno Glacier. 
The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the  Los Glaciares Natinal Park in the south west of Santa Cruz provinc, Argentina. The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water.The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that is growing. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide, with an average height of 74 m (240 ft) above the surface of the water of Lake Argentino, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft). Periodically the glacier advances over the L-shaped  Lago Argentino ("Argentine Lake") forming a natural dam which separates the two halves of the lake when it reaches the opposite shore. With no escape route, the water-level on the Brazo Rico side of the lake can rise by up to 30 meters above the level of the main lake. The enormous pressure produced by the height of the dammed water finally breaks the ice barrier holding it back, in a spectacular rupture event. This dam/rupture cycle is not regular and it recurs naturally at any frequency between once a year to less than once a decade.
We got a special treat at the glacier as we saw one of the seracs break off and calve into the lake...what a sight! I didn't know that a piece of 600 year old falling piece of ice could be so fascinating but it was. It created waves in the water and after about ten minutes when the water had settled, we could see the new iceberg floating in the lake.



We came back to El Calafate and ate lunch and had a couple of hours to tour the town and its tourist traps.  I only purchased one set of earings...a Rosa Crosita, which is a semi-prescious stone native to the area. We hopped back on the bus late afternoon for another 3 hour drive to El Chalten.  El Chalten is a fairly new town that was only founded in 1985. "Chalten" means smoking mountain and was used to describe the cloud that often rests over Monte Fitz Roy. Clearly, El Chalten is a climbing town as it sits at the base of Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre.  It is flooded with climbing bumbs. Fabulous! Right up my alley.  Sadly I am not a world class climber but I can still dream. I really had the itch to get on the rock.  The runners and hikers were separated for dinner tonight and we all got properly drunk this evening, including Devy.  It was rather difficult to have the trail briefing later in the evening as we were all so giggly. 



Wednesday, 12/28/11 - Monte Fitz Roy circuit - 15 miles

This morning we were greated by another gorgeous weather day, perfect for viewing Monte Fitz Roy.  Our run today took us up to the base of Fitz Roy.  Scott, Christine, Abelardo, and I extended the run a little by continuing along the climber access route to get another 500-600 feet up and closer to the mountain.  The run took us up through a winding valley and then through the climbers camp, where climbers were waiting out perfect weather conditions to attempt the climb up Mount Fitz Roy. This can be a long and drawn out process because of the wind conditions. There are very few days that make for ideal climbing conditions.  Once we were through the climber's camp we climbed a steep set of switch backs to get to the base of Fitz Roy.  The ascent was mighty quick as we were trying to escape the million horseflies that attacked us on this stretch.  Scott and I took the usual dip in the lake.  Most of the runners carried on but Scott, Christine, Abelardo, and I scramble up another 500-600 feet along the climbers access. It was totally worth the view! We also got to glissade down a remaining snow field. On our way back to El Chalten we had one of the best downhills ever! Perfect trail made to let loose and bomb down the hill. On arrival in El Chalten we met up with our other mates at the micro-brewery for a frosty beverage.  El Chalten also offered tourist shops so we had another opportunity to spend money on something other than beer:)) I bought one more pair of earings.
Today was also the day we received a newscast from Devy that a fire had broken out in Torres Del Paine Park the day after we left. Apparently a camper lit a campfire in an illegal spot.  Due to the winds, the fire was uncontrollable. Authorities shut the park down. We would later find out that one of the Refugios we ran past and that the hikers stayed at burned down. The entire ridge line stretch from Greys to the Paine Grande and the French Valley was apparently dessimated. Tragic news and so sad for  a place that has such as special place in my heart.





Thursday, 12/29/11 - Lago del Torre and Cerro Torre circuit - 15 miles
We climbed out of town and into the hills, up and down, until we arrived at Lago del Torre (Lake of the Tower), where we stood in front of Cerro Torre. Cerro Torre is one of the most difficult climbs in the world. While its elevation is about 300 meters less than Monte Fitz Roy (3,441), Cerro Torre usually has a mushroom of rime ice at the top formed by the strong winds. Clearly, this increases the difficulty of actually reaching the summit. Both Cerro Torre and Monte Fitz Roy were first climbed successfully in the 1950's.
The remainder of the run was rolling terrain around Lago Capri and Lago Madre over rolling terrain and then back down the bomber downhill into El Chalten.This time Scott and I tried the Vineria for a post run beverage. After all, one must take advantage of the Patagonian wines when down here.
By now I am sure you know what the rest of the day entailed: eat, drink and be merry with our fellow "pissheads."






Friday, 12/30/11 - Sunrise run to the Mirador (lookout) to Monte Fitz Roy - 5 miles
Well, today was supposed to be a rest day but Scott, Christine and I decided to awake at 4am to see the sunrise over Monte Fitz Roy. The Mirador (lookout) was at Lago Capri so we climbed up the bomber downhill that we had so much fun descending the prior days. We didn't need our flashlights for long because starting at 4:30am the sun was slowly starting to rise and we had enough light to turn the articifical light off. We arrived just in time to colors of purple, red, blue, yellow, and orange skies. The clouds moved in and out but we did get some fascintating views of the alpine glow when the sun came over Monte Fitz Roy. We got back to the hotel before anyone else was awake and decided to take a 2 hour nap ourselves before our departure back to El Calafate to catch our flight to Ushuyaya on Tiera del Fuego. It was the windiest day of our time in El Chalten, inclusive of little dust tornadoes. We took the bus back to El Calafate to catch our flight. Today would turn into a long travel day as our flight was delayed. Devy ordered us Pizza and Empanadas to be delivered to the airport. Yummy! He never missed a beat. Our every need was taken care of. Once we finally got through security we thought we could grab a beer at the bar upstairs. However, much to our dismay, we learned the bar was closed. It didn't make any sense. People were around us with open bottles of beer. So, Sian, Nikki, myself and our good looks went back out of the secure area and politely asked if we could get a few beers. The Argentinians nodded in the affirmative. I have never walked through security with an open beer bottle! Hail to Argentina! We did at last arrive on Tierra del Fuego in Ushuaia, which is the southernmost city in South America and the capital of Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaia is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel. The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The Beagle Channel and the Straits of Magellan are both very narrow passages which severely limit the size and types of ships that can safely use them, hence, most commercial shipping is done through the Drake Passage.

Saturday, 12/31/11 - New Years Eve in Ushuaia - Tierra del Fuego National Park - 15 miles
Today's run took us into Tierra del Fuego National Park to "el fin del Mundo" (end of the world). Located in the park is the southernmost post office in the world. Our run took us past the post office and over rollers along the coastline until we reached the southernmost road in the world, which was the end or our run today. Later in the day Devy had planned a navigation on the Beagle Channel for us on Katamaran. Truth be told, most of us fell asleep on this boat ride once we had seen the sea lions and cormorants. We had to prepare for NYE. New Year's Eve dinner included another meat fest and of course plenty of wine. Following dinner, we wanted to go to the Irish Pub but were turned away as they were still only serving dinner and would not serve us drinks. Really, an Irish Pub on NYE not serving alcohol until 11pm? We were offended so we elected to go back to the hotel where Devy broke out red wine and throughout the evening Scott was able to burn through the rest of his scotch. No one went dry but we did not have champagne to ring in the New Year. I made it about 4 minutes past midnight before retreating to bed. I actually saw the sun set! Finally!


Sunday, 1/1/12 - Happy New Year! - 7 miles
The organized trail runs were officially over. Since I was one of few that were not hungover on New Year's day I got up to go for a run on Ushuaia. I ran along the pier and through the town. Apparently the Argentinians do party on NYE but they do not start until very late and then go all night and into the morning as I saw drunks stumbling home. Later in the day we packed back up for our flight to Buenas Aires. The journey was uneventful. It was such a disappointment to land in a big city after having been so far removed from mass civilization for so long. Devy took us out to an Argentinian steakhouse for dinner where I devoured the best and largest steak ever seen. It must have been at least 16 oz....sadly our time with our new found friends, Nikki, Neil, Sian, and Christine was coming to an end so we shared a few more toasts.

Monday, 1/2/12 - City Tour of Buenas Aires - 6 miles
I guess some were fascinated by Buenas Aires but this is the one leg of the trip I could have skipped for more trail runs in the parks. A bus tour of the city just didn't cut it for me and I was not intrigued by seeing the grave of Evita. The run was urban suicide....the only hint of trail was the potholes in the sidewalks. The only obstacles were people going about their day in a big city. The only rain came from people watering their plants on the balconies. To top it off it was over 90 degrees and humid, my least favorite conditions. Nikki, Neil, Scott and I did not go to the tango show as we had enough of organized activity so we joined a few of the hikers for our last supper in Buenas Aires at an Italian Restaurant. Why Italian? Surprisingly, there are many Italian immigrants in Argentina so you can also get world class Italian food.

Tuesday, 1/3/12 - Free day and Travel day - 6 miles
I started my day with another urban suicide run, solo. We really just had time to kill today so we wandered about the pedestrian malls, ate and drank a few beers, etc, until it was time to depart for the airport. I may sound like I don't enjoy culture of a big city. This is not true, but we did not have enough time to really explore the museums that are supposed to be fabulous. That would have made the city time more enjoyable. Our 10pm flight was delayed so the "pissheads" got together for their last round of beers, or two. We just decided to spend down our remaining Pesos waiting for our flight drinking Quilmes beer out of the can. We ended up building a beer tower. This made for good sleeping later on the plain!

Wednesday, 1/4/12 - Arrival in Miami and flight back to Denver
Our overnight flight arrived just a wee bit too late to make an earlier flight back to Denver. Unfortunately we spent 10 hours at the Miami airport waiting to get back home. At least we were upgraded to first class on our flight to Denver. So sad that this trip has come to an end. The only incentive to go back to work is to earn more money to take another trip soon! Next stops on our list will include: Macchu Picchu, the Peruvian Andes, Acconcagua, Nepal and Island Peak, and the Milford Trail in New Zealand. One has to have something to works towards! To see the world is my motivation and passion and if I can do it on Happy Feet with Scottie even better!

I am officially retiring my Hoka's now that they have over 800 miles on them on two continents....truly Happy Feet but not so happy shoes at this stage:))

Friday, January 20, 2012

Reflections on 2011

2011 has given me  a lot to be thankful for and to remember how blessed I am. I was engaged in February, promoted in May, married among family and friends in September, and enjoyed a three week vacation with my best friend, my husband, in Patagonia in December. Wow! A lot to fit in when in reality the world around us was rather turbulent in 2011 - natural disasters including tornadoes, tsunamis, flooding, earthquakes, wars, riots, unstable global and political climates to name a few. While the rest of the world seemed to be falling apart and was in distress, I must be thankful for the many good things that happened in 2011. That's not to say there were no challenges and no disappointments. I trained very hard for a solid race at the Leadville 100 this year but the race got the best of me this year. The idea of seeing disappointment or difficult times as an opportunity can be very challenging. But, the rewards are many and it opens new doors and new perspectives. If we can't let go and move on from disappointment, we can create unnecessary suffering in our lives. Life is already an ultra-marathon; my goal is to persevere. To do this, I have to be dedicated, committed, and disciplined....I think I can do that!:)) I look forward to what lies ahead in 2012!




http://www.sharberphoto.com/2011/12/estes-park-wedding-photography/