Back from Antarctica; currently thawing myself out in Buenos Aires

For a week, all I saw in the landscape around my ship was ice and rock and water. Then on the last day, a small surprise. I saw a baby sprout climbing out of the barren rock. My initial confusion turned to delight and I learned then that what can seem utterly unfathomable can still be real.

I now believe some days are made of magic. And if on such an occasion, you go to sleep and dream of gold, you may wake up the next morning with a treasure chest on your bed.

This trip was made up of a few days like this. And in four more, it all comes to an end when I head home to San Francisco... Yeah...I know I already said this once before and then I ran away to South America. But this time I'll really stay put. Really!

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More photos of Antarctica are on the way. I just need some time to work through the sheer volume of data I seem to have accumulated.

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Back from Antarctica; currently thawing myself out in Buenos Aires

For a week, all I saw in the landscape around my ship was ice and rock and water. Then on the last day, a small surprise. I saw a baby sprout climbing out of the barren rock. My initial confusion turned to delight and I learned then that what can seem utterly unfathomable can still be real.

I now believe some days are made of magic. And if on such an occasion, you go to sleep and dream of gold, you may wake up the next morning with a treasure chest on your bed.

This trip was made up of a few days like this. And in four more, it all comes to an end when I head home to San Francisco... Yeah...I know I already said this once before and then I ran away to South America. But this time I'll really stay put. Really!

************************************

More photos of Antarctica are on the way. I just need some time to work through the sheer volume of data I seem to have accumulated.

Read More

My day with the penguins; plus other pictures from Patagonia

Magdelena Island is home to one of the largest Magellanic Penguin colonies in Chile and it's where I got to spend my morning today. To get there, one takes the ferry at 8am from Terminal Tres Puentes on the far East side of town. There's no need to reserve tickets, just take a taxi to the terminal in the morning.

Photos from the island:

All photos above were taken using Alex's camera. This was my first and only opportunity to take it out for a test drive before the big voyage to Antarctica. It definitely took some getting used to and I'm glad I got some of the awkwardness out now before the trip.

Other shots from around Patagonia:

On the W Trail in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina

Sunrise in El Chalten, Argentina

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My day with the penguins; plus other pictures from Patagonia

Magdelena Island is home to one of the largest Magellanic Penguin colonies in Chile and it's where I got to spend my morning today. To get there, one takes the ferry at 8am from Terminal Tres Puentes on the far East side of town. There's no need to reserve tickets, just take a taxi to the terminal in the morning.

Now onto the pictures!

All photos above were taken using Alex's camera. This was my first and only opportunity to take it out for a test drive before the big voyage to Antarctica. It definitely took some getting used to and I'm glad I got some of the awkwardness out now before the trip.

Other shots from around Patagonia:

On the W Trail in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina

Sunrise in El Chalten, Argentina

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No longer North, I go South instead

It was pure chance. I was sitting on my bed, quietly reading Alex's Lonely Planet when I came across a single, simple sentence which lodged itself in my head. It read something like, "If you've already gone as far South as Patagonia, you should consider going a short ways more to Antarctica." Does this sentence make total sense or what?

The next day, I started joking with Alex about going to Antarctica. How fun it would be just to add this onto the tail end of our trip at the spur of the moment. But I couldn't sell him on the idea. He had to leave Patagonia to get back home and start work on Monday. Instead, he told me I should look into tour packages for myself. And he was serious. So I took a crack at it that evening and searched online for any good deals that wouldn't break my bank. Also messaged a few friends just to verify I wasn't insane. This was two days ago.

Now, here I am in El Calafate, Argentina. My flights to Mexico City are canceled, I'm boarding a ship on the 16th bound to sail around the Antarctic for two weeks and I'm scrambling to prepare. It's a crazy plan, one with beginnings as a tiny grain of thought which, through chance circumstance, snowballed into what it is now; a ticket to the last place on Earth I thought I'd ever see.

How can I describe all the thoughts swirling in my head as I sit here? Excitement for the upcoming itinerary mixes with anxiety about buying all the necessary gear on time as well as guilt at leaving Alex behind as well as a lurking notion that I might not have the photographic skills to justify spending thousands of dollars on a trip like this. Seriously, if my photos of Antarctica don't turn out looking like this, I'll hate myself for eternity.

Will I be ready when the week is over? Am I just driving myself mad? I can't seem to stop swinging between giddiness and fear.

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Obituary for my cargo pants...Yes, my cargo pants

Taking a rest on a rock, W trail, Patagonia - Jan 2014

I was hiking in Patagonia when my cargo pants sighed their last sigh of life. After 12 years of dedicated service, their demise came when I tore two giant holes across the butt area on a fateful January 2, 2014. On closer inspection, I could see the cloth had been worn so thin the threads had simply shredded away like vapors.

And these were not just any pants. Originally purchased in 2001 my freshman year of college as something easy to wear to rave parties, I quickly found them to be the perfect pair for just about any occasion which risked my getting dirty but required I put in a little more effort into the outfit than, say, wearing pajama pants.

Most recently, these pants became my default trousers on every transit day while travelling as well as for any day spent hiking. You could even say I over-wore these pants based on the fact that they became so recognizable among my friends who commented on how frequently they appeared in my travel photos. But to anyone who feels I cycled through the same clothes too often, I'd just like to respond with the following statement: I have been travelling for a cumulative 9 months now with a suitcase small enough to fit into the carry-on compartment of a typical American airplane. I stand by my choice.

I'd venture to guess people who travel a long time will start to get disproportionately attached to the everyday things they carry with them. I've met a number of people who pick up a trinket, souvenir, or scarf that then transforms into their favorite or lucky little travel accessory. For myself, I have a number of items that would fit this category but none of them more iconic than these pants with their hippie flower design running up one leg. Even strangers could recognize me when I wore them. They will be missed dearly.

Climbing the Great Wall of China - Feb 2013

Overlooking Machu Picchu - Oct 2013

Worn while pretending to drive a tuk-tuk in Peru - Nov 2013

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Obituary for my cargo pants...Yes, my cargo pants

Taking a rest on a rock, W trail, Patagonia - Jan 2014

I was hiking in Patagonia when my cargo pants sighed their last sigh of life. After 12 years of dedicated service, their demise came when I tore two giant holes across the butt area on a fateful January 2, 2014. On closer inspection, I could see the cloth had been worn so thin the threads had simply shredded away like vapors.

And these were not just any pants. Originally purchased in 2001 my freshman year of college as something easy to wear to rave parties, I quickly found them to be the perfect pair for just about any occasion which risked my getting dirty but required I put in a little more effort into the outfit than, say, wearing pajama pants.

Most recently, these pants became my default trousers on every transit day while travelling as well as for any day spent hiking. You could even say I over-wore these pants based on the fact that they became so recognizable among my friends who commented on how frequently they appeared in my travel photos. But to anyone who feels I cycled through the same clothes too often, I'd just like to respond with the following statement: I have been travelling for a cumulative 9 months now with a suitcase small enough to fit into the carry-on compartment of a typical American airplane. I stand by my choice.

I'd venture to guess people who travel a long time will start to get disproportionately attached to the everyday things they carry with them. I've met a number of people who pick up a trinket, souvenir, or scarf that then transforms into their favorite or lucky little travel accessory. For myself, I have a number of items that would fit this category but none of them more iconic than these pants with their hippie flower design running up one leg. Even strangers could recognize me when I wore them. They will be missed dearly.

Climbing the Great Wall of China - Feb 2013

Overlooking Machu Picchu - Oct 2013

Worn while pretending to drive a tuk-tuk in Peru - Nov 2013

Read More

Usted Está Aquí

It's been almost 3 months now of meandering through South America. I figured it's about time to share some photos from the SD cards I've accumulated up to this point and haven't included in any posts before. It's a view into some of the places I've been to during this trip after Peru (the point at which I feel my blogger coverage turned spotty).

Island girl, Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

Sheep standing over a doorway at the Palacio del Inca, Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Bolivian girls walking an alpaca calf

Children sitting at a gate on Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca

Stations of the cross, perched on Cerro Calvario (Calvalry Hill) in Copacabana, Bolivia

Flower vendors outside the cemetery in Sucre, Bolivia

Graves at Sucre's Cementerio General

Close up of one of the graves with mementos left for a child

Church of San Felipe Neri, Sucre, Bolivia

At which point Alex joins the journey

And our first adventure together is to drive through the desert landscapes of Southern Bolivia

Standing in a train graveyard in Southern Bolivia

Cactus covered hill surrounded by a desert made of salt, Uyuni Salt Flats

What a bathroom looks like in the Bolivian desert

Then we rent a car to drive through Northern Argentina

Looking through the side view mirror of our rented car

A tombstone at the cemetery in the city of Seclantás

Highway 33 between Cachi and Salta

From there, we go East to see Iguazu falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil

Does it look like the Avatar movie could have been filmed here?

According to park reading material, the water here used to be clear 40 years ago. The brown color we see today is a result of over-logging in the nearby area causing soil run off to contaminate the river water.

Visa troubles at the border couldn't stop me from enjoying two weeks in Brazil.

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro

View of Rio from Sugar Loaf

Escadaria Selarón, Rio de Janeiro

Holiday decorations in downtown Sao Paulo

Crowds out on the town for Christmas, Sao Paulo

A fountain show in Sao Paulo said to be comparable to the one at Bellagio. I don't agree.

After the hangover from Brazil, we make our way South back to Argentina - first stop is Buenos Aires

A statue in the Catedral Metropolitana

View of the ghetto from the roof of my hostel

Photos from Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires

We kept going South after Buenos Aires and are now in Patagonia. It's our last stop together on this trip. Though it's been much rainer/snowier/hailier than we expected, I should have some decent shots of the outdoors posted in another week or so.

And afterwards? Alex will fly back to San Francisco on the 9th and I'll revert back to solo travels for a short while more. The plan for now is to stop over in Mexico for two weeks before going home. But ofcourse, this plan is about as solid as any other I've made on this trip. So really, I'll know I'm going there when I get there.

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