So it´s been a little over a week since I arrived. I´m still in shock that I´m here and this is really happening! When we first arrived it was 35 degrees! The power went out the first night, which after Sandy and a week without power, I was used to! At least it was warm! We were all sweating in our bunk beds the first night and I got bitten by tons of mosquitos but it was kind of fun with all the candles lit all over the hostel. Two days later it stormed all day and then it was cool after that. The weather is so unpredictable, especially down in Patagonia where we are now. So in Buenos Aires we wandered around different neighborhoods like the central district (where our hostel was), Palermo, San Telmo. We saw a few markets, historical monuments, goverment buildings and the Recoleta cemetery where Evita and other famous Argentinian people are buried. The cemetery was probably my favorite thing that we did there. We´ll be back in a month or so to do more and get visas for Brazil. We also happened to be there during Gay Pride which was really fun to see. The parade came down the street we were staying on and it was like a nightclub on one bus after the other and people partying in the streets. It was pretty wild. It´s good to know that BA is pretty gay friendly. So we didn´t get to see much nightlife but we were both pretty exhausted and still adjusting at that point so maybe we´ll go out when we get back. Next we flew to Ushuaia which is absolutely amazingly stunningly beautiful! The mountains are epic and everywhere you look is just so scenic and picturesque. We are staying here longer than we planned because it´s just so nice. When we flew in the captain said ¨Welcome to the end of the world!" So cool. When we first arrived and got to our first hostel we realized it was super sketchy. Like questionable sheets, dark dingy rooms, no soap in the bathroom, no lights in the bathroom, dogs that weren´t being treated well at all. I saw someone working there kicking a dog out back and some were on ropes tied up out in the cold. It was awful. And everyone stared at us when we walked in but the woman at the desk didn´t pay any attention to us for about 10 minutes. Seriously unprofessional. No one spoke english so I had a hard time understanding why we were put in the 8-bed dorm when we booked the 4-bed dorm. There was no tour. So we walked into town, cried a little (not really) and checked out some other hostels. We found one that had 2 beds left so it felt like it was ment to be. So we didn´t have to stay in the hostel from hell! Apparently they write their own reviews so that explains why they had an 80% rating online! The people at the other hostel laughed at us when we told them where we had originally booked ourselves so I guess it has a pretty bad rep. Anyway, we went on a boat ride to see sea lions, birds and penguins! So cute! And yesterday I trekked up to Glaciar Matial with a guy from the hostel. It´s a pretty small glacier but still really impressive to me, since I haven´t seen sights like this before. We´re planning to go into Tierra del Fuego national park tomorrow for some day hiking. The food is a disapointment so far. I´m overdosing on carbs and not much else. At least I have my multi-vitamins! It´s pretty much meat, bread, cheese. There is pizza everywhere! Not really what I expected. And it´s hard to come by fruits nd veggies. Hopefully that will change as we head back up north. Puerto Natales, Chile is the next stop for more hiking in Torres del Paine. Patagonia is amazing! Chao!
