Last night after dinner, I sat in the window and enjoyed the lights of Santiago from the 35th floor. It was a pretty sight. Knowing that we head home today, I grew a bit pensive. Our travels to the southern hemisphere have always been in search of a "second summer". Or, given the order of the year, perhaps it is a "first summer" before the one at home. Our first trip to New Zealand was in 1992, just 7 months after we started dating. While we have returned many times, we haven't been there in over five years. Still, much has changed between our first visit and our last. Last night, I started to reflect on our trips to Chile. Our first visit was in 2003. We were headed to Antarctica and tagged on two weeks in Chile. We booked an organized bike trip with Backroads for our time in Chile. The trip was canceled two weeks ahead of time. With no Spanish language skills, we threw a few ideas together and bought a phrase book. Since then, we have returned 3 more times to Chile, I have mastered restaurant Spanish, and Arn is fluent in what he calls travel Spanish. Also during this time, we have seen a lot of change in Chile. More colleges and universities have been built. Education is stressed more as a means to greater opportunities. This is evidenced by advertising and marketing campaigns highlighting the value of a college degree. We have seen dramatic changes in the skyline of Santiago. Construction cranes and beautiful, new modern skyscrappers are abundant.
We are leaving having had a great trip. The Carretera Austral and our cycle tour will be remembered as a magical time where we feasted on the remote and wild scenery. We both suspect it will be a long time before we return to Chile or Argentina. As I have said before, we have satisfied our curiousities about so many places. So, I sat in the window last night and wondered --- if we come back in 5 or 10 years, how will it have changed? What will be different? I have my own secret wishes for them. Only time will tell what happens.
So, for today's blog, we decided to finish with a sort of "Best" and "Worst" list. It is a random collection of topics, but subjects that were important to our overall experience. Some you will probably already know. Others, well, we didn't include those moments until now. Here goes...
Best breakfast ---
1st Place: Diplomatic Suites Hotel in Mendoza (Arn had grapefruit juice)
2nd Place: Hotel in Puerto Chacabuco (first time we had something other than bread in three weeks)
3rd Place: Xelena in El Calafate (eggs, Dulce de leche bombs, jam in every flavor -- not just peach)
Worst toliet ---
1st Place: Trevelin. Arn dropped a job. It would not flush. Finally, Arn had to cut it in half to flush it. One half of it flushed. The second half still didn't go. So, I dropped a new dump and then the whole thing went. It proved that sometimes in Argentina a turd needs company to leave the bowl.
2nd Place: Villa la Angostora. Arn dropped a job. It flushed, but everything backed up. We had to get maintenance and a toilet plunger. Bet you don't know the word for plunger in Spanish?
3rd Place: Trevelin. Really, it was so bad it must be mentioned again!
Best toilet --
1st Place: Hotel Diplomatic in Mendoza
2nd Place: Hotel Diplomatic in Mendoza
3rd Place: Hotel Diplomatic in Mendoza
Best Sandwich ---
1st Place: This could a tie between the sandwich we ate in a woman's dining room the day we left Futaleufu and the peanut butter sandwiches we made in Puerto Chacabuco. One was the size of our head with lettuce, awesome tomatoes, a hamburger, and roasted chicken. The other was crunchy peanut butter, thick strawberry jam with whole chunks of fruit and a perfect kaiser type bread roll.
Best Dinner ---
1st Place: No question here. This was Butterfly in Bariloche. All seven courses were awesome from the smoked trout to the risotto to the steak to the raspberry mouse.
2nd: La Cabrara in Buenes Aires. This was the shock and awe dinner with 14 side dishes and 19 different fruits and vegtables on the table at the same time.
Best city for food ---
1st Place: Buenes Aires
2nd Place: tie between Santiago and Mendoza
3rd Place: Valporaiso
Best bed ---
1st Place: Los Antiguos (awesome sheets that were clean!)
2nd Place: Buenes Aires (biggest bed we've ever seen)
Worst moment ---
Arn: When a rock nearly killed Deborah
Deborah: When a truck nearly hit Arn
Worst meal ---
For Arn: mystery meat in Amanguel. Five cyclists ate it and not one could identify it.
For Deborah: trout in El Bolson. It had too many bones that were too small to work around, yet too big to eat. The waitress said they eat the bones that size!
Best moment --
Deborah: When I saw Cerro Castillo. It was sceney on steriods that just kept getting bigger and better. It was a beautiful stretch of road. It was cycling perfection.
Arn: 1st -- When the rock thrown up by the crazy driver didn't kill Deborah. 2nd -- Base of Fitz Roy with no wind. 3rd -- Seeing the road downhill coming into Cerro Castillo and our out running of the horseflies.
Best lessons learned:
For Both of Us: For two anal planners, it was great to do a trip with no set plans. There were very few things we missed out on and many more things we were able to take advantage of.
For Arn:
1 -- Less planning and letting it unfold rather than micro managing the plan worked out better. This year's approach was a direct reaction to last year's trip. We missed on a few things but it worked out better.
2 -- Like the scenery better in Chile and the food better in Argentina.
For Deborah:
1 -- My bad Spanish is still good enough to retrieve my lost nightgown.
2 -- It is good to hold onto a wild ass dream as it might just pan out.
Worst statement made by a local ---
1st place: The doctor in Argentina that said while he felt bad for the Chileans in the earthquake, Argentina is now 20cm wider.
Best wine --
Errazuriz 2007 Carmenere Max Reserva from Aconcagua Valley (all 2007 carmenere from this valley are supposed to be silky and delicious)
Best winery ---
Benegas (Mendoza)
Best ice cream ---
El Chalten.
Best hike ---
Without a doubt, this was the hike El Chalten...from hostel, thru the white valley to the base of Fitz Roy and back to town
Best day of riding ---
Too hard to know...perhaps Valle de Los Explorodores or the day into Cerro Castillo. Everyday with good weather was a good day.
Best View from Hotel Room
1st Place: Radison Concoón, Chile
2nd Place: Sol Arrayan, Villa La Angostura, Argentina
3rd Place: Boulevard Suites, Santiago
4th Place: Xelena Hotel, El Calafate, Argentina
Best Place to See Kitties ---
1st Place: Botantical Garden in Buenes Aires
2nd Place: Cabana along road between Pucon and Argentina border (13 kittens)
3rd Place: Streets of Valpo
Biggest surprises ---
- The extent of earthquake damage so far from the epicenter
- How quickly I bonded with "Naranjita" and how hard it was to part with her once she was sold
- How good the food was in Buenes Aires
- How disgusting and dirty the streets were in Valpo
- How stunning Fitz Roy was
- How unbelievably lucky we were with weather on the Carretera Austral after such an auspicious beginning.
Lost items:
- 2 socks (Arn)
- 1 t-shirt (Arn)
- 1pair of silver earrings (Deborah)
Damaged items:
- Holes in Deborah's favorite tatoo arm warmers (with matching scars)
- Purchased new cheap duffle --- end pocket torn off during first flight, holes rubbed into other end on second flight
Packed items never used:
- Folding Bucket
- Water filter
- Most of repair kit for the bikes
- Cook kit used 1 time
- Stove used 1 time
- Bug repellent
- PreparationH (good thing)
- Platypus extra bag for water filtering
- Chemical hand and foot warmers
- GPS (only used 2 or 3 times to see elevation)
Wish we with us:
- More advil (it is $1 U.S. per 400mg pill)
- SD card reader
- 2nd pair of pants
- Long sleeve wool shirt (DC)
Things we most miss about home:
Arn:
- Friends
- Kayaking
- Computer
- Our bed
- Pasta shop
- Ethnic food
- Good pizza
- Pretzels
- Hot tub
Deborah:
- Friends
- Ability to use the phone whenever
- Our bed
- Hot tub
- Road bike
- My chocolate chip cookies
- Listerine
- soft Kleenex
- Jeans
- A real American burger
-Fitted sheets
- Decaf Lattes (the way Arn makes them)
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