Glaciers and Icebergs – Happy New Year!

It seems rather crazy that I am typing this at the end of September, and only now writing about the New Year – I could have gone through a whole pregnancy by now – thank goodness that isn’t the case!  Life has gotten in the way of my writing about our experiences, but I can’t leave out one of the most amazing spectacles of nature we were able to witness before we left our expat lives behind.  As I have repeated numerous times throughout this journal, one of the best gifts of embracing the opportunity to live in Brazil was definitely the rewards we gained through our travels and vacations.  Living in South America opened up a whole new world to us and allowed us to visit a few of the most fascinating places on earth (at least in my opinion!).  One of our favorite trips, by far, was our visit to the Perito Moreno glacier near El Calafate, in the Patagonian region of Argentina. 
 

We arrived in El Calafate on the evening of December 29, 2013 – we were please to find that it was much warmer than it had been in Ushuaia, with temperatures in the mid-sixties.  Because it was a Saturday before a major holiday, the town was packed with tourists.  The boys were tired from our day of traveling, and wanted to stay and relax at the hotel, but Matt and I set out in search of cash.  Traveling in Argentina is becoming more of a challenge when it comes to money.  Credit cards are not accepted in many circumstances, leaving cash as your only option.  The government also has tightened restrictions on the buying and selling of U.S. dollars, so to get the most “bang for your buck” – quite literally – people end up trading the money on the black market.  Unfortunately, we were racing against the clock – the banks and exchange offices were closing just as we got to town and would not reopen until January 2^nd – 4 days later!  Another problem with traveling over the holidays is that ATMs usually run out of money and are not replenished until the next business day.  We had depleted our stash of cash during our days in Ushuaia, so our goal was to find a working-ATM that accepted our U.S. bank card – this proved a difficult task.   Ready to give up, we returned to the hotel, where the sweet desk clerk told us of a bank at the end of town whose ATM machines accepted international cards.  This time, with the boys in tow, we set out to find money and dinner – after walking about a mile, we finally had some luck – with our wallets and bellies full, we headed back to the hotel and had a good night’s sleep before our next adventure. 

     

The next morning, we had an early start – the bus picked us up (right on time!) and we relaxed on the ride through the Patagonian Steppe on our way to get our first glimpse of the Perito Moreno Glacier.  Also known as the Patagonia Desert, it is the largest desert in Argentina, covering over 260,000 square miles.  The expansive cold weather desert is bordered by the Andes, providing a contrasting scenery of arid farmland with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.  Aside from tourism, the only industry here is farming – primarily cattle and sheep – of which we saw plenty on our drive through the desert. 

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the most important tourist attractions in Argentina.  It covers an area of about 97 square miles and is continuing to grow.  Situated on Lake Argentino, the average height of the glacier is about 240 feet above the surface of the water, with a total ice depth of about 560 feet.  It is impossible to wrap your mind around the enormity of this mass of ice unless you see it with your own eyes – and that is exactly what we got to do next!

After a short stop at an overlook for our first glimpse of the glacier, we boarded a boat that took us for an up-close view of the south wall of the glacier.  Despite the cold temperatures and wind from being on the water, we gathered on the deck to see and hear the ice.  Because the glacier is constantly in motion, loud rumbles (like thunder) can be heard as the ice cracks and eventually breaks off, sending huge chunks of ice into the water, creating even louder booms and enormous splashes.  Amazed by the beautiful blue mountain of ice before us, we were captivated and mesmerized by this spectacle of nature. 

But the fun was only beginning – after our boat ride, we continued on the bus to the top of the glacier.  Here, at the “pasarelas”, or boardwalks, we were able to get an even closer look at the glacier and really appreciate the sheer magnitude of its size and beauty.  There really aren’t words to describe the excitement and emotion we felt over a mass of ice, but it was a surreal experience.  We explored as much of the glacier (from the boardwalks only – we opted not to go trekking on the ice) as we could in the time we were given.  Alex found a viewing spot and did not want to leave for fear of missing any chunks of ice falling into the water, but we convinced him to move on.  He seemed to have become quite the expert in detecting an upcoming break in the ice and we were soon rewarded by witnessing two massive pieces (each of them about 200 feet high – the size of a 20-story building!) fall into the lake. 

The canon-like booms echoed off the glacier’s walls and the sight of the ice hitting the water and creating an enormous splash brought tears to my eyes – it was a breathtaking experience, and certainly one I will never forget.  Both boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves; Alex gave the glaciers two thumbs up, and it warmed my heart when he took my hand and said, “When I’m a dad, I want to bring my kids here so they can see this!”  That’s all a parent needs to hear – this trip was definitely worth every penny!

The following day was New Year’s Eve and we had another full agenda.  The day’s adventures would take us on a day-long tour on Lake Argentino.  The lake, which lies within Los Glaciares National Park and is the largest freshwater lake in Argentina, is fed by glacier water, giving it a milky turquoise hue.  Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the lake is also home to numerous glaciers and icebergs as big as buildings.  We spent the day lounging on the boat, occasionally stepping outside to get better glimpses or photos of the many icebergs we passed (one of which looked like a penguin lying on its back). 

The crew broke chunks of ice off of the icebergs and served cocktails prepared with “glacier ice” and the boys enjoyed posing with the ice for pictures.  Along our journey, we visited the Upsala Glacier, which is the largest on Lago Argentino, though not as accessible as Perito Moreno.  We also saw Peineta Glacier, Spegazzini Glacier (the tallest on the lake), and the north face of Perito Moreno.  While what we saw was beautiful, there was no comparison to the previous day’s experience.  We finished off our holiday travels with a New Year’s Eve dinner in the town of El Calafate, making it back to the hotel in time to ring in the New Year with a champagne toast and phone calls to our family back in the States.  Without a doubt, despite the long distance from family and home, this was a holiday we will never forget!   

            

Presenting Patagonia

After spending Christmas in the summer of South America, with temperatures in the 90’s and no air conditioning, it was time to head farther south to more winter-like temperatures.  We departed the morning of December 26^th to Ushuaia, in the southern-most province of Argentina, Tierra del Fuego.  This was a trip Matt and I had been anticipating for quite some time – Matt has always wanted to take a fishing trip to Patagonia (though there would be no fishing on this vacation, he was happy to see the place and plan a future trip) and I had a more personal interest, as my mother had lived in Ushuaia as a very young child with my grandparents.  My grandfather, Abuelo Raul, was in the Argentine Navy, when my mom was a baby and they spent three years living on the Naval Base in Ushuaia.  The boys did not really know what to expect out of this trip, other than the fact that we would be seeing penguins and glaciers – and until you actually see the glaciers, it’s hard to imagine anything exciting about seeing a bunch of ice – we definitely weren’t prepared for the spectacle of nature we would witness.
 

After another long day of travel (i.e. waiting in airports) we arrived in Ushuaia in the early evening.  Flying over the Andes and seeing a bird’s-eye-view of the “cordillera” – the boundary between Argentina and Chile – was an amazing sight in and of itself.  The capital of Tierra del Fuego (which translate, means “Land of Fire”), Ushuaia is also known as the southern-most city in the world, or the “city at the end of the world”.  The airport, which resembles a ski lodge, sits on an island that was created specifically for this function – upon our arrival we were greeted by our tour company representatives and taken to our hotel in town.  It was much cooler than when we left Cordoba earlier that morning, so we had to pull out the jackets and gloves to keep warm.  After getting settled in our little apartment, we took a couple of hours to rest and research our options for excursions.  At this time of year, the sun is up from about 4:30AM until almost 11:00PM – so we had plenty of daylight left to walk to dinner and check out the town.    

Our hotel, with snow-capped mountains in the background.

Our hotel sat about five blocks north of the center of town, at the edge of the mountains.  Being summer, we were surprised to still see snow-capped mountains all around us.  Ushuaia’s landscape is truly breathtaking, with the Beagle Channel creating its southern border, and the Andes surrounding the rest of the city.  The main street in town, offering the most options for shopping and dining, was called San Martin Street – even though I have never been to Switzerland, it made me imagine a picturesque ski town in the middle of the Alps.  Our first evening there, we wandered up and down several blocks, admiring the quaint storefronts until we decided on a restaurant and hungrily ate a late dinner.  It felt quite bizarre, walking back to the hotel at 10:30 at night, and the sun was only beginning to set.  We closed the blinds to help block out the light, as we had to be up early the next morning for our first excursion and tour.

San Martin Street

Our tour company, “Tiempo Libre”, was excellent – they arrived on time for every outing, and were efficient and informative – if you’ve ever traveled in South America, you know that this is rare and truly something to appreciate.  Our first morning in Ushuaia began bright and early, and the bus picked us up for a full day of sight-seeing along the Andes.  Traversing the Garibaldi Pass, the southernmost road to cross the mountainous border between Chile and Argentina, we visited two lakes – Lago Fagnano and Lago Escondido.  Both were beautiful sights to see, nestled in the mountains.  We were especially lucky to get excellent views of Lago Escondido, which literally means “Hidden Lake” – according to our guides, 60 percent of the time the lake is not even visible due to heavy fog. 

Lago Escondido with Lago Fagnano in background

The kids had a great time skipping rocks into the lakes and climbing on old twisted tree trunks, and we all enjoyed the crisp (thankfully not too cold), clean, fresh mountain air.  After visiting the lakes, we stopped at a rustic restaurant (in the middle of nowhere) known for its Patagonian lamb.  The food was abundant and delicious – the lamb did not disappoint – with full bellies we boarded the bus (just as it began to rain) for the long ride back to the city.  Later that afternoon, while the boys rested and watched a movie in our room, Matt and I walked around the town and along the Beagle Channel until we reached the Naval Base – here, I was able to see the homes and the hospital where my grandfather had worked as a nurse during his time in the Navy. 

For our second full day in Ushuaia, we had two different excursions scheduled.  The first outing for the day included a ride on an old prison train (Train to the End of the World) into the Tierra del Fuego National Park.  While on the train, we learned of the history of the city of Ushuaia and the story of the prisoners who built it.  I borrowed this information from Wikipedia: “During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around a prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population here and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego.  The prison was intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals…who spent much of their time building the town with timber from the forest around the prison.”  The prisoners also built the railway that led into the forests, which are now part of the national park.  In another history lesson, we learned that Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) got its name from British missionaries who arrived there in the early 1800’s.  From their ships they could see smoke rising from canoes and dwellings dotting the landscape, giving the appearance of the land being on fire.  These fires were kept burning constantly (for warmth and cooking) by the Yamana Indians, who inhabited the land for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans.  Unfortunately, together with the settlers came diseases, and the Yamana population dwindled and virutally disappeared by the first decade of the 20^th century.     

Train to the End of the World

Skipping rocks in the park

Inside the Tierra del Fuego National Park, we appreciated the beautiful scenery of the forest graveyards, evidence of the logging still visible, horses grazing in the valleys, waterfalls, and another lake which is divided between Argentina and Chile.  The boys didn’t miss the opportunity to skip more rocks into the lake and climb on old tree trunks that had fallen.  We hiked along meadows and saw the place where the international Route 3, which stretches 17,848 KM (11,155 miles) to Alaska, ends.  And we made it to the spot claimed to be “the end of the world” – of course, there is always Antarctica if you cross the icy waters and continue to head south for another 1000 KM (625 miles).  At one point, while sitting at the end of the trail of wooden walkways, I looked over and saw Alex without shoes.  When I asked him what he was doing, his simple reply was, “I’m relaxing”!  I thought to myself, how lucky is this kid, getting to “relax at the end of the world”?!  One more stop along the way at Bahia Ensenada, a salt-water bay inside the park, and it was time to return to the city for lunch and a break before our afternoon excursion.

Where Rt. 3 ends - head north and you'll reach Alaska!

Alex - relaxing at the "end of the world"

The afternoon turned cloudy and drizzly, and we were getting tired, but we were looking forward to our afternoon boat ride on the Beagle Channel, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  We were sailing as far as the “Lighthouse at the End of the World”, opting not to go an extra 2 hours to visit the penguins.  Unfortunately, the boat we were supposed to board was having technical difficulties, so we were delayed for an hour while the crew readied another vessel for our excursion.  Because of his problems with sea-sickness, Matt had taken a Dramamine and by the time we finally got underway, he was feeling very drowsy – he fell asleep almost as soon as he sat down.  Ian and Alex had fun wandering up and down the steps on the boat, trying to find the best views of the channel and of the sea lions and cormorants we were going to see.  After a short time, we arrived at the first grouping of rocks and were able to get up close and personal with the sea lions that live there – too close for my comfort – those animals stink!  I did manage to snap some quick pictures of the smelly creatures, along with cormorants – birds that look like penguins, but with the advantage of being able to fly. 

Cormorants and smelly sea lions

Aside from being very cold outside, the stench was unbearable and sent me back to the warmer, less offensive interior of the boat.  Once we reached the lighthouse, our boat turned back for the city – after our long day, we were ready for dinner and our beds!  The following morning we had time for a brief visit to the old prison museum and lunch before leaving Ushuaia for El Calafate – our last stop on our Argentinian holiday vacation.        

Lighthouse at the "end of the world"

Leaving Brazil...

This will be very brief, as I hope to finish up and close out this blog site soon...

It is impossible to believe that we have been living back in the U.S. for almost 4 months.  The last 6 months, since we found out we would be returning to the Pittsburgh area sooner than expected, have been a blur of activities and have flown!  My last post (which was done in April, several months behind schedule) was about our time in Cordoba over Christmas.  I had full intentions of writing about our days in Patagonia over New Year's, along with our trip back to the States to find a home, and all of the final preparations for leaving our lives in Brazil and starting again.  I didn't think I would have already seen the fireworks of July 4th before accomplishing all of this!

So, this is just a brief message for the few people who so kindly read this blog that there will be a few more entries, as I don't think my time in Brazil can really be concluded until I share all of the ups and downs of our last few months there.  Thank you for reading...to be continued!

Christmas in Cordoba

This year we decided to stay in South America for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.  With a house-hunting trip scheduled for later in January, we figured it would be a good opportunity for us to travel and see a bit more of the beauties south of the equator while we still had the chance.  Our families were a little disappointed that we wouldn’t be with them during that very special time of year, but they understood and were looking forward to our visit just a few weeks away, especially since it meant that we would be preparing for our return to life in the U.S.  The boys were also a bit sad to be missing time with their cousins and extended family, but we explained that it is okay to do something different once in a while, and that the trip we were going to take was going to exceed their expectations.

Our first stop in our travels was Cordoba, Argentina to spend Christmas with my relatives.  I’ve only spent Christmas in Argentina once – when I was 8 years old.  I have so many fond memories of that one holiday I spent with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – it is definitely the childhood Christmas that stands out the most in my mind.  Thirty years later (gulp!) I was excited to actually be with my own relatives again, even though so much had changed over the years, not to mention the family has shrunk considerably.  We left Sao Paulo on December 20^th – as is normal for air travel, it took much longer than expected (I won’t bore readers with the details of the delays), and 18 hours after leaving our apartment, we arrived at my Tia Pola’s house near midnight!  The heat was bearing down on us – they had recently had temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit – and no A/C, of course!  Due to the late hour, we ate a light dinner of “Sanduiches de Miga” (yummy thin sandwiches) and veggies and went straight to bed!

The next few days were spent lazily lounging by the pool and hanging out with aunts, cousins, and a few friends.  Ian and Alex made friends with some neighborhood boys and swam and played games (soccer, football, tag, Marco Polo) with them for hours at a time.  When I asked what language they were speaking to communicate, Alex answered, “Portuñolish” – his own word for a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, and English!  I love how they have learned to adapt – and kids speak the universal language of “play”.  We were enjoying our time, but really noticed the differences in what we are accustomed to this time of year – the heat, no carols being played on the radio, the lack of familiar traditional foods (such as Nanna’s party mix!).  It hardly felt like Christmas time – the only reminders were the few decorations that my Tia Pola had put out in our honor, including a huge poster of Santa Claus with an English “Merry Christmas” greeting! 

In swimming trunks on Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve arrived and temperatures soared into the upper 90s – the kids spent the whole day in the pool with the neighbor’s boys.  Karina and her niece, Azul, surprised us with a visit that afternoon – while the kids played (not necessarily together!), we sat and drank mate and laughed and talked for a couple of hours.  We thought of Matt’s family, who were gathering at his Aunt Kaye’s house for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, and of my mom, who had gone to spend the holidays with my brother and his family – I thought of my dad, who was spending Christmas alone (as he says is just the way he likes it, but I don’t believe him), and of my sister, who was celebrating with her husband’s family in Virginia.  We were all scattered, but felt like we were together in spirit – I know the boys were definitely feeling the absence of their cousins, imagining all of them running around and preparing for a requisite early visit from Santa Claus. 

Toasting my Tia Pola

  

Dinners are always served late in Argentina, and as is the custom there, Christmas dinner doesn’t even get started until 10:00PM or later.  The boys were completely exhausted by the time everyone arrived (Cecilia and her family, and Liliana and her daughters joined us), but they were determined to stay up and watch the fireworks we had promised they would see at midnight.  Alex didn’t make it past 10:30 – he barely ate a bite and fell asleep (in a very awkward position) watching TV.  Ian, however, forced himself to stay awake, and looked completely bored and miserable – he was definitely missing “home”. 

Alex crashed!

Matt was charming and acted like he was perfectly content, but I’m sure there was a part of him wishing he was in Charleston, WV celebrating with the rest of his family.  Midnight finally arrived, and we propped a ladder against the side of my aunt’s house and climbed up onto the roof to get a better view of the fireworks that were starting to go off around the neighborhood.  Ian, who could hardly keep his eyes open, climbed up and recorded some of it to show Alex in the morning.  Our “festivities” wrapped up at about 3:00AM, just as a very welcome wind storm blew in and cooled things off significantly. 

Watching fireworks on the roof

We spent Christmas day with my cousin Karina at the home of her parents – their whole family was there, including Christian’s girlfriend and her kids, as well as Jose Alberto with his new wife and baby. 

With Karina and Maia

As usual, my Tio Tito and Tia Elsa prepared enough to feed an army and we ate too much – after sitting, eating, and talking for several hours, we headed over to my Tia Chiquita’s for one last visit before departing for Patagonia the next morning.  This Christmas was definitely different than any other we had spent as a family, but it meant a lot to me to be with my own relatives – and it taught the kids that there can be a Christmas without all of the other things to which they have become accustomed.  However, next year we may appreciate those carols, the party mix, and even the cold a little bit more!