Arrrggghh Pirates! 2-10

I only woke up once in the middle of the night. It was really cold, but when I woke up, it was pretty warm. We had cardboard flavored corn flakes for breakfast and a little bit of milk. We packed up and sent off to find the trail Costanera. Lauren went back to Ushuaia to get us bus tickets for Puerto Natales. I got my passport stamped by a small postal shop in front of Isla Rodonda (a pirate island). The trail was absolutely beautiful. We followed the coast for 75% of the time. We ended the trail at Lago Roca. The hotel was really nice. We tried to get a transfer early, but all the drivers were a pain in the butt. Then, one nice driver took us to another hotel where I bought an "End of the World" t-shirt and other souvenirs. Once we got back to Ushuaia, we found out that Lauren got us tickets for 7am the next morning. She also got our laundry. It felt so good to use an actual bathroom. P.S. I scared off a fox in the park. The shower was amazing. We then went to an internet cafe. I talked to my mom, dad, Timmy, Jessica, Matt, and Corinne. For dinner, I cooked empanadas, pasta, and pasta sauce. It was actually pretty decent. We met a few guys from the states and one is a fish observer for some large association...Noah. We also met a girl from Bavaria, Germany.

Tierra Del Fuego 2-9

We started the day with the usual Patagonia Pais breakfast of tea and toast. I talked with one of the owners and he allowed us to keep some of our stuff that we don't need for hiking in a locker for free as long as we stayed there the following night. We went to go SCUBA diving, and every agency told us to go to Club Afasim. We went to the club, but they didn't have an opening until 3pm. The early group was a group of creepy men. We decided to go straight to Tierra del Fuego. We searched the town for Stephanie like CIA agents and found her in an internet cafe. We got food for the camping trip and cheese sandwiches for lunch. We went back to the hostel, but they said we weren't allowed to use the bathrooms or anything. They were very rude to us since we weren't paying for that night. I took all of our dirty clothes to a laundry place, and by the time I got back, they kicked the girls out of the hostel. I was furious. Our transfer bus picked us up and took us to Tierra del Fuego (50 Argentinian Pesos for the bus and the same for entry into the park). At the park, we saw a lot of beautiful horses. We took a side trail to see a waterfall. It wasn't really a waterfall, but I thought it was cool....long story short my boots got soaked. Then, we followed the Pampa Alta trail to campsite Ensenada. Along the way, we were chased by a pregnant horse or so the girls say. One said that she doesn't trust anything pregnant...haha. For dinner, we boiled water from the river and cooked pasta. Stephanie and I asked two guys from Wales to help start a large fire...long story short I burned my socks.

Glacier Martial 2-8

Our hostel is called Patagonia Pais. It is such an open and friendly place. Last night, I met a very nice couple from Sweden. After dinner, we went to a club called Kaitek. We had fun playing two truths and a lie and never have I ever. I woke up this morning to Hanna shoving my phone in my face. I couldn't hear my alarm because I was wearing ear plugs. After breakfast, we went to the tourist center and got info on buses, SCUBA diving, trails, and a map of Tierra del Fuego. We got our passports stamped three times with "El fin del mundo." Unfortunately, dogsledding is only in the winter. I tried to use my ATM card, but Bank of America froze my card because I didn't tell them I was going to Argentina. We then went to the End of the World Prisoner Museum, Yamana Museum, and the Antigua Casa Museum. Each museum was very interesting. Afterwards, we ate lunch at el Griego. The best thing we ate was the Napolitana pizza. It was so good. Then, we hiked Glacier Martial. It took four hours from the ocean to the top. It sucked going up, but it was definitely worth it. It was absolutely incredible. It was so great to complete the difficult hike and have a great view of the water. Then, we took a taxi from the bottom of the glacier to the supermarket. For dinner, we had stir-fried carrots, onions, and bell peppers with beef. There was so much fat on the beef that we had to cut off, but it ended up being a great dinner.

Ushuaia Here We Come 2-7

So I stayed up all night playing cards with the Israelis. It was a blast. After they went to bed, Hanna and I started getting ready for our bus trip to Ushuaia while the others were still sleeping. I made PB+J sandwiches for everyone for the bus. We had cereal and strawberry milk for breakfast...not as good as banana milk. We got to Espana early, so I tried to call the states, but the pay phone didn't work. I was able to get through on my cell phone. Corinne told me she received the Rubik's cube I had made for her. The bus ride wasn't too bad. I slept most of the way. Ushuaia is such a beautiful town. For dinner, we had fish, salad, and bad rice that I made. We also had Dulce de Leche cake. We met a girl named Marieca is from Holland.

Are you Gellin'? 2-6-09

I woke up briefly to say goodbye to Sergio. He was off to Torres del Paine. We started the day with Wheat Cheerios and banana milk. Banana milk is so good. Then we went to Sernatur to get information on kayaking, Cabo Froward, and bus tickets to Ushuaia. Luckily, we somehow ran into Pali Aike...the place that Karrah (classmate) recommended. There we booked a kayaking trip on the Straight of Magellan for 26,000 pesos. I also bought a book of Punta Arenas post cards for 4,500 pesos and a flag of Patagonia for 3,000 pesos. Then we had to find bus tickets to Ushuaia. Pacheco bus company didn't have a bus for Saturady, so we tried Espana bus company. There we bought tickets for 30,000 pesos for Saturday at 7:30 am. Walking away from the bus company, we were looking for a hostel nearby. Two ladies came up to us and gave us a pamphlet for the hostel "The Blue House" for 5,000 pesos a night. They even drove us to the hostel. It's a little far from Espana, but it's not too far. The guy that set us up with the penguin trip actually owns the hostel. We dropped our bags off and went to lunch at Austria Restaurant. We got a 4-course meal for 3,000 pesos. At some point, Hanna and I climbed a tree. It was a really cool tree in the park. After lunch, we went back to Pali Aike to be taken to the place where we would kayak the Straight of Magellan. Our guides were Patrick and Felipe. They're incredibly cool and nice. Last year, they came in second in a Chilean tandem kayaking competition. The owner of the place gave us hot chocolate, chips, and cookies after the trip. The water was so clear and we had a great time. We had the taxi driver take us to Zona Franca (Duty-Free). The important thing we bought was our gas and stove. For dinner, we had wraps...mayo, avocado, tomatoe, cucumber, lettuce, cheese, turkey, and lemon juice. We drank pineapple juice. It was awesome. After dinner, we each shoved a spoonful of peanut butter in our mouths without having something to drink. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. So in my group, we call ourselves a family...and in the family I'm the crazy uncle who does crazy and unexpected things. We are sharing our hostel room with a Brazilian guy and a French guy. We met a large group of people from Israel. Most of the hostels have signs in Hebrew. We also met two guys who play water polo in California. This is their post-graduation trip. I repacked my bag and put everything in plastic bags. At Abu-Goush, I bought socks, a sham towel, and a map container for the tent rods. Hanna and I played cards with two guys from Israel (Johanatan and Sergi). We played Egyptian Rat Screw and Bullsh**. I can't even describe how much fun we had. There was a bottle of beer on the ground and Johanatan said that he thinks that it's no one's bottle so he should drink...and he did. They also gave us some great advice and told us about the Israeli army.

First Day of Vacation

My alarm never went off, so I woke up when the driver of the transfer bus was in front of my house. Our flight to Punta Arenas stopped in Puerto Montt and then in Punta Arenas. We had two meals on the flight. I read a few pages of Isla Misteriosa. At the airport, a man gave me times to see the penguins at la Isla Magdalena. We took a transfer bus to the hostel Backpackers' Paradise. It was only 5,ooo pesos each night per person (about 8 dollars). Then we went to make reservations to see the penguins. It was 20,000 pesos for the boat ride and 1,150 pesos for the bus to the boat. The boat ride was two hours long and then we had one hour to spend on the island with approximately 150,000 penguins. It was absolutely incredible. We were able to get a free ride back to our hostel because the driver thought we paid already becasue I told him the price of the boat but he thought I was talking about bus transportation. Then we went to the grocery store and got things to make pasta. P.S. We met Sergio Rios on our flight in the morning. He's from Mexico and he's a really chill guy. He's a graduate student at the Univ. of Alberto Hurtado for economics and knows spanish, portuguese, and english. We had pasta and stir-fried tomatoes and mushrooms for dinner. The food was incredible. Tomorrow, we will have cereal and banana milk for breakfast. We'll see how that goes. On the boat, we met a nice couple from Australia. The man worked in Ft. Meade, Maryland. We also met a guy from Brazil.

I'm Alive and I'm Not Injured

My summer vacation during February in Chile was amazing. I put up my pictures at webshots.com. This is the address http://community.webshots.com/user/Crazyjosh89?vhost=community I kept a daily journal while I was on vacation and I'll put that up as I can.