Two Month Recap

We have now been on the road for two months. Here is a short recap of what we’ve gone through during that time.

Key stats: two months, three countries, travel by plane, bus, taxi, metro, boat, bicycle and car, finished one third of the trip and spent half of my money (for the math impaired out there - this is not a good thing), one stolen backpack, one lost soap holder, three illnesses, zero hospital visits, zero invitations to join some rich people on their yachts to tour the world.

Bus rides have been a huge part of our trip so far. In fact, we have spent 158.5 hours on various buses. That’s over six and a half full days or greater than 10% of our vacation. This only includes bus rides to get from one city to another. There have been additional bus time for things like rafting excursions. The main trips break down like this:

Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires 45 hours (3 hour delay due to broken AC)
Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos 36 hours
Ushuaia to Puerto Natales 12 hours
Puerto Natales to El Calafate 5 hours
El Calafate to El Bolson 33 hours
El Bolson to Bariloche 2 hours
Bariloche to San Rafael 16 hours
San Rafael to Santiago 9.5 hours

This weekend we will take a bus out to Valparaiso and back from Santiago. This is about an hour each way. Then we actually get to fly again to get to our next destination. We will be taking more buses in the next countries we visit and from what I hear this is going to suck. The buses in Argentina and Chile are supposed to be really good and for the most part I would agree with that statement. From what I have heard about buses in Bolivia, Peru, etc I am not looking forward to verifying.

A lot of the new things I have experienced down here I like and would like to implement them in the states. These things include in no particular order:

Siesta time – While it can be annoying when everything is shut down at the same time, I’m sure there is a way to work this out.

Salsa as a condiment – This is a simple idea that just makes too much sense to not be happening worldwide. If I were running for president, this would be one of my campaign platforms - “salsa for everyone.”

Liter sized beers – Why serve someone a pint or twelve ounces when you can serve them about two and a half times that much?

Snacks with beer orders – Almost everywhere down here serves up a snack when you order a beer (peanuts, some sort of cheese crisp thing, a kind of chex mix snack, olives (disgusting), bread, potato chips, etc.)

What appears to be a complete void of lawyers – I say this because there seems to be a certain amount of lawlessness that can only be enjoyed in a society that doesn’t know the meaning of litigation. There is a lot more self-responsibility down here. e.g. - If you get hurt doing something stupid it’s your fault and no one else’s.

Empanadas – delicious…except when they have olives in them.

Inexpensive wine – Notice I write inexpensive and not cheap. We’ve had some pretty good wine for around a buck.

Ok, now on to some things I don’t like:

Mayonnaise – The most vile of all condiments is a crowd favorite down here. I know that it is big in the States, but it’s even bigger here and that just makes me sad.

No pepper on the table – There is salt and usually sugar, but no pepper. I just don’t get it.

Dirty toilet paper – Most of the sewer systems down here are too old to accommodate the flushing of toilet paper down the drain. So, you have to put your used t.p. in the trash can. Along with everyone else’s used toilet paper, this can make for an unpleasant smell and a precarious pile of poo-polluted rubbish.

Dog-doo on the sidewalks – Walking through almost every city/town in South America has been like navigating a minefield.

Not knowing what anyone is saying – Everyone keeps speaking some weird language down here. What’s up with that?

Mullets and faux-hawks – They’re everywhere and that makes me scared to get a haircut. I will probably wind up having to shave my head.

The plunging value of the US dollar – This was supposed to be a cheap place to spend a long vacation. I leave the country for two months and everything costs twice as much down here as it should relative to the dollar. What the hell are you guys doing back there?

Some things I’m still on the fence about. These include:

Pedestrians not having the right-of-way – It bothers me in Hawaii how the pedestrian has all but taken over the road. People just walk out into the street when cars are coming and that’s perfectly ok, because there are actually cross walks where there are no lights, signs or intersections. These people cause me a great deal of frustration and they would all be dead or crippled if they lived down here. Just look before you cross the street. It’s that simple. Or so it would seem…Down here you have to look both ways and then sprint because someone is lurking in their car waiting for you to step off the curb. Even if you have the green walk sign and are in the crosswalk at an intersection, you are lucky if you get a horn honk before someone tries to turn and run you over.

All right; I can only think of one thing to be on the fence about right now. I’ll let you know when I come up with some more. Anyone who is still reading this is probably pretty tired of hearing me ramble and rant anyway. So, hasta luego.