Argentina Day 16

Day 16 involved another drive around the lake, to go back and do the hike we didn't do the previous day. This day wasn't as hot and beautiful as the previous day, which was probably a good thing as the cooler the better when hoofin' it for 12km.


We took a boat out to the peninsula point, where we were dropped off to begin our hike.

Came across some old school something going on. Not sure what the dude was up to, but he had some beasts to assist him.

Meg about to walk through mini tree tunnel.

The ultimate tourist shot, taken by a tourist. Hike almost done.

This was probably the highlight of the hike as we actually had an elevation change.

Hike complete. That sign says the name of the park, which is a National Park.

We ate lunch right near the entrance to the park. While we were eating, this St. Bernard wanted to join us. They have these St. Bernards for the tourists. One can take a photo with one of these badboys, for like 10 bucks or something. Rip off. Strange.

Flavia and Gabby from the Los Juncos B&B, with Meg and Mark. Flavia ran the joint and Gabby cooked (and poured wine). They were amazing hosts! We will see them again one day, "I guarantee it".

Argentina Day 18

Back in Buenos Aires after a long bus ride! Boy was it nice to not have to ride buses anymore. This day was filled with relaxing and shopping in our favorite BA neighborhood, Palermo Viejo. I think the weather was 40 degrees celsius, which translates to like 104 fahrenheit. Real hot, so relaxation was definitely on the menu.


Meg relaxing at our final hotel, Hotel Costa Rica.

Trip is almost over...safe to say we did some drinking!

Been a long trip... Or, that wine is really getting to my head...

We started the night with some cocktails. That same band we randomly came across way back was playing in the park across the street.

Argentina Day 17

Well, trip was coming to a close. Posting all this stuff 6 months after the fact has been fun as it has given me the opportunity to reminisce about the trip. I miss it tons...


The start of our last bus ride. This one was 17 hours in duration. This ride was strange cuz we started it in the morning. No vino straight away on this ride.

Somewhere in the middle of Argentina.

Very loopy.

Nightime...break out the vino!!

Argentina Day 14 - Mas Bariloche

Day 14, Bariloche and surrounding area, Argentina. We were real excited about this day as we were headed about 12 miles along the lake to a small B&B, which ended up being probably THE highlight of the trip. It was a vacation within a vacation, so to speak. Two nights of wonderful food, company, wine, and relaxation.


We stumbled across this little tienda, in the middle of nowhere, that had wonderful baked goods and empanadas. We bought some stuff to take back to the B&B.

Ahhh...Los Juncos... This was the name of the B&B.

They had a nice little area to relax. The B&B was real small, maybe 6 rooms, but we were the only ones to hang in this area. We spent many hours here, soaking it all in.

View from the common area shown above. This is the entire structure.

B&B, R&R, wine.

A bare tree.

This one is for Mr. Benjamin Tarr.

There was a croquet set, which we were more than happy to use.

This was a local dog that would hang out on the property. His name is Cacho, which apparently translates to idiot, or something along those lines. I use the word all the time now. Que pasa Cacho? That is what the chef at the B&B would say to Cacho. If Cacho could answer he would have said "Tengo hambre".

Weekend at Shawnigan

We spent this past weekend at the always wonderful Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. Amazing, amazing, amazing! The weather was wonderful (except for the wind). We caught fish, ate good food, did a bit of moseying [sic], and of course had some beers and wine. Here are some of the general vibes from the trip.


Liz (Meg's Mum) gave me a fishing rod/reel set for my graduation. This is the first fish caught with the setup. This was caught off the dock, which is the reason for it being quite small. Need to venture out on the lake to catch some big ones. This is a smallmouth bass. It put up a decent fight.

Went to Bucky's in Duncan, which is a general outdoors/fishing/hunting store. They sell 'Butt Juice'...I didn't buy any.

Meg chillin' at the cabin.

Liz chillin' at the cabin.

Mark chillin' at the cabin.

Meg and Mark chillin' at the cabin.

BBQing is mandatory at Shawnigan. On this particular evening, we had Maui Short Ribs. They were very yummy.

The BBQ got real hot.

Meg about to enjoy some vino.

Meg enjoying some vino.

Meg caught a fish as well! Pretty sure this is a Lake Trout...little guy.

We went to a Lavender farm on Sunday morning. There is a labyrinth there, which I was excited about.

There is the labyrinth...not what I was expecting...

Lavender for days at the Lavender farm.

The crew on the ferryboat, returning to Vancouver. Mark, Meg, Jen, and Chris walking in the background. They stayed at the cabin Friday night, then went to visit family on Saturday and Sunday.

Can't wait for the next Shawnigan adventure! More fishing!!!

Film Vibrations, Seattle and Birkenhead Lake

Got some film back from the trips to Seattle and Birkenhead Lake. Here are some that we like.

Argentina Day 10 - First mission to the Andes.

Somehow Day 10 got skipped. That's unfortunate 'cuz it was an amazing day! This was our first trip into the Andes, and involved lots of driving. We rented a car and went on a crazy mission that involved beautiful scenery, random perros, a long drive on a sketchy dirt road, and wild times in the main plaza in Mendoza. This is a long one. Hope you enjoy it.


This is where the Andes begin.

Starting our ascent into the Andes, we stopped off at this spot to snap a couple flicks. The lake behind Mark there was a real nice aqua blue color. Tough to tell in the photos...

Us.

The license plate on our rental car. Nice and simple.

We put this badboy to the test.

Random perro marking his territory. We ate lunch in this town, called Uspallata. This is the area where Seven Years in Tibet was filmed. Weird...

The start to the off-road adventure.

That sign loosely translates to animals on the loose.

Andes vibes.

Meg in the middle of the road to nowhere.

Time to ponder.

Uspallata is where we were. 28km down, a shit load more to go.

So Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere. We couldn't see it as it was so damn cloudy. We made an attempt though. Translate if you like. The altitude where this photo was shot is 3,100 meters, or roughly 9,500 feet. Mt. Aconcagua is 22,841 feet high (thanks Google).

Sketchy, winding dirt road. Mendoza is somewhere down there in the background.

Yet another random perro. This guy was pretty cute. Scraggly is good.

This random band started playing in the main plaza in Mendoza. We stayed a while and watched. Can't remember if we were drinking in the plaza...probably. If not, we were likely a bit inebriated.

Oh, proof of inebriation [sic]. Cotton candy is good. It also doubles as a goatee.

Mark had had enough of the cotton candy.

This is a short clip of part of the drive. It was an amazing drive...this portion seemed to be where maybe some water had once flown. There was a larger clip, but would have taken forever to upload it.

Weird scene. They were jammin'.

360 degree view of the middle of nowhere, Andes.