The Middle Of Nowhere

Thursday, December 20
The weather in Patagonia is temperate, yet extremely unpredictable. We just canceled an excursion we had booked (hiking to various platforms that overlook the glacier) because it was pouring and dreary. The excursion leaves in five minutes and as I sit here and watch the group amass to leave, it has suddenly become a crystal clear and sunny day. Oh well. It's 5:30 p.m. and Ryan isn't feeling too hot (maybe because the ice trekking was the first exercise we've had in about 2 months) so maybe it's just as well. Oh wait, he just showed up... coincidence that I just ordered myself a beer? He's got the nose of a bloodhound.

O.k... after getting off that ass backwards flight on Air Guacamole (I'm surprised there weren't goats and chickens running down the aisles), we hoped in a van and drove through El Calafante to our hotel 'Los Notros' which is approximately 1.5 hours drive away. When we say we're in the middle of nowhere, we are not kidding. Having said that, it is the best option. If we hadn't stayed here, we would have had to stay in town and make the 1.5 hour drive to and from the glacier everyday. We would far rather be where we are for two days. Take a look at the landscape on the way there, and a picture of our hotel from the boat we took to the glacier: We got to our room and took a look around. Remember that 'gay gasp' Ryan said I made when we saw Robert Deniro? Well he let out several shrill screams when a) he saw a large spider run across the floor and b) he realized there was no T.V. I used to make fun of him for being a princess about these things but I've got to say... I've turned into one myself. It would be comforting to watch BBC World News for a couple minutes. Anyway, how would I describe the room. Kind of like my grandma's basement bedroom in that 'cozy, rustic, shitty bed with a bar across your back all night' kind of way.
Now for the ice trekking. Wow, wow, wow. I didn't have any expectations and had no idea what we were in for. It was absolutely spectacular. Aside from forgetting sunscreen (again) and coming close to frying my bald head for a second time on this trip, it was a picture perfect day. I didn't have 'ice trekking on a glacier' on my 'life's to-do list.' It's never even something that registered in my mind. People, I'm telling you... write it in the margins beside 'African Safari' and 'Riding a Camel in Egypt.' I would upload a lot more pictures but it is taking a lifetime for them to load. Here are two... one of the actual glacier and one of me getting my clamp-ons strapped to my shoes (we just realized that we need to switch cameras throughout the day. Ryan was holding the small camera which is why there are only small, postable pictures of me):

Friday, December 21
Sorry it's taken so long to post. The speed of the internet is up and down. I wanted to wait until I could actually put some pictures up.

After I talked about seeing Ryan yesterday (above), he went straight back to bed. He was the sickest he's been in 10 years. We're guessing it was food poisoning. It was actually scary watching and hearing him sleep. He was running a fever, twitching, weird sounds coming from his mouth and stomach. I didn't end up sleeping much because I kept wondering what the hell we were going to do if there was something really wrong with him. "DON'T WORRY SIR! THE AMBULANCE WILL BE HERE IN 2 HOURS!" I should have known something was amiss when earlier that day he peered out the window in his underwear and told the robin chirping outside of our window to "Shut Up!"

Anyway, that's all for now. We are here for the rest of the day and then being strapped back in to the tin-can-of-death and heading back to Buenos Aires. We will post once we get there.