Wednesday June 25th...I Can't Feel My Legs!

Monday, two days ago, I set off with Sergio, a friend of a friend of a friend of D's cousin pablo. This guy knows all the trails of the Tucuman mountains; whether on bike or foot or whatever else he can conjure up, he knows 'em. I set off in a taxi around 3 p.m. and by 3:30 p.m. had swung by his house and had parked the car by the trailhead. After grabbing our day packs we set off. The day was muggy, humid and extremely foggy, but it definitely set the mood. As the ascent started I soon knew the trail name, El Funicular.

As the ascent got steeper I stripped down to just a T-Shirt. After climbing over downed trees, hopping over rocks and trekking up a steep trail, we hit the peak within 1 -1.5 hours. My shirt was saturated and I swapped clothes to stay warm. We pushed on and found a small little house that sells groceries, if you will, to the few people living off the land at the peak. We had an amazing conversation with the cute little old lady who sold us our candy bars and Sprite. Soon after we departed fort he descent.

Due to the fog we laid markers, found them and were back on the trail. Through all off this we had a third teammate...La India, Sergio's bad ass Boxer. She started running for the trail and we decided to do the same. The time was 5:45 p.m. At this point we chose to time ourselves and literally ran down the entire steep trail that we just ascended. One pit stop allowed for us to take off some layers and we were back running. The time was 6:10 p.m. We had descended. Subtract a minute or two for the pit stop and we descended the entire trail in 23 minutes!!!



Bottom line, great trail, great people and awesome dogs. And to finish it all off, today, Wednesday, I may need crutches my legs are so sore! Off to Mendoza tonight...

Sergio celebrating the finish line
Not mad, just exhausted!
Descending in the deep fog

Overnighter to Tafí del Valle from Tucuman

Being that Tucuman is situated in the northen region of Argentina, there are many mountain ranges nearby. To get away from the city we set out to explore Tafí del Valle, a small pueblo about 2.5 hours from Tucuman. We left on a Thursday morning and arrived around noon. After unloading our gear at the Nomade Hostel and Campground we scarfed down some Milanesa sandwiches and set off on foot for another pueblo, El Mollar. We trekked down the valley along the river and passed an ancient cemetary, wild horses and amazing casas viejas where few people live, and live off the land. The wind was in our face and provided a proper exfoliation since it was blowing so fast!

At El Mollar we had to hustle to catch the last bus back to Tafí or we'd of been trekking back in the dark...not bad, but we'll save it for later. While there we had a friend, another dog, who I am thinking about going back to get...and bring home to Chi! That night we were dying for a hot shower and the hostel had that under control! We dined at Don Pepito, one of few restaurants in Tafí. Using our mini calefactor to heat our room, we passed out for a less than proper night's rest. The next morning we woke early and set out to peak Cerro Pelao, a quick 45 minute ascent, but with views worth 45 million pesos. To our luck we met two guys, an Argentine, Mariano, from Mar de Plata and an Israeli, Amir. They met in Cordoba and decided to travel together; how sweet! They had tunes and we hung out together through the descent.

I will see him soon!

After grabbing our stuff from the hostel we hopped on the bus back to Tucuman but quickly got off down valley in the jungle region at a lower altitude called El Indio. We walked there for 3 hours in the humid fog and just relaxed and enjoyed having the river alongside us. After getting on the next bus that we saw we were famished and couldn't wait to feast back at Babi's condo in Tucuman. D stayed up and enjoyed a hot shower and I passed out within 30 minutes, yes, in my own filth...and for sixteen (16) hours!!! Don't worry, I showered right when I woke up.

Dani prepped for El Mollar

Hail to El Indio

Mariano, Amir y el Perro

Tafi del Valle Photo Gallery

Dique Angostura con Nubes
Dani Straight Chillen
Vista de Tafí al Mollar
Mariano, Amir e Yo
Boulder Hoppin'
Arbol Muerto
Live off the Land
In the Jungle
Dani en el Cerro
Down River

Family Time in Tucuman

The majority of my close family lives right here in the city of San Miguel de Tucuman!! We have been having an amazing time with the members of my extensive family tree. My two uncles, Nelson and Gustavo, have their hands full with all of my little cousins, including the newest little addition to the family, Solana (aka. the most beautiful child in the world that doesn't cry and annoy big people). My other precious loves include Ariana 10 (my absolute sunshine in the storm), Gaston 8 (finally true, since he's been telling people this since he was 6), and Leandro 3 (nicknamed "the animal" for his tendancy to break everything he sees)! Everyone else seems to have seriously grown up and settled down with their significant others, including my older cousins Alan 15, Brian 18, and Tuti 24. We've been eating out, eating in, grilling out, and taking long siestas in! We are being lovingly housed by my grandma Babi, who when we first arrived was a consistent force-feeder, but has eased up since Aaron put his foot down!

Babi, Ariana, Alan, Gaston y Aaron

Otherwise, we have been trying to get out and enjoy the outdoors, as Tucuman's Northern location provides it with a more temperate climate. We drank coffee, played, and climbed trees in the Parque 9 de Julio (central park of Tucuman). We've also been taking advantage of our close proximity to the mountians, doing day trips up to San Javier and Villa Nuguess, as well as mountain biking and hiking adventures! Tucuman also has a lively night life... With so many friends and family to chill with, we definately haven't been short on good company and fun nights out!

Gaston, Ari y Aaron (n.k.a. Spiderman)
Lights at the Plaza Independencia
At the peak, Cerro San Javier

Tucuman is the smallest province in Argentina, making it easy to get around, even with the farmer strikes blocking the main routes! We'll get out of the city with an overnight trip to the mountain town of Tafi del Valle and then begin our journey south to wine country on the 25th!

Tucuman Photo Gallery

Go Atletico Futbol Team!

Night on the town

View from San Javier

Tree huggers

My precious Ariana

Ari y el hombre araña

Solana the eskimo

Helado con Tio Nelson y Sylvina

Vista del cerro

Mate break

Tucuman Mountain Biking

Wake up, pack a bag, get picked up by two brothers I do not even know. Walk five blocks to their car, meet their dad and then head to their house. Like all Argentine's so far, they welcome me in and we have a lengthy lunch while chatting all in Spanish. I'm feeling close to fluent already and it's been 3 weeks!

I met these guys through their other brother who is a friend of a friend of D's cousin Pablo in BA. Bottom line, probably the best group of brothers to know in Tucuman. After lunch we each grab a bike from their numerous collection and hit the roads. Within 5 minutes are tires are filled and we're on the trails. Talk about bad ass! These trails were like what I rode in Aspen many summers ago. Uphill, downhill, totally surrounded by forest. And, the best part, every now and then we rode by the people from the campos who live pretty much off the land. After pumping uphill for nearly an hour we stop at a massive sugar cane field and have a snack. You pick it, break it, peel it and chew it like gum.

We trek on and these guys know each and every trail like it's their backyard; lucky them, it nearly is their backyard! After a few hours of uphill and downhill we hit the final ascent followed by the final descent. Exhausted and looking over the steepest singletrack I've ever ridden, I know I shouldn't do it. I did it. One quick fall, walk a bit, then mounted again. This time, I start moving, the bros are down below watching as I eat shit and tumble over myself while the bike is rapidly chasing after me. After a few seconds I come to a halt and can now count nearly 10 wounds on my body with one bad one on my shoulder. Tons of fun and I'll do it again. Before we leave Tucuman were peaking the mountain nearby on foot with the same brothers...more stories I'm sure.

Me, Julian and Sugar Cane
Me, Julian and Nicolas
Nicolas and Julian
The Shoulder!

Welcome to Argentina Folks!!!

TWO WEEKS IN, WE'RE ALIVE AND WELL FED

Two weeks have passed and we've been having a blast. As expected, AA screwed us and we got delayed a day, but who cares, we have 6 months. Oh, and yea, we've decided we're using ALL of it! After arriving in Buenos Aires (BA) we spent time with D's family and visited many of the different barrios of the city. Every day we got to wake up late, drink tea and coffee and then actually leave the house by 2 or 3. Life here is relaxed. Tia Margochi and Tio Arnoldo were the hosts at our 5 star residence! Pablo, so fun, was our party connect and we had a blast. Fabio, his bro, and Diana, his sis, we're also part of our BA days.

Our first outdoor adventure started on a rainy, bleek day. But, after prepping with the right gear we trekked on by bus, train and boat to Tigre, a beautiful waterworld north of BA. Tigre has a central district, but the entire rest is waterway's of a river delta and literally 100% trafficked by boats! We went to 3 Bocas, which had the coolest houses ever, and nearly no people. There we trekked, made some perrito friends, grubbed at one of 3 restaurants on the tiny island and just chillaxed and had a blast. Recommended to any BA visitor. And, by the end we had sun and warm weather.

Pablo y Dani en Palermo, BA

La Luna en Recoleta, BA

3 Boca's Caminito en Tigre, BA

After visiting Boca's art district, San Telmo's antique shops, Avellaneda's discount shopping, Tigre, etc. we passed out for a 21 hour ride to Tucuman. Here we're spending time with family and just hanging out, prepping for the adventures to come when we head south on June 25th.

Buenos Aires Photo Gallery

Dani y Pablo en Palermo

La Casa Rosada

Ceci, Dani y Josefina

La Casa de los Tios

We're Hot!

Subte Mural

Hay Papaliiiito!

Pick This

Tigre Estacion de Gas

Tigre Amigos

Tigre Sunset

Siesta