Epic Escapades South of the Border

 When we began planning our 3 month adventure trip across South and Central America, we knew we wanted to start in Patagonia and work our way northward, but to be honest Bolivia wasn’t really on our radar, until I saw the website for La Senda Verde while searching for wildlife volunteering opportunities in South America. La Senda Verde, or The Green Path, is located in the subtropical eastern flank of the Bolivian Andes (right at the end of the famous Bolivian “Death Road”, but that’s a story for another day).  Founded in 2003 by a Bolivian couple, Vicky Ossio and Marcelo Levy, the mission of La Senda Verde is to save and provide a second chance for wild animals rescued from illegal trafficking and habitat loss. Hard to argue with that!  Vicky and Marcelo are incredibly devoted (they sleep with baby animals in their bed when necessary, from bear cubs to monkeys) and their commitment is inspiring.  [Interesting small world anecdote:  their son went to the Berkele...

 After our civilized weeklong respite in Buenos Aires and Rio, we moved on to La Paz - the highest capital city in the world at 11,975 feet above sea level - and met back up with our friends JP and Annamaria. I must confess that I knew almost nothing about Bolivia before arriving, except for the fact that this is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a shootout. Bolivia (officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, due to the fact that it recognizes 36 different indigenous nations) is the fifth largest country in South America by area, and one of only 2 landlocked countries on the continent (they still hold a grudge against Chile for having “stolen” their access to the sea in the Pacific War of the late 19th century).  Bonus points if you know the other landlocked country without looking at a map…. Bolivia is also the second poorest country in South America.  The economy is a disaster.  The official exchange rate is <7 Bolivianos to the $USD, b...

  After a few days checking out the highlights of Buenos Aires - Recoleta, Boca, Palermo, Puerto Madero and Casa Rosada (the Presidential Palace) - we came away very impressed with the city.  Definitely the most charming city in South America that we’ve visited so far.  Then it was off to Rio for New Year’s Eve. Our hotel, overlooking Copacabana Beach, threw a New Year’s Eve party that was not to be believed - definitely the EPICEST New Year’s Eve we’ve ever experienced! (Yup, “epicest” is a word - at least according to the Urban Dictionary 😎). The hotel was decorated to the nines: And the view of the music and fireworks on Copacabana Beach was perfect.  As adventurous as we are, we were very happy to be viewing the events from the hotel balcony, rather than being among the estimated 2+ million revelers who gathered on the beach to party.  I guess our age is starting to show….. 😢 We officially declared today (by the hotel pool) and tomorrow (on Copacabana Beac...

  Hola from Buenos Aires!   We arrived in BA Thursday night on a flight from El Calafate, 1700 miles south of here.  Yesterday morning was glorious - we got to stay in bed past 6 am.  What a luxury!  Last night we went to see a traditional tango show (at El Viejo Almacen).  The musicians were amazing and the dancers were unbelievable (and, in case I didn’t mention it already, super hot!!).  The dancers reminded Melanie and I a lot of what we look like when we dance.  NOT!  If I were a judge on Argentina’s Got Talent they’d definitely get my vote.  [Btw, next time I write a Travelogue from one of our trips I think I’ll bring along a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus to increase the pool of superlatives I can choose from.  For you young’uns out there who have no idea what Roget’s is, ask Siri 😎]. We’ll be spending the next couple of days checking out the sights here before jumping back on a plane on Monday.  But more importantly, let’s ...

Yesterday we wrapped up 5 days of pretty intense hiking in Torres del Paine National Park, considered the 8th Natural Wonder of the World.  We covered more than 50 miles amidst wildly varied terrains, and wildly different weather conditions, including the entire “W Trek” (in red on the map above), the most iconic hiking trail in the Park. The W Trek starts on Grey Lake which sits below the Grey Glacier, one of 48 glaciers in the southern ice field of Patagonia.  Though it is easy to track how the glacier is receding over time due to global warming (apparently nobody told the glaciers that global warming is fake news,), it’s still mighty impressive - covering 100 square miles and 300 meters thick at its deepest point!  Unfortunately, our itinerary did not leave time for ice hiking on the glacier, so I guess we’ll have to leave that for our next trip.  The glacier is known for its dramatic calving events where large chunks of ice - up to 100 feet tall - break off and f...