gato parque
silly typical american cowboys
dog walker taking a fishing break?
carne anyone?
we met up with leo at the airport who was missing a bag because copa airlines lost it. good thing it didn't contain any of the essentials like pads and pantyhose. we hopped on a shuttle that plopped us off at the plane which turned out to be a vintage 737, with obtrusive brown angular paneling that was all the rage in the 70s. constant electrical white noise accompanied any speakers on the intercom. when i saw the seatback in front of me fold completely down to the seat after a slight nudge, i began to fear for my life. good thing i passed out from sheer exhaustion as i only saw the ground when i was on that plane.
san carlos de bariloche is supposedly the switzerland of south america. indeed, we saw a lot of that influence in the architecture in the touristy area but there were also a buncha ghettos that looked like a poorer version of south central la. the scenery was beautiful though, with the mountains surrounding huge lakes, similar to tahoe but on a larger scale.
riding cerro catedral, a super wide but short chode of a mountain, was fun. the snow was still thin but the terrain had plenty of jibs and kickers, a spine or two, and some natural bowls. the views were breathtaking and the crowds were small so the experience was quite lovely. we await las lenas, the mother of all mountains in the andes.
we also went biking with a texan who acted as our translator, argentian history guide, and malbec expert. the ride was tumultuous with numerous uphill walks with our bikes by our side. i bombed this wet road and underestimated the sharpness of a turn that sent my bike and body sliding for about 10 feet. a couple of cuts and a 5-inch rip straight down the ass crack of my warmups later, we end up back at the rental hostel with a nice cup of tea and amazing chococakes.
we made it!
the backdrop of bariloche
lombard in bariloche
leo manages to learn of a b-boy competition in town so we head to it one night. the cab drops us off at the non-descript building with a handful of thuggish-looking 14-17 year old hiphop heads. we meet them and they seemed cool enough. they rhymed for a bit then wanted us to roll with them to grab beers. the hostel ppl explicitly told us not to venture away from the venue. of course, we paid no heed and headed into the 'burbs. after about 20 minutes of meandering through random, dark streets with knuckle biting full alertness, we end up at a house in what looked like a townhouse community. a middle-aged mom-looking lady slid open a window, exchanged some words with the minors, then handed them a 33-oz beer. no problemo. we head back to the b-boy venue and kick it for a while, spittin rhymes, making jokes and friends. eventually about 30 young freestylers made an appearance but no b-boys were there so leo repped for the states and showed em what it was about. they loved us and swarmed us for autographs and knowledge of the art of being an american chino. being as lovable and friendly as we are, we dropped knowledge bombs all the way into 4 in the morning. we left with cool souvenirs: their tags and a buncha local friends who may end up being the next south american hiphop phenomenom.
homeboyz up in da club
to the beat yo
local souvenir
leo starts to get this raging cough. it´s not a cold. it´s not the swine flu. it´s the leo disease.
random occurrence: an aussie chick sleeping on top of me in the top bunk, falls out of her bunk in the middle of the night. for some reason, i wake up seconds before it happens and i hear a sound like a body falling 5 feet. i'm like WTF! of course, i'm blind as a bat, but i manage to see a shadowy figure move from the floor to the door. i figure it was just my imagination and thought that she must have just been a heavy footed bunk jumper. turns out she was dreaming of something and just leapt out of bed. OUCH. no injuries though. those aussies are tough.
trying to make our way to las lenas turned out to be an exercise in frustration and revealed how 15 years ago argentina really is. the vintage 70s and 80s cars that still serve as workhorses for the average argentinian was our first clue that things are a little backwards here. they are beat-up and in desperate need of a tune-up. (biz opp). trying to re-book our 14-hour bus ticket to las lenas at the bus station, as we were told, failed as the office couldn't change tickets purchased online. hello??? ever heard of consultants? (biz opp). so we just ate the cost and purchased another set of tickets but they turned out to be the coach class. wed we wanted the "semi-cama" class that offered 140 degree plush reclining chairs with privacy backboards. we went to the bus station again. could they upgrade? no bcuz they were out of semi-camas. cot damn. calling the bus company proved to be impossible because we were trying to dial international from a US-based skype account. this is one of the first experiences of pure frustration: first, the first few digits are the area code and can range anywhere from 3 to 4 digits long. second, calling cell phones and landlines required different prefixes: 9 for cell phones and 3 for landlines. third, the actual number could range anywhere from 6-8 numbers, and finally, numbers are connected 80%-90% of the time! imagine dialing different digit combinations, but double that number of permutations in order to account for the fact that the number doesn't always connect even if it's correct! damn utilities. (biz opp). we got dressed to ride, but ended up cancelling our plans to figure out the bus situation out. half day wasn't even an option. it took all day.
so we finally ended up on the overnight bus. the idea was to rent a car as soon as we got into town at 6:45 am. at first, the avis agent wanted us to come into the office at 9:30am when it opened, but with a little prodding, he agreed to pick us up in a car at 6:45am. what customer service! he showed up in the smallest sub-compact of sub-compact cars. the chevy corsa looked like another, bigger car gave birth to it similar to those russian dolls that sit within each other. given no other option, we managed to fit dan, leo, me, all of our luggage and snowboards in the 3-door hatchback. suhweeeet.
we drive 2 hours to malargue where we intended to stay at a hostel, supposedly 45 minutes from las lenas. we went to our original hostel and was deeply disappointed by the living conditions. we scoped out 2 other locations and both of those had ZERO people staying at them. one of them was a farm about 10 minutes out of town by dirt road. on the way there, there was a dead dog in the middle of the dirt road. not a good sign. the hostel person seriously looked like a darker version of hillbilly bob replete with mullet. we got the hell outta there. we decide to stay at the originally planned location. we get settled, and get dressed to ride.
the farm with mr mullet
not too appetizing...
turns out the drive to las lenas from malargue is really an hour and 15. i guess it didn't help that we had a lawnmower powered chevy with skinny donut tires that splish splashed on every pothole on the poorly maintained road closer to las lenas. since it was gonna dump that night, we decide to look for accommodations at las lenas despite it costing $63 as opposed to $8. we spoke to security who directed us to hugo who subsequently let us know the last apartment available was $200 a night. i smelt sleaze from a mile away but we were running short on time before it got dark so we took it. we drove back to malargue, packed our stuff and drove back to las lenas. by the time we got there, the whole area was transformed into a white snowy painting. tomorrow was going to be an epic day.
on our way to las lenas baaaby!
we made it
but before that, i set out on a mission to find cheaper accommodations. talking to several english speaking apartment receptionists, i learned that the rooms are actually timeshares and they are managed by certain people. i had to work with these people to find a good deal on an open apartment. but of course, they barely speak english so i found a friendly receptionist who was willing to call multiple managers and haggle the price per my direction. about 2 hours later, i find an apartment for $111 a night, nearly half of what hugo offered. bastard. so i book accommodations for the following 2 days.
shit! both chains fell off the tires and we lost one of them! frickin avis gave us the rustiest chains i've ever seen! (lawyer opp) we can't move the car, loaded with our luggage, to a new parking spot! we put on one chain and baby the car over to the parking lot. we manage to get on the lift about half an hour after they opened.
dan contracts leo disease. but his is the mutated form of super leo disease. not much coughing but chills, sweats, and overall tiredness. we find out it was some sort of bacterial infection closer to the end of the trip.
even though we missed first tracks, we still found a ton of freshies all over las lenas. the big chair that goes up to the very top was closed, as it is about 10% of the time due to wind and snow, but we were floating in shin deep powder for the first of the day. leo has a keen eye for the best terrain so we follow him to pow ecstasy. finding freshies was beginning to get difficult so we take a lunch break. dan and leo are exhausted from being sick for days so they decide to go home. i decide to finish off my day alone.
freshies as pure as the virgin mary
signing the waiver to my death
what follows is probably the scariest snowboarding moment in my life. i take a off-piste trail that apparently no one else was riding at that time of day. i ride some decent pow and see a chute blocked off by a net. my only option was to take a narrow 3-foot wide path a little higher than my current position. i figure i can just ride there. big mistake. the trail was so steep and rocky at that point that my board couldn't grip and i ended up washing out down to the net. shit. if i slip past the net, there's no way i can stop because the chute was rocky and at a 60-70 degree inline. so i spend the next 45 minutes yelling "ayudame!!!" for "help me!!!" and digging foot and hand holds into the snow. problem was, there was so much rock and such thin snow cover, that it was nearly impossible to find grip. plus, i wanted to save my snowboard so i had to make sure that wasn't going anywhere. it was like rock climbing on a snowy face with improper boots and a big snowboard. no one heard me and i was afraid it was going to get dark with me stuck there.
aaaaalmost there...
after making a few footholds, i manage to edge me and my board closer to the top of the passageway. i see a huge branch sticking out about 3 feet from me and i contemplate just lunging for it, forgetting my sold footholds. i spend about 15 minutes trying to find other options but there was none. if i try to step anywhere new, i'd would no doubt slide all the way back down to the net. so i lunge for the branch. with something to hold onto, i frantically kick my boots into the snow in an attempt to create a deep enough divot to stand on. i was slightly successful and was basically hanging onto the mountain by a deep-rooted branch. roots are life. i grab my snowboard and hurl it towards the top of the passageway. i fenagle my way over to my board by grabbing roots, rocks, and snow. it works. and the ride down the valley was the most epic ride of the day. i felt like i was in a video. so i made a video.
 |
| From south america |
too bad i had to hike 30 minutes back to the nearest lift after i cleared the valley. but man, i felt pimp status that day. wow.
2nd day at las lenas was simply epic. the marte chair opened and that takes us to the top with access to off piste chutes and unmarked terrain. it takes about 30 minutes and 3 chairs to get up there but the runs could last up to 2 hours depending on how much traverse hiking we have to do. i've never ridden pow like this before. i ran into vancouverites who have unfettered access to whistler, probably the best skiing in north america and these boarders say that they had the most epic run EVAAAR. i have to concur. the feeling of plowing through knee-deep, un-tracked pow in a 50 degree chute cannot be explained. my pictures don't even do it justice. double WOW.
windswept andes
the homies
ride or die...
marte chair accesses off piste chutes and bowls
so our 2nd day was our last day at lenas. we ended the day a bit early when martes, the lift access to backcountry and chutes shut down. we head back to the hotel and the leo disease forces leo and dan into the quarantine bed together. after a bit of laying around, i thought why not move onto the next city if we´re just going to leave the next morning? leo and dan were cool with saving a bit of money and leaving early. so i go to the management office and ask if they could refund us some of the money if we left that afternoon. as i was asking about it, leo walks into the office and asks me if it´s worth saving the money if we´re going to end up spending it somewhere else anyways. not seeing the logic of that, i tell him we can save a ton of money by getting a refund for a partial day stay, not eating the expensive food at the resort, and returning the rental car a bit early. i also tell him i don´t mind driving at all. leo ponders my logic for about 20 seconds, then puts his head down, and says ok. we sit there in silence for about another minute as management asks about the refund. leo then gets up and leaves. days later, dan tells me that the guys wanted to stay in bed all night and rest, realizing the pain of packing all of our gear and luggage into a tiny 3-door subcompact, and driving 2 hours to the next town would be so draining on them that they would rather spend the extra cash. woops my bad. but it was funny as hell realizing this and then thinking back to how leo half-heartedly tried to convince me to stay. i just shot the idea down with a 50 caliber scoped sniper rifle from 2 feet away. i am so oblivious sometimes.
post riding jizzmatics
epic snowboarding in argentina can only be toppèd by epic food in mendoza. OMG. easily one of the top 5 best dinners of my life was had at Restaurant magazine rated number 3 resturant in the world, 1884. the steak was easily the best i´ve had. the lamb was indelible and the dessert rocked my chocolate buds. the malbec was a smooth as silky butter. dan, thanks for the congratulatory dinner on my admission to kellogg. i´ll get you back when i´m BOC.
mendoza fountain
milanese con huevos. mmmmm....
picking up street leaves step 1: lower box, step 2: shovel into box, step 3: dump box contents into truck, step 4: take a break
mendoza central park. who´s going to rescue the soccer ball?
dope street artistry
more street steez
at 1884, this pear was grown in the bottle. about $100 USD a cup!
appetizer aftermath
dinner destruction
clay oven specialty
epic chocolately goodness
there´s about five different fruits in that madness
highly recommend going to 1884
rented a bike and made our ways around the chocolate factory and wineries of mendoza. known worldwide for their malbec, our slightly buzzed, slightly unstable bike riding made for an interesting challenge. we ended up hanging with the man, mr.hugo, proprietor of said bike rental place. he gives out unlimited free wine to the kids who rent his bikes and let´s them just chill on his patio all night. it was a blast getting a lil inebriated with a bunch of other wine tourers. he even walked us to the bus stop and made sure we all got on safe. thanks mr. hugo!!
wine storage
wino tasting
chocolat
the man, mr. hugo
yes, this is what they use instead of live traffic cops in mendoza
first day alone and in santiago. the hostel i stayed in had a foreign language student competition so i was surrounded by middleschoolers. i can´t wait to get out. haha
on my way to santiago, chile from mendoza, argentina
chillaxin at customs border
about 10 switchbacks to descend the mountain! the bus overhangs actually jut out past the cliff. thank god the tires had good tread!
the next day, i head to Valparaiso. words do it no justice so i will have to post all my pix:
the workshop
amazing 3D textures
Valparaiso´s hills are more insane than san francisco´s so they have these ascensors, or elevators, that take you to the top. they also have vintage looking electric buses humming about the busy town. simply beautiful.
ze trolley
the street elevators, or ascensors, or funiculars
gyea
at the top of the funicular, we see a dog impotency ad
massive goodness. steak, eggs, potatoes with graaavy, and veggies.
after eating lunch, i hung out with the only other hostel-mate, andy, my second day in valparaiso. he was a dood from austria, from a city close to kitzbuhel, a ski resort that motivated by roadtrip to germany and austria a couple of years back. not for skiing but for driving the switchbacks in the alps.
we starting with a famous valparaiso poet, neruda´s pad
dope
why can´t i piss in neruda´s bathtub?
eclectic furnishings. secret photos taken by my spycam canon sd800
shellfish wall. secret photos taken by my spycam canon sd800
u my holmes skillet and u can´t do sheizen about it!
gracias. money fo a po student
the dogs in south america aren´t anything like the pampered pansies that we raise in america. they have lives of their own that they live. there are three kinds of dogs:
1) guard dogs. these types are smart enough to recognize a potential infiltrator by your movements. if you walk normally and pass their house, they don´t give much notice to you. however, if you stop and look at their owner´s pad, they´ll start growling and barking at your smelly ass. dan does not like these dogs.
2) carefree dogs. these types hang out like ppl do. they chill with a friend or two, roaming the streets sniffing random buttholes and looking for interesting things to play with. they are out during the day and night. they don´t bark, are pleasant to be around, and have social behaviors that are interesting to watch
3) hard-knock dogs. these mangy mutts have it rough. i saw a dog that laid on a broken down cardboard box, not unlike the manhattan and san francisco bums that we see so plenty of! they scrounge around for food all day. if they smell any kind of food on you, whether it´s in your hand or a plastic bag, they will start to follow you. it´s not menacing but it´s sad that´s what they have to do because their owners bounced on them. as cold as it may seem, my tactic to lose them is to drop some food, and run off in a random direction. it´s gotta be frustrating as hell to beg for food and not be able to speak a lick of spanish.
the best of friends
it´s a hard knock life. don´t do drugs!
andy and i scoped vina del mar, a beautiful beach area. my goal for this trip was to snowboard all day for a month. yet, somehow, i end up at the beach. i think i know my life´s calling...
to the beach yo!
i tried taking a picture of the waves crashing onto the manmade break, and end up getting splashed hardcore seaworld shamu style. the water splashes onto the sidewalk and me as i jump off the platform and run into the street straight in front of an incoming car. i guess that´s pretty common so the car thoughtfully slowed down to save me from becoming wet roadkill. that would not be cool. i hope my camera will dry out and start functioning again.
nice forming wave...
maybe a lil too nice...
egads!!!
that is the end of my first two weeks... lost my ring, might have broken my camera, but i LOVE IT!
