and some chocolate chip cookies....
Well, Im currently shouting at you from Zapala, Argentina, which is the last major town before heading into the vast Patagonia country. I´ll fill you in on the ranch details after I cover the story of our passage thus far. First of all, we had some amazing accomodations on the first bus ride (11 hours). The seats practically folded into a twin bed and the food consisted of a tastly two course dinner, followed by coffee and cookies, and toppped with champagne right before they turned out the lights for the night driving portion. And we were awoken to a crossaint & coffee breakfast---all for $40 USD. The part that I lament is the fact that for here on out our quality of travel will be regressing drastically. I can already hear the torturous chicken bus rides in Bolivia calling my name. But for the moment, the luxury was nice (the U.S. Airlines could take a few notes). I had a very interesting Argentine sitting next to me, whose story included the fact (debateable) that he had developed a computer program that he sold to IBM for major bucks and know did not, and had no desire to work again at age 34.--jackass. The whole ride he was concerned about how he was not going to be able to smoke during the 11 hour ride. I half jokingly made the recommendation that he should go smoke in the bathroom on the bus--a suggestion he took not much later (hey, I may not be able to write a lucrative computer code but at least I think I got this guy on common sense). I told him about our plans to work on the ranch in Patagonia and he and Petro´s Argentine seatmate Lara, both had trouble grasping the reasoning behind it. Hey, we can´t win ´em all...
Tonight we are spending the night in Zapala and will be taking transport of some sort to the frontier town of El Hueco, where we will have to hike for a couple hours to reach the ranch. We just met with the owner of the place, who described the logistics of our existence on the ranch: hard work, isolated beauty, and a lot of goat and sheep eating with the gauchos, who will slaughter the animals on site at dinner when we are working with them in the mountains. We will have the weekends to ride horses, trek, camp, cry, whatever.
Supposedly, the use of spotty internet would be a several hour hike out of the ranch, which, as long as there is a reader I will try and make the journey on the weekends.
I´m all in,
Rusty Quarnstrom
Friday
Mom, FedEx my Levi´s!
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10 comments:
Can fedex ship oreo's and ranch dressing to an Argentinian ranch?
Peter is going to wish he could quit you
Does the movie "Broke Back Mountain" come to anyone elses mind.
I have the feeling we may never see Petro again unless we take the journey to this remote destination where I presume he will choose to live out the rest of his life as a mountaineer guru. People will trek from miles away to visit him seeking advice on their search for eternal happiness.
¿Dónde está el más cercano todo lo que usted puede comer el buffet de la cabra?
Jane,
My mom would have already have shipped those jeans and cookies - I am sure you have done it already but just checking. Brian, stay safe
love,
Jeff
You will have a great time earning money by the strength of your muscles (which will build better than in the gym) and the sweat of your brow. Nothing will make you appreciate your college education more. I envy you the scenery and the opportunity to work with horses...I grew up riding horses across the plains in South Dakota. Ask me sometime about the "Great Hog Round-up" when you need a good belly laugh!
Stay Safe and keep the common sense in use.
Cynthia
P.S. The consensus at the Mosaic Shop was "WHO is he calling "middle-aged" or "old"???? And WHO bakes?!" We still love you, but you will have some damage control to do when you get back in order to smooth ruffled feathers and get back in our good graces! :-)
damn,
Wish I was there! Don't let Petro ride bareback.
tell PJ that he better allow anonymous/nickname users on his blog or else he'll lose quite a bit of posting commenters.
what are 'dem natives gonna think when you tell them you used to drive a "steel bronco." you should introduce them to salt too, they'll flip out.
BQ, hope all is well, I just read your blog from Argy, couldnt stop laughing from my piece of S__T cubicle back in the Chi. Why did I ever leave Suda? Que lastima que uds no fueran a mi querida Bolivia! No importa, be safe on your travels, hope to see you and petro sometime soon.
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