Friday, February 1 – Bariloche

I had a somewhat leisurely morning. I did do some trip planning though. I booked my flight from Puerto Montt to Santiago for Wednesday. That was $116. I also booked my lodging for Puerto Varas (arrival on Sunday, depart Wednesday). A little bit of glitch here though. After I made the reservation through booking.com, I received an email from the hotel operator stating that they were overbooked and that I should cancel the reservation. One problem: booking.com is going to charge me a cancelation fee if I do that. So, I ended up having to call booking.com to sort it out. Kind of a hassle, but it all worked out in the the end, Puerto Varas accommodation is on the pricier side – I booked a B&B for $99/night. (I think I might have used the word “book” a little too often in this paragraph!)

In the afternoon I took a little hike into town. First stop: Holly Restobar! I wasn’t all that hungry, but I had to check out the menu (they even had one in english!). The Holly Burger was about $10. Seemed kind of pricey for Argentina (but then again, this is a tourist town!). There was also a Holly Salad, Holly Steak and a Holly Hot Dog! Yumm! I was also checking to see if they sold any merchandise, but sadly no.

Next, I was on a mission to buy some chocolate. I stopped in a few different shops, but ultimately I went with the place that gave me a free sample the other day (and again today!). Plus, their salespeople were friendly.

Now, the question is, how strong is my will power as I ration this purchase?

Miscellaneous ramblings…

• I been asked often where I’m from. I always answer the same – Estados Unidos (United States, and never “America”, that’s seems like an offensive thing to say when I’m in South America!). I cringe a little when I respond, expecting the worse. But I’ve never received any backlash, which is kind of surprising.
• No stomach issues so far. And I drink the tab water, have drinks with ice cubes, and eat raw vegetables and peeled fruit. You’ve also read about my street food purchases. It’s my understanding that the situation in Chile is similar. Bolivia and Ecuador? Not so much!
• I’ve put together a spreadsheet with several sheets tracking my bookings, forward planning, ATM withdrawals, credit card purchases, etc. (Kait can relate!). Another thing I’m tracking is my steps (thanks Fitbit!). From day one of the trip, January 9th, through the end of January I’m averaging 17,400 steps per day. Doubt I’ll be able to keep that pace up!
• I have a travel insurance policy for medical and emergency evacuation only. I didn’t bother with trip cancelation or any of that other stuff (lost luggage, theft, interruption, etc.); mainly because I knew I wasn’t going to cancel! And those are the expensive parts of the policy. I have coverage for $50,000 in medical expenses and $1,000,000 in emergency medical evacuation for 11 weeks from Berkshire Hathaway at a cost of $27.

Saturday, February 2 – Bariloche

Today was a HUGE travel planning, research and booking day. I probably spent five hours working on this. It’s not something I enjoy, but obviously it needs to get done. My mantra on this trip has been “no itinerary”, but I’m at the point where certain things need to be finalized.

So, I booked the following: Easter Island flights and accommodation, flight from Santiago to La Paz, and accommodation in Santiago. I know this doesn’t sound like much, but seriously, it took a lot of time to sort through. I was also trying get the rough timing (and flights) to Ecuador somewhat finalized.

Finally, late this afternoon I had had enough with the planning and took a walk into town and stopped by an ice cream/chocolate shop outside of the tourist zone.

Then it was on to the supermercado to pick up some dinner.

Well, tomorrow it’s goodbye Argentina (for now, I’m hoping to make a trip from Santiago into the wine country of Mendoza). I’ll be taking the bus over the Andes into Chile. Wish me luck!