Bariloche Vacation

Geographically speaking, Argentina is a very long country.  It has been said that it’s as long as the USA is wide.  We got to see much of it during our 20 hour drive to Bariloche.  We saw many gauchos driving their horses and tending their herds in the campos.  We saw windmills and corn fields.  We saw a lot of tractors, cows, and silos. It was totally different than the big-city life we lead in Córdoba Capital.  And a nice change of pace.

Nature Shots from the Road

Casablanca (our home away from home away from home)

This is the

spectacular view from our window.

It even snowed

one day.

Breathtaking.

A Glimpse into our Vacation Activities

From top left:
celebrating Chris's birthday//playing in the living room (check out the view!)//enjoying our grassy "balcony"//
loving saying "Go play outside!" when this was right ourside our window//fun times in the pool and playing pool//
swimming in the lake//hiking 6.2 km in the rain



River Rafting (our favorite day)

As you can see, this was an amazing vacation

and we are incredibly full of gratitude. 

More details to come about what we came home to...

First Leg of the Journey

We made it to Bariloche and love it here.  It is absolutely beautiful (green trees everywhere; clear, unpolluted lake; no trash on the streets; blooming flowers...) and we are very thankful to be here together.

It is a 20 hour drive so we thought we'd break it up and do 14 hours the first day and 6 the second. 

On that first day, about 30 minutes into the drive, Andrew suddenly puked his guts out.  Like, seriously, puked.his.guts.out.  All over the back seats, freshly laundered pillowcases, stuffed animals, Johnny, and even his own new shoes.  (Johnny just yelped a little "OH!" and then calmly got out of the car and waited for me to wipe him off.)

Andrew continued to barf for the next 12 hours.  Yes, my sweet boy got the 12 hour flu just in time for our 14 hour drive.  If anyone can handle it, he can.  The child did not complain one single time.  The closest he came was saying, "Wow, THIS sure is not what I expected for the beginning of our vacation."

I happen to be a whole-hearted supporter of reusing and recycling.  However, being forced to reuse used barf bags can leave a person feeling a bit revolting.

That first day was a straight drive, literally, through Las Pampas and a whole lot of nothing.  (Chris is an amazing driver and was passing the slow cars with a speed and know-how that would make his race-car driving dad very proud.)  I sat in the back between David and Johnny keeping on eye on Mr. Ralph in the front seat and would yell, "pull over!" as soon as I sensed it coming.  It was almost uncanny how in tune I was with his tummy.  One of the funniest moments (poor Andrew) was when he was hurling out his orange Gatorade and in between hurls, he exclaims, "it has a leak!" and sure enough, the orange foulness was pouring out of the barf bag and spashing onto his lap, the seat, and the floor of the car.  What a trooper.

He was totally better by the time we pulled up into the Hostel in Neuquén.  It was called Hostel Portal de Sueños... Portal of Dreams.  It wasn't anything close, unless they meant nightmares.

All that to say, we got to Bariloche safely that next day and we love it here and are incredibly thankful.

And hopefully no more barfing action.

I will post pictures when we get home... I just had to share our driving adventure.  Please laugh with me and not at me.  ¡Muchas gracias!

Happy 2012!

We are welcoming this new year with hands-wide-open.

We hosted a fun New Year's celebration, complete with swimming to cool off, dinner at 10:30, and fireworks until 3.

 The firework burn-victim. 

That's ice between his fingers and a brave smile on his face.

Cheers! Salud!

We're off on our first, week-long family vacation to Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina. We're going to drive for about 20 hours and we'll get to see beautiful parts of this country we've only heard about. We'll also be escaping the heat as we drive further and further south. Celebrating Chris's birthday on Saturday, hikes, river-rafting, and eating chocolate are just some of the things we're looking forward to. (Plus Bethany gave us some homemade coffee syrups: vanilla, gingerbread, and chocolate almond. We are starting the year off right!)

Have a great week! Chau for now!