Bariloche: Day 2

Day two started off with the rise of the sun shining through our hostel window and a free scone and jelly breakfast polished off with a side of burnt coffee( I love free hostel breakfasts). After a quick meal and lots of contemplation on what to wear for the day, Byron, Tash and I were pumped to get our day of kayaking started. We had spoken with a few hostel friends the night before about fun adventures we could try, kayaking was one of them. The Kayak trainers/instructors were two brothers, Fernando and Alfredo and a son, Francisco or "Nacho" who had been kayaking for years and absolutely loved their jobs. They were the sweetest three men who very soon became our good friends.

Our instructors:




Eleven people in total piled into a piece of tin van that was freezing and we headed up and down and through the mountains of Patagonia to our destination in a national park where we were to suit up in our kayak gear and head out to the rapids.



I was pretty nervous to go kayaking, but everyone assured me it would be a fabulous time and everything would be okay. I have a fear of water sports, but I figured I couldn't miss this chance. On the hour and a half van ride to our destination Byron, Tash and I passed the time by playing typical "road trip" games! We chatted in Spanish to our drivers/instructors while sharing "mate"(Argentina's national tea), asked about their lives etc. The conversations we had together(Byron Tash and I) were NEVER dull. We talked about things from life, and love, to death, murders, clothing, travel, sex, Spanish and the list goes on. When you spend a week with people in amazingly beautiful places, galaxy's away from anything/one familiar, it's natural to become so close to your new friends and ponder life together.

Trio in the van:


When we finally arrived at the lake we parked the van and found a special little cove at the shore of the lake. We made avocado, cheese and tomato sandwiches and fooled around taking pictures, climbing trees and doing yoga in front of the breathtaking scenery.







After a protein filled lunch and some quality relaxation at the cove, we went back to the van to suit up for our imminent kayak adventure. We shoved ourselves into the tightest rubbery body suits, put our helmets and little booties on and grabbed a boat to take to the shore.

All suited up:



Tash was lucky enough to be paired with Fernando (our masculine and all protecting guide) as I was lucky to be paired with Byron, the hyper and fearless New Yorker who insisted on constantly shaking the kayak trying to tip it over JUST to get a reaction out of me. Regardless, Tash and I were satisfied to have strong men in our kayak's because the water was not calm. One boat of two girls from our hostel were basically a joke to everyone else because they were so horrible at steering their kayak. They continually got stuck in the rapids, washed up onto huge rocks and flipped over numerous times. At one point, Sky, one of the bad kayak girls fell out of the boat and started floating WAY down the rapids, luckily Fernando(who seemed to not be human because he was so amazing at kayaking)saved the day and swam after her.

The sights we saw were yet again, breathtaking and beautiful. The entire kayak day (total about 10 hours)was magnificent. We had such a fabulous time with our guides, and with the other people on the day trip. The weather was definitely not warm, but the smelly and tight wet suits kept our body temperatures at bay. It wasn't until the very end of the rapids that we pulled into this one private cove, that we started to become numb and frozen. Byron and Tash jumped off a cliff into the water while the rest of us paddled around taking lots of pictures with Bryon's water proof camera(greatest invention).

Kayaking:


When our kayaking adventure was finally over( It was the most amazing time ever, but a tad long in that freezing cold wetsuit), we found the tin van in the middle of a field with all our warm clothes in it. Each girl and the one boy, scurried off behind trees and bushes to change into our warm/dry clothes. Now, I can't describe this in as much detail as I would like, but I have never been that numb in my life. It probably took me 20 actual minutes to take the wetsuit off and put on my warm clothes. There was an obstacle I was faced with on top of the cold weather and the tight soaking wet rubber suit. This obstacle was that there were a million little prickly thorns attached to my legs from walking through the field. There were hundreds all over my wetsuit that I had to take the time to pick each one off before I could continue getting changed. My fingers couldn't move in the way that my brain usually makes them move, I had a hard time breathing (because I was naked in the middle of an empty field at 6pm on a chilly night in Patagonia), but by the grace of God, I successfully changed into my one pair of spandex and my one sweatshirt that I smartly packed (I was completely unaware of how freezing Patagonia was). FINALLY, after everyone struggled to change, we packed the van and huddled together for warmth.

This next part of our Kayak trip may have been my favorite part of the entire time in Patagonia, because it was authentic, and rustic. The kayak guides took us to this little Estancia/restaurant on the side of the mountain where they knew the owners. When we walked up to the cabin (we were all still defrosting) the warm glow from inside looked inviting and comforting after a long day of kayaking. We entered the wooden door and looked around inside. There were tasty fresh empanadas on the table for us, cafe con leche, tea and beer sitting there. Handwoven socks and scarves were hung on the walls for sale, there were leather goods, jams, cheeses and other goodies that were all home made as well. I was so cold and decided to buy myself a nice pair of socks.

The estancia:




It was such a relaxing time to get to know the locals. The family who owned the little cabin had two of the most adorable little girls, Carmen and ( I can't remember the other ones name) who I became quite fond of. Their lives were incomparable to mine, so simple, a mountain lifestyle in the middle of no where. I could tell they didn't have much money by the cleanliness of their clothes and the simplicity of everything else. I wish I had had some exciting gift to give the two little girls, but I sat on the ground of their little cabin and spoke to them in Spanish while playing imaginary games. It was such a cozy evening in the little hut. There was no pressure of time, nothing in the world to even worry about. I just sat on the wooden and dusty old ground of the cabin playing with the girls, who will probably never remember me whereas I will never forget them.

The little girls:





Tash and Byron were making friends with the other hostel people, the parents of the little girls and just enjoying the refreshments in the little cabin on the side of the mountain. It was the most perfect ending to the most adventurous, fun and perfect day. On the long dark drive home we discussed life back in the States; where were grew up, family, and friends and compared life back home to the simple life out there. We didn't get back to the hostel til very late so we were exhausted and fell right to sleep in our warm beds.