Tengo Gripo (I have a cold)

I woke up on day three with a cold. This did not stop me from heading to the slopes for the third day in a row. We headed to Villa Nevada which is the highest resort in Tres Valles. It was clearly the resort with the most Americans and the most snowboarders. Perhaps there is a correlation but I have no evidence to back this up. 

After only two runs we took another poma. I'm happy to report that I somehow managed to make it to the top. Although, when the group was given the option to spilt so that the snowboarders (Colleen and I) could stick to chair lifts, we jumped at the chance. I was happy to finish the day Lucinda: 1, Loma: 0.

Considering it was our third day in a row snowboarding, I was expecting a shorter day. However, we kept going until nearly 5:00. By this point my legs felt like rubber and I was in desperate need of a long stretching session. 

Given my cold, after stretching I decided to nap before dinner. And after dinner it seemed like time to go to sleep.

When I woke up I felt marginally better than the day before but still suffering from a cold.  This didn't stop me from putting my snowboard on again. However, the icy run, combined with my tired legs and cold had me taking it right back off. I hoped to go back out once the sun warned up the slopes but the weather had other ideas. Winds kicked up and all the chairlifts  shutdown leaving plans as the only option. This was not my kind of option so I opted for hot chocolate. 

The rest of our crew finished around 2:00 and we ate a traditional Chilean lunch - fondue, before getting in the bus to head to our next destination. 

Santiago Y Mas

I spent my first morning in Santiago with the United Airline Baggage Services. Apparently, my suitcase decided 5 hours was not enough time to enjoy the Houston airport and skipped the flight. Since there is only one flight per day to Chile, it looked like I was going to have to do a little shopping.

We fought off our desire to sleep and after a quick shower we caught a ride with a friendly Uber driver to a Barrio Bellavista. This neighborhood seemed a little sleepy but after a strolling around a little we realized that it must come alive at night since it seemed every other establishment was a nightclub.

After lunch we walked to the center of town to look for a few items to hold me over until my suitcase arrived. Our jet lag was quickly catching up to us so we just tried to kill time until it was acceptable to eat dinner.  Just before dinner we found a park with some spectacular sculptures. After just a few minutes we realized that this park was a favorite with young couples. There were couples snuggled up every few feet. It was borderline uncomfortable for Colleen, Dan and I but we ventured on and took in the entire park.

Finally, we decided it time to eat and found ourselves at a nice wine bar that served several Chilean and Argentinian wines by the glass. We stretched out our dinner so that by the time we finished the restaurant it was finally an acceptable hour to eat dinner in Santiago.

Day two was the start of our tour and thankfully the return of my suitcase. We returned to the airport and met our guides Vicente and Claudio. It took us a little while to get to Farallones but we still managed to have a group meeting before heading to Valle Colorado for our first day on the slopes.

One thing I’m not loving about the ski resorts in Chile is the extensive use of T-Bars and Poma Lifts. These are not snowboard-friendly methods to the top of the mountain. On day one, in the battle between Lucinda and the T-Bars, it was T-Bars 4, Lucinda 3. Perhaps I will catch up by the end of the trip but I’d prefer to retire from the T-Bars altogether.

After a couple hours on the slopes we took a break for an avalanche safety course in the unlikely event of an avalanche. Just before we all froze on top of the mountain, we finished the class and snowboarded back down to our lodge for the first half of our tour.

We enjoyed a spectacular sunset, followed by a steak dinner and then a well deserved night of sleep.

Day two, we headed to Ski La Parva. At this resort we made our first climb of the trip. About halfway up, I had a newfound respect for the people I see climbing Granite Chief at Squaw. I also discovered that they were crazier than I thought. By the time we made it to the top, my legs felt like jello and my lungs were burning. It took about 40 minutes to get up and about 1 minute to snowboard down. The snow was great, in fact the best we found all day, but I would have preferred a shorter climb and longer ski.

After a couple more runs on piste, we broke for lunch where we were introduced to a Chilean specialty – Chorrillanas. This was a giant plate of French fries topped with chicken, steak, chorizo, hotdogs, grilled onions and three fried eggs. I’m not sure I’m ready to eat this dish again anytime soon, but after the long morning of snowboarding, it hit the spot.

After lunch, I began my battle with the Poma Lift. Poma Lift 4, Lucinda 1. Eventually Vincente took pity on me and took us to a chair lift. From there, we took a long ride all the way back to the village and called it a day. It was a good thing too, because, we still have several days of snowboarding still to come.

In Search of Snow

It is finally time for a new adventure. There were a few months early in the year when I was pretty depressed. Not only was there hardly any snow in California, but I also didn't have any trips planned. Not even a short one. Then one day while chilling in the cabin in Tahoe dreaming about snow I remembered this email that I received a couple days earlier from Ski Portilla. I jokingly talked with Dan and Colleen about going to Chile in the summer if it didn't start snowing soon. 

Well, within a few weeks we went from joking about it to researching options to booking a tour. And once we were committed to heading all the way to Chile, we figured why not have Holly join us and head to Easter Island. 

(Yeah, it's not that close but you can only get there via Chile, Peru and Fiji and I've always wanted to go. It didn't hurt that I was feeling a little jealous that my mom's friend Sue had a trip booked and I didn't want to feel left out.)

Oh, and did I mention that Chile is right next to Argentina? I spent a couple hours in Argentina at Iguazu Falls when I was traveling in Brazil, but they refused to stamp my passport so I'm not sure it counted. And this way I get to check out Patagonia, Mendoza and Buenos Aires. So what started as a desire to have at least one really good day snowboarding in 2015 quickly turned into a 3 1/2-week expedition. 

As usual, I will brag blog about it along the way for those of you interested in living vicariously or, like my family, want to make sure I'm still alive.   

Operation: Rescue Holly

Colleen and I flew out to San Antonio, Texas on Saturday with one mission: help Holly pack up her apartment, sell her car, and drive her back home to California. To assist in this mission we rented a white Chevy Impala that we have named Grandma Pearl. We fit all our bags in Grandma Pearl's ample trunk and if Carmax will hurry up with the paperwork, we will get the hell out of Texas.

Last Few Days and a Little Advice

I learned a somewhat obvious life lesson on the road from Myvatn to Akureyri and I thought I should share. If you see an amazing waterfall just across a bridge and a rest stop before the bridge, stop and use the bathroom before heading to the waterfall. You will enjoy it far more. I recommend this even if you don't think you need to go because as soon as you step out of the car to the roar of the falls, you'll regret it.

The waterfall that taught me this lesson was the last of the well known falls I would see on my tour of the island. It's named Godafoss (waterfall of the gods), named because some tribal leader dumped all his pagan idols into it when he converted to Christianity.

After a short while longer, I arrived in Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland with a whopping population of 17,000. Compared to every town I've stayed in outside Reykjavik, it was huge. I was thrilled to have more than two dining choices.

The following day I had a long drive back to Reykjavik, nearly 400 kilometers in a single day. The drive, while long, was just as scenic as every other drive in the country. After several hours and a few stops, I finally made it back to the capital.

My last day in Reykjavik was spent touring around, including a free walking tour, which I highly recommend, and some window shopping. I considered bring some souvenirs and gifts, but after nearly two weeks drinking $5 coffees and eating $30 hamburgers, I couldn't bring myself to buy a $40 t-shirt or $70 mud mask.

My recommendation... go to Iceland but budget to spend a lot of money on food and lodging. Fortunately, nature I'd free. And don't worry about GPS :)

Frozen Fosses

From Borgarfjord, it was time to start heading west. I took the scenic route to Lake Myvatn, stopping first at Dettifoss. Dettifoss, is not the biggest or tallest waterfall in Iceland but apparently it is the largest in terms of the volume of water posing over it per year. Just beyond Dettifoss, is Selfoss. If Dettifoss was a large fist, Selfoss, were its delicate, unclenched fingers. The only real disappointment was the non stop rain that prevented any rainbows from peaking out from the mist.

From Dettifoss, I continued north along a bumpy, gravel road to the coast. The drive along the coast was beautiful, one cliff after another drawing down to the sea. I stopped for a while in Husavik, the whale watching capitol of Iceland. I briefly contemplated jumping on one of the whale tours, but the thought of being out at sea in a small boat in the rain just didn't seem worth it.

The following morning I had booked a tour to the Lofthellir cave. When I woke and saw the rain was really coming down, I was happy that the cave would protect me from the rain. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate a fifteen minute walk over lava fields to get there. Once we arrived, we switched it off our shores into the rubber boots (equipped with metal studs to cling to the ice) they provide and headed into the cave. During the tour, we climbed icy slopes, slid down ice slides on our butts, repelled/slid on our sides, etc., to make our way from chamber to chamber of the cave. And we were rewarded for this hard work by amazing ice sculptures. By the time we saw one sculpture, named the Frozen Foss, I realized that there were in fact two frozen Fosses. My thin gloves were soaked from clinging to the ice and I was desperately wishing I had worn another layer. Fortunately our time in the cave was coming to an end before I lost any fingers out toes.

I took a short break after the tour to warn up (and add a layer) before heading out again to Dimmuborgir. This is another lava field, but unlike most, relatively flat fields, in this one the lava shot straight up in spots and froze. Walking through the park, it felt like the walls were really angry trolls starting down at me. Maybe they only looked angry because of the terrible weather, but it was a bit disconcerting.

My next stop was to the Myvatn Nature Baths. This is often called the Blue Lagoon of the North. In my opinion, it was a perfect way to return one frozen Foss back to a nice warm Foss after time spent in the cave and Dimmuborgir.

For dinner, I went to the Volcano Cowshed. I sat looking out the window at an actual cowshed. In fact, if you go at the right time, you can even watch them being milked and taste their fresh offerings. I did not go at the right time. But I did feel a little guilty eating a hamburger (it was quite good) while looking out at the cows. It felt a little like I was at `The Restaurant at the End of the Universe'.

In Search of Elves

After departing Seydisfjordur, I once again drove up into the snow-capped mountains, only this time I noticed all of the waterfalls that lined the route.  On the way in to the city, they were at my back and I was too mesmerized by the fjord in front of me to take notice.  However, they were staring me in the face on my way out of town.  I found a nice picnic table at the top of the mountain where I thought I could enjoy the skyr (Icelandic version of Greek yogurt) I bought for breakfast.  However, as soon as I opened the door of the car, the wind promptly blew it shut again.  I naively tried again, but quickly discovered that the wind was too strong and too cold for me to escape the warmth of my car.  

I continued driving north to another fjord town, Borgarfjordur Eystri. The town is named after the elves (aka hidden people) that have long made this part of Iceland home.  Before I embarked on my search of elves, I first drove to the harbor to see the famous puffins that have also made this area home.  The puffins are a funny-looking, oranges beaked bird that come to Iceland every April, for a unknown amount of time (both the lonely planet and the plaque at the site of the wharf only indicated the arrival time).  I gave up trying to take a photo of them flying, because, like on top of the mountain, the wind was fierce which caused the birds to flop around in the air in unexpected patterns (it is possible that this is their normal flying pattern).

Once I was too cold to watch the puffins any longer, I headed back in to town for lunch.  There are only two restaurants in town, so I stopped at the one with the most cars.  They are known for their fish stew, and although I'm not much of a fish lover, I desperately wanted something hot to warm me back up, so I went for it.  I was happy to discover that the fish flavor was hardly noticeable and it really did hit the spot.  Once I was sufficiently warm, I went back out into the cold wind, this time in search of elves.  There is a spot, not far from the restaurant, called Alfaborg, which translates to Elf Rock.  It is said that the elves don't mind people lurking around, and it is supposed to bring good luck to circle the rock.  I searched and searched, but unfortunately the elves remained hidden.  Perhaps they only come out at dark, which is unfortunate, since it will not be dark for at least a month.

I enjoyed dinner with a group of tourist that have just completed four day hike forms on Seydisfjordur to Borgarfjordur. Just as we were finishing up, a number of locals appeared.  Apparently, this weekend the town is celebrating Christmas in July and all came to the restaurant to prepare for the event by cutting designs into Icelandic bread and by making gingerbread cookies. And you can't celebrate Christmas without Christmas carols, so the music changed as well.  Maybe this is the townspeoples effort to bring the elves out during the light-filled summer months.