Check out our pictures HERE!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Ushuaia

Oh, Ushuaia. Paradise. How can you not love a place with mountains, penguins and tango?! This amazing southern city is a close tie with Whitehorse for my favorite place ever. I'll be back....

Christine

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Let's Dance!

Yesterday we rested up our tired feet and legs, and after a delicous BBQ buffet we were ready for some TANGO lessons. Yes, Tango! For a low price of 10$ we got a beer and about 3 hours of great coaching. We started by learning simple steps individually and by the end of the night were combining the steps and dancing with partners. As much as she would argue otherwise, Christine proved that she is indeed a great dancer - she was even used to demonstrate new moves to her not so graceful friend...
I had trouble not laughing at the move where I had to rub our foot along my partners shin, making me feel like a cat rubbing up against a random leg... but all in all it was a great time! It was definitely a little more challenging than two steppin at Looney Toons, but well worth the effort!
The evening wrapped up with two of the instructors dancing to one of their favorites just as they would in competition. They flowed together perfectly - it was incredible!

Jodie

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

canadian beavers doing us proud

Tierra del Fuego is full of Canadian Beavers. Seriously. Apparently they were introduced here a while ago and have really been thriving. We were told by some locals as we headed out on our hike that we would definitely see the 'destruction' they have caused in the Fuegan mountains.

So we knew we might see some beaver dams. But we had no idea that we would find them way above the treeline surrounded by rugged snowy mountains. And that some of their dams would be over 10 feet high and that others would be over 100 feet long.

It seems that Canadian beavers are doing even better at the tip of the world than they are at home!

Christine

Hiking the Fuegan Andes

"We're hiking in the Fuegan Andes, guys! I can't believe we're hiking in the Fuegan Andes!"

(This actually sounds really funny when you say it out loud [Fuegan is pronounced fweg-in])

Even though the forecast was for 3 days of rain with only one morning of potential sun, we were determined to start hiking and we set of for the Valdivieso Circuit as waterproofed as we could make ourselves.

Thankfully, the weather held out and we enjoyed dry weather and great visibility for most of the hike.

The 'trail' was actually more of a rough route, but for the most part we were above the treeline and could easily see where we wanted to go. The first day took us up over the Beban pass, which offered incredible views of the jagged and snow-covered peaks that surrounded us. We took advantage of the long summer day (2 days after summer solstice) and hiked until 9pm and cooked dinner as we watched the sun cast its last light on the impressive rock faces that surrounded our campsite.

The next day, we climbed up over two passes (Mariposa and Valdivieso), which both overlooked beautiful alpine lakes surrounded by incredible peaks and beautiful snowfields. This was Christmas eve and we camped near a small waterfall and celebrated with hot mulled wine as our bed-time drink.

Christmas morning, we awoke to pouring rain but it had more or less cleared by the time we we ready to head out. The final day of the hike took us down a long valley that was mostly skeg and Jodie and I laughed at the fact that we were tromping through ankle deep moss for fun when we get paid for it all summer.

We made it back to the road and hitched a ride back to our hostel with enough time to make our Christmas phone calls and cook up a makeshift Christmas dinner. All in all, it was a beautiful hike and definitely got us excited for more!

Christine

Monday, December 25, 2006

Feliz Navidad

from the bottom of the world: Tierra del Fuego!

More on the past few days' adventuring tomorrow morning...tonight its dinner, wine and lots of sleep in a warm comfy bed!

Merry Christmas,

Christine, Jodie and Anthony

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Whirlwind

Ouff! 4 days after leaving La Paz and 2 flights and many hours on the bus later, we're at the end of the world in Ushuaia, Argentina. The trip has been quite an adventure in itself and I'm not convinced that biking here wouldn't have been more relaxing!

We left La Paz afer a fun night of partying with some cyclists that we met from Vancouver that involved a midnight dip in the ocean in downtown La Paz and a lot of hair gelling with the 1L of gel that Jodie and I found for a dollar!

Needless to say, we weren't in the best shape ever when we got on the overnight flight to Chile the next morning. Or the overnight flight the next night to Punta Arenas. By yesterday morning, we were running on 10 hours of terrible airplane sleep in three days.

We were exhausted, but not too exhausted to go check out Punta Arena's most interesting attraction, the Penguins on Magdallena Island. WOW! There were over 100,000 of them all over this little island and you could get up pretty close for pictures. Such funny little creatures!

A 12 hour bus ride brought us all the way to Ushuaia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego and we're ready to stop moving and do some exploring.

EXCEPT, somewhere between La Paz and Ushuaia, I managed to lose a pair of jeans, a tanktop, my binoculars, $80 cash, my passport (luckily I got this one back), and possibly my mp3 player (it might be with my bike). At least my backpack is a little lighter, I guess.

WEEEeeeeeeEEEEEeeeeeeEEEee!

Christine

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

touchdown

We made it to Chile safe and sound and have met up with Anthony, who we'll be travelling and hiking with for the next 3 weeks. We're running on 5 hours of poor sleep in 2 days, and have another night flight tonight to get us to the bottom of the world for Christmas.

More later, when we've woken up from this travelling haze :)

Christine

Monday, December 18, 2006

¡adios mexico!

Well, we've seen the Baja - the good, the bad and the ugly of it. There are things we'll miss and things we'll try to forget....and here they are, in no particular order:

We'll miss...fresh fruit shakes for breakfast...hot dog stands...churros...loud mexican music...sandy beaches...clear blue water...pinata stores...margaritas...1 dollar beers...chihuahuas...creative gel hair styles...

We'll try to forget...creepy mexican men whistling and catcalling...hairy man-eating tarantulas...angry guard dogs that aren't kept tied up...cactus thorns that puncture our tires....

It's been great, but we're looking forward to the new adventures (and foods!) waiting for us in South America. We fly to Chile tomorrow (!!) to start round two so stay tuned.

Christine

Saturday, December 16, 2006

For all the fun in La Paz


You were the perfect host! Thanks for the welcome ballenas, balandra beach, the local eats and guiding us to (and most of all, home from) the casa de villa. Sorry for keeping you out so late ;)

The Myers hit Mexico!

...and Gary, Marcy, Jane, Brandy and Julie! We just had a great week-long vacation with a good FSJ crowd- here are some highlights:
*Dad braved the elments and traded in the Wranglers and the long johns for shorts, earning the affectionate nickname ¨wittle white woper¨from Jullio.
*Jane gave him (Dad) a good run for his money with the ´fish-belly-white´ skin in the early phases, but definitely was the tanned one by the end.
*Marcy provided some incredible dance lessons which made good use of the piñata stick and 80´s hits.
*Mom oooed, awwwed and took pictures of the flowers, ocean, birds, fish, us, and well, pretty much everything...¨Pretty Darn Nice eh?¨
*Chef Boy-ar-Doyle once again showed his talents as he worked his magic in the kitchen to impress Brandÿ. He also kindly sacrificed his kayak when she was getting attacked by the shark- what a nice boy...
*Gary lost count of the Gin and Tonics as his glass overflowed with the limes that were supposed to be used for keeping track of how many he´d had...
*Chris and Jullio harmanized nicely to ¨Punta Pascadero La La La La La¨ and ¨Ole Ole, Ole Ole Ole!!!
There was plenty of swimming, singing, dancing, tequilla and beer drinking, exploring, and tons of laughing - it was a great way to wrap up our US/Mexico journey! Thanks guys!

-Jodie

SHOUT OUT TO JOE!!!

...it could never be as good as the SF Bitter End party! But, yes it was good fun! We are landing in Santiago on the morning of December 20th - see ya there!?!?
If not, send us an email myers_jodie@hotmail.com & likethepear_9@hotmail.com

Saturday, December 09, 2006

¡Baila! ¡Baila!

We´ve been saving up for a good night of partying for quite a while now - our last one was in San Fransisco over a month ago...

So we put on our best get-up last night (which looks quite a lot like what we wear every day!) and headed out for a night on the town with Gerald, our host here in La Paz (and our boss`s father!). He took us on a tour of the best watering holes early in the evening, including one that was decorated with dead pufferfish lit up by colored lights inside of them. Then it was to the rooftop bar on the waterfront where the real fun began. Before long, then entire place was packed and we were sitting front row for the best entertainment in the house: a cheesy mexican guy hitting on (maybe a bit of an understatement) a girl with all the classic moves - leg up on the stool, arm sway, flexing, unbuttoning his shirt and dancing disco-style to very not disco music. We decided that rather than just sit there and stare at them, we might as well make some friends, so we ordered up a round of drinks and started dancing. Three more gringos showed up after a while and joined our little gang and we tore up the dance floor (Gerald, too!) all night long.

We were having such an awesome time that we didn´t even realize that bars here don´t close at two and when we finally stumbled out of there, we were shocked to see that it was 4 in the morning!

Arriba!

Christine

Thursday, December 07, 2006

We made it!

La Paz! Our destination, 4100 kms later. It´s a little overwhelming to be here and be done the first part of our trip. A big part of me just wants to hop right back on my bike tomorrow and keep on pedalling. But other parts (particularly my thighs and stomach) are desperate for a week or so of lying in the sun.

So, I´m off to grab a cerveza and then take a siesta...this is the time to relax!

Christine

Dear Creepy Mexican Guy,

You know who you are.

When we bike by, please, wave and say hello. Honk your horn. Cheer us on. Smile.

Please don´t stare at us without smiling. Please don´t whistle, or make that silly little siren you have in your car do a cat call. Please don´t yell hey gringa or mamacita or make strange purring sounds (especially if you work for the military, are dressed in camo and carrying a semi-automatic).

Sincerely,

Christine and Jodie (not Yodie - Jodie, with a J)

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

security code red

The security alert has been increased to red as of yesterday due to the sighting of 5 (yes, 5!) TARANTULAS on the highway.

Under code red, tent doors must remain sealed at all times, and may only be opened by authorized personnel for appropriate reasons and only under the strictest supervision.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Security Coordinator, Christine

Saturday, December 02, 2006

ride ride ride, hitchin a ride

Well, the wind didn't want to let up in San Ignacio but in order to make our date with Jodie's parents in a week, we had to move on regardless. So we packed our bags and battled the gale for 2 long kilometers to the gas station, where we befriended the attendant and what seemed like half the town's men who were loitering around. It was a good strategy, though, since we had them all working to find us a ride out to the coast, where we hoped the wind would be at our backs rather than in our faces.

It didn't take long for them to find Teodoro, a local school teacher with a pick-up truck, who was willing to take us along. Teodoro turned out to be not only a good driver, negotiating fallen rocks and transport trucks on the steepest grades on Mex 1, but also a great tour guide, pointing out places of interest along the way.

He told us about the geo-thermal plant beside the volcano that supplies electricity to several towns in the area, and pointed out a mule caravan taking supplies to a hunting camp where they hunt desert bighorn. He even stopped for us to take a picture of a huge rock shaped like a chicken (which we were too polite to say that we couldn't actually see!).

So finally we're back on the road, with the sea on our left now and the winds pushing us south to La Paz....

Christine