Surprise Guest Appearance...

Annie Zast takes on Buenos Aires!

Quilmes Beer Pong

Micah sunk 2. Biz = 0.

I'm coming back big at tonight's tourney.

El Calafate

After battling an 11 hour bus from Mendoza, and an overnight airline strike in Buenos Aires, we made it to El Calafate. Certainly worth the wait.

Snuck in a great dinner last night and some maddening Quilmes Beer Pong (see next post) before setting out early today to trek Perito Moreno, one of Argentina's famous glaciers. Truly amazing, and one our of favorite parts of the trip so far.

The Vanilla Ice jokes were flowing...especially after a whiskey on [glacier] ice toast post-hike.

To Jon Zast...Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIZ!

Take one:

Take two:

Success:

"El Wino" Takes Mendoza by Storm

Micah charmed his way through our tasting tour yesterday. I, for one, certainly got my money's worth by the second stop...I thought the lightbulbs hanging from the winery's ceiling were microphones.

Also snuck in a five course tasting lunch with more steak (and wine of course). Perfect day in Argentina.

Breaking news...

A step towards taming the "bigote."

To the Zasts...

Reader Poll

Cast your vote: Ace Ventura Pet Detective or Oompa Loompa?

BBQ Night

Timed it right and hit the weekly asado (grill) at our hotel...the lomo was medium rare, but as always Micah's jokes were served well-done (editor's note: joke by Micah Zajic).

Buenos noches.

Argentina!

Arrived late last night to Salta following an eleven hour bus ride...lucky us, we got seats right next to the John. After a sad goodbye to our friends Darren and Lucy (they are headed to Brazil) we made it to the House of Jasmines, a beautiful estancia outside of town.

Valley of the Moon

Had a lazy three days in San Pedro de Atacama...we finally pulled ourselves from the pool for an afternoon tour of the Valley of the Moon, said to be the driest place on earth. The scenary was incredible - huge sand dunes (we spotted a few sandboarders in the distance), craggy mountains, and massive salt crystals. Our guide (who happened to be wearing a great t-shirt if you ask me) informed us this area is in the midst of an eight year draught, averaging 2mm of rain a year.

We timed the finale with an equally stunning sunset enjoyed from a mountain peak. Can't beat the view.

Roughing It In Chile

Very excited to be in San Pedro de Atacama...

Salt Flat Tour

Just arrived in Chile after a three day driving tour of Bolivia's southern desert. Our companions in the beat up Toyoto Land Cruiser were Austrailian newlyweds Darren and Lucy - really fun couple who made the trip a blast.

Toured absolutely beautiful landscapes and got rowdy at night - lots of vino, booze and gin rummy kept us warm when the sun went down (our tour guide nicely forgot to pack our sleeping bags...beer blankets were a must). Micah's beard also helped.

Got some goofy pictures on the desolate salt plains, slept in a hotel made of salt, and braved a 4:30am wake up call for a dip in hot springs at sunrise. I also got a chance to practice my flourishing Spanglish as our guide spoke zero English.

Was a fantastic trip but we're glad to have made it to Chile...see next post.

Catching Up Post Bolivia

Another few days without internet - access was tough as Bolivia is catching up on a few things like electricity, paved roads, roofs and...smiles.

Spent one day in La Paz (we popped for Burger King, the nicest spot in town) before making our way into the mountains for a day long bike trip in the Andes known as "The World's Most Dangerous Road." After learning an Israeli girl died riding it three days prior to our departure, and a lengthy safety lesson, we carefully wheeled several hours along cliffs to a small town called Coroico. Scary ride, but definitely worth it...it's been one of our favorite things thus far.

Then stayed at a small hotel with a half filled pool and a receptionist who charged us double by "accident." It was lovely nonetheless (beers, great views and hammacks).

Machu Picchu

We managed to only offend one Peruvian while filming this...

We Made It

When it rains, it pours. In the Andes at least. Weather wasn't the best but we had a great time regardless. Our guide, Domingo, was fantastic - he had a ton of info up his sleeve about each area we treked, and had jokes to boot. Our chef, Cesar, cooked up amazing meals, and our horseman, who we called T-Bone (his Quechua name was too difficult to pronounce) was a trooper. These guys were such hard workers.

Day One:

Rain. Started at 4am from the hotel. Took a muddy, three hour car drive to our start point. From there, we hiked to our first campsite at the base of Salkantay mountain (apprx. 13,780 feet). Spent a chilly night there until our 5am wake up call the next morning.

Day Two:

Rain. We're out of shape. Made our way up to Salkantay pass (apprx. 15,255 feet) very slowly...no oxygen and lazy New Yorkers doesn't make for a quick hike. The clouds broke just as we passed the peak, so we got a few hazy pictures of the mountain top. We continued on for about four more hours (!), and ended up in the jungle. It was amazing to see the climate change as we made our way down. We camped in the middle of a small village that night - many local people rent out their land to hikers for extra cash. The homes are very simple - bamboo walls, dirt floors, grass roofs, no electricity. Animals (horses, cows, chickens, guinea pigs, etc) roam around freely (we were woken up by something rustling the tent in the a.m.). Very interesting to see this side of Peru.

Day Three:

Sun! Walked along a river all day through the jungle again. There were wild orchids, bamboo forests, huge aloe vera plants, wild avocado, passion fruit and lime trees growing everywhere. Although the rainy season is over, we walked over huge, fresh landslides...Domingo pointed out these were probably only a day old...which, was pretty scary - again, safetly standards here don't really exist. We had a long morning until we broke for a late lunch, and the end of day, at another local village (with a bar and beer!). A few other groups camped here as well so it was quite festive.

Day Four:
Rain. Said goodbye to Cesar and T-Bone and packed our belongings for the last leg of the trip. It was pretty grueling. We looped on to part the Inca Trail and hiked four steep hours uphill in the heat. Well worth the effort, as we caught the first few glimpses of Machu Pichhu in the distance from the peak. After another hot two hours downhill we cooled off in the river below before making our last push along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes - the town just below Machu Picchu. Lucky us, a small utility train passed by and picked us up...we tipped the track workers after they dropped us off in town. Saved us about three hours of hiking. Perfect end to the hike.

Day Five:

Rain. After hot showers (the first in four days) and a night in a nice hotel (we were able to catch some of the Masters on ESPN Vivo - what a luxury!), we woke up early to take the bus up to Machu Pichhu. The first few hours were cloudy and very misty - it was hard to see anything. But after poking around for a few hours the clouds finally broke and we had great views. The site is truly amazing - it's hard to describe. We walked along a path to the Inca bridge (death defying, literally), through the whole city (which is much bigger than we thought it would be), and up to the Sun Temple for a view from Machu Picchu mountain. Beautiful.

After several hours of sightseeing we took a train on Perurail from Aguas Calientes to a small village, then packed on to a small bus to make our way back to Cusco. We could see all the devastating landslides from the last few months...the train tracks were bent and torn in half in some places. Very interesting, and scary.

We arrived late last night. Dead tired and sunburned (despite all the rain?!) we decided to stay in and order pizza at the hotel. It's good to be back.

Headed to La Paz tomorrow for a bike trip, then a three day tour of the Bolivian Salt Flats. Looking forward to it.