Mate & Passports

As we are getting onto a connecting bus from the town Perrito Moreno to El Chalten....
Me: "You got everything?"
Paul:"Yep"
Me: "And the mate?
Paul: "Yep, got the Mate, thats all we need.....and the passports."



Thus was born the motto of our trip together "Mate & Passports." When I last left off we were in Bariloche on our way to El Bolson. El Bolson was a diamond in the rough. Its a small hippie town about 2 hours south of Bariloche but even more beautiful. Its the type of place where everybody probably knows everything about each other but there still cool with it. We were here only one night but I wish it had been more. Once settled into the hostel it was time to eat. We had the best pizza I have ever had in Argentina and then of course, topped it off with some ice cream.


Once our bellies were full we decided to walk it out by going on a hike. It was short in comparison to other hikes we had taken and by the time we got there it was about 9 at night but it was still bright out. It was one of those sick views of the entire city surrounded by the mountains, the kind where you feel like you could just sit there forever and just chill. The next morning after our short stint in El Bolson we boarded a bus headed for El Chalten. This journey would be a long 25 hour bus journey split into 2 days. The only cool part is that we would be traveling along route 40, which is a famous road that goes all the way down to Patagonia.(Kind of equivalent to our route 66 at home) Only half of this road is paved which meant a long part of our journey was spent not in a bus but a vibrating bus. Nevertheless, I actually enjoy long bus rides. There is just something about them where I can just stare out into the distance for hours in a sort of dreamstate imagining what the next destination will be like.



So it actually wasnt so bad for me. The dirt road, in my opinion, sort of added to the adventure. Sure it felt like the indiana jones ride at disneyland, and there wasnt a bathroom, but hey I was on my way to Patagonia, who am I to complain?
Once the bus ride was finished we ended up in the beautiful place of El Chalten. This place is in the heart of Patagonia and it FELT like Patagonia. The notorious wind that we heard so many raves about met us as soon as we exited the bus for a picture. This stuff cuts right through your clothes and makes your liver shiver.
El Chalten was the place we came to do some trekking, this was the place that would turn us into men....