Author Archives: Libby Tucker

On New Year’s eve day, for $1.36 pesos plus the $1.10 subway fee (a total of around US $0.50), I got to take a nice venture with some friends to a town an hour outside of the city, called Tigre.

Feeling like I stepped into another country completely, we came to a quaint town on the river called Tigre.  Forgetting it was a holiday until we took the little wooden boat for 17 pesos all the way down to the closed museum, we then ended up just cruising along on the dirty river.  The boat had several dropoffs only the way, including people’s houses, vacation rentals, museum (or not), restaurants, canoe or kayak rentals, or where we eventually got dropped off, Parque Lyfe – a campgrounds with volleyball, sand beach, sports courts, etc.

There I invented a game called ‘Log’ where the object was to see who could balance longest on the log, in the river.

After a few laughs and some swimming with locals – watching out for viburas (snakes) of course – we then headed back to Tigre, then eventually back to Buenos Aires, via the train then connecting subway, as we watched the endless salesmen come up and down the aisles pitching their latest and greatest books, windsocks, camera cases, and what have you.

A quick stop through Chinatown in Belgrano district before realizing everything was closing and it was time to buy food and champagne or go without and to head home to prepare for the New Year celebration.

Villa Traful, view looking south, Patagonia

A break from the exhaust and hustle and bustle of the city, I took the weekend and headed to the long-awaited Patagonia.

One of best parts may likely have been the Omnibus, or the double decker, extremely comfortable reclining seats.  20 hours flew by … except for the lack of videos – the driver had a Luis Miguel´s Best special and we got to listen to a local famous singer.  We weren´t the only ones wishing it would stop, and we did convince the bus attendee, with a few laughs, to turn down the volume at the very least.

They served alfajores (dulce de leche snack with chocolate, like the Little Debbies of Argentina) and medialunas (croissants), some cafe, and some milanesa with papas.  Not bad for the bus.  The way back they shared vino and whiskey – a much smoother ride.

Bariloche, later I discovered to be ´the most important tourist city of Argentina´was just that – touristy – but also beautiful.  Nestled in the Andes mountains near the border of Chile, this skiing town on a huge lake was a great site after the long bus ride.

I was ill prepared for the city, as the mountains with their still-snowy peaks weren´t as inviting as I thought.  The warmest gear I had was a pair of jeans.  I had to buy a sweatshirt to fight the cold winds.

Everyone said to get out of Bariloche so I followed their advice, rented the last car (talked the rental company to let us drive a dirty one and with a discount) and headed to the circuito chico and circuito grande – the small and big loops.

Both gorgeous, as you can see from the photos here that I just added, the first loop was more touristy.  Stopped only for some great photos and a short hike up the side of the smallest of three mountain peaks (again, no gear with me limited my trip and it was expensive to rent, let alone finding an open store over the holiday).

Next was the big loop.  The rental car agency was off on their estimation by about 60 km (you rent a per km price) and never mentioned that 1/2 of the way was a gravel road.  But nonetheless, an adventure.

Patagonia – and in Nahuel Huapi National Park, where the big loop was – it reminded me of a mixture of the gorgeous Pacific Northwest with snow capped forested mountains and fresh mountain water streams, mixed with a little bit of the BWCA (Boundary Waters / great lakes) with fresh water lakes and trout fishing, a little of the Irish sea due to the deep blue green and blue colors in the water, a little bit of Neuschwanstein Germany with the castles (in this case a hotel) seated high in the mountains overlooking little lakes and islands, and Utah just east of the Andes with deep dry valleys and large unique rock formations.

In short, pretty amazing.

I saw a sign that said ‘don’t be like cats, wrap your feces’.  Ok….  will do.  Now, it was getting dark and I checked out a campsite but you had to pay to use the toilets and showers, but hey there was a place just down the road that was open camping and free, but no showers.  Really?  Awesome, thanks, I’ll take that.

Though once again unprepared for the cold, and now some rain, it was like pulling up to a private beach in the middle of the mountains… not just any mountains – Patagonia!

It was the most amazing place to stop, have a sandwich, play on the beach until the sun set (later in the West, 9:45 vs. 8 in Bs As), then putting every warm piece of clothing I could find to cuddle in and off to bed.  Only had to turn the car and heat on twice throughout the night before waking to the most gorgeous view ever.  I had turned the car around so I could see the view, I would have had to pinch myself to believe it otherwise.

The next day was off to finish the big loop.  One of the most unexpected and beautiful views came from out of nowhere, just after deciding I was incredibly sick of gravel roads and was ready to return the car.  Right up there with the Cliffs of Moher was Villa Traful.   A near 360 degree view of mountains, lakes, and wind like I’ve rarely felt (throw a rock and it boomerangs back), a steep dropoff that warns you not to trust your luck, beautiful blue waters, white capped waves, some snow still glistening on the mountains.  I wanted to breathe every inch of the view.

In the actual town, well, a dirt road and a couple of buildings, and some cattle and horses meandering aimlessly, happy and plump, was Villa Traful.  I stopped at the town’s only gas station, and only one for a while I’m sure, I had to drive around a cow feeding her calf.  It was incredible.  No wonder why the beef in Argentina is considered the best in the world, the cows are just happy and chill.

Long story short, after the great car camping, private beach, and tourist loops, it was back on the bus and back to Bs As for New Year’s.  If I’d had more gear and more money to spend I would have continued south to the End of the Earth, Ushuaia, but with holiday season, it was very expensive – and cold, and far far away.  Someday I’ll need to come back and spend at least a month in Patagonia.

Amo Patagonia!

El Tomate Loco…. ahora pruebe el nuevo huevo loco… solo en san telmo!  So here is is finally the tomate loco video.

As I walk through the streets of Buenos Aires meandering nonchalantly like a fly in winter, I thought about the concept of Productivity and Temperature, and their c correlation.  Why is it that cities that have seasons or are in colder temperatures tend to be larger, have more companies, more business, more wealth?

But if the summer heat slowed me down so much, then my theory about different seasons didn’t hold.  Then I thought about air conditioning.  I decided to look up the effect on temperature and productivity to which I found a lot of information. For example 1/3 of participants in a CareerBuilder survey said their productivity was affected by temperature.  Too hot or too cold and it’s impossible to concentrate.  I found the same when traveling in Central America.  If the wi-fi was working, still all you could think of was the beach and fast-melting ice cream.

Below is a productivity graph from productivity-science.com.  They say

“As you can see, the productivity changes significantly and highest performance achieved in relatively short peak between 70° F (21° C) and   73° (23° C). Outside 63° F (17° C) and 82° F (28° C) temperature range the productivity decreases more than 5% and significantly impacts on workers ability to work and even can influence health”

This makes sense now, as I searched for a place with air conditioning to dry my sweat beads and allow me to concentrate, as though I were in the perfect temperature all along.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you’ve imagined.

Buenos Aires!  Launching out again – another test in life, knowing myself, and working and living virtually from another culture, another continent, another history, new rules, new foods, and a whole new set of experiences!  A dream come true… on purpose.

Someone said to me recently

“… remember, you’re very luck to be experiencing all of this.”

Though I fully agree I have to say it has nothing to do with luck.  I carefully planned, prepared, notified business associates, coworkers, family, tenants, etc of my absence.  I set up my Skype phone, my Google Voice number, my International plan for my iPhone, got a SIM card for my local Argentine phone, searched for and set up an apartment via Craigslist before I left.  I have been no less available to anyone away then I was when in Seattle.

This is the 3rd test so far and each time I learn something new.  My only criteria:

1) a quiet place, with my own keys

2) with Internet

Sounds simple enough?

So far, from staying between hostels, friends’ houses or hotels, to renting a shared apartment – I’ve learned what works and what does not work.

Wi-fi being ‘available’ – if you’re in Central America, it can be like dial-up, with 8 people sharing the same connection, and maybe just maybe the power won’t go out for hours.

In Eastern Europe, they may have wi-fi but if the cafe is open until midnight, they might decide to cut it off (just because?) around 8 pm.  It’s probably great to turn it off so people will relax and enjoy life, but, some warning helps.

Buenos Aires is a city that is always connected, unless the neighbor decides to do construction and cut the power lines.  A quiet apartment in a city that never sleeps isn’t impossible, but noise canceling headphones for Skype turned out to be an invaluable purchase.

I’m learning that I need:

- a private apartment

- noise canceling headphones

- a dedicated Internet connection that can’t be turned off

- an environment with good temperatures (not too hot, not to cold, or the ability to moderate – see Productivity and Temperature)

Still sounds simple and I think we’re very lucky in the US that we have this, and also it’s something I’m accustomed to.  But Buenos Aires has been a great experiment in living/working virtually.  I’ve been able to have some of the most important business meetings and conference calls while experiencing Bife de Chorizo, Tango shows, Christmas in 80 degree temperatures, Empanadas, nightlife that goes until 6 am, speaking Spanish every day, a mix of European and Central (and North) America, theaters, the widest street in the world, great parks, and everything great about a new culture – while still being in the office.

One of my roommates met an 80 year old man on the bus.  This man had lived in NYC, BA, and other places in the world.  The man said ‘wherever you go things are the same’ – same buses, same people, same taxis, and so on…

This may sound pessimistic.  But I love hearing what people that have gone before us have to say about life.  Travel has indeed made me realize that everywhere, though the scene may be different with different culture, food, history, etc that which gives a place a heart and soul and make it fascinating, that at the same time – people are good and bad everywhere, people laugh, people cry, people eat, sleep, drink, work, do business, have families, need to get to work, make money to survive, have happy moments, can be sad, greedy, selfless, afraid, bitter, tender

…. are simply human.

Though the differences are what ignite a passion for travel in me, I also realize that it really comes down to being human.  Learning to deal with happiness and pain, working or not working, sadness or trepidation, all are there no matter where you are.  Learning to find happiness and tranquility, your purpose and meaning for life, complimentary and reciprocal relationships, and building a better future for yourself and those that will walk your footsteps when you leave, can happen no matter where you are.

My mom coincidentally gave me the pin that I wear on my backpack that says

“Wherever you go, there you are”  Simple yet profound.  Thanks mom!

Mosquitos are very common here, so common that people walk in the streets with cans of OFF in their purses or bags.  Signs all over warn of Dengue – a disease spread through mosquitos.  Fever, body aches, muscle pain – 40 million cases and 100’s of thousands each year.  Deaths are in the teens and children and elderly are most affected.

My legs are covered in bites.  Yikes!  Think I’ll be investing in that can of OFF.  The mosquitos are unavoidable and at the concert on Saturday I’d sworn they marked that human feast on their calendar for months!  I love BA but one thing I could do without are the mosquitos!

Stay tuned….  The crazy tomato is coming (as soon as I find the video)

Just what is a tomate loco?