The Great Escape

Alright, Argentina, weve had some good times, but you gotta let go. Seriously, Ive got people to see and things to do that happen to be in a different country. Its not your fault, but you are going to have to accept the fact that we cant keep doing this forever. You´ve turned into that creepy host that won´t let guests leave, even when the party is clearly over. You are reminding me of that woman that George from Seinfeld dates and when he tries to break up with her, she won´t let him. Honestly, it´s nothing personal, but if you don´t let me go now, you risk tainting all the beauty we created together.

So, I planned on being in Santiago, Chile about a week ago now and I have yet to set foot on Chilean soil. My first attempt to bus from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile met a bitter end when I decided that I couldnt be bothered by travel and opted for a nice sleeping session. Ok, my fault, but still, strike one. The next day, I found out the hard way that buses stop running at 1 PM and I was a bit late. I´m only taking half the blame here, but strike two. Finally, I´m on top of my game the third day. Bus station. On time. Let´s do this thing. What? The pass is closed? No buses for how many days? I take no blame for this. And yes, that´s strike three.

So, I flashed Santiago a choice finger and headed North. Back to Salta. Back to where my Argentine adventures first began. It only makes sense that I end the epic Argentine journey where it started. Well, not logistically, financially, logically, or really any other kind of sense. You know, except metaphorically. So that´s good enough for me.

Plus, metaphors aside, now I get to attempt a crossing into Chile at a different location and spend some time in the Atacama Desert. It´s the driest place on earth, but legend has it that it can also be one of the most beautiful. This is all assuming I survive the bus journey that crawls through the mountains to an elevation of 13,000 feet or so. The fact that the bus is equipped with oxygen makes me wonder a bit.

If all goes well, I should be in Arequipa, Peru in about a week to settle down for a bit. I´m super excited to live with my adoptive family and really try and get some Spanish dialed in.

Well, there is your update. Pictures and all that good stuff to come.

Soooooooooooo much love!

Bye Bye BA

Of the 35+ weeks that my trip will cover, the largest chunk of time in any one place, (6 weeks), has been spent in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I kept finding reasons to go back, thus resulting in three separate stays. Now, I must wave goodbye and hope that the rest of my travels provide as many good times and great people as I've enjoyed in this city. That's going to be a tough act to follow. 

To Julie, Steph, Aidan, Sarah, Kelsey, Drew, Nick, Sally, Jenny and all you other API kids, thank you for adopting me into your amazing family. We had some crazy times that I'll never forget. I hope to see as many of you as possible when I get back to the states. So much love for you all. 

To Harry, Mark and Nick, all that can really be said is, RACKO! Yeah that sums it up about right. 

To Ana, Silvana, Sabrina and the rest of the Venezuelan chicos, you are all amazing. And crazy. But I love you with all my corazon. You are, without a doubt, my favorite Venezuelans. Thanks for constantly entertaining me and telling me how much fun your country is going to be when I come visit. 

To Luis, Javier and Lars, you boys are ridiculous, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Those poor old people will never be the same after "the incident". I'm not sure we ever will be either. The damage is done!

To Dana, I never expected anything like this to happen, but it did and I couldn't be happier. As much as you will be missed, I am thoroughly looking forward, with great anticipation, to that right place/right time scenario that brings us back together. 

To everybody that I haven't mentioned by name, but made my time in BA that much more fun, thank you. It wouldn't have been the same without your faces.

To Buenos Aires, thank you for sharing all these fantastic people with me. I will forever be thankful for your generosity. You are one of the greatest cities I've ever been privileged enough to spend time in. 

To the rest of the places my travels take me, you'd best step up your game because the bar has been set high. I'm crazy excited to see what you've got cookin and I'm coming for ya!

That's it. That's all. Until next time, 

Chau!

P.S.
Buenos Aires,
You failed to properly mug/rob me in any way, shape, or form. I guess I'll just have to come back and give you another shot sometime, because that iPod switcheroo shenanigan does not qualify.

Riddle Me This

This is just a super weird thing that happened to me. It's also ironic considering my last post on not being robbed yet. Well, I can no longer claim to not be a victim of theft. See if you can make any sense of the following tale, because I sure can't. 

So a couple nights ago I decide to go out. You know, to take care of business. It is midnight. I take a few items up to my vacant dorm room, stash my iPod in my bag, throw some clothing on top of said bag, grab my coat, and head out. 

Twelve hours pass. I return around noon the next day. My dorm room looks exactly as I left it, except for the two Venezuelans snuggling in another bed. Not suspicious. Venezuelans are notorious for their cuddle capabilities. I actually hope to go there and study under a guru.

I toss the clothes off my bag, retrieve the iPod inside, which is still in it's case with my headphones plugged in, just like the night before. All is well. Or so I thought.

I go downstairs and struggle to turn the iPod on. Battery is dead. I don't remember leaving it in such a state, but maybe I forgot to turn it off. Finally, after a bit of persuasion, it flashes to life. This is odd, the icon layout is totally different. And all my apps are gone. Did I accidentally do some kind of hard reset that wiped out my iPod? Well that would make some sense because now all my pictures, videos, and a ton of personal writing I had composed in the notes section are completely gone. Sadness envelopes me. Stupid iPod malfunction. 

But wait, there is still something saved on the iPod. Music. The problem is, its not my fantastic collection of thousands of songs that have not only kept me company on this trip, but, in some cases, even evoked inspiration. Instead there is a small pile of less than one hundred tracks. Now the truly terrible feeling sets in, because the main contributors to this rubbish stash of tunes are the likes of The Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Enrique Iglesias, and Rihanna. This trash heap fails to qualify as music.

What kind of sick freak would defile my iPod like this? Hold the phone. I tear the case off my iPod and notice a couple things that were not there before. Oh nice, somebody also scratched it up. And also had Apple engrave it with the name Melody Etezadia? 

Now I get it. This isn't my iPod. Somebody stole mine and replaced it with the exact same model. Ok I really don't get it. So I slipped into my pair of detective underwear and went to work on this mystery. 

I team up with reception at the hostel to discover that no Melody Etezadia is currently checked in, nor has she ever been. What's up plot twist? Nothing I can't handle. 

I dig into the iPods internet history. Looks like a Castor Abreu is the last person to log in to Facebook on this device. Hello email address. 

I use the helpful world of Facebook to investigate these Melody and Castor characters. Melody lives in Massachusetts and is currently there. Castor is also from Massachusetts, but is  traveling in South America at the moment. Melody and Castor are not Facebook friends. I return to reception to investigate Castor. I bet he's still around and I'm going to nail this thieving creep. 

No! I'm too late. Castor has already checked out......a month ago! 

Then a moment of true panic swarms me. My iPod had been in my bag when it was switched. Other contents of that bag were my passport, camera, cash, credit cards, and other things I'd rather not lose. I feel sick as I sprint up the stairs to see what all had been taken. I'm already formulating plans for the emergency mode I'm just about to shift into. 

Wait. It's all still here? But why? Then again, why wouldn't it be? The person who stole my iPod obviously isnt a typical thief because they left me a replacement iPod. Who does that? So it's either a joke or I'm dealing with someone who is proper crazy. 

I spent the next bit of time interrogating other residents of the hostel. No one knows a thing. It slowly became apparent that this is no joke. I was robbed by the most considerate criminal ever.

I was fairly upset over the loss of all my music, pictures, videos, and writing for about an hour. Then I just had to laugh. What a weird thing to happen. Cant be mad. Honestly, it just makes me giggle to think about. 

As far as I can tell, this iPod has changed hands several times through sketchy means. Now that it's in mine, I'm going to do my best to hold on to it. Although, I wouldn't be upset if someone wanted to steal it and upgrade me to a similar model that doesn't leave me stranded in South America with only Katy Perry and Pink to keep me company.