Avalon House

Avalon House is the name of my hostel in Dublin.
My room has over twenty beds in it. That's a lot, even for a hostel.
I kinda like it, though. This morning, as i quietly crept into bed, the rain was really coming down.
Wind swept sheets of rattatat above...
a chorus of contented snores below...
the dawn light creeping through...
the windowlined tin roof.
My beat up body slept off the airport.

Today I hit the guinness brewery and possibly the jamesons distillery.
I may throw in a museum since the rest of the day seems to center around alcohol.

Either way, expect a drunk post later.
Cheers!

Nate's Steak and the Drag to Dublin

It's not enough just to buy tickets to get somewhere. When you don't travel on a set schedule it frees you up to experiment a little bit. And I do love experimentation.
On this past leg from Raleigh to Dublin, I tried saving money by doing a little mixing and matching. Good in theory, right? Actually the more I saved, the longer my actual traveling time. For example... yesterday I went from Raleight to Charlotte, to Boston, to Newark, to Dublin (switching airlines somewhere in the middle). I know, it doesn't make sense... burning more fuel and paying less for it. But hey, what really makes sense anymore?
To make things even more interesting, I woke up late (yes, still drunk) and had to pack in about 20 minutes.

If I may point out: some people will choose to call this irresponsibility... and that's fine.

I prefer to think of it as challenging myself: extra practice in not-taking-shit-too-seriously (also known as "fuck it"). Once things are out of your control, getting worked up doesn't accomplish anything, and I've found, things tend to work themselves out.

For example: Yesterday I missed my first flight. Somehow, don't ask me, the Saints of Nate were on their game and almost all flights on the East Coast got delayed due to weather. I made my connecting flights and here I am.

When to attempt this type of travel:
First, if you don't mind the physical strain of airport travel: in this case, sprinting, sitting, and standing for long periods of time with no end in sight.
Second, if you have a sense of humor and can joke when everyone else is pissed in the "pissed off people line" (yeah... you know the one I'm talking about).
And most importantly third, if you have the ability, after all is said and done, to admit that paying the extra money would definately have been worth it.

**************************

My two days in the US were as refreshing as they were hectic. Of everything I had planned to do, I accomplished the usual Half. But it was the good Half.
I had the biggest grin on my face the whole time. There is something truly euphoric about going from Winter to Summer in a day. I soaked up every second.
Caught up with some friends: It was great to see every single one of you!
Dropped by City Beverage and was amazed and delighted to find on the menu: Nate's Steak.
Yes... there is a steak named after me. Thank you Chef!
Ever get something and then realize that you've always wanted it?
I think I can die happy now.
So everyone, if you're in the area, drop by City Beverage and try Nate's Steak! Inspired by my adventures in Argentina.
4810 Hope Valley Rd.
Durham, NC 27707
910-401-6500
www.citybeverage-durham.com

Video from the Road Trip

Pics from the Roadtrip

View through the howling wind tunnel


Ever set free a collective gasp? Close to the high pass, we clear a bend... no sign of life for miles. The lone herdsman watched our sedan inquisitively. The Llamas gazed regally down at us from the white snow bank. The barren mountainscape softened in the presence of her inhabitants, clouds of hot breath freeze in the air.


Closer to the top, a quiet moment. the silence of the mountains is deafening. Twilight and first star take us over the pass.


Top of the pass... drunk on the altitude... stars spin and fall out of the sky.


Hot Mate melts the cold.


The equivalent of 16,000 ft. in altitude


The Quilnes Ruins: The natural fortress is topped by the chief's palace with ramparts down each ridge. The villiage steps up the middle. Walking the old paths, gazing over the valley... I wonder what eyes watched the Spanish come across the plain so many ages ago.


Cacti Can Kiss


Lunarscape wide angle.


Testing the Water


Drop Trow!


Windswept.


Flying Nate


Cody on the dunes.


Sorority Squats


Lookout


Amigas


Miles makes a fire


Incredible layers of every color


sunbaked


Dry hot wind, big sky, long shadows... Happy Nate


In photos the backdrop doesn't look real, but it is.


The Ragtag Crew


Blues on the Wing.


Wide angle cactus.


Deserts are awesome


Chilin.


I had always wanted to climb one of those mesas that looked like it was about to fall over.


Dune trodder


Silver snake carves through the sand


Hiking to the natural bridge


Wading under the natural bridge... I am really cold right about now.



Miles, this had better be your new profile picture








This was the original color, not a bad rental actually.






The same car later... dirtier, just the way I like em.






Desert Sunset



We would stop randomly along the road to climb things, throw rocks... you know, the usual.








Crazy rock formations.





Ridge Hiker

Movin On

Today is my last day in Argentina. The past few days have been a whirlwind of Buenos Aires and preparation for my next trip.
Two nights ago, I hung out with my friend Cate and her boyfriend, who I had been surprised to find living in Buenos Aires. Later in the evening I found myself standing in the same bar I had discovered last time I was here... Deja Vu. It has no name. Only a red door in the wall off a small street. People call it la Rojo Puerta. Very cool place. I spoke to a very interesting transvestite for most of the night and then met the cast of Disney on Ice.
I have so many pictures to download, but I will conquer them when I get back to the States, and have consistent internet. Here´s when I´ll be through town.

Can´t wait to see everyone.



Flight in: Continental Airlines 2240 from Houston arriving 11:12 am Friday July 25.

Flight out: US Air 4032 from RDU to DC 11:25 am Sunday July 27.

Road Trip in Short

A quick post... yes I am still alive.

I just got back from our seven day road trip. I will write more detailed stories when I have more time. We rented the little Gaucho-Car-That-Could (a four seater sedan, no 4WD here)... and she took us everywhere from deserts to rain forests to salt flats... crossing rivers, ice, and 4900 meter mountain passes. She only gave up two hubcaps and bent her front liscence plate. If there's one thing I love, its getting cars REALLY dirty. And she was ... a dirty dirty girl.

Quick highlights:
I tried Coca Leaves for the first time... legal in northern parts of Argentina.
Went on a drunken midnight moonlit gnome hunt (apparently they exist in the mountains of Argentina).
Listened to incredible live music in small country towns along the way.
Did some solo camping in the desert and in the mountains. Translation: danced naked alone in the desert under the stars.
Tried and failed to learn the flute.
Watched Cody order cow shit stew by accident.
Witnessed some of the most incredible landscape of my life: barren desserts with cacti and mesas, sandblasted lunarscapes seemingly devoid of all life, fertile irrigated oasis tucked into painted valleys, layered canyons millions of years old, ancient Quilnes ruins, and much more. I kept a writeen journal which I will copy when more time allows. Showers have been few and far between much less internet.


It's official the motto of this trip is now "If only I had more time. "
At $20 US per day per person (including gas) this road trip could have been at least twice as long, and I have only explored a corner of this massive, beautiful country.
I have just bade farewell to my carmates and am now once again solo. Mixed feelings on that one, but more awaits.
I bought my ticket to Iguazu tonight: home of the waterfalls. I leave tomorrow morning... only a 24 hour bus ride. Back to BA after that and then State Side.


For now friends... a thought on moments that threaten to break you.
Quoted from Martin Fierro:

"De ese modo nos hallamos
Empenaos en la partida-
No hay que darla por perdida
Por dura que sea la suerte;
Ni que pensar en la muerte,
Sino en soportar la vida."

"So there were we-friend Cruz and me
With our lives in the lap of Fate;
But even when trouble has got you grassed
You must kee up your pecker till the last;
If a man keeps thinking about his death
He may think of his life too late."

The Gaucho Martin Fierro
"Part the Second: The Return of Martin Fierro"
Chapter 3 Paragraph 1
Translation: Walter Owen

Today we rent a car and leave Salta for our 4-5 day road trip around the surrounding countryside.

My travel companions include Miles, Laura, and Cody (the three on the left below).

and of course... your truly.

yeah, yeah... I still think Im a little bad ass rock star.

We plan on hitting the salt flats, mountains, cloudforests, and some multi-colored valleys that are supposed to be gorgeous. Mostly I´m just looking forward to doing some driving and getting outta the damn city. Although Salta is a bit smaller than Mendoza and definately has more of a South American feel to it architecturally and with all the churches and stuff. I can´t wait to get out to the really small mountain villages. And I love to drive.

Internet will be spotty at best, so it might be goodbye for a while.

Tickets to Tierra del Fuigo are quite expensive so my plan B currently is to small village hop (skipping the major cities) up through Chili perhaps into Peru, down to Santiago... then across to Buenos Aires for my flight out. But of course, that is subject to change at any moment.

Congratulations to Matt and Diana... all my best.

And Happy Birthday to Josh.

I´m hittin the Road!

Vamanos!

Decision made: I'm going to go both South and North.

I find when I can't decide between two equal choices (in this case equal because I know nothing about each) , I simply choose both. Usually de facto, I run out of time and only complete the first choice. But it makes me feel better to choose both, so I do.

I don't know too much about my destination... Salta, except that it is north and everyone I ask says it is very beautiful. I have a 16 hour bus ride to read up on it, so I'm not worried. I leave in two hours.

The real reason I chose to go north first was because I have some friends who want to rent a car. As a solo traveler, certain outings can get pricy (car rentals especially), and in the smaller towns, or in between cities, public transportation is scarce. I had a chance to do some driving around so I grabbed it. I hope I will still have time to go to Tierre del Fuego, butS I have already decided to come back.

I also decided not to cancel my return tickets. The airline makes you do a double blindfolded back flip onto salted broken glass in order to change tickets, so i'll pass on that. I'll be back in the States on July 24th for a grand total of 3 days before I head off to Spain, minus a quick stop in Ireland for two days to get drunk.

City Beverage: I will be popping in to see everyone, have a few brews and tell all the innapropriate stories that I don't post here (wink wink).

Asta mas tarde chicos!

and more pics

Seems I keep finding more pics to put up from past weekends...

I was in this position a lot

Fans

See the group of cops discussing the tiny fire?

I like this one

Reflections

When I trek, I shoulder my pack
at the break of day and limp and groan
the stiffness out.
When my pack and I together break the battle lines of morning chill,
and I feel the heat from my body swell.
I sit me down and breathe; remove my shell and tighten this,
adjusting that. I shift the weight just so.
I eat a bit, check my sites, and watch perhaps some form of life
across the snow.
My breathing steady, body heat, my movements smooth and sure...
my pack slips on like a well creased glove... and now I set my pace.
The miles unroll beneath my boots and beauty greets my eyes.
But skip the sit my friends, and see
a certain rise in difficulty
for whatever may arise.

Life takes a slightly sloping turn, not down per se... but a definate drop in momentum is registered... The slightly too-hard brake that wakes you up on the bus, making you panic as you wonder where you are, how you got there, and where you are going.

Sometimes a decision has to be made, something you convince yourself is important, whether or not it really is. You concentrate, and tune out the here and now. You smile less, you cope, you watch your feet when you walk.

And then something happens in a split second. Hard to describe its many forms. But the one thing it always has is the element of surprise: the unexpected laugh... did it come from you? And like a long-lost guarded erotic memory, it grows and explodes. The food tastes better, the lust for life does a back flip, and you stride on.

A small moment is all it takes. Not the full kiss of an unseen angel... fainter... only the breath. You will miss it if you don't keep a sharp eye.

I had my small moment yesterday... insignificant if recounted... it is powerful only in its effect. A shared moment over coffee, a connection.

It reminded me that I hadn't taken a break to sit on my pack... tighten this adjust that, watch life and let the initial heat of open gates balance into a pace that I can keep. And so I take a moment on this July 4th, far away from fierworks ... to write and reflect, and check my course.

Today is my last day at the Intercultural Institue in Mendoza, a few final fiestas and then I set out on my own again to a destination not yet determined.

Futbal Pics

Some old pics from the futbal game a few weeks ago that I got from some friends.


This was before it got really tight.


In this picture you can see some of the fireworks in the stands. At one point you couldn't even see the field.


Lots of riot police and canine units in the back. The players had run out and climbed on the goal, so the police backed off. One of the players almost got stripped by over enthusiastic fans.

Crazy Weekend in Las Lenas

The past weekend was one for the records. I joined a group of about 13 people, most from the Intercultural Institute where I study Spanish, on a trip to Las Lenas... the world class ski resort about 5 hours south of Mendoza. As you can see from the pictures below, it was beautiful. I snuck a bottle of wine on the bus, so the trip was rather enjoyable.

A little foreshadowing here... I tried my damnest to forget my bus ticket lying on the counter at my school. After walking halfway to the bus station I decided that it just wouldn't be any fun to remember where it was, so instead I remembered that it was lost. Frantic search for ticket... check, now I was ready. Or so I thought.

We stayed at an Eco Hostel in Malargue which was very far away from light pollution. The stars were giving one of their best performances, hamming it up with meteors and a milky way kissing each horizon. My glass of fernett and I gave them a standing ovation. A toast to the southern hemisphere. Salut to the Southern Cross, Sagittarius, and my personal favorite ... Scorpio with the red heart Antares.

Next day we hit the slopes. As for the snowboarding, it was another half day before I realized that one doesn't have to roll down the mountain. Remaining upright is a much more desirable option. But I had to spice things up a bit, so I tried the pulley lifts... they had these lifts for several of the slopes that consisted of bars on ropes that went between your legs. The "idea" is to ski up the mountain being pulled along. Apparently its trickier on a snowboard than skis (I don't care if that's true or not, cause it makes me feel better). I wiped out halfway up the mountain and went down to try again. The Man told me if I fell again I would half to walk to the other lift, so when I fell immediately out of the gate, I didn't let go... on principle. Ignoring their yells, I let the rope pull me, sliding on my back. Twisting around to my knees I eventually got my board under me and stood up. Victory! I looked back at the Man letting out a whoop in triumph, ... and promptly fell again. It was a long walk back.

More foreshadowing here. I tried to lose my ski lift ticket (a two day pass) near the end of the first day, but they insisted on finding it and giving it back to me. Wow, I'm a really lucky guy... I remember thinking.

The evening after our first day of skiing, the hostel was throwing an asado... the first in their new cabin made partly of mud. Two goats were roasted in kilns with lots of vegetables and the best table wine I've ever had. I made sure to compliment our hosts by consuming copious amounts. Somehow vodka joined the party and then fernett showed up. There was drunken singing... someone was using a goat bone as a microphone... I think I had a conversation about legalizing marijuana... yeah. Not sure when I went to bed, but the rooster was crowing. Next morning I had to test fernett's reputation as a hangover cure... my new friend is quite the rennaissance liquer... beats you over the head and then makes you feel better.

More skiing and drinking the next day, and somehow 13 drunk gringos ended up waiting for the bus in a park in downtown Malargue playing light up frisbee at 2am in the morning.

My bottle of wine and I made it on the bus and after a five hour nap, we were back in Mendoza and class was about to start. I made it through class, went home and promptly slept 13 hours. A sure sign of a good weekend.

Oh yeah... almost forgot.

I tried to lose my debit card... yeah... i lost my debit card.


it was so sunny and hot, barely needed a jacket

Me Corazon en la Cielo: My Heart in the Sky

Sunrise over the farm at Eco Hostel

Early morning bus under the moon.


The Goat Asado


Miles (aka Kilometre) and the Mud wall


Full House: students at the Asado


Long Lift Ride


My shadow and I kept running into eachother on the slopes, so I was glad he was so far away.


Gorgeous



Every trip back was accompanied by alpine-glow killer sunsets



Skier