yo amo costillas, vino tinto, y mate!!

After a few weeks here in Patagonia, I have discovered that Scott and I truly LOVE 3 things here!

1- Costillas... aka LAMB and not just lamb, but lamb ribs. Here in patagonia they grill the entire lamb over a wood fire for 1/2 the day and then you pick and choose which cuts you want. We have enjoyed many evenings of this tasty argentinian specialty. The ribs here and about 1,000 times better than anything I have had in the states... they are so tasty that I think well have to go get some more tonight!! Scott actually BBQed lamb the other night so this will be something for everyone to look forward to when we come back home!

2- Vino Tinto... aka red wine! It is cheap cheap cheap and very tasty! I dont know why malbec is so delicious but it just is... I dont question why it is $10 for a bottle of malbec at a nice restaurant... heaven I tell you.

3- Mate... Trini, we get it! Mate is awesome. For those of you who dont know what this is, it is a beverage that argentinians enjoy throughout the day. It tastes similar to green tea, but slightly more bitter. The thing about mate is though, is that it is not about the taste it is about the experience. It is shared with one cup and one straw amongst a group of friends... you just relax, enjoy each others company, and build friendships. Weve spent many hours enjoying mate and I see us enjoying much more on this trip.

So the question really is.. does one need more than lamb, red wine, and mate to survive??

--Lisa

Tierra del Fuego

We have spent the last 4 days in Tierra del Fuego which is in Southern Argentina. We have been staying in Ushuaia--- the town itself is nothing to speak of but the beautiful mountains and glaciers are so beautiful. After 3 weeks of being on a boat, we were itching to hike a little... so that is what we have been doing. We went to Tierra del Fuego national park and also hiked to Glaciar Martial. (we will post pictures later on today...). Needless to say after 6 hours of hiking yesterday, we realized we are no where near ready to hike the W trail in Torres del Paine. I also learned that when you are hiking for an extended period of time it is best to empty out your backpack and only bring the neccessities... not 6 bottles of suntan lotion, hand warmers, reading glasses, a notebook, etc etc. my bad!

We plan to head to Punta Arenas, Chile tomorrow which is a little South of the Torres del Paine National Park. If any of you have seen, this park has recently had a major fire and most of the park is still closed- boo! We are hoping that it will open up next week so we can check it out. Otherwise we will be heading back to Argentina to hike in El Calafate.

The food has been pretty amazing here so far... last night we were to an all you can eat Parilla... basically all you can eat grilled lamb. I never thought I liked lamb until spending time down here. mmm. I dont think Scott said a single word during dinner...he is in heaven down here.