Patagonia with Suzanne, Chapter 2: Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego

(Penny & Suz at the end of the earth -->)

We flew from Buenos Aries to Ushuaia (oos-wye-ah), Argentina which is the southern-most city on Earth. The name means "end-of-the-earth" and it really seemed so to us. We arrived at the end of the day and went to our hotel on the mountain above the seaport, after touring a former territorial prison. This was the sunset view from our window---a ship on Beagle Channel.

We enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant as well as the brisk, no-nonsense manner of the female cab driver who took us to our hotel at the end of the evening. It reminded me a lot of Silverton---people do whatever work is available in order to stay in this interesting place that is the jumping off site for many en route to Antartica.

While in Ushuaia, we enjoyed a day at Tierra del Fuego National Park. This is a huge island that borders on the Beagle Channel, where Darwin began his studies while aboard a British ship that was charged with the task of charting the channel.
The original natives who lived in this area, now called the Yamana, wore no clothes and had no permanent shelters. They roamed about in their canoes, seeking out beaches with large mussel deposits, which were their primary food. They carried fire with them, on rock or shell platforms in their canoes, which may have been the reason for the name "Fuego". These people slept in huddles with each other to stay warm, and smeared themselves with seal blubber to water-proof their skin. The women were the only ones who knew how to swim and would take new babies out into the channel, dipping them in the icy water, to get them used to the cold! This is a postoffice in the park, on Beagle Channel, at the southernmost point one can drive a vehicle. We enjoyed the postmaster, quite a character, who sold us an interesting postmark for our passports so we can prove we were on the Beagle Channel. (We did not swim, however!)

We had been hot and steamy (drippy, actually) most of the time we were in Buenos Aries, and now we were bundled in lots of layers. Suzanne pointed out on her blog (see link on this page) that the weather changes there even more often than in Colorado! We experienced high winds, driving rain, sunshine, fog, and snow during the few short hours we were in the park!

Next we were to board our ship and begin the trip to Cape Horn---wondering just what the wind and weather would be like.

Patagonia with Suzanne, Chapter 1: Buenos Aires

Suzanne and I have just returned from a glorious
18-day trip to Patagonia. Traveling with her was
sheer delight---like being with a best friend.
We flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a few days
before traveling south to Cape Horn.

It was very warm and humid and we soon
discovered the best solution was the beer!
(Note the nice large bottles!)
The city is a contrast of beautiful old and new buildings, leafy green parks, and endless places
to eat huge slabs of beef!

We enjoyed La Boca, the area where the Italians

lived and where the tango began. (See Above)

We had lunch in a delightful garden restaurant, where we enjoyed "parrillada mixta". a mixed meat grill for lunch. It came on a small sizzling grill, complete with coals in the bottom. We had a large chunk of beef, chorizo, kidneys, chittlings, ribs, blood sausage, and liver. Accompanying this were french fries, rolls, chimmichurri (a sort of salsa hot sauce) and a fresh salsa. Washed down with more cold beer---what a feast!

The last night in the city we treated ourselves to dinner

at the best beef restaurant in the city, Los Lillas. Here

is Suzie with the wine list---it was huge! Our rib eye steaks were wonderful---but we were ready to pack our

bags, wash our feet that were hot and tired from pounding the city's pavement (great use for a bidet) and board our plane the next day---southern South America and Cape Horn, here we come!!!

Christmas in Silverton

At last---a posting about our wonderful Silverton Christmas!! It was grand to have Suzanne and Travis and their families come for a week with Maggie's mom, Ann, and her friend Eric joining us for a few days at Christmas. We didn't have a great deal of snow but it was enough for playing in, sledding, and making snow angels in the backyard.

Our lovely Maggie, enjoying day...

Silverton from Anvil Mountain...

Of course, there were gingerbread houses to

trim (Audrey and James had such fun!).

Finn carefully adds hearts to his roof...hereally was having fun, though he looks like
it's serious business, doesn't he? He was
making a repeating color pattern and ran out of purple hearts.

Books are always popular at my house---with everyone. During our week there always seemed to someone on the chaise in the sun room enjoying their book. At the same time there was

usually an adult in the living room by the fire, reading to one or both of the children---and the number of books that found their way into giftwrap and under the tree was amazing! Here are

Travis and Finn enjoying a cozy moment by the fire...

We had a wonderful time riding the Polar

Express in Durango (see note at end about

pictures of the PE). Here James, Suzie,

and Audrey enjoy each other at

a pub where we had dinner before boarding

the train.

Finn and I enjoyed our dinner, too. Finn is

dressed in his pajamas and warm plaid robe

for the trainride---the children are urged to

come in pajamas and robes, just like in the

book! (The entire experience was so magical

that I think I should have worn my pjs too!)








Santa always faithfully comes to the Silverton

Town Tree on December 24th at 1 pm. Suzie and Audrey joined him in his shiny red sleigh to explain that what Audrey really wanted for

Christmas was a Minnie Mouse with a bow!

Next it was Finn's turn to explain to Ol' St.

Nick that what he really, really needed was

a truck and trailer that carried a helicopter!

Whew! Poor Santa---though he seemed to

take it all in stride.

(The local newspaper even had a full-page photo

of Finn and Santa on the front page the next

week---guess the editor could tell that they

were doing some sincere information exchanging!)

Santa came through with Minnie (three bows!) and the helicopter arrangement so we had two

happy young ones on Christmas Day! That

night they dressed up in their new Christmas

pajamas (gifts from Audrey's Denver grand-parents) and posed by my tree. These two

cousins have such a fine time...

Time to go sledding!!! En route,Suzie, Travis, Audre and Finn took a jaunt up the street "to town" to see their friend, Scott...








...having to be very careful to avoid the
heavy holiday traffic on Silverton's main
street on the way...

Suzanne and Travis got right back into the

fun of sledding---just like years ago. Audrey

and Finn loved the speed and would ride and

ride and ride and ride....

I seem to have lost my photo of Audrey

and James sledding... if I would post more

blogs I would get this all figured out---perhaps!

When Travis and Suzie were children they
loved racing on their sleds so, yep, they were
right back at it. Audrey and Finn were the
winners because it took a lot of trips up and
down the hill to attempt to determine a
winner!!!

Silverton's Town Tree is just up the main street from my house a few blocks---still
a lot of heavy holiday traffic with which to contend!

One of my favorite parts of the holiday was having us

all at Christmas Eve church in our old Victorian church.

Walking home through the crunchy snow under the vast

array of stars that we can see was a special treat.

Please click on the Heskin Family blog and Travis and Maggie

(links at the side of this one) for great pictures

and tales about the Polar Express.

Thanks to James for so many great pictures---we are so

lucky to have a great family photographer.

Thanks to everyone for coming. It was a lovely holiday for the hostess!!! XXOOXX

Thunder Dogs!!!!

What fun it is to be in Denver with Maggie, Travis,

and Finn! Travis took me to a Broncos game---they didn't do so well (no surprise, right?) but we had a great time along with 72,000 other fans.

The weather, Thunder Dogs (a l-o-o-o-ng hotdog with ALL the trimmings), and beer were good along with the "dancing girls" (Finn's term for the cheerleaders!)....we had a most enjoyable afternoon of mother-son time. Thanks Travis!

Irish B & B #3

Hello from the southwestern coast of Ireland!

The hydrangeas are fantastic here, thanks to the Gulf Stream. The views of the sea beyond the fields separated by ancient stone walls are lovely, the road signs take a little studying, and you will see part of our ND group as well as my dear friend Patti and me in front of a beehive hut, dating back to 1200 AD.

This website plus my rural hotel connection are doing strange things so you will need to decide which description goes with what photo. Weather here has been amazingly dry---sunny today

when we went to Blarney Castle. (I didn't kiss the stone---I don't need to talk anymore than I do!)

BOB #2

Promised I would tilt a Guinness to you---here it is!!!!
The Irish harpist at the castle banquet was quite lovely and played very well. We sipped our mead and enjoyed her music, though this is beginning to sound as if it is a beverage tour and not a musical tour!
The madrigal singers were equally good---here in the great hall the accoustics were amazing. Dinner had four "returns" (courses)---spicy parsnip soup with brown soda bread, ribs, and chicken with gravy and root vegetables followed by a sort of custard. We only had our daggers with which to eat in the medieval style. Interesting logistics...
Graveyard and church remnants near our hotel which I found on an early morning walk. The oldest grave marker I found was 1802.
Cliffs of Moher: beautiful and remote. The walk to this view was actually closed, officially, because of a very high wind (gayle, actually). Several of us walked up anyway to get a good view and I can see how, if you got very close to the edge, you might get swept over the edge.

Off to a full Irish (breakfast): eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, toast....hmmm...think I won't need lunch!

Bits and Bobs from Ireland #1

Our group of North Dakotans, seven strong, arrived early this morning at Shannon (western Ireland) after an overnight flight from Newark. Today was a glorious day with blue sky and sunshine---great for exploring!
We are staying at the Bunratty Hotel, a lovely old country hotel in a tiny village. At the bottom of the hotel grounds we found Bunratty Castle, which was built for the "last" time in 1425, having been sacked numerous times prior to that.
It was a defensive castle so has tiny slits or very narrow windows and the crenalations at the top are large enough for a man with a bow to hide behind. (not sure about that crenal...word---the stone trimmings on the roof!)

Joyce (a new friend from ND who came with my long-time friends) and I opted to not take a nap after being up all night on a rough flight. Instead we climbed the six stories of tiny little uneven wedge-shaped circular stone steps to get to the top of the castle.
This was the view over the River Shannon to the fields beyond...Ireland is just as green as the reputation would have you believe! Tonight we are going to a medieval banquet in the great hall of the castle, complete with serving wenches and mead. More on that in the next blog.
Meanwhile, i am enjoying the lovely hydrangeas and roses in the gardens of the hotel! Now I am off to the hotel's pub for the first Guiness of the trip---I shall toast you all!