Driving in Patagonia!

The luckiest girl in the world...

The last two days have been phenomenal, to follow up two months of wonderfulness. Yesterday, I went with Justin and Jordan to Lago Esmeraldas near Cochrane. We didn't get up until 10:00 in the morning and figured we had lost our chance at a ride to town, which are definitely few and far between and at the good graces of whoever is going. After stopping leisurely by the cafeteria for some breakfast and coffee, I wandered down to the office to check and see if anybody was going to Cochrane and as luck would have it one of the administrators was headed there. We hopped in the car and arrived to Cochrane just in time to run to the bank, grab stuff to make sandwiches, and took a quick taxi ride out to the lake where the sun was shining hard enough that we all stripped down to our swimming suits and enjoyed a swim in the lake. I managed to stay in for quite some time. After spending a few hours there, we started walking down the road trying to hitch a ride the 10k or so back into Cochrane. We got passed by a couple of cars before a sheep truck stopped for us and we got to ride in the back. Ended up being one of the best hitch rides we've scored yet. Upon arriving back into Cochrane, we ran into two workers from the estancia in the plaza who gave us just enough time to grab a couple of snacks before taking us ALL THE WAY back to the estancia. Unless you visit here, you are not going to understand how amazing this is, but usually we get dropped off at a crossroads about 12 km from the estancia and you have to try for a second time that day to hitch a ride that is likely not to come. All in all, it was a lovely day... one of the loveliest.

AND THEN there was today! In which I was charged with the job of driving Kris Thompkins' car from the estancia to the airport in Coyhaique - about a 6 hour drive that is one of the most beautiful roads I have ever been on. This coincided perfectly with my need to go to Coyhaique to pick up my friends Laura and Mike who are arriving on the 18th. I had the wonderful company of another intern, Mark, and we stopped to take tons of pictures on the way. It was incredible to drive through the landscape. I felt SO free. We stopped in Cerro Castillo and I got some things sorted out for Laura and Mike's stay which was wonderful and I think they'll have a great time. I did find out that a rental car is going to be around $900 for the 8 days they are here. HOLY MOLY. I still think it's worth it just for the drive down to the estancia. Driving up to Coyhaique was phenomenal and being able to stop whenever and take photos was perfect. I suppose I would pay $300 for a rental car for myself for a week and not think that was too bad, so that's where my head is at at this moment. We'll see what they think...?????

Tomorrow I'm running crazy errands and then going to a info fair with Paula Herrera, the woman in charge of the intern program. Should be a good day too!

Pictures coming soon since I've got a pretty good connection!

Abrazos a todos.