Ice breakers on a glacier

In reading a little about the honorable Justice Ginsburg, I read a case called Roper v. Simmons, in where it was decided that the constitution does not allow the execution of people who committed crimes before they turned 18. The interesting thing is that Ginsburg and the majority opinion used foreign sources to make the decision, which was criticized by many republicans. Being in Argentina and traveling round the world, I see that we as Americans do a lot of things right... but we don't do it all right. Some Americans think our constitution should not be subject to the opinions or behaviors of foreign nations. Some Americans are also arrogant. The choice by the majority opinion is a good sign that our government isn't blind to the world, and knows that there is a lot to learn from it.

A very tranquil week came to an insane end last Friday. The remaining family and friends joined the fray in Buenos Aires and life as a relaxed student came to a much needed end. I was too set into a routine, drowning down mates wasting the day away staring into the open sun, preparing for a delicious dinner and a long night out.

I still do all those things, minus the staring. Friday was hectic. After a late Thursday I woke up with 4 hours of sleep, showered, slapped on my 3/4 pants, a pink shirt, argentine crocs, and my big ass sunglasses and headed to the hotel were I was to meet my father paul, my brother jon, as well as our friends Guy, Susan, Darren and Melissa (in descending age order I believe). We met at the hotel, checked them into a dingy apartment style room, and went off to eat. A local stop sustained me with a bife de chorizo and salad, as well as a glass of malbec. Nothing special, but a great preparation for the day ahead.

We headed back home and relaxed for a bit as my father and brother took much needed naps. I entertained myself with my camera and went around photographing my sleeping sibling and father. Sleepy people appear funny on photographs.

Afterwards, we went to a restaurant called La Cabrera Norte (La Cabrera was full, but this was its sister and as good). There we met up with federico's mother, brother and his girlfriend, Virginia, Martin and Virginia. I know, kinda weird to be dating a girl with your mother's same name... Freud is probably experiencing some transference in his grave. We had some fun and it had been a long time since I spoke with Martin. Now that I could actually speak his language it was nice getting to know him. A LOT different than his brother... sort of like I am with mine.

Jon did something amazing and ate steak. The boy eats nothing but chicken cutlet, bagels, and pizza so this was a big move for him. Gonna be disappointing though when he goes back to the states and has that shit we call beef.

Afterwards, the plush's went to bed and I met up with Jessica and Ignacio. Martin drove us along with my broheem to my fav bar, Acabar, which again means to finish, sexually. I explained this to my parents at dinner, in spanish no less. They called me drunk. They were right.

Back on track, we went to Acabar to find it was filled to the brim. Instead, we went to some other place till Federico gave us a call. We met up with him and his friend "Humshuh", nicknamed for his social inabilities. He may have been a looser, but his place in Palermo was pretty sweet and full of alcohol. The four of us, along with fed and diego headed to a club called Kays.

After a drunken ride, we arrived at the Boliche (or club) and proceeded to wait in line. Jess and Ignacio decided to head out early and we arrived inside the club at about 2:45 am. When I said earlier that the party doesn't start till late, I wasn't bullshitting. There was people there, but it didn't start filling up till 3:30, and the massive, bone shaking bass didn't commence till about 4. We met up with some of Diego's nice lookin argentine friends and the party started. I danced terribly, but had a good time, so did my Bro. The drugs were certainly in the air... the smell of dank weed was one clue. But more importantly, you can tell that there were a lot of e-poppin punks lining the walls of this boliche. The massive hint? Sales of water skyrocketed as the night went. I'm not a huge club goer, but I've been to a few, and I've never seen so much water consumed in such shorts amount of time by the same people.

The sweets part of the boliche was its proximity to the coast. It was on the coast in fact. The sunrise for which I'm always a sucker for was sweet and the fun ended at 7 am because my brother was understandably tired.

After a 4 hour nap, i woke up and headed out to meet the fam and friends at Galleria Pacifico. There I saw some shops, saw a drunk guy scream in broken english, and enjoyed the pain of a rasaco. At night we ate another fine meal at Cabana Las Lilas and I went to BED.

The following day we headed to Calafate, for what would be an amazing trip. The flight there was delayed (the flight into BA was delayed, both flights to and from Calafate were delayed, and my flight to Mar Del Plata was delayed as well, I call it a theme). Whoever, we arrived and set ourselves up in a Hotel called Design, which was very nice, but not incredibly designed... irony.

We went to a restaurant in Calafate and I got some Cordero Patagonico (patagonian lamb) and it was fucking delicious. Tender, moist, and crunchy on the skin. Its made by cutting and gutting a lamb in half and then roasting it over an open fire. SOOO GOOOD.

The following day we woke up way to early and headed to a glacier called Perito Moreno. Its one of the only remaining glaciers in patagonia that isn't receding. We took a cab to the bus stop, a bus to the boat stop, and a boat to the foot of the glacier. After a quick hike we arrived at the glacier.

Its tough to describe the sheer size and beauty of the glacier. Purity is certainly one of the words, as the glacier represented some of the most undisturbed nature I've ever seen. The thing was so massive and so giant that a few of us humans did little to cause any problems. There was no trash, no cars, and no power lines.

I posted some pictures on my google thingie, http://picasaweb.google.com/danizylberberg/Calafate. You can just look at them all and see the crystal clear streams that formed in the glacier. The cracks and crevices (our guide pronounced it creVAHHHSS) formed cooool shapes as well as little potable pools of water. And i got to walk on all of it and explore (only a little). We had these spikes on our shoes to walk along the glacier and they helped keep our traction. After this, I have a strong desire to do some ice climbing. Its not too difficult, but amazing and incredibly satisifying. The crunch of slippery ice beneath your feet and the traction you get from the spikes gives you a feeling of ironically strong control.

After a long long hike through the glaciers we got a wonderful surprise. I didn't think the day could get better, but then it did. We walked up to a flat part of the glacier with tables and glasses topped with tumblers, bowls, and 2 bottles of scotch. Our guide took out his pick, shaved some ice into his bowl, then threw crystal clear glacier ice into the group of glasses. Next came the whiskey. I requested a doble and they obliged. The scotch itself might have been just some generic brand, but the glacier ice and the situation elevated it to pure deliciousness. I couldn't have been happier.

That night we had more amazing lamb, roasted int he same way at a restaurant called La Tablita. That cordero patagonico is really something else.

The following day we went on boats to visit the rest of the glaciers and take a hike. A larger boat guided us through the Leche Glacieral, also known as Glacier Milk. The story is as the glacier scrapes against the sides of the lake, it causes minearls to suspend in the water and give it a milk, silvery color. The water is opaque, and I thought I would get some for dairy loving treestump, but unfortunately drinking glacier milk gives you a case of explosive diarrhea. Sorry bud.

The trip around the glaciers was lots of fun, and we got some great views as well as some great pictures. I'll post a lot more soon! I went with the 28-135mm lens while my friend melissa had a 17-75mm lens, so she got some better wide angle shots while I got the close ups.

The following day, our delayed flight departed and we headed back to BA.

El Calafate is el bomb.