Getting Outta Dodge How I miss the days of a regular internet connection, and sidewalks not littered everywhere with the one downfall of dog ownership. My rent is due for the month of April, should I choose to extend living in my quaint little house on Santiago Del Estero. 10 days ago, as I sat staring at the ceiling, I slowly realized that I would much rather not pay that rent (900 pesos, or 300 dollars, everything included) and instead engage in more of what I love, and that is travel like a rolling stone: go wherever my wondering heart yearns or whatever combination of bus and road will allow. Hard to desribe or pursuade those about the appeal of living out of a backpack packed with only a few ensembles, making your bed in budget inspired hotels, eating meals of the most random nutrional elements. But the appeal is there, as is the love of owning an unshaved face, and the ideal of roughing it in lands foreign or domestic still holds sway over me.
Communication has been scarce at best over the last few weeks, and I fear it will not be getting better anytime soon. However my heart soars every time I am able to talk with friends and family. I dont know what it is about distance or absence that makes the heart grow fonder, but it does, and as much as my thoughts are dominated by the destinations I am on the doorsteps of visiting, thoughts about everyone at home weigh heavily as well. It all builds character or something. I leave on wednesday, April 4th at 12:45pm. I leave in two days for Puerto Madryn, a huge wild life habitat, for whales, penguins, and sea lions. Other than that, there really isnt much more I can tell, which is just how I like it. Consulting a map, the city can be easily found, about half way down the country on Argentinas eastern coast, a little portrusion of land jutting out, and thats where I will be for the first few days. I will be making a horseshoe loop going in a clockwise direction, all the way down to Ushuaia at the tip, and back up along the Chilean border (I will probably go to chile) up to Bariloche, a beautiful lake district. My goal is to travel for a month, hopefully not spending more than a 1500 american, and make it back to Buenos Aires in May. Before leaving, I must also purchase or locate some kind of water resistent clothing, as I will most likely be going glacier trecking and enduring other forces of arctic weather, and all I have is jeans, skate shoes, a baseball cap, and some UW sweatshirts....haha, insanity, but I will work it out. I might come back preferring to explore in tropical as opposed to arctic landscapes, but am hoping that I will still be seduced by all things ice, and all things penguin. Somehow, someway. Peace be the journey.  ¶ 1:16 PM