Trust me, I WILL bust out Willie Nelson as I drive out of town.

Just can't wait to get on the road again.

So here's the news of my impending departure.  Through the grapevine, I found a fellow traveler who wants to see the rest of Argentina by car.  So, we're renting a car and hitting the road!!  Tierra del Fuego, here I come!

Car rental in Argentina was more complicated than I thought.  Who knew you could make a reservation only to find out that the company wouldn't honor it?  In the end, I have offered up my first-born child and tomorrow, barring further disaster, I will take receipt of a 2 door Volkswagen Gol.  The sticking point, amongst many things, was unlimited mileage.  I have estimated that the trip will be about 4000 miles round-trip. Yikes!

Today, between panicked phone calls to rental car companies, I started packing up.  Who knew I had so much stuff with me?  And I've added items in the past few days-- a sleeping bag and camping equipment.

[Messy, ugly pack-up central]

I, of course, had time in the midst of it all to have coffee and a chat with Graciela and friends.  They gave me all sorts of pointers about traveling in Patagonia.  Mostly they complained that the roads in Argentina are not very well maintained and the ones in Chile are "beautiful."  "No wonder Obama is going to visit Chile and not Argentina," said Beatriz.  Apparently my president will tour Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile in March?  Maybe he would like to have coffee with me too...

[Left to right: Beatriz, Graciela, Annie, and Marta.]

So, internet access from here on out will be sporadic.  I will, of course, write an update whenever I am able.

Just can't wait to get on the road again....