Ski Vacation or Hell? By Mom

Skiing with four small children is always fun!. However, upon the departure of our 12 day adventure into the Andes, I could not have imagined the week we had ahead of us. It was eventful. I could write a lengthy narrative and detail all the highlights. But instead I am opting for bullet points as I am not inclined to relive this part of our family history. I apologize for the lack of photos; however they don’t allow photography in emergency rooms. And raging blizzards don’t make for primo photos opps.

THE BAD

• Flights to all ski resorts cancelled due to snow storm, we are stranded at Neuquen Airport, 500km from where we wanted to be
• Aerolineas Argentinas predictably not helpful and GM gets mad
• Need to find our own transportation to Chapleco (Andes ski hill), or reboard the airplane that would be returning to BA, and if we were lucky they would book us on an airplane “later in the week”
• Spent 5 hours in a van driving to Junin then Chapelco
• We arrive at house to pick up the truck. With the exception of the actual house, our property is underwater. The region is experiencing record flooding
• We arrive in San Martin and are told that the GM’s truck cannot make it to the hotel that is located on the ski hill due to the road conditions. Make complicated arrangements for its parking and eventual delivery to us at the hotel.
• Apparently, one standard off-road vehicle is not sufficient for our ascent up the hill, 3 different vehicles, each with a better traction system, are used during the expedition. This means all 7 passengers and their luggage (11 pieces) have to be transferred each time...it’s an harbinger for our nightmarish transportation logistics that we must deal with everyday (END OF DAY ONE)
• No communication with outside world. GM’s cell phone is MIA. My phone decides to refuse charging.. The hotel has only a radio phone, (ie) CB radio. Yodelers stage a sick out.
• We have previously decided that (after years and years of whining and pleading) we will let Henry and Callum try out snowboarding.
• Decision not a good one: can’t rent snow boards or get snow boarding lessons on the hill near our hotel and can’t get to main ski hill on skis due to the snow dump, must use 2 different Land Rovers to get to main ski hill. (this lasted all week)
• During the entire week lifts and gondolas were breaking down. Would suggest they do some maintenance prior to ski season opening
• Henry hurts wrist on second day of snow boarding and requires x-rays (negative). Invest in wrist braces recommended by our new friends in the Infirmary
• See new friends again next day when Jenny (nanny) hurts her leg skiing in the fog and has x-rays (positive for fracture)
• Spend day at Hospital with Jenny getting new x-rays and learning from other new friend orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jorge, that Jenny needs arthroscopic surgery, 3 month off her leg and physical therapy
• Organize surgery, hotels and new flights for Jenny
• Callum has 103 temperature and seal cough. I ignore symptoms
• On final day of skiing as I am packing up the car, GM calls to tell me that Henry has paid a visit to our old friends in the Infirmary, has arm x-rayed (positive for fracture) meaning more hospital visits and hooking up with our orthopedic pal Dr. Jorge. Reinforces negative feelings about prior snowboard decision
• Our favorite restaurant (the only restaurant) in Junin, La Ruca, is closed for renovations

THE GOOD

• There was a much needed snow storm
• The kids had fun, totally oblivious to the stress we were feeling and they were causing.
• Owen skied a ton and had a lot of fun (was neither sick or injured)
• Henry broke his left arm (his writing hand!)
• The hotel was very nice with good food, nice service and great views but it might as well have been on the moon given our transportation logistics
• Everyone (except the bruja at Los Pendientes and the Areolineas Argentina) were exceptionally warm, nice and helpful to us. Argentines are really great that way…
• Definitively confirmed that snowboarding (riding, shredding, whatever) is a waste of time. In all likelihood this option will not be offered to offspring on next SKI vacation.
• The heat and fireplaces worked pretty well in Junin.
• The river went down
• The pond is full, at least for now…
  
  Enough said on that subject.

I am the Dad

Yes, the Dad I am. It’s been a great summer, probably the best I’ve had since I was a kid.

Like most Dads, I do all the driving. I also can make a great asado. In fact tonight we are going to have a going away asado because it’s our last night in Patagonia. I will grill an entire goat on a cross and it will be extremely tasty. Many will come to eat it. There will be mucho vino and merriment.

This Dad is natural born Gaucho.

This Dad also gets to go fishing from time to time. Probably about sixty times this summer. Not bad, but my boss is sick of my excuses and I hope he doesn’t read this because then he’d fire me or something.

As you may have noticed, I have three boys. I’ve taught them to fish and they have taught me to not teach them so hard. One of them is learning to tie flies (or fly ties as his Mom says). Henry is getting pretty good at it. Way better than me. Callum is a great caster and releaser of trout. Own is a relentless fisherman who already knows you get about a thousand “last cast”s.

This Dad also has a girlfriend. Her name is Georgie and she ignores me unless I bring her presents. Or take her for a horseback ride on Casi Morto Brownie.

This Dad also got to watch his cool wife make a great home this summer. All this stuff we bought from all over the place in Buenos Aires and here eventually showed up and Elizabeth turned our little old puny ranch into the best place I’ve ever lived.

So the half thought out plan has worked pretty well. I have a cool family, a dream house,. We are on a great adventure and I am a lucky dog.

CAL LOST HIS FRONT TOOTH

This happened when I started to talk after lunch. I had a hamburger and ice cream for lunch. I think the chocolate covering on the ice cream made my tooth come out. The first one to see it was my friend, Longdon. There was a bit of blood. I am going to put it under my pillow. I hope Raton Perez leaves $5p. It is a big tooth afterall!

My mother is grateful that it fell out because it was hanging by a thread of pink tissue for weeks. She hopes that my other front tooth doesn't take so long, because it is pretty disgusting too.

BUENAS NOCHES PATAGONIA

It has been a week now since most of the family has returned to our home in BA. Dad and the dog are still south, on a roadtrip north of Junin exploring new rivers. They are the lucky ones.

Re-entry has been difficult for those that returned. The kids all got the stomach flu within 24 hours of arriving back(lots of barfing). Monday was the return of the 7:00 alarm, school, afterschool activities and the worse, homework, extremely distasteful for Mom. Driving in total chaos, waiting in long lines at the hypermarkets, and neighborhood parties complete with fireworks at 2:00 in the morning, all part of the charm of living in a metro of 12 million people.

Being back here drives home the fact of what a special place we have in Junin. We will be back several times before summer returns next December, but it wont be the same. We had a great summer and I guess we are just not ready to let that go. I guess that is a good thing, to want something that you have had, something you have again if you wait awhile. I guess we are all really lucky.

A Tribute to our Terrific Tutor Steve

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

On Saturday we are leaving Patagonia to go back to Buenos Aires and back to our regular school. We want to give Steve this blog entry because his is the best tutor ever. In January, we were excited to meet Steve, but not to have to do school work. When we started having classes we really like it when he came. Here are some words from everyone telling you what we learned and why we like Steve so much.

Callum: We learned the life cycle of the trout. We went on a field trip to a fishery. He taught us how to make the best chocolate mousse in the world. We did a lot of cooking. Steve was my first boy teacher I have ever, ever had. Steve is very, very, nice.

Henry: Steve taught me about insects using a microscope. He taught me about fractions. He helped me do project about Mapuches Indians for my Spanish Class. I liked Steve because he is nice, and makes it interesting by not repeating stuff over and over again.

Owen: I learned about trout. I worked on my letters and making words in English and Spanish. We played lots of games. I like Steve because he makes school like recess.

Georgie: Me gustas mucho. ¡Deseo aprender de ti el año próximo!

Dear Steve:

We will miss you and hope you can be our teacher next year and the year after that and the year after that…… Maybe we can all go skiing together this winter!

Un beso muy grande

Henry, Callum , Owen and Georgie

Some Photos of Summer School

Epic Adventure: Callum's Version

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

The Horse Riding Weekend
By Cal O’Connell

Our time in Patagonia is all most over and we wanted to do something special together and with our horses. Mom, Dad, Henry, Owen and I went on a horse riding trip into the mountains. We went camping for two nights. We left Georgie, Jenny and Gammy at the house.

We left our house on Friday. The weather was very good but it had been cold. We went to the National Lanin Park by a van. When we got to the gate the horses were waiting there for us. At the start we had two guides, Marcos and Milton riding with us The horses got there by a truck on the day before. My horse is called Pesquita Flora May (I call her May). We have three other horses. Medianoche (Henry’s horse), Anakina (Owen’s horse) and Casi Muerto Brownie (Georgie’s Horse and the pack horse for this trip). We rode the horses for about two hours to Don Miguel’s house where we had a great asado. We had tirra (beef ribs), tortas fritas (fried bread) and salad that I didn’t eat. We found a huge garden full of raspberry bushes. They were the juiciest berries I ever had. After our lunch and a siesta we back on our horse and rode for another two hours until we got to our camping spot. Our spot was by the lake where you could see Lanin. Milton was in charge of the fire and food and setting up the tents. Daddy went fishing , Mommy read and Owen and I tried the water but it was too cold so we got a lesson from Marcos about taking care of our horses, getting on our horse by climbing up their legs, and how to unsaddle. We practiced lassoing , it was really hard. For dinner we had soup and Polenta with tomatoes and canned peaches for dessert. Then we crawled into our tents and went to bed.

In the middle of the night Owen threw up. It was gross. Owen went to my Mom and Dad’s tent and threw up five more times. In the morning we went for a short ride and in the afternoon we went for a long ride to a waterfall. We were going to move to a new campsite. Because Owen was sick we didn’t. During our siesta we found a gecko and it was our pet for the day. We gave him an earwig and he ate it. He didn’t drink the water we gave him. Before dinner, there was a dead tree that we play in and broke branches for the fire. Finally the yellow jackets that lived there, had had enough and stung me twice and Henry once. It hurt a lot. We put mud where the stings were and I had some Advil. Henry wouldn’t let anyone touch him and he can’t swallow medicine so he was in a lot more pain than me. I went to bed without eating my dinner and went to sleep very quickly.

When we woke up on Sunday it was pouring rain and windy. Up in the hills there was snow. We left camp earlier than we were going to, to get back home incase the weather got worse. On our way back to Don Miguel’s, the belt of my saddle got loose and my saddle started to fall and then I fell on the ground. I didn’t get hurt so I got back on my horse. Then my Mommy fell off her horse because she was wearing a red poncho that was flying around and scared the horse. The horse went crazy so she jumped off. Then we finally got to Don Miguel’s house. We played horseshoes and had more tortas fritas. Milton won the game and he had to run up and down a steep hill. Then our van came.

When got home we had dinner. I told Jenny, Gammy and Georgie about our trip and all the good and bad things that happen. It was the most exciting camping trip I have ever been on. We are going to do it again next year!

Epic Adventure: Henry's Version

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

The Weekend Horse Riding Adventure
By Henry O’Connell

My family and I have being staying in Patagonia for two months. We decided to go on an adventure with our horses. We went to Lago Huechulafquen on a camping trip to bond with our horses. It was a trip of ups and downs but we still had a perfect time!

Day One: Today we started our horse ride in Parque National Lanin. Our horses got there by truck the day before we started. We got there in a van. We met our horses and started the ride. My horse is called Medianoche (“Che”), my brother Callum rode his horse, Pesquita Flora May. My other brother Owen rode Anikena. Casi Muerto Brownie, my sister’s horse, was a pack horse. Georgie did not come because we were on our horses 4 hours a day. My mom and dad rode horses that belonged to Marcos, our veterinarian, friend and head guide for this trip. There was another guide named Milton. Milton was the cook, fire keeper and he had a pack horse too. The first part of our trip we rode to an asado at the third guide’s house, Don Miguel. Don Miguel has a small farm in the Parque with lost of different farm animals, and raspberries. We had beef ribs, torta fritas and salad. I liked everything except the salad. After lunch we rode to the camping area. The place where we put our tents was on the lake and across the lake we could see Volcano Lanin. For dinner we had polenta which I refused to eat. I went to bed full of chocolate. In the middle of the night, my brother, Owen, barfed all over my sleeping bag. Owen got moved into my Mom and Dad’s tent where he barfed 4 more times.

Day Two: We were going to ride to a different place to camp but Owen was sick and we decided to stay where we were. During the day we went on a horseback ride in the morning and a long one in the afternoon. At lunch we captured a gecko and kept it in our tent and played with it. I got bit by the gecko, but it didn’t have any teeth. We fed it an earwig and gave it water. It didn’t want the water. Marcos taught us some things about our horse and he taught me how to lasso. It is really hard to do especially when you are on top of the horse. There was a dead tree that we liked to play on near the campsite. Before dinner, we were playing around and breaking off branches. There was a yellow jacket nest that we had no idea was there and Callum got stung twice, in the face and hand, and I got stung in the leg. It hurt really badly. Callum went to bed without eating because he was in so much pain. I had a good dinner of pasta. I got over my bee sting pretty quickly but even now it itches!

Day Three: The next morning it was POURING RAIN!!!!!! 200 meters higher than us there was SNOW! We decided to go home early because the weather was bad and we didn’t know if it was going to get worse. After a wet, raining breakfast, we set off to go back to Don Miguel’s house were we had the asado on the first day. The van was going to pick us up there. The ride to Don Miguel’s was horrible. Three people fell off their horses. First, Callum’s saddle got loose and he fell off and my mom had a red rain poncho that was waving in the wind and the horse went wild like a bucking bronco and she had to jump off. Milton, the guide, also fell off his horse. It was a mess! When we finally got to Don Miguel’s, it cleared up. We played a game of horseshoes (I got third place, out of 8 people) and ate more tortas fritas. The van came and took us home.

It was terrible at times but it was awesome. Medianoche was good, but at sometimes a little nervous. I feel like I really bonded with him and I could never wish for a better horse. It was also a good family bonding trip because we had to work together at times. I really hope that we can do this next year!

Photos from our Epic Horseback Riding Trip

Final Episode Chile Roadtrip: Volcan Osorno and Termas de Puyehue by Owen

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

After spending the morning in Puerto Varas listening to cool flute music, buying fly tying supplies and waiting for a bungey cord trampoline-like ride to open (it didnt) we hit the road for the last leg of our roadtrip. We drove two hours on a dirt road around Lago Llanquihue (the second largest lake in Chile) to the base of Volcan Osorno. It is not as big as Lanin, which is near our house, but it is very pretty. It looks alot like Mount Fuji in Japan. We had lunch in a little joint where we had really good Lamb Shank Stew. Everyone liked it except Henry, of course.

We got back out on the paved road and made good time to Lago Puyehue. It is very pretty but looks a lot different from where we have been. It is very narrow and has lots of pine trees and high ridges around the lake. It reminds us a little of San Martin.

We checked into a big old hotel that was built near the natural hot springs. There were lots of different pools and different temperatures. Some were inside and some were outside. The best one was a outside pool with a waterslide and a current. We spent three hours going from one pool to another. After baths and fresh clothes the boys went to the game room and played a lot of air hockey where Henry beat us badly. Georgie went to the kids club and watched a Winnie the Pooh video and Mom and Dad had cocktails. We all had a nice dinner together and went to bed after watching some TV.

The next morning it was RAINING! We had such great weather the whole time and now it was raining. After breakfast Georgie and I played in the Kids Club, Dad, Henry and Cal went for a mountain bike ride and Mom read. We left midday to start our ride home.

Unfortunately, we spent close to three hours at the Chilean Aduana. We still dont understand what took so long or why there was so much chaos. While Dad stood in line and muttered under his breath, we bought chips and gum that had tatoos. We had tatoos all over our bodies by the time we left Chile.

Fortunately, the rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived home, happy to be back and to see Osita. We already have plans to go back next year and drive around the Isla Grande de Chiloe together. Mom says that that was a great trip and she cant believe she didnt want too kill any one of us...I am not sure what that is suppose to mean?!?

I am a Dog

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

My name is Osita. I am not capable of typing let alone language with complex syntax. That doesn't mean I am not smart. If I want to, I could tear your arm off with my huge teeth. However, as I see all people, including strangers creeping around windows in the night, as potential ball throwers, I would be glad to meet you someday. I am now having the time of my life in Patagonia. I can run for kilometers, swim in rivers and lakes and chase a wide variety of animals, big and small. I do not want to go back to the big city and my small garden. The O'Connells are very good people and my only complaint is that they give me the same food everyday, with an occasional bone thrown my way. Until I saw myself in the mirror, I was pretty sure I was a Labrador Retriever. Word out.

Part Two Chile Road Trip: Valdivia and Puerto Varas by Callum

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

We left the volcano and drove to Valdivia. Valdivia a big city but calmer than Pucon. There were a lot less tourists. Valdivia is by the Pacific Ocean. There are lots and lots of green pine trees. Mom says it looks like the Pacific Northwest of the United States. We got to the hotel and we started watching some TV and then we went swimming. After the swimming we played on a playground and had strawberry-rasberry licuados (smoothies). YUM YUM. We went to the town of Valdivia and went to a seafood restuarant where of course we had lomito meat)sandwiches.

When we left the hotel the next day we drove to the ocean and went to a Spanish Fort that was there four hundred years ago. We dressed up in soldier costumes and held real swords and rifles and had our picture taken sitting on a cannon. Maybe we can scan it and we will put on this blog. After the fort we drove up the coast and had the best empanadas ever! My mom and dad had fish and we all ate meat,ham and cheese and seafood empanadas. It was a beautiful day and it was a really neat restuarant like a tree house. Before we left to drive to Puerto Varas we went to play at the beach. The water was really cold but we played and found really good skipping rocks. I skipped my very first rock here.

We drive to Puerto Varas, checked into our hotel, went to our rooms and got our swimsuits on and went swimming. It was an indoor pool with lots of rules and a guy telling us what we couldnt do. We had a good time anyway. After swimming and baths we went to town. We decided we wanted pizza and we found the best Italian Pizza ever! I had pepperoni pizza and it was great. The pizza had thin crust so you could taste the cheese, sauce and pepperoni. I had the best dessert. It was lots of fruit, chocolate ice cream and whipped cream inside a bowl made out of cookie. This was a great day for food for our family.
Everyone was tired and full so we went to bed fast.

Photos from Volcan Villarica

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

Chile Roadtrip: Part One Pucon and Volcan Villarica by Henry

Our vacation started by going across the Andes and through a pass called Mamuil Malal. This pass takes you very close to Volcan Lanin, which is one of the biggest volcanos in this part of Patagonia.

When you cross into another country you have to go through the Aduana (Customs/Immigration). This part of the trip was very boring because we had to wait in line and then some guy looked at all our papers and said we could go. You have to do this twice, once in Argentina and once in Chile. The Chile people are much more fussy and asked lots of questions. By the time we were done with this we were very hungry. We went to a roadhouse restuarant and all had the same thing..chicken and pasta. It was pretty good.

We went to Pucon. Pucon is a very busy place. There are lots of people and cars. You wont believe how many tourists there were on the beach. The sand on the beach was jet black because the earth in the area is lava. Pucon was beautiful because you have a big lake, nice beaches and a cool volcano called Villarica. We spent the night at a hotel on the lake. We walked around on the beach and had ice cream. We went for a swim in the pool and had dinner there. We went to bed after watching some TV. We dont have TV in Patagonia so this was a treat.

Villarica is an active volcano. You can see the smoke. The next day we went to the volcano. We were able to go inside the volcano, into a lava tube. A lava tube is where hot lava makes holes in the ground. This cave was 650m long and they think 2000 years old. It was dark and we had to wear helmuts so we didnt hit our heads.

After the caves, we did the Canopy. It was a zip line through the forest at the bottom of the Volcano. It took us about 45 minutes to do 12 platforms and 9 zip lines. After the Canopy we started to make the drive to Valdivia on the coast.

I am the Queen

I am Georgiana and I am three years old. Everyone calls me the Princessa, but please, I am the QUEEN. All I have to do is pout and threaten a spine-tingling scream and I get whatever I want. But I am not all about making demands. I have a great sense of humor, have a huge inventory of songs that I perform adorabley. I am not afraid of farting and burping, I do have three older brothers you know. That is not to say that I am not fulfilling my mothers dream of raising a girly-girl. I love all things pink and am a full-fledged fashionista making make at least half a dozen wardrobe changes a day. Living in Argentina is all I can remember, so this is my home.

My name is Owen

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Originally uploaded by arte andina (G.M. O'Connell).

I am five years old. I like to swim in the river and wrestle. I like to play baseball. And I like fishing. I fish with a spinning rod and I am learning to fish with a fly rod. My Dad is teaching me how. I miss my friends at school but I like being in Patagonia. I love my Mom alot. And I love my Dad. We have a dog called Osita who is a German Shepherd. She is a crazy dog because she loves the water.

I am Callum

My name is Callum. I have four best friends: Nico, Jack, Dominique and Caroline. I have a German Sheperd dog names Osita. I live for the summer in Patagonia. I have two connected bunk beds here and I sleep on the top bunk. I have two other brothers and a sister. My favorite food is pizza and I am into cooking. My babysitter is called Jenny. She is very nice. Our house is by a river and we swim in it or the lake. My friends are in school right now but I have a tutor names Steve who is very nice. Thats all for now....

I am Henry

My name is Henry and I am ten years old. Its is hard to be the oldest because my parents want to give me lots of responsibilities. I have to watch my annoying brothers and sister. I like to play baseball, american football and I love dogs and riding horses. I have dyslexia and reading is hard for me but I like school because it is interesting and I get to meet new people from all over the world. What I dont like is that I am in an international school and my friends always move away. My best friend is Joseph who lives in Connecticut. I miss him because I am living in Argentina.

It is our first post!!!!!

And contrary to popular opinion it is our "Mom" that is making this Blog happen, not Dad, who right now is alphabetizing his flies in his fly boxes.

We are the O'Connell's. We are doing this blog because everything we do is incredibly interesting. As many people as possible should experience what we have experienced. AND because we are all playing hookey this month from school and along with being tutored this is a good exercise in journaling and keyboarding.

Quick rundown of the cast here at Lolo Pinuike (our estancita in Patagonia). First is Henry, ten years old and into tying flies. Second is Callum, eight years old and loves to read. Last boy in the family is Owen, five years old and a relentless fisherman and wrestler. Last but not least is Georgie, the three year old Princessa and horsewoman. Also living here in Patagonia is Mom, Dad, Jenny and the dog Osita. If we have time we will tell you about them too.

Stay tune, we will be posting tons in the next few weeks telling you all about what we do here in this beautiful part of the world.

Chao!