Feliz Nuevo Ano

New Years Eve on Roatan was interesting. The power went off for our house and most of the West End at 6:00 pm. Not an abnormal occurence but it would remain off at our house and immediate vicinity all night. Not the best circumstances for putting on your New Years eve duds, especially when the water was not running. We gave up on the power round 9:30 and ventured into the village where there was some generator power at restaurants. Kelly, who had arrived that day from Chicago, joined us for the night. We dined on pizza at Pura Vida where my parents boogied with random South American tourists. We then rang in the new year at Fosters Bar with tequila and vodka shots. They apparently were saving the champagne only for staff. More dancing. more vodka, 5 bars, later and I stumbled back to a still dark house at 4:30 am, Jan 1 2008! Happy New Year everyone.

Garifunas and Iguanas

During an island tour of Roatan, we stopped in at an Iguana farm. These creatures are amazing -- like a dragon meets dinosaur meets lizard. Very docile and slow moving until one hovers a banana leaf over them and they climb all over each other in attempt to access the food. One thought I might taste good and kept licking my calf.

In the afternoon we made it to the eastern side of Roatan. Much poorer and less touristy but still beautiful. We stopped in for lunch at "Mom´s Kitchen¨in a Garifuna village, where Momma cooked us up some tasty lobster while her kids played around us.

The sunsets of Roatan

Every day we were treated to a spectacular sunset, each different from the last. Since we were on the western end of Roatan, there was really no bad place to watch sunsets. But we were lucky to catch one from the fishing boat, and many from the Lands End bar, where Heidi, Jenny and Adi kept our thirsts quenched while we soaked in the views. For snorkeling we ventured to West Bay, a spectacular beach and snorkel area, where I saw several fish that were about half my body length. Very cool!

It was not all nirvana-like perfection. The price of being on a beautiful, remote island is that one cannot assume basic things like electrical power. The electricity went out almost on a daily basis, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes, like on New Years Eve, for hours and hours. Not the worst thing in the world until one discovers that our running water needed electricity for the pump. A full evening with no flushing toilets or fans or AC is not that fun.

Roatan

The family and I arrived for 5 days in Roatan on Dec 27th. The Bay Islands of Honduras are beautiful, sun-soaked islands that are wrapped in the world´s 2nd largest coral reef. The diving and snorkeling are spectacular -- I saw some fish that were at least my half my body length (no short jokes Moffatt!). We also were lucky enough to catch a 20 pound barracuda on an afternoon fishing expedition that served as dinner that evening and breakfast, lunch and snacks for the next few days as well. Tasty fish kind of like swordfish. Our taxi driver, Lionel, became our island travel agent arranging everything we needed. I recommend you call Lionel for all your Roatan needs.

Honduras Take II

Back in Honduras again, this time with my parents and brother in law to visit Tanya for the holidays. After a mundane Christmas Eve at the Houston GEORGE BUSH Airport Doubletree with my parents, we met Jasen and his sister Christmas morning for our flight to San Pedro Sula. Slight panic when we arrived in San Pedro Sula as the one only airline that was flying to La Ceiba(where my sister was) on Xmas Day was full. J and Chris had there flight pre booked, but my parents and I needed to find another route. Through my broken Spanish I negotiated a reasonable van rate to La Ceiba which was about 2.5 hours away by car.

After a bit of rest we had a scrumptious Christmas dinner cooked by Tanya´s co-volunteers. This was quite impressive as none of them were really cooks and cooking in Honduran kitchens is far more archaic than Americans and Europeans are used to(No dishwasher!). Yesterday Jasen, Tanya, Christina and I did a heart-racing zipline canopy tour of the Pico Bonito forest.

The people you meet over Mac and Coffee

So I was sitting at Tully's sharing a table with two other chaps and we laughed at the fact that all 3 of us had Macs. We started chatting and turns out I was speaking with the director of an organization called Orphan Relief and Rescue. Their goal is to build and staff orphanages for homeless kids in war torn Liberia. They were in town from Texas, meeting with, amongst others, the Gates Foundation. Listening to them talk about what they do and their selfless passion for it humbled me and made me wish there were more Americans (especially Texans!) like them. Check out what they do here ... orphanreliefandrescue.org. Very cool!

Last Night in Argentina

I returned to Buenos Aires just in time to be able to grab a late night dinner with an old friend from Cranium days, Katie Arango. Katie lives in the swank Palermo area of Buenos Aires and we dined at Miranda's Restaurant where I grabbed a last great Argentinean steak (Katie the vegetarian ate some green stuff). After dinner Katie introduced me to Mate, the Argentinean tea, drunk from those bowls that I was so confused by at the beginning of my trip. Over the Mate we discussed Argentinean men/dating, politics, and the general state of the world till 3 am. I've known Katie for about 4 years but this was the first time we had a lengthy conversation like this. Funny how old friends can become new friends thousands of miles from home.

El Chalten and Cerro Fitz Roy

Saturday I made a 3.5 hour bumpy bus journey to the remote town of El Chalten. This is the definitive one horse town. A single dirt road contains a few hostels, restaurants, and stores. People come here basically for one reason -- to hike or climb the amazing Fitz Roy mountain range, particularly the imposing Mt. Fitz Roy. The hiking is pretty spectacular as you pass torquoise, glacial runoff rivers, stunning mountain backdrops, and dense forests. Don't worry about running out of water as the river or stream water is purer than any bottled water in the States. Day one got me to Laguna Torre, a glacial lake that is the coolest blue you've seen. But winds gusting at 60 mph forced you to duck for cover behind a boulder to down some refueling snacks. On Sunday I made my way up the Fitz Roy trail towards the base of the incredibly vertical Mount Fitz Roy. It played peekaboo through the clouds much of the day but when the peak was visible it was stunning. Supposedly a climbers paradise, many "Jason Moffatts" wait weeks for the weather to clear just to try and crest Fitz Roy.

Perito Moreno Glacier

So this makes twice in a two weeks I have been completely awestruck by nature. Last week it was Iguazu Falls. This week the stunning Perito Moreno glacier. Having never seen a glacier close up, I had to sit there and just stare it at for as long as I could. Every few minutes, what sounds like a cannon going off, signifies a chunk of the glacier carving itself off the 5km x 14km super structure. It supposedly moves 2-5 meters a day and every couple of years has a massive break-off. And yet it's the only glacier in the world that is growing in size. Like Iguazu, words do not do it justice. Since I did not book ahead, I was unable to trek on the actual glacier, but supposedly the 5 hour trek expedition complete with crampons is well worth the 400 peso price.

The People That You Meet

Traveling alone can be a bit lonely but the flip side is that you can meet some truly interesting people. At the Marcopolo Inn, in El Calafate, I had the pleasure of meeting Heenam from Korea. Not just your standard traveler, Heenam is beginning a 3 year sojourn around the world by BICYCLE! You can check out Heenam's journey at his soon to be up website, http://www.aswind365.com/. Also had the pleasure of post glacier viewing beers with Erin and Shana from NYC at the coolest little cafe in the centro area of the town. Erin/Shan, what was the name of that place? We liked it so much we wanted to buy a t-shirt but the barman said there was only one in existence and it was on his back at the time. Despite pleading from the gals, he would not part with it. By the way, if you ever find yourself in Patagonia's El Calafate, I highly recommend staying at the Marcopolo Inn. Brand new hostel, super clean, ensuite bathrooms, and a great, friendly staff -- especially Dario who remembers everyone's name. Best place I've stayed at in Argentina.