Just about a week ago I got home from my venture to the “end of the world” as they call it. It was a two and a half week trip touring what is known as the Patagonia. To be honest, before this trip I didn't know much about the Patagonia other than the fact that it is the name for a high quality and expensive brand of clothing. I had no idea about all the wonders and beauty that it holds. All I can say now is that Argentina is a beautiful country that truly has it all. From jungle to beaches to mountains.. it’s incredible. I wish I could share every moment of this trip with you all. It was truly a trip of a lifetime.
I left posadas with my exchange pals on November 26. Our first stop was Corrientes Capital, which is in the province right next to Misiones. In Corrientes, we met up with the bus that I would call my home and the other 31 exchange students that I would call my family for the next two and a half weeks. After about 35 hours of bonding and craziness on the bus, we arrived at our first stop of the tour. It was a cute town on the coast with the name of Puerto Madryn. We basically got of the bus, took our extremely needed showers, and then headed to the beach. I attempted to go swimming in the ocean, but only got in up to my waist because it was absolutely freezing. The next day we went to a beautiful gulf area where we got to go hiking and whale watching. We got to see two mother whales and their babies. It was such an amazing experience that I doubt I will ever get to do again in my life. The next day we left Puerto Madryn and headed to Calafate. On the way we stopped at a national park where there were tons of penguins. We got to walk around and chill with the penguins for a bit. It was awesome and they were really cute (Look in the pictures). Calafate was this really adorable town that is really close to the Andes Mountains Range. The town itself was my favorite town on the tour. It was beautiful with the mountains and lakes in the distance. It had a lot of good little shops. It was just cute. The first day we got there we went on a walk to see the lake better, and got to see flamingos. The second day we went to this town in the mountains named El Chalten. This was one of my favorite days of the trip. We went hiking in the national park called Los Glaciares and got spectacular views of the mountains and the town, and then we went to have a picnic lunch by a waterfall. It was one of those days where I just kept thinking “How lucky am I.” The third day was amazing as well. We went to another part of the national park and had the option to go trekking on the biggest glacier in Argentina. Of course I went and enjoyed every minute of it. We left early the next morning for the “fin del mundo” which is the most southern city in the world. To get there we had to pass through Chile, so I have a Chilean stamp in my passport now, which I think is exciting. When we got to Ushuaia, I was amazed by its beauty. All the sailboats by the port with little islands in the background made for a picture perfect view almost everywhere you looked. The first day there we did a lot of site seeing, including going to the end of the postal world. Honestly, it sounds a lot cooler than it was. Simply it was just a little shack where you could send postcards and things of that sort. It’s one of those things where it’s just cool to say you went there. The next day we went on a boat to go to Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, which guards the sea entrance to Ushuaia. The significance it had to me was that it is the most southern part of the world that I will have to chance to be in. On our way we also got to see a ton of sea lions and these birds that looked like penguins, but were not (lol sorry I forgot the name for them). We also stopped on this little island where we could get off the boat and look around. It was awesome to be in these places because I knew that I most likely will never be there ever again in my life. That same day we got to go to a place where they train for dogsledding. A lot of the dogs there were trained to be in the Alaskan Iditarod. Yayyy USA:) We got to see all the dogs which were adorable. There was also this really cool trail there that led to this area right by the forest that was all muddy and had a little beaver dam. Of course all of us tried to navigate our way through the muddy mess and many of us failed. It was a ton of fun though. Bright and early, the next day we set off to a town named Bariloche. The ride there was a struggle. One of the exchange students got sick so we had to spend the night in the bus in a hospital parking lot and then drove the whole next two days on top of that. Let’s just say we were all very excited to get off the bus in Bariloche. Bariloche is another amazing, beautiful town surrounded by lakes and mountains. This town is also known for it's discos and parties, and a lot of the teenagers in Argentina go there for what is known in the US as a senior trip. It was cool to be there because I had heard a lot about it from my classmates. In Bariloche, we went to a lot of natural reserves. The nature around this town was absolutely gorgeous. We also got to go see the ski resort that I promise one day I will go back and ski in. The last day in there we went to this camp like place and got to ride horses, play really random games, and do really fun obstacle courses. It was a crazy fun day with all the exchange students. At the end of the day we sat around the fire and talked about the whole trip and all the wonderful memories. The next day we started on back to Corrientes and then to Posadas. To be honest, by then I didn't want to get off the bus that I despised so much because I knew that it meant that I had to say goodbye to all the amazing people that I spent that two and a half weeks with. Saying goodbye to them all was sad, but I still will get to see them all in March for our last district camp. Words can’t really describe how amazing this trip was. I am so thankful that I was able to go on it, and that Rotary made it an option. Truly, the best part about the trip was getting to spend it all with the other exchange students. We were all a family by the end. I can always go back to all the places that we went, but it would never be the same without all of them. It’s weird to say that it’s all just a memory now. An amazing memory. That just reminds me that next year at this time, this whole 10 months in Argentina will be a memory. I can't help but get a little emotional even thinking about that. With Christmas literally being tomorrow, it’s hard not to feel a little down about missing my family and friends, but I keep reminding myself that I will have that all next year. It’s still just a really weird feeling though. To all you back home.. I miss you tons and I wish all of you the merriest Christmas and a happy new year. Chao for now<3
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AuthorHello or should I say Hola! I am Molly McLaughlin. I just graduated from high school in Iowa, and now I am taking a gap year to be a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Argentina! Go to my ABOUT page to learn more. Archives
November 2017
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