Sweet Home, Chicago (and the beauty of patagonia)

by Steph 4/21/2009 5:25:00 PM

WOW... I'm back.

I am happy to say that I am happy to be home! I was not quite sure how I would feel, really. I felt a bit mixed, it seemed a bit surreal when I arrived, just as the sun set over the city... the colors were beautiful. It looked so familiar, yet so incredibly FLAT after the Andes I have been travelling around and across for the last few months. And I am sorry but there is just no beauty in strip malls. Walking through O'hare towards baggage claim, I realized quite suddenly that I did not need to find a good map and secure transportation and a clean place to stay in a good part of town and somewhere to eat a tasty and affordable local meal and how/where to arrange transport to my next destination and... Instead, Matt was picking me up and taking me home and we would probably order and eat Pequod's Pizza, then go to bed! That complete thought gave me such a sense of peace... it is what I will remember in the moments that I miss the thrill of travel.

SO NOW WHAT???

I thought I had all the regular questions down pat. When you travel, EVERYONE asks the basics, like "Where are you from?", "Where did you come from?", "How old are you?", "Where did you learn Spanish?", "Are you married?", "Barack Obama?" (a statement and a question). But now that I am home, there are a whole new set of questions, the most common ones being: "How was it?", "Are you back FOR GOOD?" and "Now what?".

Well, you'll have to check back for those answers, which are either really long or yet to be determined. For now, I will share with you a few photos from Perito Moreno Glacier outside of El Calafate in Southern Argentina. Thanks to a kind guy named Chris, my lost pen drive was sent to my house (with my early photos from Argentina) AND I have my home laptop to work with... so finally I will provide some more comprehensive descriptions and images of my world travel experiences. Tech problems delayed me, but did not deter me from sharing.

Thanks for being here. All the best! ~steph

The massive Perito Moreno Glacier as seen from the upper observation deck

This part of the glacier fell... so slowly it reformed as an arch

It is almost incomprehensible to see a glacier, tree-covered mountain and lava-looking rock formation all together (and look how dwarfed the cruise boat looks alongside them all!)