Postcard Contest 6: Somewhere Awesome you definitely want a postcard from

Beautiful Ushuaia. Jumping-off point for somewhere incredible.

Background

I am in Ushuaia again and will soon be out of the reach of the Internets for over two weeks because I'm going somewhere awesome. And I want to send you, my friends and family, a postcard from said awesome place. So here is the Most Awesome Postcard Contest Yet.

Back in December while my parents were visiting me here in South America, they kept dropping hints about a Christmas present that was going to involve some sort of activity (my favorite kind of present):

• It was a really big, awesome present 
• Sometime in February I would need to be in Argentina
• It would involve potentially dangerous kayaking in very cold waters
• There would be ice
• It was something I "definitely wanted" to do (this one made me nervous, because my dad's ideas of what I like and what I really like are often quite different)

The best I came up with was kayaking near one of the glaciers off of Campo del Hielo (Southern Patagonian Ice Field) or Tronador or something, maybe even a multi-day tour. I never could have guessed or even hoped for the Awesome Bomb that was dropped when I opened the envelope. The only thing more surprising and awesome would have been a trip to Mars. Seriously, I was floored. Still am. (Mom, Dad, thank you for spoiling me freaking rotten on this! I am so insanely excited!!)

I then quickly had to fill out a stack of paperwork, including a waiver containing the words: "We do not have to tell you that it is cold in _________."

More hints

• The trip leaves from Ushuaia. The "in Argentina" part is kind of a technicality. 
• I will be spending a good part of 18 days mostly on a boat, but also ocean kayaking in, indeed, some very cold waters, and hiking and visiting some pretty historically and scientifically (and generally) incredible, remote places.
• There will be penguins.
• The name of the location starts and ends in an A

Instructions

So here's the postcard deal, the first 20 people who do the following two things below by 10:00 PM PST on February 17th (important! I won't have internet access after that!) will get postcards of the place that have physically been to the place. Better yet, I will try to post them from the place, but that will depend on whether or not the ship is able to make it to land anywhere with postal stations. If not, postcards will be mailed from Ushuaia on my return.

Here's what you need to do to get a postcard:

1. Post something interesting about the location I'll be going to in the comments section for this post.
2. Visit the private form linked here and enter in your mailing info so that I know how to get a postcard to you.

If more than 20 people respond, I'll try to send as many postcards as I can, but I need those addresses in the form so I can take it with me!

Hope to be sending you greetings from a cold place soon!

Postcard Contest 5: Chiloé

Views in Chepu

Chile's Chiloé Island, where I've been spending the month of January working a the Chepu Adventures Ecolodge in Southern Patagonia, is a beautiful, verdant place famous for its nature, distinct culture, seafood, churches, and homes on stilts.

It's also famous for an edible nightshade of which Chiloé Island boasts over 400 native species. Also remarkable is that >90% of the _______es grown worldwide are thought to have originated on Chiloé Island.

The first four people to post interesting recipes (but try to not give away the answer when you do) that use this edible nightshade get postcards from Chiloé!

Rules & Disclaimers:

• Recipes must be posted in the comments to this blog post.
• Recipes that use ingredients that are easy to find (in Chile...so think small rural supermarket) appreciated!!
• You have to include enough identifying information about yourself so that I know who to contact about a mailing address.
• It may be a month or two before your postcard arrives, but I will send it!

Postcard Contest 4: Patagonia

Why, hullo spikey mountains.

My parents and I are headed off to a tourist town in Argentina's Los Glacieres National Park in the mountains of Patagonia that serves as base camp for a very spikey mountain on the edge of the Patagonian Ice Sheet that is named after the captain of the ship whose adventurous naturalist would later become one of the greatest names in science.

Name:

• the naturalist
• the name of the ship
• the name of the captain
• the name of the mountain
• the name of the town we're going to

First person to leave a comment here and get it right gets a postcard! You do have to leave your name so I know how to contact you and get your address.

Disclaimer: I can only send you a postcard if I am able to get your mailing address. I will announce winners when I have internet access, which may be as long as a week after the contest is announced, so be patient! Also, I make no promises as to when I will send the postcard. But, at some point, I will send it, pinky swear.

Postcard Contest 3: Trip Planning Challenge

EDIT Nov. 9:

The deadline passed with *zero* comments or suggestions. So I went ahead and bought my first overpriced bus ticket, thereby committing myself more or less to the plans I had tentatively come up with prior to posting. But I don't want a postcard contest to pass without a postcard-receiver, so I'll send a postcard to:

1. The first person to comment. Period.
2. The first person who can name the small mountain range at the end of the world that I'll be going to next.
3. The person who writes the most interesting thing about Tierra del Fuego, Isla Navarino, the voyage of the Beagle, or anything relevant to that part of the world.

Three postcards! I'm feeling all kinds of crazy this morning.

A view from the lake in Bariloche, where I am now. Why would I ever want to leave? But it's time for this nomad to move on.

Okay friends, I have a challenge for you.

I spent more time than I care to admit last week trying to map out the best (read: cheapest) possible way to get to my next destination(s) and keep thinking "there has got to be a better way". Before I commit to my tentative plan, I thought I'd send a line out and see if anyone out there has any better ideas.

This is where I want to go.

So here's the challenge

I am currently in Bariloche, Argentina. I want to get to Isla Navarino, Chile, which is pretty much the closest I can get to Antarctica until I manage to weasel my way onto a research expedition. Once there, I want to spend at least 6 days there backpacking in the mountains. Weather forecasts make me think sooner would be better than later...living in a bivvy sack through a week of downpour at near-freezing temperatures could get pretty not-fun pretty fast.

And then here.

After Isla Navarino, I need to get to El Calafate to meet up with some friends for the most epic 30th birthday party ever in Torres del Paine. Did I mention that I turn 30 on the 27th? Birthday presents in the form of bus tickets, penguin tours, and wealthy friends whose yachts I can hitch rides on gladly accepted. ;-)

Postcard goes to whomever reports back in the next 24 hours with the route I like best. Judging will be totally subjective.

Rules and Details

• Departure from Bariloche no sooner than the morning of Nov. 8.
• A minimum of 6 days on Isla Navarino, including the good-forecast period from Nov. 12-14.
• Arrival in El Calafate no later than mid-day on November 25th.
• I will not be doing any swimming.
• Please include realistic time estimates and details of routes, companies, transfers, travel times, etc. wherever possible.
• To be considered, include a final cost for the entire trip from Bariloche to the end destination at El Calafate.
• Optional side trip tips (with costs and details where possible) are appreciated and will not count toward the final trip price.
• Deadline is 18:00 Buenos Aires time (UTC -03:00) Friday, November 8, 2013.

Me, backpacking with the splitboard in Patagonia. Cut out the me minus the board and paste me into a scene at the end of the world.

Postcard Contest Disclaimer

Answers must be posted as comments on this blog to be considered, and can't be anonymous (if I don't know who you are, I can't contact you to get your address to mail you a postcard).

The prize for the winner will be a postcard from their choice of Bariloche, Isla Navarino, or Torres del Paine. If I can't find a postcard, I will print a photo and mail it. I make no promises to when the postcard will be mailed or when it will arrive (mail is slow here, and it may take me a while to find a postcard and a post office), but patience! You will get it!

Postcard Contest 2: Bariloche

Holy wow, just saw that the blog has had over 2100 visits! And it's been a month since the last one so...time for another postcard contest. Which from now on will happen more frequently, Promise.

I spent last weekend camped outside a magical place called Refugio Frey, a hike-in mountain hut in the middle of a place I saw described somewhere as sitting in the palm of God's snow-filled hand, fingers extended upward as rocky pinnacles that form a cirque around the Refugio. During the summer (hell, even now, despite the snow and cold) it's a mecca for rock climbing. I had a most excellent time splitboarding everything in sight before the arrival of a crowd of physical education students and a fierce windstorm made me beat a "too many poeple, help!" retreat early Sunday morning.

Refugio Frey at sunset. My snowboard had good dreams that night.

This coming weekend, in order to access the terrain visible in the left of the photo below, I plan to go to a somewhat more remote refugio inside the same Nahuel Haupi National Park: Refugio San Martin (Jacob).

This week's question: 

Which very large volcano that sits on the border of Chile and Argentina should I be able to see from the mountains this weekend? 

Bonus points if you come down here and climb it with me.

Standing at the top of  the ridge across from the Refugio at Las Tres Marias, looking out over Laguna Nahuel Haupi.

Again, first person to leave a comment here with the correct answer gets a postcard! You do have to leave your name so I know how to contact you and get your address.

Disclaimer: I can only send you a postcard if I am able to get your mailing address. I will announce winners when I have internet access, which may be as long as a week after the contest is announced, so be patient! Also, I make no promises as to when I will send the postcard. But, at some point, I will send it, pinky swear.

Postcard Contest 1: Santiago

I arrived in Santiago yesterday afternoon following a reverse of my Paso Los Libertadores trip two weeks ago, once again chasing snow.

To celebrate over 1000 blog views (wow!!) and get people to start leaving comments on the blog, I'm going to run a series of contests where I ask geography, regional culture, trivia, etc. questions. The prize for the first person to answer correctly will be a postcard from wherever I'm at.

So, without further ado, Question Number Uno!

When I arrived yesterday in Santiago, nearly all of the stores and many restaurants were closed, making it very difficult to feed myself. Why?

View from the hostel I stayed at in Santiago

Another view from the hostel,
this time playing around with spiffy new HDR software.
Like it?

Again, first person to leave a comment here (not in your head, not in Facebook, not by email, here in the comments section, those be the rules) with the correct answer gets a postcard! You do have to leave your name so I know how to contact you and get your address. Let the fun begin!

Disclaimer: I can only send you a postcard if I am able to get your mailing address. I will announce winners when I have internet access, which may be as long as a week after the contest is announced, so be patient! Also, I make no promises as to when I will send the postcard. As of yet--almost 3 weeks into my trip--I have yet to see any places even selling postcards. But, at some point, I will send it, pinky swear.