NBD--it's just more trees and lakes and perfection

Tuesday, March 6^th, 2012

Circuito Chico was our destination for the day and we set off on what we hoped was the right bus to the end of town to pedal our hearts out on the legendary bike path. For $90 pesos you can rent bikes that take you on a 20 mile loop around Lago Moreno and all its breathtaking views. We started off with enthusiasm and were immediately met with the first spectacular vista of the lake. The water again was an unreal crystal sapphire blue. We looked like the world’s biggest tourists as we grabbed our cameras every 4 seconds, but every angle was a good shot, so we had to take the photos. Immediately following the first vista, however, was a huge hill. Ok, I can tackle this…slow and steady…then I rounded the corner and saw yet another huge hill. Alright just keep chugging—no who am I kidding this sucks I think my heart’s going to explode! And why am I wearing leggings and a long sleeve shirt? Those have GOT to go. I guess since I haven’t worked out in a month I’m a little out of shape…that and I really never ride bikes, so that made it extra challenging. But at the same time, the air was so fresh and the views were so beautiful that I didn’t mind the extra work.

And this carried on for the next 5 hours—photos, beautiful views and the horrifically steep and drawn out hills. The final stretch was almost unbearable, but we made it and felt like we’d not only accomplished something physically worthwhile, but spiritually worthwhile. There’s biking and then there’s biking in Patagonia…

We were all exhausted after our biking adventure so we all wanted a nap. The problem was that I couldn’t fall asleep. But I wasn’t exactly awake…2 sweaty, tossing and turning hours later I decided to get out of bed because now I was starving. We all agreed that we were running low on cash so instead of going out, we opted for grocery shopping and cooking at the hostel. In classic Nikki fashion, I concocted a Nikki original: Nikki’s hodge-podge dinner featuring all the food groups individually. I didn’t actually make a meal where the ingredients fused together, but hey I like having eggstomatoescheeseandcrackersandavocado with an almost mimosa for dinner. It’s healthy, filling and delicious. Try and tell me otherwise!