My first adventure of 2011 is in the books: Chile and Argentina!!!
My first visit to Pucon, Chile was in 2008. Ever since then I have found it a magical place! It is a tiny mountain town that is an outdoor recreational lovers dream. There is rafting, mountain climbing, fishing, hiking, rivers, a giant volcano and….. the first triathlon of the year!!!
Our adventure started with the Pucon 70.3. This was my third time racing here. Unfortunately, the predictable summer weather took a turn for ugly and the few days leading up to the race were wet, windy, and cold. Sure enough, race morning came and it was downright nasty! After much delay and discussion, the race was turned into a duathlon: a 5k run followed by the 56 mile bike course and challenging 13 mile run. You can read about the finer details of the race here in an article I wrote for Lava Magazine. Lets just say it was a day of survival of the fittest. I was super happy to be able to win my first race of the year! Yippee!! A big thank you to the amazing support I received before and after the race. Wahooo!
The next adventure was the day after the race!! Our amigo that we met in 2008, Francisco, invited us to him and his wife’s lake house. This was the highlight of our vacation! We were treated to a traditional asado - a bbq that included so much food & drinks. It was the party that never ended, we had sangria in hand by 11am and were still eating and drinking at 4pm. I must say my eating & drinking performance was nearly as impressive as the race performance the day before! After lunch we went out on the lake to check out the beautiful scenery and Chris got to bust out his wake-boarding skills. The highlights of the day were spending time with so much family, all the tasty new foods, and being exposed to a new culture. This was an incredible day we won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Thanks Francisco & Andrea - please come to Montana!!!
The adventures continued as we made our way across the border to Argentina! We spent the week in the Patagonia region exploring, fishing, hiking, and doing something we haven’t done in too long - vacation! We slept in each day, explored in the afternoons, cleaned up at night and enjoyed amazing red wine, ate wonderful food, and would fall into bed at midnight (or later!). Chris caught fish. I read some good books. The sun finally came out! It was awesome.
That’s a quick catch-up. I am home in Montana for a quick visit and loading up the car. Tomorrow Ma P and I are playing Thelma & Lousie! My mom has kindly offered to drive with me to the desert oasis of Tucson!! Its time for some sun, lots of swimming, outdoor riding, gal-pal time with HpB, camp at The Cycling House, a visit from Mighty Mere, the Purple Patch camp and more fun adventures! Stay tuned!!
Thanks for reading - let’s make 2011 a one to remember. I can’t wait.
Ciao,
Linsey
