Add this to the Bucket List

A few nights ago I watched a Netflix film "180 Degrees South" http://www.180south.com/. All I can say about this is "Wow"!!.

Have you ever bought some outerwear from The North Face or Patagonia? Their stuff is terrific even if a bit pricey.

And what does this have to with anything you may ask?

Turn the clock back to the sixties when a couple of surfer, climber, hippie types decided to get in their van and drive the 10,000 miles or so to Patagonia Chile. Their adventure inspired another young man to retrace their journey more than 40 years later and put it to a documentary film with clips of the original trip thrown in.

The original twosome, Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins went on to found the aforementioned outdoor clothing brands. That's right, Patagoina and The North Face respectively. Having sold their companies years ago, today the duo have not lost their passion for the outdoors and protecting the environment. In fact, they founded an organization, Conservacion Patagonica, whose goal is to put more than 2 million acres in Patagonia into a permanently protected state. They have funded and set aside almost almost a half million acres already. For more http://www.conservacionpatagonica.org/ .

Patagonia for those of you not familiar with it's location is on the far tip of South America straddling both Argentina and Chile. It is not an easy place to get to, but the stunning beauty of this unspoiled wilderness has to be worth the trip. Tompkins and Chouinard, now both in their seventies, clearly have Patagonia in their blood. Both told of the profound effect the journey, taken so many years ago, had on their lives subsequently, especially at this point in their life.

Now here comes the interesting part. I watch the film and am immediately struck with an urge to go there, or at least put it on my "bucket list". But how practical is it to go there? Fly forever to get to Buenos Aires (already checked off my bucket list in 2002) and then another 4 hour flight to get close to Patagonia. But, the very next day I get an e-mail from REI announcing their

adventure tours now being offered to Patagonia. Coincidence, or are the gods at work trying to manipulate me again? Best of all the trip is rated "moderate" by REI standards so I figure I can easily handle this and we do get to sleep indoors. I think I can get P to come on this journey if I persist on convincing her that as long as were are in good shape, we can save the less exerting trips for later. But, it sure would be great if we could get some other friends to take the plunge with us. Here is the site for more information. http://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/latin/argentina.html

By the way, I can speak and understand enough Spanish to keep us out of trouble but I can't defend anyone against lizards who bite. Our guide can do that!

Feeling like you need to get away? Really far far far away? You know where to reach me..just post a comment and I will get back to you.