May 16, 2003
Hi there! This is Marga, finally blogging from Calafate.
First of all, a note to my family. My e-mail doesnīt seem to be working,
I can read your mail but not answer it, so Iīll answer it here instead.
I will keep Mika away from wild dogs, donīt worry. Iīll only let her play
with domestic ones. Our plan after this trip is to go back to Buenos
Aires; at some point weīll go to Mar del Plata, but we still havenīt
figured out exactly when. We wonīt be back until the 22nd, so we wonīt be
able to go to Pipiīs BD party. We donīt think chocolates here are as good
as Seeīs, but Iīll buy her some either here or in Ushuahia, if they have
them. They seem to have them all over the place, however. Iīll look for
the dolls for Mika when I get back to Buenos Aires.
OK, off to the blogging now. Mike is usually the one who goes do it
because Iīm too lazy. However, tonight weīre doing it from the hotel and
I can walk down a hallway, specially while Mika sleeps.
I want to start with some general observations about traveling with Mika
in Argentina. All in all, itīs been great. I canīt imagine a better
destination for traveling with a small child (though of course, Iīm
biased). Argentine people LOVE little children, EVERYONE pays attention
to her and plays with her, something with she absolutely loves. Most
restaurants have high chairs and people are very patient when she cries or
complains (or when we change her poopy diapers). By the end of every
excursion or encounter, people usually end up knowing her name and call
her by it afterwards. It's really great.
One other advantage is that there are many playgrounds, though these donīt
have the safety features of those in the US and are usually geared towards
older children. Still, many have toddler swings and Mika loves them.
Weīve also found a couple of places with toddler activities, specially in
Bariloche.
We are planning to only travel in countries where food and tap water are
safe until Mika is 5 or 6, and Argentina certainly qualifies in this
regard. Itīs also extremely beautiful.
On the negative side, both diapers and baby food here are extremely
expensive; they cost more than in America. Also, many people smoke
(though smoking is not allowed in national parks and most restaurants have
non-smoking sections), which means sheīs exposed to much more cigarette
smoke than I would like.
So far traveling with her has worked out pretty well. Iīm very glad we
brought the backpack as we wouldnīt be able to get around without it; many
of the excursions require hikes that a stroller would not be able to
negotiate and that would tire us immensely if we were just carrying her.
The stroller has been less useful in Patagonia, and in hindsight, we
should have left it back in La Plata. However, I know itīll be very
useful once we get back to Buenos Aires and start to actually stroll
through the city.
As you may remember, we got a portable car seat that we brought with us.
Itīs pretty small and only weights 4 lbs. so it was easy to carry, but we
neednīt have bothered. We used it on the remis (taxi) ride from the
airport to La Plata, but never since. Itīs too complicated to put it on
for a short taxi ride, and when we rented a car in Bariloche they gave us
a full-size car seat at no additional cost.
Mika has been amazingly good and patient during the trip. Of course she
gets tired, cranky and whiny (read loud), but usually we can distract her
away from this, or give her a bottle, and often times our fellow travelers
will start playing with her and sheīll quiet down. Probably the most
difficult part is lunch/dinner. While most places have high chairs, she
can usually only stand to sit in one for a little while, while we feed
her. After a few minutes she'll want to go off and explore. Sometimes
thatīs OK, but often it will be dangerous and one of us has to run after
her. Again, most people (both waiters and diners) have been terribly
gracious and patient.
As Mike has mentioned, weīve been having problems feeding her. Sheīs
often not interested in eating. I donīt know if itīs because weīre
traveling or because sheīs hit that age. In any case, I finally
understand how a motherīs obsession for feeding her child starts.
Well, Iīm off now and Iīll let Mike tell you about our day today. We got
to see the Perito Moreno glacier, which is truly, truly, truly incredible.
Tomorrow weīre off to see more glaciers, and Iīm off to lying next to my
sleeping baby, reading my book and falling asleep. Good night!