I went a little crazy with the camera:

Be sure to check out the other pictures (and movies!) on the Flickr page.

The other exciting thing that happened on our little excursion was that a nice German and her daughter behind me in the Zodiac barfed into plastic bags during the entire trip back from the island. It was probably a combination of the meter-and-a-half waves and all the penguin poop that we were inhaling on the colony. But man, were they cute. The penguins, I mean.

Also, I planned on spending only one full day in Punta Arenas, but it seems to be a big Catholic holiday here, and Chilenos have a four-day weekend to travel, and therefore all the buses to Ushuaia were filled pretty quickly. So I’m not leaving until Tuesday, which gives me lots of time to drink instant coffee. But the weather’s very nice, if windy.

“And I made up my mind, I ain’t wasting no more time. Here I go again.”

Que loco mundo, no?

The second day of class came and went. I can’t tell you how good it is to have a little bit of productive human interaction in one’s life. My teacher Cecilia says I’m a good student, but I have a feeling it might be a situation like that of our beginning ski instructor, in which every student they have is the single best student they’ve encountered. It’s going well, though, and challenging. But I’m learning a lot, and promptly forgetting it.

I really like the Norwegians. I see them as kids (they’re probably 23 or 24), but they know a hell of a lot more about traveling in foreign countries than I do. I’m actually bummed that they’re leaving in a few days. Hopefully the new kids that move in speak un poco de ingles, tambien.

Also, the catarro situation is almost resolved. You’ll be happy to know that the graphic scenario that had evolved concerning my lungs and nasal region has come and gone, and I’m only a bit congested and slightly pink around the edges. To my great relief. I ran like a champ yesterday with no ill effects.

They’re going to kick me out pretty soon (I finished my hamburguesa a long time ago), so I’ll leave it at that, but as soon as we have access al casa, I’ll post a couple more pictures.

Chau (this is how we spell it).

Last night at about 8 I got the sniffles, which by 4 a.m. had turned into maybe the worst cold I’ve had in 10 years. Between that and the (albeit really, really, good) Argentine National Drum Corps pounding out a rhythm next to my bedroom until dawn, I was pretty miserable. Thoughts like “swine flu?” kept entering my mind. So, I slept until noon, didn’t take a shower until 1, and didn’t leave the house until 2.

But then, I walked down to the Puerto Madero. And I felt good. And I bought some more groceries (the kid said “thank you!”), and didn’t have to use my backup toilet paper kleenex the whole time.

It’s the little things, isn’t it?

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to run much tomorrow. I still feel pretty crappy. And even down next to the ocean, I can feel the pollution in my lungs with every breath. But, we’ll see. Maybe I’ll feel totally restored by morning.

Ciao-ciao.