Mendoza

So i woke up at the expensive 50 pesos a night hotel in Villa Mercedes - i could not be bothered to find somewhere cheaper, my feet were hurting and i was falling asleep just walking along the road, a hard day's hitching had taken it's toll on me.

I left the hotel 40 minutes after they knocked on my door indicating that my time there had ran out (i had only paid one night, so until 10am). I made my way to the ruta 7 which goes past Villa Mercedes through San Luis city, La Paz, and eventually Mendoza. I asked around the petrol stations if there were any trucks heading out west, with no luck i waited and waited, walked from one side of the ruta 7 which was itself more of a dual carriage autopista, after about four or five hours waste and having got no where i got tired of waiting around in the hot sun and dry dirt. I had an asado from a nearby parrilla for 20 something pesos and went over to the bus terminal, 3 hours and 53 pesos later i was on my way to Mendoza, the 'easy' way.

I hope to hitch more in the south but it seems people over here are not as keen to pick up strangers, still, Salta to Mercedes wasn't a bad experience for my first time doing it - some 1200km.

In Mendoza i arrived at about 11pm, found a nice hostel near the bus terminal which similar to the one i was staying at in Salta, it's 35 pesos a night and has a swimming pool. Cristian, the main man here, let me know about a tour you can do in Maipu with some wineries, you basically hire out a bike for the day and cycle from winery to winery tasting different wines and foods. I don't even like wine but i thought it'd be cool to try it since Mendoza is famous for it's wines. Now that i've done it i'm glad i did because not only has it opened my mind into wine, which i have come from never drinking it to now possibly ocassionally drinking it, but i also met some fun people on the tour, everyone seemed friendly and talkative with each other even if no one really knew anyone. There were people from Norway, Oregon, Canada, and many other places which i now fail to remember. I hung around with a group from the states who were visiting Mendoza for just a couple of days as their last trip in Argentina. Justin, Amy and Rebecca were studying spanish in Buenos Aires since July and are going back to the states at the end of next week. We cycled back into the bike hiring place about half an hour late and went into the city to get some food. At their apartment they were renting for the weekend we cooked up some chorizos, milanesas and prepared a salad which was washed down with Quilmes and Mate, a very nice combination and a very sociable night. They're heading back to Buenos Aires at the end of today but as Becky is staying an extra 10 days just to 'travel' for a little more around Argentina i suggested she came to Bariloche at the end of her week in Buenos Aires, by this time i should also be in Bariloche and we could once again meet up.

For the rest of today i'm gonna chill by the pool get some things organised and just rest.

Tomorrow i'm heading out to some of the mountains in the area, in specific the base of mt. Aconcagua, at over 6000m it's the highest peak in the western hemisphere, and whilst i don't plan on taking it on right now, it will definitely be interesting to visit the basecamp as i would like to climb it in the next few years.

I will probably end up heading further south to Bariloche on Tuesday but i'll report back on here after my day out to Aconcagua on Monday.

Thanks again for reading!

Santiago.

"there was no doubt about it, i was heading south."

The last few days have been amazing, i can hardly find words to describe them but i´ll try my best.

Day 55.

Packed everything into my backpack today, which now weighs just 13kg after i mailed some unnecessary clothing and things to Bariloche. I got a taxi out to the main road out of Salta, i needed the taxi to take me out to a crossroads i was told divided the route northbound and southbound, which would make it easier to hitch south especifically. I got the taxi past the toll station just out of Salta and when the fair was accumulating i decided i wanted to pay no more, i said to the driver to turn around and go back to Salta where possible, i would continue from here by foot. I started walking and within ten minutes of having my thumb out a Fiat Fiorino pulled up about 20 metres in front of me. I ran to it and asked the man, in his forties, sitting inside if he was going south towards Cordoba. He said today was my lucky day, he was going to Santa Cruz, right in the southern end of the country so he would have no problem dropping me off in Cordoba on his way. This was more than 1000 kilometres covered in just one ride, fucking ace!

Pedro turned out to be a very nice man, he wanted me to go all the way to Santa Cruz with him but i said i wanted to visit some places in this part of the country first. He was on his way home after buying a house, a pharmacy, and submitting his daughters into some good schools in Salta. He was not poor to say the least. He owned about 6 other pharmacies at least and had the fiorino as a form of transport so his wife could deliver supplies. It was a new car, only 1000 or so km driven. The fact that a bird hit one of the side mirrors at 145kmph meant that we stopped by at Santiago Del Estero to see if they had a spare part to put the mirror back together, they didn´t. We taped it up and continued on our 10 hour journey.

When i eventually arrived in Cordoba i was dropped off at a petrol station, i had no idea where i was and no one knew of any nearby accomodation, one of the guys there said i could take a taxi to a nearby place, what a brilliant idea. "you can call one on 434-533 or just wait here" - "well i don´t have a phone so i guess i´ll wait". Two seconds later a cab goes past, one loud whistle from my friend at the petrol station turned the cab around and brought him to us. I explained my situation and the man said for a few pesos he could take me to a hotel somewhere. I jumped in and a few minutes later we arrived at a hotel, he said he didnt know the price exactly but i should go and ask. It was an expensive hotel, or at least too expensive for me at 60 pesos for one night. The taxi driver said that was way too much and offered to take me towards the town centre and bus terminal where cheaper accomodation is available, i asked how much that would cost for him to take me there, without a pause he reached for the meter and turned it off as he said "don´t worry about it". For a dirty hitch hiker who is trying to get by with as little money as possible this was a dream come true. We arrived to an area with a lot of hotels and hostels, i said this would be a good place and he dropped me off, i offered 20, maybe 30 pesos, but he said no just 10 (that was the price before he turned the meter off and drove about another 10 minutes). It´s really amazing how when you talk to people and explain your situation, the majority will try and help you in any way they can, it kinda gives some hope for this world.

I managed to get a room for 30 pesos that night, which was very cheap but very basic accomodation. I slept like a baby, woke up about 8 and got a 1 and a half hour bus to Cuesta Blanca, i didnt really know what to expect apart from a river here. The bus took me to a little, very quiet town with a beautiful river running through it. I thought "this will do" and looked for a campsite by the river to set up my tent. The campsite had three very friendly labradors, some of the best dogs i´ve ever seen, they were more playful than i was tired, and that´s a lot. I set up the tent and about 10 minutes later a violent thunderstorm came over the skies above. I jumped in the tent then put on some waterproofs and came back out to make the tent more waterproof, once this was done i jumped back in and slept through the rain, not before putting my elbow through the screen of my camera and breaking it in the process, the screen is no more, i think it still takes photos i just can´t see what i´m doing so it´s auto mode for now.

I woke up to a beautiful sound of the nearby stream rushing through, and opened my eyes to a beautiful labrador laying by my tent, paradise some might say, completely peaceful, i went for a walk in the nearby hills then set off to the nearby road that went through some mountains and to the next town some 110km away. The first car that went past i stuck my thumb out, and it stopped. Federico was on his way to a job he had in this next town, he worked selling some farm machinery of some kind. From this next town i walked 5 km during two hours and had no luck with the rides, i waited at a YPF for one more hour before a man with a very old mitshubishi gave me a ride to the next town about 20 minutes away, it was hardly anything but it got me out of that shithole. From this town i waited again about an hour before a double cabin pick up stopped. I jumped on the back and for the next 45km i was in heaven, watching the road disappear behind me like a dream come true, the skies above perfectly iluminated by a powerful sun that was directly to my left, there was no doubt about it, i was heading south.

The young lad dropped me off at a small petrol station where i bought a chicken sandwich from a family that owned the cafe next to it. They said if i stood by the tree and stuck my thumb out i´d be once again heading south in less than half an hour, very impressed by their accuracy i went over to the tree, looked at the time and waited eigerly. Sure enough, 25 minutes later, a beaten up renault traffic stopped and gave me a lift to where i am now, Villa Mercedes. I decided to stay the night here and try hitch the remaining 500 or so km to Mendoza tomorrow.

I wrote this two days ago and i am actually in Mendoza now as i publish it, i will update this on how i spent all of yesterday getting here later on tonight.

Santiago.

South

I´ve decided i´m going to start heading south tomorrow morning, firstly to Cordoba, i hear there are a lot of streams and rivers in the area so i might spend a couple of days there. Will update this as soon as i can.

Santiago.

Salta

I got the ´flechabus´ coach from Iguazu to Salta at 11am, the service was appalling...no toilet paper, no water to flush the toilet, about 10 stops even though we were told direct, a technical stop to change the tyres, half the seatbelts didn´t actually work...the list is endless. About 20 odd hours later we finally arrived to one of the most beautiful cities i´ve ever seen. I say ´we´because next to me on the coach sat a couple who were also heading for Salta as travelers and they invited me to stay with them at the hostel and visit the various places around the area together. Eduardo lived in the same neighbourhood as me some fifteen years ago, and we got on really well, his girlfriend Kirsi is from Finland and this is her first time in Argentina, she´s a nice person too and like us loves all the Inca influenced cultures of the area.

We went for a few drinks and something to eat on the first night and that´s when we realized just how beautiful this city is, the sun seems to be always shining, and it´s 35c + hot but not humid, it´s really enjoyable. The city is full of culture and the places play typical northern music which includes Zamba, Chacarera, etc. There are also a lot of Peruvian groups playing Inca style music with Panpipes and other traditional instruments, this music gives the area a really historic atmosphere and it feels like you´ve been taken back in time a few hundred years to when the Indians still populated the area. The food here is magnificent, Salta is famous for their empanadas and it´s no wonder why, they´re always made fresh and always taste like the best you´ve ever had!

Yesterday we went for a walk in a place called Cafayate, it´s about 4 hours away by coach. The way there is amazing, you go through the cordillera in an area that´s very dry, and has some strange and wonderful rock formations that keep you amazed every second of the the two hours you drive through the area. Cafayate is your typical small village from the north of Argentina, the people are so chilled out it´s unreal, the atmosphere is uniquely relaxed and the weather was sunny as anything. There was a walk some 6km from the town that followed a stream up a mountain towards a series of waterfalls. It was probably the best walk i´ve ever done, you had to find your own way through the rocks, crossing the stream and deciding which side was the easiest, safest or just best to walk up the mountain from. Some parts were a little dangerous, but we eventually found our way to the beautiful waterfall in the middle of nowhere, some 2500ft high in the Andes. There were several points where the stream had natural pools where you could take your boots off and take a swim at, it´s one of the most beautiful things i´ve ever done.

Salta is a magic city, the culture keeps you amazed at night and the mountains never fail to impress during the day, the hostel we´re at is cheap but we´re living like millionaires, Ed and Kirsi will be heading up to Jujuy tomorrow where even more amazing things await, i´ve been invited to go with them for a few days until they head up to Bolivia which i might take up, would be interesting to see the salt deserts and other unique things Jujuy has to offer. From then on i´d definitely start heading south, possibly to Cordoba.

I love being back in Argentina, you can get in a car that´s falling apart and it´s normal. So many things don´t work as they should, so many things go wrong, but you don´t get angry and you certainly don´t really make a big fuss out of it, you just laugh and label it as 'nice to be back home!'.

Santiago.

Que manera de traspirar loco!!

Sitting here in an internet cafe in Iguazu, just downed an ice cold bottle of Quilmes, like most of the liquid i drank today it will probably sweat out of my body in the next two minutes. Arrived this morning at about 7.30am, i found a small campsite with basic facilities on the way to the falls, it´s about 1.5km away from the town centre which is handy. I originally planned to stay in Iguazu for about five days, but as it is i´m now at the end of day one, having walked all three of the walks on the Argentine side and i´m still sweating my bollocks off. I heard that the Brazil side of things is not as close a view, it´s more of an overall view, and you can see the stands from this side of it, there´s only about two places that stand out into the falls like they all do on this side. I was told i´d be dissapointed after having seen all the Argentine side has to offer, and if i decided to go tomorrow to Brazil it would take only a few hours, then more sweating, then another humid night in the tent before i can leave for Salta.

I decided i´m not going to visit the Brazil side of Iguazu and leave tomorrow morning for Salta on the 11am ´flechabus´. This one goes direct to Salta and takes about 24 hours, hopefully it will be like the 18 hrs it took to get from Buenos Aires to here and it won´t actually seem like that long of a ride. I didn´t want to hitch out of Misiones because it´s so humid and it looks just as hard as it would be to hitch out of Buenos Aires, i spoke to someone who has hitched around the West of the country where Salta, Cordoba, Mendoza and Bariloche are and according to his experiences it´s a hell of a lot easier around there, so i will see what Salta is like and possibly start hitching south from there. I´ve saved myself about four days by leaving Iguazu early which means more days climbing in the Andes or staying in any other town i fall in love with.

The Iguazu Falls were absolutely amazing, when you actually get to stand right next to them there are no words to describe it, you are just astonished by the amount of water that is going through there and the force of the current, you don´t just see this, you feel it.

On the walks around the various sections of the falls you go through the rainforest that is located around the falls, very dense vegetation and wild life is thriving, some monkeys were even coming close enough for humans to touch them. I am glad i decided to come this far north as i agree now with what a lot of people say about the Iguazu Falls, it´s something everyone has to experience at least once before they die, it´s just amazing.

There are more photos of today on my facebook so get on there if you want to see more, some of them came out really good, and i´ve got a couple of videos of the monkeys which i´ll upload as soon as i get some more time.

Anyway that´s it for now, i´m gonna grab something to eat head back to the campsite sleep then head off to Salta in the morning. I´ll update this as soon as i can from Salta.



Santiago.

Iguazu

Hey all, arrived ok.
Will write a better update tomorrow or the day after.
Off to see the falls now. laters!

Santiago.

´che flaco, que paso?!´ , ´Viajamos por todo el mundo pero solo aca pasa esto!´

I am now finally in Buenos Aires, arrived here this morning and after a hilarious wait for the luggage to come through on the carousel i got a bus to Retiro where i have a 6 hour wait until my 18hr coach to Iguazu leaves. I will be arriving at Iguazu at about 7.30am on Tuesday, and hopefully have a nice shower at a campsite shortly after!

It´s good being back in Argentina, it didn´t take long before this place showed what it is, the police didn´t let the luggage handlers put the bags on the carousel without them first being scanned, but the pc for the scanner was broken, which resulted in 200 or so passengers getting way impatient with the luggage handlers, those of you who have been to Argentina will understand the title of this post - which is an insight into the language that was going around this morning, fucking hilarious!

Will update this from Iguazu as soon as i can, have a good start to the week everyone!

I´m off to eat some empanadas and sanguches de miga mmmmm...

Santiago.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Today is my last day in Mexico, it´s been an interesting two weeks. A place so different to where i was living yet somehow i felt like i belonged to this city, i did not feel a tourist, i did not feel out of place. It was probably a good thing, security wise, that the people i have been staying and mixing with are not on the 'poor' end of the spectrum. I have enjoyed good accomodation, excellent food, good clubs, welcoming people and an insight into urban poverty in Mexico.

In this last week i've really noticed how much i dislike being in a big city though. A place where you can physically see the polluted air, you spend more time getting to the place you're going than the time you spend there, nothing is free, it's not uncommon for people to work 16 hour days, and perhaps worst of all, everyone seems to be a slave to a life they don't even want.

In Argentina i will be alone, just another hitch-hiker with some sketchy plans to simply head South. This is how i want it, as many have before said, there is something beautiful about being a stray, a voyager whose only home for the time being is the road. I've been waiting for this moment a long time, and finally i guess all those hours of working, thinking, and planning have paid off.

I will be leaving Buenos Aires just hours after i arrive, i don't want to hang around the cities for much longer, if i do, i will either go insane or get robbed. Either one is not good right now. Iguazu will be my first destination, i won't hitch this leg of the trip because i have no idea where the best place to hitch out of the capital is, and because it will probably be the most dangerous leg of the trip, probably best keeping to the security and comfort of a paid coach for that one.

From Iguazu i will eventually head west, towards the Andes mountains and begin to head southwards somewhere in the region of Salta. I am still undecided about whether crossing to Chile near Mendoza or continue south and visit Chile some other time. I guess it depends how easy it is to hitch rides around the area. I plan to arrive in a city called Bariloche which is as some of you may know surrounded by mountains. The plan is to stay there for a few weeks or months and climb a lot of mountains, some of which i already have in mind, others i will pick and choose as i see them.

The next step is to then hitch to the far south, Ushuaia and ultimately the end of the world. I´m not sure how easy this will be to do but i will soon find out.

I know hitch-hiking is not the safest of things to do, and more than one person have expressed their feelings against me doing this, but it is what i want to do and have wanted to do for a long time, much like climbing Everest, when i want to do something i don't - to a certain extent - get put off by the risks involved. We're only here once so why live in a cage?

I will do my best to regularly update this blog.
I' m off to truly enjoy life, hope you all can one day do the same.

I love you all,

Santiago.

'But you know he'll always keep moving
You know he's never gonna stop moving,
'cause he's rolling , he's the rolling stone.'

Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty.

The Killers

Last night we went to see 'The Killers' here in Mexico City. It was a huge venue but an even bigger crowd, the place was packed and everyone of course, was singing along to the most popular songs like Mr. Brightside and Bones. It became apparent that i had a really good view of the stage where ever i stood, Mexicans are quite short you see so i was looking straight over everyone to a clear view of the stage...good times!

On Saturday we went to a club in town called 'Bull', they play mostly rock music which in my eyes makes it way better than anyother club i've been to. The drinks were pretty good too, you get 6 coupons which you can swap for drinks throughout the night, but to our enjoyment Thamara had about 60 of these saved up from previous nights... so basically a free bar - we love you Thamara!!!

They also have 'tribute' bands there every night, on Saturday 14th it's tribute to 'The Beatles'. Hopefully will be going to that and heading off to the airport straight after to catch that 8am flight to Costa Rica, Peru, and finally Buenos Aires.

The food here is good, really good. It's obviously not as good as it is in Argentina for me personally, but it beats anything you can get in the UK or USA for that matter, the cost of living here is low and the currency exchange helps too. Being a butcher back in England, i was like an assistant so the pay was about average for a job you can walk straight into - if you took what i was earning there and put it into Mexican Pesos to spend here, then i´d be earning similar to a professional.

That's it for now anyway, i hope you're all well and life is treating you nicely, 'cause it's going super good for me!

I will write at least one more post before i head off into Argentina.
Thanks for reading!

PS: here are a couple of videos which i filmed when i was out in the states - i forgot to post them.





Santiago.

The Killers

Last night we went to see 'The Killers' here in Mexico City. It was a huge venue but an even bigger crowd, the place was packed and everyone of course, was singing along to the most popular songs like Mr. Brightside and Bones. It became apparent that i had a really good view of the stage where ever i stood, Mexicans are quite short you see so i was looking straight over everyone to a clear view of the stage...good times!

On Saturday we went to a club in town called 'Bull', they play mostly rock music which in my eyes makes it way better than anyother club i've been to. The drinks were pretty good too, you get 6 coupons which you can swap for drinks throughout the night, but to our enjoyment Thamara had about 60 of these saved up from previous nights... so basically a free bar - we love you Thamara!!!

They also have 'tribute' bands there every night, on Saturday 14th it's tribute to 'The Beatles'. Hopefully will be going to that and heading off to the airport straight after to catch that 8am flight to Costa Rica, Peru, and finally Buenos Aires.

The food here is good, really good. It's obviously not as good as it is in Argentina for me personally, but it beats anything you can get in the UK or USA for that matter, the cost of living here is low and the currency exchange helps too. Being a butcher back in England, i was like an assistant so the pay was about average for a job you can walk straight into - if you took what i was earning there and put it into Mexican Pesos to spend here, then i´d be earning similar to a professional.

That's it for now anyway, i hope you're all well and life is treating you nicely, 'cause it's going super good for me!

I will write at least one more post before i head off into Argentina.
Thanks for reading!

PS: here are a couple of videos which i filmed when i was out in the states - i forgot to post them.





Santiago.

Ciudad De Mexico

I left New Castle shortly after four am on Saturday morning, Jon kindly gave me a lift to the Amtrak train station in Indianapolis, about an hours drive away. The train departed about half an hour after i arrived, and about four hours after that i was in Downtown Chicago - and it was fucking cold.

I had to get the train on Saturday because my flight was leaving at 10.30am on Sunday, and with the first train being at 6am there was no way i would make it in time. The other factor that contributed to a very long day in Chicago was that the cheapest train was the 6am, it was about half the price to the trains that ran after during the day.

So i basically arrived at Chicago 24hrs before my flight was leaving. I decided to kill some time by walking around the city, i wanted to see lake Michigan, partly because an airfield that's on its shore was featured on the MS flight simulator series as the standard airport, so i really wanted to see the place for real. The airfield went a few years ago and they built a park there instead, but i walked right up to the lake and saw about a mile away the newly developed airfield site - it pretty much looked just like on the simulator.

The wind was very cold, it felt like January in England, and my backpack weighing just under 20kg i wasn't up for walking around much longer. I went and found the underground station that runs a train directly to O'hare, it starts off as an underground trian but then comes out overground - much like the DLR in London. 14 stops later i was at the airport, where another train took me to my home for the next 20 hours...Terminal Five.

I checked at Mexicana's desk that my flight (mx817) was all good and that the terminal remained open 24 hrs, to which i was happy to hear an affirmative answer. There was really not a lot there apart from a few pricey restaurants and a McDonald's, so i got a cheeseburger and sat down. For the next 15 hours i sat there listening to my ipod and reading ¨Between A Rock And A Hard Place¨ by Aron Ralston - he was trapped in a Canyon, i was trapped in a fucking airport.

I could not sleep no matter how hard i tried or how tired i was, i simply just layed there hopelessly trying to give my eyes some rest, i finally went into a very deep sleep to R.E.M at about 4am on Sunday morning, i woke up just after 6 thinking i'd overslept and missed my flight, i had to look at the time for about five minutes before i realised that only two miserable hours had passed. I got a Mcmuffin as Mcdonald's re-opened for the day just before and went off to the desk again to check if it was all good. This time the lady took some information and realised that somehow my flight was booked for mx817 (10.30am to MXC via Cancun) but money had been paid by the travel agents for MX801 (14.10 MXC direct). I was not amused, and didn't quite understand how the hell that came to happen, but the solution to the problem was simply to wait for the 14.10 and get on that one instead. I went and read my book again for a few hours, checked in my backpack, and to my delight at about nine or ten am i met a man who was also waiting for his flight, we chatted for a while and out of nowhere he comes out with the best question i'd been asked all day - ¨want a beer?¨ - of course the answer was yes and three budweisers later i was ready to go through security. The beers sure helped those last four hours go by a bit quicker, but the view of the tarmac and various planes going past also did a good job keeping me occupied.

So that was Chicago, i took off at about 14.15 and four hours later i was in Mexico City, where it was very cloudy by i hoped it would clear up within the next few days. I met Fanny, her brother, and Andrea who is the girl im staying with, i knew Fanny already but they are all very nice people and a good set of friends to be around. The drive to Andrea's took about half an hour - the traffic is fucking mental, everything is so quick and sketchy, it's a bit like a big 'free for all' but we eventually got home safe and sound.

On Monday we met up with Fanny again and went off for some breakfast at one of the shopping centres around here, it had an open view of the volcanoes on one side of it and what with the day being sunny and cloudless it was a very nice place to eat! We went and played some pool later on in the day and had a few drinks, we met up with some of their friends, Thamara, Karla and a few others.

Today we pretty much just chilled out, went to a plaza a few stops away on the underground or 'metro' had some ice cream, a beer and i briefly played a couple of games of skate with some kids that were around there. The buses here have music blasting out in them, like it is in Argentina, and although they look like theyre falling apart, its nice to be back into this type of place, seems closer to what i was used to a long time ago.

That's all for now, tomorrow i'm heading out to a skatepark and hopefully meet some more skaters and chill with them for a little while.

I like this place, the sun is always shining - or at least has been since Monday morning - the traffic is a bit more exciting to say the least, the buses blast out Cumbia, i can go back to speaking spanish to everyone, and the food and drink situation is so much better than in the US!

I love being back in a developing country, not only because it's different to what i've had for the past eight years but also because it has so much more character and is something that brings me back to my roots.

I know this has been a very long post but i couldn't spend 24 hours alone in an airport without telling about it! haha, thanks for reading this and i'll post a little update within the next few days.

Santiago.

¨That boulder did what it was there to do. Boulders fall. That's their nature. It did the only natural thing it could do. It was set up, but it was waiting for you. Without you coming along and pulling it, it would still be stuck where it had been for who knows how long. You did this, Aron. You created it. You chose to come here today; you chose to do this descent into the slot canyon by yourself. You chose not to tell anyone where you were going. You chose to turn away from the women who were there to keep you from getting in this trouble. You created this accident. You wanted it to be like this. You have been heading for this situation for a long time. Look how far you've come to find this spot. It's not that you're getting what you deserve - you're getting what you wanted.¨ - Aron Ralston.