Buenos Dias! Where am I?!? I am currently in Junín de los Andes, a very cute mountain town located in Parque Nacional Lanín which home to one heck of an amazing volcano. This is also the home of Vanina´s sister and her family. So I have the pleasure of staying in their home for a few days - woohoo!
But let me rewind a bit because quite a bit has happened in the last week. (And if you check back in a day or two, I will add pictures on here. Currently, I have no way of doing so..) In the last week, I have traveled from the campo in Pasman, to the Sierras of La Pampa, back to Pasman, to Junín de los Andes in Northern Patagonia, to the Mapuche community of Nahuel Mapi, back to Junín, to San Martín de los Andes, and, finally, back here to Junín - so there is much to report (so forgive me for the length!). And as a new opportunity presents itself and a new experience unfolds, I continue to be overwhelmed by just how lucky I have been and blessed I feel to be here right now.
I went to the campo thinking I would only stay a few days, but every time I thought about leaving, the family INSISTED I stay! And in the end, I stayed in the tiny town of Pasman for 17 days, met some 60+ family members, almost every resident in the town, in addition to numerous friends, spent both Christmas and New Year´s celebrating with the extended family (both celebrations involving the consumption of an entire pig, as well as loads of torta con dulce de leche), and on my last night got to celebrate the youngest granddaughter´s 1st birthday with almost every person I had met in the previous 2+ weeks. And in between all these family celebrations, I had the opportunity to milk a few cows, go for some great runs through the endless farmlands, and speak lots and lots of Spanish. Speaking so much Spanish has been great for me, but it has not come without enormous challenges, as well as some rather humorous moments. As I became tired of constantly having to ask "What did you say?" and "What does that mean?," I started to make a game for myself out of trying to understand new vocabulary. I became very good at knowing when to laugh and smile so that everyone THOUGHT I could understand, and after a few days of hearing the same word over and over, the true meaning of the word would occur to me and I would feel all the more proud of myself. True, it would probably be easier just to ask, but where´s the fun in that?! Anyway, in the process, I spent several days trying to figure out why the family cared about NAFTA as they are so very far from any of the countries affected by this North American agreement before realizing that NAFTA is gasoline - very funny thoguths ran through my head for a few days... Plus, now I know far more words that have to do with farming, planting, animals, and plants that I ever thought I would need!
And while I was in Pasman, I got a call from Milan (Cami´s ex-boyfriend who I spent an evening with in Buenos Aires) telling me that he was with his family in a small town not too far from Pasman and wanted to know if I would like to head to the Sierras with him to do some hiking and camping. Oh boy, would I ever!! I had spent two weeks in the campo staring at these small mountains far off in the distance wondering if I would have an opportunity to explore them and now the chance fell right in my lap - woohoo! I was ecstatic:)! So on Jan 2, Milan rolled into town where he literally had to go door to door asking for the "chica de los estados unidos" as there is no cell phone reception in town and, in typical Argentinian campo fashion, we had done little planning other than saying "Ill look for you when I pass through Pasman." So after getting to know a few townspeople himself, Milan finally found me and the two of us headed to the quaint town of Sierra de la Ventana to pick up another friend, Sergio, and then made our way down the very dusty, bumpy dirt road to the base of Cerro Tres Picos - the highest point in the oldest mountain range in the world (I believe). And at 2pm, in the heat of the day, the three of us set off in the dry desert-like sierras for a cave just below the summit. It was a hot hot hike, but knowing that in just a few hours I would be freezing as the temps fluctuate so drastically in this region helped me find some solace in feeling like I was going to melt into a sticky pile of Cameron goo. Plus, the views of the rolling mountains and the endless valley in the distance were breathtaking! And once we got to the cave some 4 hours later, we had both shade from the sun and a front door view of the summit. In the end, we opted not to do the final 1.5 hour hike to the summit due to time restrictions, heat, and a desire to find a place to go swimming instead. So we spent a delightful (and, yes, cold) night in the cave eating crackers and cheese and playing with the birds that kept landing on my legs and head before heading back down the mountain the next afternoon - again, in the heat of the day. So thanks to Milan and Sergio for a great adventure! And upon returning, I took a quick bath and headed off to join the festivities of Sofi´s 1st birthday where we ate, drank, and hung out until THREE in the morning - you know, just another FIRST birthday party...
The next morning, Sunday, Jan 4, I was lucky enough to get a ride with Tay (Vanina´s brother-in-law) all the way to Junín. Lucky not only to get to travel and spend a few days here with him, but also becuase the journey by bus involves three different buses and some 24 hours of travel. And it only gets better! Tay is a teacher in a nearby Mapuche community - one of the few indigenous communities left in Argentina. The community is far up in the mountains where it is impassable in Winter, thus the students have their vacations during Winter, as opposed to now (which is Summer). And in coming here with him, I would get the chance to go to the school for a couple of days and see the community, meet the students, and visit some Mapuche families. So for the 14 hour drive, I learned all about the Mapuche, their customs, the problems they have faced, the governments lack of attention to these communities, and the changes Tay has seen in the 14 years he has worked at the school. And this last Tuesday, I accompanied him to the community of Nahuel Mapi, 55 km from Junín and any other civilization through steep, winding, arid mountain roads with amazing views of Volcan Lanin in the distance. The school itself is tiny - 23 students in 3 classrooms for grades 1-7. There is a also a kitchen where the students are fed breakfast and lunch each day and two bedrooms for the teachers (most teachers commute each day, but Tay lived there for the first 7 years he taught there where there was no electricity, heat, or running water). We headed up on Tuesday morning and spent the day and night in the school, so I had the opportunity to spend Tuesday and Wednesday with Tay´s 7 students in grades 1-3, as well as wander among the many trails leading to the houses that are spread quite far apart. We visited one Mapuche couple who live in a house made of mud that they built nearly 60 years ago and which is perfectly cool in the summer and cozy and warm in the winter! We also visited the family of one of the students where I got a grand tour of the garden where they grow all their fruits and veggies, as well as the corrals for the goats, the chicken coop, and the stables for the horses. The majority of the families raise goats, sheep, llamas, chickens, cows, and horses to either eat, sell, or use the fur (of the sheep and llamas) to make traditional clothing to wear and sell. I felt so blessed to be there, to meet the families, to learn about their culture and their way of living, to work in the classroom with the students, and drink maté with the teachers. And it was all the more awesome to be going with someone who has truly become part of the community! In many ways, it reminded me of visiting Annelle´s Peace Corp community in El Salvador...
And after two days in the mountain campo, I headed back into Junín to meet up with Víctor (our REI guide) who was headed from Chile to the nearby town of San Martín de los Andes. Dad and I were in San Martín on our trip, but did not actually get to spend terribly much time in the town itself - which is a town that honestly looks like something out of a fariy tale with it´s gingerbread-looking houses surrounded by flowers and fruit trees in full bloom. All the more, the town is nestled in a valley in the Andes mountains on the banks of a glacial lake with crystal clear (and coooooold) waters. So, needless to say, I was excited for both the opportunity to meet up with Víctor AND spend some more time in this town. So Wednesday afternoon, I helped him pack up all the stuff from the REI trip he just completed, and we wandered around town admiring this and that and eating yummy pizza and ice cream. He had to head on back to Buenos Aires on a midnight bus, but I stuck around and spent yesterday going for a run along the lake and hiking up to a viewpoint high above the city and taking a million photos of it all. Later in the day when I was ready to head the 40 km back north to Junín, I decided that rather than take a bus (which leaves every hour), I would hitchhike. I have never hitchhiked before and many people do it on this route. So I decided to try it. I knew I would be fine, but anytime I do something new, it´s a little intimidating at first. But I decided that this would be my challenge for the day and with only a 40 km trip and no town between San Martín adn Junín I was pretty much guaranteed to find someone rather quickly who was heading to Junín. So I walked to a gas station on the border of town and set up shop and tried to look like I had done this before! Two cars stopped that were only headed a few miles out of town, but the third car was a charm and after only 15-20 mins of waiting, I was chatting it up with a real estate agent on my way to Junín - and I have to admit, I felt pretty damn proud of myself - woohoo!
And a note on where I shall go from here....
The original "plan" (although, after 2 months here, I dont believe much in plans anymore...) was to head on to Bariloche from San Martín. However, Tay has told me I am welcome to stay in Junín for a few more days and there is so much to do here - hikes to the volcano, bike rides along the glacial lakes, and kayaking in the river, as well as returning to the school where he teaches to help out - that I decided to come on back. I dont know how long I will stay, but from here, I will head South to Bariloche to meet up with German, and then down down down until I arrive at Ushuaia - the end of the world! When this date will be is so hard to know, but I am enjoying learning to live life in the moment and let things unfold wihtout worrying too much about the when, where, how, and why. So far, it has worked out beautifully. So beautifully, in fact, that I cant help but be amazed day after day by the places I have seen, the people I have met, and the things I have gotten to do. I feel incredibly blessed to have this opportunity and am happy - truly happy. I was so scared at first to head off into the great unknown (and, admittedly, still am at times), but Im glad I have come here and I am especially glad to have such amazing friends and family who are constantly sending me loads of love and support. So thanks to those of you who made it all the way through this post (it´s loooooooooooooong, i know!). Much love and appreciation from the Andes. VIVA!
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