Yeah. I could live here.

A brief rant of frustration any writer can relate to: losing your work...
I love blogger for many reasons. Being able to save offline, auto-saving, etc. But why go through that trouble dear blogger if you are going to freeze when I add too many photos, and then never let me access that post again?! Okay, rant over. Also I wanted to include that as a semi-excuse for blogs coming in much after our adventures and our lack of photos of recent, plus we have not had steady wifi connections and taking the entire time at an internet cafe only to write the blog seems touch when we can (sort of) write it from the comforts of our hostel, cabin, cabana, apartment, or wherever we are writing from.

Back to the adventures!!

Arrival in Argentina: After many hours of busses, we get to family for the holidays. It is wonderful. We are loving our time together and have extended it.
Ups and downs with finding a farm in this gorgeous area, but we have settled in and are making the best of it, as adventurers do. The graciousness of family has allowed us to relax in a house in a small town called Lago Puelo.
Previously, we were in Bariloche, the largest ski town in Argentina we hear. Ski season is over, but snowy mountain tops can still be seen across windy lakes. I ventured out on Christmas night after feasting for days (Winter Solstice through Christmas), smelling of garlic, red wine, and pasta, and decided to begin my burning off some of the thousands of consumed calories from the past, oh, hour or so. Bariloche is known for their chocolate shops which can be attributed to their Suisse founders. We took full advantage of this and devoured chocolate fondue, dulce de leche chocolates, chocolate covered orange peels, and all sorts of holiday goodies. I can also thank the founders for the architecture that I fell in love with. While snapping shots on this walk, my phone camera died. Sigh. More technology bites the dust on our journey. Let's hope a few devices hold up. (I'll work to post from the phone when I can. WiFi access is only a short walk from where we are staying now.)
In addition to the Suisse style cottages with steep sloping roofs, everyone seems to have amazing woodwork, even on the most modest of homes. Beautifully finished wood that isn't an eyesore because it keeps the integrity of it's natural shape is hidden amongst evergreens in quaint neighborhoods. Stonewalled structures, one in particular that had been abandoned and graffiti artists had taken over with carefully detailed drawings, are nearly missed due to the mountainside rising up behind it. Rock earth desperately tries to break through the green that takes over until you reach treeline and the rock appears to have succeeded. Brightness and stillness surround me, but it isn't quite quiet. The sounds of children old and young playing Christmas night futbol in the street can be heard and I can hear the imagined crowds cheering as three of them yell that a goal has been scored.  A solo star hangs near the moon as if it were a fly waiting to be swatted away by an irritated tail. All is right in the world. Yeah. I could live here.

~B