Parque de los Condores

Our third day in Cordoba we bused to another small town called Mina Clavero. MC is a destination popular with Argie tourists. Since it was summer, there were many people bathing in the river that ran through downtown.

We walked along the bank near a hotel that had been built long ago by the British(?) to be a casino. During the Peron era it was repossessed by the government and turned into a vacation site for members of the government labor union. The union movement was huge and strong in Argentina, especially during the Peron era, and continues to be a major social force. Some of Ale's family members have union benefits that include annual access to vacation spots like this hotel in Cordoba.

Our last day we went hiking in the newest national park, Parque de los Condores. We didn't have time for the 4 hour loop to the main condor viewing point, but the scenery was spectacular. It had just started raining (summer rainy season) a few weeks before, so the grasslands were green and the flowers were in bloom. And eventually we did see some kind of big bird cruising around on the updrafts. Looks like a condor to me!!

Trip to Cordoba

We spent 2 nights at this tiny house with no electricity, and incredible views all around.

It's surrounded by rocky, hilly pasture land, through which we hiked, making friends with the local equines.

We were way the heck out of town, and wanted to visit a part of the country side that wasn't accessible by bus. We walked the 11k into civilization and took a bus to Cordoba city to rent a car. From there we visited several small tourist destination towns. In one i ate my official "parrillada" for the trip - it's a taste of all the different kinds and cuts of meat. The biggest novelties were blood sausage, which was quite good; intestine with what Ale called "pate" inside - the partially digested intestinal contents! - also quite good, actually; and finally, the fatty skin flap on the throat of the cow. Yuck on that last one, though i guess it's quite a delicacy.

The sites listed in the guidebook: hotel where Einstein stayed, hike by Austrian visitor house and duck pond, huge statue of Christ overlooking town...were pretty much all a bust, but we had fun making fun of them all, and continued or with our luxury rental car tour. (it was just some basic 4-door, but renting a car was Super Luxury by my Latin America standards.)

As evening approached we started the drive through the remote area that had prompted the car rental. It was really beautiful, wide open grassland, crossed by this tiny road with no one else around. We came across this small stand of a kind of tree i'd never seen before. They looked right out of Dr. Seuss.

Suddenly the skies on one side turned dark and it started to rain. Out one window was an ominous gray sky, but on the other side the sun still shone. A beautiful double rainbow appeared.

El Tigre

One day we visited El Tigre, which is a short train ride from downtown BA. The city is on a huge river, Rio de la Plata. It is too wide to see across and empties into the ocean through a huge delta. El Tigre is an area right on the delta. Many middle class Argentinians have vacation houses scattered around the delta. There's a boat shuttle to get around, and we took it to one of the little islets, where we went for a hike.

All the little channels and boats reminded me of Venice...only a little muddier. But perhaps actually LESS polluted. And not sinking!

We had lunch and took a map that described a two hour loop hike around the island. Everything seemed straightforward, but about a third of the way around the trail abruptly ended. We took a path that looked like it was possibly the trail, and ended up bushwhacking through a swampy area where suddenly we were attacked by a swarm of mosquitos. Literally, we could see them flying after us in a pack. I sustained several bites, but for some reason Argentinian mosquitos are much less noxious than Ecuadorian ones. I was still irritatingly itchy from week-old Ecua-bites, and the Argie ones strangely barely even itched. I love Argies!

Chillin' in BA

We spent the first few days visiting different parts of Buenos Aires. We had created an itinerary of possible places to visit each day. It was quite ambitious...but in the end I think we saw most of what he planned: the art museum, the neighborhood where the cattle slaughter houses used to be, the hippy neighborhood with antique and vintage clothing stores, the old port remade as a tourist destination like South Street Seaport in NYC, the downtown with lots of colonial architecture, a nature preserve right downtown...We were busy!

Below is me at the Plaza de Mayo. P.deM. is one of the very few things I had heard about Argentina before I met Alejandro. During a period of terrible repression in the late 60s and 70s, many young leftist activists were kidnapped and killed by government operatives. For a long time no one spoke out, for fear of being "disappeared" themselves. Eventually, a group of mothers of the disappeared began to congregate once a week in the Plaza de Mayo for a silent protest. The Plaza is right in front of the Casa Rosada (the equivalent of the White House). They wore white head scarfs to distinguish themselves. Their protests drew international attention and contributed to the downfall of the regime. The brickwork at the Plaza is decorated with white scarves in their memory.

We visited a neighborhood called San Telmo, where there are a lot of stuff sold on the street. Because there was not a strong indigenous culture in Argentina, their aren't as many crafts like textiles or pottery as other places in Latin America. Instead, there is a booming business in Second Hand Stuff. It's kind of like the Housewares section of Goodwill, set up in booths like Saturday Market. It must be targeted at locals, 'cause it mostly seemed like junk to me.

Here I am in a restaurant Ale said was "classic Buenos Aires." It reminded me of a pub - dim, lots of woodwork, early 20th century photos and lettering on signs. There was a drum circle/parade going on right out the window, so I stuck my head out to watch.

False teeth

When we're doing training or planning with the promotores and the communities, we always break to play games. One of my favorites (that I learned years ago working at SMYRC) we called "I love my neighbor." The Spanish version is "El Cartero" (the letter carrier). Everyone sits in a circle, with one person standing in the middle. The middle person announces a mail delivery from [Brazil/Portland/Chacanceo...] with letters for everyone who...[is wearing tennis shoes/likes mangos/has long hair, etc.] Everyone who fits whatever category is called out has to get up and try to find a new seat. The person in the middle also tries to sit down, so a new person is left standing. That person starts over, announcing a mail delivery for everyone who...And so on.

I played it this time when I first met the proms from Estero Piedras. It never fails to get people laughing, and this group loved it. One person called out "Everyone with earrings!" and one of the male proms got confused and accidentally switched places. I don't think the fashion of male earrings has come to the communities, so people were falling off their chairs laughing at the idea that this guy would have earrings. When I went to visit them several days later they were still recounting the story.

Later, at the community meeting in Estero Piedras to discuss project options, one of them led people in playing El Cartero. There were at least 30 people playing, with 20 more crowded around the outside to watch. It took a while for people to figure out how it worked, and some people would get totally tongue tied when they ended up in the middle. One of the school teachers took to coaching people from the side, trying to get them to say things like "everyone wearing underwear." It was hilarious, and we went on and on. One person said "Everyone who's fat!" which seemed to be no more controversial a category than "Everyone with striped shirts." Four people dutifully switched.

My absolute favorite was when the middle person called out "Everyone who has false teeth!" And a good third of the room scrambled for a new seat, perhaps a tad embarrassed, but laughing.

The Mule

Mules are an extremely important part of life in Chacanceo, the most remote of the communities. Like Eskimos and snow, the people in Chacanceo have more words for mule and relatives thereof than anyone else I've met: asemila, bestia, caballo, mula, macho (the male mules are just called "males" - "i rode the male down to town.") Aside from on foot, riding a mule is the only way to reach the community. It takes several hours of steep uphill climbing, more if you're a gringo, unaccustomed to the hike. Or the mule.

I'm sure the locals don't think twice about them, but because it's such a novel form of transport for me, I always spend time reflecting on the humble beast of burden that is the mule.

As per their reputation, they're dumb. And stubborn. And yet, they are powerful creatures, in more ways than one. They carry tremendous amounts of weight up and down steep hills past precarious dropoffs. Especially going downhill, I spend a significant amount of time clinging nervously to my steed, hoping it doesn't lose footing and send us both into the abyss. And, especially as a novice, i'm pretty much at the mercy of my mount. If it wants to go, it goes. If it wants to stop, it stops. If it decides to run, I can't do much to stop it. Once one decided it was tired of carrying me on its back, so it lay down and rolled over. Which did the trick, i leapt off in a hurry. But mostly what they want to do is go slow and stop frequently to eat. I think they must sense my outsider status, or that i'm a softie, because my mules always stop every few paces to grab some greenery from beside the path. My coaxing does eventually keep them moving, but only for a few paces before they stop again.

Meanwhile, the locals don't seem to have such problems with their beasts, who march happily forward. I can't tell what they're doing that keeps things moving so smoothly. In the end though, I'm grateful I don't have to hike all the way up or downhill on my own two feet, much less haul some other species up on my back. So if the mule wants to take its time and snack along the way, so be it.

Arriving in Ecuador Jan 2008

I usually stay with Lupe's family when I arrive in Guayaquil, and I bring them some little presents. This time I brought a puzzle, and I wasn't sure how it would go over. Not everyone finds puzzles as addictive as I do. To my surprise, several family members caught the bug, and we stayed up til almost midnight to finish.

The next morning Lupe and I took off for the communities - a 4 hour bus ride to the main one. I planned to spend a few days in each of the three, providing the weather cooperated and the path to Chacanceo was passable.

I spent 4 days in a new community, Estero Piedras. One of the communities we used to work with is not involved at the moment. They had many people migrate, they lost their teacher, and some of the promotores moved away. So things there are on haitus. Meanwhile, one of the proms from Manta made contact with a nearby community, and 4 new proms have organized there. So I went to meet them and talk about potential projects and goals for this year.

I arrived in Estero Piedras on a Sunday, and the Catholic priest in the region was scheduled to hold first communion. Families from all over area brought their kids to have them participate - the 40-pew church was standing-room-only. Watching the little girls trying to keep their virginal white dresses out of the deep mud all over the place was amusing.

It rained really hard while I was there, which led to breaks in the pipes that bring water to the house where I stayed. The pipe issue is a common occurance. Usually it's fixed the same day, but this outtage lasted several. There is a small river that runs through Estero Piedras, and people go to bathe, wash laundry and dishes there, particularly if the piped water is out. So I too bathed in the river. The river bath was OK, if a little muddy. I was a little less enthusiastic about the fact that the cuy they cooked me for lunch was also gutted and cleaned in the same river, which is also where the dishes were washed. Not to mention the many passing cows, who knows what kind of sewage drainage, etc. No untoward outcomes however.

I stayed with Blanca, one of the new promotoras in Estero Piedras. (pink stiped shirt) Her husband emigrated to the US several years ago, where he spent six months in jail for entering illegally. He was released and not deported, so now he sends regular remittances. Blanca is 28, and she has four daughters, the oldest of whom is 14 (pink shorts). Not only that, the second-oldest just married! Blanca doesn't this this is so great...she'd like her daughters to continue studying. But, opportunities are extremely limited, and many girls start families in their teens.

Ruben, another of the promotores, is married to Blanca's sister (holding the baby). They have 3 kids, the last of whom was born while they were using birth control pills. They don't want more kids, and we had a lively discussion about birth control. They were amazingly knowledgeable about all kinds of methods. Ruben wants to get a vasectomy. He says no one knows anyone who's had one, and if he tries it, he can use his experience to educate others. What a super star!!