Helloooo everyone. Hope you had lovely Thanksgivings if you are reading this from the states, and hope your December has begun well otherwise! To pick up where I last left off, I had a great Friday in Bariloche. First, I hiked Campanario Hill, which only took about 30 minutes, but it was super steep, so I took a nice break at the top, captured lots of pictures, and had some lunch. The view was fantastic; not sure yet if these computers i´m using at this cyber café in El Bolson will allow me to upload pics, but if not i´ll eventually get them shared! After climbing back down the hill, I walked half a km farther down the road to rent a bike, and from there went on a 35km bike ride around a peninsula outside of Bariloche town, called el Circuito Chico. Also got lots of amazing pictures… And boy was I spent after that ride. I hadn’t ridden a bike in 6 months! I miss riding a bike terribly, as does my body, hah. I just took it easy that evening. The next morning I went for a walk around town and, since Bariloche is famous for its chocolate shops, I purchased some chocolate for my new hosts before catching the bus down to El Bolson. I was really tired, and thought I could get a nap in on the bus ride, but the scenery was so beautiful that I didn’t dare shut my eyes. After a 2.5 hr ride, we were in El Bolson. It´s a quaint town, larger than Capilla del Monte, but not by much. It is surrounded by huge awesome mountains, which are still snow-capped. There is a big artisan market on Saturdays, so after I dropped my stuff off at the hostel I was staying at that night, I rushed to the market because it was going to end in 2 hours. Unfortunately, I was hot and sweaty after walking from the bus station to the hostel, and I stupidly went to the market without long sleeves or sunscreen, and ended up burning my shoulders pretty badly, after only 2 hours in the sun. It is super strong down here, especially because at this time of year the big hole in the Southern Hemisphere´s ozone layer is right over Patagonia. And I didn’t realize how bad it was until after I arrived to the farm/ranch im currently wwoofing at, so I didn’t have an opportunity to buy any burn cream all week. But i´ve been using almond oil and aloe vera, and it´s been ok, but I finally bought some legit burn cream this morning at a pharmacy before coming to this cyber café, and the burn already feels much better.
So yeah, new farm! It is super rustic and rural, 25km outside of el Bolson, 20km of which is dirt and gravel road. I had to walk 4km this morning to the nearest bus stop, and from there it was about 35min ride to town. The bus only runs 3 days a week, only 3 times per day. So in reality, Saturdays are the only feasible day I can go to town. Next weekend I do not plan to go to town, so I can go on a 2 day hike instead. But back to the farm, which is named Reko. It´s actually what´s called in Spanish a ´´Chacra´´, which is more like a ranch than a farm. There are two houses on the property, and 3 more are being built. The ranch was started by 2 brothers, Gerardo and Gabriel, and from there more people have joined in on their efforts to turn it into a self-sustaining permaculture ranch. It is a big place, and the two complete houses are where the two brothers live, one of which has a wife and three young boys. These houses are at the main entrance, at the bottom of a hill, and the volunteers quarters/wood workshop, and two other houses are at the top of the hill, and it is a healthy 5+ minute walk between destinations. Great workout if you have to make the trek a few times a day, which I have done because Ive been put to work in the garden at the bottom of the hill, whereas the rest of the volunteers are helping with construction at the top of the hill. But i´m super happy working in the garden because its where im most comfortable, and its giving me an opportunity to know Paula, Gerardo´s wife. She is very appreciative of my help in the garden because everyone else is occupied with the construction efforts. The construction happening there is super cool, for the most part all natural building materials (except for nails, screws, etc).
It´s only been a week, but everyone at the ranch has been great. There are 5 other volunteers along with me, a couple from France, plus another older gentleman from France, a guy from the Czech Republic, and a guy from the Pampas region of Argentina. There is also another Argentinian who came to volunteer at the ranch 3 years ago and never ended up leaving. One of the houses being built is his. So the volunteers quarters is super rustic, but we make it work. Its actually quite a beautiful thing the way we all share cleaning and cooking duties, and there are 7 of us sharing one small bathroom (along with the hot water). Today, as long as its not outrageously expensive, I plan to buy a sleeping bag so I can start sleeping outside, and I can use it on weekend hiking trips.
Overall, im loving being part of this small community at Reko. I´ve never lived in a place so rural, with only one opportunity every weekend to ´go to town´. I like it. After 2 months of this, i´ll either be mondo ready to return to civilization, or more ready than ever to ditch city life… haha. Vamos a ver! xoxoxo
