A day on the ranch....

Dec. 31/13 

Last day of 2013.  I'm sure it will be memorable.  Life on the ranch is very basic and real.  Maria arrives at 8:00 am to help Ginny get bathed, dressed and have breakfast.  Sky has been up since 4 am since she had work to do for the ranch.  I get out of bed and shower at around 8:30.  Ah, the life of Riley!

Maria works from 8 to noon so after cleaning up she prepares the noon meal.  This includes baking fresh bread....wow!  Jorgeo, one of the gauchos on the ranch is setting to the task of killing a goat which will be our dinner in the next few days.  No shopping at the supermarket for meat in this household.  

Off comes the skin!

The eggs are from the ranch too.  Had that and an orange for breakfast.  What a different taste (the egg that is).

I briefly walked up the lane leading to the ranch and snapped a few pictures.  It really is a beautiful area.  Quite windy lately so not hot at all.  Just comfortable.

The Ranch

When Sky picked me up from the bus station she was also picking up a man who had travelled on the same bus as me from Zapala.  This was George or Jorge in Spanish who is from San Martin de Los Andes.  He is coming to the ranch to visit with Ginny for a week.  When I get to the house I am told that I will have the loft as my bedroom.  Problem being that I am a little too tall for this area so when the other volunteer, Cedar, arrives she will stay in the loft and I will go over to the other house.  I got settled, had a well deserved shower and then we dined on chiorzo sausage cooked over an open fire (no propane BBQ here!).  Sky made wonderful guacamole and salad.  Ice cream for desert.  Bed was welcome and I slept soundly.  It is so quiet!

Sky at the computer.  She is amazing.  Just barely five feet tall Sky manages her father's ranch and also manages her mother's affairs which includes the arduous task of lining up people to see to all Ginny's needs.  She is as talented as any gaucho on the ranch and there is no task that she would not be capable of performing.  She definitely wins the award for multi tasking!

Zapala

Zapala is a sleepy small town but is one of the hubs when travelling to several destinations.  Having to spend 4 hours there before my bus to El Heucu was long.  When I left Buenos Aires it was so hot I was wearing a light cotton dress that I had purchased in Hawaii.  It was great for the bus ride however arriving in Zapala was totally inappropriate.  It was much cooler and blowing hard.  I changed into something warmer in the restroom of the bus station and then  I purchased my ticket which was 95 pesos.  Now since I didn't want to haul my suitcase around town I decided to scope out the friendliest face among all the ticket agents to see if I could park my bag in their office.  I wrote out what I thought the request in Spanish would be and then gave it to him.  Didn't expect him to agree to this as no one else seemed to be doing this but the fellow said sure.  What a relief.  Walked around town and found a grocery store.  Bought some fruit and yogurt and walked some more.  None of the restaurants seemed to be open and I wasn't really hungry so I returned to the station, got out my IPad and read.  Again the bus was on time but this bus was totally different.  More like a city bus and loaded with locals.  Off we went and very quickly found ourselves on unpaved, windy roads through the country.  We had to stop a couple of times for herds of goats filling the roadway.  Also a few horses that required a little persuasion to use the side of the road and let us pass.   There were groups of authentic gauchos off to the side as well as this is a time of roundup.  Dusty and hot (air conditioning ? Hardly!)

We arrive at El Heucu in 4 hours and Skye is waiting for me.

Long trip to the ranch!

Leaving Buenos Aires at 4 pm on the overnight bus to Zapala.  Made the mistake of arriving too early at the bus station and ended up waiting 3 hours.  Thought it would take longer to get there and wasn't sure how it worked.  I am finding no one speaks English.  Quite different from France.  Finally the bus arrives right on schedule.  I have purchased a full bed seat which is located at the back of the bus.  This is a great way to travel.  Very comfortable.  Similar to first class on a plane.  I get settled and can't help but to doze off and on.  At around 8 pm we are served a snack of salad and a sweet bun.  I thought this was dinner but just when I start to settle in to sleep the lights come on and dinner is served at the typical time of 10:00!  Chicken, mashed potatoes and what appears to be Creme brûlée.  We also get wine!  Love it!  I get a pretty good sleep awaking a few times through the night.  The sky is amazing.  So many stars.  I forget how beautiful it can be away from the city.  We are served breakfast at around 8:00 and then we arrive in Zapala at 9:00.  The landscape is quite arid.  Somewhat like the Merritt/Kamloops area.  Next bus is not until 1:30 pm.

Oops! Forgot to mention that I found a special man!

The strong, silent type!

Finished the day with another lovely dinner!

Red wine and steak cooked to perfection!  One portion feeds two people easily so I'm taking the left overs back to my apartment and will enjoy them for lunch before heading off on my epic 14 hour bus ride to Zapala!

Saw the pink palace where Eva Peron stood!

Here's the pink palace