My day started at 5:45 worrying if I would miss my alarm. I got up and made coffee, cleaned up, and wrote about our trip. Then 7:45 came and we met Coty’s family. We were on the road by 8am. Its interesting and extremely helpful to follow somebody who knows where they are going and is used to local driving customs.
We made one stop in a neighborhood for some breakfast Cemitas (a kind of bread) and then continued on our way. I stopped for one red light and Francisco was fantastic to stop ahead and wait for me to get through the intersection. Then later when were were most of the way to our first stop, he went through a light and I followed on a solid red. And there was a police car right there at the intersection. I’m glad they didn’t see/care. Its not something I’m proud of, but something that happened.
We found the reservoir that we were going to paddle at, and went across the dam. Then a bit of searching and we found the hiking space. We parked and our merry group got out and went for a hike. We only made it about .6 miles before the heat started getting to us. Most of the group went back on another trail. Corvin, Francisco, and I continued on for another 20 minutes climbing higher for a great view. When the girls split, I gave Sonora the keys to the rental car so they could start the car and enjoy some air conditioning.
When we got back, they had a blanket over the windshield to keep it cooler and the AC cranked. Sonora got out of the car and said “Dad, you didn’t say anything about the brake.” The car is a manual transmission and Sonora has a tiny amount of experience with one and wants to do more. After she started the car (parked on a hill), she had the car in neutral and took her foot off the brake. The car started rolling back and she was able to hit the brake before anything bad happened. Danelle got the e-brake set to prevent any further rolling.
Once everything was sorted out, we went to the lake to rent kayaks and relax at the beach. There were police that stopped us when we pulled up. I rolled down my window as the second officer came over to our car. I heard them yell out from in front, “no hablan Espanol”. The officer still walked over not quite knowing what to do. Corvin came to my rescue rolling down his window and talking to the officer. We were told we could not park down the road but didn’t catch why. There were about 20 buses parked in a row and backed in. All buses looked new which was also strange. Eventually, we walked down about 1/4 mile down to the water area and claimed a shaded area with chairs. We agreed on a price for kayaking and the guy said he would be back.
I learned from Coty’s family that the governor of province of San Juan (Marcelo Orrego) [article about his visit ] was nearby for some political thing. Before we knew it, it was time to paddle. Our outfitter came over and helped set up our PFDs. As we were putting on the PFDs, Mr. Orrego’s entourage came down. We met the governor and shook his hand while being photographed. Then they went somewhere else and we moved on to paddle. We had four double kayaks and Cande in her own kayak. It was lots of laughs and good times. The water was cold, but the air was so hot it was perfect.
At one point about the middle of the lake, Sonora and Coty flipped over. Danelle and I went over and helped them right the boat and get the girls back into the boat in the middle of the lake. It was much easier thanks to the safety training we had from the Mississippi River Water Trail Association. Anyway, after the paddling everybody but me got in and swam in a small roped off area. I purchased swim trunks, but like a pig headed man, refused to try them on. The waist was fine, but the hips needed to be bigger. So, I just enjoyed hanging out and being dry.
After swimming, we went back to our little sheltered area. I purchased sandwiches and 2 beers for all to share. Francisco cut up a melon and provided chilled drinks from the cooler. A most pleasant picnic lunch. Eventually we packed up, grabbing some ice cream on they way and headed back.
We decided to take a siesta at the house. It’s like 100 with no AC so we don’t want to do too much. It was a nice time to catch up and reflect on the day’s events as we’ll probably be up late tonight. Post siesta, I woke up with Corvin and Danelle gone. Sonora was still sleeping. I quietly left the house and walked over to the Ripoll house. Daniela was hosting two friends (one Coty’s godmother) in the yard by the olive trees. Danelle, Coty, and Corvin were at the table with them in he back yard. It was a wonderful flowing conversation. They switched to English a couple of times to include me which I appreciated. I will admit that I’m getting a vague feel for the language. So when they switched to English, it took a moment for me to realize it – I was just thinking I was getting better faster than I thought.
A storm came up that looked like rain. The wind picked up to probably 20mph with gusts higher and a few rain drops were felt. The Argentine seemed to panic at the thought of rain and fled to cover. Since we’re used to rain, it wasn’t a big deal. The table was cleared and items put away. Daniela’s friends left for fear of flooding. All told I feel like the area received 50 rain drops per square meter.
Dinner time came and we were making pasta. The Ripoll kitchen ran out of gas for the stove. They brought the pot of water over to our house to boil the pasta. It took a bit on our electric stove, but it got the job done. We brought the pot back to their house to strain and get ready for dinner. We had a olive oil and spices for the sauce on our pasta. The Haakes all wanted water with their meal as we’re just not used to this climate. They thought it was strange as the Ripolls all had something else. Maybe if I can drink a gallon of water today I’ll be able to drink something else tonight.
We finished dinner around midnight and were just chatting at the table when we decided it was time to sleep. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!