The kids got home around 5am from the overnight party. Around 9:50am, Danelle and I decided we would go into town and take a walk. Corvin had woken up and asked to join us, so the three of us headed to central San Juan near the cathedral to walk. Sonora stayed back to rest in bed. Out on the walk, we parked and started walking. We’ve been in rural San Juan most of our trip. It was a surprise when the shopping was much closer to what we’d seen in Buenos Aires.
We received a call from Sonora that they were preparing to make empanadas. Corvin had helped make the filling last night with Coty’s grandmother. Now it was time to assemble them before cooking. We walked directly back to the car and drove back. Danelle and I spent some time with Sonora while Corvin headed right over to start the process. When we got over to the Ripoll house, more than half the empanadas were assembled. Danelle, Sonora, and I each took a turn making a few, learning the process. We each had one that looked decent, but it is for sure a process to do it correctly. Francisco cooked them in an outdoor oven. It was a particularly hot and blistering afternoon, so Hogan and Corvin helped protect him from the sun. The result was a delicious lunch of fabulous empanadas.
After eating outside in the shade, most of us got in the pool to enjoy the afternoon. Eventually we worked our way to a pool volleyball game. Francisco got some rope and put it through pool noodles then secured with rocks. A soccer ball was the ball of choice. Many laughs were had. Corvin finally had enough and decided to get out to protect his skin.
Shortly after he was out of the pool, I stepped on a rock. I picked it up with my toe and threw it into the grass. When I stepped on the second rock, something clicked. I again picked it up with my toe and saw it was plastic with a hole in it. The rock turned out to be a bead from a bracelet that Corvin and Madison had made together. All playing stopped, we made an all hands effort to go to the bottom and find all the pieces. I found what was left of the string and about 1/3 of the parts. We didn’t find them all, especially the “rock” that I threw into the grass, but it was close and Corvin was satisfied.
I came back to our place (across the street if I didn’t mention that already) and showered. Feeling clean and dry, I walked back over. We took laundry over because we had one day of clothes left each. They hang all the clothes to dry, so it would take longer than normal, but we are enjoying the pace of life here. While we chatted and waited for laundry, Coty’s youngest sister Male [about 13 years old] (from oldest to youngest, Fede, Cande, Coty, Male) helped Corvin restore his bracelet. She has a collection of beads and string and rebuilt it as close as possible with a few substitute pieces. It was moving for me watching her give part of her time and supplies for Corvin. She appeared very proud of her work. She also gifted Sonora an ankle bracelet.
Dinner was a local version of shepherd’s pie. The mashed potatoes were a mixture of potato and pumpkin, but full of flavor. Much of the bottom part was the leftover empanada filling that didn’t fit in the shells we had. While not a traditional shepherds pie, it was in the spirit of the dish and delicious! I want to reflect that I feel a bit guilty here. The Ripoll family has been feeding us for 2 meals a day while were here. Other than empanadas, we’ve done no cooking. And minimal cleaning up after (not for lack of offering). They are most kind to us. Hopefully they can come to St. Louis some day and we can return the hospitality.
Back at our house after dinner, a thunder storm came in with lots of lightning and rain. Danelle wonders if maybe there was a tornado around 1am as the wind was crazy with water coming into the house around the window casing. The rest of us slept through it.
