Steak, Wine and Women

From the smog of Santiago to the merry vines of Mendoza the road has carried me back to Argentina via the base of the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. All splendid and wonderful, although I have to admit I haven't dived into the adventures with an abundance of enthusiasm. I can't say what I'm looking for; Shangri La, El Dorado, the (South) American dream or the fountain of youth...but a search has certainly commenced. That search led me, yesterday, to a wine-tasting day by bike which was going swimingly until a bike tire exploded next to me causing a fairly full glass of wine to find its way into my lap. Clothes weren't made to survive travelling. So, while eating massive steaks, drinking great wine and passing uncountable beautiful women on the street is a passable way to spend the days, Mendoza can't hold me...and thus the road continues.

Animal Farm 2

After travelling the roads of Patagonia without direction or purpose, without schedule or committment, nor house or hearth for months...I have had a place to live for the past three weeks that has fullfilled all of those. Not only have I slept in the same bed every night, but I´ve been part of a family, had a rigorous work schedule, caught some beautiful rainbow trout in the Andes, eaten healthy whole meals and participated in many conversations in which I have had absolutely no clue what we are talking about. All this has taken place on a farm in central Chile belonging to a friend of mine, Carlos, and it has been just what I needed after the fear and loathing and dissolusionment that many weeks on the road can bring. Moreover, I finally have found the summer...temperatures in the 30s every day and neverendng sunshine...as well as a place to improve my Spanish. But, after all that, I´m giving up the security of homelife for the road once more and shooting off to Santiago tomorrow for a bit of cosmopolitan living and some much needed shopping...farms are hard on clothes.