From the woods of Argentina to the pine forest on Broadway

Alas, no matter how much fun one is having it is always good to come home.

Cordoba provided a nice way to start the transition back. Although it is the second-largest city (according to Wikipedia) in Argentina, it has the feeling of a big town. But, it has much of whatever you might want. Alisa and Guillermo were able to find things that are harder to get in San Marcos and I was able to see some sights and buy souvenirs and gifts.



At the crafts market


Obligatory phone booth photo


Saying goodbye at the airport








Then it's the long trip back and a return to NYC to find that a forest of Vermont-grown pine trees have sprouted up outside my home. It smells great but reminds me that the holidays are near and I'm not ready for the year to end.

Ciao, San Marcos

It's sad to say goodbye to San Marcos. But, Alisa and Guillermo are driving me to Cordoba so I don't have to say goodbye to them yet.

San Marcos is a very cute town with unpaved streets. The water truck comes by several times a day to spray the dusty streets but even in the spring sun, the streets dry as soon as the truck passes.
The bike that I rented for the week takes me everywhere I need to go. The dirt road with the small hills to Alisa's place was treacherous to negotiate between the washboard middle and the soft dirt sides with a one-speed bike. I spun out a couple of times. But, I was able to trade it in for a 18-speed of which the middle five worked and I got up and down the soft hills.
The dogs liked to bark and chase after me until I manage to collide with one that was running after a little boy. I saw and avoided the boy but ran square into the dog. After that the dogs stayed clear of me. Of course, that just could be that they became familiar with me but I'd like to think that I gained a reputation in the doggy network.

Leaving San Marcos, we took a scenic road to Cordoba and passed a mother pig and her little piglets.

Muy deliciosas

Friday: another yogurt-making day! Alisa is preparing for Saturday Market Day in San Marcos. So am I. It's always fun to check out the local market and see what the area artisans are selling.

But, alas, on Saturday, there was a much-needed, spectacular ice/rain storm which deposited marble-sized hail and left the area without power for about six hours. So, although the other artisans stayed home, Alisa delivered yogurt to most of her regular customers.









Sharing time with Alisa wouldn't be complete without some quality cooking (and eating) time. The local foods make tempting vitals and we have had wonderful meals including: home-cured olives, hummus with ginger, an asado barbeque, roasted veggie dip, etc.




And, homemade pasta made with freshly laid eggs.



























On Friday, Alisa learns the finer points on composting for dry toilets from Adrian.









During a hot day, a dip in the backyard pool is so refreshing




As we prepare to leave San Marcos for Cordoba, here are a few "before" photos for which Alisa will have to share the "after" photos for their in-progress work in the woods.

The living room



The dry toilet area








Worm composting (food disposal unit)

Foreigner in the midst

It's hard to blend into a small, completely different culture with my abysmal Spanish language skills. Yes, I've been doing Spanish-Word-A-Day and practicing from my old phrase book but it's like being in Australia where some of the words are familiar but I have no clue what's going on...a fish out of water in more ways than one.

What?!! How can Alisa find enough people during the day to play soccer with for a couple of hours? Doesn't anyone work? Yes, of course, but they have time to play too!! If running around for two hours in the hot sun is considered play.












So, if it Wednesday, it must be soccer but if it's Tuesday or Thursday, it's ping pong at the Municipal Center.










And, of course, we need to make time for guitar practice.









Today, we made and did a lot of quality-control testing/eating of daifuku (Japanese sweet bean rice ball with red bean filling. Yum!




















Alisa and Guillermo's garden is doing really well considering it is in the middle of the woods, a prime feeding ground for all the wandering beasts. But, they've done a good job camouflaging it.

This is paradise

San Marcos Sierra bills itself as a hippie town in Paradise. The hostels have names like Eden; there's even a Hippie Museum.








It is very beautiful and scenic. Alisa is living in the middle of paradise.








The milk for her natural yogurt business comes from a farm run by nuns.



And her yogurt is made in her solar oven.

All's well that starts well

Well, things don't always start out as planned but I made it San Marcos Sierra, Argentina after a bit of drama. What a welcome sight at Cordoba airport to see Alisa! She and her friends drove a very scenic route back to San Marcos over a winding, hairpin, unpaved road barely winding through the mountains with spectacular views of the valley.



Alisa's natural yogurt business is doing well. She received certification from the health inspector and is starting to build up her clientele including this local store:










Happy to be in Alisa's paradise.

Good beginnings

Every trip should have a good beginning. Coming off a whirlwind week in DC and a busy couple of months before that, it's great to catch my breath in the City and have such a beautiful, crisp, fall day.

Here are a few photos from DC:





"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

Such an inspiring way to start off a journey...

Prize Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies

Third time's the charm! Everything at the Manhattan Sailing Club is cranked up to the highest level of competition, in a very friendly sort of way (even if it's just competing with oneself to do smoother jibes). The first year that I entered the Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest I used bittersweet chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate provides such a nice contrast to the sugars. But, after I took a bite of my cookie with a beer chaser, I knew that I had no chance of winning the Club contest where cookies are not eaten with a neutral drink like milk. The cookies tasted too bitter when eaten with beer. The next year I changed to semisweet chips but still the flavors were too subtle and a lot of people don't like nuts. This year I swapped out the vanilla bean pulp which didn't pack enough flavor, left out the nuts, and brought the Cookie Monster "trophy" home. So, here's the prize-winning recipe:

1/2 C unsalted butter
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C Nutella
2 eggs
1 T Kahlua
2 1/3 C flour
1 t baking soda
pinch of salt
12 oz sweet chocolate chopped into chunks

Cream butter and sugars. Add Nutella until smooth. Beat in eggs and Kahlua.


Into separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix in chocolate. Chill cookie dough overnight.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Spoon dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake until lightly brown, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy!!

Variations: add chopped nuts; use scraped-out pulp from 1 vanilla bean instead of Kahlua; use peanut butter with added chopped peanuts instead of Nutella; substitute bittersweet or semisweet chocolate