from argentina to germany.

i arrived in villa general belgrano bright-eyed and bushy tailed.  we were met by philip's cousin (julieta) & her boyfriend (tati) who live in a small town (los reartes) next to villa. 

los reartes, the small town in the province of cordoba, is situated on a beautiful, bumbling river with water so clear and clean it leaves little to the imagination. the whole area is surrounded by the sierras, a mountain range reminiscent of the rolling hills of england & scotland. there had been some confusion with the dates of the cabin rental so our first night in los reartes was spent at a local hotel. after we had settled ourselves into our charming, albeit musty, hotel, we sauntered down to the river to see where we would be spending the rest of our time in los reartes. julieta and tati live in a rustic log cabin with the river only seconds away and our cabin was a moment’s walk from their home; a more than pleasant setting for a week’s stay. with julieta and tati off to work, we decided to do some refreshing exploration through the river. pants hiked & walking sticks in hand, we braved the currents & calms. widely berthed & floored with beautiful water worn rocks, the river was an absolute delight. sated with exploration but hungry for sustenance, we found a small kiosk on the river that served sandwiches; a perfect respite.

after lunch we rewarded ourselves with a siesta.

caveat: siesta can make or break lives. usually between the hours of 1 and 4 or 5 in the afternoon, the entire south american world closes up shop (literally). the only thing to do is join the culture and have yourself a little siesta, because to do otherwise is futility at its peak.

recharged from our siesta, exploratory glands still pumping, we decided to hop on a bus and make our way into villa general belgrano. v.g.b. is an odd little place. settled by a group of german soldiers who had survived a shipwreck in uruguay during WWII, the german influences are more than subtle. german architecture, an oktoberfest, and beer steins sold at every other shop, v.g.b. feels more european than south american. after wandering the main drag & getting an idea of the requisite things to do in the area, we hopped back on the local bus to our hotel.

dinner at a local pizzeria of empanadas (a south american staple; basically, they are mini calzones usually filled with seasoned ground meat or ham and cheese or just cheese, or, let’s be honest, anything you darn well please) of all sorts of persuasions closed a lovely first day in los reartes.

the german (?) miranda.