el bolson.

the ranch.

our cabin...the rats are not pictured here...

the view outside of our little cabin on the ranch.

the river flowing into lago steffen.

my bob trailer as a grill.

attempting to fish with a homemade pole.

our friends at lago steffen.



i come with so many ideas roaming around in my head to write and as soon as i pass through the door i feel as though some sort of magnet pulls it out and i´m left fumbling for the words to describe not only what my senses are able to experience but what i am able to make of the experience.

we have been gone for almost one month now and it´s difficult to determine the transformations we have gone under given that we are changing at every moment...our ideas about what is difficult is changing and our world has shrunk to a community of three and expanded into a whole country of strangers. at times i wish this were my first experience leaving the country because i might be more entranced with every little detail and every little cultural difference. i am afraid sometimes i begin to take those differences for granted. on the other hand, it is a seamless transition between where my culture ends and the next one begins--i suppose it feels as though culture more or less does not exist and only humanity does.

we have stopped for two weeks in el bolson to work on a ranch. we had originally thought a month but the ranch was not exactly what we had expected. the work is fun, difficult, exhilerating and frustrating. we are nestled into the andes mountains near a clear turquoise river called rio azul. we sleep in a semi finished cabin with rats (i am not kidding, i flung one off of me the other day...i sleep in a pile of straw and i heard some scratching and flipped my sleeping bag up and heard a thud a few feet away) but the mornings are beautiful. just outside our cabin is the most beautiful view of three mountains. i relish taking a deep breath at the start of the day trying so hard to love even more where i´m at, trying to burn it into my memory. our days consist of working on a mud house, weeding the garden, tending the chickens, finding the cow, repairing the fence, and cooking amongst other things. what we find a little difficult is how disorganized the ranch is and that we were hoping to contribute our time and energy into an argentine venture and the man, alex, who owns the ranch is american. in fact, the whole farm appears to be an experiment. water lines have not been properly secured and as a result things that have been planted are dying. in addition, it is unclear as to the purspose of the ranch or organic garden venture. in our group of three we seem to be divided as to whether these factors are important or not. the result has been to compromise on the length of time we spend there and we all feel comfortable with this decision. perhaps i could elaborate more on this venture but the details seem scattered and in some ways very unimportant. we´re here enjoying this experience for what it is and soon we will leave.

el bolson itself is nothing to write home to mom about. if i didn´t live in eugene the experience would be fresh but i live in eugene and el bolson is like being home. every saturday is almost like the country fair (but on a smaller scale). the road to the ranch is 8km long but again like moutnain biking. i´ve come to enjoy the steep hills especially without my bob trailer. to get to the ranch from town you follow the signs for the river and then chuck your bike over the fence, follow the washed out road through a pasture with horses. when you get to a white cart hanging over the river, turn your back to the river and head for the hills...the ranch should be visible to you then. got that? we´ll see you for a barbeque tonight then. :O)

the thing i love about my fellow travelling companions is their desire, like mine, to live the width of an experience not only the length. in the end we hope to make it to tierra del fuego but the reality is that a certain like might beckon us to it or a certain detour might seem worth the extra effort. on an adventure, anything is possible and end goal is just the excuse to have the journey.

i hope everyone is well. perhaps some of the thoughts that have circulated in and out of my head will find their way to this blog...for now they remain thoughts that come to me as i pedal around.

paz.
jude.

ps. we met with our friends brook and ethan in el bolson and sadly while we were taking a photo ethan fell backwards and broke his rib. he´s fine now and they are well on their way!!