We are heading into Autumn here in Argentina. Mornings are cold and crisp but the afternoons are still warm. Soon we will be into our first South American Winter. 2 of these pictures are from the backyard and the other is from 45 minutes south of us driving along the Cordon de Plata.

Hola Chile!

Playing at the beach at Vina Del Mar

Home Again.....

Hey Family and Friends! We are home again after a week of travel! While Randy and the kids went off to vacation on the beaches of Vina Del Mar in Chile, I was visiting the U.S. to retrieve our winter clothing and the very much missed road bikes! (O.K. Only I was really missing the road bike but Randy has benefited).... Let me just use this blog to say "Thank You" to Sandra for a place to crash, a car to use to gather endless things, and many yummy meals that I am, to this day, busy working off! Thank goodness I have the bike now...and the mountains to ride in. Thank you Dad-Ron, for all of your help with storage! Thanks Mom & Dad for taking such good care of the bikes! To all whom I had the pleasure of seeing on my whirlwind trip - You made it fun and exhausting and I hope my liver recovers soon.....

In Vina Del Mar, Chile, Randy and the kids enjoyed sunny days at the beach, vegetarian fare, and nice hotels without me. They have now been to seven different countries and are looking forward to their next passport stamp!

Routine, as we know it, has begun again and it is officially fall here with leaves on the ground, chilly nights and beautiful sunny days...

Horses! (Izzy)

Well, I am back again!
And with news! We went horseback riding today!
And yes, it was really really fun! I tried to speak Spanish to my horse (they were rental horses who went with us and a Gaucho, an Argentinian cowboy, up into the Andies,) and we all had a great time.
We went with some owners of a winery and their 11-year-old daughter Lauren. They are experienced horseback riders and so is Dad, so Mom, Daniel and I were the only first-time riders! We got on the horses, started walking and hoped for the best!
When we had gotten comfortable with the walking, we started making them trot a little every now and then. In the second half, my horse started trotting, got to the front and decided to start galloping! It was scary at first but fun! We all survived.
The horses were so used to going on the same path all of the time (they always went the same way,) That I hardly ever had to choose where to go. If there were two paths, they ended up meeting again in a few meters, so it didn't matter where you went! We walked through the wonderful Andies and got some beautiful views!
Until the next exciting thing,
Izzy

Parque Ischigualasto- AKA Valley of the Moon

Parque Ischigualasto is in Northern Argentina. Home of desert landscapes and lots of dinosaur fossils. We drove through hours of desert to get to this outpost of paleantology. Lots of gorgeous vistas and way too much dust! We drove back through the biggest lightning storm of our lives. A little flash flood slowed our return but eventually we plowed through the flood waters in our very not 4 wheel drive car. We made it through and all heaved a sigh of relief except Daniel who just continued to snore.

Shrine (izzy)

Hello, hello, hello!
It's Easter, so I am doing easter colors. I hope all are well, and I have the weirdest news!!!
We went to the Shrine of Difunta Corea. Difunta was a lady who's husband was drafted for a war (dunno which one,) and they had to walk through a desert, or a really dry patch at least, and they didn't have any water. She dropped dead of dehydration and her baby was with her.They found her three days later, and her baby had been kept alive by breast-feeding even though she was dead. So, they declared her a saint for her baby-keeping-aliveness.
She has the most visited shrine in the country and everyone comes to her for wishes they need granted. They built a market around it where you can buy everything from hanging chairs to candles to bread. Truck drivers have come for years and years to ask for a safe trip home, so there are these really old license plates lining the stairs up to her shrine. The people bring offerings of water bottles because she died of thirst. There are little buildings plastered in donated plaques with the peoples' names and stuff, and each building is for a separate thing, like sports or weddings or kids. Some people donated their wedding dresses because they got to get married and kids that survived diseases make little offerings.
We were watching around and taking pictures when we got out of the car, and we saw a guy crawling on his back. He was using his feet and his shoulder blades to go up the road, to the stairs, up the stairs, and to the shrine in a form of thanks. It was bizarre. There were a few people doing that. Our theory is that because she died on her back they crawl on their backs (all the paintings show her on her back.)
Well, that is all! I hope we get some more highly-appreciated comments on this one (hint-hint...)
Until next blog,
Izzy
P.s. Here are some pictures!

The plaques The back-crawler

The New School

Here is the kids' new School- San Nicolas. It is a private secular bi-lingual school. The kids have been doing a great job making new friends and getting used to learning in Spanish. Some of the kids speak a fair amount of English so they do have some help translating the assignments.