Nov 22 domingo (sunday)

we changed our tickets so we could take the bus that night so Uli could try to go parapente that morning.  we got on the bike and went to the drop-off spot.  we called ahead so we didn't have to wait this time and that the instructors were expecting us.  they greeted us like were were old friends which was weird considering the day before some of them were more annoyed than happy to have our business. but poor Uli...today there just wasn't enough wind to keep things going - nice and warm, but no wind.  well, at least now he has something to do if we go back to Cordoba..we jumped on the bike and drove around for a bit...it was pretty cloudy- and the clouds wee coming down the mountain...it was amazing.  we kept stopping on the bike so i could try and get photos of how eerily beautiful it was.  i have never seen clouds move so quickly and completely engulf mountains like that.  it was the same for Uli.  after we had done that for awhile, we went back to the hospidaje to pack our things before we got side-tracked....Roxana and fmily wanted us to come see Pablo's stoe.  it took us awhile to find it, but at least we got to use the motorbike again.  we had to find the Artesenales...but there were so many and Ale wasn't clear on the name or where exactly the place was.  we had to call him a few times to clarify...he thought we were at a different cemetery - so that it itself made the directions unclear.  finally we got there.  what a beautiful store!  Pablo makes all the jewelry and roxanna makes basket holders, headbands and things for hair.  i wanted to buy a necklace...but i didn't have change...Uli did, but he realized he didn't know where his wallet went...!Que boludo! (equivalent of swearing).  iw as pretty sure that the last time i saw it was on the windowsill outside at the hospidaje....it wasn't in view from the street, but the situation was alarming enough.  so we got back on the bike and drove back.  sure enough, ther eit was, rightwhere i remembered!  he was pretty relived that no one had touched it.   we wen back to the store and i bought my necklace and some headbands. such beautiful work!  we sat round for a bit and drank some fernet then headed back on the bike (Ale in tow) so we could catch the urban bus to Cordoba city.  we had tried calling the bus company all day to make a reservation but no one ever picked up.  so, of course, when the stupid bus came there was no room...we told the girl in the depot that we had to get to Cordoba and that she was the one who told us to call the company and we'd been trying all day.  i was a wee bit panicky.  a guy overheard our problem and he said for 20p in his taxi, he could drive us to La Falda where we could catch adifferent bus to Cordoba city.  Okay, we did that instead.  when we got to La falda, it was almost a 2 hour bus ride from there to Cordoba city.  ah, this pen is driving me crazy...it keeps cutting out.  and i'm watchig tree death behind me...i mean what the hell are they doing!  cant they feel its pain...i guess not.  i felt sick watching...anyway we got to Cordoba and chowed don quickly at one of the places in the bus terminal.  then we got on the bus for BA.  we were at the back upstairs (thank goodness) - the bus says "no solidos en el bano" for a good reason.  the bus was more comfortable than the one we came up on.  they played a movie "death sentence" with Kevin Bacon...it was pretty good.  i let Uli us the earphones though because his first language isn't English and his hearig sucked and he didn't have his glasses to read Spanish subtitles.  we stopped somewhere and sure enough i bolted for the bathroom...well wasn't there one of those women sitting in there with all the toilet paper and no seats on the toilets...i'm a pro at hovering...and naturally, there wasn't enough toilet paper...so without money, i had to beg her to give me some more because i had an emergency.  it flustered me so much...the whole experience.  going to the bathroom should be private and tranquil.  we got back on he bus, fell asleep and we arrved in BA just after 7am.  we drpped our stuff off at my place and had omlettes somewhere close by...then we went our separate ways because i had to teach at 1230 - well gve tests - the week of test-giving.

Nov 21 - Sabado

PARAPENTE.... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (tandem parachuting).  For 300p (100bucks) i did that!!! Alejandro finally let us borrow his bike and we rode into the town of La Cumbre...the bike was great...gotta love holding on to a hot guy on a bike...and we realized we had to go early before everything closed for the siesta.  Riding ona  moto is so much more fun an exhilarating.  I even took a couple of videos of the bike ride and pictures of course.  it as a little precarious trying to hold a camera and not fall off the bike at the same time - actuall yi almost fell off when he decided to speed ovr a bump and one of my legs slipped down.  anyway, we went to the tourist office and asked where we go for the parapente.  she told us to call some guy and then drive on the other side of the highway to Cuchi Corral - a windy, bumpy, dirt road up through some hills.  as we were driving, it was't very high up; so we couldn't really see how we were going to parapente around here.  the road was super bumpy, but finally we arrived at this clearing where the ground dropped away to one of the most amazing views.  like being on the mountain.  we waited a couple of hours out in the hot son, for an instructor to take us out.  people kept showing up and we regretted not calling an instructor like the girl told us - we figured there were a shit ton of people in front of us...andthere were a bunch of guys that only flew solo - and tey jumped off and away they went.  we were watching 3 solos and one tandem.  i took some pretty amazing photos.  finally an instructor said he would take us.  uli had to take my backpack beccause all our valuables were in it so i went first.  they strapped me in and when they first got the parahute up, you can feel the wind catch it, so you have to start running against the wind quickly - one minute your feet are on he ground, the next, the ground drops away...and you're flying with nothing but the guy behind you and a parachute above you.  i actually took pictures too..rigt up unil we came down - in a cow/horse field.  it was great.  at times we'd catch a thermal and the g-force would pull you as you went around and aroun - like a rollercoaster- and i laughed and shrieked and felt great.  when we landed in the cow field, we had to pick up the equipment and got in a pickup truck heading back to the take-off point.  The instructors were  a bit nuts and i got them to take a picture of two.  then the truck had a flat tire- and we watched (myself and this couple from France) as it took 4 of them to change the tire really quickly.  the instructors threw all the parachutes and equipment in the back, and then they all hung on, as we drove back to the take off point.  unfortunately for Uli, by the time i got back, the wind had changed and it was no longer suitable for jumping.  we had been out in the sun for far too long without water.  we opped on the bike and went back into La Cumbre and had lunch at a place (salads, of course) wie we looked at the Cordoba map to figure out where we could go on the bike.  we rode around and found an almost empty street where Uli taught me how to drive the motorcycle.  i did fine and it got easier untili turned the bike around and it fell on me.  the bike and i were fine...and i rode it back up the street- he made a couple of videos of me driving it - so there's proof!  we got back to the Villa and were waiting around to hear about the asado we were supposed to be a part of later.  but we were confused as Roxanna was telling us to buy all the meat when we didn't know for how many people.  good thing Ale came by and went and bought the meat for us.  we went over to Roxanna's house and had an asado with her boyfriend Pablo,his daughter, Roxanna's daughter and Ale.  it was great but by about 1am-2am, i couldnt' understand Pablo's stories anymore and was getting really tired.  so, i said my goodnights and left.

Nov 20 Friday (viernes)

Uli got up a bit early to go secure his permit (it might have been yesterday but i dont remember).  apparently it only took 5 min!  anyway, still with no moto, we had to catch the bus to Capilla del Monte again to meet Ariel.  today was the day we were going to climb la Montana Uritorco (mountain).  it's almost 2000 feet up; a four hour climb with a 3 hour descent.  i didn't think i was going to make it - especially because my stomach hurt.  we started climbing around 10am - very hard on the calf muscles.  everything was so dry.  there were a lot of giant bees - many times i almost jumped off the mountain because of a big giant bee.  Uli walked behind me, thank goodness, because im clumsy and didn't want to fall without protection - and i definitely fell a few time, but nothing life-shattering.  every half hour or so of climbing, we'd come to a rest point where a sign would tell you the name of the stop, how far up you were and how far from the bottom you were and roughly how much time you had left until the top.  the views were incredible.  we took lots of pictures - even Ariel took lots of photos because he said when he takes groups up ther he never has the time.  the environment changes as you go up:  different grasses, different rocks, lack of trees, thorny and prickly shrubs.  apparently mountain horses climb the mountain.  we saw one coming up on our way down.  there are so many rocks...i dont know how thy do it.  i  was almostready to give up.  my legs were killing me after Uli told me to re-tie my shoes.  but they pushed me and we did it.  we got to the top and you could see for km. and km - even an inactive volcano that was bordering Cordoba and one of its next provinces.  i sat there and freehand drew the lake down there.  Uli was smart to bring cans of tuna ad his swiss knife so it was the perfect lunch: tuna and crackers.  we were at the top for abut an hour enjoying the view, reflecting, thinking...and then we started the descent.  you'd think it would be easier, but it wasn't.  i felt like my legs were going to give out.  Uli and i searched for rocks as were were climbing down ; some for me, and some for my students.  i forgot to mention we ran into a group of young people camping on the mountain - they were filming a movie.  i bet it would be amazing up there at night, but i imagine the wind would be a bit much at times.  it was crazy windy when we were ging down the mountain - i almost losst my hat that Uli bought me.  the view were just as impressive, but the light was htting things differently, so it was almost as if you wer eseeing all new things.  we finally got off the mountain and i bought a necklace at the bottom to commemorate - its pretty - colours of fire - i think its an agate stone - but from Argentina anyway.  we were exhausted and got into an argument on the bus.  i really like him though.  we had dinner at La Entrada, a few blocks over in the Villa.  a lot of food for very cheap.  but these kids kept running around and stry dogs kept begging for food - just gets tiresome.

Cordoba Nov 19 thurs (jueves)

Our motto with Ariel became "un parte de yo"...a part of me....for everytime one of us stumbled or something.  the reason for us making an eerror or a screw up was "oh, it's just a part of me".  we got up early again and had breakfast - lo mismo (the same).  then we had to take the local bus in to Capilla del Monte and meet Ariel for 12:30.  after he picked us up, we drove up the same road we were on yesterday to where the porter of the park lives,but we didn't see him.  there were 4 horses and Ariel got them ready.  i got to ride a black one named Picasso...Uli's horse was a chestnut named Colorado and the 3rd has a Spanish name i couldn't remember.  the fourth got to miss out on all the fun.  so it was the same with polo; reins left for left, right fo right and thhen pull back gently to stop.  Uli had great difficulty with his horse at first.  he couldn't get her to go the right way.  up the roa, she freaked out and urned back.  an our horses were followers, so naturally, Picasso had to turn around and go see what was up.  Ariel had to leave his horse and continue on foot with us.  i cant remember exactly when this happened but his horse tried to kick in the fence to get back onto the property and he fell off!  I missed it!  i knew one of us was going to fall off...poor guy wasn't happy.  but what can i say, very different from a motorcycle.  this was where i dominated.  with Ariel on foot, we followed a road and then veered off into grass, bushes, rocks, trees and mierda de vacas (cow poop) (still haven't seen any for all the shit they leave behind).  thiw as tougher than jsut strolling down the road.  Picasso was good at following Ariel because he knows him, so it wasn't hard navigating except when Ariel had to go a different way than the horses and they wanted to follow him.  Uli's horse kept taking him into the bushes and he wasn't as good at navigating because of all the scratches he had on his legs and arms.  we gave the horses a break and chatted near a really old, abandoned house in the bush.  we got a picture of me in a tree.  after, we rode back to the barn and had something to drink.  then with Ariel using a horse this time, we got back on our horses.   Uli had problems again and Ariel had to pull Uli's horse behind his because she just would not follow.  i thin kit's because at first, she knew he had fear, so she acted up and still kept acting up.  he was also pulling too hard ont he reins and that would aggrvate a horse.  we went a different route ad rode the horses up a road where we stopped at a little rest stop in the hills - like a house with parking for horses outside.  we had sem drinks and homemade cheese and break and talked.  by this point i was frustrated that because Uli's spanish was better than mine, Ariel would talk to him more and I needed to practice my castellano.  also it was hard for me to understand everything, so he had to tlk slower or not talk just about guy things.  it really upset me.  everyone says that for 2.5 months, my spanish is really good - but a veces, no de acuerdo.  after, we got back on our creatures and headed back.  Picasso kept trotting when i didn't tell him to - he was rushing - but all that cheese was bouncing around in my stomach.  we got back to the barn and Ariel put the horses away.  it cost us 40p/hour - pretty good price considering.  he drove us back into town and we caught the bus (apparently, still no moto because it was in another town fo whatever reason and actually had no plates..Uli hadn't secured his permit yet anyway).  that night we had a luxurious dinner at a restaurant in Villa Giardino - we both had lomo with these rich sauces and some wine for me, beer for him.  we had a very interesting conversation and i had a lot to drink by the end of it.  off we went to bed.

Cordoba Nov. 18 Miercoles

We arose at 930 un otra vez and had the same yummy breakfast as the day before.  Since we still had no moto (supposedly, the transmission was being fixed and Uli left the permit paper with Alejandro to go to the bank for him) we had to take the bus.  It's okay...5p each but takes about 40 min. because it stops everywhere.  it randoly stops ont he highway at weird little spots that you cant really tell are busstops except for a random person waiting...we arrived in Capilla del Monte and went straight to the tourist office after discovering many stores were closed on this bright, sunny early afternoon.  we both think that's pretty strange because prime business hours are between 12-5.  everyone shuts down and has a nap!  weird! so we went in there and they gave us a brochure with all these adventure companies on it.  the girl told us we'd have to call someone on it since everyone was closed.  so, we wen to the phone locutorio and Uli proceded to call like a dozen places.  he finally got a hold of someone who said he'd meet us in 15 min.  que bueno!  we got some empanadas and went and met him.  his name was ariel...nice guy.  he drove us to a place in the mountains "Los Terrones"...we got out and it was a place that held trekking tours around a rocky part of the mountain.  it had a restaurant, gift shop an a cute little kitty wanting some attention outside :) :)  we ate our empanadas and i fed some to the cat.  that cat totally made my day.  we had to wait for a group of about 50 girls to go ahead of us because, Ariel said, we would be around a ton of noise and we wouldn't be able to enjoy the tranquility.  on we went...we walked down a path around the rocks and climbed a few for some great views...we took picture.  many of the giant rocks are named because they look like animals...a camel, gorilla, hand of God, things like that.  there were some great views.  we ran into the group of girls at one point and stopped to let them pass us because they went around the other way.  that must of been hard for the guide because he'd have to keep waiting for the rest of them to catch up.  we descended a bit towards an area that would normally have water in it and walked a long them.  he was explaining about the area, but i couldnnt' udnerstand a lot.  we walked down and around and even through a cave-like place that would normally have a mini-waterfall running through it, if there was water.  it was funny how there was cow shit eerywhere in the rocks and whatnot, but you never saw a cow.  it was almost like they were ghosts.  we were out there for about 3 hours or so.  Ariel drove us back and on the wy we stopped to look at some toros (bulls) and some cabras (goats).  the toros were kind of gross - big animals who did all their bathroom business while we were looking at them.  and a black show bull kept staring at us angrily.  Ariel dropped us off in the middle of town.  we wandered around and went into a few stores - quite a few had scarves, clothing and various other things from India.  Beautiful items...reminded me of the Black Market at home.  we were starving so we went for an early dinner at a place in town.  it was quite nice but i can't remember the name. Uli had a steak with tons of vegetables and i had this weird chicken curry...i ended up having to pick all this skin and gross veins and things off the chicken...i cant' just eat it like that.  we bought a gift for Susana, the woman who owns the hospidaje Anita - it's one of those paper lamps with vines around it like the 2 in my apartment.  we took too long and didn't catch the bus until like 10.  we got back t Villa Giardino at 11.  aswe were walking we saw lightning...but it was part of a cloud that was very far away and the rest of tghe sky was still starry.  so we could see the lightning going off in the different parts of the cloud- heat lightning.  we got some ice cream and stood there for awhile eating and watching the different areas of the cloud light up.  it was pretty.

cordoba nov 17 martes (tues)

We got up at 930 so we could have breakfast.  we had medialunas, bread with butter and jam and coffee...a perfect start to the day.  the first thing we did was go for a walk.  I had to buy earplugs and we both realized we didn't bring shampoo, so we bought that too.  We went for a walk through the town.   I took some photos of flowers, roses specifically and a few buildings.  then we walked down a road towards the mountains.  we walked for a bit when we figured we weren't getting much closer and turned around and went back.  it was cute how most of the houses had the last names written on the front of the house..seems a bit strange too.  we walked back and met Uli's friend Alejandro who was going to help Uli secure a moto for the week.  one big problem:  Uli left his international driver's permit in Bs.As. so we went to the itty bitty little police station to get a form for him.  it was very quiet and basic - only one guy there who wasn't in uniform.  he said to come back tomorrow. Weird, eh?  so we went to a store to think about how else we could do it.  we drank some orange juice and Uli figured he might have a copy of it in his email.  so, we went to an internet place and he looked.  at this point a stray dog decided to follow me around.  while Uli was looking for his permiso, i went and bought an empanada and fed it to my furry follower.  meanwhile, Uli found his permit and then decided to photoshop it because the part for motorcycles wasn't coloured in.  it actually looked pretty damn good.  we went back to the cute little police station.  they gave Uli a form and said to go to the bank tomorrow, pay 4 pesos, and then return with the bank's stamp.  after that, a friend of Alejandro's, Juan, came by and brought his bike for Uli to use...itwas a royal blue crossbike and he was happy as a pig in shit.  we (he and i) went on a joyride in the area...through the town and back roads and even tried to get as close to the mountain as we could.  the bike kept stalling though.  something with the transmission.  but it was so much fun.  there were a couple of times when i'd have to walk up the hill and meet him at the top, but i didn't mind.  i took a few photos...me, the photo girl.  we got back and cleaned up and decided we would go for dinner.  the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed...strangely...so we found one open in the town and had 18peso vacio with salad and a super cheap bottle of Santa Ana wine.  it strangely started raining a bit...and it was actually chilly...but dinner wasn't too bad and tehre was another dog (belonged to one of the owners i was told) who was watching us eat.  since vacio is a cut of meat that has fat on it, we gave our fat to the dog...haha...he inhaled it in 2 seconds.  tonight i get to test out those lovely earplugs.

Week in Cordoba day 1 Nov. 16 lunes

At 645am Uli rng my buzzer so we could go to the bus station.  turned out he brought a fairly good-sized backpack for his clothes.  originally, he was going to bring just a regular backpack , but i told him we were ging for a week...not a day.  but, it was a good thing we bought the other one because we will need a smaller one on the motorbike.  we had medialunas and cafe in Retiro at the omnibus station and fresh-squeezed orange juice...not too shabby.  here was the fun part...trying to find which bus was ours - any one between platforms 15 and 40.  the bulletin board was not up to date and 830 was fast approaching.  we were looking for Chevallier because that was who we bought our tickets from, but we were wrong!  the empresa (company) was Urquiza and finally we asked someone who said "you better run because it's leaving"...and so we ran...thank god we found it.  guess what...we spent 13 hours on that bus!  definitely the longest bus ride i've ever been on.  there wasn't much to see but flat land and cows and the different towns we had to pass through.  we stopped so many times to pick people up and drop them off.  i slept a little bit.  we were going to drink on the bus, but someone left his wine bottle opener in his bag which was underneath the bus!  by the end i was ready to die...we had to sit in the seats under the top floor about 15 min before we got off the bus since we were the last ones, and the bathroom was down there.  i was really starting to feel sick because after 13 hours on a bus with who knows many people were using it...eck!  there really are mountains here...i almost couldn't believe it just because the land was so flat for so long! they were so beautiful...looked very dry- all sort of a brownish colour.  saw the sun set on the bus...we arrived in the dark to Villa Giardino and walked to Hospidaje Anita where Uli had stayed before.  we ran into some people that he knew on the street and they invited us over.  first we settled into our room, finally...we are staying in a kind of hostel that is a converted house but we are the only guests...it  is beautiful...lots of plants and wooden furniture...very home-like.  there are about 10 rooms or so.  she is so nice and hospitable.  her name is Susanna.  as time goes by, i understand a bit more.  she gives us breakfast between 9 and 11am and cleans and changes everything.  she is so nice...she always calls me "mi amor".  she's like a mommy away from home.  we opened a bottle of wine and started drinking and talking about personal things until Roxanna and her boyfriend came by and asked us what was taking so long.  so away we went.  there house was cute.  bare, but cute.  the mother, Betty, had a little dog named Cleto who wouldn't leave me alone.  we ate pizza, talked and looked at photos from when Uli was there before.  and around 1230, i told Uli we had to go, so we did.  He snored a shit ton...so both of us didn't get much sleep because i had to keep telling him to be quiet.