This Month in Neuquen (February)

Welcome back to Neuquen! Our friends made us a lechon (suckling pig) to welcome us back home. (Below: Carolina, Trinidad, Micaela, me, Maria Pia, and my mom; Next: Pia, Mica, Chiana, and Rygelito; Next: the pig!)

It's been a little over a month since I've been back in Argentina, and not much is going on this March. Last month my mom was here visiting for three weeks, and we had a good time. But now I'm just adjusting to my normal life, laying around, getting some work done, fixing the house, and sleeping as much as possible! Plus we have the new edition, little Chiana, who met me in Connecticut and then followed me back to Argentina.

Chiana and Rygel love each other! They play and play and play. Chiana is a little girl, but she really sticks up for herself. When she is sleeping, she doesn't want Rygel to mess with her. She gets frustrated because she cannot catch him when she chases him around the yard--he runs so fast! They look like cute little black and white bunnies when they run and hop around the yard.

It took quite a bit of effort to get Chiana all the way to Argentina with us. My mom and I arrived in Buenos Aires on February 4 in the morning, but we didn't see Chiana until she was released from customs five hours later. Needless to say, we were very happy to see her, and we took her straight to the hotel for some play, nuggets, and relaxation.

We spent a few days in Buenos Aires before flying to Neuquén, and Chiana went everywhere with us--to coffee at Cafe Josephine's, for walks around town, to parks for a bit of sunlight. She didn't follow us to the mall or to the tango show, but we did see a great one at El Querandí.

When my mom was here, we went to the mountains, to San Martin de los Andes, and stayed in our favorite B&B there, La Casa de Eugenia. The owners are very friendly, and they love the dogs. Here are some pictures of the dogs there, playing with the resident princess, Pareese Hilton (the big dog below):
We drove on the famed Ruta de Siete Lagos, which is a two-hour drive through the forest and along the side of seven gorgeous lakes in Western Neuquén province. It passes into Rio Negro province, too, and cumulates in Bariloche. This drive was very nice but would have been more enjoyable if the road had been fully paved; there's about 28 kilometers of it that is rocky and jarring. We wish we could have taken our time, too, like most people do, and I spotted several places I'd like to camp and maybe spend a week, like along the banks of Lago Faulkner.

On the Ruta, we stopped and tried to take some pictures in front of a waterfall. My mom took a hilarious one that doesn't quite include everyone!

A week in Buenos Aires (late Feb 2008)

Lance and I went back to Buenos Aires to see my mom and dad off; the puppies stayed home. (Below: Rygel & Chiana)

We ate at my dad's favorite Chinese resturant, Todos Contentos (more than once). It was tasty! Especially the noodles and fried rice.

While the guys did work stuff, mom and I went to lunch at La Brigada in San Telmo, then shopped for antiques in the off-hours.

Since it was Thursday afternoon, we next headed to the Plaza de Mayo to catch the Madres de Plaza de Mayo in their weekly demonstration. Several women, who were obviously long-time members of the organization, led the march that circled around the statue in front of the presidential palace. The elderly women wore white headscarves with writing on them. The march had a purposeful, but friendly and casual air; it was interrupted briefly as acquaintances greeted the women with a kiss and joined in while journalists recorded the event and curious tourists looked on. My mom and I fell in step behind.

Why they march: since the time of the Dirty War (1977-1984), they have protested the disappearance of their sons, daughters, and loved ones--the kidnapped, tortured, and executed people, so-called political prisoners of the miltary regime--and demanded information of their whereabouts and closure for the families affected.

Some children were born of the secuestrados, and these babies were often adopted to military familes, without the permission or knowledge of their biological parents. There is a film about this, and an example of the domestic strife that can result from such an arrangement is in the current case of Maria Eugenia Sampallo Barragan, who was taken from her mother shortly after birth and adopted into a military family. She is suing her adoptive parents for pain and suffering and asking for their imprisonment, claiming that they lied to her about her origins. I have been reading about her in the local papers here in Neuquen, so I'm not sure if my understanding of her situation is accurate since my Spanish is not so good. Here's a summary of the basics in English. Here is her website. While it seems strange to me that a child would want to cut all ties with the people who raised her, I can't imagine the feelings such knowledge of one's orgins would engender. All I can say is, she must have incredible ambivalance toward her adoptive parents, her country, too.

The next day, before my mom left Argentina, we went to my favorite hotel in Buenos Aires, the lovely Park Hyatt Palacio Dahou, for tea in the garden cafe.

Gustavo flew in from Neuquen, and we met up with some friends and went out in Las Canitas, a very happening part of Palermo. I didn't get a picture of the street scene, but it was so packed, it reminded me of Sixth Street in Austin. After dinner (at Baez--delicious!), we went to dance a bit at a bar nearby. (Below: Luz, Juan Pablo, Gustavo, Lance)

This Month in Neuquen

I'm back in Neuquen, coming from four days in Buenos Aires. And the month's just started, so now I can officially begin This Month in Neuquen. Which is, by the way, a palindrome (Neuquen, not the whole title of the blog). But it's not really because there's an accent on the second e (which I'll include if I can just figure out how to do it . . .).

This Month in Neuquen

The idea being that I will only blog once a month, about what's going on in Neuquen (as seen from the highly subjective and accutely myopic Lens-o'-My-Life), and then readers will be more informed and, perhaps, mildly entertained.



But since I'm just getting started, I imagine I will have to backtrack. Since also I first came to Argentina 29 May 2007. So when I do go back, I'll title the entries accordingly.



In future I hope to have a button readers can *mash* to switch to Spanish and another one to mash for larger text since I seem to favor tiny type and have had complaints in the past with my other blog.

Too,

This Month in Neuquen

Ooo . . . here it is!