Air Conditioning and Valentine's Day

Now there is thought sweeter than a heart-shaped box of candy and more delightful than a dozen roses: Valentine's Day spent with the air conditioner turned on! Our weather in Bariloche turned toasty today and it is the first time we turned on the air conditioner.

We started the day with a mountain bike ride. We rode about 20km out of town and up to the ski area. The traffic was a bit heavy, the shoulder was non-existent, and we happy to turn off onto the road up to the ski hill. Given that it is the weekend, we saw a number of other riders on the road all dressed in their matching lycra. Some of the folks may have been out for their last "spin" before the race tomorrow.

Anyway, once we arrived at the ski area, we started looking for the downhill single-track. Things started out okay --- definitely single-track and very dusty and sandy. Given that it hasn't rained in Bariloche in 5 months, I guess we should stop looking for compacted ground. The trail degenerated into a downhill creek bed. We walked the creek for a bit. We had to stop and walk through certain sections that were too rocky to ride. In the end, "yes" it was a single-track ride; however, it lacked flow. The trail widened into a double-track and bounced down staircases of tree roots until we arrived at the lake. At this point, we have heard two different stories for why the lake is named "Lake Guttierez". One said he was a missionary. The other said he was a pioneer -- I think. I was drinking Mate at the time, so I can't fully remember the second story. Once at the lake, we followed a dirt road back to the busy paved road back to town. It was a nice bit of exercise, but not the relaxing low traffic, flowing single-track ride that we dreamed about.

Tonight, we are headed back to Alberto's for a steak dinner. The gringos line up on the street just a few minutes before 8pm. By 8:10, every table is taken. It is a fantastic steak and the guy that mans the grill is the guy that takes your meat order. They are a well-oiled machine in Alberto's.

Lastly, I mentioned drinking Mate. I didn't know anything about Mate before arriving in Argentina. Having been here a couple of weeks, we can say there is more Mate drinking going on than coffee drinking in Seattle. And if you haven't been to Seattle, trust us, this is saying a lot. We have been indoctrinated into the world of Mate. To learn more, go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)