Well, the Internet is back up and I'm sitting here now in the common living room at the Hotel Oriplata facing views of the Andes all around... light and the big open sky pouring in. The weather has taken a turn in the past two days and now it really does feel like winter is coming... lots of cold wind and rain and last night, 2000 feet higher in nearby Copohue where we went for dinner, there was even sleet. Higher still, the surrounding mountains and Volcan de Copohue are already snow capped.

And me, I am dressing warm and continuing to love every moment of my time with Ginny in Caviahue. We have by now become good friends, and fallen into a comfortable routine based mostly on gymnasio/rehab apts, meals and snacks, occassional naps and working on her book. I do my best to provide help and support wherever needed, but Ginny has such a great disposition, we also spend a lot of our time together just talking and laughing. I feel i am learning so much from her... from being here.

Today, Sunday April 18th, is the end of my second week in Caviahue... now just 2 more to go. I am still trying to run a lot to prepare for the May 1st race. Also continuing to meet such great people... everyone in tiny Caviahue has been so welcoming and nice... despite my still broken Spanish. Ginny says this place feels like Colorado 30 years ago... still so small, developing, full of good, down to earth people who love the outdoors. The number of tourists who come grows a bit each year.

I've also been able to see a bit more of the surrounding area ... Laguna Huacupe, the Rio and Salto Lagrio, and nearby Copahue with its volcanic thermal baths... a few days ago one of my new friends, a guy named Baldo, took me on a small road trip to see where the Mapuche live, their shack-like homes barely perceptible in the vast mountainside. The Mapuche are more or less "nomad cowboys," moving their herds of goats, cows and sheep wherever the weather is warmest, sometimes as far as 800 km away which can take about 8 days. You can see these "arroyos" (as they're called) on the roads, the men on their horses, donkies carrying their belongings, and dogs barking as the herds amble along. Everyone around here knows to drive more slowly this time of year lest they inadvertently hit a cow. Meanwhile, in the mountainside, the Mapuche houses stand deserted, awaiting their return again in the summer...

Other highlights of these past 2 weeks: attending the gaucho Fiesta Provincial del Pasto with Jorge; habitual drinking of mate; my first taste of chivo or goat (amazing!); homemade pizza dinner at Marseilla and Nestor's house; "rock picking" with Diego and Mariano; volcanic mud baths at the Caviahue banos; spotting the two largest, most brilliant, fullblown rainbows I have ever seen in just one half-rainy late afternoon; experiencing the bife de chorizo at Nito's Parilla; ... and more ... and more!!!

But I believe this update will do for now.

Lots of love,
Karen