At last!

Been in Argentina for a bit over a month now, and it's taken me this long to get a connection at home, even though i ordered it the day after i arrived. Petulant as i may sound, things do move at a totally different pace in here. I'd forgotten about that, and for that reason among others, i've been feeling a bit out of place. This feeling, rather than internetlessness, has been the real cause of my blogging silence... That and a summer flu, a trip to the countryside... and a sense of being speechless in the face of tragedy.

Anyway, i'll start light, with some pictures from my trip to Malargüe, in southern Mendoza. First, though, a little tableau i witnessed today in the city center:

A toy store on a corner, a man dressed as Barney the dinosaur in front of it. He's chatting with a pretty, young woman who holds a baby in her arms. Barney's mouth is open, and through a slit at the back of it the man inside looks out into the world. What he doesn't see is the 7-or-8 year old boy who comes running from behind him, grabs the tail of his screen hero, and begins to pull it around heedless of his mother's calls. Barney is in shock. He tries to look back, but his thick plushy body has no neck to speak of. Finally the man thinks of pulling Barney's head off of his own, glares at the boy and says: "Qué te pasa, culeau?" (literally: "What is it, you ass-fucked one?"). Maybe it was too hot inside that suit.

So, here's the pics:

These formations are near the Atuel canyon, in San Rafael. We decided not to carve any presidents' faces here, for obvious reasons.


Agua del Toro Dam, with mom & dad.


Valle Hermoso, Malargüe.


Laguna de Llancanelo.


Flamingos at Llancanelo.

Sigh! I did miss all of this, after all...