Killing Time (Sun 3/14)

Stats:
- 1 run for the Gringo
- 1 walk for the Gringa
- Wind battering experience for both

Our day started with more good juice and nice breakfast. Also, we are drinking real brewed coffee again and it is very good. With his new shoes purchases in Chaltén, Arn decided to go for a run after breakfast. He braved it in a pair of shorts! I put on my hiking shoes and went for a walk.  It is far too cold for shorts, so I wore my hydroskin tights (longwear under my pants, cycling tights over my cycling shorts, and the best thing for under a drysuit when kayaking but that is a different trip from this one).  

We are sick of the wind. There, I said it. It has turned too cold and we have been in the wind for too long. My scalp hurts from the wind. My ears are tired of the sound.  The inside of my nose feels burnt. It makes me grouchy.  We have seen countless dogs laying around sleeping in the wind. They are totally out while their ears are whipped around. We have seen two cats --- one tucked into a windsill trying to get shelter and the other looked exhausted. I think the rest of the cats have either left or committed wild acts that got themselves killed. 

For lunch, we did the "El Camino Crawl".  This is an inside joke that has been around since we first started dating. El Camino Real is a street in the Bay Area tha runs just about from San Francisco to San Jose. It is suburbia lined with strip malls and storefronts -- some new, some old. Lacking a good idea or a plan for dinner, we used to do the "Crawl. This involved driving to El Camino and picking a direction.  We would drive along the El Camino until a good idea presented itself. So, this is how we spent time today; crawling around looking for lunch. We ended up enjoying an awesome lunch of homemade pasta. Arn had linguine with pesto. I had cannelones stuffed with ricotta and vegatables in a tomato sauce. 

Our flight to Buenes Aires is not until Tuesday. Given how the flights are priced, this was our first opportunity to get north. We are both ready for calmer days and a change of scenery. I think Arn is most excited about the eating options in Buenes Aires. I am most excited to get out of the wind and out of wearing at least two jackets simultaneously. Really, this is supposed to summer or early fall.  Since we got off the bikes, it has turned colder and colder and windier and windier.   

So, until Tuesday, we are killing time. We had a super fast internet connection yesterday. I even managed to call my mom for the first time in many weeks. She told me about some chocolate chip cookies she baked for church. She said she tried one and they were good. You'll notice, she told me this yesterday and I am still thinking about it today. The Skype connection went whacky in the middle of our call and I have not picked up the WiFi connection in our room since then. Gremlins are in my technology.

For dinner, we returned to Don Pinchon's for dinner and again, "Batman" picked us up at our hotel. We picked up another American couple from NY in route. They are traveling on a crazy itinerary and going to places to see things that don't make sense to us.   Well, tonight's dinner was different. Arn ordered lamb ravioli in a garlic and anchovy sauce. He expected it to be olive oil based and it arrived as a cream sauce. Neither of us are big on cream sauces and we continually forget that we must ask about that in Argentina. If something is deemed too strong of a taste, then they add cream. A lot of places put cream in their tomato sauce because straight tomato sauce is too strong. Same rule applies to pesto. Luckily, the restaurant was willing to remake the dish for Arn with olive oil. Now, I ordered what can only be described as a Fred Flintsone meal. It was lamb --- you know, the kind where they saw off parts from the lamb strung up on the crucifix over the fire. It was served with roasted root vegtables and a reduced wine and Calafate sauce. Calafate berries are a lot like huckleberries. They say if you eat them, then they assure your return to Patagonia. My lamb required the skills of a butcher which I don't have. While I love meat, if it looks too much like ot once was, it is almost enough to make me a vegetarian. I didn't peer too closely at the lamb for fear I would find a hoof or the bell that was arounds it's neck. Still, it tasted great. After I gave up, Arn took over and demonstrated his butcher skills. Tomorrow, we will try something different for dinner