Movin' on up!

Ahhh. We got us a new home. Not that we didn’t absolutely love Mirta, not that we didn’t learn a lot. Not that we didn’t find the dirt roads, the barking dogs and the daily breakfast of “no-es-café”, toast, toast and more toast be the “real deal.” Because we did. And we do. But. We were ready for a door on our bedroom, our own dinner hour and a toilet that could handle a few squares of paper. And now we’ve got it.

We’re living on a PAVED road, in a neighborhood Peter calls “the Beverly Hills of Bariloche.” We’re on a hillside above town, in a private and pretty cabana in the far reaches of someone’s backyard. We pay more than we’d planned, but it’s only for a couple of weeks at most, and we’ve got our own kitchen, a lake view and a short hop to town. We’re delighted. I’m sure Mirta is too. I know she enjoyed our company, but I think she was ready for us to move on and make room for the next round of travelers – ideally backpackers who only come home to sleep.

We’ll miss Mirta and her big personality. We’ll miss the neighbors as well. Seems we’re always leaving great neighbors behind. Playing with Luna and Azul, the three-year old girls next door, made our stay at Mirta’s more like home. Afternoons they’d call “Gringita!” through the fence and then the girls would run around in their compound of three tiny houses, chasing kittens, riding bikes, hiding in the bushes and getting really dirty. Likewise at the playground where Ila befriended a strange little girl who entered the park through the bushes. Uma talked to herself, had poor balance and unusually small teeth. But she shared cheesesticks with Ila, so they hit it off just fine. Yes, we'll miss our barrio in Melipal, but we're ready for a little luxury - luxury Bariloche style that is!

Here are some of Ila’s words and phrases:
Hola, Quiero mas comida, Tortuga, Ven!, Como se llama?, Jugar, Gracias, De nada, Abajo, Ariba, Pelo, Boca, Azul, Luna, Chocolate, Perro, Bien, Buen dia!, Mio!, Frutilla.

Here's a little movie from Mirta's. It's our view from the bedroom, and the sound of the dogs... Don't bother if you don't have sound...