This might be one of the slowest, quietest, least adventure-filled weeks we’ve had in awhile.

When contemplating the highlights for the week, I found myself resonating with a to-go bag of food.

The small things make life marvelous. Here are some small things that brought us joy this week.

We moved to a small, simple rental home in an authentic Argentine neighborhood in Lujan de Cuyo (south of Mendoza town). We are the only foreigners around and it is lovely.

Celebrating New Year

Our first night coincided with New Years Eve. We celebrated the new year in the streets like all the other families around us. There were kids setting off fireworks at midnight, following hours of smoky asado grilling. Almost every home seemed to have a dozen people sitting outdoors at a long table covered in meat and beverages.

It was a nice, wholesome experience. The parties continued until 5 AM the next morning, and thankfully it has been pretty quiet ever since.

Asado is part of the Argentine culture, especially on Sundays, and the music and fellowship returned on Sunday… just not as late into the night!

The Argentines go to sleep very late, especially on the weekends. Friday night around midnight there was a short-lived surprise when a church marching band paraded down the street. Everyone came out of their homes and cheered. But other than that, it’s been quiet!

Exploring Lujan de Cuyo

We’ve enjoyed mornings in the backyard with coffee, soaking in the rays before the day gets too hot. Then going for walks as the sun is setting.

The surrounding area is a wine growing region accompanied by small groves of olive trees. There are many wine cellars and vineyards that we will explore over the next few weeks!

Over the past decade, the Luyan de Cuyo municipal government has constructed a number of trail and park connections throughout the city, including some great rails-to-trails projects. We have taken the trails for productive purposes, but have also joined the locals in using them for exercise. With sidewalks being in short supply in so many towns, this is an impressive set of walking/biking paths, with bountiful shade trees for daytime outings. Once the sun goes down and the temperature cools, the playgrounds fill with local kids and their families.

We have not yet rented bicycles, but two-wheeled rides may be in our future. Instead, we usually end our sunset walks with an “early” dinner around 9 PM.

We still have not ventured out for dinner past 10 PM. Maybe our bodies will never let us get used to eating that late? We’ve still had some good meals. Like this massive burger that requires both hands to eat! (Plus it was less than $6 USD!)

Self-Care

I found a spa in a nearby neighborhood called Chacras de Coria, where I treated myself to a nice pedicure for the same price as the burger above. After so much walking and traveling over the past two months it felt so great to take a little break.

Lowlights

This week was not all sunshine and roses. A couple small things are worth mentioning.

First, Corey left his phone in a taxi. Good news is that we retrieved the phone but it was a hassle as we had to figure out how to report it to the Cabify app, when the app was on his phone! Fortunately, once the driver had completed his day job, he headed our direction with the phone.

The other was that one of our afternoon walks led us to a rickety bridge that I would not have crossed if the river bed actually had water in it. The corrugated steel walking path bounced as cars drove by, and in some cases the sheets had gaps between them.

I did not realize how terrible it was until we crossed back and Corey said “be careful to not step too far to the right and fall through the bridge.” 😳

But we made it safely, both directions, and we also watched bikes and strollers cross. Just a little uncomfortable for our tastes.

What’s next?

We spend three more weeks in Lujan de Cuyo, although we will be making a detour to the Uco Valley. We will keep exploring, drinking wine, and trying to immerse in rural Argentine culture.