free days

The Brits with the fast-drying pants did get more interesting. Much more interesting. Turns out, she is a guilty secret smoker and he most likely an alcoholic who never eats sweets. We became fast friends after I startled her while she was sneaking a smoke by the lake. I told her she looked glamorous with a cigarette and not to worry. They invited me to go horseback riding with them and I did. Turns out Tony is a natural on a horse, which pleased Lisa very much. They kept repeating the same joke, which was basically Lisa asking Tony how his ´backside´ was feeling and Tony replying that she shouldn´t ask personal questions while I was around. That night they had braised lamb, which Tony felt was the best he´d ever had. They also drank bottles of wine and once Lisa had returned after a cigarette, they shared quite freely about their personal life. Tony is fifteen years older that Lisa. Tony has three children from a previous marraige with a woman named Lainette. His children are very cross with him on account of the divorce. Lisa assured me that she had no part in the divorce and I assured her that she was worth divorcing for, which they both loved. Lainette is a very difficult ex-wive and a pushy mother. She still makes sandwiches for her children (all in their thirties) and has turned them against poor Tony. Lisa thinks they have a right to be cross with Tony and Tony, with wine-glazed eyes did not object.
The next day was my free day. I had two freedays this week. The first was a bit of a bust. I took the bus to a local town where there are supposed energies oozing from the rocks and has thus brought hippies from all around. I was just curious, which I shouldn´t have been, but everyone said the bus ride itself is worth the trip on account of the scenery. On the hour and a half ride there I saw little of the mountains. The bus, which picked me up on the side of the gravel road, was full and so for the entirety of the curvy ride, I was forced to stand over a woman who was feeding her baby from her enormous breast. The baby, judging by its watery eyes and embryonic features, could not have been more than a few days old. Her nipple, resembling the phalliic end of a steamer clam, continually dripped milk all over the baby´s contorted face and rarely into it´s gaping mouth. On the ride back I got a seat by the window and must admit the scenery was lovely if not breathtaking.
On my second free day, I went on a lengthy and often perilous trek along the top of a giant mountain ridge, resting at a mountain refugio. I went with three men. One an enthusiastic local climbing guide, one a gentle, kind-eyed regional travel agent and the other a silent employee and climber from the rufugio. The guide and the travel agent kept up a steady stream of conversation, which I was rarely able to keep up with. Turns out the refugio employee was in fact a carpenter from Italy who had come here for a change of life. We exhausted conversation options very quickly. The hike was, without a doubt, the most incredible I have ever experienced. The views, at every moment were beyond dramatic--giant spires of granite extending above us while miles below lush green valleys with curving turquoise rivers and neon lagoons. Really something.
At the refugio I experienced the climbing ´scene.´ It is not one I want to be a part of. It consists of climbers, trekkers and hippies fueling-up and discussing their conquests in the mountain or on the rock face. Directly above the refugio there is a giant creviced rock wall providing constant entertainment for the people resting and eating below. The worst were the Australians. They kept up a constant stream of conversation concerning the level of difficulty of various cracks or crevices. They name dropped a lot of mountains and talked a lot about gear, particularly carbon fiber. The hippies who don´t climb sat around too and talked about how hungry they were on various treks; this is a subject everyone has something to add to. Based on their behavior I imagine that the Argentinians were acting just as badly. We spent a good deal of time there, as the enthusiastic mountain guide knew everyone and had a lot to say to them. The silent Italian ex-carpenter went into what was actually a hole in the ground, his sleeping quarters. And the travel agent, Augustine, and I drank mate and spoke about fatherhood. He has two young daughters and is nervous about upcoming adolescents. Augustine is a dear, gentle soul and I imagine a very good father. One of the Australian hippies began juggling sand-filled socks and I was ready to go. We resumed our descent some time later, leaving behind the Italian. We traversed our way through forests filled with wild flowers and little creeks. We arrived at the lake some hours later, where a boat was waiting for us. It took us on a speedy ride across the lake, back to my home just as the sun was disappearing behing the mountain. I kissed the two men goodbye and then picked sweet peas in the garden for a while, had dinner at the boys house, cleaned the girls house, and went to sleep.
The girls house is very empty these days. We are in the slow season. Gabi and Mica left to go back to Buenos Aires and the other girls spend more and more nights in town with their children. I was glad to see Gabi go. As for Mica, I was growing very tired of her constant weeping and giggling over boys. She will, however, always hold a special place in my heart. This has meant that I spend my evenings with the chicos(Diego and Eugenio) and Cris, the woman horse wrangler who lives in the stables with the horses and many cats. I like cris, a lot. She is nearly forty, wiry, and wild-eyed. She has a very large mouth with lips that she often paints red and when the weather is fine, can be seen running around in a red bikini. She has a very special way with the horses and with animals in general. She calls and they come to her. She and the chicos have been more than welcoming of me. I am happy to be in their nighttime scene, which usually consists of watching badly dubbed episodes of Friends and eating dessert.
But today, eight new guests arrive. They are a group of friends celebrating someones birthday. I think she is turning fifty.