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Mendoza In March is a beautiful place. The hot temperatures have moderated and the summer rains have caused the surrounding desert to become surprisingly green. The Vindemia festival celebrated in Mendoza during the second week of March signaled the begining of the harvest season and our progression into autumn.

We have been spending more time at Casa Cuna, an orphanage in Godoy Cruz, while we work to get some renovation projects going at Brazos Abiertos. Most of the time at Casa Cuna is spent playing with the toddlers who run up to us when we arrive with their arms open saying,"Tio and Tia" (Uncle and Aunt).

Two weekends ago, Scott, Will, Nicole, and Rich took a long day trip out to Uspallata. We took lots of photos of the colored rocks and mountains and hiked to the petroglyphs. We were able to see Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas, in the distance from many vantage points. During that time, Rene was hiking her way toward Aconcagua to the Confluencia base camp with a guide, and her housemates. She was able to take some great photos on the way up and down during their high altitude trek.

Sunday evening a few of us went to The Latin Americano Hostel in Goydoy Cruz to hear some great live tango. Our friend Lucia tipped us off that her brother, Sabastian, would be playing violin with his new tango band. There we met tango singer, Julia Hahn, who visited our music studio the following day.

This week we drove to Maipu to visit Tempus Alba, a small boutique bodega, where our new friend, Julia, who works at the bodega, gave us a tour. Then we headed out an hour and a half northeast from Mendoza to the Telteca Dunes. There, we enjoyed hiking around looking for good photos to take. Never before have so many pictures been taken of sand.

We've been making progress with our Spanish lessons. Here, the Argentines don't say Spanish, but refer to their language as "Castillano". Our teacher, Irma, is patient, sweet, and encouraging.

We recently purchased a new midi keyboard which Will brought down from the States. This has given us a 2nd complete workstation in the music studio. We will be updating our website soon to include some of our most recent recordings.

If you are interested in seeing a particular photo here enlarged, just click on the picture, and you'll see a larger photo. There are extra pictures on this blog entry so make sure to click on to page 2 of the photos in order to see them all.

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