Still here!! lol

So I´m still here! Cafayate has just been too awesome to leave. Sadly I bought a plane ticket 5 minutes ago to go to Iguazu tommorow morning, so I need to catch the 5 am bus to Salta tommorow morning.

So recap. Danny has pretty much been my best friend since I got here. I mentioned the wine tours... well many more wine tours.. wine ice cream, more empanadas, and too much tasty stuff. I´m going on a diet!!

So we went to the waterfalls, a nice 5 hour hike that included substantial climbing on slippery rocks, and crossing the river many many times. Eventually I sliped and fell a little but only to lose a bet to buy Danny a beer which he would not otherwise accept ;) hehehe

Many nights of BBQ with friends... mmmm... You can practically roast a whole cow on their massive grill and it costs pennies... Seriously, this place is heaven -and the CHEESE!! wow, to die for... I need to get out of here before I put on a hundred more pounds!

So on Sunday Danny invited me to his grandfathers house in the country for another BBQ to celebrate his mom´s bday. What a wonderful family. His aunt and little cousin, gabriella, tought me how to make empanadas, and they must of literally baked 100 at once in their massive outdoor wood burning stove... unbelievable. Then we went to tour a local artisanal winery, then a local brewery.. then watched the sunset and moon rise over the mountains while chilling by the damn on the river. Exchanging stories under the stars. It was fun.

Yesterday we celebrated Danny´s bday, so another giant bbq and the whole hostel got plastered at the night club were we danced the night away and i taught Walter salsa. lol. can you believe that the best salsa dancers i´ve met, despite my travels, live in toronto!! these latins just can´t hack it. hahaha.... una broma, pero lo siento es verdad...

what else? i also climbed a mountain the other day, many many km accross, and a 1 km increase in altitude. It took 8 hours to get there and back, and I ran half the way, and crawled the other half. Man my knees are really taking a beating! And can you believe despite all this regular exercise, I´m heavier than ever!!?? Dammit!!

Another significant thing to add is despite cultivating a nice frienship, I´ve hopefully saved a third life. (I´m just a life saver! lol). But seriously. About a week ago when we were in the park, I noticed as I looked over at Danny that his eyes looked a little yellow, and despite his skin being dark I struggled to perceive an unhealthy tone. And despite it maybe coming out offensively, I asked him how he felt, if he felt sick. He said no, he was fine. I asked him when was the last time he had a blood test, he said forever ago, he didn´t like going to doctors, etc. I asked him if he would go this week, he didn´t want to at first. I strongly urged him, I told him I believe he might be very sick, I feel like he might be, and I want to make sure I´m wrong. He was reluctant, but when I insisted, demanded, and told him I would stay in town to accompany him to his appointment, he could no longer refuse. Sadly yesterday, he received news he has a kidney infection, but luckily the doctor stated we´ve caught the inferction early, and he thinks if it were not treated for several months, Danny would have certainly become very sick. So tommorow he goes back to the doctor for treatment and I´m hoping that all will be better. I had orginally suspected his liver, but as a toxicologist I have some other suspicions why Danny may be sick and will make some recomendations. Hopefully he will be well.

But I´m off. As much as I don´t want to leave, the journey must always continue, and as sad as goodbye is, hello is happy too, so off I go....

I´ll be in Iguazu tommorow afternoon.

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