part 3

In which our hero:

finds himself in a dusty bus terminal in the Mendocino cuts, doesn{t shower for 2 weeks, almost loses a fingernail, picks ticks from his body for the first time in over 10 years, wakes up to the sun rising over apple orchards and goes to bed with it setting over the central Andes

So you´re sitting on a dusty wall in a dusty towncalled Tunuyan on a dusty morning that couldn´t possibly be any more dustier and you realize that it is in fact drizzling and quite moist and that the summer should prove these preconceptions wrong in due time, all the while eating a salty bag of peanuts, the only food you´ve hadsince the afternoon before (and by food I mean some pizza and a lot of beer, and christ do the Argentines like salt) and a woman with blonde streaks like Rogue from X Men and trensas (those things where they wrap up parts of your hair with thread like a bracelet with shells and beads hanging from it) walks up to you and asks, Buscas algo? (literally, Looking for something?) and you´re not sure if it´s an invite for a prostitute but you realize she´s carrying a bowl of chopped fennel and suddenly you´re in a small Renault whose upholstery is made of dirt and dead leaves, suffocated by four trees she´s managed to fit in the back on top of you listening to a hippy from New Mexico tell you how her B.O. smells so much better here.

I should probably take this opportunity to clarify that Azucena looks in no way like a prostitute, but hunger and cloudy skies, not to mention road-fatigue and excessive salt consumption, will construe things, you can lay to that. Azucena is a nutrionist that focuses on natural healing methods from vegetables and herbs, as well as a farmer. Her husband Jorge is a yogi and farmer, philosopher of sorts. They´re in their tenth year of creating a natural healing retreat center at the base of the Central Andes, and are looking at a good 5 to 10 more. They lost a lot when the economy crashed in 2001 and no longer trust in the government or banks for loans, and depend entirely on Azucena´s small income, money from their produce sold at the Mendoza farmer´s market, volunteers, family and the frequent random someone-who-knows-someone-who-knows-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-dead-garlic-shoots-for-an-alternative-eco-friendly-weed-killer-and-insect-repellent . Get Jorge talking about the state of the government and world and he wont stop talking, but he manages to do so in the least intrusive way possible, fitting in at least three stories along the way per example. They have two kids, Paloma Azul (Blue Dove), 9, and Nacho (goes by Chacho),4, who are mostly beautiful but occasionally overbearing.

You wake up every day around 7 or 8, depending on how hot the day will be to a sun shooting bits of morning through an apple orchard outside your window. A breakfast of bread, butter, homemade jam, a mate or tea and you´re out onthe huerta, hoe or shovel in hand to clear weeds (Jorge´s foot is broken and they´re behind schedule. Just now weeding and planting seeds.) or lay said dead garlic shoots or some other odd job. A lot of natural construction with trees of all sizes we cut down ourselves, sequestered glass bottles for light, clay, metal wire and a live roof with dirt and weeds. A saw, some pliers and a hand-drill make up your quiver of tools. Eat a huge lunch of anything vegetarian around noon or 1, a long siesta and back to work from 4 or 5 until you can´t see no more. If it´s hot enough you jump into the nearby stream to cool off at the end of the day, watching the sun fall behind clouds rolling over the Central Andes. Dinner´s usually leftovers from lunch or some pasta. Read for about ten minutes and fall sleep with your face in your book, dirt in your nails, weeds in your hair and a beautiful stink all about you.

I must admit I do agree with the hippy from NEw Mexico. My B.O. smells incredible here. COuld be change of diet (no meat, minimal minimal dairy, no booze, a few eggs), of atmosphere, who knows. But suddenly two weeks without a proper shower, maybe a sponge bath or two along the way or a jump into the river, is no big deal.

Oh I got a cooking apprenticeship in a vegetarian restaurant in the nearby city of Mendoza for the month of December. He closes for January but says I can come back if I want. For work, he´ll give me a hostel room to stay in, meals all day and an allowance for other necessities. Awesome food, buffet style which seems kind of corny but a talented cook and one of those large jolly types. Could be a good experience. Or an experience nonetheless.

I guess that´s all I can remember I was going to write. My time´s up and I´m out of pesos. Turns out I have a beautiful niece named Kyleigh who was born the Saturday before last. I hope everyone around the fires in So Cal are safe and well. Write me with questions or news or with anything. I can´t check email often, but I can manage.