July 13

After a good, hard couple of days in the canals, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to take a day trip down to Los Molles. One of Michaels good friends and neighbors, Alan, has a cabin there and was heading down with an electrician to update some of the outlets and wiring. He just so happened to have two vacant seats in his truck and kindly offered them to us.

We left the finca at 7:15, grabbed some petrol for the car, and scooped up the electrician, Sanchez and his son Daniel. The stars were still twinkling and the back seat was 3 deep and needless to say a tight squeeze. I found it extremely cozy and immediately dozed off once in route. To my disadvantage, I missed an impressive sun rise but Brent was sleepless in the middle seat and didn’t miss a thing. He was nice enough to wake me up for the good parts. The sky was filled with the most brilliant colors; deep oranges and purples that wrapped around the mountains. This was just the start of a day full of beautiful surroundings.

The surroundings kept improving as we got closer to the cabin. At this point, it was too much to sleep through, not to mention the gale force winds that were blowing us around the highway.

We arrived at the cabin and the view was unreal. It was like I’d jumped into one of the photos from the wallpaper gallery on my computer.

The cabin was equally impressive. It was cozy but very well designed and even better was the decor. It had rustic, cabin-like furnishings but was accented with the most beautiful assortment of South American textiles and a white sofa. It was exceptional and I was in love.

Sanchez and his son immediately got to work on the wiring and Brent was in charge of getting the fire going and cooking the chorizo and lomo for lunch. While the boys were busy with their tasks I sat on the edge of the loft and took in every decorative accent in complete lust. :)

We struggled through a few conversations with Sanchez and Daniel. Brent did most of the talking and pretty much told them where we were from and where we were staying. In trying to clarify what part of Los Estados Unidos we were from, I managed to tell them that Coca Cola was from Atlanta in the most butchered fashion. That instantly brought some familiarity and put a huge grin onto Sanchez’s face. They love their litros of Coca down here.

While the electricians kept at it, Brent and I did a little exploring. Alan had directed us towards the Pozo De Las Animitas which was not too far from his cabin. It’s basically a huge hole in the ground and it ’twas impressive especially when you see how little Brent is standing beside it. Now that’s a big hole. We wandered a bit and took in some more views before heading back for lunch.

Lunch was classic. Coca cola with choripan and lomo sammies. After lunch we tidied up the cabin and and were about to head home when Alan suggested we go for a drive. After all, why drive all this way and not enjoy some of the surroundings. He had wanted to take us to Las Leñas which was the next mountain range over, but Sanchez had another job to get back to so we stopped at another set of big holes and then took a scenic route home.

The second set of big holes, called Dolinas, have a little more history behind them than the first. But we’ll skip most of it and just tell you the gist. Cousteau at one point thought this hole connected to the sea and did his best to determine how deep they were, and failed. Anyway enough about holes.

The drive was the most insanely scenic hour of our trip thus far. We drove off themain road onto a dirt road. Following this, we found ourselves driving through nearly untouched land. Enclosed by mountains, a little bit of desert, lots of pasture, and a hundred or so sheep, cattle, and horses, we kept driving. We passed beautiful lakes, a beaming white cliff (calcium carbonate i think?), canyons, and so much more. I wish I had pictures to share but being in the middle seat forced me to retire my camera for a while and enjoy.

We had a big surprise waiting for us when we got home that evening…. To be continued.

**Sorry for such a long detailed post. It was such a great day I think I had a little too much fun rehashing it all. Either way I hope some found it enjoyable. Until next time. :)