Life in a different culture
On Christmas day we borrowed the family car and took off for a trip around the city. Well, a trip about the main park anyway. Here are some photos of what we got up to…
The San Martin statue on a mountain looking over Mendoza.
A photo to prove that we (um, they) were there.
Paul showing himself as part of the statues in the park.
Me being a statue in the park. Can you tell which one I am?
Resting down by the lake, just before a storm comes over.
Christmas was celebrated on the night of the 24th, starting dinner at 11pm with toasts and lots of fireworks at midnight. We also had our share in the noise and lights of the fireworks although I have never seen such craziness as our neighbours were doing… throwing huge fireworks balls onto the street when they were designed to be launched in a tube to great heights. Needless to say, their explosion on the street was massive and caused all of us considerable ringing in our ears.
Here are some photos to share our Christmas with you.
Every home needs a Christmas tree.
The whole family gathered to celebrate Christmas at midnight.
Making Christmas phone calls to everyone (oops. Where is Paul’s face?).
Playing with roman candles on the street.
It was hot, so we all hung out on the street until late.
Well, I guess I should add this note to say that as of tomorrow I will be on a bus heading to Peru for various months. Probably two. We stop in Mendoza for Christmas and then keep going using the cheapest way… or the way that has available seats during this crazy travel time.
The goal is to get to Lima by the New Year, and then head north to Chiclayo to meet up with all of the smarter people who travelled by plane to get there. Haha.
UPDATE: We are now in Mendoza enjoying Christmas with Lorena’s family. Today (26th) we continue our journey again.
The four musketeers: Yamila, Paul, Me, and Lorena.
Lorena and Yamila at one of the many stops along the way to Mendoza.
Today I left Puerto Madryn on another journey. This time it was to Mendoza and then to Chile.
My bus to Mendoza. I sat just above the side door on this side.
This is the same route that I took just a little over two months ago when returning to Australia. This time however the snow was not a concern when crossing over the Andes mountains and a three hour wait in Mendoza was all it took before I was on the bus to Chile.
Santiago mall in the middle of the city.
Arriving in Santiago early in the morning from my overnight bus, a strong black coffee is needed to get me through the day. There are a number of electronic errands that are only possible here in Chile. The little township of Puerto Madryn has none of these services and Buenos Aires has exhorbitant prices that are truly unreasonable.
“Abrazos Gratis” = “Free Hugs”
During my wandering through the mall, I came across a couple of unusual types amongst the throngs of people. They were just standing there with big smiles on their faces holding large signs in the air that read “FREE HUGS.” Most people walked right on past, some smiling at the thought, others commenting on such an unusual sight. Every now and then somebody would come up to get a hug, and the sign would be lowered for a moment. Each person that was hugged walked away with a big smile on their face. What a cool idea.
Walking down the road to the YWAM Chile base.
At the end of the errands, a short bus trip took me to the YWAM base where I find Ricky and Rosy practicing for their wedding tomorrow. 36 hours of continuous travel, a day in the city withouth rest, and then suddenly I was roped in to help out with wedding preparations.
Ruth and Louisa making candle stands. My job was finding the green stuff.
I didn’t mind. It was for this very reason that I had come.