Quality Time with Mama Earth

Check out our little buddy we met at Yacu Yura.

Brrrrrrr…We are certainly feeling the chill of fall this week. Today feels like an early November day in Wisconsin/Vermont…bone-chilling temps, drizzle and an all-around dreary ambiance. We are currently shacked up in the bustling college town of Cordoba, Argentina located in the north-central part of the country. We have yet to explore the plethora of historical and natural haunts, however, I hear Lockheed Martin operates a large military aircraft factory here. Do you think they would allow me to video record during the tour?

We just wrapped up our week at Yacu Yura and feel quite centered and refreshed. Essentially, YY is an “eco-village” with an “eco-tourism” slant. (This in no way slights the purpose of Yacu Yura). The community blends spirituality, consciousness, sustainable living, and a belief there is a dynamic relationship between people, spirit and the earth to create a multi-faceted experience for visitors. It is located about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Cordoba in over 400 hectares (over 1000 acres) of protected land. Getting from the nearest village, Cruz del Eje, proved to be an interesting task, as many taxi drivers were hesitant to drive down the narrow, rocky trail leading to the entrance. Upon arrival, we were gleefully greeted by James and Gabby (permanent residents and the individuals guiding the community’s activities) and 8 other globe-trotters calling YY home for various amounts of time. We were struck by the utter serenity of the area, the dynamic wildlife (oodles of birds), the diversity of the vegetation and the unfathomable amount of vegetables, herbs and other eatable plants.

During the week, we spent a large portion of the morning exploring the connections between the spiritual, human and natural realms…wondering conversations about consciousness and development. We then spent a good 3 to 4 hours engaged in various projects. Carrie spent most days working the land and supplying the sprawling gardens with much needed hydration. I tried a few activities, but really enjoyed helping Carlos with the maintenance and expansion of the village’s solar panel system. On Friday, Carrie and I spent several hours digging and snaking electrical cables from one building to the next. I suppose the big event of each day was lunch. Every morning, volunteers would prepare an amazing, diverse feast for all to enjoy. Of all the ridiculously fantastic food we have enjoyed thus far on our journey, the meals during the past week by far took the cake as well as the post-dinner drink. Here Carrie enjoys some of that scrumptious food with Sandra (fella Midwesterner) and Ido. We had a fantastic chat with Ido about his experience in the Israeli army. He also makes a wicked-good apple pie. The afternoons were left open for taking advantage of the collectively organized activities such as drumming and dance as well as enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Our favorite part of the day was most certainly our late-afternoon cat nap… enjoying the chatter of the insects and the numerous bird songs ...or was it lunch?

Quite the experience indeed. We both appreciated the tranquil surroundings. I was also intrigued with the overall philosophy of the community, utilizing an “Integral” approach… bridging the spiritual, human and physical worlds and attempting to use as much about reality as we know to pursue it’s purpose. Check out the link above if you are curious about Integral (I suppose I am a tad partial to this approach in part because of my experience with it while at SIT).

Prior to our stop at YY, we held up in Mendoza, Argentina (Argentina’s wine country). For a relatively large city, Mendoza seemed surprisingly relaxed. We took it easy most of our stay here… taking long walks along the wide, colorfully tree-lined streets; making headway on our respective novels, and sprawling out in San Martin Park. Here, we share a delicious bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon during a day-long picnic on a particularly spectacular fall afternoon. Of course, our stay did include a visit to the very nearby Maipù wine region…two in fact for me. Carrie was trying to lick the sickness that has yet to take a hint, so I decided to scope out the area for an inevitable return visit. I hooked up with a little business named Bikes and Wines started by a couple of guys with a love for, you guessed it…bikes and wines my friends. The bikes were by no means comfy, but that’s not the point, ey? I started out at the historical La Rural where I had the opportunity to explore a fascinating museum detailing hundreds of years of wine-making practices throughout the region. It was also here where I met up with several other dyads of wikers (winos+bikers=wikers). We all milled around, tasted some wine, shared travel tips and proceeded to form a rather boisterous biker crew.

Our next stop proved to be a delicious surprise. Historia Y Sabores is a small liquors, chocolates and conserves producer and wow, were they tasty! After a short tour of the family operation, the owner brought us to his tasting room where we enjoyed loads of liquors (my favorite was the “Tia Marie,” a Jamaican-rum concoction), conserves (my fave had to be the eggplant spread), and dozens of various chocolates (it would be perverse of me to only choose one).

Guilt free, we peddled south towards lunch and had our first opportunity to take in the phenomenal view of the Andes to our west. We crashed the gates of the very swanky Almacen del Sur, a little hideaway serving a scrumptious tofu/vege kabob in a perfect tranquil setting. We were all energized and alive. We polished off a few bottles of tasty Trivento Tribu Malbecs, engaged in a dizzying array of conversations and took off to the next local.

Tempus Alba turned out to be our favorite winery, offering a perfect sun-soaked patio, great views and a ridiculous number of good wines. My favo had to be the Cab Sav...or the Malbec...or the Tempranillo.

Our last stop of the day was the small Viña el Cerno located just across the street from Tempus. They did a good Syrah. We pulled up a few benches, struck up some more conversation and meandered back to the shop in time to see the sun fade. We hitched a ride back to central Mendoza with a really chipper gentleman (what a sight to see a gang of 10 pack into a covered pick-up). Carrie and I met the whole crew later that night for dinner, drinks and a whole lot more conversation. It simply is so refreshing to encounter perfect strangers from all over the globe and be able to hit if off as we did that day.

Two days later Carrie and I retraced the route, this time adding another winery, Bodega Carinae. The tour here was fascinating as it was one of the smallest producers we had visited. Here the two of us try a solid Prestige 2004 Malbec/Syrah

Have you had enough of the wine tours yet? Well...I’m not sure if we have, but I suspect there just may be other activities/places/people to enjoy over the next month. We’ll be enjoying Cordoba for another day or two then off to Buenos Aires for some sick night life and tangos. After that, Iguazu Falls, a spectacular array of really, really, really big water falls. Brother Ryan enjoyed them a few years back, so we thought we would see what all the hoopla was about. Looks like the last lag of our journey will be trekking back up to Perù to venture around the central and possibly northern parts of the country. So much, so much.

Of course, of course we are soaking up ever milli-second of this excursion, but truthfully, we are also looking forward to summertime back in the states…loads of concerts (we are already missing Arcade Fire, Bjork, Bloc Party, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Andrew Bird…), fam, friends, hikes, bikes and the like…live in the present I suppose.

Time to spend some quality time searching for a scrumptious local restaurant to fill our bellies.

Paz yo,

Carrie & Chad