Driving in San Martin

Saturday January 19, 2008

We stayed last night at a quaint little hotel, much like a bed and breakfast, called El Faro meaning the light house. This hotel is nestled on the side of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and has views that stretch across the vast body of water, like looking through a postcard to the Swiss Alps. The mountains in the distance are along the border with Chile, snow capped and intimidating. This was a perfect place to stay to rest a bit after the hustles and bustles of traveling. We spent Friday afternoon by the pool above the lake. They brought us tea and croissants, so high society! Haha! It was just nice to be in a safe, secure place that was comfortable, just us enjoying the views, felt like we had the whole hotel to ourselves. I walked down the stairs to the dock on the lake and just sat, enjoying the calmness. The whole time that we were there I only say 4-5 little fishing boats going across the lake. Not like the typical lake in the states, especially California, where there are jet skis and wake boarders and water skiers and party boats and ski boats tearing across the water. It was a very peaceful feeling.

So we woke up and enjoyed El Faro’s beautiful complimentary breakfast consisting of fresh croissants, jellies, a really yummy cherry tart, fresh fruit – honeydew, watermelon, kiwis, pineapple, cherries – freshly squeezing juices, and tea and coffee. Can you tell I was thrilled to finally eat all of this fabulous food? So much for loosing all that weight from being sick!

We left at 10 that morning to get on the road to San Martin de los Andes. This is how Michael described this road: “Well, we better get on the road early to avoid getting stuck behind a lot of traffic ‘cause it can be a little dusty and take a little longer.” Translation to what he really meant: We’re going on a 2 lane, sometimes 1 lane, dirt road for 2 hours through the mountains and it can get a little hairy so we have to leave early incase one of the cars breaks down and we get stuck. Ok!?!?

As bad as that sounds, this driving adventure turned out to be the most beautiful and scenic stretch of road that I have ever been on. Yes, it was long and it was dusty, but the mountains, meadows and lakes were unbelievable. The road is called Siete Lagos, Seven Lakes, and seven there were! Everything is thick, green and lush, cattle on the sides of the road, even came across some sheep and horses crossing the road. Michael’s driving made me nervous at first, especially because the car that we were in isn’t firing on all cylinders, but the dramatic views and vistas soon distracted me. Around every turn was another beautiful fairytale lake or a dominating snow capped mountain. I couldn’t believe this vast, lush land. And then I would be bumped back to reality by Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

The scary thing about the driving here is that there are no lines on the roads, obviously not on the dirt roads, and if there are lines, no one respects them. Passing is done whenever you come to a slower car, even if they are driving in the middle of the road and there is a car coming in the opposite direction. They even pass on the right side if they think there is enough room. So things got a little hairy at times, but for most of the drive we didn’t come across many other drivers. (Thank God!) I keep thinking about all of the factors that contribute to South America having one of the world’s highest driving related fatality rates.

We arrived at San Martin and what a picturesque town! The only thing I can compare it to is Solvang, as far as the unique buildings and well kept landscape, but not as tacky. The buildings are Swiss Chalet Style. Michael’s house is one block from the lake and most of the town and little shops are within walking distance. There are chocolate shops and ice cream shops on every corner. Everyone is very friendly.

The only problem that I am having is communicating with the locals. My Spanish is getting better, however, they can’t understand my. Maria Luisa has been helping me with the differences, but it is taking time to get used to. My Spanish is proper, but I have the Mexican Spanish accent and use that type of grammar – what we are taught and speak in California and Central America. Most of the shop keepers can’t even understand what I am trying to say and I can’t understand what they are saying, even the simplest things. And then they resort to speaking English because they like to practice their English. One big change is that instead of using Usted for formal situations and Tú for informal, they use Tú for formal and Vos for informal. So if I want to say to Maeva, “You are the queen,” I need to say, “Vos sos la reina” instead of “Tú eres la reina.” I’ve never even heard of sos! I had to write it into the verb book that I brought. Also, the ‘y’s and ‘ll’s are pronounced like the ‘dg’ in ‘judge.’ Ay yay yay!!!!!

My funny, or embarrassing, encounter that I’ve had involves going to the pharmacy to get diarrhea medicine for Marcia because she was sick for a few days and needed stronger medicine. So Michael and I were sent on this mission. Mike speaks very good Spanish, but it was a busy afternoon downtown so I jumped out to go into the pharmacy while Mike tried to find a parking space. I took a number, as most of the shops have you do, and waited for my number to be called. They called me and I told the pharmacist, in the best Spanish that I could muster, that I needed some strong diarrhea medicine. They didn’t get it so I tried to use some sign language that described the problem. I definitely entertained the whole store, but they still didn’t understand what kind of medicine I wanted. Then Michael came in, just when I couldn’t think of anything else and said ‘diarrhea’ in a slightly different way and they all understood and then had a great big laugh at my expense. Oh well, I just have a long way to go to speak their language.