We plan to meet a few friends on the trip, but we are already making many friends en route. While sitting in a cafe in San Martin de los Andes, Andres approaches us. Enric had pointed out his Africa Twin to me the night before, and he spotted us first thing in the morning. We decide to ride the Route of the 7 Lakes together. It is great to ride with someone who wants to stop and take pictures as often as we do. Somewhere after the 3rd lake, we lost track of each other and Enric and I ended up finishing the 7 lakes, looking for Andres en route, and assuming he took a faster road to the town ahead. We were disappointed to have lost him, but figured that this is what happens on the road.
The next morning, after returning from a 25 km bike ride (the non-motorized variety) the boy in the bicycle rental offices says, "A man on a black Honda stopped by and told me to tell you that you are invited to carne Asada at his house." Was it our friend Andres? Who can turn down a free lunch? We let our agenda slide out a few hours in order to pursue the mysterious invitation. The black motorcycle belongs to Taco. He is passing his vacation with family and friends in the lakeside cabin/vast property of his wife´s family. He had just happened to see our motorcycle parked outside the bike rental office and stopped in to leave an invitation. "We met your friend Andres," he tells us. "Do you know this Chilean with an African Twin?" They had run into him the night before at a local bar, and he said that he had been riding around with us the day before. We don't think we will run into him again, but we enjoyed a fantastic Asada under the trees with a view of the lake, joking with the Argentines.
Just a cultural note, and something that has impressed me on this trip - Beef. Well, meat in general in Chile and Argentina. It just is not like in the U.S. with our T-bone steaks, filet mignons and ribs. This shows how vast my meat knowledge is. Cows here are happy animals strolling in lush green hillsides. The animals sincerely LOOK happy. And not being much of a meat eater, have concluded that happy cows make for wonderful meals. Argentine "Asadas" or "Parrilladas" are feasts beef, pork, chorizos (sausage) - every cut you have never before imagined, and roasted over wood or coals for many hours. Pigs, sheep, goats, llamas feast on the grassy like Scotland hillsides that we have been crossing by motorcycle. What more can I say. Plus, the Argentines and Chileans produce great wine…. Bon appetit!
24 February 2001
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