Patagonia

After a few days in Varela we boarded another plane and flew to Comodoro Rivadavia, on the coast of Patagonia. From there we boarded a private bus and drove up the coast 2.5 hours to Bahia Bustamante. Our group included all the Moores along with Gabby, Ignacio Pita, Sophi Mandirola and her mom. It was a fun group and everyone got along great.

The area is very barren as it was the summer and dry season.The wildlife is amazing! The idea to visit this area was an article about the place last summer in the NY Times. I suggested we visit and my mother made all the arrangements. It was a great visit. Here are some pics, in no particular order.

We were a bit tired after a day of travel, and hungry as well. As such, we were more than happy to see this in the restaurant when we went for dinner. Lamb was delicious!

Just when we arrived the kids wanted to go swimming, and then they got their toes wet...COLD! Amalia also met Yossi, another visitor and a year older than Amalia. They got along great and were best of friends almost immediately. Yossi lives with her parents in D.C. so maybe we can visit them sometime.
This old Ford tractor was a great piece of yard art. It was originally used to harvest seaweed, the main business in the area.

A massive family of lesser rheas. The males care for the young and you can see two age classes of young in this pic.
The typical view of Camilo, running away.
The kids loved playing with two puppies.
This is an island of cormorants, very cool.
Sea lions! Guess who the beach master is?
Female sea lion out for a swim.
What you looking at???
She actually loved the penguins!
And there were many of them to love.
Out for a swim.
We have dozens of pics of them.
Wide angle, up close, telephoto... lots of pics.

Varela 2

One of our days in Varela we spent at the finca of Ana's school friend Patricia. She graciously hosted us for the day. It was only a few miles out of town so we were able to take the bus. The kids loved it as they had a chance to play with Patricia's grandkids who were of similar ages. Also, Patricia made a wonderful asado to feed us. Finally, across from her finca is the Museo Guillermo Hudson. This guy was a famous naturalist back in the day and they have preserved his home and made a nice natural area around it.

Camilo doing trail work. Later he decided to eat the dirt!

Amalia tree climbing.
This is the tree she loved climbing. Its the national tree of Argentina (I think) and quite common and amazing.

Here is the tree from a wider angle, note the kids climbing.
Walking over to the park.
Camilo showing his speed.
Cousin Viviana.
Amalia in another tree.
Cousin Anacelia playing on a swing.
Amalia playing futbol with Patricio. He was more skilled, and almost 3 years older, but she was nearly as fast.
Camilo being cute.
More Futbol!
More Viviana.
LUNCH!!!
Having fun on a rope swing... and making Lisa very nervous.
Hold on tight.
Trying to play another version of futbol but a little too short.

Varela

The first few days of our trip were spent in Florencio Varela. After a long flight it was nice to relax there. This is the hometown of my mother and my birthplace. We stayed in the Mandirola house, which was originally built by my mother's sister. In fact, the family owns much of the block. Varela is a town of roughly 500,000 people and is pretty lower class in general. That said it is home and has lots of family and good memories for all.

This is the backyard of the house. My parents were married here.

Amalia with the family dogs, Juanita and Lola. They certainly loved getting attention from the kids.

The kids in the house. From L-R: Amalia, Viviana, Camilo, and Anacelia.
Abuelo Tom reading a story to Camilo as they both get ready for nap time.
Breakfast included pasteries, the most popular were stuffed with Dulce de Leche. Lisa and Amalia ate a boat load of these.
There is a playground a few blocks from the house and it included this little merry-go-round that the kids (Camilo, Anacelia, and Amalia) rode.
Amalia even grabbed the ring (not in this pic) and got a free ride.
more to follow.

travel recount- the Smithsonian.

We spent the last two weeks on a trip around Argentina. But to start with we spent a few hours at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport in Washington DC. Quick recount, we flew from ROA-IAD and had a long layover before flying to Argentina. The kids and I took the opportunity to visit the museum which is a quick bus ride from the airport. Its the BEST way to spend a few hours near the airport. Lisa decided to stay behind in the airport and guard the baggage. There are oner 100 planes and such in this hangar and it is amazing. Here are a few quick pics. There are too many great planes to show them all but seeing a P51, the Enola Gay, the Concord, and countless strange small planes is too cool.

The kids in front of the space shuttle. The space shuttle is huge and amazing!

These two pics put things in perspective.

The SR71 Blackbird is simply imposing and scary looking... and fast!
Hard to beat a Corsair! This is one of the first planes you see when you enter.

bike ride for Amalia

The kids and I have been riding the huckleberry trail all summer. Typically, Amalia rides her bike and Camilo rides in the stroller. Usually I push him but sometimes Lisa comes with us and pulls Camilo behind her bike. Today I put the GPS on Amalia so we could see how fast and far she rode. Here is her track.

Amalia's soccer season

This fall Amalia played in the Under-6 soccer league. Her team, the Green Gators, were great and they had a lot of fun. I finally remembered to bring the camera to her last game, which was tonight. Here are some pics, in no particular order.

Awards after the game... including green cupcakes!

Camilo didn't want his pic taken.
Amalia scores a goal!
So fast she blurs in pics.
And scores again!
OK, I like watching sometimes.
Practicing kicking goals.
Fast!
Which way should I go?
Nice pass.
Practicing dribbling.