Amazing sunsets in the Calamuchita Valley!

I almost missed this beautiful sunset at the Hostel last night. I was curled up in front of the fire and when I quickly stepped outside I saw it! I ran into the house and grabbed my camera. I love sunsets. Just imagine: It is something that you find any place in the world. It is free and it always takes your breath away.God is such a Creative Painter! 

I found this beautiful poem and would like to share it. Enjoy!

Every night
The horizon lights up
Swirls of pink and orange
Fading to blue and purple


Few bother to look anymore
At a blessing
That only comes once a day


Each sunset is different
No   two exactly alike
Difference flows throughout
While it is the only similarity


Over the ocean
Or through the sky scrapers
Out on the prairie
Or in an apartment


You can still see a piece
A piece of something
Something never to return
A sunset


For the colors are shimmering
For a moment they stay
Only to disappear into change
Change just as beautiful as the last


This is why
No matter where you go
One thing remains the same,
A difference in sunsets


In your very own sunset

Jessica Millsaps

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Snow in July!

 
On Wednesday the weather changed rapidly and became very cold. I felt so sorry for Marina and Pablo who stayed here for a couple of days. It was so cold! The previous day they were enjoying the sunshine and made a nice braai (asado). But today was impossible, Temperatures dropped very quickly and the mountains were covered in snow. We made a fire in the fire place and curled up in front of it.

I was jumping up and down from joy when the first snow started to fall. It is snowing! It is snowing! But the snow was melting so quickly. It was not yet cold enough for the snow to glue together. Snow is really funny. First it falls down from the sky like ice rain. Then the snowflakes start to fall.. Then it melts and everything turns wet. Almost like when it is raining. But the smell in the air is different.

The rest of the day remained very cold and I was still hoping for a lot of snow to fall during the night. I want to build a snow man.

I am not used to snow, so the smallest hint that snow is approaching and I am like a child. I can imagine what children in Europe are like when they wait for the first snow to arrive. Our winter will only finish on 21 September; so maybe, just maybe I will still be able to build that snowman!

Nelieta & Andrey

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Land Hunting!

Andrey and I were sitting in Buenos Aires one night and we were discussing what we were looking for in land. I remember our conversation very well. Andrey wanted land close to mountains and a river. We also wanted the land to be in a touristy part of Argentina but not too busy. We wanted to be in nature. We did discuss the possibility to buy a house and renovate it, but it would not be what we wanted. Andrey also loved getting involved in the actual building process.

We were talking to some friends and they told us about the Calamuchita Valley and in particular Santa Rosa De Calamuchita. It is a very popular holiday destination for locals. The Santa Rosa river runs through it, mountains on either side of the valley and a Mediterranean climate . I was already impressed. We bought a map and started to land hunt on the Internet. This was not an easy task. The reason was that prices advertised were not the true prices or some people never bothered to reply to emails. We started to make a list of all the land available and we made a short list. We narrowed it down to Merlo in the San Luis province and Santa Rosa De Calamuchita in the Cordoba Province. We made appointments with the land owners and set off to Carpinteria first. We were very close to Merlo and some smaller towns in the area.

I loved Carpinteria but it was a very small town. There was no bank or supermarket. There were a lot of land available but people wanted ridiculous prices. The nature was beautiful. I am sure in time this will become a very popular tourist destination but it did not quite suit our needs. We also met a German woman who wanted to sell a large piece of land but she was in no hurry to sell.

Villa Elena was really beautiful and unspoilt. But you had to drive in to Merlo every time you wanted something. Buses were also not passing on a regular basis. We spent the day hiking and enquiring about land. We had a wonderful time. We attended an art exhibition in Merlo the next day and then we spent one last day exploring Merlo. The weather changed rapidly and the next morning it was snowing!

We said goodbye to the San Luis province and left over the mountain to the Cordoba province.We both loved the town. We took a couple of trips to the surrounding towns and explored touristy places like Villa General Belgrano and La Cumbrecita. Now to find something that will suit our pockets!

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