The lodge were we stayed in the mountains was called Inalco, "Genial Place" in Mapuche, the local indigenous language. It was located on the shore of Lake Nahuel Hualpi "Lake of the Tiger," which is totally surrounded by mountains. We were about twenty miles from the Chilean border in the heart of the Andes. Staying in a lodge instead of a hotel turned out to be a fantastic advantage. We ran the place for the time we were there. We ate when we wanted, went to bed when we wanted, and never had to worry about making too much noise. The owners of the lodge cooked all of our food and were excellent hosts.

On Thursday we went hiking in the mountains. The trail was not so well taken care of and we spent a great deal of time inventing bridges to cross a plethora of small streams. It was, however, a fantastic adventure. On Friday we went mountain biking, and we tested the true meaning of the bike's name. Mostly we ended up carrying the bikes a lot because the trail our guide chose was completely impassable for a bike. I was, needless to say, somewhat tired at the end of the day.

Saturday ranks high on my list of crazy adventures. We traveled to Cerro Bayo to go skiing. It's spring here and the experienced skiers in our group mentioned that the snow wasn't so great for skiing, I don't think it would have made much of a difference. After a morning training session, which went generally well, I tackled a good lunch and then headed up for the main slop. During the course of the afternoon I earned a good many cuts and bruises, most of which I'm still recovering from, the nickname "The Animal" because I refused to give up trying. I believe I went down the mountain a good ten times that afternoon and managed to fall down at least ten times that number. I did, however, get better by the end, and although the mountain racked up a lot more points than I did, I enjoyed myself thoroughly and as you can see below, the views were incredible.

On Sunday we were supposed to take a boat trip to the tip of a peninsula that stuck out into the lake and then hike the eight or so miles back. I, however, managed to be down by the lake taking pictures when everyone boarded the busses and left, so when I returned to the lodge the only one left was the owner. When she realized that they had left me behind she jumped into her car and took me to the boat dock. We arrived just in time to see the boat pull away. The trailhead was close by though and I enjoyed a quiet walk in the woods by myself. It was very pleasant to be able to walk at my own pace without the noise that the group always made. I made it to the end of the trial in time to catch the group in the middle of lunch and in time to return with them. The round trip helped augment my reputation as a never-give-up adventurer.

Love,