The redesign of the equipment has made the gear lighter and easier to put together. No longer are tents the army issue canvas beasts with poles you have to wrestle to fit. There are also all sorts of gadgets that make it more fun. I'm particularly fond of my headlamp that fits into my pocket with a retractable elastic to wear which has three white light settings (including a strobe setting for impromptu discos perhaps?) and two red light settings.
What has changed A LOT is the technological element. Never did I expect to be asking the camp receptionist if there was wifi at the campground. What a concept! In my mind it's completely opposite to getting away from it all. And yet, if I hear it's available, I get a little thrill. Am I one of the ones who got sucked in? Who goes into withdrawal if 'cut off'?
Not at all. It's nice to disconnect. It's nice to have a few days between checking email and Facebook so that there's actually news to read instead of hourly updates. So what am I doing on my iPad???
This is modern day journaling - something I always do when I travel anyway. This version is without pen and paper. It has the advantage of skipping the cramped hands and the disadvantage that my journal may run out of batteries! But it also has the advantage that I can share entries with friends and family all over the world....should they care to read it. But mostly it's for me and stirring my memories years from now in the most efficient way.
Today's a good day to journal anyway. It's WET! And cold.
Our activities are limited and it appears to be a forced day of reflection. This, reading a (paper!) book and making acquaintances with the other water logged campers here at the Bahia Rosales campground in Parque Nacional Los Alerces seems to be the order of the day. Guille is a natural networker and talker and made friends with nearly everyone at the campground by about 16:00. By 17:00 she had arranged for a communal barebecue in the main cooking area for dinner! And what a dinner it was!
At about 21:00 we were joined by Christina, Nelson and their two precocious kids, Maximo and Melania. The couple whose tent flooded the night before, whose names I didn't catch, also joined. There were picadas (chips and nibblies), followed by the asado, a cut they call vacio, cooked slowly over briquettes by the asador, Nelson in this case. There is quite the protocol with this and I kept having to ask Guille about what was appropriate. I got playfully scolded for eating my corn on the cob before the meat as you simply MUST eat the meat while it's hot. My reply that the corn was also hot didn't cut it! Too funny!
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