August in Comodoro Rivadavia

This month I have been with Ronda Stidolph (USA) away in the south in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia.  About the same latitude as Oamaru, it's much colder than where I've been this year.  Typical of Patagonia, it's very arid, and about the only things you see down here are guanacos (alpaca type animals), ñandú (small ostriches or rheas) and pink flamingoes.   Comodoro is over 1,000 kms south of Bahia Blanca, also on the Atlantic coast.  There are currently none of our people living here, so the ladies have a bach, a one-room affair, with a small bathroom attached.  There are one or two people listening to the gospel, but it's hard-going in the south.  The cities are based around petroleum, and there's a fair bit of wealth.

The red pin is Comodoro...a long way south, but there's still plenty more to go!

Views around Comodoro Rivadavia. Note the petroleum tanks in the middle photo.  YPF is the national petroleum company.

The white half-open door is the bach.  (not our vehicle unfortunately).  The building to the right is where the owners live.

This is what you see as you walk in the door!  Bathroom door is the white sliding door by the window.

Looking in opposite direction toward front door.

The yard...not very aesthetically appealing, but very typical!

This part of the country (the Patagonian coastal area) is very prone to high winds.  The gales blow for days on end, and bring grit into the house through every crack and crevice it can find.  This sunset was on one particularly windy day.

These are views travelling south to the city of Caleta Olivia where there is a lady listening.  We did a bit of door-knocking there this week, but it was so cold!  The puddles were all iced over at midday still!  You can see what the country-side is... bleak.

Heading out of Comodoro Rivadavia, going south

These are guanacos, a common sight looking out the bus window.

Thrilled to see these flamingoes in a lagoon in Caleta Olivia!

Long, really straight roads.

Another common sight....little road-side shrines.  People are pretty superstitious around here.  The truckies pay homage a lot to these shrines, to bring them good luck and safety on the roads!

Very typical Patagonian coast... saw little penguins and seals along here

Common to see oil and gas tankers out at sea.

Ahh...this was a good lunch on that cold day we went door-knocking!

We went 400kms north to visit Daniel Peiretti, a man in his early 40s, who came in touch with the gospel about 20 years ago, when he studied at university with one of our young friends.  I wrote about him in a previous post, having lost out several times over the years due to one thing and another, and then come back.  He's now really settled a few issues (his wife left him a few years ago, they have no children, a big thing for a Latin to accept that).  We stayed the weekend at his sister's house (she was away but offered us the use of her house), and had a really nice little fellowship meeting with him, the three of us, Sunday morning.  His nearest fellowship meeting is Esquel - 600-something kms away.  So often, he is alone Sunday morning.  The above photo is the INCREDIBLY boring landscape for 5 hours between here and Trelew!

Ronda preparing delicious Sunday lunch

The evolution of a Patagonian sunset...the wind was gusting up to 130 kmph this day returning to Comodoro...the double-decker bus was shuddering and shaking!

The sea at Comodoro Rivadavia.  While waiting for some contacts to come home (they live right here), we whiled away 20 minutes by the sea...beautiful! Just on dusk.

Three vagabonds....street dogs wanting to play

The beach is made up of these stones. Unusual seaweed.

This is what is facing the sea...ugly!

Special Meetings Continued...

A few more pictures from when I was away at specials:

Special meetings lunch... no ham and cheese sammies here!  Herman and Gustavo grilling hamburger patties over the fire, for us all (about 50) to make hamburgers!

Lunch time at Buenos Aires special meetings

Nice to see good friends again!  Eric and Sandra Hazelrigg with Danielle (15) and Raquel (17), ex-USA, now living in Panama came to Argentina for three weeks.  I stayed in their home when I was visiting Central America for conventions two years ago.  And yes, I DID feel like a dwarf the whole time I was with them!

This was a great meal!  Got soaked in a downpour on the way back from the meetings, found a warm restaurant, with an all-you-can-eat meat and salad buffet! Here's the meat:

Out and about sight-seeing in Buenos Aires the following day.

At an historic cafe in the city, 'Cafe Tortoni', real atmosphere!

The girls and I outside the Casa Rosada, government house.  

Goodbye Buenos Aires, hello Suardi.  The day of the worker's meeting, we all had lunch at this home.  Sitting around singing some of the hymns that will be in our new hymnbook.

Three Aussies and a Kiwi: Wendy Cornthwaite, Beverley and Trevor Loechel.  Trevor works in Peru and was visiting for Specials.

I ended up getting bronchitis and didn't travel with the rest of the group down to Bahia Blanca.  Stayed the week in Suardi where I spent my birthday in bed (yeeha).  These three ladies gave me a little surprise party :-). Valeria Senn, Julieta Olivares and her mother-in-law Nidia Barrios.

The cake.... it is as sickly sweet as it looks!!  This is the typical South American birthday cake.  The white stuff is raw meringue....

Special Meetings Travels

Special meetings for us means five weeks out of our fields (we only have meetings on Sundays), with pre-planned visits during the week amongst the people who live in the place of special meetings.  We went to Esquel first (about 700 kms south of Neuquen, over by the mountains). Cold!! Just a little group living in that area. Benio and Rosa Sanchez, and their extended family, and Sara Mereles who was in the work but couldn't continue.  Benio and Rosa came from Chile in the early 80s and have a small hotel in Esquel, whose main industry is tourism.  People go to ski in the winter and for outdoor pursuits in summer.

The last time I was there was in 1996 with Rachel, nice to be back!

Our first port of call was to visit Benio's niece Eliana Riquelme, in the sleepy town of El Maiten ("el my-TEN").  She came from Chile to study nursing 8 years ago (public tertiary education is free in Argentina, even to foreigners. Costs an arm and a leg in Chile). She graduated and got a job in the hospital in El Maiten, a sleepy little town nestled in a valley in the Andean foothills.  She is the youngest of 6 and so far just she and her mum serve God.  She doesn't get to meetings every Sunday, but when she can she takes the bus to Esquel, stays Sat night, and goes to the mtg Sun. There is no regular bus service to Esquel from El Maiten (170 kms), but she's very excited as she's just bought a car.  Now wants to learn to drive it! Don't think it should be a problem... She joined the voluntary fire brigade and helped fight the big forest fires here recently, so driving should be a breeze. I was quite shocked to know it will take her 8 years to pay her car off!! It's not brand new either! 

Some photos:

Love this northwestern arch.  Los Andes in the background.

The pink bushes are musk rose.  They make rose-hip jam from the fruit.

Some of the scenery from bus window

Coming in to the city of Bariloche (just visible on the far shore).

Bariloche

The part of Bariloche that tourists don't see!

More stunning scenery from the bus window

Climbing through the mountains.  You can see the truck crawling up the road to the left.

This map shot shows the topography of El Maiten and Esquel

Was it good to get here after travelling all day!  With Eliana, eating a delicious roast beef meal.

Some photos I took while out walking the following morning.  (not too early, as it didn't get light till 9.20am! - no daylight saving).

Looking towards the town of El Maiten.

"La Trochita" (literally, "the Little Gauge")  is an old steam train that still operates as a tourist attraction.  It was a busy train operating between Esquel and a town further north, with the maintenance sheds in El Maiten.  Top is a monument to the railway workers who laid down the rail in Patagonia.  

Eliana's cute little rented cottage.

"La Trochita"

El Maiten

...And on to Esquel...

Rosa Sanchez in her kitchen.  They have a hostel, and close it down for the weekend, so there is room for all to stay who travel to the meetings.  Rosa Bravo is in the background, she travelled from our field.

Sara Mereles in her little tiny apartment!

Alex and Silvana Sanchez and little Micaela (soon to have a little brother/sister)

Jacky Montoya and I with Mica

Some scenes around Esquel

Rosa's sister Haidee has this cool Chilean-style log cabin in the country.  We all had lunch there one day.

Back yard

Inside

Valarie keeping the fire warm!

Last rays of sun...

Next morning...slight hoar frost.  Behind the fog is a spectacular view of the mountains!

Coffee and a catch-up downtown Esquel with John and Valarie Kells

Love these iced-over spider webs and leaves!

The day of the meetings.  Bottom the Kells with Sara Mereles and I

Rosa's father, Don Oscar - 98y years young!

Daniel Peiretti and I.  Last saw him in 1996!

Daniel lives in a city called Trelew, over on the coast.  I first met him in 1996 when I travelled through here with Rachel Bailey.  He was about 20 years old and had not long professed, having come in contact with the gospel while studying at university with one of our young friends, Valentina de la Fuente.  His father and mother were preachers in some charismatic church, but he was searching for what is true. He went to Valentina’s house one day and saw a Bible there, and began to ask questions.  He began to go to the meetings and made his choice to serve God.  However Valentina then went into the work, and he was pretty disappointed!  He lost out for a few years and the de la Fuente family left that city (leaving noone in Trelew who served God).  They always kept in touch with him however, and the day came when he wanted to come back.  He also brought his girlfriend Janina.  They got married and both made their choices to serve God.  Sadly however, things began to go wrong in the marriage, and Janina started making things difficult for Daniel.  She ended up leaving him and going her own way.  He kind of lost heart during that time, and just this year has renewed his vows.  It was neat to see him at special meetings for the first time since 1996.  Amazingly, he has never lost his vision or understanding of God’s way, and so nice to feel that he still has God’s Spirit.  

Impressive view of the city of Esquel

The group who left for Buenos Aires, at the airport.  Ramona Coria, Jacky Montoya, John and Valarie, Mary Barrientos (Uruguay)