Two words for you: aguas calientes

From Saturday

We sled down a volcano today! That's not something I get to say every day. Or ever. The Volcán Casablanca is not active and we honestly didn't even know it was a volcano until our friends told us after leading us up the side. We saw no lava and heard no eruptions, but we did get to soak in the hot springs at the bottom, near the Chanleufú River which is fed water melted from the nearby

Andes Mountains.

We are so lucky to have made good friends here already who have helped us with everything from hooking up the internet to finding used snowpants. This week they said, "Hey, let's go to the hot springs!" and we said, "Okay!" This is something Claudia has done with her family since she was a teenager, having grown up in Valdivia. (She moved back here with her family after a ten-year stint where? Shakopee!) She told us to pack up sandwiches, coffee, water, swimsuits, snowpants,

hats, and gloves and be ready to go at 10am. We're very obedient so we did, and boy, are we glad.

The drive was probably three hours total, including inching up the mountain . . . I mean, volcano. Along the way, the countryside is just thrillingly serene, with cows and sheep grazing everywhere and vaqueros confidently moving them from place to place. No crops, I don't think, but it's winter.

We crossed over from the Region of the Rivers, where we live, to the Region of the Lakes immediately south. Gorgeous lakes seemed more aqua-colored than possible as the sun lit them up, creating a contrast with the bright blue sky.

And the mountains. Keep in mind that I'm from the plains of North Dakota, and while my folks took us on lots of great trips through almost every western US state, mountains are still pretty novel to me.

The Andes Mountains in particular.

I guess we didn't ask enough questions before

we left because we really didn't know where we were going or what, exactly, we were doing. But it became clear what the snowpants were for as the paved road ended and we started circling around this volcano. It had rained in Valdivia the night before, and apparently snowed on this volcano, so the trees were flogged as if for a Christmas card scene and families with smaller cars were stopped along the side of the narrow road putting chains on their tires. It was surprisingly packed with people once we reached the Antillanca ski area near the top (where apparently the Federación de Ski y Snowboard's South American Cup competition will be held tomorrow?). Our friend Andrés has a bum knee so we weren't prepared to ski, but we found a big hill where people were sliding down on

garbage bags and air mattresses, and we wholeheartedly joined in! I don't think I've laughed as freely and loudly in decades as we cruised down that hill, spinning forwards and backwards, playing bumpercars with anybody stalled on the slippery path.

We did get cold, though! So we plowed through the ham sandwiches and coffee we packed and then Claudia and Andrés led us back down the volcano to the hot springs at the base. It was kind of like a shallow outdoor swimming pool overlooking a gorgeous river with the mountains looming above. The kids had a blast, and if you know me you know warm water is my happy place. The other

spring-goers treated Geraldo and the kids with some curiosity -- probably the most staring they've gotten here, possibly due to the large amounts of skin on display. Little kids darted toward us and retreated, sometimes staring, sometimes wanting to try out their English. ("Yo!") One sweet little girl told us in Spanish about her friend who took a trip to the US last year, and then peppered us with "How do you say ___ in English?" questions. (My favorite: "How do you say 'flan' in English?")

And now, at the end of this glorious day, I feel alive and as lucky as a person can be. This is what we came here for. This is how we get to live our lives right now. No tv. No hectic schedule. Instead, adventures. Keep ´em coming!