Neuquen or Cipolletti

From Bariloche, on Monday, April 24, I continued by bus to Neuquen in 9 hours.

On the way, I saw a very funny mountain in the shape of a face, which I want to show you:

There is nothing special in Neuquen, I've been told. I chose it as a stopover because it was on the way to Buenos Aires and I didn't want to drive for 30 hours. However, I only stayed there for about half an hour because I found another Couchsurfing place nearby. At Gloria's, a 63-year-old woman who is very active on Couchsurfing and lives in Cipolletti. I got there on a regular small city bus and asked an older gentleman which one was the right one. He had to go in the same direction and could tell me when to get off. Until then, he obviously enjoyed having someone to talk to. I didn't understand most of it, but that didn't matter :D He couldn't handle the fact that I was traveling alone. He said he had never met a solo female traveler. Only couples. Luckily, I have already met incredibly many (great and impressive) solo female travelers and Neuquen is probably not the hub for travelers.

It was already dark when I got off and his description of the street I was looking for was a bit poor. Once again, I was grateful to be traveling today and not 10 years ago, because I could ask my best friend GoogleMaps for advice. Because it's not cool to get lost in the dark.

When I arrived at Gloria's, she immediately offered me food, prepared with vegetables from her own garden! Once again, it was really difficult for me to estimate how much I could just accept all of this. I always feel guilty, with the feeling that I should immediately give something in return so that no one feels exploited. But she didn't let me do the dishes either, so I just sat there. In my mind, it hasn't fully sunk in yet that my honest gratitude and simply my presence can also be a gift. My mom once told me this so beautifully when I was in Bariloche and was afraid that I wouldn't be able to give enough in return. And she was right again. That's exactly why many people are on Couchsurfing, because they are happy to have visitors from all over the world. And there are so many opportunities to give something. I still need to learn that. To enjoy the moment gratefully instead of thinking hard about whether I can accept it now. Because if I am feeling guilty and reserved while eating, I'm not doing anyone a favor and I even create the impression that I don't like the food. Besides, there is a different understanding of hospitality here, everything is shared more openly.

This is us at the river (story below)

Like my loved ones in Bariloche, Gloria doesn't speak English either. That's actually great for me, but she uses such complicated words. And when she realizes that I don't understand, she repeats the same words again. She can't imagine what it's like to learn a language.

Fortunately, during the 3 days of my visit, her son Javier was there. He usually lives in Bariloche and is incredibly kind and patient. He always understood when I didn't understand something and then translated it into simpler words, speaking slowly.

...Oh, how often have my parents or other adults accused me of speaking so fast. Every time I don't understand someone in Spanish (which is often), I firmly resolve to practice speaking slowly. Especially when I talk to someone who doesn't speak German very well again. I never thought that it could make such a huge difference. That theoretically I would understand all the words if I could hear them separately..

On the first morning, I accompanied them to a course on how to build an oven. There was also a young couple there, with whom I had a wonderful conversation. Once again, it shows that "understanding each other" in the truest sense of the word is not a question of language. With people where the chemistry is right, the amount of vocabulary doesn't matter. Most of the time, I stood with them in the sun because it was too cold in the room with the oven (and I wasn't really eager to build one soon). During the break, the homeowner served Mate tea, which was quite funny when there was a group of 12 people, hot water was poured in, one person drank, passed the cup back, water was poured in again, and it was given to the next person...

The oven was built according to the style of Gernot Minke. He is a German architect who specializes in ecological and low-cost construction and has provided a home for many poorer people in Latin American countries and other countries around the world. Very exciting if anyone wants to take a look: gernotminke.de

Gloria also has a little cottage and Javier is building one in Bariloche following Minke's style as well.

Here's an impression of the course, which is supposed to enable all participants to build an oven at a low cost. The course leader is a friend of Gloria's.

I had the couple who were also at the course on the second day send me a photo of the finished oven and the whole group. Gloria is on the far left and Javier is at the bottom right.

After the first day of the course, we went to Gloria's other house, which was really in the middle of nowhere. A 30-minute drive and no houses or anything in sight. Right next door is a second courtyard with a brewery. She grows her vegetables on her large property, has many fruit trees, wants to set up a camping area in the future, and is building her house according to Minke's style.

We had been to a car workshop beforehand to get old windshields from which the windows of the house were made. That's the funny thing about these houses, all the materials come from the immediate surroundings and are mostly recycled. I never thought that you could create something so beautiful from that

The glass bottles serve as additional 'windows' and bring beautiful light into the room, and the car tires, filled with earth, provide good insulation that is almost fireproof. And there are plenty of old car tires in the world.

Here is also a window that can be opened, made from an old washing machine door! I think that's pretty cool! When the house is finished, everything will of course be cleaned with clay.

There's already an outdoor oven:

And seating:

And the house from the other side:

Right next door is a beautiful river that Gloria showed me before we loaded the wood that Javier had cut onto the bed of the car.

Since Javier is as much of a chocoholic as I am, I made my chocolate cake for him again that evening. He was happy :) I was especially happy about the ginger tea he made to go with it because the cold that I had already caught in Bariloche had gotten worse after a day in the cold and my throat hurt.

Technically, it's much colder in Germany, at least the sun is usually shining here, but the difference is that the houses here are not insulated. Really not. When you turn off the heating, the warmth is immediately gone. And in rooms without an oven or heating, it's just cold. My body is not used to not getting proper warmth all day long. In Bariloche, dear Valeria let me take a bath on the last evening because I was so freezing. It felt incredibly good, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

After a night of coughing and sniffling, on Wednesday (April 26), I didn't accompany the two to the course again, but stayed in bed (or on the mattress) to get somewhat warm and rest a bit. Because my bus to Buenos Aires was leaving in the evening. Gloria had suggested on her own that I could stay if I wanted to and even brought me a cup of tea to bed. Very sweet!

In the afternoon, I felt a little better as I packed my backpack on shaky legs. My head was so foggy that I had to concentrate hard and Gloria was talking to me about something that I couldn't understand at all. I really didn't have the energy to ask again and she somehow didn't understand that I couldn't follow her and what condition I was in. So I was quite happy when I later sat/laid alone on the comfortably wide seat in the bus and had some peace and quiet. Gloria had kindly driven me to the bus terminal (oh, the traffic here is also so funny - the right of way here is more a question of who is faster :D) and it was a nice feeling to know that Karin would be waiting for me in Buenos Aires the next morning. There was plenty of food on the bus, but unfortunately, I couldn't resist wheat once again. But these cookies and other things are just too delicious, I was hungry, and if it's already free and in front of you...