Day 11: August 25, 2007 In Salta
Salta,
Argentina
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Day 11: August 25, 2007 In Salta
Because it was Saturday, we allowed ourselves to sleep in a little longer than usual. I wrote while Elena watched a soccer game when we did get up. Bernardo came in at about 11:00. He ordered a cab to take him to the airport at noon. He'll be going home to his family in La Plata for 10 days or so. Soon after he left, Elena and I took a cab into town to eat at the café at the corner of Alberdi and Caseros on the Plaza 9 de Julio. The day was overcast and cool.
I ordered a lomito con jamon y queso. Elena wasn't hungry so she just ordered a plate of papas fritas. My sandwich was good but her fries were soggy and laden with oil. She only ate a couple.
We went to the locutorio de internet next door and spent about an hour and a half doing internet things. We intended to get a couple of other things while in El Centro but I had forgotten that everything stays closed after siesta on Saturdays. We took a cab back to Grand Bourg and started to watch a movie but I fell asleep. I woke up to find Nestor, the XR Geomap computer guy, begging my pardon. He wanted to install wireless internet in the house apartment and needed to see my computer. I explained that because I'm a college professor, I can't afford to upgrade my computer too often and that my Mac iBook was built before the wireless age. He said he could rig a cable next week so that I could use the internet from the apartment later in the week. He was also going to set up an account for me on the XR network and enable me to use my external hard drive on the system.
Elena complained of a stomachache and headache. Aspirin took care of the headache but the stomachache persisted throughout the evening. I made a salad and heated up the leftover taco meat for dinner but she was not feeling up to eating anything. She was still not feeling well when she went to bed at 11:30. She sipped some tea before going to bed but didn't look very comfortable. She had no fever and couldn't throw up.
I had started writing a story called "Stuck in the Mud", in the evening. It is about our fieldwork in Peña Colorada, in 1991. It will be one of many chapters in a book, ten or so of which are already completed, that I hope to eventually publish about my fieldwork.
Jorge came in around 12:30 and announced that he was going back to Buenos Aires for a few days, leaving on Sunday's 8:00 AM flight. He came by to pick up his things so he could spend the night at the friend's house and be taken to the airport around 6:30.
After he left, I stayed up until nearly 1:00 to finish the first draft. Then, I took a shower and went to bed. I was happy to see that Elena was sound asleep.
