San Martin de los Andes

The beautiful lake calls for water sports 

We went to San Martin de los Andes to spend the New Year’s Eve. Juane’s family invited us to their traditional family gathering to welcome the new year. San Martin is a beautiful little town bordering a magnificent lake and green mountains.  

We packed three cars and got their after driving for 5hrs. I must say it was a rather easy trip for me as I slept most of the way. I was “out-slept” only by Pedrito, Cecilia’s 45 day old baby boy! When we got there and unloaded the cars it became pretty obvious what we were going to do during the four days: eat and drink!

Roxana and Marcelo by the pool

Two fridges were soon filled with kilos of beef, pork, sausage, a lamb, beers, wines and all kinds of beverages. We admired the view from our chalets and some of us hit the swimming pool immediately. Sadly it was covered because this region also has been badly hit by the volcanic ashes from the Chilean volcano.

During the course of the following 4 we had a great time sitting around the table while Juane’s dad would grill us some meat while his boys would prepare the “entrée” of cheese, smoked ham and beer. Juane’s dad takes his BBQ very seriously and he makes an amazing asado. This meat was juicy and delicious.

It's difficult to put into words how good the meat is here!

Around the table enjoying the aperitivo

Beautiful clear water

We also went to a couple of extraordinary places by the lake side where we swam and chatted. We sat down on the beach and shared maté and cakes. The atmosphere was excellent and I could really relate to this as it was just like in Mauritius at this time of the year. Surrounded by family and simple pleasures.

The two little girls who were the nieces of Juane, Valentina and Lucy, were so cute too. They were really  having a ball with the grown ups and it was fun listening to them converse.

Diving in!

Home made pizza - Pablo on the left and Marcos on the right 

New Year’s eve was spent at home. Marcos, Juane’s brother in law who’s taken a liking to cooking bread and pizzas had us buy all the ingredients at the supermarket. He slaved around the kitchen all day long making the pizza paste. In the evening he expertly prepared the different ingredients and with the help of Pablo started baking these delicious home made pizzas.

When midnight arrived we simply raised our glasses and toasted to the new year. It was a very nice feeling of family that prevailed as we all embraced each other. We were indeed very fortunate to be spending this special moment with such loving people.

The town put on a great fireworks show

At around 1.30am some of us hopped into the cars to go to the lake side to watch the great fireworks show. It looked like the whole town had gathered to watch this spectacle. The show started soon afterwards and we all, big and small, marveled at the beauty of these fireworks. 

Pedrito is happy! 

The girls are enjoying themselves

Juan El Asador "Juan the Griller"

The following day was the first day of 2012. Juane’s dad was on deck as he was preparing the 10kg lamb. The back, ribs and filet were on the BBQ. We sat down in the little dependency as he explained how best to prepare the lamb. When it was time to eat I was taken aback by how good it was. Later that day Gonzalo and Santiago, two brothers of Cecilia also came to pay us a visit and they stayed for dinner.

The Cordero Patagonico was exquisite

When it came time to leave we were sad and did not really know what to say. We had spent a wonderful time in the company of all these people and now it was time to hit the road again. Destination Buenos Aires.

More pictures of San Martin De Los Andes

Mensaje a todos en Cipolletti :

Hola amigos de Cipolletti! Queriamos decirles muchas gracias a todos por su hospitalidad y su amabilidad. Fue un gran placer conocerles a todos y pasar las fiestas con vosotros. Nos sentimos como en casa, parteneciendo a la familia. 

Un abrazo grande, Roxana y Kevin