Mother H

We awoke early in Cordoba, grabbed the free hostel breakfast and jetted to Capilla del Monte via minibus. Capilla del Monte is a small town in the Central Sierra mountains of Argentina. It is known as a mystical place place that attracts extra-terrestrial visitors, is the home of a subterranean world of Elves, and is the center for some neo-hippie followings.
We strolled around town looking for a place to stay and everyone we spoke to seemed a bit odd. Perhaps below their everyday veneer lurked a great understanding of mystic energy and universal consciousness that was only manifested in this region - or maybe they´d just been alone in the mountains too long. We found a cheap, bare concrete room with a space heater and two beds then we made our way back out.
We hiked to a small gorge on private property and gazed at the landscape. We then understood why this place was thought to contain elves and other fairy tale creatures. The land was other-worldy with numerous tiny caves, crevasses, and natural rock sculptures set in craggy creek beds.
Zach almost stepped on a snake. I believe Zach would be a good guest writer for a "dangers and annoyances" section of a travel book.
We found our way out and strolled around for quite awhile longer then returned to the hostal after dinner and tried to get the space heater to light. Frank and I nearly lost our eyebrows. I tried to go around front and ask the landlady but the front door never opened. Everytime I rang all I heard was a single phrase uttered (in spanish of course) that I could not comprehend. Finally, I rang the bell and the adjacent windows flew open to reveal the naked, corpulent body of the 50+ year-old landlady.
"I am taking a shower"
"OH MY, yes, yes"
"15 minutes - OK?"
"Of course - of course"
The heater worked fine after her help.