Week 26: Retiro de Voluntarios en Sierra de la Ventana

The trail head right across from our camp site

Sierra de la Ventana (Window Mountain) Can you see the window?

For our second YAGM volunteer retreat of the year we got to go camping for five days in a National Park about 9 hours south of Buenos Aires.  We all had a great time sleeping in tents, cooking our own food, roasting smores (Kate and David brought marshmallows especially for us from their time in the US), hiking, and recharging.  

The swimming area

The first full day we headed over to a dammed river that was built for a place to swim and enjoy the river.  We spent the day enjoying the sunshine and talking.

As part of our retreat we wanted to go on a 5-6 hour hike to the top of Cerro Ventana and actually get up close to the ventana.  This national park was very cautious about letting hikers go on the trails because they said when it is a cloudy and/or rainy day the trails are dangerous and it is easy to loose your way.  That trail ended up being closed all the days we were there so I was a little bummed that we could not climb to the highest point in the Buenos Aires province.  BUT despite the cloudy days we got to hike the two other trails in the area and we had a blast (and still got to climb part of the mountain).  

The first hike was really cool.  We were basically climbing up rocks the whole way until we got to a waterfall area.  The waterfall was barely falling but it was still gorgeous!

Me at the top of the first trail

Everyone taking a little break at the top of the hike :)

The next trail took us up part of the mountain and then lead us down again to a low valley with little pools.  We all had a great time talking, spending time together, and getting some exercise in the fresh air!! 

(L to R) Matt (Kate and David's son), Krystal, me, and Erin on the top point of the second hike

Me hanging out near the end of the trail with Cerro Ventana behind me

View from the top of the second trail

On our last day we headed on an excursion with a guide to two caves deep inside the national park.  It was a enjoyable time spent alone with nature.  We were the only people out there (that I saw) and we had a great guide (kinda cute too) who knew a ton about the plants, animals, and land around us.  He told us lots about some of the plants and helped us find animals; like native frogs that we probably would have missed.  

Some wildlife: 

View from the top after visiting the first cave.

Cave paintings dated around 400 AD that we visited in the second little cave...no one is really sure what the paintings mean.  They only know that they were painted by a nomadic people probably passing through the cave on a hunting trip.

View on the way back to the ranger station.  Overall the retreat was a big success!!  It was great to see everyone and catch up plus I got my nature fill!!