Announcement

(Retired Life of daily Walks!)

I have an announcement to make… and it’s one that I’ve been either avoiding by saying I’m too busy, or one I wasn’t ready to make. I guess since it has been since August, it is now time to really fess up. We decided to close Restaurante Colorado and pursue other opportunities. Now, for those that we have had the pleasure to serve, it has truly been wonderful. My absolute favorite part about the restaurant and one I still miss was meeting everyone and sharing with you all our wonderful experiences of life in Cafayate and fun things to do. Now, I’ll just have to do better online! Plus, I hate to brag, but we made some amazing food and people looking for some fresh veggies and something different were very happy, maybe I see catering in our future? who knows!

So, many rumors are circling town as to why we closed and what we are doing. We closed for many reasons but mainly we wanted our nights back to spend time with our daughter. For those of you out there that have been in the restaurant business I do not need to say anything else. For those of you who are not in the restaurant business, please feel free to ask me before you open a restaurant about time management!

What are we doing now? We are enjoying more time with our now 6 month old daughter. We have launched another web site and new business (www.cafayatevacationrental.com) along with www.cafayate.com. We are helping people like us move here and start their life of adventure in Argentina by sharing our hard earned experience on how to open and manage a business in Argentina, helping folks move to Cafayate and start their own adventure with housing, building, shopping, transportation, all those things you need to start a new life!

So, for now, we close one chapter in our life and begin another. We hope we can continue to share our adventure with everyone online and maybe now I can get Charlie to write a blog or two. We have truly enjoyed the past two years in Cafayate and we look forward to many more sunny days in wine country.

Happy travels,

April, Charlie and Willow

Retail Explosion in Cafayate!

I’m happy to say, there have been several recent additions in Cafayate that I’m very excited about! In the last couple of months there have been 3 brand new excellent retail locations with high quality crafts and products, and a few new restaurants. Take a look at the below information so you make sure and make it to these fantastic spots when you visit.

1. This place has the most character in all of Cafayate! The young owners (a nice couple with a young daughter) that live in San Carlos (nearby town) opened their doors in April 2010. This store shows the culture and imagination that I find expressed by the locals on a daily basis. The layout of the store is worth a visit, even if you don’t buy – when you step in, you feel like you have joined in the dreams and life of the figurines and dreamweavers that are sold. Congratulations for excellent presentation and fun atmosphere – and talk about a great gift at a great price and very easy to pack in your bags before you leave! Make sure you come at night, usually they are not open in the morning! It’s located on Guemes – just a few doors south of the plaza next to the Gran Real hotel. Don’t miss it!

2. My favorite retail store to visit on a weekly basis (they always have new things), and take all my guests (my Mom has dropped a pretty penny on their great quality products for gifts for all the family back in the States). Even when I went in and didn’t find exactly what I wanted ( I was looking for a nice leather computer bag), the owner ordered one for me and it was perfect! It’s open normal times, 10am to 1 and then in the afternoon after 7 until 9pm. It’s located on Guemes two blocks north of the plaza across the street from hotel Assembal. Make sure and check it out!

3. A brand new store that recently opened with high quality jackets and clothing is my next favorite retail location. Clothing and jackets that are unique and really nice quality are sold here and the woman is very helpful, and willing to order you something special if you just can’t find exactly the color or style you are looking for. This store is located on Guemes, a few more doors south of the Plaza, across from the Hotel Asturias.

I hope everyone enjoys the new retails locations in Cafayate as much as I have – they have already gotten me and my families business!

Welcome Willow!

We have exciting news. We welcomed Willow Maria Rutledge in to this world on May 11, 2010 at 5:15 a.m. She was born 3 kilos 150 grams healthy and happy. It's been 3 weeks since her birth and I won't say we are now accustomed to our new addition, but we are getting better at not sleeping and re-forming our lives around Willow's schedule of eating and sleeping. Mostly eating! Many people have asked over the last months when coming in to the restaurant and seeing me pregnant, how is health care here. I'll have to say, first hand experience, I'm pretty impressed overall. We had excellent health care coverage, no co-pays and 100% coverage. Also, we had great experience with our doctors. I was fairly nervous, this being our first child and having a large communication barrier, but everything went just fine. My doctor even provided a Reiki specialist (something I would pay $1,000 US for now that I know!) to help me through my 14 hours of contractions (every 2-3 minutes). We did decide to have the baby at a hospital in Salta so we rented a place in Salta about 2 weeks before Willow was due and my Mom and I stayed there while Charlie and my Dad traveled back and forth from Cafayate opening the restaurant. The hospital in Cafayate is new and I've been there several times and had pleasant experiences there. But, like any small town in the States, the majority of the doctors live in the big cities, so we found one in Salta we preferred and our insurance covered a private more comfortable room in a private hospital. The doctors and hospital staff were wonderful and helpful. We stayed an extra night so they could watch over Willow and I. There was a bed for Charlie after his 24 hour labor assistance, a big screen TV for Grandpa and of course, grandbaby Willow was enough for Granny! Needless to say, my doctor, the Reiki specialist Mary, and the anathisiologist all made my delivery and recovery a wonderful experience and we couldn't be happier with outcome, our beautiful, bald (they thought Willow was breech because she barely had hair on her head unlike all the other babies here, gave the hospital staff a great laugh!), precious baby girl - don't you all think she's the cutest thing you've ever seen (I'm her Mom, I have to say that!).

Serenata 2010

The Serenata is a folk festival started in 1974 by a Arnoldo Etchart in honor of the Cafayate people and the most talented of artists that this area is famous for. Each year thousands of people culminate for this festival full of folk music and dancing, tradition, and harmony. My favorite part is when painters from Cafayate and the surrounding area paint the walls of the Serenata with different murals and sayings. This of course is just a small part of the Serenata, so if you are ever in the mood to exprience a spring break atmosphere with folk music and tradition, the Cafayate Serenata is a great combination!

Sun Dogs

I was at La Estancia de Cafayate at the Heath Club House and looked up and saw this amazing phenomenon, a sun dog. Luckily, my friend Cecilia had her camera with her. Now I had no idea what this was and why this would happen until Charlie told me, oh yeah -it's a sun dog. Now... sounds like a made up name to me but according to wikipedia, sun dog or parhelion which means "beside the sun"; also called a mock sun) is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.[1] (formed by ice crystals). What is not in the picture is the second ring nearest the sun that completely circled the sun. As I called everyone I knew to look up at the sun, many, including our employees, thought this might be a sign for the end of the world. I just thought it was one of those rare moments we at times get to experience in Cafayate. Hope you enjoy as much as we did - amazing!

Great Christmas Celebration

This Christmas Eve we decided to celebrate with friends and some great tourists visiting Cafayate. Cafayate has very limited options during the holidays for places to eat out. Most families and businesses close up and spend it with family. That leaves us and the tourist left with very few options. This year we changed format a bit and decided to put on a big family style, reservation only feast of some of our U.S. home favorites (these always turn out interesting as finding the ingredients or close substitutes is very challenging) plus a sampling of great local meats and veggies and Chef Charlie’s specialties (always a treat - my favorite was the pumpkin/squash soup with a rich nutmeg flavor). Charlie and I cooked all day and everyone arrived around 9:30. We began our champagne toast and big table family style dinner with wine, drinks, and lots and lots of food, plus some great company. We were sold out with visitors from Belgium, several from the U.S., Germany, and Canada. All in all, everyone had a great time. Our staff decided to help us out for a couple of hours even though we gave them the night off - (lucky for us, we could have never done it with out them). Anyway, by the end of the night, I was exhausted and happy as we had made a few tourist traveling alone on a holiday, feel as if they were part of our extended Cafayate family. So to all of you who shared the evening with us, it truly was a pleasure! It was so successful, we hope to somewhat duplicate it for New Year’s Eve! If you are in town, stop on by to make a reservation and bring in the New Year with us! Felices Fiestas!

Vacation

Charlie and I took a much needed break from Restaurant life as we have now been open for one year. We decided to visit friends in Mendoza, Santiago, Chile, drifted down to our land in Southern Chile (Puyehue), and then headed to Bariloche, Argentina for a few days of visiting with great friends and relaxation before heading back home. As always, we drove. Now, round trip that is almost 6,000 kilometers, all in all a long way for only 10 days. Although, tired when we got home, we enjoyed our trip immensely.

We have passed through Mendoza but have never spent time there. This time, we stayed two nights and went to some great restaurants, swam in the hotel, and tasted some great wine. If anyone heads to Mendoza before or after Cafayate, I highly recommend dining at Azafrán (Av. Sarmiento 765 - Mendoza - a few blocks off of the main plaza). The popular and relatively small restaurant was completely booked the first night so we headed back the next day for lunch. Lunch was much more peaceful. After reading the menu, we thought it had some interesting items but nothing completley out of the ordinary (when we travel we always seek something out of the ordinary). I ordered a stuffed chicken and Charlie ordered ceviche and a cesar salad. To our complete delight, it was one of the best meals and pretty extrodinary! This was the first time in a long time (even with our recent trip back to Aspen) where we truly felt that the chef was an artist. Also, if you would like to experience a great wine tasting, go to Vines of Mendoza (www.vinesofmendoza.com).

Traveling to Chile is always a delight, the photo is one of the passes between Argentina and Chile in the high desert with the most pristine looking lake. Chile has one highway from top to bottom so if you really want to get somewhere, hop on Ruta 5 and put it on cruise control. Gas stations every 100k with restaurants attached. The only downside, toll booths, but a small price to pay for easy travel.

Crossing back in to Argentina is another story. I'm not sure how planning was done when building the roads in Argentina. It seems there is never a direct route and there are no signs, well except after you have turned! After hitting dirt roads, getting lost in towns since the road you were traveling on suddenly ends and picks up in some unknown location on another side of town, and enjoying the various police checks on the way, we were wanting to head back to Chile. Although, when it is all said and done, Argentina is a large country with so many landscapes! How else would we see what really is going on then by diving in and driving cross country through the smallest towns and obscure roads. If you have time to enjoy, nothing can be better than meandering through Argentina.