On October 1st I moved to my loft apartment in Palermo, about 12 blocks from Luna Llena. I called a taxista from a card Iris left me when she returned to England. The card says hablo english, spanish, portugese, and italian! I had so many bags . . . where did all this stuff come from? Oh, yes-the shoes! The beautiful tango shoes! So gathering book bags, tango shoes, suitcases and food stash from the kitchen, and with assistance from the Germans and Russians at Luna Llena, we get it all into the taxi and I head off to the tango loft. I am sad to leave Luna Llena, my friends, the folks who work there-Juan Carlos and the two ladies, all have been so helpful and so very kind. I take solace in remembering I will return Nov 1 to 4 before I depoart the country. I am greeted at the new apartment by Jorge, an elderly gentleman and former owner of a bookstore who lives on the second floor. I am on the fourth, apt. D. Jorge calls on me soon after I settler in and tells me his apt is similar but filled with stock from his store. Jorge is maybe pushing 80 and very sweet with a flirty twinkle in his eye. Next day Chino comes to collect me and we head out in a taxi for the bus station- Retiro. Chino is coming to make sure I am okay. He is completely lovely-age 27, long dark lashes, dances like a dream! He usually wears his long, curly hair tied up in a knot on his head and tucked under his helment to ride his motorcycle around BsAs. Chino helps me with dance and my spanish–he’s great. Lately we have been praying, my church and I, for the brother of Chino’s lifelong friend. This is Ricardo, age 32, who has an inoperable tumor in his head and will most likely not live for very long. Chino and I find a ticket for Santa Fe and settle to wait the 30 min for the bus. We visit and he fixes my phone which had decided not to send texts. I board at 3:15 after hugging and kissing, and he stays to wave me off. I have already adopted Chino, a lovely addition to our family. I expect we’ll be enjoying this friendship for years to come. Despues, nearly six hours pass on a very comfy bus, and I arrive in Santa Fe, greeted by Lili, Hugo and Nico. Luci is at a friends. We go for a late supper-it’s 10pm-of the most amazing pizza and a local drink similar to beer. Then home to crash–Nico is bunking with Luci so I am in his bed. On Sunday we take our leisure and visit family. On Monday after the children are off to school, Lili and I go on errands and then have a girl’s day out. We buy perfume-Dune-which I have looked for for several years since the bottle Samara gave me was finally emptied. What a delight to find it again. Then we have a coffee and later a lengthy lunch with wine! We chat and chat the hours away, sharing our lives and our philosophy. As we have moved thru the town, in and out of shops and encountering Lili’s relatives and friends, the streams of our words and thoughts wrap around us, binding our lives with invisible chords of love and deep appreciation. We empty the bottle of Argentine Malbec, two very traditional women from two distant cultures, we celebrate our freedom to have this deliciously radical departure from normalcy. Es muy rico!