Espejo Chico

As mentioned before, a good ride for me here in 'The Big Paradise' consumes a good portion of the day, not on the bike, but off it; exploring, photographing, and meditationg on the pure beauty of God's grandeur. Less than 100km of road mapped out for the day, and planning the better part of 6 hrs. for the cruise.... Winding up and down the gravely road, on and off the banks of the mighty Lago Traful stopping on occasion to quench not only a physical thirst with the crystal clear waters of Traful, but a spiritual one with the elaborate views, smells, and sounds in this part of Patagonia...

I pass by the last playa of the lake and down into what appears to be an arctic rainforest, (if there is such a thing), and lining the dirt road is a mix of pines (large and small), fern looking giants, and nameless color changing deciduous trees glowing with golden glamour in spots where the sun has burst through the canopy above. This type of forest always seems to give a feeling of enchantedness, thus provoking frequent stops to search for fairytale foxes or just to sit & listen to the sound of fantasy for a while....

Paradise re-encountered....Corrected, I should say a mini-Paradise, within a much greater Paradise, whilst waiting for the ultimate Paradise, encounterd .. Se llama Espejo Chico.... "Espejo" means "mirror" in spanish, and a very fitting name for the glass-faced body of water cleverly tucked back in amongst the bright yellow poplars the middle of this Eden. To my dismay (hah!), the place was vacant except for the owner and the land manager casually raking up leaves in the back yard of a cozy little cabin behind the country store.. After sharing a suitably seasonal relaxed conversation about (what else?) the beauty of such a place, I set off searching for a campsite through the maze of golden leaf covered trails, I could have putted around this part of the trail all day! Finally after much internal debate of which one was 'more perfecter' than the last, I landed on one, and so as to keep par for course, popped a bottle of tinto, strapped on the vest and waded out into the crystal clear freshness dawning a face siezed in jubilation...

...Within the first few casts in the sparkling stream flowing out of Espejo, I had a hit on my fly that I can only describe as being "the big one." After fighting the monster for what I'm sure was only a few moments but at the time had seemed like forever, my rod quickly recoiled nearly puching myself in the face, and I new I had lost him... So, as most tall (fish)tales end, "the big one" got away, leaving me with a hightened sense of determination to land a record trout someday. Frustrated, but not defeated I continued to wisp the weightless line through the crisp mountain air, occasionally presenting a perfect meal for anything hungry enough to munch on flies...I remained under the golden yellows and oranges of the trees lining the banks of the small river mesmorized by the aqua blue/green water, until the sun had found its resting place on the horizon accrossed the lake. Shortly after the suns light had faded, a silver sliver of moon appeared and quickly followed its opposite behind the horizon, the three Marias and southern cross shone like pin holes in a backlit canvas, and all was quiet. I set the rod aside for the morning to come, and nestled up in the tent for another night of splendid slumber here Paradise...... Abba, Padre, estar contigo es una dulce bendicion, gracias por Tu tierra impresionante y este pura vida para disfrutarla. Eres majestruoso, y poderoso, dar la cuenta a Ti, Senor por todo. En el nombre de el grande Jesus, Amen.