Ned & Mary Argentina

  Missionary apartment inspections in San Juan, January 2026 This week, we drove to San Juan (normally 2.5 hours north of us) to inspect missionary apartments. On the way there, we drove through two large lakes of accumulated rain water. This is a picture of a truck we followed through one of the lakes. We were glad to be able to follow it because there was no way to see the road below the water. Trucks coming from the other direction doused us with a bunch of the dirty water which required me to wash the car after we returned to Mendoza.   These photos are from the restaurant in the San Juan hotel where we stayed. We eat early enough in the evening (7:00ish) that there aren't many Argentines in the restaurant yet. To the right, they are smoking pork to be served that evening. The food was excellent. This is a view out in the area behind the hotel. They have a well maintained swimming pool and lots of healthy, mowed grass.  Both of those are rare around here.

  Olive Oil (Not Popeye's Girlfriend) , January 27,2026 Another couple in our mission invited us to go with them to take a tour of the olive oil processing plant. A local family bought a winery in 2010 and converted it to produce olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They have a nice tour and a tasting room at the end. The tour began in this large room in the facility which contained several large tanks. I think most of them related to the time when the facility was used to produce wine. Our guide, who spoke pretty good English, is in the white shirt. The lady to his right is in Argentina from England on her honeymoon. The kegs to the right are used in the processing of some of the basalmic vinegar. It is placed in the keg with other ingredients and allowed to sit for some time. As I recall, one five-step process took a number of years. The man in the picture is the new husband of the woman shown above. These photos come from the area where the olive oil is squeezed out of the olives. A ...

  Welcoming New Missionaries January 7, 2026   One of our service opportunities is to provide breakfast for new missionaries shortly after they arrive in the mission. Many, if not most, have flown through the night, but they are friendly and cheerful. We are grateful to be able to meet them and welcome them to the mission.

  The Main Entrance to the San Martin Park in Mendoza Everywhere you go in Argentina and in neighboring countries, you come across many tributes to Jose de San Martin - nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru." He was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. The park in Mendoza named after him is huge and mostly beautiful.  We enjoy taking walks there. Here is a painting of him.