After my road trip to Junin de los Andes with Kevin, we returned to the lodge and had another lovely lunch under the pergola. We started with a lovely salad of fresh greens, cheese, some Parma ham and then a light drizzle of Balsamic vinegar.
Next course was a bit of beef, with carrots and potatoes.
Dessert was a delightful mint mousse with a topping of dark chocolate. Very refreshing. I should have switched my dessert with the guest next to me, as her dessert didn’t have a bumpy top!
We had some new guests join us, a couple from Washington State, and a beautiful blonde with great posture who was a travel advisor. The previous day we had a lovely couple arrive from Atlanta. It is always easier to remember new names of guests when they arrive only two at a time! I have learned to use my Notes function on my iPhone. I write the names of the guests down right away and where they are fun. Otherwise the names go flying right back out of my mind.
We relaxed the rest of the day until evening.
Steve had found that the fishing was best the last hour of the day. He is always trying to get me to go fishing with him. When everyone asks me if I fish, I say that “I never want to come between Steve and a fish!”. I don’t want that big fish to take my fly instead of Steve’s.
We found some waders and shoes in the correct size for me and I geared up!
Adrian could help with my casting, and then we would hit the may fly hatch just before dark. Sunset is quite late here, that’s why dinner isn’t until 9:30. Often guests miss out on the best fishing as their guides are in a hurry to come back in. Steve is always “One more cast!”
Here I am in the Chimehuin. Adrian is next to me, explaining the technique and where I should cast. He left me after awhile and went to where Steve was as Steve was catching fish. Adrian wanted to make sure that Steve had the European nymphing technique down pat also!
I did catch a little one, and also had a fish jump near me. I lost another fish just after I set the hook. Don’t I look happy? I think I really look like I know what I am doing!
Here are Steve and Adrian. The sun has still not set, there is lots of time left to fish.
Fishing slowed down, and my back was starting to hurt. My casting technique was for shit, I would jerk, and hurl my body causing an terrible twist to my body. I am sure it looked atrocious and Steve was probably biting his lip in laughter. I wisely decided to stop fishing until the may flies started to hatch. Adrian had brought a camp chair along, and I plopped down in it and watched Steve catch fish. I must admit that I read a little bit of one of my romance novels on my Kindle app on my phone, I am a multi task type of gal!
This picture was taken at 8:29, you can see how light out it is still! Steve has always wanted to fish under a full moon, I think that would be quite exciting!
The sun soon set, and after no action at one spot, we drove to where Adrain hoped the action would be. Steve had been pretty successful the night before, during the last hour before darkness and we hoped for a good yellow may fly hatch.
The water at this next section was pretty deep and hard to wade. I would hold on to Adrian’s arm when we moved and then released my hold, settled my stance and would begin to cast. The fish were on! I caught this beautiful medium size rainbow.
He sure was squiggly! I caught a much larger fish also, Adrain thought he was 16 inches, a nice size fish. Of all the fish that day, my 16 incher was the largest. Steve of course had the most fish for the evening.
Steve did catch some bigger fish during the week. We will have to wait for the total numbers for Steve’s fishing at Tipiliuke, in my wrap up posting for the trip. I think he caught over 75 in total! None that were trophy size, but he had a lot of action. The goal was for him to catch a fish in February and one in March, so we were halfway to the goal! All the meals at Tipiliuke were posted on the blackboard. Here is the menu for our final night.
The spinach with egg was piping hot, and delicious!
Next up was the homemade spaghetti.
Final course was the fruit crisp with vanilla ice cream.
Steve and I wished everyone a good night and it was off to bed. Unfortunately I forgot that it was our last night and I did not get a chance to say good bye to Mary Jo.
Kevin and Mary Jo split their coverage at the Estancia. Kevin is there all day long, eating lunch with the guests and guides. Mary Jo has the late afternoon and evening shift, eating dinner with the guests. They are never sick, and never tire of meeting the guests and being with them. They have run lodges for over 25 years, and been at Tipiluke for over 20! During the off season Kevin is a ski instructor at Chapelco in St. Martin de los Andes.
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