Writing in the mountains: back from our annual group retreat

This past week we had our annual group retreat, first time after the COVID pandemic. This year we planned a writing retreat, with several hours of writing every day, plus group discussions, hikes, board games, and shared meals.

For the retreat we stayed at Alejandra Medero’s house in Las Carditas (¡gracias Ale!), a mountain village 80 km from Mendoza city. Each day we wrote in the morning, each group member worked on their own paper, thesis chapter, grant proposal, or whatever they wanted to write. We set goals at the start of the retreat and reported regularly on our progress. In the afternoons we had a discussion on writing tips, a debate on how to go about addressing applied questions using what we have learned with our own research, a couple of hikes, and an excursion to a local brewery. During the evenings we played board games while sharing a bottle of wine or two. All in all, a productive week, a nice break from the daily routine, and a great way to stimulate group cohesion.