adventuring

This past weekend we had monday off and a few friends and I decided to take advantage of it. I had been feeling like I was indeed in a huge city, but not necessarily in South America,I was craving nature and adventure to say the least. We were trying to plan a last minute trip to Mendoza or some other far off place but it turned out to be too last minute and expensive, so we opted for an alternative (cheaper) escape from the city.

I was flipping through my guidebook of Argentina for close excursions from BsAs and stumbled upon the gaucho town of San Antonio de Areco (http://www.sanantoniodeareco.com/turismo/index.php). It was said to be the prettiest place in Las Pampas, which is basically a region full of plains which encompass buenos aires etc.. The plan was to visit an Estancia, which is basically a ranch, for a "dia del campo" and to then stay at a hostel.

Our bus left buenos aires bright and early Sunday morning at 7:30, and when I say bus I do not mean any bus i mean the omnibus, they are basically airplanes on land on account of how huge and comfortable they were, our return one was a double decker with semi camas, which are basically fully reclining lazy boys. I was looking forward to the familiar feeling of a road trip, where you are forced to just relax and enjoy the ride, like the days of the camper (RIP).

When we arrived in San Antonio we were sure we were mistaken. We got off at the bus "station" and followed directions to what looked like more nowhere to the center of "town". We were pleasantly surprised to find a nice plaza and town square- which reminded me alot of Paoli, Indiana's. Somehow we forgot to write down the address of the Hostel (oops) and wandered through town hoping to stumble upon some sign of life, however the only life to be found was dogs. It looked like a deserted town run by only dogs- no humans to be found. We eventually ran into a sweet old man who had no idea what hostel (this is when we began to worry a wee bit whether the hostel was an internet scam) we were talking about but just wanted to practice his English. Eventually he pointed us to the tourist center, where we found help and an address and were on our way!

We stopped at the hostel and were greeted by a boy our age who spoke with the most obscure accent I have ever heard. I'm sure all four of us (Ansley, Emma, Katherine and I) gave him the most scared blank stares in return to his rapid mumblings of Spanish. We eventually conveyed that we wanted to stay for the night but just wanted to drop off our stuff as we had a date with the gauchos and were on our way.

We caught a remise (step up from cab) to the estancia La Portenia (http://www.laporteniadeareco.com/). It was no cab, mind you, it was the friendliest man we had encountered so far who didn't hold back any information about the town- our own personal tourguide. We arrived at the estancia and were greeted by name by the woman of the estancia along with way too many empanadas, wine, cold cuts and cheese. We also ran into another group of extranjeros from the same program which was awesome and is funny considering there were plenty of other estancias and we were all trying to escape the city. Post welcoming meal (about 5 empanadas and a few glasses of wine later, its 11 AM) we were treated to a tour of the grounds. Which basically entailed the four of us being way too enthusiastic about anything and everything because we were so excited to just be out in fresh - non bum pee scented and car exhaust free- air. We hung around the back and took way too many ridiculous photos as we laughed and frolicked like joyous children. (I will upload the pictures later).

Post tour we got to go HORSEBACK RIDING!!! Yay, more nature stuff! We were lead by a gaucho and his huge horse. I'm pretty sure my horse and his horse were either in love or competitors because mine was all over his and liked to take the lead, causing me to be a wee bit nervous.

After the horseback ride we went and enjoyed our food comas and basked in the sun in a hammock- all four of us fit comfortably- it was impressive. I was almost asleep when the lunch bell rang and it was time for MORE food- an asada which is like a BBQ. We sat at a table in the sun with the other exchange students and enjoyed more wine, FREE WATER!, sides and salads of all kinds, and unlimited meat- delicious chicken, chorizo and some kind of steak/pork type thing. It was awesome but exhausting eating so much, my stomach was sore the next day and I'm positive it was because of so much food. We then snuck away on a horse drawn carriage ride around the property and when we got back it was time to dance and listen. The gauchos played some authentic songs and guitar and then proceeded to teach the group their traditional dances- i hung back due to extreme food coma.

Then it was time for MORE FOOD! Tea time! And I can't say no to any type of dessert so I stuffed myself yet again. Around 7 we requested a car back to town and headed for the hostel. We were greeted by a table full of 20-30 year olds who were enjoying Mate, the hierba tea type thing that is all the rage (and for good reason) here. They were so friendly and invited us to join and so we did. Three of the group were a band who was traveling for the weekend to play and for pleasure, and the other two their good friends, all from BsAs. We were planning on going out so we went and got some cervezas and continued relaxing and just hanging out in the hostel. The guys who ran the hostel then said they were building a bonfire, which was the happiest news I had heard in a long time, I was embarrassingly excited. So we spent the rest of the night by the campfire making friends and getting sleepy- it was silly to think that after that day full of traveling and eating and drinking wine we would even be able to make it out. The campfire put us to sleep and we were happy as clams.

We woke the next day and just hung out in the hostel for a while, playing crossword puzzles and continuing the banters with our new friends, until we decided we should go explore the city. We got lunch and then headed to the park on the river where our new friends band was playing. On the way back to the hostel we stopped and picked up some dried sausage and cheese from a little artisan shop and enjoyed it back at the hostel with a few more new friends and some horrible Argentine tv. It was an awesome afternoon full of nothing but time and whatever we wanted until we caught our returning bus to BsAs at 8:30.

This weekend was exactly what I needed, just a breath of fresh air. It was good and refreshing- and necessary- to get out of the city and to experience some true argentine campo charm. We will definitely be back to San Antonio de Areco.

SORRRRY!!

hi hi hi holaaa.
i know its been forever and i have heard many complaints since i know my life is so interesting and my blog is so popular..but i have been very busy with school and what not. and honestly not too much has been going on.. but i bet i would blog alot more if i felt people were actually reading it! so if you have anything to say, please comment and it will give me an incentive to write more! shpanx. anywho..the past few weeks have been a blur of boliches, exploring, no school motivation (surprise), fairs, food, wine and poverty (me being la pobrecita).

one thing i have noticed is a plethora of BABIES! of all types, dogs, cats and most importantly, humans, its driving me crazy i just want to go up and steal them all or just ask if i can babysit..but that would be creepy, right?

also, one other trend i cannot seem to understand is the Argentine Mullet. they are EVERYWHERE. let me break it down for you, its similar to the american traditional mullet, business in the front, party in the back, but if you are lucky the back is not only longer than the front but there is a significantly longer dread or two hanging down! so clean looking (sarcasm, can it be sensed via cyberspace?). if you are lucky ill snap some photos to put up here.

I have realized that I am a poor planner resulting in me being so poor here, its really getting annoying not having any means of income (ie. babysitting- for money purposes and to get my children fix, i swear i am NOT a pedophile people)..


This weekend we are going to San Antonia, which is el campo (country) in the Pampas and an hour or two away by train. It is GAUCHOLAND!!! (Argentine Cowboys), where we will ride horses, chill with some gauchos and who knows what else, I will keep you posted and keep the posts coming more frequently!

Ciao