Ok, it was actually more than a week ago, and as you can see I have not had a chance to write anything until now... why? Because I am in Argentina of course! Family, friends, lots to do and hardly enough time to sleep! We are pulled from one to the next and have not had such a good time in all our lives!
So, to begin - we arrived in Buenos Aires in the afternoon, Monday the 9th. I had better write quickly becasue - well, you understand! I was a bit surprised because the area where we are staying is older and a bit dirtier than I was expecting, and it took Roberto (who grew up there) and I and our older son a couple of days to get used to it - culture shock I guess you could say - but not with the culture, just the environment. Closer to the city, there are beautiful shops and nice plazas and parks, and there are so many big beatiful buildings from the last century, and also from now, but you can see how in the streets, it is hard for many people. Acity of big contrasts I could say.
We spent a couple of nice days there with Roberto's immediate family - one place we went to besides the city itself was Temaike'n, something like Currumbin Wildlife Sancutary, but, may I say - better! Very green and with lots of very healthy looking animals and birds and beautiful kiosks and cafeterias - and the best ice cream i have ever had - at least 9 different types of chocolate only, not to mention all the others.
Then I flew south to Tierra Del Fuego and stayed with an old friend from Rio Grande and her family. A flat and cold and windy place (and they said that it wasn't windy)- we drove from there to Tolhuin where I had my first taste of the pastries (facturas) of Argentina - to be recommended. There is a beuatiful lake there - i didn't freeze on the walk there (20 mins) but it was touch and go for a while!
Then we drove via bautiful mountains to Ushuaia - tall and shaley and sharp with low trees ("Niere") on the lower slopes - whose leaves were orange and yellow, and a taller tree ("Lenga") that from a distance looked like a pine, but whose leaves had also started to change colour - that was the sum of the trees there, with giant dandelions and other daisy types and clover in some protected places.
We atayed in small wooden cabins at both places - well built and with lovely carved wooden furniture, though the houses in Rio Grande and Ushiaia are mostly wooden and small - they get earthquakes there. So it was great to see my friend and meet her husband and kids after not seeing her for mors than twenty years.
At Ushaia I met my neice - she has two children - one was in BA with her grandma and us, but she and the baby stayed in Ushaia becasue he is still very small - only four months. I got to spend around 3-4 hours with them - he is bautiful of course and I got to feed him and play with him, and also catch up with his Mum and Dad, the beautiful Nadia and handsome Ernesto. He was so cute (the baby!) - and when he smiled and laughed, he reminded me of Chris when he was a baby.
I flew back to BA in a plane full of musicians who come to Ushuaia every year in Autumn play a concert for fifteen days there. By now, I was pretty happy speaking Spanish and so had a great time with them as well, talking about the similarities and differences between Australia and Argentina.
The next afternoon we caught a bus to Tucuman - about a 12 hour journey, but the seats were wide and soft and new and could lay back so you could be very comfortable, with something to put your feet on too, so, though the kids didn't want to sleep till late, we all had a good sleep. By now we were all pretty well adjusted to the late nights - kids as well - so it was all ok.
Ok, so on the way the fan belt DID break, but it was only two hours later, and we were on our way again. Roberto said, "Welcome to South America".
Next story - Tafi Viejo near Tucuman, Argentina.
Bye for now, love and luchos abrazos,
Kerrie
