And Then There Were Four
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2004
1
103
165
Trip End
Ongoing
San Ignacio,
Argentina
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Although eager to be reunited with our van - which was hopefully still safely stored about a thousand km north in Posadas - we took the opportunity to share some of our favourite Buenos Aires haunts with Nick and Fran
01 Nick appears to be enjoying Buenos Aires!
. Comfortably settled right downtown in funky and friendly 'Hostal Ostinatto', three full days of exploring on foot allowed us to:- take in a performance by a massed North American Children's Choir in the spectacular setting of the Teatro Colón, with the added bonus of meeting our nephew Colin Redekop - accompanist for the Mennonite Children's Choir from Winnipeg;
- spend several hours meandering along the endless avenues of Recoleta Cemetery, admiring the enormous and ostentatiously decorated mausoleums. This is the final resting place for the elite of Argentine society, and includes, rather reluctantly, the remains of Evita Peron;
- indulge our senses through frequenting numerous local restaurants and cafés - ahhhh, there's nothing quite like café con leche washing down those mouth-watering Argentinean pastries, not to mention the delectable flavours of Argentinean beef accompanied by a bottle or two of good Malbec red wine;
- appreciate the incredible acoustics of the Metropolitan Cathedral resonating from a moving performance of Rutter's Requiem; and
- stroll through the famous Sunday San Telmo market, where Nick graciously passed up an opportunity to dance the Tango with one of Buenos Aires beauties
02 Stairwell of our funky hostal
.In our entire time on our trip in Latin America so far, we have been lucky to avoid being "creamed", but Nick and Fran unfortunately fell prey to this professional scam within twenty four hours of arriving in Buenos Aires. We were off trying to book bus tickets to Posadas and had arranged to meet them at Teatro Colón a couple of hours later. Apparently a small bucket of white paint/glue-like substance was dumped over them from a scaffolding high above. As they were attempting to clean themselves off, an extremely friendly woman came to their assistance, leading them into a small alcove containing a convenient water source. Nick caught on quickly when he found a hand frisking his pocket, and he managed to knock his own wallet out of the perpetrators hand. Fortunately, only a small amount of cash was lost and they were left with a great story to tell their kids and friends.
Finally it was time to take the overnight bus to Posadas. Truly a rather luxurious experience for a bus trip, this twelve-hour jaunt provided seats that reclined into an almost totally flat bed position, complete with pillows and blankets. Additionally, several rounds of drinks, full dinner and breakfast were served en route - and all this for only approximately Cdn $50 per person.
03 Performance in the Teatro Colón
Stepping off the bus in Posadas was quite a shock. Expecting only slightly warmer temperatures than the average 15C in Buenos Aires, even the heat of the early morning was a warning of the 30C + that the afternoon would bring. People everywhere were quick to point out that winter seems to have totally bypassed them this yearWe could barely contain our excitement at getting to see DC3 again. She was waiting for us safe and sound, but looking rather desolate and desperately in need of a thorough wash. As usual she started up at the first turn of the key, but there was rather an alarming clatter from the engine top end - it seemed that one of the valve lifters was sticking. After a consultation with a local garage we decided to change the oil and then run it around town to see if it would ease up. Sure enough, after the motor got up to operating temperature it settled down to its normal steady throaty rumble.
After a lengthy visit at the local car wash, and replete with gas and groceries, DC3 never missed a beat as the four of us made our way northeast to the Jesuit Ruins at Santa Ana and San Ignacio. The ruins were as impressive as on our first visit to similar sites across the river in Paraguay back in January, but these missions were even more extensive and supported Guaraní communities of more than 6,000 by the time the Jesuits were expelled in 1768. Nearby we found a hospedaje with a small room for Nick and Fran, and space for us to spend our first night back in our van. We set up camp complete with picnic table, lawn chairs and awning and the four of us set about preparing a delicious meal of grilled steak and vegetables on our propane barbeque. A huge rain storm during the night made for a somewhat damp breakfast and messy time cleaning up, but hey....so far so good! The van definitely won't sleep four, but providing we all make a few concessions, travelling comfortably together during the daytime should be no problem at all. Next stop - the world renowned Iguazú Falls.
