You ever go to those places where there really is nothing uber special about it, but you still end up having the time of your life? Ya my weekend adventure to Mar del Tuyu was exactly that. It was one of those places where I would tell a local(someone from Argentina) that I was going there and they would either ask a)Why would I go there? or b)Is that in Argentina?
So why did I go to Mar del Tuyu? Well remember the amazing host family I am staying with?(yes the one that I found on Craigslist, thanks Craig!) Well they just so happend to have a beach house, and did what cool host families do best and invited my roomates and I to come!
So off we went, half of us in the car and the other half on the bus. We really did not do too much, one because of the on again-off again rain, but also because we were too busy eating. Let me break it down for you. Everyday for lunch and/or dinner we would have an amazing home cooked meal. The main courses in order from meals was a 12kg corvina fish, meat and chicken empanadas, steak and choripan, and homemade pasta from scratch. Not to mention all of the side dishes like salad, potatoes and of course wine. The food was spectacular but that was not the best part about it. The best part for me was the people. Each meal there was anywhere from 20-30 people eating and the meals would last for hours on end. Most of the people were older, about the age of my host parents, but they were some of the nicest people you would ever meet. One lady name Stella cooked the best food I have ever tasted, but the coolest thing about her is her dance moves. She is married to this big guy named Rodolfo who just sits down and cracks jokes all day. While it is hard to understand jokes in spanish I did understand when he called me a smurf. So I fired a few word jabs back, and thus began the relentless bantering of the weekend. This was the excitement of Mar del Tuyu, nothing done but everything beautiful.
I also had the opportunity to connect more with my host family and roomates. We see each other all of the time but on a vacation you find new things out about people. For instance, I learned my host mother Alicia is true to her Argentine roots and thinks of rules more as "guidelines". But if you talk to her she will complain about Argentinos never following the rules but if she rolls up to a sign that says no tresspassing she will get out of her car and move it.
Since it was raining it gave me a good amount of time to journal and to think on my trip so far. Just thinking back on everything I am just feeling really blessed. God has been so good, and everything has been provided for. My great host family, great friends, amazing food, and many adventures. My spanish has come a long way and so has my understanding of the Argentine Culture. If you are reading this and have been wanting to travel I say do it. It is a great life experience and I promise you will not regret it.
As of today I am about half-way done with my trip. The next phase will be me traveling down south to Patagonia to a 5 day hike on a trail called the "W". After that I plan to head up north through Salta and into Bolivia where I will continue traveling and will wind up in a place called Cochabamba where I will be volunteering with a hospital for two weeks. The final phase will be me taking a bus up to Peru to hike Machu Pichu with my good buddy Zack, where I will be finishing my trip. Final day in South America=January 15?? So the countdown is 3 weeks and counting for me in Buenos Aires, after that, bring on the road...
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