SUNDAY 03/07/10
Well, I was supposed to meet another Couchsurfing group for a symphonic orchestra concert at the Planetarium (in the Bosques de Palermo) at 10:15…but despite setting my alarm, I failed to turn it on, and I woke up at 10:20…whoops! I did get out of the house in time to make some of the concert, though. But upon arriving at the Planetarium, I didn’t hear any such music. (I found out later that the concert was cancelled for some race that was occurring in the park.) So, I followed the sound of some salsa music across the way in the park…there was a huge group of people out on Sunday at noon taking a salsa lesson!
I continued around the Bosque and down Avenida Alcorta to meet up with Natalia, a friend of a friend who I had been trying to get together with since I arrived. We went out for lunch near her house in Recoleta – she was such a sweet person and we got along very well right away! We walked around Parque Las Heras where people were strewn about the lawn sunbathing (along with a used condom that I spotted as we were walking…nothing uncommon in a culture where people don’t move out of their parents’ house until their late 20’s).
I then had plans with Nacho, another friend of a friend with whom I had been trying to coordinate for the last month. He and his friend, Juan Pablo, picked me up as Nati and I were eating some helado. We were heading to El Tigre, a town 30 minutes north of Buenos Aires – most well-known because it’s a delta region…but that was all that I knew. After having concentrated extensively the night before for the debate group, and talking only in Spanish with Nati (who speaks very clearly), I realized that my brain was starting to get exhausted, and I just couldn’t comprehend everything that Nacho and Juan were saying, so I just went along with whatever plans came up.
We parked the car after sitting in some heavy traffic (Tigre is a popular spot on the weekends) and went to wait on a dock for a shuttle boat. All I knew was that we were going to a bar across the delta.
(where we were headed)
(Juan Pablo & Nacho)
As we got in the little shuttle, Nacho was very familiar with the driver, and I just assumed that they went there often…we wound around the area where I thought we were heading and started through a narrower opening filled with boatslips for large sailboats and yachts.
…and then we pulled up to one of the sailboats where Nacho and Juan proceeded to debark. I followed, as I had been doing, and realized it was Nacho’s boat (or his dad’s, to be accurate)…a 32’ sailboat!
One of the pieces from the motor had been stolen, though, and hadn’t been replaced yet, so we weren’t going anywhere. It was nice to just sit and relax! Their other friends, Pablo and Meli showed up and the 5 of us went around the little island to the bar they had pointed out earlier…to find out that it was closed because the owner hadn’t paid all of the people to whom he was indebted. So, we split the last liter of Quilmes that they had available and just relaxed in the sand.
(the bar)
(view from bar)
After the sun set, we headed back to Meli’s house where we just relaxed on the patio, ate some delivery Chinese food, and listened to the 3 guys banter (they’re childhood friends that have quite the comical stories to recount!). I just felt immediately included with them and it seemed like I had known them for ages – it was so great to be amongst such comfortable people! (Thanks again, Nicole, for connecting Nacho and I!)
Well, I was supposed to meet another Couchsurfing group for a symphonic orchestra concert at the Planetarium (in the Bosques de Palermo) at 10:15…but despite setting my alarm, I failed to turn it on, and I woke up at 10:20…whoops! I did get out of the house in time to make some of the concert, though. But upon arriving at the Planetarium, I didn’t hear any such music. (I found out later that the concert was cancelled for some race that was occurring in the park.) So, I followed the sound of some salsa music across the way in the park…there was a huge group of people out on Sunday at noon taking a salsa lesson!
I continued around the Bosque and down Avenida Alcorta to meet up with Natalia, a friend of a friend who I had been trying to get together with since I arrived. We went out for lunch near her house in Recoleta – she was such a sweet person and we got along very well right away! We walked around Parque Las Heras where people were strewn about the lawn sunbathing (along with a used condom that I spotted as we were walking…nothing uncommon in a culture where people don’t move out of their parents’ house until their late 20’s).
I then had plans with Nacho, another friend of a friend with whom I had been trying to coordinate for the last month. He and his friend, Juan Pablo, picked me up as Nati and I were eating some helado. We were heading to El Tigre, a town 30 minutes north of Buenos Aires – most well-known because it’s a delta region…but that was all that I knew. After having concentrated extensively the night before for the debate group, and talking only in Spanish with Nati (who speaks very clearly), I realized that my brain was starting to get exhausted, and I just couldn’t comprehend everything that Nacho and Juan were saying, so I just went along with whatever plans came up.
We parked the car after sitting in some heavy traffic (Tigre is a popular spot on the weekends) and went to wait on a dock for a shuttle boat. All I knew was that we were going to a bar across the delta.
(where we were headed)
(Juan Pablo & Nacho)
As we got in the little shuttle, Nacho was very familiar with the driver, and I just assumed that they went there often…we wound around the area where I thought we were heading and started through a narrower opening filled with boatslips for large sailboats and yachts.
…and then we pulled up to one of the sailboats where Nacho and Juan proceeded to debark. I followed, as I had been doing, and realized it was Nacho’s boat (or his dad’s, to be accurate)…a 32’ sailboat!
One of the pieces from the motor had been stolen, though, and hadn’t been replaced yet, so we weren’t going anywhere. It was nice to just sit and relax! Their other friends, Pablo and Meli showed up and the 5 of us went around the little island to the bar they had pointed out earlier…to find out that it was closed because the owner hadn’t paid all of the people to whom he was indebted. So, we split the last liter of Quilmes that they had available and just relaxed in the sand.
(the bar)
(view from bar)
After the sun set, we headed back to Meli’s house where we just relaxed on the patio, ate some delivery Chinese food, and listened to the 3 guys banter (they’re childhood friends that have quite the comical stories to recount!). I just felt immediately included with them and it seemed like I had known them for ages – it was so great to be amongst such comfortable people! (Thanks again, Nicole, for connecting Nacho and I!)
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