For a group outing, UCEL (Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano) booked us on a two day excursion to Buenos Aires. What a wonderful idea! Except they booked us for the weekend of the Bicentennial Celebration in Argentina. Not a good idea.
We boarded our bus bright and early the morning of Sunday May 23, only to find out that there were not enough seats for all thirteen of us. The university had forgotten to include a seat for our guide. So with the guide standing in the aisle of the van, we headed off to the bus company office to exchange for a larger vehicle. By 8:40,we were on the road.
After about a two hour drive, we arrived at the ranch "Cinacina." We had been told our visit would begin with a short trail ride on horseback. With the pouring rain, thunder and lightning when we arrived, the ride didn't seem like such a good idea. So for about an hour and a half, we amused ourselves in the gift shop, sipped wine and watched the local dogs.
Lunch was served at 1:00. Mealtime was announced with the ringing of a bell. We took our seats and began to feast on the food that had been prepared for us: beef, chicken, sausages, salads, potatoes and bread. After we finished eating, the show began. There was music and dancing. By the end of the show, many of the people in the audience were up on the floor dancing, too!
After lunch, we headed outside under a misty rain to watch the horse show. The gauchos set out in a jousting competition. Cheers rang out from the very appreciative audience and afterwards, there was time for photos. We returned to the dining hall for a mate and postre. Then we loaded up the bus to head to Buenos Aires.
Once we had checked into the hotel, we all showered and changed in order to go to the Tango Show Piazzolla. The theater was beautiful and we were escorted to our balcony seats. Dinner was served at 8:30 and the show began at 10:15. Once again, we were treated to music and dancing and singing. We all had a wonderful time!
The next morning, after breakfast, we were off to the Puerto Madero area of the city. We stopped along the way to do some necessary shopping. I bought a small sculpture of tango dancers made of Rodocrosita. Rodocrosita is the national stone of Argentina and has a beautiful pink color. It is a volcanic stone found in the Sierras Capillitas. The name rodocrosita comes from the two Greek words for rose and color.
We had lunch in an Italian restaurant in the Puerto Madero. I had a crepe with dulce de leche for dessert that was wonderful! Then we went to meet our city guide for a tour of Buenos Aires. The problem was that the travel agency booked our guide for Sunday the 23rd, and so we were without guide. Our representative from UCEL, Fabiana, did a wonderful job of covering.
First we visited the very crowded Plaza de Mayo. We managed to wiggle in to see the Cathedral and were able to sneak some views of the Casa Rosada and the Cabildo (the site of the colonial viceroy government). Back on the bus, we headed to the La Boca district and had a brief visit in El Caminito. The brightly painted buildings in this region were once tenement housing (conventillos). Many are painted a variety of colors. This was because the immigrants could not afford paint and used leftover paints from the ships coming into the port.
We left El Caminito at 3:40 and spent the next hour and a half trying to cross the city. Some roads were shut down, others were backed up with traffic. We waited patiently for pedestrians to pass in front of us. Once we arrived near the Recoleta area, our bus driver got lost. We ended up walking some distance and finally arrived at the Recoleta Cemetery at 6:00. Unfortunately for us, the cemetery had already closed! Feeling a bit defeated, we crossed the park and stopped at an ice cream shop where we treated ourselves to dulce de leche ice cream
Then it was back on the bus for our return trip to Rosario. We arrived at the university around 10:15pm. It had been a long two days. On the bus, we planned our own bicentennial celebration. This afternoon, we are all going to meet at the Flag Memorial park for a picnic. Fortunately for us, the weather in Rosario was so bad yesterday that the evening concert and fireworks were rescheduled for today! So it will indeed be a special bicentennial celebration for us!
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