So after leaving Buenos Aires the plan was to spend a nice few relaxing days on the beach. We did some research and headed to Villa Gessell, unfortunately so had the rest of Argentina, or so it seemed. Basically, most of Argentina have their summer holidays in January, so an empty beach is hard to find, especially one in the province of Buenos Aires. It was interesting to see, since the crowded beach was a good example of how Argentines spend their free time: a game which resembled wooden quoits seemed to be quite popular. I did set off walking down the huge expanse of beach and passed people competing in a running race; people quad biking; and people on horseback, until eventually there were no more people and just sand dunes, me and the sea.
We were staying in a basic little hut, which was very small and shared with two other women - one of which was a leathery skinned woman in her sixties with a penchant for thongs and smoking in bed! The staff however were great, there was hot water and a nice veranda. One of the owners set up a date with us and the man who delivers the cheese for our final night. We waited on the veranda hoping that we weren´t about to spend an uncomfortable evening of small talk. He was late, but phoned the owner to apologise and insist that he was on his way. When he arrived, we saw the cheese van pull up and Alejandro (the cheese man) get out, not with a friend, as arranged, but his uncle. This eased the situation and the evening was spent with good conversation, lots of Quilmes and a sweet Argentinian cocktail made with Grancia. A large group of the other guests were sent to bed for being noisy and I felt like an adult at a children´s party. We stayed up until 3am, feeling a little worse for ware, when we headed for our 7.40am bus to Tandil....
A few days in Tandil have been wonderful. Hardly any tourists here at all, this sleepy village sat alongside the Sierra de Tandil feels like we´ve finally made it to the real Argentina. We´re staying with a wonderful Dutch-Argentine lady called Mercedes, who has treated us so well and we´re right on the main square, with a view looking directly onto the church clock tower from the dining room table. I picked up a few packets containing little tins of English tea at Heathrow before we flew and have found that these make great gifts for hosts and friends we meet along the way. When I gave one to Mercedes, she announced to me that she is sixty one years old and for the first time she will try real English tea - it was great to see how much she appreciated such a simple gift.
Being a little further inland hasn´t been a problem, as we have spent long afternoons sitting down by the dammed lake, reading, picnic-ing and enjoying the sunshine, watching the world go by. The town has some lovely little bars and is well known for its great food. Last night we went to a place that serves just fresh pasta and when I popped to the toilet I spotted the two chefs coaxing sheets of fresh pasta out of the machine to make my canelone. Fresh pasta may be the saviour of my taste buds in Argentina. We then whiled away the rest of the evening, drinking rum in a couple of bars. When we left the lovely ´Bar Tito´last night, every one of the customers said ´ciao´. We do seem to be a bit of a star attraction in this sleepy little town.
We continue our journey tomorrow towards Bahia Blanca and the Sierra de la Ventana...
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