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Hello, readers! Sorry for the blogging radio silence. We’ve spent the past few weeks really focusing on fully enjoying the experience of traveling-- taking a little technology cleanse. However, A LOT has happened since we last updated you on our trip. We’ve finished up with our time in South America and thought we would start by giving you all a little summary on our last stop there: Argentina.
During our time in this massive Latin nation known for its European influence, Patrick and I lived with a host family for 6 weeks in the tiny town of La
s Flores, San Juan. This town is located at the base of the towering Andes mountains and is home to many gauchos (stuck-in-time, Argentinian cowboys). We wrestled “la sonda” (the warm mountain wind) each day as we spent around 6 hours herding llamas, tending to a greenhouse, and working on bioconstruction projects, featuring homemade adobe cement. This exchange of work for delicious vegetarian food and accommodation in our own adobe guest house was arranged through WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms). We highly recommend this experience for anyone seeking a rural escape.
In between working and learning, we rode horses over rocky hills with the local gauchos, ate incredible meals from the garden prepared by our host mom, Lila, and discovered the true, friendly SMALL-town feel of the surrounding pueblos. We played with the barn cats’ newborn kittens, learned to bake fresh bread, and walked to the grocery store (that doubled as someone’s home). We had many heated discussions with our host dad, Antonio, about politics and technology in a changing world. We got to
know Ananda and Bali, our host siblings, through laughter at mealtimes and the occasional shared movie or town outing. We even met our dear friend, Melica, from Iran who joined us on the farm during our last week of work, and through Melica, have been surprised to gain many new wonderful Iranian friends via social media! From incredible new knowledge about organic gardening and llama husbandry, to frequent immersive Spanish practice, we are so grateful for such a wonderful first WWOOFing experience.
On our last night in Las Flores, we were invited to stay in the home of one of our host’s friends, who lived close to the bus stop. Arriving after dinner (around 11pm) we were greeted warmly with chicken and pizza in the oven and fresh juice on the table. Our gracious one-night hosts showed us to our bedroom, which we later learned was their personal bedroom. They asked their daughter to come out of her room to play songs for us on the guitar until we were fighting to keep our eyes open. Waking up at 3 am the next morning to catch our bus, we were surprised to find breakfast waiting for us in the kitchen as well as our kind friend, ready to walk us to the bus stop. Our countless thanks were met with relentless kindness and the consistent reply, “No, thank you for letting us help.”
With hearts full of awe at this unbelievable generosity, which served as our final glimpse of friendly Las Flores, we took one final South American bus ride to the contrasting city of Buenos Aires! After 6 weeks of limited Internet access and transportation, we welcomed a few days in the city with excitement! Besides gorging ourselves on anything containing dulce de leche (a caramel-like, slow-cooked, sweet milk), we did a walking tour of the city, a little shopping in the hip Palermo district, and even learned how to tango at a traditional Milonga (classic tango dancing event)! We woke up ready to do it all over again, but had to say goodbye to beautiful South America and prepare to meet our current location….do we *write* from a land down under? ;)
Argentina Quick Summary:
6 weeks
14 llamas
6 horses
2 rowdy peafowl
12+ veggies planted
5 bus rides
1 rainy day
146 new Iranian friends (thanks social media)
4 hours of Tango
$215 spent TOTAL
Countless projects
The people, the food, the learning! Thank you, Argentina! ¡Regresaremos pronto!
For more frequent updates, follow along with our journey on Instagram @one.way.wanderers.
Mucho amor,
Allie