San Antonio de Areco

The four of us had a laid back Friday night, simply getting a late dinner at a cafe down the street, The idea was to wake up at 9 am and head to the bus terminal to catch an 11 o'clock bus to San Antonio de Areco. We made it to Retiro on time but the next bus wasn't leaving until 11:30, so we finally rolled into town at 1:30 pm. First we walked around towards the center which was only about five blocks away from the bus stop.

Along the way we asked a woman where we could get some food and she recommended a place not too far away. Though the prices weren't too bad, they were still a little high for me. My friends were happy with it though and we had a great meal, along with some cheap house wine. We really had no plan on what to do, but the idea was to get out of the city and see some of the pampas. So after lunch we walked to a park, saw the old bridge, and then found our way to a tienda.

I saw that they were selling alpargatas, which are traditional gaucho shoes that I've been trying to find for a while. They're actually pretty hard to come by, but they are very cheap. I got a pair for $18, which is the best deal I've seen so far, and since we were already there with nothing else to do and two hours to kill, we got some beer. For the next two hours we just sat in front of the tienda and played cards while drinking a few beers.

The sky was dark gray and had the feel of the calm before a storm, but it was pleasant and fun sitting there with my friends. Before long it was time to head back to the bus station to go back to Buenos Aires. For our last dinner we went to La Cabrera in Palermo. It was hard to get a table and by the time we sat down with some food on our plates it was already 12:45 am, but the place was still packed. The restaurant has a warning on the menu saying you should share the meals, and we saw why pretty quickly. Enormous portions came out one by one, and though they were expensive, we agreed it wouldn't be too bad if you split it evenly.

It was a good way to end the vacation, and though I was sad to see them go, they left my apartment early this morning to head back to Ecuador. Today is a rainy and cold day, but it's also the Superclasico, which is the Boca Juniors vs. River Plate. It's a big game and the whole city will be watching.

Getting in Gear for the Weekend

It was a really tiring and stressful week, even with having friends visiting. Maybe that added a bit to the stress, even though having them around has been awesome. Today I got two more decisions and neither were good. I was rejected by Tufts University and George Washington University. Those were two of the hardest schools I applied to, so I have to say that while it's disappointing, it's still a reach to try for those universities in the first place.

But finally the week is over and I can relax a bit before my friends leave on Sunday morning. They're currently coming back from Colonia, Uruguay, but won't be getting back until around 10:30 or 11 pm. Our plans, as of now, are to go to a town called San Antonio de Areco in the morning for a day trip. "Areco" for short is a typical Pampa town about two hours away from Buenos Aires by bus. Generally people will go to an estancia while they are there and do estancia things. But we don't have the kind of money to do that stuff.

I imagine that we'll get in there in the afternoon, walk around a bit and then get some beers at a cafe or bar. With not much else to do, we'll probably take a nap and then head back to the city. But that's just me guessing, based off of experience with day trips in Latin America. It will be good to get out of the city even if only for a few hours. And then on Sunday morning, far earlier than we should be awake, I'll say goodbye to my friends who will fly back to Quito to finish out their time in Ecuador.