Don´t cry for me, Villa Gen. Belgrano

I had a wonderful week in Villa General Belgrano. The main reason was that there were several Argentine tourists there that took a liking to me and had me join them in many of their activities. It was very special, and at times exhausting, trying to follow along with the conversation. I think I was able to throw in enough humorous comments, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, that I was welcome to be around, if only for comic relief. At the end, there were hugs and cheek to cheek "kisses" and promises of e-mail follow-ups, etc.

One thing is kind of sad about the Argentines. They are relatively sophisticated, fun, intelligent people. These folks in Belgrano were very warm and generous. What´s sad is that their country´s financial situation is such that, like most Latin Americans, the overwhelming majority of them cannot affod to travel outside the country they´re in. So they end up staying in hostels or going camping when they are on vacation inside Argentina.

The one couple, Herman and Marina, were wonderful. He manages a supermarket an she is a waitress in a restaurant. Both are about 30 years old, very gregarious and (I got the impression) make a pretty good living. But they stayed in the hostel and prepared their meals themselves.

They, and other Argentines, are always telling me about some other part of Argentina that I MUST visit. Frequently, this new place is only several dozen kilometers down the road. It´s a shame that I will be leaving Argentina without visiting Mendoza and the area around it, which is Argentina´s wine-growing region. It´s tempting to want to follow everyone´s recommendations, but Argentina is huge! Months from now, I´d still be chasing down yet another town just over the horizon.

In hindsight, I feel I´ve enjoyed myself more in small towns as opposed to big ones. The big city obviously provides the greater number of cultural offerings, like tango shows and museums. However, in the smaller towns, I have more interaction with other people. I need to make a point, in my further travels, of making sure I get to small towns. I definitely want to return to So. America to visit Chile, and southern Argentia, hopefully in the not too distant future. Maybe, I´ll make it some of those "other towns" at that time. And Mendoza and Argentine wine is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Santiago, Chile!!

Next report: on the way to Bolivia!
hasta luego