Welcoming and Wet

I brought along a supply of yarn to knit baby hats for a hospital in Durban, South Africa.  That supply was gone in a few days, since several others wanted to join in.  Other knitters shared their yarn, but soon we all were out, so I decided to shop for more yarn.  In Rio de Janeiro one of the ship's staff took me to a yarn shop, but they did not have the right kind of yarn.  I bought some cotton anyway, but it did not work well, so I set off to find more yarn in Buenos Aires.  A Google search gave me the name of a shop and Guest Services printed out a map.  Then I went in search of a taxi.  Taxis do not take credit cards, so I tried an ATM machine.  It did not work.  I ended up going to the Money Exchange in the terminal and got $20 of Argentine pesos (710 pesos to be exact.)

There was a taxi stand outside the terminal  I gave the driver the address and tried to make conversation.  I do not speak much Spanish and he did not speak any English.   It made for an interesting conversation.  It was just as well since I hoped he would pay attention to traffic.  When I learned to drive, I was told that when you pass a car, the safe distance to pull back into the lane was when you could see the car in your rear view mirror.  In Argentina, a safe distance is any distance that does not leave paint from your car on the other car.  Turns could be made from almost any

lane, and yellow lights meant step on the gas.  I made it in one piece, but did not have exact change for the fare (227 pesos,) so I paid 300 pesos. 

This is the store I found.  I bought a LOT of yarn, charging it to a credit card.  When I left the store, the same cab and driver were waiting outside and he expected the same fare!

On Thursday evening I went with a small group to visit an Argentine home.  Actually, there were several small groups of 4 to 8 people.  Each group was hosted in a private home.  Our hostess was an interior designer with 3 grown children who sometimes rented rooms to college students who came to Argentina to learn Spanish.  Her apartment (condo?) was in a building built in the 1950's, but modernized and beautifully decorated.  Her English was not too good, but far better than our Spanish.  The guide provided translations when needed.  We had a lovely evening with appetizers and a main course of pulled pork over mashed potatoes and a spinach and basil salad.  Our guide, being a typical Argentine man did not eat the salad.  They prefer meat.  We had a tour of her apartment which went on and on.  There were 5 bedrooms and 5 baths plus the maid's room.

Our hostess and the guide, Maxi

Friday was the first rainy day we have had.  The weather forecast said 0% chance of rain, so we left umbrellas and raincoats in the cabin.  It poured all the way to the river delta where we boarded a boat for a tour.  Houses are built above the water line with a wall or rocks to protect the land.  These were cabins or vacation properties for the most part.  There is no running water, electricity or stores available on the delta islands.  A "grocery boat" makes the rounds weekly, and a doctor and dentist visit by boat on a regular schedule for those who live there year round.

This is what happens if you neglect your "sea wall"

One of the historical buildings is enclosed in a glass cage to protect it from the elements.