Mar del Plata

Just back from my first trip out of BA. It was amazing...As the daily combo of 95 degree heat and miles upon miles of pavement in our neighborhood becomes quite unbearable after a few hours outside, we, like most of the city does each summer, decided to venture 250 miles south to Mar del Plata, for 4 nights. A beautiful city of beaches and breezes. Let the adventures begin :D

As we approached the bus station to buy our tickets to the beach, the place was bustling with locals who were all in the same boat as us....wanting to escape the heat, and do it quickly. Waiting in line, the woman behind the counter informed Lesley and I that every bus was full for the next few days, except for the VIP suit on one of them (once again, were knew were were getting a run for our money, but too exhausted to argue)...Although it only cost a few more dollars, we were hesitant as we already stood out as tourists and now were going to come across as "rich, snobby, I only ride VIP" Americans. " *sigh* However, we wanted to get to the beach, got a good laugh and as we boarded a few days later, and were directed to our special section...the top level of the bus, front row, reclining leather seats and served a little tray of crackers. Quite nice, really :D And...seeing as the bus doesn't stop a single time over the 5 hour trip, we were able to catch a little nap.

We arrived at our hostel, signed in and were taken to our dorm...Upon entering the building, it was obvious to anyone, cleanliness was not a top priority. Gross. Then we drop our bags off, I pull back the "clean" sheets and find an unecessarily large amount of somebody else's hair in my bed. While im trying to process how in the world I can sleep there, Lesley points to our bed-side table and was like, "Molls, is that a condom?" Yes...it was sick. Needless to say, I slept in my leggings and long-sleeved t-shirt, along with socks :D Oh the thrills of sleeping in hostels! hahaha! Besides that, we met some really cool people from all over the world. A guy from Sweeden who had been camping in tents for the past 8 months, a guy from the UK who had been in Bogota, Colombia and many other Portenos who were there to kick it at the beach for vacaciones. Always cool to hear what others think about our country and seeing as Obama and the inaguration was the next day, I was drilled with questions about our government, the economy, hatred towards Bush and the war etc...

The next day we met up with Laura and Alberto and missioned to the beach. It felt sooooooooo nice to have a breeze from the ocean and although the sun was still blazing by 10am and it was in the 90's, we were thrilled to be there. The beach was PACKED. Im talking, PACKED. Hard to find a spot big enough to lay a towel. Music was being played, vendors were weaving through the masses trying to sell gold chains, umbrellas, sandals, etc, children were darting amongst us and missing our heads by mere inches and we simply laid in the sun, soaking up the surroundings and rotating the rounds of covering my skin in sunblock, which by the way, has become my newest perfume/scent :D hahahha!

We experienced our first "Asado" and "Fernet" at the hostel that night. It was pretty awesome. Alberto grilled up huge chunks of fresh steak (yes, im still a vegetarian, nice try), veggies and sliced potatoes drizzled with spices and olive oil. We ate till we could eat no more, drank Fernet and coke till we justified being "hungry" again, played cards till our eyes grew sore and then said our thank-you and goodbyes as lesley and I headed back to our hostel. As we left, the guy who runs the gate said he would drive us back so we didn't have to walk late at night and alone, but we said we were fine. The side streets we took were empty and dark, yet about a block away we passed a person on the corner on the street. Tall, large calves, blonde curly hair, and a skirt that was more for decoration as all was "hanging out"....odd, but we still didn't catch on...Then a block further we saw another, then the next block another. Eh hem...after a blurry observation we realized they were all tranvestite prostitutes!!! OMG...I was trying hard not to laugh as it probably wouldn't impress them, and we picked up the pace and "casually jogged" all the way home. Never a dull moment here!

Anyhoo, Lesley's brother is coming in to town this weekend and we are all headed to Uruguay for 5 or so days. He has a friend in Punta del Este where we can stay for free, which is super sweet as I have heard that it's quite expensive there. So the plan is to take a high-speed one hour boat ride to Montevideo and then a bus from there. Im excited for another adventure. All else is well here. Ryan, one of my brothers best friends, arrived in BA lastnight and is kickin' it in the city at our place for the next couple days before he moves up North to Salta. Im giving him the "tour" via el subte today :D BE SAFE and MUCH LOVE!