Ouch!! (Day 3 in Cordoba)

So on Monday night my friend Marcelo took me to a restaurant that served "asado," a traditional kind of Argentine food. I assumed it was just going to be a big piece of steak, but the waiter actually brought us several different kinds of beef (and I think some organs, as there was something white on my plate). I actually tried morcilla, and if you don't know what they use to make that, trust me, you don't want to. And if you do, well, look it up :).




Tuesday morning I got up pretty early to catch the bus to Villa Carlos Paz. I think it was the oldest, most rickety bus I have ever ridden in, and I'm extremely surprised it didn't fall apart on the way there. I thought I was going to be swimming in the lake all day, but apparently the lake is only for water sports. I had to catch a local bus to head to the "playas del oro." Really, there were just stretches of grass and some wet sand alongside a river, but it was really pretty. I found a nice, low-key grassy area and stretched out there. The sun was extremely hot so I covered myself in SPF 30 sunscreen but i still managed to get very burned in some parts of my body. I will NEVER buy spray sunscreen again, it is the worst!!

I was feeling kind of lonely as everyone around me was there with family and friends. I was also feeling kind of hungry so I went to get lunch. I asked the waiter for a menu and sat down, and this guy sitting at a table next to me started speaking to me in heavily-accented English. He was from Buenos Aires, his name was Damian, and was vacactioning in Carlos Paz with his friend. They invited me to eat lunch with them and then I went with them to another part of the river where there was sort of a dam/waterfall type thing that people sit on. We had fun in the water for a little while, and then settled ourselves on some dry rocks in the middle of the river and I had my first "mate" experience. At first I was a little nervous, because I thought the tea herbs were supposed to dissolve into the water but they just kind of float and flavor the water. They say most people don't like it the first time they try it but I actually did (probaby because we also added sugar). We left the river around 6 and the guys walked with me to my bus stop. I was really lucky in meeting them because now I know people when I go to Buenos Aires on Monday.

When I got back to Cordoba I rested for a bit, showered, and then headed out in search of Aloe and dinner. After successfully finding both, I went back to my hostel, where I stayed in for the rest of the night reading and relaxing.

This morning I went to the Plaza San Martin to exchange money again, and this time there were no lines in any of the banks or anything. Weird!! Then I stopped in a cafe and tried dulce de leche for the first time. I thought it was a drink or something, but it's actually a kind of spread that you put on toast and, of course, it's delicious. On the way back I went into a grocery store and bought a bottle of champagne to bring to Marcelo's family's house tonight. Apparently much of his extended family is also going to be there, and he warned me that his uncle might speak to me VERY loudly, and VERY slowly, just like people do in the movies with foreigners haha. After dinner, we will head out for a night of dancing with his brothers, sister, cousins, and friends.

I might not get a chance to write again until I arrive in Mar del Plata on Friday. If that's the case, I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful evening and I will see you in 2009!

Kate