Adventures Abroad in Argentina : Boats and Kabobs in Buenos Aires

I left off with our anticipated adventure to the city of el Tigre, which we arrived home successfully without getting lost. We took a bus ride to the train station of Retiro, and rode the train (and by "train" I mean above-ground subway) for about an hour to el Tigre. When we arrived, our host mom cut the cord and we explored on our own. We browsed little shops that had furniture and other cute items, and I made my first purchase of a mate gourd.

Yerba Mate has the “strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea,and the euphoria of chocolate" all in one beverage. Of the six commonly used stimulants in the world: coffee, tea, kola nut, cocoa and guarana, yerba mate triumphs as the most balanced, delivering both energy and nutrition.

Yerba mate (yer-bah mah-tay) is made from the naturally caffeinated and nourishing leaves of the celebrated South American rainforest holly tree (Ilex paraguariensis). For centuries, South America’s Aché Guayakí tribe have sipped yerba mate from a traditional mate gourd for its rejuvenative effects. These rainforest people find tremendous invigoration, focus, and nourishment in yerba mate.

Source: Guayaki Brand Yerba Mate 2017 http://guayaki.com/mate/130/Yerba-Mate.html

Drinking mate is a huge part of the culture here. It's commonly passed around by family and friends, and it's a sign of respect if someone offers it to you. I just wanted to bring a piece of the culture home with me so I bought one for myself.

We also got to walk along the Tigre Delta, where there was a Catamarán (a large boat) that offered rides down the delta. Although we didn't do that on Saturday, I want to return to see more of the city and the delta. I would love to explore the waters in a littler boat such as these:

Here's a picture of some houses and boats on the Tigre Delta. It was such a beautiful day!

Saturday night, after I came home and took a nap, of course, my roommate and I got ready to go out for a night on the town. Although the night didn't go quite as we had planned, we ended up walking to Parrilla Miranda, the restaurant I had found before arriving in Buenos Aires. Of course the only reason I really wanted to check it out was because it shared my name, but it turned out to be a very nice restaurant. After enjoying some portebello mushrooms and margaritas, I ate a chicken kabob and was so full I needed a tow truck to get home. I was amazed at the amount of people who arrived at the restaurant at midnight to eat their dinner! We talked with the table next to us which consisted of two Argentine boys, a German, and a guy from New Zealand. We arrived home around 2am, and I quickly passed out only to sleep my Sunday away.

Monday, we were on a mission to buy a sube card, and minutes for our dino phones.

In short, we walked around for many hours, confused, lost, and eventually succeeded in buying, and loading the sube with money, but we failed on the phone minutes.

Today there was a trip to Buenos Aires Playa (a beach) planned with BAIS (Buenos Aires International Students) but unfortunately it began to rain, so we opted out. Although I want to be lazy and stay inside where it's dry, we have to go on the hunt for phone minutes, I need to mail a letter, and we are going to the office of BAIS to see about upcoming trips. This weekend: there is a trip to Victoria in Entre Rios that looks extremely fun. Plus, I need as much adventure as I can get in the few weeks before classes being.