Fin de Semana en El Tigre y Una Luna Loca

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Saturday, March 15

Dale and I went to El Tigre for the weekend. We started out with the 3 women who are here from Kansas City, Diane, Susie, and Lanti. We took the “Tren de la Costa." It was more scenic than the commuter train, but 8 pesos rather than 1.5, so a lot more expensive. Also, it's a bit inconvenient - you have to start at Retiro in Bs.As., then change trains in Mitre onto the tourist train.

I wrote about El Tigre once before - I first visited this area in early February, but in case you’ve forgotten, here’s a web site with some information about it. It’s a fascinating area - “muy especial!” It’s a river delta of the Rio de la Plata where people get around by boat from island to island. The little islands are very close together, separated by tiny arroyos, with little wooden bridges across them. We learned during our visit, that there is no potable water in the delta - people have to either buy bottled water, or invest in water purification system. Neither are there sewers, people use septic tanks. Garbage is collected by boat, and they are floating grocery stores as well.

http://www.puntodelta.com.ar/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigre,_Buenos_Aires


Once in El Tigre, we took the public launch (like a bus) to the “Recreo del Banco de la Provencia” which is a resort run by a bank for it’s employees, but open to the public if there’s room. It’s on an island in the delta about 40 minutes from the center of town, and it seems like a million miles away from Buenos Aires. We had a wonderful time - it was inexpensive, great weather, a swimming pool. It was 130 pesos each for a room and three meals. The food was family style, typical Argentina, e.g. Milanesa (like chicken fried steak) - lots of meat. It was fine, but nothing to write home about.

On the way back, we stopped and visited Ines and Julian on Santa Rosa (Tres Bocas). They are the rowing teachers that I met the last time I came to El Tigre. We had a wonderful visit - they are so welcoming! And we met one of their neighbors, Claudia Navarro, a yoga instructor here in Bs As who I hope to stay in touch with.
We saw lots of birds, including a Carpintero Real (woodpecker), a Calandria Grande, and a Cabecinegro as well as hundreds of Cotorros. The birds were stunning!

Carpintero Real Común
http://avesdetuzona.wordpress.com/2006/12/03/carpintero-real-comun-colaptes-melanolaimus-o-melanochloros/

Cabecinegro
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carduelis_magellanica

Calandria Grande (Mockingbird)
http://avesdetuzona.wordpress.com/2006/12/11/calandria-grande-mimus-saturninus/

Cotorra
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotorra_argentina

There were also lots of mosquitoes and mosquito bites unfortunately. To be expected I suppose.

And the moon - an amazing astronomical lesson - Ines told me that she’s doing a Row by the Full Moon on Thursday, but when I looked at the moon it seems to be waning. So I looked the next night and it’s actually waxing but from the “wrong side” i.e. getting fuller from left to right instead of right to left. Well, I thought I must be crazy, and checked on the internet and sure enough, the view from the southern hemisphere is opposite to the view we have in the north - it blows my mind when I think about it. I can’t imagine it. But ya está!

Here is what it looks like from the southern hemisphere.
http://www.tutiempo.net/en/moon/phases_s.htm


When we got home on Sunday, we had dinner here at the house, then met my friend Gaby Mason at Salon Canning. The dance was very crowded. There are lots of people here for the “CITA” or Congreso Intenacional del Tango.
http://www.cosmotango.com/

We didn’t enroll because it’s very expensive ($600 for 10 days of lessons all day) and too intensive for our taste right now. But it means that the milongas are crowded with foreigners right now who “take up more room” than the Argentine dancers.

Gaby said some interesting things tonight about extranjeros and how they dance. She said that different milongas (venues) have different “codigos” or rules. In the Salon Canning on Sunday nights, it’s a very traditional Milonguero milonga and the Milongueros don’t appreciate it when people try to dance Salon style (which takes up much more room and is much more showy). She said that they give these folks a lot of room in order to avoid crashes and injuries. Indeed, if you watched carefully, you could see how people were giving the newcomers a very wide berth. It was very interesting to hear Gaby’s perspective.

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Photos

Train Station in Buenos Aires
This is Retiro Mitre Station.

At the train station
(l to r) Diane, Lanti, Susie, and Catherine

Buenos Aires Rowing Club
El Tigre is the Rowing Center of Buenos Aires. This is one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs.

La Lancha
These boats are used like city buses to get around in El Tigre.

A double
People use these wooden rowing boats with sliding seats. Note how muddy the water is.

El Recreo
This was the pool at the Recreo del Banco del la Provincia.

Our Room
The rooms at the Recreo were very basic but comfortable.

Island Life
Here is an example of the little trails on the islands. There are no cars, just boats or feet.