Blogs from Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos, Argentina, South America

Imagine a catwalk half a mile long, where thousands of people are packed into stands on either side; a catwalk showcasing not only beautiful women, but also forty foot goblins clutching goblets of wine and the four horsemen of the apocalypse in this season's hottest style. A last minute decision brings us to Gualeguaychu and Argentina's biggest carnival. Sitting in the stands beforehand, I experience that peculiar giddy excitement that turns alcohol from a requirement into an excess. From the distant cheers its apparent that the party has begun at the other end, and its too much for my heightened nerves: before I can stop myself I've unloaded an entire can of silly string into the back of the girl in front. Such lack of self control has lost me many friends I fear. Neither of ... read more

Hi all - its Tal, Since I liked the writing part, I am going to write also the following entry; this time the entry will depict our journey north from Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires we learnt that in a very near city, called Gualeguaychú, only 200 Km north, a carnival takes place every Saturday in January and February. So we decided to cut our northbound route and stop for a weekend in this unknown town, what turned to be a very special weekend. We reached this hot town late in the afternoon, and went straight to our bungalow exhausted from the heat. In the following morning, we took our bathing suits and went to the close by Gualeguaychú river. River swimming is very common in South America, as we learnt. As South America is an ... read more

Well, this place was a find, lots of little lakes and beaches and they hold a carnival here every weekend in Jan, Feb and March which was very similar to Rio carnival, only, hardly anyone has heard of this place. Not sure which the better discovery was, the carnival in this town, or the Take Away Boucs and I discovered serving BBQ meats! This is where we took our ordering process to the next level and actually went behind the counter, pointed at a piece of meat and told the guy to make us a couple of sandwiches out of it. While he was doing this, I stuck a fork in another piece of meat and started eating it in the guy´s kitchen, while Boucs went and started ordering the son about! Gualeguaychu is about 3 ... read more

This is one for the story books. Planning for this trip got a little out of hand. We all live pretty far from each other and this group was half FSD and half Argentine friends of one of the girls. Come Friday when we left town we’d already spent the last 7 days going back and forth about tents and sleeping bags and transportation… this is much more complicated than it sounds. Friday morning I went up with Facu to Concepcion de Uruguay because it was only a short bus ride down to Gualyguaychu where Carnaval was held. Around 1230 in the morning after many missed phone calls, buses breaking down and phones getting stolen, all of the Americans managed to meet up in the bus station. Now the fun began trying to get a cab ... read more

Elaborate costumes. Sensual dancing. Colorful floats. Exuberent music. Body glitter. Plastic breasts covered with bejewelled pasties. Carnaval. The biggest, craziest celebration in South America. We had arrived. Everyone knows about Brazil's famous Carnaval celebrations, but most people probably don't know that pretty much every country in Latin America has their own unique way of celebrating. Since these are all officially Catholic countries, they use this opportunity to go wild before Lent and its fasting begins. While Brazil's celebrations may be the most elaborate, it is also extremely expensive to attend and isn't necessarily the safest environment. We decided to experience Carnaval Argentina-style. We had flown back to BsAs from Patagonia to take care of some business (obtaining our Brazilian visas, changing our plane tickets, etc.) and bid farewell to our friend... read more