Blogs from La Pampa, Argentina, South America

Day 4 Summary: Bug Day Distance travelled 810Km Max speed: 95Mph We were playing nicely in the park in La Cumbre right next to our hotel, messing around. Then when we left we were still having fun and I put my soft toy (snuggles) out of the window and it looked like you can see in the photo. We went past lots of Go-Karting places and water parks and a nice big lake. I was messing around with Joe and Ben in the back of the car. When we got tired we played Jet Pack Jump on Ben’s phone. I was feeling tired. It was very hot outside but we didn’t feel it because we had the air conditioning on. Outside there was lots of nice scenery like grass and cows. We got to a restaurant ... read more

Have you ever sat on a bus for 19 hours straight? The thought of it probably makes you sick? Well, this is because you’ve never tried it in Argentina. It’s 1600 KM from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. Most of the drive is through the flat lands of La Pampa. There are three classes of tickets you can buy, cama, semi-cama, and cama suite. It was only $20 USD more for the “suite” so we took it. Much to my pleasure, and soon to be terror, we were given the two seats in the very front, on the upper level. Oh ya’ baby. The view was spectacular, but unfortunately we could see everything. As I explained earlier they drive, um…different than we do in Alaska. When sitting in the back of the bus you can see only ... read more

Sunday - A day at the Estancia La Cinacina This morning, 6 of the Linguatec Students met for a day excursion with our teacher Sylvia to an Estancia in the Pampas region! The 120 km trip took about close to 2 hours on the minibus, but was very much worth it. We arrived in the little pueblo of San Antonio de Areco around noon. San Antonio de Areco is the symbolic center of the Gaucho culture. Every year in November, Gauchos from all of Argentina gather here for a festival celebrating their nomadic lifestyle and ancestry. The Gaucho is the cowboy of Argentina who, until about the late 19th century, used to live a free life, beyond the law, living of the land and cattle, only loved by his horse! However life changed when estancias were ... read more

Lahdimme siis jo monta paivaa sitten taas reissaamaan....sita reissaamista tulikin sitten useammaksi paivaksi kuin uskoimmekaan. Alkuperainen suunnitelmamme oli menna La Pampalle, jotta Hanna paasee uudestaa hepan selkaan ja samalla viettaa muutama paiva uudessa paikassa. Suunnitelma valmis, joten liput kohti Santa Rosaa, joka on La Pampan alueen paakaupunki. Seuraavana aamuna totesimme mita tarkoittaa matkustaminen ns. off-beaten-track eli alueella, jossa ei turisteja kay oikeastaan lainkaan tai ne jotka kayvat ovat lansimaista jarjestetyilla pakettimatkoilla (lue: riittavan hintavilla). Otetaan ensiksi positiiviset asiat: emme ole koskaan ennen tormanneet yhta auttamishaluiseen turistioffiisiin, ihmiset olivat aivan uskomattoman ystavallisia ja olisivat saattaneet antaa paitansa paaltaan, jos olisi oikein surkean nakoisena kysynyt... :) SItten niita negatiivisia: ensinnak... read more