Chascomús


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South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Chascomús
April 19th 2009
Published: April 22nd 2009
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Hoo-wee, this is one pretty town! Chascomús got very well preserved, and most of this buildings date from the 19th and early 20th century. It looks quite a lot like your typical western film, even though it's a lot calmer, and in some places far more monumental. The main square is very impressive, and whereever you go from there, fine buildings will come your way, like the beautiful train station. I spent my first day here hanging around, socialising with the locals and watching the documentary 'La Ultima Estacion' in the town hall. The movie was pretty shabbily made, but it gave a very striking view of the downfall of Argentina's railway system - the main cause being privatization (surprise!). Villages got abandoned because of train services ending, and of course - as always - everything got more expensive and complicated. The end of the movie held some hope, with one town renovating its empty station, hoping a train would come by, and a group of locals buying a train and tracks to make the Train for Everyone, servicing some far-away villages.
Afterwards, there was a group talk on the movie, and while i first intended to skip on that, i ended up listening to what the locals had to say, and i felt the most connected to the Argentine folks ever since i came here. It was a very moving slice of local life, seeing and hearing everyone look for solutions.
The next day, i enjoyed the sunshine by the lake, watched the slightly dumb fortress-replica and bought a radio -woohoo, i can make my own noise instead of having to listen to horrible cumbia (seriously, whoever invented that rhythm needs a damn good whacking) -, which i enjoyed with a fresh fruit yoghurt.
My final - and lazy too - day in Chascomús held walking around the village, visiting the cute Museo Pampeano, and attempting the most technical drawing i've done so far: the magnificent train station, from which a very picturesque train would take me to the Capital Federal.

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