Hello from Argentina!

The first leg of our five week travel adventure finds us in Mar del Plata, Argentina. We had arranged to use a week of our timeshare at what appeared on the internet to be a charming little getaway in the hills south of Buenos Aires, perfect for relaxing....gorgeous pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, horseback riding, restaurant, grocery store, car-rentals to get into town (20 miles away) two bedroom chalet with full kitchen facilities, surrounded by lush and green hills.

As we quickly learned, things aren't always as they appear! Upon our arrival we met with Lucia (the hotel girl) to gather some more information only to find that the pool was empty and would take several days to prepare, the tennis and volleyball courts were overgrown with weeds, the restaurant was only open on Saturdays and Sundays, the grocery store was more than a mile away, there was no car-rental facility on site, and they had only one horse which you could ride at your own risk! Not quite the idyllic setting we were looking for! :)

We made a strongly worded phone call to our Time Share managers and they moved us into town. It wasn't quite the setting we had hoped for, but it was nice to spend some time in a city, going to movies, doing some shopping, going to restaurants (they're all the same here too...but all Italian!) and doing a bit of walking. Our best meals were the ones we cooked in our little kitchenette...greek salad, stir fry, pasta... which was fun. We also went to the aquarium one day and won $5.00 on the nickel slot machines at the local casino. All in all, an okay start to the trip and we can laugh about the misadventure now!

Generally, a few things struck us about the area of Argentina near Mar del Plata...how much the landscape looks like Minnesota, how many people smoke, how many men wear pink shirts, how much Italian influence is in Mar del Plata (they all think they should be living in Italy!) and how incredibly rich people seem by comparison to the people in Peru. It was good to be in a developed country again for a bit and see things that don't exist in Mancora. We also realize what gorgeous beaches we have in Mancora after seeing the beaches here in Argentina!

Hope all is well as you get ready for Christmas! We'll be in touch soon...

Love,

Stacy and Shelly