Beyond Buenos Aires: Tandil Part 4

EL MONTE CALVARIO

Many Catholics flock to Mount Calvary during the Holy Week of Easter. They make a "pilgramage" through this monument and many have left messages tied to rags on the railing around the base of Christ hung on the cross. In an attempt to share our experiences and record this for our family journal, I am including each of the "Stations" and the journey that Christ made before his death. We talked about the crucifixion with the kids as we walked. Of course, they also played hide in seek in the rocks and Sophia finally took a short nap in the baby backpack.

Beyond Buenos Aires: Tandil Part 3

LA CENTINELA

The best part of our trip was the freedom to be outside. Here in Buenos Aires, there are high security concerns. We live in gated homes, with bars on the windows. You don't realize just how on-guard you are all of the time until you get out of the city. The kids loved the rock formations that were plentiful in Tandil (you will see more rocks in a later post). The balance of this rock was a sight to be seen. The kids were really amazed. Steve tried to pursuade them to push it over the edge before they realized that this was an impossible task. Abe was really concerned that we would ruin it and didn't want anyone to touch it.

The photo doesn't do it much justice, but notice Abe on the bottom right.

Nothing like a little graffiti...

I just love this one:

and this one:

... and no family vacation is complete without a little muscle. :)

Beyond Buenos Aires: Tandil Part 2

EPOCA DE QUESO

In a country lacking in variety, this was impressive. This quaint store and cafe was opened in 1920, but the business has been operating since 1860. It was like stepping back in time and we could have spent the entire afternoon sipping hot chocolate and sampling cheese and salami by the fire. The menu was as old as the cafe and contained a business license from 1947.












And we had to include Sophia and this dog who lived out on the patio. She was cracking up at this harmless puppy. He would jump at her in play and she laughed over and over.

Beyond Buenos Aires: Tandil Part 1

THE DRIVE

Last weekend, we enjoyed a GREAT weekend in the Southern Pampas and along the Argentine coast. We loved it so much that we literally took 388 photos. I promise, I will not include them all, but there will be quite a few.

We left Buenos Aires on Friday morning to head to Tandil. The drive started off a little slow due to the fog that has settled in and was obviously a regular occurence. We were pleased to see the National Police being proactive because those of you have traveled here to see us know that Argentines are very aggressive drivers.

By driving, you can see so much more of where you are headed. Who built this? And more interestingly, who is going to buy it? And what are they going to do with it?


We would have never seen this boy with is horse:

or this shanty home. Can you imagine being born and raised in an unpopulated area in this home? We are so blessed.

Once we made our way through the fog, it felt as though we were driving through one of the Western States. Cattle trucks and all.


and we wish that we would have seen a few less of these:

The kids loved their new iPods (Thanks Nina!) loaded with Laurie Berkner, Children's Primary Songs and InsideOut A Cappella and we loved our uninterrupted conversation, at least for a short time.


But all in all, the 4.5 hour drive was the perfect start to the weekend.

Futbol

HELP!

Our school has been officially closed until June 17th!  Our "sister" campus, about 4 miles away, has a confirmed case of the flu and so we were called to pick up our children 2 hours early from school today and limit their contact with classmates throughout this time.  The other campus houses another elementary, the high school (who could bring it home to younger siblings) and faculty that teach at both locations.  However, no one has had it at our building.  This is just a precautionary measure.

So what is a girl to do to keep two children, who are accustomed to daily classes, busy inside the house for the next two weeks?  Even if we had a great neighborhood to play in and no security concerns, winter is quickly approaching and it is chilly outside. 

It is time to get creative... bring on the workbooks and construction paper!  Uno, Sudoku, Candy Land, here we come.

Temaiken Zoo

The MAP Man

Squirrel Exhibit - They do not run the streets of Argentina

Which one was the REAL catch?

If you crawl through this tunnel, you pop out the other end like...

this little prairie dog.

Mom hearts D, A, P & S

Loving every minute of it...