I sit, fan myself
With a scrap of Yeats' best work
And question the world.
Amazing, I know... Only kidding. Actually, at the time I was awaiting the arrival of my friends to the heladeria (ice cream cafe) where we were planning on having ice cream and using the WiFi. A large, obviously poverty-stricken family was walking by, and one of the children, a little boy, approached me to ask me for "monedas" or coins. I heeded the advice that I have heard nonstop since arriving--don't give your money away to the people of the street... especially, don't give away coins. He was clearly exasperated with me and asked twice more, and it took everything I could to persist in saying that I had no coins to give.
The reality is that I am a fairly well-to-do American girl who has learned to fear poverty and pinch pennies. As I sat there watching the family make their way slowly down the street away from me, I reveled in my self-disgust and frustration. It's a rather unfortunate handicap to be ignorant of the pains of those who have nothing. I wish that I could rediscover my compassion or at least find a way to help these people. In my computer sleeve, I discovered a W. B. Yeats' poem I wrote an essay on, entitled "Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931," and spend some moments soothing my soul as I digested his phrases and diction. At least I can find peace in my literature.
So... My second weekend here, I took a trip to the beach side town of Pinamar. It's not a particularly large or interesting town, but it is most certainly the place to go for a day of sunbathing. We were thinking we would be smart and avoid having to pay for a hostel by leaving at 12:30 Friday night and returning at 2:00 am Saturday night. The bus trip is around five or five and a half hours... Needless to say, I spent most of Sunday recovering and re-hydrating.
But to get to the details of the excursion... We arrived and watched the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean (see photos). As we wandered the beach, we were accompanied by a pack of stray dogs that were desperate to come home with us. Unfortunately, they didn't want to leave us alone and hung around while we waited for the restaurant to open, but eventually lost interest and took to chasing the cars passing by in the busy Saturday morning streets. We didn't see much of them later, but I don't think anyone was particularly unhappy to see them go.
After a three hour breakfast of coffee, medilunas (croissants with a honey/sweet glaze) and delightful conversation, we returned to the beach for a nap in the sun. I went for a stroll with my friend Ashley (the same in the photo with the dogs), and we talked about the lives and people we left behind. It was interesting to know that someone else shared the emotions and experiences that had tumbled around inside my stomach the first few days here. It's funny that I hadn't realized that I wasn't alone in this little adventure.
For lunch, we found this tiny cafe and ate some of the best empanadas I've had since being here... I really need a recipe. Afterwards, we followed our delicious meal with unbelievable ice cream... I had kiwi and apple, can you believe that? So delicious! We filled the rest of the afternoon with more swimming and sun. Although I put SPF fifty on my entire body the second time, I still managed to get a burn two days that later left a few tiny blisters on my back. It was really not attractive, but I did survive.
We ended up wandering the streets that evening and discovering this Beatles cover band on the balcony of one of the bars. They shared the stage with a CCR cover band, and the two were absolutely fantastic. Alex, who is infamous for his friendliness, introduced himself to Paul and John and made plans for us to return to their later show. It was amazing, but I spent a great deal of it falling asleep until the Beatles paid our cover charge, so we could sit in the bar where the view was much better. I also made everyone try Fernet (the most foul alcohol) which is a famous Argentinean liquor made from herbs and tastes like you're drinking straight oregano and rosemary... Such a fun night.
We had to leave our friends before the show ended, but we promised to make it to their show in Buenos Aires in March... I'm looking forward to another Spanish accented Beatles concert. The road home was long and I slept till three in the afternoon the next day, but I had such a good time. It was a great time for bonding and frolicking with new friends.
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