Anyway, we arrived to Gualeguaychu around noon with over twelve hours before the true celebration would pick up. So, we decided to wait in line to pay for seats and entrance fees (yes, oddly, two separate things) for, I don't know, about an hour or two? It was lovely... Especially because the day was ridiculously hot. It was definitely interesting when part of the group left for a half hour or so and returned with a few bottles of beer and soda and snacks for the wait. We turned the line into a much more enjoyable wait as we chatted and sipped and chowed.
Afterwards, we were ready for some lunch, so we headed towards the local grocery store. However, we were distracted a certain, magical looking playground and decided we had to play for a little while. (Oh yes, we're exceedingly mature!) I jumped on a swing while others made their way to the seesaws and the giant slide. As one after another tried out the slide, it was decided that everyone had to take a ride down... Henry, Kara and I got bored waiting for our turn, so we wandered over to a giant tree off to the side of the action.
Henry had made it to the topmost branches, I a few feet below his feet and Kara just behind me when we heard a terrible screeching and thump and lots of laughing and carrying on back in the direction of the slide. Henry, with his view about the tree branches had seen most everything, but Kara and I had no idea what had occurred. Nicole had experienced and "epic fail/slide fail/big smash/terrible slide accident" when she'd tried to go head-first down the slide. She had more injury done to her pride than her actual body, but the screeching had been her skin grating against the hot metal as she tried to slow herself down. There were some slide burns and she had dirt smeared in various locations... What made for an amusing video looked pretty painful overall. She was a very good sport and allowed us to tease her as we brushed dirt off her. Poor thing. But what a survivor! (Really, you should see the video--so great! Love you, Nicole!)
So after the delightful disaster on the playground, we thought it best to continue our journey and avoid future freak slide accidents. We made our way to the grocery store and bought an ungodly amount of delicious food before settling down in a small park across the street. Picnics are an art form for the Multisa family, and we made merry with our bounty until we had entered into food comatose. There was a sweet little dog wandering around who, though she was female, was dubbed "Gollum" and given leftover nibbles in order to coerce her into playing with us. Afterwards, we all took a nap, each of us resting our head on the belly or legs of another person. We were a sight to see, but it was a fantastic nap session and prepared us well for the adventures to follow.
After our nap we wandered a little more through the city in search of a beach to relax on and party a little before the evening's celebration. We split into two groups, and long story short, my group discovered the ridiculous mayhem on the beach. We enjoyed a pitcher of sangrias and the company of some creepy Argentineans who were fascinated by Caroline and I with our fabulous "rubio" hair and inclination to enjoy ourselves. It was awkward and silly and sandy, but we had fun making friends and drinking a little sangria.
After the beach excitement, we walked back to the main drag of the city and played in traffic for a while. (Not really, but it was ridiculous trying to navigate through the horrendous amount of cars and taxis that had streamed into town while we'd been out playing all day. We finally made our way to the stadium around 11 pm to watch several hours of the same parade put to the same music. There was some wild dancing and silliness, but after a while, I was too tired to continue (the celebration lasted until around 4 or 5 am, when our bus was supposed to leave). I found a cozy little spot to curl up on the frozen concreted seating to sleep while everyone else watched the remainder of the parade. I'm such a party animal. From what I hear, Carnaval parades are beautiful and filled with exciting colors and dancers and half-dressed female performers. Perhaps if I had not slept for the better part of 3 or so hours, I would have been able to tell you more. The ride home was long and uneventful, and I also was able to sleep soundly in the bus... The End.
