Argentinians, or at least Ida´s family have this wonderful ritual of greeting and departing from everyone with a kiss on the right cheek. Not the two air kisses like Europeans, or the three kisses like the Moroccans, but a real kiss on the one cheek. So when we arrived at Ida´s even the children will give you a greeting as part of their manners. It¨s really lovely! I have never been kissed by so many handsome men in years!!
But back to our arrival (I typed all this at May´s on my iPad and the router must have disconnected and it was all lost!! Grrrr! Technology!)
On Thursday we said goodbye to picturesque Ushuaia and the lovely people - Gabriel, Tamara, etc. who run the Antarctica Hostel there - and took a taxi to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires. Everything went smoothly although I was disappointed not to see much scenery of Patagonia on the way over - too many clouds. On arriving I got one of those luggage pushcarts as I had two bags, my backpack and was carrying a paper shopping bag with some wrapped chocolates I had bought for our hostess May and a little Easter egg for Ida, plus I had put my book and waterbottle in it. When we walked outside the baggage area with the cart, Michelle had texted me they were on their way to pick us up and we should cross the street to the Rio Plate side which we did, leaving the cart behind. We are standing there texting (they were stuck in traffic, a frequent occurrence in very crowded and crazy BA!) when I realized I had left the candy on the cart. I threw the phone at Betty (who doesn´t know how to text anyway!) and ran back across to the cart. Of course, the bag was gone! I frantically pantomimed to a couple of policemen nearby that I´d left something in it. They were pointing down the airport and said to go to security! I did an OJ run/fast walk down, down, down where they had been pointing, asking a couple of places along the way for security and they kept pointing keep going! The hallway finally ended in a narrow hall with an office on the side. There a woman was sitting on a bench with my bag beside her!!! I couldn´t believe someone hadn´t just walked off with it! We had been warned by SOOOO many people about how dangerous BA was, don´t leave sight of anything for a minute! thiefs grab and steal things in a blink! And there was my candy, safe and sound!! She checked I guess with security and gave me the bag.
This time I went outside and crossed the street to do a faster walk back to Betty, and by now I figured Michelle had arrived! As I neared, I saw our bags on the sidewalk with a woman´s back to me - turned out to be May, with Betty behind her. All was well, except Michelle had crossed over and was going down the airport looking for me! We texted her back and all was well!!!!
May is one of the two delightful cousins of Michelle´s that I had met 20 years ago at Mom´s 74th birthday bash in Sunset Beach, NC. She and her sister, Susie, had been traveling in US and visiting Zoe, her aunt and friend of mine from Norwalk, CT. They had joined us so they could see all of Robert's (my brother-in-law and Zoe´s brother) family who were down there for Grandma´s party.
To back up, Ida, Robert´s older sister, I think she´s now 83, married years ago in Tangier, Morocco where they all grew up, Paco who was from Argentinia. They lived for awhile in Tangier where Paco worked. They also lived for one year in Ireland, I think for the Arg. government, before returning to BA. They have 12 children (Paco died at 59 over 20 years ago). 10 are happily married, Billy the eldest lives in Ida´s big house and runs his business out of the dining room, Katy, a middle child, is a nun about 2 hours ride from BA, and all the rest live around here and come over for a huge dinner, usually outside with so many- Ida has 48 grandchildren and 15 greats! I saw at least one pregnant woman so another one soon!
Family seems to be number one here in BA and I had heard that families frequently get together on Sundays and here it was! I experienced it twice - once for Robert and Maria Laura´s 4 year old´s birthday party ´- Belisario (Beli) - where it was mobbed with kids, many cousins but some friends as well - and then the regular family get together last Sunday where we were greeted with all these kisses again! Everyone brings food: usually Ida makes a spaghetti sauce and they bring everything else. This time Billy, a vegetarian, had cooked a wonderful creamy chicken and rice dish and they kept bringing out all kinds of side dishes. We were a bit late getting back by ferry boat (rough 1.5 hr ride across the Plate on Colonia Express, a much smaller boat than the Busquebus huge catamaran we had come over on - then taxi to train station and another ride out to the suburbs. We waited to get picked up at the station by May and Susie´s husband to ride over to Ida´s.
We were told they had to hide food for us because whenever a dish was brought out, the crowd hovered and grabbed! There wouldn´t have been anything left for us, we were told, unless they had saved it hidden!! There must have been close to 50 family members there!! Fun!
Robert and Maria Laura with their son Beli and 2 year old daughter Felicitas (Feli), live in a house in Ida´s back yard. We stopped at Pato (Patrick)´s house newly built by him ´- he works in construction - and gorgeous - on our way home Thursday from the birthday party. We met their middle school son (got a kiss!) who was watching TV when we stopped by. His wife we didn´t meet until Sunday.
We also stopped by Susie´s where Michelle had been staying to pick up her luggage. She has 7 children - Sofi, her 28 year old who speaks excellent English (these are all now Michelle´s SECOND cousins! - while we were there. She is delightful! and we met her boyfriend of 3 or so years on Sunday at Ida´s. Her husband Jose Luis picked us up from the train on Sunday and we met him then. Their oldest, Jose Luis, we met Sunday (and will meet for tango when we return to BA) along with Pilar, his girlfriend. They demonstrated some tango steps for us!! He is a music conductor and she studies music.
I haven´t put all the names and faces together yet - Christopher, my nephew, who came here 2 years ago with his new wife Kendra, gave me a printed list, in order, with spouses and children to help. There is Ellen, Teri (Teri has the 11 children!), and Pablo and another handsome younger brother (I can´t remember the name right now) who joked around a lot with Michelle. They had seen her for a week and they certainly welcomed and treated her like family!!
Anyway, it was delightful to experience ¨family¨in Buenos Aires! Now we´re looking forward to staying downtown for our last 3 nights in BA and seeing some of the sites in the city, like La Boca, the port area where this country of immigrants had their ancestors land and then move out! Usually a rough, dangerous area at night but okay in the daytime and getting gentrified. This is where tango, originally a dance of the brothels, originated. At one time it was condemned by Kaiser Wilhelm and Pope Pius X!!!! My friend Pat from the Cape who I traveled to China with in 2011, has a son Ray who runs a tango group on Cape Cod!!! It´s become a ¨thing¨and is very popular in South Korea where Ray first learned! He was a travel writer for Lonely Planet at the time. Check out capecodtango.org! We just watched an interview of him on Cape Cod TV about their 2nd anniversary coming up in April and what the group does! It´s not like Dancing with the Stars. I´m anxious to see it this weekend- don´t think I´ll be able to try it as I have only sandals!!! Some of the family will join us as a thank you for hosting us! I´ll post pictures!!! Michelle did bring shoes so maybe she will get to dance at the milonga they call it!! Then we´ll watch a professional show!
Ciao, ciao for now from Iguazu Falls!!
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