Trevor and I have been in San Miguel de Tucuman for a little over two weeks now, and I wanted to let you all know some of what we've been doing. Tucuman has been an interesting place to explore. The streets are crowded, the air is hot, and pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way. There are many beautiful plazas, churches, and other historic buildings throughout the city worthy of visiting.
There's also, of course, interesting food to be eaten. Sometimes food is interesting because it's unfamiliar, and sometimes it's simply a combination one never expected. We call this the waffle-dog. Take a hotdog, pour batter around it and close it into a waffle-type iron specially designed for hotdogs. You'll have to ask one of us if you want to know about the terribly tasty cholesterol stick.
We assumed that when we rolled into town our bikes would instantly be the most interesting around. After seeing this three seater roll by, however, it was clear we'd been wrong.
Night life is huge in Tucuman, and in most of Argentina. With most shops closing from 1pm-5pm, people pour into the streets after the sun goes down.
Trev and I have found ridiculously generous people in the churches that we've been to. That first Sunday we walked Grandma to church, a man named Fernando Garcia came right up to us and invited us to an asado (Argentine BBQ) at his house the following Friday. He contacted us that week, made arrangements, and picked us up at 10pm on Friday for the asado. We had a wonderful time eating huge quantities of salads and meat hot off the grill. Best of all, though, we got to meet this great group of guys and spend an evening together laughing, telling stories, being confused (they confused me with their spanish, and I confused them with mine), and...watching NBA basketball...
After the asado, rather than taking us right home, Fernando took us up to El Cerro, a range of hills to the west of Tucuman, so that we'd be able to see the city at night. When he finally dropped us off at 3am, Grandma was not amused.
The next day we went to a fun gathering at a different church and got our butts thoroughly kicked at volleyball.
There is, of course, disturbingly large wild-life to encounter and kill.
And many beautiful plazas to explore
We've also had a ton of time (often more than we really want) to relax, reflect, and journal.
We also met a hot young lady celebrating her 17th birthday. She really wanted us to go out with her and another friend...
...and a bunch of other friends from church. While Trev and I are often asked whether or not we have girlfriends (in the first thirty seconds of meeting a young lady), most of them are well under 18.
Fun with the camera....
Pablo is a fellow bicyclest that we met at church who was eager to bike up El Cerro with us and begin to show us some of the natural beauty of Tucuman.
The road wound up for 12 kilometers until we got to a great big statue of...
Jesus!
Trev admires Jesus
Grandma Clarita has taken it upon herself to cook delicious food for us, but we've pushed our way into the kitchen a couple of times to try our hand at Argentine cookery. After a few hours int he oven, these veggies and chicken were absolutely delicious.
Trev and I have gotten to have a number of good, late-night talks.
Can't let ourselves get completely soft relaxing and eating all day, though.
These postcards (yes, postcards), were lovingly hand-crafted by Trevor and William for sending to loved ones back home.
Our introduction to the local wildlife continues
Yohanna (who just turned 17) was happy to show us around the lovely and huge independance day park for a day, while helping us practice our Spanish and teaching us part of the Argentine national anthem.
Trev runs the track a few times at this tranquil track in the park.
With a 12km climb so close to home, we couldn't resist going up it again.
To Jesus!
I think these photos would serve us well were we ever to apply for acceptance in an Amish community.
That is, of course, if digital photography were allowed.
We return to the park with our favorite Tucuman family for a day of futbol fun!
Let's go find a spot!
I almost scored on Trev...
Go Francisco, go!
The Argentine's are stunned as they watch the intense gringo action
Good game!
The day after Thanksgiving we were invited for an asado at our favorite family's house. And, Trev pets the newborn kitties. mao?
Food and family! It's a great combination.
The mosquito population here is huge, and they seem to enjoy gringo blood a great deal. So, Trev and I have moved from our perfectly good beds into our tent, and have been sleeping soundly ever since.
Trev protects the cookies we made from roaming dogs and hungry gringos. He later dropped a few on the ground. They were still enjoyed by all.
We were invited to sing twice at one of the churches we've gone to. We figured that, after the first time, there's no chance they'd ask for us to sing again. We were wrong...
Re-enacting Tucuman history at the Casa Historica.
Last night, we finally got to meet up with the guys I'd met and gotten to know when I visited Tucuman a couple of years ago. We had a blast walking the city and eating some most excellent pizza together. We are also looking forward to spending three days on the farm later this week! The Tucuman fun continues until Dec. 3rd when we'll catch a bus to Buenos Aires and begin yet another portion of our adventure.
