Yet another great day in Argentina! Kay Bauerlein described the day as, "the water was beautiful, the trees were beautiful, and the overall day was beautiful", which I believe sums up our day very well.
After leaving the River Plate stadium around 12:45PM, we boarded the bus to adventure to the Tigre River. We enjoyed our first boxed lunch of the trip. I ordered the barbecue chicken wrap, and was pleasantly surprised with the added bonus of an ice cold water, a hot commodity around here, an apple, and a dessert which was a trifle made from crackers and dulce de leche.
Upon arriving to the Tigre River we were greeted with our first challenge as the bridge we were to cross was under construction. Therefore, we were dropped off next to the Tigre Estacion. There were many business people hussling and bussling around as we walked to our next location. As we walked, we passed a water park, which had a couple of water slides and even a fake mountain.
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| A few students walking from the bus to the kayak location. |
Once we arrived at the kayak location, we meet Eugenico and his team. Though Eugenico spoke little English, with the help of Sophia, we were told of what our day was to entail. During this time, many of our students applied sunscreen since the Argentine sun has not been so kind to our New England skin. From a foot of snow to sunny and 90 degrees, our skin is taking a beating from the sun down here.
Eugenico told us that we must travel on the right side of the river, as others would be traveling to the left, and we were not to interfere with their travels. He also told us about the different kayaks; there were to be six boats of two people, three boats of three, one boat of eight and one of ten. I was to be in the boat of ten, along with a few other girls, Professor Gomez, Sarah, Sophia, and Eugenico.
We walked back towards the bus a little to the dock next to the river. Eugenico had to take ten at a time to the kayaks, make sure they were settled in, and then come back to the dock to get the next group. My group was last, since we were to ride the motor boat in which Eugenico was using to transport.
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| Madison and I in the back of the boat along with Sarah, Sophia, and Eugenico! |
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When we reunited with the rest of the group, many were jealous of our motor, as they had to paddle. Though we were to "ride in luxury" as we did not have to paddle, many of the other students were excited for what this journey would bring.
As we started down the river, my group was out in front, as Eugenico informed everyone not to pass our boat since we had a guide with us. Though we started out paddling, my boat soon gave up, and stopped our paddling. This caused the others to get jealous, one boat even decided to splash us repetitively, since we were relaxing on the job. The splashes actually felt good though, because the blistering Argentine sun was started to burn our skin.
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| My boat and our "enemy" boat, taking a break in the shade to take a selfie. |
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| View from the side of the boat. |
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| View of the front of the boat. |
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As we traveled down the river we passed many natives outside enjoying the beautiful day. There were dogs along the shore and even some children playing in the water. The trees were described by Kelly Jacobsen as truffula trees, like from the movie The Lorax. Sarah informed us that these were willow trees that had been cut and were growing back.
After about an hour and a half of paddling, many students decided to entire the river at this time for a quick swim. We were very surprised because when we entered the water, Nick Blonder described the feeling of the river bottom as mashed potatoes, a very accurate description. The river also had a large current, so we stayed close and shallow so that no one would float away. After swimming we went back to shore to enjoy a nice snack. We
were pleasantly greeted by alfajores, cold Coca-cola, water, oranges,
apples, and a drink Colby Sturgis described as a grapefruit lemonade
soda.Then, students lounged around the beach; many took naps, listened to much, and relaxed in the shade.
Around 4:45PM, Sarah informed us that we would be leaving shortly. As we boarded the boat we left our little piece of paradise on the Tigre River filled with full stomachs, sandy feet, sunkissed cheeks, and an unforgettable experience. Can't wait to see what tomorrow and the rest of the trip brings!
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