Holy Macaco!

JenA and I were excited to go for our usual camina (walk) for the day now that we were in beautiful, Maringa, Brazil and had a new, large park to explore. Not that we believed a walk around the park here would be any different. The walking trail of “Parque do Inga” consists of a large circular path (3200 meters round) and encompasses a thick green jungle of Brazilian trees, bushes and plants (turned out to be a great place for Jenny to run each day). A tall fence lines the walking trail to keep the jungle area separate and to help maintain the habitat.

The park was designed so that every 800 meters or so had little exercise areas with the equipment provided by the city. You can do sit-ups, pull ups, curls, rows, and get some cardio by using the gliders provided or mosey around all the usual equipment for a well rounded workout. The funny thing to me was there was not really any weight associated with these exercise machines – it was mainly just the motion (which I guess is better than nothing). I definitely liked the concept and so did the people as the areas were always in use.


Another interesting experience at the park was a little stand along the path selling fresh coconut water. It was so fun to see! We ordered ourselves a couple glasses and the guy chopped off the top of the coconut and placed it upside-down letting the water leak through a small filtration system right into our cups. Mmm… it was so tasty and refreshing in the humidity of the day and so different from the norm of the parks in the U.S.


I do have to say the best part of the park (or surprise I should say) is what we encountered further down the path. We were walking along chatting when we heard ruffling above us in the trees. It sounded as if it was coming right at us. Sure enough - out of the thick green foliage popped a little “Macaco” (ma kah coe) jumping and swinging ever so easily in our direction until it let go of the last vine and plopped itself right on top of the wooden fence post just in front of us. Jen and I looked at each other with huge smiles and amazement! We both have never had this happen before and have never been this close to a monkey – not even at the zoo. This little guy was so curious and had no hesitation in coming up close to us in plain view – he must have recognized we were foreigners – and within seconds his entire family joined him in observing us.


Little did I know 4 years later from eating frango lasagna (chicken lasagna) with Guilherme and Lucia (both from Brazil) at their apartment in Denver that I would be sleeping in his old room at his family’s house in Maringa. Oh the treasure and unknown of friendships and what’s to come…

At that time the 3 of us sat around the dinner table trying to communicate - with them speaking hardly any English and me speaking no Portuguese. After a couple years of solid friendship and many fun experiences together we taught each other a good amount of each other’s language.

Now sitting here in Maringa after spending the last 5 days with his family (who speak very little English) makes me treasure the friendship even more, the little Portuguese I learned from him and the common bond his family and I immediately shared upon arrival. It only took about 1 day for my memory to come back and to understand much of what was being spoken to me. It was so exciting and fun to understand Portuguese as not many people do. It was also encouraging to see the Brazilian’s we met impressed with the amount of knowledge and understanding I had for their language. I only wish Guilherme himself could have been here too (he’s in Australia).


Guilherme’s parents (Valdir and Luci) made us lunch and dinner each day and we all (his brother Rafael too) sat around the table enjoying ourselves trying to communicate every time. Each day got more comfortable and fun as we shared many laughs in trying. It was déjà vu from 4 years ago in the opposite setting (me being in Brazil this time). They also took us around town each day to show us the city, where my good friend Gui grew up, and the famous “Catedral” downtown which can be seen from anywhere in the city. It makes for a “bom vista” (great view) from their balcony and has a design in which neither Jen nor I have ever seen.


A fond memory I will have as well is when Valdir wanted to show me how to make Brazil’s most famous drink – the Caipirinha. He took me one morning to his mother’s house where she had a lime tree in the back yard. We picked several nice, fresh green limes and headed back to his house. After slicing up all the limes and some fresh pineapple, we mixed them together in a glass mug and took a mashing tool (not sure of the name) and mashed the fruit together until the cup was 1/3 full of fresh juices. We then put in spoonful of sugar and topped off the mug with ice cubes and “Ypioca” liquor. MY GOODNESS – fresh Caipirinha’s are soooo good! We have an awesome video of it that Jen took too – best part is that it was only noon as Jen shows when the drinks began.



We also experienced their daily life of “O Clube” (the club) they belong to and go to each day for a variety of different activities. The club has soccer fields, futsal courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, pools, bocha (a different form of bowling and shuffleboard mixed), a gym, bar/ cafeteria area, several areas for dancing, playing cards, playgrounds for children, sauna’s, hot tubs, showers and pretty much anything else you can think of that’s related. They have a variety of leagues for each sport as well which seem to be quite competitive – especially futebol (soccer in Portuguese)! I actually played for Valdir (Guilherme’s dad) as he’s injured. It was much more than what I thought I was getting into. Let’s just say after the 40 minutes of drills before the game (he had me do to warm up) I was absolutely exhausted as I have not truly played soccer in 12 years! Once that was done I was laughing to myself that I had to actually go out and play a game now! As ugly as it may have been I did manage to score a goal and save face! 

Another key area of their club is for the Sunday rituals of “Churrasco” which we got to attend. The “Churrasco” is what the Brazilian’s call their bbq’s - definitely something you must attend at some point if the opportunity presents itself! I could not stop myself from eating each time they came by with a different skewer of meat fresh from the grill.




When we finished I went and passed out from food coma!  I believe maybe all the “Skol cerveja” (Brazilian beer) they kept pouring me may have added to the coma as well… luckily later Valdir took me to his good friend Ronaldo’s “Panificadora e Confeitaria” (bakery and coffee shop) for some good café to wake up!



What a good experience and memory to have heard and listened to Guilherme’s numerous stories about Maringa, Brazil and now to have actually lived the culture and some of the traditions he always mentioned. His family is awesome and made Jen and I feel at home.


I believe it may have been a bit overwhelming for Jen as she doesn’t speak any Portuguese and has never actually even heard the language spoken - other than a few phrases from me in the past and some songs. Five days of not really being able to communicate is definitely tough! She has learned an impressive amount over the last week and I’m proud of the courage she showed in trying. It was a great snap shot for our return to Brazil in February for 2 months. Now back to the Spanish speaking countries for awhile…

Tchau,

AA

Oi

We are on a bus right now, leaving Iguazu Falls and going to Maringa which is in Parana, Brazil. I should be studying right now – learning some of the Portuguese basics, but just like my students I’d much rather procrastinate when possible. We are so relieved to be in Brazil. It was a massive headache getting the visa to come here, and we were very nervous because we had only 90 days after the date of issue of the visa to use it. If we did not enter Brazil within 90 days (of August) then it would no longer be valid. But luckily everything worked out without too much difficulty and now as I type I am looking out the window at the beautiful countryside of Brazil. I feel a sense of culture-shock for the second time now. Argentina was the first time, but after 6 weeks there I got used to it and thanks to our great Spanish classes we know enough Spanish to say what we need to. But then we cross the border into Brazil and we’re back to ground zero. The currency here is called reais and the language is Portuguese. I got overwhelmed at the bus station, so many differences already. I went to use the bathroom and you must pay (they even have a security guard there), and then I went to the ATM to get some reais out (I can’t even pronounce the word reais yet), and I ended up doing a cash advance on my credit card, which I don’t know what that means but I’m pretty positive it involves extra fees, and then I went to buy some food for the 7 hour bus ride, but they make you order first in a separate area from the food, and then go pick it up. I barely know how to say hi in Portuguese (Oi), much less how to order us food (without just pointing to it). So I went back to AA, frustrated, and told him it was his job to get us some food. And that is why I should be studying Portuguese right now :-)

We are going to Maringa in order to meet the family of AA’s good friend Gui. We decided to go there now, instead of in February when we will be living in Brazil, because 1) we needed to get the visas stamped and 2) it’s pretty close to Iguazu Falls. The (long distance) buses here are awesome. Our last trip ended up being 20 hours on the bus, and it flew by and we were very comfortable. They served us a hot dinner and breakfast, played several movies (in English), and we had no problem sleeping. Today’s trip should go just as well and Gui’s mom and dad will be waiting for us at the bus station when we arrive. We are excited to meet his family and explore his hometown. We have no idea how long we’ll stay or what exactly we’ll do, but that’s the fun in being a vagabond, right??!!??!

It’s amusing to look out the window and watch all the small towns go by, imagining how different their lives must be. It makes me wonder and question what we really need in life to live and be happy. After observing for awhile I have noticed that I do not need a (clothes) dryer. I’m pretty sure hardly anybody in South America has a dryer – you see clothes hanging out to dry in practically every house. Washers, yes I do need a washer because doing it by hand was too much, haha, but a dryer I can probably do without. Cars – not needed here. As long as you have legs to walk and maybe a bike then that’s all you really need. The public transportation here is great and most of these towns are so small that you can walk from one end to another. Front porch – definitely needed here. Along with some friends or family to pass the time with while sitting on your porch, drinking mate, watching the clothes dry and world pass by. TV – I think that one is still a personal preference. I am surprised how many Direct TV dishes I see here, and big satellite dishes, but many people also do without. I could go either way. I guess basically for everybody, no matter where you are on this Earth, it comes down to having a roof over your head, food, friends and family, and a purpose in life. As I sit here and watch the towns go by I can’t help but to contemplate how different, but yet the same, my life is from these Brazilians.



I guess for me one of the difficulties I face while traveling is identifying what my purpose is. When I’m settled at home it’s easier to identify: to teach kids, contribute to society, be a good example of Christ, take care of my dogs, pay the bills, etc. Here it is harder for me because my purposes are to travel, explore, and grow. It helped in Buenos Aires when we were taking classes, because then I could identify my purpose as learning a new language. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel brainwashed to believe that tangible purposes hold more worth than intangible ones. I often overlook the main purpose of the trip – to press pause on life and fill up on God. Working towards God everyday is an invaluable and rewarding experience in itself. On top of that I feel so blessed to have this time to really learn who I am and who I want to be. AA and I are learning how to be partners to each other and how to provide what the other needs. A seed is being planted in my brain that perhaps the intangibles actually have more meaning.

Que Bueno

Our first experience to surfing ended up being 5 nights in Devoto (deh-boh-toh). That is a barrio about an hour outside downtown Buenos Aires. Not surfing in the way we initially think of surfing, but “Couch Surfing.” If you are not familiar with it a quick explanation of couch surfing is a network and website in which you create a profile and post it for other travelers to view in search for a place to stay or “couch surf.” Everyone with a profile is required to give certain information and whatever background info they want as well as list whether they have a floor, couch or bed to host. Surfers and hosts are in all parts of the world. You do need to have a few other “couch surfers” validate you to prove you’re not a lunatic before you can really get started. It is an excellent way to meet locals and learn more about their city, country and culture. Just be sure to not overstay your welcome and be sure to return the favor when you are home from your travels and someone is passing through.

Stepping off the subte (subway) and walking down the street to the isquina of Corrientes and Leandro N. Alem, Jen and I could feel the adrenaline start to pump and the nerves become more prevalent. We thought to ourselves, “Was this going to be a good experience? Awkward? Uncomfortable? Awesome? What if these guys are loco and want to kidnap us or try to harm us?” We had no idea who or what these people were really about and had just exchanged a few emails and one brief phone call. They seemed nice. After all, they said they were going to make us “home made pizza” that night.

We stood on the corner of the intersection studying several bystanders for the girlfriend of the couple’s house we were going to be staying at. It was nearly 5:30 and downtown BsAs was alive with the workday coming to an end. Hundreds of people determined to get home were racing in every direction to try and catch the next taxi, colectivo, or subte. I don’t believe anyone near to us missed the opportunity to curiously eye us both from head to toe. I’m not sure why as we couldn’t have stood out - Jenny and her two bags she travels with; one small backpack which carries both our necessities and then pulling her large bag behind on rollers (also transforms into an actual backpack, but is too heavy for her). Then me - wearing shorts, a t-shirt, my large red backpack, and to top it off my signature upside-down, backwards, visor!! Oh the wonders of what these “Portenos” thought as they walked by us! 

Scoping out the crowd for any possible matches of who we dreamed up emerged a very pleasant looking, bonita chica, with long hair wearing a light black coat and scarf. She began waving happily and smiled a warm comforting smile as she approached. I looked to “mi amor” Jen and I could see in her eyes she was already feeling much more secure. The person we had been waiting for arrived and did not even remotely resemble what the two of us wondrously imagined. We were greeted with “Hola, como estan?” and then she gave us each the customary Argentina kiss on our cheek. It was a refreshing feeling.


Waiting for the train to Devoto at Retiro station we were becoming somewhat anxious from the growing crowd gathering around the platform. It was our first time to ride a train here in BsAs and we quickly realized it was going to be quite adventurous. People were escaping the huge mass forming by jumping off the platform onto the rock where the tracks lie and crossing over to the other side to make boarding less of a competition for the approaching train. I looked over to Natalia after I realized what was happening in nervous anticipation of possibly not being able to board with our large backpacks. As we made eye contact I could see in her eyes she was thinking the same. Natalia told us when we got there it was the busiest time of the day besides morning as thousands of people use the train each day to make their commute to and from work downtown.

The train began to slow and before I even had the thought of boarding (because of the speed it still had) people in front of us and to the side of us began jumping into the stairwells of each car nearly being knocked violently back to the platform. All to ensure they had a spot on the train. Jen and I looked at each other in awe and then to Natalia. She glanced back at us speaking with her eyes that it was now or never. We knew exactly what we had to do next and that’s when the adrenaline pumped full force. Following Natalia’s lead, Jen tossed her big bag into the next stairwell simultaneously as we both quickly jumped from the platform.

As we road the rails the extremity became known when we saw people literally on the outside of the train holding on as it whistled down the tracks. They were packed in the stairwells with a few only having half of their foot on the bottom stair while gripping the handle bars (for boarding) to keep from falling off! I couldn’t comprehend that this one departure time was more important than waiting 60 minutes for the next train. One slip and that was it!


Staring out the windows wondering what was to come and thrilled with all the adventure so far (I speak for myself here) I began to witness the poorest areas I may have ever seen in my life. Passing by what must have been the slums of Buenos Aires. I could not believe my eyes. There were blocks and blocks and blocks of housing made from old pallets, plastic, scrap metal, tree branches, anything you could find along side the train tracks. Clothes lines were tied from the make shift roofs of these throw together shed houses to the fences that divided these communities from the tracks. Sheds in the U.S. are complete luxury compared to what was before my eyes. Huge bond fires of what looked to be trash and whatever could possibly burn were every few hundred feet with several people standing around them. A family outside their front doorway – as there was no door – sitting on buckets and old broken, thrown away chairs they must have discovered while eating from tables made from scrap pieces of wood and metal. It seemed as though they were content and enjoying the nice afternoon and didn’t even notice a train flying by less than 40 yards away. I fought back sorrow as I saw kids standing around wearing only old, dirty, raggedy underwear and filthy from head to toe. Wow, these people didn’t have electricity, running water, bathrooms or let alone ANYTHING really. All the housing was like a large Lego city made from trash and old junk connected from one home to the other as one long constant maze of a scrap city.

Several miles up the tracks from this community I peered out to see yet another city formed in the ruins of old brick buildings from 1 to 3 stories high. The poor inhabited these ruins and made homes out of them. Many of the small brick buildings had only few walls left and were hardly standing. The residents reinforced them with old boards wedged up from the ground at an angle. Windows were what came out of the large holes in the brick walls and sloped plastic tarps were used as roofs. Patios were created out of the floors where the brick only went up a couple feet.

In the middle of the ciudad de ruins must have been the nicest place to live. It was rectangular in shape and 3 floors up. The floor must have been designed into 2 identical squares side by side. The square and end wall on the 3rd floor facing me was no longer there – the brick remaining along that edge fluctuated between 1 and 2 feet tall. The roof of that half was no longer there as well. The family had made it into there patio/ deck and had strung a close line across attached to each of the two good walls. The mother was hanging clothes to dry and two small children were playing next to her. I could tell behind them in the other half of the rectangular floor must have been their one room of shelter. For what I had just been viewing for the last several minutes I thought this place actually looked quite comfortable and homey. They even had a good view!


That night around 10 pm sitting in the living room of the 1 bedroom apartment playing with Tobias (their 8 week old Golden Retriever) and growing hungrier by the minute the sound of a key jiggling the lock drew our attention and in walked Natalia’s boyfriend. It was a fun moment as the four of us were now together and it seemed all were at ease – especially Natalia now that Guido was home.

“You hungry?” he asked with a big friendly smile. Jen and I replied with smiles, a friendly nod and broken Spanish. Within a few minutes Guido was busy in the kitchen rolling out fresh dough for homemade pizza.


Little did Jen or I know that couch surfing could actually be the means for lifelong friends. I don’t think the thought ever even crossed our minds that we could become such good friends with people who agreed to host us. On the flip side – I’m not sure they had that thought surface either. The dynamic that grew among the 4 of us over the course of the next 5 days was simply incredible! It truly only took about one night for us all to click and feel extremely comfortable with each other. Jen and I both couldn’t believe the generosity, respect and trust they showed to us instantly. The first two nights they insisted we sleep in their room as they wanted to sleep in the living room on the loveseat. They claimed it was normal for them from watching movies late anyways. Despite our efforts of declining the offer they prevailed with every excuse imaginable and we finally had to accept. One of the days we came to the apartment early afternoon while they were still at work to find $50 pesos on the table with a note from them telling us to go buy ourselves some lunch. The generosity just kept coming...

In the short stay with Guido and Natalia we created many fun and meaningful memories. We had dinner each night, breakfast a few days, drank “Mate” several times (the cultural and traditional herbal tea of Argentina) which is something you do with family and friends – some days – for hours at a time.


We got a glimpse of their weekly routines by seeing Natalia come home from hockey practice one night with a friend and hanging out for a bit; taking a taxi across town one sunny afternoon to see Guido’s outdoor “futbol” game where he scored 3 goals because of excellent footwork.

We enjoyed a Saturday night with dinner at a restaurant on a rooftop patio followed by a few fun competitions of tennis at an arcade! Sat around and ate “helado” (ice-cream) I believe every five minutes!  They do love their ice-cream! We also went and saw Guido play in a “Baby” (bah-bee) tournament (5 v 5 soccer). It’s played on concrete with goals that are 7x10 and with a smaller, dense, soccer ball so it doesn’t bounce uncontrollably. It’s amazing to watch as it’s fast paced and has numerous goals and fancy footwork. For those of you who are familiar with futsal – it’s practically the same thing.


I was even lucky enough to experience a night out with Guido and his friends when he took me to an “Asado” (grill out), for one of his friend’s birthdays (Jen had movie night with Natalia). What a great time! Two friends of his picked us up and from that moment on I mainly sat back and just observed the conversations, games, laughs and stories while eating several selections of tasty meat! They honestly spoke SO fast it all sounded as if it was only a couple words with each sentence (maybe the alcohol got their blood flowing quicker)!  Guido took me under his wing and translated the whole time and was sure to introduce me to everyone. Each of his friends individually came up to greet me with the Argentine kiss on the side of the cheek. I truly felt honored.


It was an amazing experience to be in a room with people from a totally different culture celebrating, laughing, playing cards, drinking, telling stories and overall having a great time while all at the same time I really didn’t understand a word. I laughed a ton and just felt great to be able to see all of them in their element. They were really curious of me as I noticed all of them staring at me periodically throughout the night. A few would come up and try to talk with me – thank goodness we had Guido to translate!

Something very meaningful Jen and I got to do for them was add a painting to their back patio wall. It has become a wall of happiness for them and is now one large mural from different friends and family who have left their mark. We both new right away the marking we wanted to leave – the triangle. 1) God at the top with Guido and Natalia on each side – we believe the closer we get to Him the closer we’ll get to each other and the triangle is a perfect symbol of that. We saw the love in Guido and Natalia as a couple and wish only the best for their relationship and wanted to share a belief of ours. 2) We also wanted to represent where we are from – the United States of America. 3) We wanted to share the best definition for Love. It turned out great and we really enjoyed painting it!


We are happy to have left them something from our hearts they can view for years to come. Hopefully we will see them in Denver one day and can return the hospitality, respect, and graciousness they showed us.

Today we depart from Buenos Aires after 6 weeks here and are heading to Iguazu Falls. It’s been incredible and the Spanish is slowly improving.

Chau – AA

1125 minutes

That´s how long we will be on the bus from Buenos Aires to Igauzu Falls tomorrow! To be honest I am somewhat excited for the experience. Our seats fold down into beds, there are TVs on the bus, and they serve us dinner and breakfast. I´m sure after about 2 hours I won´t be so excited anymore though. Tonight is our last night in Buenos Aires. This has been a great home for the past 5 or 6 weeks. I will miss it, but I am also looking forward to new adventures.

I just wanted to write a quick update before we left. AA is working on a more detailed explanation of our last week or two, and I´m sure he´ll have plenty of time to finish it on the bus :-). We have spent the last 9 nights "couchsurfing" and it has been a fabulous experience! We have met some truly kind and generous people and we are excited to be the "hosts" ourselves once we are back and settled. AA will have more details for you in his post. The plan from here is for us to spend a few nights in Iguazu Falls which is home to over 275 gorgeous waterfalls. It is located in northern Argentina near the border of Brazil. We will wander into Brazil for a couple of nights to meet AA´s good friend Gui´s family. Then we will spend a couple of weeks traveling across northern Argentina, stopping in Cordoba, Salta, and Mendoza. Finally we will end up in Santiago, Chile and meet up with my mom and dad.

Again, just a quick update, more to come. Miss and love you all!

Sittin' in the park

We are making home of a park in “El Centro” for the afternoon. The Hilton suite (as we called it) was super nice the week it lasted, but understandably Clara wanted her room back, so we are currently vagabonds. Vagabonds, what a scary word for me to associate myself with! Haha, it’s a new side of traveling that I am not very familiar with. I just realized today that this is most likely our first day of travelling place to place, with no real “home” for the four weeks or so, until we arrive in Santiago, Chile. Wow! AA tells me to relax and go with the flow – I’ll get used to it. So that is what I will do, but just so the world knows, I am not very comfortable with this. We have all our stuff with us now – two big bags and a backpack. It doesn’t exactly make for easy travel when you have to lug around all this crap, but it’s definitely adventurous. It was funny the other night when we were moving to our last place. We had left our old apartment around 6 and were planning to meet Clara at 7 at her casa. We were debating – do we take a cab or do we walk about 1 mile to the subte (sub) and take that there. We decided to walk until we got tired and then decide. Well, AA ended up carrying the three main, heavy bags (I guess I tired quickly), while I carried the two grocery bags full of leftover food. Anyways, we end up making it to the subte, but the darn thing is SOOO crowded between 5:00 and 8:00, it’s nearly impossible for just the two of us with no luggage to get on, much less both of us and all the bags. So, after humoring ourselves and waiting for a few more subs to see if they were less crowded, we ended up taking a cab.



This morning we had luck with the subte – it’s not that crowded at noon, and so here we are now sitting in the park with our stuff and waiting for our Spanish class to start. AA is jammin’ away on the harmonica, and I am busy people watching. The birds, the dogs, the people, the traffic, the homeless, it’s all so amusing! But what has been most amusing are these two boys – probably 15ish. When we got here they had this 2 liter soda plastic bottle, about ½ full, and they were maybe 40 yards apart from each other, tossing the bottle. Although they did not try to catch the bottle, they simply threw it high in the air and then let it fall to the ground. They were so happy to play this game.



Then the bottle burst open, so they took to a new game. The new game involved throwing rocks instead of the soda at each other. This time I believe the object was to actually hit the other person with a rock. That game grew old, so next they turned to throwing the rocks at trees. They competitively tested who had the better aim. And finally, when that no longer held their attention they just decided to wrestle each other.



This all was very amusing to me. They seem so content. But my question – why aren’t those boys in school right now?

We will update you on our vagabond life as soon as we have something new to tell you. We are hoping to finally have success with couchsurfing for a few nights. Tonight we will stay with Guido and his girlfriend. He seems very nice and he said he would make us dinner – pizza – for dinner when he gets home at 9pm. What a nice guy! We also may stay a night or two at this hostel we checked out yesterday. It is in San Telmo and seems like it would be fun for a few nights. Alright, well I guess it is officially pancho time. We are on a mission to find “super panchos” for lunch – jumbo hot dogs with little fried goodies on the top… YUM!



Top of the terrace

A Suite at the Hilton..

or not. It's just our house for the next week or two!!! Lucky us! Check out this awesome place we landed which makes us feel like we're staying at the local Hilton or something. It's located in Palermo which is not quite in the heart of Buenos Aires as much as our last place was. This barrio is the "hip" part of town, and home to lots of parks which is an awesome treat for us. We are living in Clara's house and she also hosts a student, Katie, who is studying here from Wisconsin. Clara insists that no English be spoken in the house, only Spanish, which actually is very good for us. It's much easier to speak and understand Spanish that is coming from an American - and since Katie speaks Spanish well it is helpful. The house basically has three levels, so we've attached three videos to show each level. The bottom level is where Clara and Katie sleep, and also where the living room and kitchen are. AA and I get the second level "suite" - our own private bedroom and bathroom. Since we are located on the 12th floor of the building, the third level is the terrace - the roof of the building. It has amazing views of Buenos Aires and is very comfortable. We are so happy to be here and the change of scenery is great. We signed up for another week of Spanish classes next week, we can't get enough! :-) Enjoy

1st level


2nd level


Terrace