Fall is Coming (in April!) & We're Off To SA de Areco and Lujan

We were very excited when our friends, Joe and Cathy, invited us on a day trip in their new car to a small town NW of Buenos Aires called San Antonio de Areco.  Once out of the city, we entered the heart of cattle, pork and poultry country.  The quantities of grilled meat and chicken that all consume every day begin their the journey here.  We were behind truckloads of  pigs and cattle more than once!


This town on a river was a gem.  We headed to the main shady plaza for the free visitor's tour.  This is the quintesential  guacho town--mostly one-story homes and shops, most restored to their former glory.  We immediately noticed all the people on bikes with baskets for their groceries.  This is clearly the way to get around the town.  There are apparently free bikes that anyone can use and there are numerous racks.  No locks needed; it is that kind of small town.  The tour leader even pointed out several sets of keys just hanging on a coat rack just inside someone's open front door, not three feet from the sidewalk!  We were impressed!  Since the door fronts mostly  butted up against the sidewalks, the homes are built around interior courtyards.

We visited a very old bar/cafe (complete with hitching post outside) with old men having a Sunday morning chat with the dapper bartender.  While none of these men were dressed in their gaucho clothes, our tour leader said that she had never seen her father-in -law in a regular pair of pants until her daughter got married.  He put on a suit for the first time and nearly cried because of the confinement!  The blousy gaucho pants tucked into boots are the norm.
 

The wall of dusty bottles behind the bar was part of the charm, as was "general store" merchandise of a bygone era.
 
After leaving the tour and sticking our heads into several quality shops of  saddlery, silver, weaving and handbags, it was time to have lunch.  We walked from the square away from the heart of town to a parilla (grill restaurant) on the river, recommended by our guide book.  Under the thatch-covered roof of the patio, we watched kids fishing the river and  families and friends enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon at this grassy sloped river park.  Many a large, stray dog sat patiently waiting at the tables of  patrons, hoping for a sample of the beef steak/chicken/pork that IS the Sunday dinner for so many.

Once back in the car, we headed back toward BA on a slightly different route to visit the town of Lujan, whose Gothic Basilica looks very out of place in a small, country town.  With a bus terminal sitting along side, it is clear that thousands of people make the trip to the Basilica on Sunday.  We compared it to the Vatican, with its huge public square filled with visitors and vendor after vendor of religious items.

After entering the Basilica during a filled-to-capacity mass, we paused on the steps where Jon asked a priest if this was a special event due to the numbers of people.  No, it was just Sunday..  there was even a sleeping dog who had found a place to nap next to a cold pillar INSIDE the church.  We turned to walk down the stairs, saw these signs, and left with a smile in search of the nearest heladeria (ice cream store).