Zarate

This past weekend we went camping with a fairly large group(15) in a town about an hour and a half northwest of BA. We went by train, which was pretty sketch- they had police officers patrolling up and down the aisles. We went in two waves, one had to stay behind for tango. The first groups train had some mechanical issues so we had to get off and wait for an hour and a half for the next one. We got to talking with some interesting recovering drug addicts who wanted to swap dates with our American girls for dates with Argentinian girls. Eventually the next train came, with the other group on it and we took it all the way up to Zarate.

Once we got there, we didn't really know where we were going but we were lucky enough to have met one of the nicest guys ever and he helped get us to the central plaza to take taxis. When we were told the fare to our campground would be 80 pesos i was fine with it but some people balked at the offer and let their pride get in the way. 3.5 hours of walking later, they were regretting that. It was one of the toughest walks i have ever been on. We were carrying tons of food, 5 gallon bottles of water, and our heavy packs. Not enjoyable. We eventually got there, set up, and went right to sleep.

The next day we got to actually check out the campground and found it to be SUPER cool. It was a mix between a New Orleans bayou, Texas forest, and a Carribean cabana. What looked like 1960s cruise liners had been driven up on land and converted into sketchy hotel rooms, bars, and restaurants. When we were exploring it felt like we were on the Gooneys. We spent a lot of time chilling at the beach, playing in the river, throwing mud at each other, cooking back at the campground, and simply taking it easy.

That night we had a bomb dinner and had a big ole fire. The Argentines around us were so nice, theyd just come up and give us some of their meat that they had cooked. Later in the night, one of the groups came over and asked if they could hang and talk with us. We ended up talking with them for like 4 hours (in spanish) about almost every topic you could think of. It was my first long conversation with an Argentine. After much time spent around the fire, we all eventually went to bed. The next morning we had to get up somewhat early and pack up. When we left we decided to take taxis back- smart decision. It was a great, chill weekend spent with some solid people in a solid place.