Ports Visit Continued

After being in Ramirez the weekend, we went back to Buenos Aires for a few more days.  While there we took in the usual tourist attractions, and also visited an estancia where they got a little taste of Argentine country life, folk music and dancing and the gaucho culture.  It was very interesting!

The touristy part of La Boca, the old Italian quarter where the immigrants arrived at the turn of last century.  They all lived together in these corrugated iron shacks, and painted them with the leftover paint from the shipyards.  Also known as the birthplace of the tango...

A dancer spotted Danielle staring fascinated at them, so he beckoned her over and she very shyly went and attempted the tango!!

Happy with her purchase

Lincoln clutching his under his arm while he decides what he's going to eat

Recoleta cemetery with the cats...and a few worn-out tourists.  One "big engine" spotted!!

The washing machine in the airbnb broke down in mid-cycle, so Linc's helping out by jumping up and down on the clothes in the bathtub to get excess water out!  Danielle examine her dream weaver gifted to her by Priscilla Skvor.

No words needed...

Going to visit Gladys Goodridge for lunch, waiting at the train station.

Training to and from Gladys'.  Link came and sat on my lap for a reason...he had heard that I had chewing gum, and was MOST interested to try it out.  Sat and begged, convincing me to give it to him while Mum wasn't looking... who could resist??

Visiting the Skvor family, Gustavo and Elizabeth and two of their kids, Priscilla and Kevin.

At the estancia "Don Silvano"

Lincoln examining a small snake (Danielle stepped well away)

Danielle thrilled to be having her first horse-ride EVER!!

On the wagon

Lunch was a huge asado, with live entertainment.  Lincoln found his own entertainment with corks.

Love these action shots of Lincoln drinking Coke!

Instant "mate" addicts

The best bit was the gaucho skills display

Every gaucho has a troop of horses - one for each day of the week.  The leader wears a bell around her neck.

Off they go

They showed us how they hunt ostriches with metal balls on a string, and also a traditional game where they place a small ring on the end of each pole that hangs down on that blue frame.  They then gallop up on their horses and each one tries to spear the ring with a pole they carry in their hands.  Quite a feat of precision and concentration doing all that aboard a galloping horse!  The cowboy then presents the ring to a girl that he chooses, if she is single, she has to give the cowboy a kiss.  If she has a boyfriend of a husband, the boyfriend has to kiss the horse!

Next up, we crossed over to Uruguay to meet up with Nadine at Colonia del Sacramento.  Watch this space!!

Port's Visit, Going to Ramirez

We took them to visit the town in the northern part of our field, a small agricultural town called Ramirez.  In 2009, when I was in that field with Monica Wolf, a group of around 20 dissatisfied religious people started listening to the gospel.  Today there is a small Sunday morning meeting there with nine who take part.  It's been an interesting experience to come back six years after I left there, and to see the changes that have slowly taken place and to see these people really have life.  It hasn't been easy for them to be different in a small town full of gossips, but they've stuck to it.  There are lots of things we'd still like to see changed, but just gotta have patience!  Meanwhile, they're like little children - they bring a lot of joy, but need a lot of attention!

It's around a 400 km trip from Buenos Aires.  German and Rossy Olmos took us in their converted bus.  We normally do this trip in a public bus, takes 7 hours as it calls in to all the towns on the way.  This trip was the most fun ever!  Here we are leaving from Herman and Rossy's house:

Scenes from the housebus trip:

(The Coke was an instant addiction).  The Argentinians couldn't BELIEVE he'd never had Coke before!  Poor deprived child...

Heidi was a hit with Danielle with her girly hand-clap games that she still remembered!

She was also a hit with Lincoln because she played all the dragon-slaying/fighting games he wanted.  And we could enjoy a peaceful trip while she entertained Linc!

Stopped for lunch on the side of the road.

A good little Catholic!  This shrine caught her eye and she went and arranged the things inside it much more tidily...

Every picture tells a story... In this case, Lincoln got out the bus, and was interested in the stagnant pond of water there.  Herman told him he could go for a swim in it.  Linc being Linc needed no further encouragement and was about to strip off his t-shirt when his father intervened, and told him there are crocodiles in there!  So here he is throwing stones at the pond hoping against hope to rouse the said crocodile.

Going into the town of Ramirez

At Nelson and Zulma's house. This is the meeting home, and the home where we had the first of many gospel meetings.

Walking to next house a few blocks away

These kids began to play inspite of not being able to speak to each other.  The two little girls are Abril (April) and her little sister Eluney.  They are so, so shy normally, but got on great with Linc and Dan.

The Ports with this precious couple Jesus (pronounce He-SUS) and Belen (means Bethlehem).  (Yes, that's their names!).  Jesus' parents are Nelson and Zulma who have the meeting in their home.  When I first met them, Belen was 16 and expecting Abril!! They later married after the second girl was born, because they wanted to profess.  This year, we gave up the bach that the workers have had for about four years in this town, and we started staying with our friends here.  This couple had just received this new house from the govt, which they pay as a rent-to-own scheme, and it had just one bedroom.  Belen hurried Jesus along to build two other little bedrooms for the reason that she wanted us to stay with them!  We love going to stay, they are such a dear little family, and Belen in particular is outstanding in her revelation of truth, and the convictions she receives.  Since she professed, her younger sister started listening, and then her parents.  We recently visited her grandmother too for the first time.  It's so cute to see the girls start to warm up to us.  One day a school friend of Abril's came to play and asked her if we are her aunties!  That got the littlest one thinking (she's four), and the next day she asked me if I'm her aunty.  I said technically no, because I'm not her mother's sister.  She paused, then said quite convinced, you ARE my aunty. 😊

Playing memory - that was the icebreaker!

Behind their house.  You can see houses in the background, soon all that paddock will be built on.

Danielle couldn't resist the horses

After Sunday am mtg.  Back row: Fabian Zapata and his brother Nelson, Jesus, Ruben Holzer (a man who lives in the city of Parana, 80 kms away.  Sisters met him in 2007), Fraser, Charlotte, Herman Rossy.  Front row: Alicia (Fabian's wife), Sonia (Ruben's wife), Belen and the girls, Danille, June, Lincoln.  Nelson's wife Zulma wasn't present that day.  

The kids watching other kids play football on the sports ground in front of Nelson's.

Observing the asado after the meeting.  Man in the grey jacket is Belen's father

We found a small frog in our bedroom Sunday am, so Heidi trapped it and we gave it to Lincoln (much to his enormous delight.  He immediately named it Hoppy.

Lunchtime

Linc kind of overdid things...what with all the running around, Coke, lollies, dogs, frogs... got a sore tummy!  

Going back to Buenos Aires

Selfie moments