Worn and weary from our four days in pretty harsh conditions we decided to spend a day regrouping in a hostel in Rio Grande. Roberto, of Camping Hain fame, had suggested the "Hotel Argentino" and after a quick check at the local internet cafe we were off.
From the outside the Hostel looks quite unassuming but the inside didn´t disappoint. Good heating and a homely rustic charm. Driftwood and carved mobiles hung from the ceiling. A wood burning stove sat in the corner - apparently for when the town has to go without gas or electricity! La Dueña, Graciela was a warm and inviting hostess who spoke very forgiving Spanish. She was also partial to a bit of a chat in French so quite often mine and her chats degenerated into half Spanish, half French ramblings (with lots of hand gestures and sign language for emphasis
Our first night consisted of a shower, excellent after four days without one, and a slap up meal of about 4 steaks each! This was followed up with 2 boxes of quite tasty red wine we´d bought in the local supermarket (at 40p a box quite a bargain as well might I add. The wine clearly marking us out as gentlemen of taste Graciela brought us out some of her special rum home brew to sample. One giant bottle contained Duraznos (Peaches) and another contained Carisas (which I know believe may be some sort of cherry.) Both drinks were wickedly strong - in the finest traditions of the motherland we knocked back our (large) shots of rum homebrew. The assembled locals sharing a drink with us, including Graciela, gave us horrified looks - apparently this stuff is so strong it´s really meant only for sipping! In all fairness that first shot was the start of our collective downfall. The locals became interested in what they could get the crazy gringos to drink and bottles of homebrew ale and homebrew whisky started coming out of the wood work. I think we acquitted ourselves quite well - and at least finished the evening standing!
The homebrew ale came in two varieties - there was a light and a dark version - both were excellent. The whisky was hard to describe - it was definitely whisky but it didn´t taste like any particular Scotch, Irish or Bourbon i´ve ever had. You could have stripped walls with it though!
Me and Blenk ended sitting up all night with a lady who worked for the Argentinian government talking Spanish and getting more and more to grips with the language....... An excellent evening.... unfortunately followed by a day with a terrible hangover, most of which was passed in bed.
J
From the outside the Hostel looks quite unassuming but the inside didn´t disappoint. Good heating and a homely rustic charm. Driftwood and carved mobiles hung from the ceiling. A wood burning stove sat in the corner - apparently for when the town has to go without gas or electricity! La Dueña, Graciela was a warm and inviting hostess who spoke very forgiving Spanish. She was also partial to a bit of a chat in French so quite often mine and her chats degenerated into half Spanish, half French ramblings (with lots of hand gestures and sign language for emphasis
Our first night consisted of a shower, excellent after four days without one, and a slap up meal of about 4 steaks each! This was followed up with 2 boxes of quite tasty red wine we´d bought in the local supermarket (at 40p a box quite a bargain as well might I add
. The wine clearly marking us out as gentlemen of taste Graciela brought us out some of her special rum home brew to sample. One giant bottle contained Duraznos (Peaches) and another contained Carisas (which I know believe may be some sort of cherry.) Both drinks were wickedly strong - in the finest traditions of the motherland we knocked back our (large) shots of rum homebrew. The assembled locals sharing a drink with us, including Graciela, gave us horrified looks - apparently this stuff is so strong it´s really meant only for sipping! In all fairness that first shot was the start of our collective downfall. The locals became interested in what they could get the crazy gringos to drink and bottles of homebrew ale and homebrew whisky started coming out of the wood work. I think we acquitted ourselves quite well - and at least finished the evening standing!The homebrew ale came in two varieties - there was a light and a dark version - both were excellent. The whisky was hard to describe - it was definitely whisky but it didn´t taste like any particular Scotch, Irish or Bourbon i´ve ever had. You could have stripped walls with it though!
Me and Blenk ended sitting up all night with a lady who worked for the Argentinian government talking Spanish and getting more and more to grips with the language....... An excellent evening.... unfortunately followed by a day with a terrible hangover, most of which was passed in bed.
J
