San Antonio de Areco, Central Argentina, Argentina
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wanting to experience more of the local life, life away from the touristy areas of Argentina we had been subjected to so far, we selected a couple of places off the beaten track and skimmed over in the Lonely Planet in order to see how the locals really live, and to be treated like one. A two hour bus ride south of Buenos Aires and we arrived at San Antonio de Areco, our first stop. This is a place still carrying the traditions of 100 years ago, containing real life working Estancias and Gauchos who donned their traditional berets as they have done for the past 2 centuries. The town square was perfectly maintained and the shops were all old fashioned, family run places, where they had home made chocolates, Gaucho attire, and a home made dulce de leche store (a sort of caramel spread). We enjoyed lunch here at a little restaurant where the English was at a minimum, but the charm was in plentiful supply. We left mid afternoon feeling more in touch with the locals, as we were treated as guests, not a nuisance to them as we felt in BA.
