Children of the Misiones Region

Kids of the Misiones Region

COUNTRY: Argentina
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Anna Craven

As you could guess, our last few weeks have been jam-packed full of activity in Argentina, so I'll launch right into the thick of it!

Before heading to the Misiones region, Nat, Emily, Sophie, Kelly and myself headed out of the city for a day to visit a traditional estancia (ranch). We Looked around the old farming houses complete with their original decor and furnishings, and ate home cooked empanadas.

Next we ate a very filling, beautifully cooked Asado lunch and I still can't say whether or not I'm fond of the idea of blood sausage (which "the most important" gaucho plonked on my plate). Em also indulged in not one, but two dances in front of everyone with a gaucho.

Iguazu Falls!

Last pizza and wine night at the student residences!

Finally, we watched a traditional argentine tango, complete with the all-black ensembles, some folkloric songs, a gaucho rope demonstration and a gaucho tango. Very full of wine, meat and salads, we hopped back on the bus and headed back to BA. That night, Emily, Kelly and myself saw the movie 'Elefante Blanco, that had just been released.



It dictates the true story of two priests that worked on behalf of the dispossessed and poor people of the largest slum in Buenos Aires that is corrupt by drug crimes and violence. The footage was shot right where we volunteer at the centre called Ejercito, so despite it being all in Spanish and without subtitles, it was enjoyable enough to learn some of the slum culture's history and even see a couple of the kids we know in the background of some scenes! A couple of us have also done a tour of the beautiful Casa Rosada (pink house), which is the official residence and office of the Argentine President.

Finally the departure day for our trip to the Misiones region had arrived on the 23rd of May. Em, Kelly, Nat, Sophie and I met with the other LIFE volunteers at Retiro station (13 of us in total) and we spent the whole night fully reclined in huge, cushiony seats, complete with a hot dinner and movie!




Arrived the next morning in Montecarlo and got settled into our roadside accommodation. That afternoon, we headed to the indigenous village of the Guarani people called Peruti. Once turning off the highway, we had a 10 minute ascent through thick jungle before the road opens up and becomes dotted with little wooden huts and children running and jumping with happiness at the sight of our van. We began sorting out the donated clothing and gave the kids an afternoon snack of milk and cereal.

Mostly, this time was spent getting to know the kids, who were all covered in the red dirt of the Misiones region, with scraggly hair and huge smiles on their faces. It's hard to say whether I can recall a moment when I didn't have one or two kids hanging off my back arms or shoulders, as they loved climbing like monkeys.

The next day was Argentine revolution day (25th de Mayo) so when we arrived at the village, we decorated the main hall and surrounding trees with blue and white balloons, handed out chest pins, prepared a celebratory lunch of hamburgers for the entire village, and painted the kids nails blue and white, which they absolutely loved. With two volunteers who are doctors, we taught the younger kids about nutrition, the older girls and boys about health and the older women about childcare, health and nutrition.

On the morning of the last day, we played on the soccer field with the kids and then the entire village arrived at the hall for the handing out of donated clothes, in which every person received a new set of clothes and shoes for the coming month. A huge pot of pasta for lunch, then we de-liced lots of the kids hair. In the afternoon, the kids took us all on a tour of the entire village, where you would walk sometimes through jungle or open empty fields before coming across the next hut, and even their graveyard.

Following this, with the two British volunteer boys, myself, em, Kelly and sophie climbed through thick jungle for about half an hour with a group of the kids, before running down a muddy dip and over a rocky ledge to reach the Parana River. Here, we all dived in, in our mucky clothes and swam across the river and downstream with all the kids. This hour or so was the most incredible experience, and I can say it has been my favorite day so far since coming to Argentina.

The next day, we got a bus to Puerto Iguazu and immediately us 5 girls and the two British boys jumped on the next bus to Iguazu falls! We spent the whole day walking over rivers, streams and rocky out crops viewing the huge falls from the various lookouts, each time just bewildered by the never-ending flow of enormous whitewash.

At the end of the day, we clambered to the water's edge and went in one of the speedboats up the Brazilian channel, went under some of the falls there, then sped up the Argentine channel and got drenched as the driver went in and out of the galleons of water. Shivering, and soaking, we eventually made it back home and slept incredibly well that night.

The next day, the 5 of us went with the LIFE founder Lilian to Ciudad del Este, a city in Paraguay that is infamous for its huge stake in the South American black market. The city was crammed with roadside stalls and people selling anything and everything, from perfume and watches, to handcuffs and guns! After browsing the stalls and enjoying an oversized oriental lunch, we arrived back in Puerto Iguazu.

The next morning, we boarded a 4 hour bus ride to San Ignacio and when arriving, the 30 degree heat and beautiful sunshine compelled us to lie by the pool and nap on the hotel deck for the entire afternoon- such a nice change from the 15-10 degrees that is a constant in Buenos Aires! The following day, we visited the beautiful old Jesuit Ruins, browsed the markets and eventually boarded our bus back to Buenos Aires.

After a 4 day break here, we met Jess and headed to Mendoza on an overnight bus on the 3rd of June. When arriving in Mendoza, after half an hour of looking out the bus window in awe of the snow-capped Andes Mountains, we booked all the activities for our stay, then jumped on a bus that took us through the countryside towards one crop of the Andes. The windy road took us right to the Hot Springs, where we basked in the heat of the pools that look out over rocky peaks, under a clear blue sky and refreshing, crisp air.

That night, we had an Asado at our hostel, getting to know people from all over the world, and headed to a bar after being stuffed with very salty beef and potatoes! The next day, we got picked up in the morning and once again were taken to a high point of the Andes where we were dropped off at a small ranch. We each jumped on a horse and for the whole day, we rode the horses through this area of the Andes, with a view of the beautiful snow caps in the distance and the entire valley that surrounds the city of Mendoza. This was stopped only by a brief Asado lunch.

On our final day in Mendoza, we headed to the main wine region and rode bikes on a tour of the various vineyards of the area. We tasted many liqueurs, chocolates, jams, salsas and wines, ate empenadas and pizza and learnt a bit about wine and olives along the way. That night we boarded our overnight bus to Mendoza, ready for a well-deserved rest!

Last night in the residence, we were treated to our final wine and pizza party on the terrace. Unfortunately, it was the coldest day yet of the year in BA, but a very full house braved the cold and enjoyed the home-made pizzas that just kept coming, tray after tray.

With two weeks left, I know I'll be volunteering as much as possible, without thinking of those final goodbyes to the kids we've come to know so well. We all have a few more things left to do on our bucket lists, and will be squeezing them in between visits to the places we want to return to.

Saludos,
Anna (Em, Kelly, Nat, Sophie, Jess)