Bob Esponja

I know how you blog readers get, nervous as the computer fires up, sweaty at the sound of the modem connecting, all the while thinking "What could those little scamps be up to now."
Well here it is:
After spending a few days at an old folks home in Salto, Uruguay, we decided to head up to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina. Along the way we stopped in San Ignacio to pay tribute to our Jesuit roots...

What really happened.

We went to Salto to check out the hot springs or "Thermals" that they have there. We found a quaint little hotel that offered three nights for the price of two, plus, Thermas on the grounds. The grounds of the hotel were nice and leafy, and the air had been a little rainy and cool, so we decided that if we were going to have to sit inside for a couple of days, that we might as well soak our travel weary bones before we did.

We noticed that a little something was up when we checked in, they said that the rooms weren´t ready yet, but they would be in about an hour, and we could change and hang out by the hot springs. The "hot springs" as they are called, are actually pools, similar to the ones that you may find in your average american town´s municipal parks system. Only these were hot. Real hot. This didn´t bother us that much, I mean, hot springs are hot springs right?

Well, after about three hours we got a room, a very nice one in fact. But, as we hit the showers there, it started to dawn on us. This place is using the hot springs as their water source, and considering the fact that the weather had, in the past three hours gone from about 55 degrees to about 98 degrees, this place might now be that "cool" after all.

Then we realized that the clientele of the hotel were all either in their mid to upper 70´s or about 13 years old. Don´t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with those respective ages, but when it comes to finding interesting and exciting things to do, we´re stuck with either Gin Rummy or "Bob Esponja" (as Spongebob Square Pants is known here.) We went with Gin Rummy and loads of freezer chilled Patricia- the local beer, running about 32 pesos for a 1 Liter bottle, that´s about US $1.50.


The crazy thing about this place was that no matter the weather, people were hanging out in the pools. Kids and grandparents alike, splashing, playing...sweating. With no where to cool down. Odd, but they seemed to like it.

Alright, I need to cut this short, I don´t know how these blogs seem to get away from me like they do? We need to get on a bus to Mendoza soon. Wine country here we come, but before I go I´ll set your collective minds at ease, that is if you have made it thus far. No, we don´t really have Jesuit heritage (but here are some pics anyway).




To Be Continued.....