Mar Del Plata – The Summer Destination

The endless coast, casino, and ice cream filled boardwalks make Mar Del Plata the choice of porteños on summer break. The beach was absolutely packed. After a quick lunch of empanadas in Buenos Aires, we began our five-hour bus ride. The ride was scenic and far more interesting than long drives in the Midwest. We saw many horses and some gauchos. We arrived at our hostel as the sun set. It cooled off a lot at night. We ate dinner at a tenedor libre – a buffet style restaurant. We got to try all types of meat, empanadas, and sides. Very good, but I know it wasn’t the best parilla I’ll have. We walked along a boardwalk that had street vendors and entertainers. There were dancers, guitar players, a comedy show, drag queens, and some other stuff. The comedy show was very hard to understand because the microphones were bad, it was loud, the comedians used slang, and they talked fast. The crowd really enjoyed it, but it was over my head.

We spent the next day at a beach about 25 minutes south of Mar Del Plata. My two friends and I went with three Chilean girls and a couple Argentines that we met at the hostel. It was so relaxing and there was a nice breeze too. Despite ample sun tan lotion, I got burned. The worst was on the top of my feet and ankles. They turned a nice purplish color. The girls at the beach were beautiful. There were so many and their bathing suits were minimal. I really don’t know how else to describe it. People in Argentina don’t care how they look in a bathing suit, for the absolute best or absolute worst. Trust me – I saw both.

We took a nap, ate a quick dinner at midnight, and at night (3 am) almost our entire hostel went out to a discoteca. It was outdoor, but there were two bars to go back and forth from. I met people from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Australia, and Canada. It was a lot of fun and we didn’t get back until 7am! You really don’t need that much time in Mar Del Plata - there are just so many people.