Stacey’s 30th Birthday Extravaganza

On the Rio…

My days being numbered here in Buenos Aires, I find myself trying to squeeze in all of the stuff I have had a full month to do…but of course waited until the last minute to do.  One interesting attraction that many have mentioned is a trip to Tigre on the Paraná Delta just outside the city limits of Buenos Aires.  The Delta is an interesting confluence of rivers that ultimately empty into the Rio de la Plata river…the one that separates Argentina from Uruguay.  It is said that the area of the Paraná Delta reminds many of the Florida Everglades though I was only able to visit the town of Tigre on a small part of the Delta and wasn’t able to see the resemblance. 

Pics of the “graveyard”

Regardless, Tigre is a an interesting town in the Buenos on the Paraná Delta and is an important tourist and weekend attraction, easily reached by bus and train services, including the scenic Tren de la Costa. It is the principle town of the Tigre Partido.  The town sits on an island created by several small streams and rivers and was founded in 1820, after floods had destroyed other settlements in the area, then known as the Las Conchas Partido.  The area’s name derives from the “tigres” or jaguars that were hunted there, on occasions, in its early years. The area was first settled by Europeans who came to farm the land, and the port developed to serve the Delta and to bring fruit and wood from the Delta and ports upstream on the Paraná river. Tigre is still an important timber processing port. The “Puerto de Frutos” (fruit port) is now a crafts fair located in the old fruit market by the riverside.

A less well-kept house…

…in contrast to a better-kept house

Not sure what this is but it is a gorgeous building

As high season is winding to a close there weren’t as many boat trip options through the delta so I was only able to take one of about an hour.  This was an out-and-back route so unfortunately I wasn’t able to see as much of the delta as I would a longer circular route.  Despite that, the pictures of the area are interesting and beautiful…the first part of the delta appears to be largely a graveyard for old ships as many of them  sit within the rivers rusting away.  Lots of people live on the delta as well…some in beautiful and well-kept houses while others appear to be barely standing upright next door.  The canals are interesting and quite beautiful though the river water is a delightful shade brown that reminds me quite thoroughly of the Missouri River. 

Cruisin’ the Delta

A canal off of the main river

In town…

All in all an interesting place to take a day trip though I wish I had had more time to delve into the Paraná Delta including the National Park Predelta or the Biosphere Reserve as the pictures are amazing.  I can certainly recommend Tigre though if you’re thinking about heading to the Tigre and environs maybe look into some more in-depth trips to the Delta that include a national park and maybe a lengthier boat ride.  Enjoy the photos!

Produce and handicraft market

By now everyone knows that things are coming to an end here at the Extravaganza and I’m fielding lots of questions about when I’ll be returning.  I’m slated to arrive at O´Hare International Airport at 5:05 am on Wednesday morning March 26th (direct from Buenos Aires…yay!).  I don’t suppose any of my faithful readers want to pick me up from the airport and spare me the Van Galder trip back to Madison?  What?  No takers?  Ok then, with any luck I’ll be typing to you all from the great Mad City sometime next week.

In the Delta Paraná

Now, lest you think the Extravaganza is coming to an end right here and now…never fear.  I’ve a few more posts up my sleeve not the least of which will be one from Iguazu Falls that I will be visiting this weekend with James, Morag, Jesse and Mary.  I’m not sure how the Internet situation will be in Iguazu so that post may not happen until I’m Stateside again so expect a bit of an Extravaganza delay this week.  Also, I have a few final posts to write after I sift through hundreds of pictures…selecting my favorites and reflecting on everything I’ve done in the past 9 months.  And really, I would be one hell of a lousy statistical programmer if I didn’t compile some statistics on this trip so watch for that as well.  All in all, I think it most fitting that Stacey’s 30th Birthday Extravaganza should come to an end on my 31st birthday…April 11 for the uninformed so keep me bookmarked until at least that day for my parting comments.

And finally wrapping up things today…I was recently lamenting the sorry state of my Spanish when I decided to do a little research on languages and discovered the following bits of information to entertain and intrigue you all with:

Random Facts About World Languages

1. Language with the greatest number of native speakers:  Mandarin Chinese.

2. Number of living languages: 6912

3. Number of those languages that are nearly extinct: 516.

4. Language spoken by the greatest number of non-native speakers:  English.

5. Languages spoken by largest numbers of native speakers:  Mandarin Chinese followed by Spanish and English which are almost exactly equal.  Add in the non-native speakers of English and English wins the more speakers prize.

6. Oldest written language still in existence:  Chinese or Greek (about 1500 BC).

7. Language with the most words:  English (about 250,000 different words).

8. The most translated document in the history of the world (amazingly, not the bible): Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, written by the United Nations in 1948, has been translated into 321 languages and dialects.

9. The longest word in the English language: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters).

10. In the US, the 28 million people who speak Spanish at home is well over half of the approximately 47 million people who speak a language other than English at home, meaning Spanish is spoken by more people than all other languages combined within the U.S. 

11. Number of nations where Spanish is the prominent language:  21 (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela)
     

The main canal and boat launch

Name: BASI Language Institute

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Address: 90 Talcahuano Street

E-mail: info@basi-spanish.com

Website: http://www.basi-spanish.com/english/courses.htm

Review:  The BASI school is well located in the central part of Buenos Aires near to several subway stops as well as many bus lines.  The school itself is not very large which makes for a cozy and friendly atmosphere.  BASI offers both individual and group classes and should you want group classes but find no one else is at your level they’ll work with you to find a solution.  Generally though there are enough people around at different levels that getting into a group is not a problem.

The director of the school is extremely nice and friendly and speaks English well so if you are not confident with your Spanish no worries.  Perhaps the best thing about the school is the quality of the teachers.  In two weeks I had two different teachers, Cecelia and Andrea and both were excellent.  Other students mentioned their teachers were very good too as well as fun which makes a big difference when one is torturing themselves by attempting to learn a new language.

Maybe one downfall is that, unlike many other Spanish schools, I didn’t see any organized activities though the teachers have been known to go out with their students for dinner and/or drinks after class.  On the last day of classes this week we made empanadas in class and cooked them complete with recipe in Spanish and lots of explanation on the “proper” Argentinian way to put together an empanada.  Overall, the school is great and the teachers knowledgeable, capable and especially friendly.  I definitely recommend BASI to anyone in BsAs looking to improve their Spanish as the price is reasonable…US$130 for 20 hours of class.

Would I book with them again: Yes, definitely.

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