9:20 AM
Nelmitravel - Nelieta Mishchenko
Dear Family and Friends,
Andrey and I hope that you all are well and in good spirits! Our spring has officially started on 21 September and I am really looking forward to those lovely summer days. Imagine a "braai" in the afternoon, a swim in the river and sitting on the patio looking at the stars at night! Andrey does not share my summer joy as he finds the heat unbearable.
The last 2 weeks have been cold again with a lot of rain. We are so blessed to finally have rain after the draught. It is wonderful to see everything turn green. I love it! The river is running strong and some nights we can hear the rush of water from our bedroom window. Let’s pray the rain will continue for the rest of the season.
Oktoberfest preparations kept us busy for most of September and early October. Beds had to be carried down from upstairs to convert the one private room into an 8 bed dorm. Andrey and I must have been quite a sight carrying down all the beds and mattresses! One section of the roof was never completed and Andrey embarked on a new project to finish it. With all the rain we were scared that the wood will rot and then we have to replace everything.
Andrey had no idea how to do it. So he Googled and found a site with instructions. Isn't the Internet great? With Ru as his constant companion, he managed to finish 80% of the roof before the rain stopped him.
With spring well under way, I imagined a garden full of beautiful flowers. It took some convincing but Andrey built me a flower box with rocks. I was so excited, immediately bought some flowers and planted them. They looked so lovely. 3 days later they were dead. ANTS!!!
I have never seen anything like this before. Big black and red ants ate them to the ground! Overnight. I couldn't believe my eyes. Well, the next day I went to buy poison and now I am watching my flower bed like a hawk. Luckily the flowers have started to grow again.
Soon it was time for the Oktoberfest! The German people in Argentina celebrate the Oktoberfest from 1- 11 October. It is 11 days filled with fun, beer, German food and a lot of people. It is our busiest time of the year and we were fully booked for both weekends. Our first group arrived from Buenos Aires. They are all exchange students from different parts in the United States. I love having the young people around. They are so alive, funny and have their lives ahead of them. Some days I wish I was 23 again!
Diego arrived just after the first group left and he stayed for 5 days. He is from Buenos Aires and came here to relax and enjoy the nature. Diego enjoyed some of our home cooked meals and we enjoyed his company and listening to his large music collection. He was also very kind to share some of the latest movies with us. How I miss being close to a cinema! Diego left when the 2nd group arrived and then he was on his way to Rio de Janeiro. Ru missed him a lot when he left!
The 2nd weekend is the most popular. It was estimated that more than 50,000 people attended the beer festival this year. Our second group was also from Buenos Aires but local people. They were groups of friends who booked rooms to be together. We also had our first Italians at the hostel. 3 Guys from Milan!
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| Our Italian group |
It will be business as usual as I have asked another South African family in Cordoba to stay at the hostel while we are away. They are very happy to get out of the big city for a couple of days.
On that happy note I am going to sign off.
God bless.
Nelieta & Andrey
