4:53 AM
Nelmitravel - Nelieta Mishchenko
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope that you are all doing well! It`s been a while since our August Newsletter and now we are starting to count the days down to the Festive Season. This year is coming to an end!
September was a crazy and busy month for us. We had to prepare for the Oktoberfest and do some annual maintenance. During the year the rooms stay more or less the same but for the Oktoberfest we convert all the private rooms to shared rooms. This gives us flexibility to cater for bigger groups. Andrey and I are quite a sight when we carry the beds and mattresses down from the top!
Converting the rooms (Click on the link)
Andrey also put up window shutters in front of one the rooms. Not only do window shutters keep the rooms cool during the hot summer months but it also provides additional security. I have grown accustomed to the window shutters in Argentina. It is not an easy task to have it fitted but once it is done, it looks beautiful.
Putting up the Window Shutters (Click on the Link)
The Oktoberfest this year went very well. The event took place from 30 September to 12 October and each year it is getting bigger. The Oktoberfest in Argentina is the 3rd biggest Beer event in the world! The most popular weekend is the second weekend and we were quickly fully booked.
The first weekend was more difficult to market and sell, mainly because it is not a long weekend and people only come through for the day. Mercedes and Marco joined us and we always value return visits.
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| Merce and Nelieta |
I felt so sorry for the guys who arrived the second weekend. We had several storms and airports were closed including the one in Córdoba. Three guys were stranded and only arrived here in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
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| The group from France, Ireland and Argentina |
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| A group of friends from Buenos Aires |
They were exhausted and had to eventually take a bus to get to the Beer Festival because they couldn`t fly. Weather cleared up on the Saturday and the groups had an amazing time, inlcuding lunch underneath a tree. We had people here from Australia, Ireland, France, Wales and locals. What made it even more fun was the fact that most of the visitors were huge Rugby fans and we managed to watch some Rugby matches together.
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| A very happy Dave supporting Australia |
Earlier in the week I went to the Beer festival to take some photos of the event which included dances and musical performances. We never attend the festival due to commitments at the hostel but we do manage to go during the week and get a taste for what is coming.
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| Traditional German dances |
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| Typical German food |
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| Beautiful Beer Mugs for sale |
Coinciding with the Oktoberfest was our Hostel Birthday! Hostel Tinktinkie turned two! We also want to take the opportunity to thank all our friends, family and visitors for their support over the last two years.
Hostel Tinktinkie turns 2! (Click on the link)
We have come a long way and we still need to do a lot but in time we will get there! A BIG thank you!
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| Muchas gracias a todos nuestros visitantes! A big thank you to all our visitors! |
I was fortunate to have friends visiting from South Africa and together we took a trip to one of the most beautiful places in Argentina: The Lake District. We rented a car and drove almost 4,000 kilometres for that week. It is very difficult to describe the beauty of this area but imagine turquoise coloured lakes and snow tipped mountains!
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| Villa La Angostura (Click on the photo to enlarge) |
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| San Carlos de Bariloche (Click on the photo to enlarge) |
Unfortunately the volcano in Chile erupted again and played havoc in the already ash-covered Villa La Angostura area. We still had an amazing time and the ashes made it even more special. Not many people have seen volcanic ashes before and it was also a first for us!
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| Andrey touching the volcanic ashes |
We also want to thank the owners of Hostel Don Pilon for their hospitality.
Last weekend our town hosted another gaucho or cowboy festival called the `Fiesta Nacional de la Tradición`. It was very interesting and I saw how the hoofed a horse, milked a goat, made wool and shaved a sheep. Andrey took some photos of different activities which included racing and I went the following day to see more than 250 gauchos and their horses riding into town. It was really incredible to see!
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| Gauchos getting ready to ride into town. |
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| A young boy demonstrating how comfortable the bed is that a gaucho can m |
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| Milking a goat |
On the 26th and 27th a 4x4 event will be taking place here and I am sure we will be heading down to there to take photos and to share it with you. In the beginning of December we have another Ralley passing through Santa Rosa de Calamuchita and also a Biker`s event with Bikers from all over Argentina. They love the mountain curves here in the Calamuchita Valley.
We will be sending out the last Newsletter for this year next month. If you do go on holiday early in December we would like to wish you a safe and blessed holiday! Have fun, enjoy every moment with your family, rest and return safely in the New Year!
A big hug!
Andrey & Nelieta
