Christmas Newsletter - 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

I found this beautiful Christmas blog template on the Internet and decided to use it for our final Newsletter this year! Doesn't it put you in a Christmas mood? I love the Christmas season, decorating the tree, preparing the Christmas meal, looking at shop windows and houses that are decorated and the overall joyful and merry atmosphere. Christmas is a time for sharing but most importantly to give thanks to our Saviour. 

While I am writing this letter I cannot help to think back over this past year. I think it is normal to reflect on the year and it is important to rejoice in the good things and to put the bad things behind you. We sure had our down times this year but the good times outweigh the bad times by far. During this past year we were fortunate to meet so many interesting people. They were from all over the world and when they left our Hostel, they left their footprints behind. Andrey and I watched photos yesterday of the guests that we've had and we still remember their names and where they came from. The year has not come to an end yet and we are expecting more people here for December.

But the Christmas period can also be a sad time for many people, including us. While everybody are celebrating with family there are some people that spend this time of year alone or far away from their loved ones. So as the days to Christmas are drawing closer we start to miss our families more and the Christmas celebrations we had in both Russia and South Africa.  Together we get nostalgic, talk about the good times, bad times, wipe a tear or two and watch a movie on Christmas eve.

We always watch the same two movies: "Home Alone" and "Planes,Trains and Automobiles". They put the smiles back on our faces. In Russia they celebrate Christmas on 6 January but all Russians in Argentina celebrate Christmas day on the 25th as well.

We would like to thank everybody for all your support,love and friendship over this last year. If you are travelling on holiday, please drive safely.

I want to end our newsletter with a Christmas prayer:

Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the Angels,
the gladness of the Shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all
over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and
good desires with every greeting. Deliver us from evil
by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to  be
merry with clear hearts.


May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy
children, and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for
Jesus sake,


Amen


Merry Christmas from Hostel Tinktinkie.

Andrey &  Nelieta

http://www.tinktinkie.com

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Newsletter October 2010!

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!

The guys loved the Oktoberfest. The men complained a little about the ratios - too many men and too little women! I must add I did not hear any girls complaining! On a sad note some of our guest got robbed. Professional thieves are always lurking to find an unsuspecting victim. It is so sad but we always warn people to leave valuables at the hostel. Despite of this they had an awesome time and vowed to come back again.

Our Italian group

The Oktoberfest is officially over and Andrey and I are exhausted. We have decided to take a 5 day hike to Mount Champaquí (2.7km high) it is one of the highest mountain ranges in the Cordoba Province. The view from the top of the mountain is breathtaking. We will be sleeping in base camps at night and hike during the day. We are both looking forward to it. I have not trained but Andrey has promised to take it easy. I have not camped in years so this is really going to be fun. I cannot wait to tell you all about it in our next news letter.

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

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It's been a while!

Dear Family and Friends,

It feels like ages since I have last updated the blog! I suppose time flies when you are having fun...and did I have fun when I went to South Africa in June! About that a little later.

May was a hectic month for us here at Tinktinkie. My trip was not planned and I had to make all the arrangements in a very short space of time. I was worried about Andrey being alone at the hostel, so we decided to ask Alex and Natalia if Babushka Nelly (that is Natalia's Mom) could stay here while I was gone. Alex and Natalia love it here and decided to bring the whole family along. They stayed for almost 3 weeks!

I took the train from Cordoba to Buenos Aires. I was really impressed with the train service. The only thing that didn't impress me was the 17 hours to get there! How I've missed Buenos Aires! The crazyness, the people, and the vibe in the city. I took part in the 25 May celebrations this year. This is a very important day in Argentina because they celebrate their independence from Spain. This year was even bigger, because they celebrated 200 years. I joined the festivities in Plaza de Mayo and it was crazy! I also managed to meet Hendrik and Laura for coffee in a wonderful coffee shop in San Telmo.

The day of my departure was a nightmare, to say the least. Everything was such a rush because I needed to get my  Yellow Fever injection before I could fly. It is a new entry requirement by South Africa. But disaster struck when I lost my cellphone! I am not sure if it got stolen at the bus terminal or maybe I left it in the taxi. Andrey believes it got stolen because it was switched off . I was still in shock and when I eventually got calm on the aeroplane I realized that I have lost my jacket too. I couldn't believe it! I lost my jacket in my frantic search for my cellphone! On that note I left for South Africa!

My time in South Africa was absolutely amazing! I couldn't believe how much OR Thambo Aiport has changed. It is a world class airport and it looked so modern! I was very impressed. Monica was waiting for me and we took a drive through Hillbrow and again to my amazement it was clean, buildings were painted and it looked very nice. I couldn't believe my eyes. What impressed me the most was the atmosphere of unity in South Africa. Flags were everywhere and everybody was participating in this great event.

It was wonderful to see my family in Gauteng again. I couldn't get to my family in the Cape, but there is always a next time. I got spoilt rotten to say the least. I had such an amazing time with everyone and I have realized how much I miss the people. Distance changes people and I was very emotional most of  the time. I missed everyone so much and appreciated each moment..

I managed to see old school friends, some which I haven't seen in 22 years. It was wonderful to talk about the past, the future and what we still want to do. The most special gift was to see my girls, Nadine and Mariska. Words cannot describe how it felt to be able to see them again after 1 1/2 years. I will treasure the memories and my time in South Africa for ever and I would also like to thank each and everyone who made this holiday possible and unbelievable. Thank you!

     

 I am also very, very proud of how South Africa has presented the World Cup Soccer! They have done an amazing job!!!

I came back just in time to celebrate my 40th birthday!  For months I was scared and depressed to turn 40. See now people start to  label you as middle aged, old and over the hill. But I realized that the best 40 years is still to come so I am not scared anymore! Thank you again to all my family and friends who celebrated with me in South Africa and also a big thank you to Andrey who made my return and day here just as special.

The schools are closing in July and we are expecting some people here later in the month. We will keep you posted!

Saludos
Andrey & Nelieta

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Hostel Tinktinkie Newsletter April 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Andrey and I hope that everyone is well. Our friends in the Northern hemisphere are celebrating spring and we down south are preparing for winter. Well, look at the bright side. Winter is time to make big pots of soup, drink hot chocolate, wrap our cold bodies in blankets, shiver in front of the fire and put on weight. I am only joking!

We had a really busy Easter period with a lot of interesting people. Remember I told you in the March newsletter about the Ballerinas? Well, we had 6 beautiful ballerinas here. They are from a city called Rosario, not very far from Buenos Aires. They stayed with us for a weekend. I was dying to get a picture of them striking a ballet pose. While we waited for the taxi to pick them up I grabbed my camera and they were immediately ready to show me some moves. Before Andrey knew what hit him they took him by the hand and he joined them. It was hilarious! Then it was my turn...I don’t think I can ever be a ballerina! But on a serious note these girls are good. Have a look at their website if you have some free time.


http://www.thejazzclubrosario.com.ar

Jonny and Thomas, two cousins from Carlisle in the UK, passed through here on their way to Mendoza. They have an amazing adventure in South America andlater Jonny will head down to Australia. He studied for a pilot and will be learning to fly big commercial planes in Australia! Thomas studied environmental science and we had some interesting discussions about farming and the environment. We also had two women here from Carloz Paz,. Natalia and Micaela! I could not spend a lot of time with them because we had a house filled with people. But I am staying in contact on facebook.

The same day when Jonny and Thomas left, Alana and James from London arrived. Alana is our first Australian at the hostel. They both live in London. Alana and James came from Cordoba and wanted to spend a couple of days in the country side. I had some very interesting discussions with James about South Africa and marketing. There are so many South Africans living in London. In fact even James could speak some Afrikaans and he was actually very good!

April was our month for celebrations. Marina, Misha and Agustina from Buenos Aires arrived and we celebrated Agustina’s 5th birthday here at Tinktinkie. We held a small party for her. We decorated the kitchen with balloons and her mom hid small presents inside the balloons. She was so scared to pop the balloons and ran out and closed the door. We had a delicious cake and in the afternoon we had an “asado” or braai. They had so much fun exploring nature and insects. They brought a telescope with them and watched the stars at night. It is getting more and more difficult to see stars in the big cities.

Here they are so bright you can almost pick them from the sky.  Agustina made herself at home playing in the building sand and with Ru. It was wonderful to have a child here. They stayed with us for 5 days and then took the train back to Buenos Aires.Marina and Misha are from Russia but Agustina was born in Argentina. She is only 5 years old but fluent in Russian and Spanish. Incredible!

Daniela joined us when the big rush was over. She came from Buenos Aires and asked the bus to drop her off in the main road, 700m from the hostel. In fact they dropped her off 5kms from the hostel! We did not know what to do. So I decided to get on the scooter and go and fetch her. She was standing next to the road and I loaded her and her backpack on the scooter and came to the hostel. It was fun! Daniela took her time to explore all the places in the Calamuchita Valley. She celebrated Agustina’s birthday with us and she was also here when Hendrik and Laura arrived.

It was Hendrik and Laura’s 2nd visit and it was really great to see them again. They are always willing to help. When Andrey asked them to buy and bring the DVD writer that he wanted from Buenos Aires, they did not hesitate to help us. They only stayed for 1 night and we decided to have a nice meal together. Daniela was still here and joined us. Andrey made one of his specialities called “Plov”and it was a winner. The food and company was excellent! Daniela, Hendrik and Laura left the next morning.

I joined a travel site in January, which I am enjoying immensely. I write travel reviews and blogs. It is also through this site that I met Una. She was referred to me by another travel buddy Fernando. Fernando is Argentinian and now lives in Florida. To make a long story short, Una contacted me. They were on their way to Mendoza and wanted to stay here for a couple of nights. What made her trip so special was that her mom, Anne  joined her here in Argentina. Una is from Iceland and her mom is originally from Denmark. Then it started to rain and got cold. But luckily they managed to see La Cumbrecita and some other places. We also had a delicious meal together. They returned to Iceland in the midst of the volcanic ashes!

Last but not least was Andrey's birthday!I wrote a separate blog about that. We had a wonderful day together.

We were blessed with wonderful people here at Tinktinkie.  We had a fun filled and action packed Easter week at Tinktinkie. Andrey will be looking for work this month. We need an extra income to carry us through the winter months. Please pray with us that he will find something soon. We wish everyone a good May and God bless.

Andrey and Nelieta

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Newsletter for February 2010

Greetings from Calamuchita, Family and Friends,

Andrey and I are well and hope that you had a fantastic February. Time is flying for sure and we are already in March! But what were we up to at Hostel Tinktinkie?

February was a slow month. I am not sure what the reason was. Maybe the Rio Carnival in Brazil impacted on tourism in February. Another reason could be that the school holidays in Argentina were cut short by one month. Children here normally have 3 months school holidays but this year it changed to 2 months. February people want to stay home and prepare for the schools to start in March. We also learn as we go along and each year we will be better prepared. We only had 2 girls here in February, Lucrecia (Argentinian) and Irina (Russia). They stayed for a couple of days and explored the Calamuchita Valley.

But all was not doom and gloom and we had a fantastic time in February. The reason? My Dad from Cape Town and his wife Annelize came to visit. It was their first visit to Argentina and I have not seen him in almost 2 years.Christmas arrived early for me this year! When they opened their suitcases, Rooibos tea, Marmite, Marshmallows, Vicks and Milky Bars popped out!!! All the things that I cannot find here.

But I think the nicest gift in the suitcase was the biltong! Wow you guys have no idea how I longed for Biltong! But my Dad also brought us spices to make our own biltong, chili bytes and droe wors. He showed Andrey how to make Chili bytes and Andrey had his first try. I am not sure if tasting every 30 minutes is part of the recipe. I keep on telling him that Russian people cannot eat biltong and that it is only for South Africans but he keeps on laughing and tell me that I talk nonsense. Well, you can imagine what we will be making for the next couple of months. We really have excellent meat in Argentina.

Andrey and I took turns to show them the Calamuchita Valley, La Cumbrecita, Villa General Belgrano and Cordoba City. At La Cumbrecita we did the "Foefie" slide in the mountains or the "Tirolessa" as the call it here. Normally I am on standby with the camera but this time I also went down the rope. They quickly learnt that "tres" is 3 and "dos" is 2...I had no choice! At the Tirolessa we met a young Argentinian man who was an exchange student in Sandton. Imagine our surprise when he greeted us in Afrikaans! He was our instructor and I had so much fun! Andrey could not go with us because we cannot leave the Hostel alone. Andrey made us an excellent "braai" one night and my Dad told Andrey that he CAN "braai". I was very proud because he knows how we South Africans like our meat. It is one of our traditions that he has learnt quickly. I have learnt how to make a very good Russian salad and each time it is getting better. Andrey taught me well.Then we combine our South African and Russian traditions and finish it off with a very good Argentinian wine.

Time came to say goodbye and We took the bus to Buenos Aires. It is strange how quickly I have adapted to the quiet, country life here in Argentina. By the second day the people in the city were driving me crazy. The problem in Buenos Aires is that you always need to be alert.
It is a big city and tourists are targets. We saw that first hand when a couple next to us was robbed of their bag with money in it when we were watching a Tango show in Caminito. Poor people I felt so sorry for them. Luckily I know my way around in the city and it made things easier. When we were living in Buenos Aires Andrey showed me everything and I know which areas are safe and where to walk at night. That helped me allot. They were suppose to fly back on the Wednesday but then a protest march took place in the city. Avenida 9 de Julio is one of the the main streets that links the city to the highway. We could not get out of the city! What a disaster. They missed their flight as we were 7 minutes late. They refused to help us. I was already booked to leave for home later in the evening and we had disaster on our hands. Luckily our friends Alex and Natalia could accommodate them and I managed to change my ticket to leave on the Saturday. Good thing was that it gave us some extra time together. We managed to change their tickets and they could leave on the Sunday. I am happy that they managed to see more of the city. We visited Tigre (45 minutes outside Buenos Aires and took a 2 hour boat ride on the river), Recoletta (Cemetery were rich and famous people are buried), Caminito (Tango shows and restaurants), Puerto Madero (At the harbour with hundreds of different restaurants) and various parts of the city. They also first handed experienced some Russian hospitality as Alex and Natalia went out of their way to make them feel at home. I am grateful for friends like that.

While we were in Buenos Aires an earth quake hit Chile and a lot of damage was done. I am not sure if you have seen it on Television? Andrey said he could feel the earth quake up to here. We are right in the middle of Argentina. Luckily nothing happened here and we are safe but our hearts go out to the people in Chile. We got some nice rain in February and we are very grateful.

I left on the Saturday and was just in time to see the 2 girls before they left. Andrey had to cope on his own and it is not easy to manage everything on your own. The city was great and I managed to do some promotion work while I was there.

We miss all our family and friends and hopefully we will have more family coming to visit this year!

Take care everyone!

Andrey and Nelieta

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January 2010 newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,

Andrey and I hope that you are well and that everyone had a great December holiday. We kicked January off with a bang!

We had a group of 9 people staying at the hostel on 1 January. They were part of a catering team for Dakar and had to travel early to their next destination. We did not see much of them because they checked in at 1am and checked out at 5am. Andrey and I were like 2 excited children to get ready for the Dakar event. We organized our cameras and made sure we got front row seats! (A blog of the event is available with pictures.)

Guests started to arrive slowly. First we had a French young man and his American girlfriend, Clement and Elicia. They travelled from Buenos Aires and have been in Argentina for a couple of months. They stayed for a 2 nights, rented bycicles and explored the country side.

Then we had Ignacio from Rosario. Rosario is a town not very far from Buenos Aires. He came here to climb Champaqui with a tour group. Champaqui is one of the mountains ranges close to us. Our friend Alex comes here on a regular basis to climb the mountain in training for Aconcagua (one of the higest mountain series in South America). Iganacio is a very interesting young man and he is planning to hitchhike his way through Mexico to Alaska and on to Russia! We wish him well.

Next came Leila and Judith. They are 2 friends from Buenos Aires and were planning to travel up North. They are also young aspiring actresses and singing and dancing were at the order of the day. They were a breath of fresh air in the hostel. I loved having them here. They made themselves comfortable and that is what our hostel is all about.

Whe had a "all girl" week when Tatyana from Russia arrived. She is travelling on a motorbike through Argentina! She came here on recommendation from our friend Alex and loved it here. She was on her way to Chile and stopped here for 2 days. At the Chilean border they refused her entry because her bike was purchased in Argentina and she is not a resident. We are following her adventures on LiveJournal and she is now heading to Patagonia. Safe travel Tatyana!














Then we had Diego and Giselle from Buenos Aires here for 4 days. They are a young couple that were on holiday up north and wanted to visit the calamuchita valley again. They enjoyed the country side and especially the river. They were spending most of their time relaxing at the river and swimming.

Last but not least was our visit from 2 sisters Sthefanie and Paula. Sthefanie took her younger sister on a trip and they were coming from Cordoba. They stayed one night and Paula celebrated her 16th birthday here. Our youngest visitor at the hostel so far.

It has been an amazing month and we were fortunate to have had so many people here at the hostel! We are getting allot of enquiries which means that people are starting to notice "Hostel Tinktinkie" on the internet. The holiday season has been quiet this year. We are still plagued with drought and it is extremely hot. (See the blog about the rain)

I am also attaching a picture of Julien and Sheree from South Africa. They visited us over Christmas and we had a really good time speaking "Afrikaans"!

We are looking forward to the month of February, with an upcoming family visit and more, exciting people at the hostel.

Andrey & Nelieta

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