Maria’s Homestay, San Fernando, Argentina

We stumbled upon Maria’s homestay on couchsurfing.org. After an exchange of emails, viewing Maria’s website (http://www.mariahomestay.com.ar/ ), and the promise of an Argentinian Asado, our minds were set. We were headed to Buenos Aires.

Nestled just north of Buenos Aires is the nautical capital of Argentina “San Fernando.” Maria’s homestay is a beautiful guesthouse seperated from the main house by a lush garden. Song birds, cats, and dogs all wander around happily in the warm Argentianian sun. Maria’s homestay is a sanctuary of sorts, all of the cats and dogs are strays Maria has taken into her home much like us =)

The first night in San Fernando, Maria’s son, Luicano prepared for us a traditional Argentinian Asado (BBQ). The meat sizzled on the barbie, while we chatted with Maria and her two sons, Mario and Luciano. Mario works teaching people how to use Apple computers. He absolutely loved coca-cola and Ireland. Mario and Luciano are very much into rock music. Maria brought out some of her home made pickles and an eggplant dish in oil and spices, both were delicious. We ate more meat than I thought humanly possible, before we headed inside for a night full of Argentinian wine, Fernet, and conversation. We spent nearly six hours chatting, eating and drinking.

The next day Maria gave us a tour of the River through San Fernando. She showed us all the plants and trees of the area. The river through San Fernando is polluted so the fish really should not be eaten. However, there were plenty of fisherman there ignoring that information. Leah held some of their catch.

The night we left, Maria prepared another meal for us! She also had some Dutch sailor friends visiting. We played rummikub with the Dutch couple and Maria. They have spent the last 11 years sailing around the world. They just came back from Ushria. Coined “the end of the world” Ushria is as far south as you can go in South America, and only a short boat trip from Antartica. Leah and I plan on going there, but maybe not this trip =) After games, Maria brought out another feast. We started the feast with some homemade hot pepper jam from Mia (The Dutch Lady). It was sweet, spicy and delicious. The food in Argentina is not very spicy, so it was good to finally get some spice. Maria brought out a platter of perfectly seasoned, baked chicken empadas! The empadas were amazing! We’ve had quite a few in restaurants and from street vendors. But all were put to shame by Maria. We could not have been any luckier. It was like having a home cooked meal from your own mother while in a forgien land. We chatted long into the night before heading to bed, it was our last night in San Fernando, and as always we were full of emotions when we went to bed.

Staying in Maria’s homestay was an amazing experience, the food was better than I could have ever imagined, the garden was tranquil, but the best experience of all was the loving home Maria provided for us! Thank you!

PS San Fernando is just south of Tigre, a town on the delta north of Buenos Aires. Many sailors frequent the area to get their boats fixed. The rates are much better than in Europe or America. Sailors will spend anywhere from a few weeks to months waiting for their boats to be repaired, or just relaxing in the warm Argentinian sun. Maria’s homestay provides them a place to stay.