Worth a thousand words
Here are pictures of things that I’ve never seen in America and that, to me, represent parts of the Argentina I know.
This is a typical scene from Ruta 9. Most of the time it looked like a two-lane one-way street, due to all the cars passing each other. It was really hard to believe that it was a two-way highway, at least until you looked up and saw a truck barreling towards you with a few tons of soy or petroleum.
What is my friend Pato doing with her Thermos?
Pato is filling up her thermos with water that is heated to the perfect temperature for mate. Argentines drink a lot of mate, a bitter tea that requires the water to be at a temperature just below boiling so as not to burn the leaves. In the interior of the country, mate is consumed all day long, and everywhere you go you see Argentines with their mate gourd and accompanying Thermos. Gas stations now offer large tanks of water for people to fill up their thermoses so that not a moment goes by without mate. People drink mate in Brazil and Chile (among other countries), but it’s only in Argentina that I’ve seen these mate water machines. Best of all, filling up your Thermos is free.
What's up with the bottles on the cars?
In Argentina, people indicate that their car is for sale by putting a plastic bottle on top of it. The bottles can be any type—from soda bottles to water bottles to car lubricant bottles–and they’re filled with sand or dirt. I have never seen this in any other country, and I have to admit that it fascinates me.
What are these people doing at the gas station?
They are filling their cars with gas. Not gasoline, but gas—as in, not solid or liquid. Filling up with gas is three times cheaper than filling up with gasoline and, in recent years, has become the most affordable and popular fuel option. To fill up your car costs $2, which lasts about 70 miles. People have refitted their cars with gas canisters in the trunk and pipe the gas in through a valve that is fastened somewhere on the car, usually on the grill (as in the photo). The only inconvenience is that during roadtrips you need to stop every hour to refuel. Also, everyone has to get out of the car while the gas canister is being refilled, due to some potential hazard. I’m not sure as to what the hazard is, but for some reason it’s allegedly safer to be standing right next to your car, rather than seated in it, while the gas is being charged.
Where in the world am I?
One of the many small German or Austrian villages in central Argentina, of course. The writing on the sign is in both German and Spanish. I wrote more about these towns in the post entitled ‘Frogger’.
This is a typical scene from Ruta 9. Most of the time it looked like a two-lane one-way street, due to all the cars passing each other. It was really hard to believe that it was a two-way highway, at least until you looked up and saw a truck barreling towards you with a few tons of soy or petroleum.
What is my friend Pato doing with her Thermos?Pato is filling up her thermos with water that is heated to the perfect temperature for mate. Argentines drink a lot of mate, a bitter tea that requires the water to be at a temperature just below boiling so as not to burn the leaves. In the interior of the country, mate is consumed all day long, and everywhere you go you see Argentines with their mate gourd and accompanying Thermos. Gas stations now offer large tanks of water for people to fill up their thermoses so that not a moment goes by without mate. People drink mate in Brazil and Chile (among other countries), but it’s only in Argentina that I’ve seen these mate water machines. Best of all, filling up your Thermos is free.
What's up with the bottles on the cars?In Argentina, people indicate that their car is for sale by putting a plastic bottle on top of it. The bottles can be any type—from soda bottles to water bottles to car lubricant bottles–and they’re filled with sand or dirt. I have never seen this in any other country, and I have to admit that it fascinates me.
What are these people doing at the gas station?They are filling their cars with gas. Not gasoline, but gas—as in, not solid or liquid. Filling up with gas is three times cheaper than filling up with gasoline and, in recent years, has become the most affordable and popular fuel option. To fill up your car costs $2, which lasts about 70 miles. People have refitted their cars with gas canisters in the trunk and pipe the gas in through a valve that is fastened somewhere on the car, usually on the grill (as in the photo). The only inconvenience is that during roadtrips you need to stop every hour to refuel. Also, everyone has to get out of the car while the gas canister is being refilled, due to some potential hazard. I’m not sure as to what the hazard is, but for some reason it’s allegedly safer to be standing right next to your car, rather than seated in it, while the gas is being charged.
Where in the world am I?
One of the many small German or Austrian villages in central Argentina, of course. The writing on the sign is in both German and Spanish. I wrote more about these towns in the post entitled ‘Frogger’.
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