We're Going to Camp!

When we go to camp in the US, we have about two transportation options: get into the church van and go, or get into a car and go. In Argentina, the options were very different. As we prepared to go to ABUA camp with about 20 college students from Buenos Aires, Eugenia worked hard to find the most economical option. We could go in a train or a bus, but as the camp was in the middle of nowhere, it would have been an added expense to get from the bus or train station to our remote destination. With that in mind, we decided to that the best option was to hire a van and driver that would take us directly to the campground.

3:30 pm  On Friday, we were given instructions to meet in the plaza not far from my house, and to be punctual. We all arrived with backpacks, suitcases, sleeping bags, and miscellaneous boxes of books and costumes in tow. I might add that this was the same week in which Buenos Aires had experienced unprecedented rainfall and serious flooding. The sky was still overcast with terrible humidity and threatening clouds.

5:30 pm We had moved under a bus stop because soft rain was coming down. Eugenia had made several phone calls and arrived at the conclusion that our van wasn't going to show up. She had quickly checked the bus schedules and availability at the downtown bus station and we piled our biggest luggage into one taxi while the rest of us went to the subway to the bus terminal.

6:30 pm  We bought our bus passages and set up camp.

8:00 pm  Four hours after our projected departure we were on a bus and leaving Buenos Aires.

11:00 pm  Due to it being a long weekend and recent rainfall, we were in unusually heavy traffic and our bus was not moving.

2:00 am  We arrived to the bus station in the city of Rosario, Santa Fe. We had to buy tickets for a second bus and we had about 30 minutes to wait in the bus station.

4:30 am  Someone leaned over the seat in front of me and whispered, "Chicas! We've passed the bus stop. We need to get off and go back!" We quickly and groggily gathered our things and piled off of the bus to cross the street and take a bus two stops backward.

5:00 am  Poor Christian had to wake up and drive to the bus stop to pick us up with all of our things. We were 13 people with numerous bags and boxes, and he had to make four trips back and forth from the bus stop to camp. By 6:30 am we were finally all in our beds.


The time between Buenos Aires and Oliveros, according to google maps, would be about 4 hours in a car. For us it was a much longer affair, but we had a lot of time for chatting, late night singing and shenanigans, and getting to know each other better.