Santa Fe, Argentina

July 9th is Día de la Independencia here in Argentina. This year the country celebrated it’s 207th year of independence from Spanish rule. We had been planning to get started on our drive to Chivilcoy, a small town a couple of hours west of Buenos Aires, to talk to a camper manufacturer about rewiring the electrical and maybe doing the interior updates, when Mauro messaged to tell us that we weren't far on of Santa Fe’s indepence day celebration. We decided to walk over, but didn’t find much going on there, just some families out enjoying the day and a few street vendors.

Before I knew it Mauro was there to swoop us up and show us where the real action was. I say “before I knew it” because I was distracted with our weekly zoom family call where I get to spend an hour plus with my mom, aunts, uncles and cousins each week. It’s always a blast and I try not to miss it. While I was distracted Sam must have been chatting with Mauro.

We ended up at a lively street festival with blocks and blocks of food booths and vendors. There were lots of booths selling grilled beef and other meats. Beef is an important part of Argentinian culture, cuisine, and economy. Argentina is one of the largest producers of beef worldwide and is widely known for its high-quality and traditional grilling techniques. Most cattle in Argentina is pasture raised and grass fed, compared to the grain fed cattle in the US. I’ve seen the cattle, both in the field here and scarily close up, and I must say they do look quite happy. All this makes for some pretty tasty beef.

We had fun browsing the various booths and enjoying the energy of the crowd. After hanging out for a while we decided to eat before getting on the road. We found food and a grassy area to sit down. Mauro chose a variety of meat empanadas which are also one of mainstays of Argentinian cuisine and Sam and I opted for grilled veggie sandwiches which were really delicious and much better than we expected.

All in all, Independence Day turned out to be a lot of fun. I really appreciate that Mauro called. We likely would have gotten on the road and missed the celebrations.Read more