My brother has been dating a darling woman named Costi from the South of Argentina for over a year. Part of my family's trip to Argentina is visiting her family's holiday home in Monte Hermoso, an adorable beach town of nearly 9000 residents. The southern facing beach itself is one of the few places in all of Argentina where you can watch the sun rise and set.
We flew into the tiny Bahia Blanca airport Friday afternoon and Costi's dad drove us the 90 kilometres to Monte Hermoso. We just caught the Friday night beach sunset, where Costi's many family members greeted us. They were excited to hear my thoughts on the beach.
It is stunning, yes, especially the sunset. A little bit busier than the beaches back in Newcastle, where we are spoiled for choice. It's not a competition though, and I was thrilled to be there.
Costi's sister and I got birras from the nearby beach shack where the bartenders spoke English! He told us to come to the beach party the next night and put our names on the list. My brother told me about these beach parties, they go until at least sunrise so everyone can see the view.
Like many Mediterranean cultures, Argentinians are known for staying up late, and Costi's Italian family is no exception. With them we tended to eat dinner between 10pm and midnight. On Saturday night they cooked the "chivo" over the fire. The goat was strung out, its body still very much identifiable. A vegetarian, I flinched a little bit. After dinner, everyone stayed up for hours, drinking, talking and playing cards.
Latin America is famous for its strong family ties, but this family is next level. The parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandma not only spend all day together, but they also spend the next day together, and the next! The female cousins all got matching beach tattoos to commemorate their annual time here. I respect it.
Everyone seems to be more relaxed in Argentina. On Sunday we waited for nearly an hour to buy petrol, but no worries, what's the rush?
During the days we swam in the ocean. I was amused observing my fellow beach-goers. During all hours of daylight you see families sunbathing, sipping and sharing the famous mate tea, known for its stimulating effect. No wonder they stay out so late.
After late dinners, we drove around town, looking at the happenings.
At 2am on Sunday morning people of every age were out, including families with young kids!
On Monday night at 1am the youngsters of our friends and family cruised with two cars through the town looking for a late night party, but it appeared even Argentinians need a break from time to time. We settled for a bustling ice cream shop called Ardenas. At 2am, it was a perfect time for dulce de leche.
Sadly I wasn't enough of a night owl to see the famous sunrise, but that's just another reason to return to Monte Hermoso.
Unique to Monte Hermoso
NBA basketball player Manu Ginobili hails from Monte Hermoso. Residents are quite proud of this and multiple people mentioned him to me.
