Uplands Hockey Tour to South America
April 2009

Hola Amigos! The 1st Girls’ Hockey Team has returned from a fabulous trip to Argentina. Our 16-day, 25 000 km tour began in Buenos Aires for a 3-night, 2-match stay. The girls lost one match, drew the other but beat Florida Street with a ‘big stick’ as the shopping there is ‘to die for’. Buenos Aires is a clean, energetic city and after a city tour of the Pink Palace, Plaza de Mayo, the wharf, Women’s Bridge and Recoletta cemetery, shopping and eating out late our travel-weary team battled to keep up with its pace.

En route to our next city, Rosario, we popped into Estancia Santa Susana – a gaucho ranch with real “fake” cowboys on show. The girls happily ate half a cow each and tangoed with Grampa Gaucho. Rosario is situated on the banks of the Parana River and its sights are picturesque. A brisk walk in its streets, filled with exercise bunnies, dog walkers and lovers was fantastic. Our match at the smart, very large Jockey Club allowed the girls to play on wet astro, under night lights. The atmosphere was electric and we were pumped. We won 2-0.

We transferred to Cordoba, to play match 4. Argentineans are friendly, eager hosts and the post-match functions were often a highlight as the girls interacted with their counterparts and practised their ‘Spanglish’. Cordoba is also a ‘vibey’ city and the night walk for ice cream, whole day cathedral, town square, street exploration and shopping experience energised most of us (especially me).

The highlight of our Argentina experience would have to be Mendoza city. This city lies at the foothills of the Andes Mountains and is famous for its wine, mountain adventure sports and winter skiing. In true macho, South African fashion we white-water rafted the river under the watchful eye of the very rare condor raptor, hiked the mountains to view the escarpment’s highest peak and soaked up the sun. We were humbled in our 5th match by the expertise of the young team we played.

Upon our return to Buenos Aires for our last two matches - both narrowly lost - we explored Recoletta market, Japanese Garden and surrounding parks, Volta ice cream, Palermo Soho and designer shops for a few matric farewell dresses. Spending someone else’s money is a wonderful experience. We made the most of our final days in the capital city and were ready to return to SA to vegetables, replenished wallets, spacious bathrooms and English.

Sharon van Reenen