Chajarí, Entre Ríos

I had one of the most incredible experiences in my life last weekend in Chajarí. Chajarí is a small town in the province of Entre Ríos, north of the province of Buenos Aires. Juan Manuel was born there and lived there all his life until he moved to Buenos Aires Capital three years ago. Chajarí is a town with a population of about 30,000 people and it has more unpaved streets than paved. Although it's a tiny town, it is responsible for the majority of citrus exports from Argentina and all of South America. The entire town is based on the citrus industry, and Juan grew up working on his father's groves. I met his family and spent three days with the nicest people in Argentina speaking Spanish, drinking wine and laughing endlessly.


I got a warm welcome similar to this from just about everyone I met!


Juan Manuel with his sister Rosina, 17.


Juan Manuel's brother, Juan Pablo, 9.


Pablito y yo.


Pablo playing fútbol with his big brother.


¡Pablo plays rough!




One of many citrus orchards in Chajarí, also bordering the south of the province of Corrientes.




Hehe, we're silly.














You can't really tell in this photo, but we are in front of the River Uruguay and you can actually see Uruguay in the distance.


Yes, this one is much better. See?








The weather was very wintery in Chajarí, much like Seattle. Overcast, crisp, windy, a little rain. The sky was doing crazy things all weekend.


Hanging out with Rosy and her friends outside, having some wine and laughing a lot.


Juan's abuelita (grandmother), Tita


Gladis y Juan Manuel


Gladis y yo


Juan y Rosy


Pablito y Gladis


Juan y Rosy. We visited a beach/camping area on the River Uruguay called Santa Ana.


It was really windy and felt just like beach in Seattle during the winter.








This is the coolest place to be during the summer in Chajarí.


Always drinking mate!


Isn't she cute!? I love her!









Mi amor.



Juan, Rosina y yo






Gladis y yo










Juan is his mother's angel.


Pablito is trouble.


La perra, Chivela


Rosy is soooo adorable.




In ten years he's going to be a lady-killer like his older brother.


Non-stop laughing.


They start drinking vodka young in Chajarí.


And then it was time to leave...

I truly adored his family and everyone I met in Chajarí. I hope I have the opportunity to go back and visit them again someday.