Greetings Friends and Family from Argentina. This is the People’s beach in Mar Del Plata. All those little dots by the seashore are people.  It is very crowded or as our friend, Sandy would say, it is “absolutely heaving”. The ocean is a chilly 66 degrees F too! We watched people coming to the beaches here and they were all determined to spend the day with their chairs, tents and ice chests. Some of the waves are good for surfing, but we noticed the surfers wore full wetsuits.

Mar Del Plata is a major fishing port and biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina. It has a population of 617,350 people which swells with tourists during their summer months, which is now. The city is the 7th largest city in Argentina.  There are quartzite quarries in the area and much of the buildings are built with this “Mar Del Plata” stone. Buenos Aires u[per class have summer homes here and many built in the early 20th century were like Victorian homes. Most of these beautiful homes have been replaced by the high rise concrete apartment buildings but one, The Villa Normandy has been restored and is now the Italian embassy. It is a lovely glimpse to what this city once was.  See the contrast for yourselves.

One overcast day, we walked all over the town, to see this lovely villa and the water tower, Torre Tanque.  It was built with the local stone and is very impressive.  We took the elevator up to the middle of the tower for a great view of the city.

We visited the two churches, Iglesias Stella Maris and the Cathedral San Pedro in the center of town on San Martin street, a pedestrian street today. Then we walked out to the beach to see the casino, a lovely old building and watch the parade of beach goers walk by.

After a 10 mile plus walk around town, we stopped in a local restaurant for dinner.  Everyone eats really late here, the restaurants open at 8:30. So Manola’s restaurant is perfect for us as they are open non stop to late in the evening and we can eat at 6 pm or so. This is a combination of seafood, shrimp, squid, octopus, and local fish.  It was delicious and way too much to eat!

We spent the rest of our days in this beach resort, relaxing by the pool. We were a couple of miles out of the hustle and bustle of the town but close to nice restaurants by the harbor. Mar Del Plata is worth a visit to relax, you won’t be disappointed.  Our next entry will be back in Buenos Aires where we still have places to visit. Until then, remember to be good to yourselves.
Cheers,
Susan and Jim