Friday

This morning, I woke up and remembered about my flight at 8:00. It was 7:30. I only had half an hour to eat breakfast and get ready to go! I rushed down stairs to the dining room of my hotel and ate some toast as fast as I could. Then, I sprinted back up stairs and packed so messily that my stuff hardly fit into my suitcase. Finally, I got it in and ran back down stairs to catch a taxi to the airport. When I rushed into the airport, I found out that my flight had been delayed.

So, I now had half an hour on my hands. Naturally, I got something to eat from one of the airport cafés, then sat down to read more of Tierra de Nadie. Finally, my flight was called, and I left for the line to get on. The flight from there took another hour, during which I almost finished my book.

All of this craziness was worth it though, because Tacuarembó was spectacular! It really is where gauchos live! There were a ton of men walking around in long robe-ish things, straw hats, and boots. The women were in colorful dresses that looked like they had come out of a movie. It was like walking into a movie, but nothing was black and white!

I went into a restaurant, because I was still hungry, and was right next to a man. I started to talk with him, and found out that Tacuarembó is the alleged birthplace of Carlos Gardel, a tango legend. I asked him if there were any dance classes available, to which he replied yes. He told me where the nearest class was, and I walked right to it.

I signed up for a class, and I learned how to tango. The music was just great! (P.S. That link is just typical tango music, not the music I heard.) I had a really fun time learning each step and putting it to music with my partner and I really wish that I could take another class and get better, but I didn't have time. So instead I went to a museum, of course.

The museum had a ton of facts on Tacuarembó's history, and it was really interesting to find out so many things on Tacuarembó. I stayed there for about an hour, then left to see what else was going on. It was starting to be dusk, and I knew that I would have to eat in an hour or two, so I decided to go to a tango show.

I found something that looked like a theater and walked in. Turns out it actually was a theater and the next show was in five minutes! I was just in time. The music started right when I sat down. Then, the curtains opened. There were two people on stage: a girl and a boy. They started dancing and I was entranced. It was like nothing I had ever seen! Amazing. When it was over, they got a standing ovation, and I was part of it.

After that I had to leave, and I was pretty hungry so I got something to eat. Then I went to my hotel to get a good night's sleep. I was ready for tomorrow!