The rain has stopped, the sun is out, and the hunters are off doing hunting things.

It’s our last day at Estancia Cortaderas in Entre Ríos, Argentina. While the guys are hunting, we’re doing some exploring of our own — the grocery store in nearby Villa Hernandarias. This is the apex of cultural experiences.

Update: Anna’s attachment to the estancia cat, Freida, continues to grow. I’m afraid she might be planning an international cat-heist.

Grocery Shopping in Villa Hernandarias

I’ve always thought that grocery stores in other countries are one of the best ways to experience local culture. So, Ewan indulged us with a trip to the grocery store in his little town, Villa Hernandarias. I can only imagine what the locals thought when five American women piled out of a van and descended on their market.

Villa Hernandarias is a rural farming community. Around 5,700 people live here. Aside from farming, the main employer is a chicken processing plant that does not smell awesome. It’s a different pace and economy of life here – Ewan told us the average monthly income is $400. Monthly.

The town’s grocery store is a one-stop shop. You can get groceries, flip flops, drill bits, and soccer balls – all in the same aisle. There’s an entire section of dulce de leche. All of the fresh fruits and vegetables are refrigerated. Interesting. And the meat section was . . . well, I’m sure it was perfectly sanitary. We bought all kinds of Argentina snacks.

Next: the pharmacy. Smallest drug store I’ve ever been in. I was on a hunt for a unique perfume from Argentina. I asked which one is the most popular and bought that. And then another because the bottle was pretty. I hope they smell good.

Update: One smells great. The other smells . . . well, it’ll look pretty in my collection.

Duck Empanadas

We had duck empanadas (courtesy of our mighty hunters) for lunch. Honestly, this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Kudos to the chef.

Watching the World Cup in Rural Argentina

There is no television at the estancia (normally not a problem, but the World Cup is going on, and we’re all soccer fans), so we’ve been trying (rather unsuccessfully) to find creative ways to watch. Anna found a super sketchy website (that would actually load) so we could watch the USA World Cup game live — all of us huddled around her iPad, glasses of rosado in hand.

Chewy Break

After the game, we played with Chewy the “too friendly” dog some more.

Our Last Sunset at the Estancia

We ate dinner together around the fire pit, and enjoyed an incredible sunset to send us off. We all agreed we should make Estancia Cortaderas a regular destination.

Postscript: As promised, here’s a picture of me wearing my new Argentine poncho.

Salud!