Day 4 Continued....Mr. Priddy's Texas Boys Choir Argentina Tour Travelogue

Day 4 continued...May 21, 2012

Today has been a traveling day for the most part.  We checked out of the hotel and departed only to realize a tux had been left in a hotel room closet.  Ugh!!!  We had to turn around and go back.  Doing this put us behind schedule for the rest of the day.  We turned a five hour trip into a 7 1/2 hour trip.  But it actually was fine.  It has rained most of the day, so even if we had gotten to the hotel per our original time line, we could not have done any site seeing on foot.  As it turned out, when we arrived at the hotel, rather than check in, we took the city bus tour.  Our guide told us about the city of Mar del Plata, a costal city due east of Buenos Aires.

We toured a Catholic site where supposed blessed water excuded from a rock.  Then we went to the harbor to see the fishing boats.  Each boat is a particular color.  The color represents the size of the vessel and this determines the amount of fish a boat can catch within a sixth month time frame.  A bonus of our time at the harbor was that we got to see Sea Lions.  They just jump out of the water and lie around on the side walk.  It was similar in a way to being at a zoo.  However, in this case there was no fence separating us from the animals.  We got several photos of our mammal friends before loading the bus and returning to the hotel.

After checking in, we ate dinner at an Italian place.  The food choices were varied enough so that everyone got plenty to eat.  The owners served us adults callamari. We had more than enough, so Mrs. Blevins served samples to those boys that wanted to try it.  As we were walking out of the restaurant, a football (soccer) team was seated to our left.  They saw we were from Texas and immediately wanted our guys to come over to their table to get a picture made.  The boys were a little surprised, but were happy to comply.  It seems that even when we are not singing, the fact that we are from the states has an impact.  The young people in particular here in Argentina have been very receptive of our guys.

Tomorrow is a busy day.  Wake up call at 7:15, breakfast at 8, load bus at 8:45, school performance at a private school at 9:15.  Then back to the hotel to change and site see.  Later in the afternoon we travel to the Cologne Theatre for rehearsal and an evening performance.  We will be joined on this performance by a local high school choir.  The advertisement and marketing for our concerts has been of superior quality.  Our tour company continues to be on top of all arrangements.  Any problems?  If they do not have the answer, they know who to call.  This type service has been invaluable to me and the other adults, as it allows us to focus on the boys needs.

I hope everyone is getting these updates and that you find them helpful.  If I am missing any aspect of trip reporting that you feel other parents would be interested in knowing more about, please let me know.

In closing, the boys are doing very well.  No illness to speak of...these guys are tough, and we left with everyone at 100% health.  This is how tours should be.

I will try to send another update tomorrow.  Once we finish our tenure at Mar del Plata, we head back to Buenos Aires to catch our internal connecting flight to Iguazu.  That is something to which all of the boys are looking forward.

Bryan Priddy
Artistic Director
Texas Boys Choir