I am an idiot.

Why I thought it was a good idea to take a stroll along the beach with no sunscreen on, I'll never know. And then why did I stop for a quick lay out on the beach? It was so pleasant, not too hot, that it just didn't seem possible to get so burnt. I truly believed that I'd been out for not even an hour. Not so much. Mmm, well three hours later my skin was paying the price. Not anticipating to get sunburnt, I did not bring after sun treatment. Thankfully in this beachy town, it is available at every pharmacy. Hello aloe vera, get in my life. This excellent sunburn sure will be a delight on my 12 hours+ bus ride this evening.

Sunburn aside, Mar Del Plata is a lovely, picturesque, sunny, beachy place. The main beach is packed everyday, Bondi style. There aren't a lot of sites to see. It's more just a lovely place to walk around, relax, get some sun (or much too much in my case) and enjoy life.

My hostel here is a bit of a bust. I was surprised to find the room had its own toilet. But where was the shower? On the wall of the tiny toilet. There is nothing quite like showering next to the toilet and then scraping the water down the drain afterwards. An interesting experience. There's just no vibe at the hostel, which after the hustle and bustle of the BA hostel, was a little bit of a shock. Anyhow I still managed to meet two nice Irish guys.

I managed to do laundry. And by do, I mean pay someone else to do it. For less than $5 you can dump your dirty washing and return 5 hours later to clean, folded clothes. #winning

I think I just ate the worst salad of my life. So I ordered a tuna salad with egg, rice, peppers and onion. It comes out and each ingredient is piled on top of each other, not mixed at all. The rice is cold and undercooked. The peppers have a terrible after taste. Thankfully the egg and tuna were edible. Serves me right for trying to be healthy.

And my quest for a book still goes on. I couldn't get one in BA cause they were all closed over New Years and opened too late on the day I left. Finally I found where I could buy English books in Mar Del Plata. The shops here open until 1, then close for a few hours and reopen in the late afternoon. I'm convinced it's because they all go to the beach. Anyhow, I missed the morning shopping session. And when I went back in the afternoon, I was informed the shop had no water and they were closed. Never knew you needed water to sell books. So now I am facing a very loooong bus ride with no book. Actual disaster.

Things to do before leaving Argentina...
1. Try some famous Argentine steak.
2. Buy a book.