Dirty Dancing 2013

We made the drive down to Mountain Lake Resort on Thursday for another Dirty Dancing Weekend. It's a little late in the year for us but I was taking a class over the summer so we missed the other Dirty Dancing weekends. This makes the 7th year in a row we have come here.

The hotel has done some major renovations over this last year. There have been some alterations such as the library and the bar have switched places. There is also new carpeting and upholstery. The renovations haven't taken from the hotel's rustic charm.

One thing they are trying to change is the way the lake drains. Apparently, they are plugging the holes in the hope the lake will fill up again. We've never seen it full except in the movie. I would like to see it with water in it some year.

One thing that has really changed for the better this year is the new chef, Michael Rork. He's a recent import from the Maryland shore and his menu includes some our favorite dishes, including shrimp and grits, and fried green tomatoes.

Since we'd come up a day early this year we had some unstructured time during the day on Friday. In the morning we walked around the grounds a little then decided to see what Pembroke looked like. We drove down the mountain and proceeded to Pembroke. It didn't take long to drive through the town so we also drove through Blacksburg and Christiansburg. We managed to make it back up the mountain in time for lunch.

After a relaxing afternoon we had dinner. Then, we went down to the Ballroom where they had set up to view the movie "Dirty Dancing". It's interesting to watch a movie with a group of fans who, like us, know every scene and every line of dialog. Some of the favorite scenes were like listening to the lines delivery by a chorus.

As the credits started to roll, we headed to the Activities Barn for the dancing. Not much has changed there. They still have a really good dance floor. There was a nice, cheery fire going in the stone fireplace. The entertainment line-up was a little different this year. There was a live band instead of a DJ and karaoke. The band, named Ratatouille, had 7 pieces and played mainly jazz. We listened and danced until the end, then walked back to the lodge for some sleep.

Tomorrow I'll add some pictures and describe the main event dance on Saturday night.

Tango Shoes

I can think of no better way to remember our stay in Argentina than buying tango shoes. Every time we go to a milonga and dance the tango we will have a remembrance. We stuck to our budget this year pretty well. I got 3 pair and Doris got 3 pair. We went to a shop that takes your measurements and custom makes the shoes. It's a lot of fun looking through the pictures of shoe styles and samples of leather. I like being able to get a pair of shoes unlike anything we can get back home.

Buenos Aires Street Art

We did a lot of walking around Buenos Aires during our stay. Along with the wonderful architecture there is a lot of street art. I'm not sure if it is sanctioned graffiti or shop keepers going in for some wild decorations. Here are samples taken during some of our walks.

Lina's Tango Guesthouse

This is the second time we have traveled to Argentina and also the second time that we have stayed in Lina's Tango Guesthouse. Lina's is a small establishment with seven rooms available. It is located on a cobble stone street in the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires. San Telmo is famous for being the tango district of Bueno Aires, which is what first attracted us. Staying with Lina is like staying with family. Lina is a gracious hostess who provides amenities not found in a hotel chain. You can get tango lessons, a massage, Tai Chi, Belly Dance lessons to name a few. We've found on this trip in particular that Lina's makes a great base from which to visit other parts of Argentina. We spent a few days here, then took a luxury bus to Puerto Iquazu to see the falls. Next time we come we may go to Mendoza to sample the wines.

Colonia Del Sacramento

We returned from Iguazu Falls on Sunday, November 11th. It was another overnight bus ride. The buses are very nice with seats that recline all the way which makes it more comfortable to sleep. We rested from the trip for the most part on Sunday. But, we did walk back down to the Antiques Market at Plaza Dorrego to pick up some souvenirs of our stay.

On Monday, November 12th we took a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay. We took a taxi to Puerto Madero where we got on a high speed ferry across the Rio De La Plata to Colonia. The ride only takes about an hour. There is another ferry available but it takes about 3 hours to cross the river. The weather was perfect for strolling around.

The history of Colonia Del Sacramento is interesting in that originally settled in 1680 by the Portuguese, it changed governments between Spain and Portugal 11 times until 1828 when Uruguay was formed as an independent country.

Colonia has spread out from the original town site and now has a population of over 26,000. The historic quarter (Barrio Histórico) has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is within walking distance of the port and very picturesque. They have done an excellent job in keeping the old time flavor of the town. Many of the streets have the original cobblestones laid down by the Portuguese in the 17th century. It is a popular tourist site but doesn't have a single fast food joint or college student dressed up as a cartoon character.

Train to the Throat of the Devil

We took the small excursion train (Tren de las Cataratas) from the Cataratas Station to the Garganta Station. There we took the half mile elevated trail across the river to the “Throat of the Devil” (Garganta de Diablo). We could hear the falls as we got closer. The catwalk takes you right to the edge of the Falls and lets you look right down the mouth of the falls. Awesome. The sheer beauty and power of these falls is spectacular.

Trail to San Martin Island

We got moving early on Friday morning trying to beat some of the tour groups that throng the park. A great benefit of staying at the Sheraton is you don’t have to take the 20 minute ride in from Puerto Iguazu every morning. We went to the Paseo Inferior (lower trail) and to San Martin island in the morning. The lower trail goes down to the river level to see the same portion of the Falls we saw the afternoon before, just with a different perspective. Much of the trail is the same metal catwalk, but getting down to the river involved a lot of stairs. You need a good pair of walking shoes for this part of the trip. We took the trail down to the river then crossed by a water taxi to San Martin Island. We decided they should change the name to the Island of Stairs. It was a steep ascent up through the jungle to the top plateau of the island. It was well worth it because of the spectacular view of the Falls from this side.

We went back the way we came (more stairs), down to the river to catch the taxi then up (even more stairs) the lower trail. We stopped at a small cafe for a sandwich and some air conditioning. There were tables outside the cafe  However, it looked like the people trying to eat out there had a lot of competition with the coatis trying to get their food.

Bus Ride to Puerto Iquazu

We did manage to get to the bus on time and departed Buenos Aires at 7:40 PM. The bus was a very nice double-decker with seats that fully reclined and a steward. They fed us both dinner and breakfast on the trip. Each seat had it’s own audio-visual and we could have our pick of several movies. It didn't do us much good because we don’t speak  Spanish very well. It was a long ride as we arrived in Puerto Iguazu shortly after noon on Thursday the 8th. We ate some lunch and took a taxi to the hotel.

We are staying at the Sheraton which is located in the Iguazu National Park . This is an excellent hotel with all the amenities and within walking distance of the different trails to the Falls. You can see a portion of the Falls from our balcony.

We got cleaned up and headed out to the upper trail to take our first real look at the Falls. The Paseo Superior (upper trail) is about 650 meters of metal catwalk along the upper edge of part of the Falls. The catwalk is elevated a couple of feet above the ground which keeps the trail nice and level and your shoes out of the mud. It was good to start with this trail. The part of the Falls that can be seen on the upper trail is impressive, but was only an introduction on what was to come.

Thursday evening we had dinner in the restaurant at the Sheraton. Argentine beef has a well deserved reputation and we were not disappointed. We went to bed early as we knew there was going to be a lot of walking the next day.

Bigger than Niagara

We've been big fans of Niagara Falls ever since we first saw them. Growing up out West whenever you’d see a waterfall there would be a comparison to Niagara, e.g. “taller than Niagara”. Then you would see a trickle of water coming down the rocks. Naturally, growing up I always thought that Niagara couldn't be very impressive. Then on a trip along the Great Lakes we actually experienced Niagara Falls. The best word I can think of to describe Niagara Falls is “awesome”. You stand next to the falls and just feel the awe inspiring power of Mother Nature. I never thought to see any falls that measure up to the standard of Niagara. Well, that was before we visited Iguazu Falls in Argentina. The Falls are over a mile long and it takes more than one day to get it all in. We were glad we were staying 2 nights at the park.

We began our trip to Iguazu Falls on the evening of Wednesday the 7th of November. We said good-bye to Susan and Reg from Vancouver. They were leaving over the weekend before we would return. It’s always nice to meet new friends on a trip like this.

We took a taxi to the bus terminal. We decided not to take the subway. Rush hour is pretty packed and we had suitcases. It turned out to be a real good idea because the power went out in parts of Buenos Aires, shutting down the subway. We were in line for the bus, speaking with a young lady from Holland who had to get off the subway when the power went out. She and her partner then tried to take a city bus but got caught in the rush hour grid lock and ended up walking the rest of the way to Retiro where the bus terminal is located. We got off comparatively easy. We only had to wait around the bus terminal hoping the power would come back on so the bus company could print our tickets.

Duo Maza

Last night we went with Susan and Reg and their friend Kathleen from Vancouver to see a performance by Duo Maza featuring Maria Volonte and Daniel Maza. It was held at a small club called Clasica y Moderna. The setting was very intimate and our table was located right next to the stage. We felt like we participating in a really great jam session. The music was wonderful. Maria has a cool, smokey voice and Daniel Maza can really play the bass.

Nueva Salon La Argentina

We went this evening to a milonga at the Nueva Salon La Argentina. If you're not familiar with a milonga, I'll try to explain. Milonga can have three meanings depending on the context. In this instance it means a dance where Argentine Tango is danced. It can also mean a type of music and it can mean a particular type of tango. So you could dance a milonga, to a milonga, at a milonga.

 I took a video of one of the tangos.

Starting Our Vacation

We did get some sleep last night. We crashed about 9:30 PM and got up about 8:30 AM. We had breakfast on the patio with some of the other guests. There are a mixed lot of guests with a couple from Vancouver, Canada, another couple from Belgium, a lady from Sydney, Australia who is finishing a year of travel around the world. There is also a Finnish gentleman who was competing in the 2012 World Field Archery Championship that was held last week here in Argentina. He did very well coming in first in the Adult Male Longbow division.

We spent the afternoon at the San Telmo Antiques Market. This is a weekly event every Sunday where they have several streets where vendors set up their stalls. There was quite a selection of things to buy. It drew a pretty good crowd, too.

In the evening we went to our first Tango dance, or Milonga. It was held in a wonderful old building called the Confitia Ideal. The bottom floor has a restaurant and the top floor has a bar with a dance floor. We got to try out our tango in a real Milonga, in front of real Argentinian dancers.

Made it to Argentina

We made it to Buenos Aires this morning. It was a very long flight from Newark, 10 hours and 45 minutes. We left at 9:50 PM so spent the night on the plane. I don't really sleep on a plane so I got to see several movies.

We took a nap immediately upon getting in and will probably turn in early tonight. We walked around San Telmo a bit this afternoon. We are sitting on the patio visiting with some the other guests right now.

Heroes & Villains Ball

Last night we joined Kathy and Randy for the 12th Annual American Red Cross Ball. The theme for this ball was Hero's and Villains. We didn't get any costumes ourselves but we did see a lot of Captain America and Super Woman.

The band was the Fabulous Bel Airs. We've heard them before and they put on a great show. There were a lot of swings and hustles, but they played a variety of other styles too. This was a well attended event at the Heritage Hunt Club. Dancing is the best way I know of to give to a worthy cause.

Swingin' Band

Friday we danced to the Mount Vernon Swing Band at the Holin Hall Senior Center. This is a great band like the big bands of the swing era. They have an extensive song list and play different tunes each time we see them. Not only do they play a lot of different songs, they play them all well.

Janet and Jeff joined us at the dance. This was their first time at Holin Hall. The band plays on the third Friday of most months. They are starting to get a large following at Holin Hall. I guess the word is getting out. The price is right too. It's only $4 to dance from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.

Tango Buenos Aires

We went with Kathy and Randy to a terrific tango show at the Hylton Performing Arts Center last night. It was titled "Tango Buenos Aires Fire and Passion of Tango." This was the first time we had gone to the new Hylton Performing Arts Center. It's a very impressive venue. We're glad to have another place where we can enjoy live theater and other performances.

The Tango Buenos Aires dance company has been touring since 1987, traveling throughout the Americas, Europe and the Far East. We always enjoy the music of Argentine Tango. This company has a 5 piece ensemble with the piano, guitar, violin, double bass, and of course the bandoneon. It also features 5 couples who can really kick up their heels. We have seen several tango shows at the Lisner Auditorium and in Buenos Aires. This show definitely had all the precision and excitement of any that we have seen.

Officers Club

Last night we enjoyed an evening of dancing and dining at the O Club on Ft Belvior. The band was Night Watch. They play a lot of swings, foxtrots and ballads. The O Club has a buffet dinner and dancing from 1800-2100 (6-9 PM) every Wednesday. It has gotten to be our regular date night and we are there almost every week. Sharon and Paul joined us and we had a good time.

Forever Dancing

Last night we went to a studio called Forever Dancing off Seminary Road in Falls Church. This studio is operated by Jennifer and Fabio Bonini. They are spectacular dancers, and are also a couple of the nicest people around. We've taken an Argentine Tango Workshop from them and like to go to their studio. It is spacious and has an excellent floor.


They have a milonga on Sundays and frequently treat their guests with live music. Last night they featured Emmanuel Trifilio, who plays a bandoneon. We always enjoy spending an evening dancing the Argentine Tango. It makes it extra special to have good, live music.

A Busy Weekend

We began the weekend Friday night by going to the Hollin Hall Senior Center to listen to the Mount Vernon Swing Band. We always enjoy their music. One of the things we really like is that they don't play the same songs over and over. They play at Hollin Hall every other month. Every time they have a completely different play list. I don't know of any other band that has such an extensive song list.

Last night we had the first dance of the season with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. This was a formal dance at the Country Club of Fairfax. It's always fun to get dressed up and go dancing. The Regal has 7 dances this year, all at the CCF. There are 5 that are formal and 2 that are Tea dances.

Tonight we are visiting Kathy and Randy. Their clubhouse is having a Polka night. We're looking forward to lost of good German food and working off the calories to an Om-Pa band.

New Season with the Friday Nighters Dance Club

We belong to the Friday Nighters Dance Club. The dance season started this month. We hold our dances on the 2nd Friday of each month from September through June at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church. The music is provided by the Family Band.

I was elected as Vice President this year. This means I get to help set up and clean up the dances. We have a pretty good group of members and most everyone pitches in for a turn. I figure if I'm going to join a club I owe it to myself to participate. It's been my experience that the more I contribute, the more I get out of a club.

We're looking forward to another season of dancing.