Buenos Aires / Chivilcoy

6.1.2024 Buenos Aires / Chivilcoy

I found out online that there is supposed to be a bistro in Buenos Aires where stray dogs are given a warm welcome and are allowed to sit at the table and eat with the guests. I found this idea very appealing and really wanted to go there. However, the location "in Buenos Aires" was very inaccurate, because the pub was actually about 175 km away in the Argentine hinterland in a place called Chivilcoy.

Nevertheless, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and ordered a ride to Chivilcoy via the Uber app the day before. My booking for 8am local time was confirmed with "Pickup time 10am GMT -3". Comprehensively worded, but factually correct. Only the Uber driver didn’t understand.

And so I stood in front of the terminal from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in total traffic chaos. A number of truck drivers believed that they could move faster by constantly honking their horns. By now I was so annoyed that I canceled the planned trip with a heavy heart and set off on foot into the city. To my surprise, I received a message at 9:30 a.m. that my driver was on his way. So I rushed back to the agreed meeting point.

Who would have thought that a day that started so annoyingly would turn into one of the best of my trip so far...

After I and the driver managed to get together in the middle of the chaos of traffic, the journey began. Fortunately, my driver Nestor Osvaldo spoke quite understandable English and so we were able to have a nice chat. Fortunately, the restaurant was actually open according to the previously determined opening times. I invited Nestor there for lunch and we were gradually greeted by the two operators and four dogs. One of the dogs actually sat down on a chair at the table with us. With Nestor as a translator, I was able to order and talk to the ladies about dogs. I was proudly told that twenty of the strays had already been adopted out to dog lovers. The ladies brought us lovingly crafted clay figures of their current and deceased dogs to the table, we shared our hamburgers with the dogs and had a lot of fun. An operator sent me a Facebook friend request so that I could find out about the dog situation from afar. After I paid our bill, including a very generous tip (for which I was thanked again on Facebook), we set off on the long way back. While I was watching the future Maredo steaks on the pampas, Nestor invited me to join him and his family for a barbecue on my next visit. We went to a supermarket together, where I got a few little things. Before we reached the port, Nestor had also added himself to my friends list. Well, if that wasn't a successful day!

Update: Meanwhile, my Uber driver thanked me very much on my Facebook page for letting me drive me to Chivilcoy and meet this bistro.