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Punta Negra and Dancing with New Friends

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 Our second day in San Juan, we were given the option to board a bus in the morning and travel an hour to Punta Negra or stay behind and attend lectures and explore the new city. Some of the group stayed behind to catch up on rest or walk around town but most of chose to see this beautiful lake and dam. The hour bus ride was nothing compared to the rest of the traveling we’d been doing and we were greeted by a view of a beautiful reservoir, dam and mountains. We learned that the dam helps generate hydro electric power for the province. When we arrived we learned that kayaking and pedal boating was available. We had a lot of fun exploring the water or staying on shore skipping rocks. After we enjoyed the reservoir, we walked up the hill to the restaurant and we enjoyed a lunch featuring punta de espalda, which was recommended to us by new friends we met there. After lunch, we headed back to town to get ready for the opening ceremony of the festival.

All the competing groups met that night at a community center where we sang one piece for each other and got to watch tango and malomba numbers. It was a great introduction into the festival and the city of San Juan. We got sandwiches and fruit after for a light dinner before most of our group walked back to the hotel, but for the few of us that stayed, a very fun night was in store.

After a brief meal, they dimmed the lights and through a dance party. Our group were the only Americans there so we didn’t know any of the songs or the dance moves but we jumped in the dance circle anyway. People were more than happy to show us how it was done. We would go on to formally meet so many of these people in the coming days, but that night we shared music and dance with them and it was one my favorite moments of the trip.

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