1, 2, cha, cha, cha

If you've ever seen this scene in "Along Came Polly" with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller, you'll understand me when I say that I've always wanted to find a hole-in-the-wall dance hall and get swept off of my feet dancing to Latin music. Right? Who doesn't want to do that? 


This weekend, I read an article in La Nacion that mentioned that one of the local dance clubs, El Tobogán, that had been around for the past 35 years was closing abruptly, with very little public explanation, and would be turned into a bank.  So sad! 


So, Saturday night, through a process of triangulating Google Maps and Google web and news articles in English and Spanish, Brian and I tried to figure out just exactly where this club was located.  I've explained before how the addresses are not exactly super helpful (Example: our current address is something like "the house 100 meters north of the police station with the green gate").  Needless to say, after a 20 minute walk, we ended up in a dimly-lit side street with no sign of El Tobogán.  So, we salvaged the night with a quick run to McDonald's nearby for a McFlurry with Oreos.  Not all was lost!

All dressed up with nowhere to go on Saturday night! I bought this brightly-colored skirt at a street fair 7 years ago in New York City, hoping that someday I'd be able to go salsa dancing in it. It's the perfect salsa-dancing skirt, isn't it?

Sunday was the very.last.day that El Tobogán would ever be open, and even though it was raining and I was tired from moving, part of me still really wanted to see it before it closed!  It was a tough sell though, considering that I had already spent half the day sucked into The Pioneer Woman's "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" love story with Marlboro Man! Phew! That stuff is G-O-O-D.

Sunday: Settling into our new place with my computer, Pioneer Woman, and our first semi-homemade meal in two months!

Well, my nostalgic side won out, and I ended up calling a friend who I knew would be up for a last-minute call to go dancing, and we hit the town! We danced with several different older men (nice, very polite, patient with my non-Latina dancing self, and not gross!), had a beer, and enjoyed the last night at El Tobogán.

1, 2, cha, cha, cha!

Me and Tere after one hour of hot, sweaty salsa dancing at El Tobogán. It's a great workout - and a great memory! Now I can finally check that off my bucket list.