a messy day in santiago del estero

i woke up to the sound of my own thoughts looping like a broken record. the weather here is this weird in-between state where it’s not cold enough to hate but not warm enough to enjoy. i just checked and it’s...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. the air smells like wet concrete and distant rain, which is honestly a vibe for someone like me who’s always chasing the next weird texture.

there’s this place called el mercado that everyone says is the best for empanadas. i heard that from a guy who looked like he’d been sleeping in a trash can for three days. he was muttering about ‘the sacredness of beef’ while holding a paper bag like it was a relic. i’m not sure if he was serious or just trying to blend in. either way, i took his advice and ended up with a half-eaten empanada and a story about how the local bakery owes him money.

the neighbors here are the kind of people who leave their doors open and their music up all night. if you get bored, these hills are just a short drive away. i saw a guy climbing a rock with a clipboard last week. he was probably measuring something or just lost. either way, it’s the kind of place where you can’t tell if someone’s homeless or just really into their art.

i heard that the air quality here is terrible, but no one seems to care. maybe it’s the same kind of indifference that makes people ignore the flickering streetlights. i saw a sign that said ‘no dogs allowed’ and wondered if it was a rule or just a suggestion. the locals here have a weird relationship with rules. they break them, then defend them like they’re sacred.

there’s this bar called el rincón that’s supposed to be hidden. i found it by accident while looking for a place to plug in my laptop. the bartender was a woman in her 60s who looked like she’d been through a few lifetimes. she told me stories about the 80s while handing me a beer that tasted like regret. i’m not sure if she was joking or if she actually lived through the 80s. either way, it was memorable.

i took a bunch of photos of things that looked interesting. a close up of a flower with a bug on it, a close up of a butterfly on a plant, and a close up of a bee on a flower. nothing fancy, just things that captured my attention at that moment. the light was weird, like it was trying to tell me something but failed.

if you’re here, maybe you’re lost too. the maps here are useless. i found a google map link that someone posted on a local board, but it’s probably outdated.

so if you want to find your way, just follow the hills. they don’t lie.

i also found some links that might help. check out the tripadvisor for santiago del estero, it’s probably full of bad reviews. the yelp page for el mercado is better, but i’m not sure if it’s real. there’s also a local forum where people argue about the best way to cook empanadas. it’s chaotic, just like this place.

sometimes i wonder if the weather here is a metaphor. it’s not bad, but it’s not good either. it’s like a relationship that’s always on the edge of breaking. i just checked and it’s...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.

i left with a backpack full of unanswered questions and a photo of a bee that I thought was a spaceship. it’s the kind of day that makes you want to write a book, but not in a serious way. just a messy, human-style story that doesn’t make sense but feels real.

if you’re still reading this, maybe you’re from the future. or maybe you just need a distraction. either way, santiago del estero is what it is. chaotic, loud, and weirdly beautiful. i’ll leave you with that.

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