We chose and booked our places for each of the activities and tours some months ago and occasionally have a change of heart.  Sometimes, what seemed like a good idea at the time turns out to be too much in a busy schedule, or perhaps doesn’t seem to give us a chance to discover a place to the extent to which we’d like.

Sometimes, we look at our ticket and wonder what on earth we were thinking!

A couple of days ago I returned to the Destinations desk to say I felt we’d made a mistake.  “Tango Masterclass” in Buenos Aires?  M a s t e r c l a s s ?  I explained we were rank beginners and as such, didn’t really feel such a class would be appropriate.  We’d better switch to “The highlights of Buenos Aires” or something instead.

The young Argentinian staff member wouldn’t let me.  “Mrs Thomas, you will have such fun, believe me!  Please, stick with it and see”.  (Well, she would say that, wouldn’t she?)

This morning, a dozen or so of us headed to La Ventana Tangueria, where this delightful couple was waiting to teach us to tango.  We needn’t have worried about being out of our depth, for not everyone had danced before and even those who had were no tango experts.

We started at the beginning then.

Eight steps…one two and three were a piece of cake, but four five and six were a bit tricky for me, involving crossing my feet and transferring my weight from one foot to the other.  Seven and eight just involved going back to the beginning, which was fine if I’d managed five and six but otherwise, were a muddle.

Slowly, though, I got the hang of it and having a hero to lean on made it a bit easier…unless we both lost the plot somewhere along the line and got the giggles.  For fifteen minutes or so, we practised, practised, practised under the expert eye of the professionals, who occasionally took our hands and gave us 1:1 guidance – oh my!

Having got to grips with that basic eight-step process, we were shown how to add in a few twirls – four swivel turns, to add a little flourish.  Oooo.  My excuse was that I needed a pair of heels to dance in, really, to make that swivel easier.  It might have been easier too, had we both had the same flat stomachs as our teachers, but looking around the room, most of us shared that particular challenge

Our lesson ended with a glass of wine, the music turned up and an invitation to put everything we’d learned together.  Can you believe we really did dance the tango in Buenos Aires!?

Great fun!  (and thank you to Gabriela for persuading me to stick with it!)