Religious Experience

Since it has been about a month since we returned from Argentina, we figured we had better finish our blog posting to allay any fears that we are still down there. And belive it or not, we saved the best for last.

On our last day in Buenos Aires, we had a bit of time to kill before our late night flight back to Portland. So to pass the time we journeyed to the outskirts of the city and 2 millennia into the past when we visited to Terra Santa. For those of you who are unaware of the great religious theme parks of the world, this is the first one …and supposedly the greatest. That said, the bar for this category of theme parks is pretty low.

We were welcomed to the grounds of Tierra Santa by numerous fiberglass palm trees, camels, sheep, Roman Soldiers, and Jerusalem peasants. Luckily we found our way through the fiberglass forest to a small building with a sign that read “Cashier. Cash, Check and Visa Accepted.” I found comfort in the old visa slogan – “Visa…it’s every where you want to be.“

After paying the entry fee, we entered through the gates to ye’ old Jerusalem. Suddenly a Hallelujah Chorus erupted all around us and Jesus himself began to rise out of a giant fiberglass mountain in the distance. It was an awe-inspiring sight. He was huge! Probably about 3 stories tall with arms outstretched to either side…like the famous Micheal Jordan poster, but without the basketball. We took it as an auspicious sign until we found out that Jesus’s resurrection occurs every hour, on the hour.

Following the Resurrection, we were shepherded off the bleachers (“the viewing pasture”) by men in robes with bullhorns and urged to continue on our way through the Jerusalem-esque “cobblestone” streets amid the “thatched” shacks and “humble” abodes. On our way we saw Gandhi and Mother Teresa, got some candy from a stranger, fed some camels, joked around with Jesus and his heart shaped chest hair, and proved that Ian doesn’t have the biggest noggin around.

While we were at the site of the crucifixion, there was a surprising sighting of a 747 making its landing at the nearby airport (who knew!) and in the “downtown” area, we ran across some belly dancers putting on a show.

Luckily, the snack stand was wonderfully up to date (and overpriced).

Amen to that.