Colonia del Sacramento (24 – 26 de diciembre)

Ka tae atu ki Colonia, ka haere tika ma runga tēkihi ki tō māua wharenoho, La Posada del Río. Te waimarie hoki, he rūma e wātea ana. Ka tika māua ki te hīrere, engari te paru o te wai i rere atu! Ka peka atu ki te tāone tina ai, ā, ka hoki ki te posada moe ai.

Ka oho hōu, ā, ka haere atu ki te wāhi  e waea atu ai ma te Skype ki te whānau i Aotearoa. Kāore rawa tētahi wāhi i kitea. Nāwai rā ka mea tētahi kia haere atu ki te plaza, he wāhi waea kore, te plaza katoa! Ka noho ki te waea atu, ka kōrero atu ki a Ruakiri rātou ko Ngāti Pirihi, ā, ka haere koa atu ki te kimi wharekai.

Kua kī te mea tuatahi me te mea tuarua, ānō ko Hōhepa rāua ko Maria i te pō i mua i tērā atu Kirihimete. Kātahi ka tae ki tētahi, ehara te hanga i te tino pai engari i te wātea ngā tēpu o mua. Ka tonoa tētahi o ngā tēpu, ka mea te mesero (tūmau tamatāne), ‘No señor, tenemos mesas mejores por el otro lado en el jardín.’ (‘Kāo, e hoa, he tēpu ā mātou i tērā atu taha i te māra.’)

Ka whai atu māua i a ia ma te whare kia puta atu ki te māra. Engari te ātaahua o taua māra. He raiti huhua i roto i te rākau nei, ā, kei waho te awa e tere ana me ngā tini rama o Colonia e kapokapo ana – he ao tupua. He rawe te kai, he rawe hoki te waina.

Ka tata ki te tūruawēpō, ka pātai atu ki te mesera (tūmau wahine) mehemea e raruraru ana i te mahi i te pō nei, i te mea ko te Noche Buena (te pō i mua i te Kirihimete) te wā e tino nui ana ki ngā latinos. Ka mea mai ia he uaua māna, i te mea tokorua ana tamariki i te kāinga. Ka kōrero hoki māua mō ā māua tamariki tokotoru. Ka mea ia, ‘¡Ay, y aquí estamos!’ (‘Aī, kei konei kē tātou!’). Ka tae ki te tūruawēpō, ka kite i ngā tini mura kāpura e rere ake ana ki te rangi. Ka kimi atu i te mesera, ā, ka kite atu i a ia i te taha o te ahi e tangi ana mō āna tamariki. No te kitenga atu tīmata ai hoki māua ko Aroha ki te tangi! Ehara hoki i te mea ko mātou anahe. Ka haere mai te mesero ki te miri i taku pokohiwi. He iwi tino aroha te hunga latino. Ka wehe i te wharekai, ka awhiawhi i te wahine me te mihi ki te tamatāne.

Ka hoki ki te plaza, ka waea atu anō ki Aotearoa kōrero ai ki a Ngātarawāhi. I te mahi tonu a Tīaho. I reira māua i te plaza i Uruguay, i te 1:30 i te ata, i te pōuri, e noho ana i te uranga o te rorohiko, e kōrero ana ki tā māua tama i tāwāhi!

Ka oho i te ata, ka piki ki runga parakuihi ai. I te mea kua pau ngā moni katoa i te wharekai i te pō i mua, ko tā māua mahi ko te kimi cajero (mīhini moni) e tangohia ai ngā moni. Kāore taku kāri i whakaaetia. Te waimarie i whakaaetia ai te kāri crédito o Aroha, engari e 200 pesos uruguayos anahe, arā, e $14.50 Aotearoa! Ahakoa te cajero, kāore taku kāri i whakaaetia, na, ka mau te pōnānā! I muri i te wā roa i kitea te cajero nō tētahi atu hunga, no REDBROU, ā, ka whakaaetia. Kātahi te koa!

I te toenga o te wā i Colonia, ko tā māua mahi ko te hāereere i ngā tiriti marumaru o te wāhanga tawhito, i te taha hoki o te awa, ā, ko te kai i ngā wharekai pai rawa atu. Ka peka atu ki te whare karakia tawhito, nā ngā Portugueses i hanga. Otirā, i roto kua hangaia te ‘ana’ mo te Kirihimete i roto i tētahi o ngā rūma ki tāhaki. Kua whakamahia te pepa parauri kia rite ai ki te kōhatu, ā, he pākoro anō, he pākoro anō e kitea ai ngā āhuatanga o te whānautanga o Ihu Karaiti.

I tēnei wāhanga o te ao ka nui ngā tauira o te te whānau tapu, engari kāore te pēpi Karaiti e whakatakotoria tae noa ki te Noche Buena, arā, te tūruawēpō o te 24 o Tīhema, hei tohu i tōna whānautanga.

I te ahiahi o te 26 o Tīhema, o te rangi i 52 ōku tau (viejo, calvo, gordo – ¡ay, ay, ay!), ka eke anō i te waka hoki atu ai ki Argentina. Ka nui tonu aku mihi ki Colonia, koina tētahi o ngā tino wāhi i tae ai māua ko Aroha!