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Luisina Morando made the discovery on the beach at Bahia Creek resort in the Adolfo Alsina department of the province of Rio Negro, during a long weekend away with her boyfriend and family.
The 29-year-old from Buenos Aires said she noticed the bottle half buried in the sand, and pulled it out.
To her surprise, Luisina saw some kind of package inside.
Although it was in a poor condition, she eventually managed to get it out of the bottle and found a handwritten note wrapped in cloth and tied with string.
"It was hard to get out in one piece because the cloth was rotting away,” Luisina said.
“We tried with our fingers and then with a knife but we saw we might destroy it.
"In the end, we turned the bottle upside down and hit the bottom until enough of it came out to pull it out in one piece.”
The message said: “This bottle was thrown into the sea at Las Grutas, in the province of Rio Negro, Argentina, on 7 February 1975.
"Whoever picks it up, I would appreciate if you could write, telling me when and where it was discovered."
The note was signed by Miguel J Borges, who gave a telephone number and an address.
Luisina tried to make contact with Miguel but he had long since left the address and the trail appeared to have gone cold.
The teacher then sought help on Facebook by sharing the story of how she found the 44-year-old message in a bottle.
"While gathering rubbish on a beach, I had the touching pleasure of coming across this sea gift . . . It was something unique I’ve only seen in the movies or in pirate tales,” Luisina wrote on Facebook.
Responses to her post directed her search towards the capital city of Buenos Aires and Luisina managed to track down Miguel’s 80-year-old ex-wife Mabel Ballestero.
Mabel told Luisina she and Miguel had split up many years before and that he’d sadly died in 2013.
She did add that he’d have loved to hear the bottle had been found as he’d been a romantic dreamer who loved to travel.
Luisina has now written to the couple's two children to ask if they’d like to have their father's message.
"Time will tell whether they want it or not. Meanwhile, I'll keep it with me. It will be a beautiful memory to tell future generations," she said.
Source: Magazine Features
Pictures: CENTRALEUROPEANNEWS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA
