Category: South America

After Teatro Colón, I headed for a quick bite to eat on the pedestrian streets of Florida and Lavalle. After lunch, I walked around to the Central Post Office and found bus 152 that takes me to La Boca. The sun started to come out so I was excited to see the bus come straight for me. I reached up my hand, and he passed right by me, but slowed down, as two ladies were waiting down the block from me. I started to run toward the bus as the ladies got on, and before the bus even closed the door behind the woman, he sped off! I was not sure what I had done wrong, but apparently, he did not want me on his bus. So, I waited at the next street down which had more people waiting on it, and I got on. Turns out I was going the wrong direction, so I got off the next stop, and crossed the street to get on the other bus. I got situated and enjoyed the scenery as we drove through downtown Buenos Aires.

Once off the bus at the end of the line, I headed for the street stalls selling artisan crafts. I headed toward the colorful area which La Boca is famous for. I wandered around for a while taking pictures of the colorful buildings and signage all around, and then found myself at the center of Caminita, where street Tangos are performed. There were two teenagers who were preparing for their dance, so I started snapping pictures. They enjoyed posing for me, and every few minutes, they would beckon me over to show them what I had snapped. It turns out they are brother and sister and dance there every weekend. They were magnificent, and quite friendly. During their dance, I snapped several great photos, and at the end, took a few posed pictures of me in Tango positions with the girl. They turned out great!

After their tango, I headed for a Submarino at another end of the street that had some Tango dancers as well. While sipping my hot cocoa, I watched them practice for their show tonight as well. They too wanted me to send them the photos I took during their practice. It was a great afternoon!

This morning, I took a taxi to Avenue July 9 where Teatro Colón is. I took a guided tour throughout this impressive opera house and learned about its construction, history, and shows. We went into one of the boxes to view the stage, and there are two boxes right next to the stage that are reserved only for the President and the other only for the Mayor. They will remain empty if they don´t attend the show. Beneath the opera house was a massive area full of rehearsal rooms, stage construction, seamstress rooms for costumes, ballet halls for practice and more. It was a great tour!

The bus pulled in the terminal at 7:30 this morning and I was ready to get some more sleep. The streets were damp, the clouds were low, and the city looked so tired. The tree-lined streets made for such a nice drive to Recoleta, where I am staying. I took a nap, and headed out for the day wandering around the main avenues of Libertador, around the zoo, through parks and around to Santa Fe. I stopped at a mall for lunch, and then an amazing little delicatessen that had all their mouth-watering desserts displayed like little soldiers in the window. Of course you can´t pass by one of these and expect to continue on without trying one.. or two, or a bag of them. So, I managed to pick out about six little desserts, and headed for the internet café to catch up on some of these entries! Tonight, I will be going out with friends of Leo to a dinner party!

This morning, well, afternoon, as we woke up past 12(!), we headed for the markets that sell fake things like Adidas, Nike, Puma etc. It was fun to see a new area of town and it was quite comparable to the open markets I remembered in Thailand, selling all their Oakley goods. After the market, we headed for another street that had tons of shops selling things and I got the new Shakira CD. After that we headed down the street and had an AWESOME churro– a long fried donut that is injected with Dulce de Leche. It was so good! We then stopped at a café and I had my favorite drink here– the submarine! It´s a glass of steamed milk with the chocolate bar dropped in. After the café, we continued to walk around.

We then ended up at a Pizza place for dinner, and continued talking throughout the evening. Before we knew it, it was almost 10 and my bus was leaving back for Buenos Aires at 10:30! We jumped on the moto and headed for the house to pick up my things, and then sped off to the bus station.. I was JUST in time! Told Brian goodbye and got situated in the coche cama (seat that reclines to a bed) and headed off for BsAs.

I was really tired from the trip to Córdoba, so I took a nap and woke up before it was time for dinner. We had asado, which is the Argentinian barbecue where it´s non-stop meat coming to your plate. Our dinner must have lasted about 2 hours, as we totally get engrossed in our conversations from topics ranging from politics, internet, past friends, future plans, and business ideas. There are very few people that I can just sit and talk to for hours, and Brian´s definitely one of them.

After our dinner, we went to one of his tango classes to watch the others tango for a bit. It was so interesting, and I really want to watch a tango show now!

After Tango, we headed for Sha, and continued talking and had some drinks. The ambiance was amazing, as it´s an old building, kind of like the bar Leo and I went to in Buenos Aires, called Million. After Sha, we headed back home as it was quite late..

The bus pulled into the station at around 7:30am this morning and it was a little early. So, I waited at the entrance, and Brian came up. It was really good to see him as I know this has been such a great experience for him, and it makes me relive my fond memories of my time abroad. We headed for his Moto, and we drove along the streets on the scooter just like a native! Now he is taking a test, the weather isn´t so good, so I´m just shopping and hanging out until he gets out of his final exams..

So tonight, I am heading for Cordoba to visit Brian. My friend Leo brought me to the bus station to get situated on the bus. I bought my leather jacket and it is perfect! I will arrive in Cordoba tomorrow morning and spend two days.

Today turned out to be a most gorgeous day! Woke up and left Hilda´s place and headed for the pedestrian streets past the Avenue of July 9 with the huge obelisk. This is the widest avenue in the world, and it takes quite a while to cross! After a Submarine (a glass of steamed milk and a chocolate ´submarine´ for you to melt in the milk, I headed for the Galleria Pacifico and found a great leather jacket. I put it on hold to ensure that it´s actually an Argentine company and good quality leather.

I then headed to lunch with a new friend Jason, who is a freelance writer living in Buenos Aires for the past 5 years. We headed to walk around Palermo´s neighborhoods, and then on to Córdoba and then over to Recoleta to the cemetery to see Eva Perón´s grave. There were little kitties sitting everywhere– apparently to kill mice and rats.

We then went to the Law Faculty where there´s a huge mechanical statue of a flower that opens and closes to the sense of light. It was a gift from some rich Argentine to the nation during their crisis in 2001. I think I got some great pictures of it.

So my friend Leo and I met up and we have had the best time chatting about Argentina and it´s politics and such. So interesting! We went to an amazing café and had a nice spread of hams and cheeses–We then went around the city at night looking at the clear night and it´s lightened architecture. It was so great. We then made me a reservation to go to Córdoba the next night to go see my friend Brian. I will be there for just 2 days and then come back to Buenos Aires to spend the weekend and see more of the sights here.

Leo and I stopped by a church on our walk, and when we went inside, there were a lot of people attending a communion. We watched, but moreso, I watched the individual people. It was absolutely beautiful. There were 3 guys who were playing guitar, and singing a song in harmony–that with watching the people indivdually speaking to themselves about whatever issues or problems to find solace there practically brought me to tears. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and beauty from the sight there, that I want to go back. It wasn´t anything like what I´ve seen in the US, where I always felt people go to church as a social event, and they wear their nicest clothing just to be seen. It was an attendance by people in their daily lives, and a place where they can personally have their relationship to peace.