Right near the beach! BOYEE!!

Well, I have officially left Villa Ventana - my home for the past week, and moved on to Puerto Madryn.  As soon as I was alone, I felt the need to bust out my pocket book and take some notes.  (Again, eat the cheese up folks, it´s nice and soft, and not too sharp!)

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I stand here on the windy highway and wave goodbye to Fernando as he and Nacho drive away.  I´m glad to be moving on, but sad to be leaving.

It was perfect though I think.  1 week.  I got to know the place a bit, and made some friends.  I´m leaving the place with water in my bottle, food in my stomach, and lots of good memories of Villa Ventana.  Thank you Ferd!!  You, your friends and your family make the world a better place!

It feels satisfying though, to put all of my belongings on my back and to leave one place for another.  I can understand the appeal of the open road, sin destino y los posibilidades allí.  I double-check my passport and ticket, put my notebook in my pocket and stand calmly - waiting for the bus to take me away.  I´m just so happy that this shirt is windproof!

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So I played a game of pick-up futbol the day before I left.  That was pretty darn cool!  The guys kept inviting me along, and I was convinced that I would just make a fool of myself.  So I rode my bike over there wearing only my bathing suit and flip-flops.  ONLY my bathing suit and flip flops.  I thought "this´ll give me a perfectly good reason to say no when they insist that I play".  Sure enough, when I got there, there were disappointed "awwww"s at the sight of my flip flops, and besides, like I told them, there were 6 of them and I would just screw up the numbers.

But then a 7th showed up.  So I played.  And you know what?!  We had a damn good time, and I did alright!  I scored a couple of goals, had some fncy assists, and there was this one play where Alessio was running it down the line and I was open for the cross.  He saw me, booted it over everybody right to me, and I slammed it home!  GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!  Yes, it was just like that!  There were many hand slappings and high fives exchanged, and then I walked home with two of the guys talking about my favorite sports teams.  Those of you who know might say...but McLean, you don´t really follow any sports.  And to that I would answer "well that doesn´t really make for good conversation now does it."  I will say though, that in my time spent at Fernando´s house I have become a fan of Los Estudiantes.  I also like Manchester United, but who doesn´t these days??  I mean, c´mon they´re just the popular team that everybody´s heard of...psh.

I took some notes in the Bahia Blanca bus station as well.

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This is only my 2nd time in my memory that I have been on a double-decker bus, and I must say, it´s a crazy (and comfortable) experience to be on this vehicle at the 2nd story level weaving through the city streets; the trees constantly scraping the top of the bus.  There are correspondingly loud and animated mutterings from the passengers every time we hear the scraping and banging on the roof.  Something up there is breaking, I can only hope that it´s the trees!

The Bahia Blanca bus station is clean, brightly lit, and wide open.  Stray dogs sleep in the corners and stroll through the station.  Some are looking for love, but all are looking for food.  Invariably the end up sauntering over to me, as if they know that I can´t resist giving them both - mangy or no.  There is one sleek female in particular that reminds me of Maisie who continually comes back and rolls over on her back and paws at my bag of pastries.  I can tell she´s the smart one, because in between visits to McLean I see her appearing out of nowhere with a plastic bag full of food and trotting outside with it in her mouth - 4-5 dogs trailing her.

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I arrived in Puerto Madryn at 8:15 this morning.  It´s a very nice, small beach city.  So small that I felt comfortable just walking away from the bus station to my hostel.  I´m glad that I had a place to go though I saw this place on my way there:

and it struck me as a likely trap for travelers who would walk by thinking they had just passed a mirror.

I found my hostel without too much trouble at all, and was shocked to see the extreme level of posh that I found there.  I spoke with the woman behind the desk, dropped off my back pack in their storage room, grabbed my free breakfast, and then decided to head out to my first beach of South America.

There it is folks! - The Atlantic Ocean!  I was there very early in the day and so it was mostly empty and very windy.  There are two big piers here in Golfo Nuevo.

I had hiking boots on at the time, so instead of the straight-down-at-my-bare-feet-in-the-sand shot I opted for the down-the-underside-of-a-long-pier shot as my artisitic one of the morning.  I walked down the beach without any real plan of where I was going.  I chose to go North since I was eventually going to see South and just went.  I looked down, and to my delight I saw beach glass everywhere.  Now, my only previous exposure to the search for beach glass taught me that it was a.) hard to find and b.) really cool scattered throughout a house.  I strolled for awhile, letting the wind hit me in the face as I searched for particularly cool pieces of glass.  Once I had an aesthetically pleasing handful, I found a concrete wall to sit on and stopped for awhile to read my book.  (that link goes to Amazon.com and an opportunity to buy the book)  I only mention it and link it because after my failed attempt to go the Oceanographic museum (closed on Sundays) I went back to the hostel, and something very cool happened because of this book.  (there is even a very cool story about how I got this book in the first place!)

I plopped myself down on a beanbag and started talking to a guy who was also plopped on a bean bag.  I looked across to another couple in the common area, and I could have sworn I saw her holding the same book.  I held mine up for her to see with a questioning look on my face.  Recognition dawned on hers, and a friendship was born.

Her name is Sherri, and his name is Lane.  They spend their summers working touristy up in Alaska and spend the rest of the year doing any one of a number of things.  This winter they chose South America.  We quickly discovered that we had a lot in common in how we looked at the world and relationships.  It truly was a serendipitous (ha, 3rd time I´ve sued that word today) meeting; they had missed their bus last night, and so had to stay here 1 extra day.  We decided to spend the afternoon together before their bus left this evening, and we went to the store to buy our do-it-yourself empanadas.  And we did it ourselves!  Ground beef, peppers, onions, garlic, cheese and tomatoes stuffed into tapas and then baked in the oven - we even drew the interest of Linda; a woman traveling from B.C. with her husband. 

Sherri, McLean and Lane making empanadas

(see, we´re having fun!)*

I must say, that my sense of efficacy was high today!  I enjoyed the sublimity of finding similar souls traveling, and the wonderful coincidence of meeting them here.  I thoroughly enjoyed sharing something with them that I had learned here, and then somewhat enjoyed getting positively trounced by them at Scrabble:

Yes, that´s right, that´s their travel scrabble kit with which they hone their skills to outwit even a master of words such as myself.

And YES! that is the inaugural use of my brand new bombilla!  It worked quite well, and was the first of many shared cups of loose leaf tea.  A good day.  I was sad to see my new friends go, but am sure that I will see them again, either in Él Bolson; the city they were going to, or in Alaska this next summer.

For now, I am off to the beach for a moonlit stroll before coming back for an early night.  I think I will try and wake up early and go have an authentic cup of Welsh tea. 

Oh wait!  mmmm...leftover empanadas......

La Palabra Español del dia:

Ballena: Whale  (apparently there are lots of them here at certain times of the year)



*picture possibly posed

Up and Running Again!

Well, not running so much as wandering...

I know I´ve been gone for awhile and I hope I didn´t lose too many of ya, but I figured there´s only so many times I can post about hanging out and relaxing with friends.  I do have lots of pictures however.

From L: Fernando, Maga, Mariano, Yo, y Alessio

This has been my group of friends for the past week.  This is a picture of us at Karaoke the other night.  When I find a computer that has the processing and bandwidth capability, I will upload the videos of me singing, but for now I can tell you that I wowed the residents of Villa Ventana with: 

Johnny B Good

Bohemian Rhapsody

Pride (In The Name of Love)

Yesterday

&

Jammin

yep, that´s me throwin´the hand up!

We, (the guys who were singing with me and I) kinda fizzled on Jammin - truly it can only be sung by the man himself, but the rest were giant hits!  It was a lot of fun, but I can confirm that the stereotype of latin american women just falling all over a foreigner who tries to speak their language is just that, an unfair stereotype - not true.  SIGH

But enough of that...we had plenty of fun back at Fernando's house

This was one of the two legs of lamb that we had while I was here.  There really is something about the structure of eating in Argentina that appeals to me.  I'm definitely going to try and bring some of this back with me.

On that note, I have had great opportunities to pick up cultural nuances, typical sayings, and a few new meal possibilities in my time here in Villa Ventana.  After so much time passing, I hardly know where to start and must admit that I'm going to leave some of it to story-telling when I get home, but I did take some notes about what a typical day has been for me in the past week.

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The back porch of Fernando´s house, From L: Foosball, bikes, big table for eating, stairs up to terrace, entrance to pool, Mud oven, BBQ

 

Wake up at around 9 or 10, and grab a small bite to eat - a piece of fruit or a cup of yogurt (ummm, drinkable yogurt ... yes please!!), or maybe a small matè with Fernando.  THen if there were odd jobs to do, Fernando would do them then and sometimes I would help.  I would get in the pool at around 10 or 11 before all the kids showed up.  Don't get me wrong, as much as I love kids, it's nice to have a quiet pool all to yourself to swim around in.  We would usually start to make lunch around 12 or 1 and be eating it by around 2 or 3.  I discussed the different levels of meal improtance with my hosts, and we agreed that people from the United States think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but here in Argentina, Lunch is the most important meal.  This meant that the lunches could be as extravagant as home'made pizzas, or wonderfully huge pasta dishes, or an assortment of fresh vegetables and salad (like we had today).  After lunch though, inevitably, we would take a siesta.  The first couple of days I disregarded the importance of this part of the day and chose instead to play with the kids who would never go to bed in the middle of the day - something for the weak adults to do.  I quickly learned though, that taking an hour or two in the middle of the day was preferable to struggling to stay awake at midnight when dinner is being served.

After the siesta, I would go play some ping-pong, we would sit quietly inside...maybe watch some tv.  At around 4 or 5, everybody would usually be awake and then we sit around and drink matè while we planned the evening and got in and out of the pool to stay cool.  After that we would go out into town to do something, or start to make dinner (which we would eat no earlier than 10 or 11)  And after that, it was poker or just hanging out until 2-5 in the morning.   

Plaza Salerno ( I attended a town gathering with Fernando here to talk about water issues in town.  A politician was supposed to show up, but he didn´t) 

List of things that I can remember us doing at night:

Hanging out around the house

Played poker until 5 am

BBQ with friends and family

Set up a projection screen in the street and watched Sherlock Homes (yes the new one) with the neighbors

Went to the library and listened to a jazz show and ate hamburgers

Sang Karaoke

Watched Zombieland

Went and watched a cover band in town, then went into the bigger town and played pool and arcade games

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All in all, a spectacular visit!  It has been very very hot here though.  I keep seeing on the news (which I can understand quite a bit of) that a heat wave is hitting Argentina right now, and that Buenos Aires is somewhat unbearable at the moment.  As for us here in Villa Ventana, the most we've had to endure is brownouts (another reason why I haven't been osting regularly), and a closed surrounding wilderness due to health concerns and now fire concerns.  Unfortunately it doesn't look as though I'll get to see the natural arch at the top of Sierra de la Ventana which is the natural formation that gives it's name to these cities. (Ventana means window), but we did manage to get up early this morning and went for a hike to the top of Bahia Blanca.  Yes that's the name of a city nearby, but it is also the name of a mountain.  Here's the proof:

oh yeah!  1 down!

boy oh boy it was windy up there, I can´t imagine what Patagonia is gonna be like

not sure why some of these are going all circuis mirror

From L:  Me, Alessio, Ferd, Nacho (Ignacio) y Mariano

I also bought a BEAUTIFUL bombilla from a local artist here in Villa Ventana.  I wish I had taken a picture of some of her work, or her workshop/showroom, or that she had a website, but none of that happened, for now you'll all have to settle for a picture of my new bombilla:

It was the first thing I bought here in South America besides food, lodging, or water, so it was very exciting for me especially because I was able to talk to the woman who made it about how she made it and the thought that goes into her work.

I purchased my bus ticket out of town, and I leave tomorrow night on another night bus to Puerto Madryn. And even though I understand that this isn't the best time of year to see whales, I hear that there is a delightfully time-warped Welsh neighborhood with genuine tea houses.  I promise to take lots of pictures and mental descriptions, especially for my one reader for whom it might bring back wonderful childhood memories. 

For now I will say Goodbye until Puerto Madryn, big THANKS to new commenters!, and thank you to all who are interested.  I'm pretty sure I've said it once before, but I'll say it again: I may have left to do things on my own, but you all know me, I love having you guys along for the ride!!

La palabra español del dia  (courtesy of Fernando):

Empanada - Totally yummy food that is super common down here - almost like pizza, in fact you can call a pizza place and order them from there.  Or you can make your own.  and you can put meats or cheeses, or vegetables, whatever you want in there.  Oh yeah, and we´re eating them tonight!  BOOYAH!

Relaxing

I realized this morning that I´ve been in South America for about a week. 

ONLY A WEEK!!

Wow!  But enough shocked incredulity, I just wanted to throw a quick post out here.

Yesterday was, if possible, even more relaxing than the one before.  The farthest I got from the house was the ping pong table, and the only time I lft the property was to get some sticks out of the bushes across the street to put in the oven to cook the lamb.  I had a really good time hanging out with all the kids that are staying here.  We were teaching each other words in Spanish and English, and I was teaching them any of those words that I knew in sign language (thank you Signing Time)

Kids are hilarious!  They all sort of crowded around me and were all trying to talk at the same time...it really felt weird, and I´m sure that the parents were thinking...who is this bearded stranger and why is he talking to my kids, but we had fun.  There was this one cute little 4-year-old who kept telling me stories and every time I asked her her to slow down, she would puff out her cheeks and blow an exasperated breath and say it all again word - by - word.  Every time I would try and respond she would start telling me another story because I took too long to keep up with the last one.  Thankfully some of the bigger kids (8 and 9 year olds) grabbed her and made her wait while I attempted to participate in the conversation.  But I learned a lot from them and it was fun!

Turns out I can also watch Bruce Almighty in Spanish and only enjoy it slightly less...slightly more at times.

Today is shaping up to be similarly tranquilo, but Fernando was talking about going up for a hike tomorrow or the next day.  I also insisted that I make everybody breakfast.  It was going to happen this morning, bt when I went to go make it, Fernando told me that some new friends of his were coming with some meat for lunch and he didn´t want a big breakfast until tomorrow.

It´s something I´ve actually noticed...Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day here.  Not in Buenos Aires, and not here in Villa de la Ventana.  It´s usually a cup of tea or a maté with some cookies and maybe some yogurt or cereal, but the real eating happens around 2 or 3 when we have a huge lunch.  It took al ittle getting used to, but it´s working out for me.

Oh and there´s this spectacular stuff here that I´ve never seen before and so I´m afraid I may not be able to find it back in the states.  The best way to describe it would be a mix of yogurt and milk.  It pours like milk, but it´s yogurt.  SO GOOD.  Especially if you put some cereal in it...mmmm....

I have a bit of pontification for today.

I was having a serious case of the blahs yesterday.  I had no idea why, but then I realized that it might have something to do with the fact that I like to DO things.  Accomplish things.  Feel efficacious (for those readers who are in education)  I came here looking for challenge, among other things.  I would climb mountains, brave the elements, immerse myself in a foreign language, go hungry for a bit, etc.  In a way though, I discovered that it can be a challenge for me to be so far from home and to just relax.  To enjoy what is here now, and instead of worrying about what I´m not doing, or being uncomfortable with what I AM doing, I can choose to enjoy this, and when it´s time to go do something else...go and make it happen.  It´s so easy to get pulled off into a track where I start to make myself wrong about any and everything.

But enough of that, for now there is a pool here that needs swimming in, and a foosball table (with built in semi-circular resting spots - 4, 1 for each player - in which you can rest your cigarette) that needs playing.

Awesome in the pampas!

Jeez, I´m not sure how to manage a couple of days worth of experience into one blog post.  I´ll give it my best shot though.

My last post was truly a lazy day that ended with me on a bus headed south to a small town called Villa de la Ventana, which outside of a small town called Sierra de la Ventana.  I took some notes while I was sitting in the bus station Retiro.

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22/1/10

The taxi driver dropped me on the curb as if he was glad to be rid of me.  He chuckles with the guy on the sidewalk at the size and weight of my bag.  The man on the curb is smiling but has the look of someone who who is helping people like me - traveling with almost more than I can carry to a place I only heard of 2 days ago to experience the challenge of life - for the possibility of a peso.  He makes a bit of a production of helping me put my backpack on, and as I glance down at his hands that seeemed to linger near my pockets, I see that they are wide open as if to say both "I didn´t take anything" and "please give me something".  I hesitate, and it is apparently a look that he is used to, because he waves his hands and walks away to the next taxi bearing burdened passengers.  I say "señor" and he turns around as I fish out the peso.  He says thank you and directs me, again with a smile, to the platform listed on my ticket.

I walk through the bus station fast, catching glimpses of myself in the wall of windows to my right.  SO fast, in fact, that I don´t realize that I´m looking at the wrong numbers on the signs and have reached the end of the station, and that my bus will be departing from very close to where I entered the building.  In fact, it is almost a straight shot in from the front door: "derecho" as my friend on the curb had told me in the first place.  I found a place to sit, and I am somewhat comforted that everybody looks as nervous about missing their bus and confused about where to go as I am.

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The terminal was bustling with people - everyonbody was loaded down with bags, and the PA announcement was calling out departure times without stopping - at one point it switched from a male voice to a female voice, but it never stopped.  I finally discovered that my ticket didn´t say platform 15, it said that I would be leaving from platforms 15-25, and that it was my job to watch the monitors to see which it would be.  This explained everybody´s nervous looks as we all stared at the shiny blue oracle on high.

I met Scott and Liam - two Scotsmen who were also going to Sierra de la Ventana.  I must say, something about the casual feel of the accent reminded me that even if this all goes wrong, we´ll be fine and we can laugh about it.  They get a huge kick out of my name and tell me that there was a famous revolutionary named John Maclean.  No, not this one, THIS one.  (I must say, I did like some of the marketing campaigns that cropped up witht this last movie) They were very friendly and made me feel like a linguistic star with the Spanish that I do have. 

The bus that I rode was absolute luxury.  Nicer than the airplane for sure!  Even though my friends at thte hostel bemoaned the fact that I only got the semi-cama ticket vs the cama, it was SO comfortable.  Chairs went almost all the way back, there was this cool, padded leg support system, and I had a very friendly Argentinian kid across the way who loved that I was practicing my Spanish, so I got a chance to talk to him in Spanish!

I woke up the next morning as the sun was rising, and we were driving through rocky pampas.  Only now did I start to realize just how large and expansive Argentina probably is.  I can see for miles, and there are cattling dotting the countryside.  The occasional riparian zone ribbons through the landscape, and I see one or two wrought iron gates that clearly belong to an owner of some of those cattle, but make no mistake about it, this is remote!  I tried to take a pictures, but I fear they might make your motion sickness kick in.

We arrive at 630 in the morning, and there are remises (informal taxis) there taking people to their various destinations.  I heard that Sierra de la ventana was a small town, but all I see is this bus station and the tienda attached to it.  I find a gentleman who will take me to Villa de la Ventana (forgot to ask how much before I got in and so paid $40 pesos for it) and he is also very friendly and helps me with my Spanish.  He tells me that Villa de la Ventana es mas tranquilo que Sierra de la Ventana, and I can´t believe him until the pavement ends and we are kicking up dust as we drive past other dirt roads marked with wooden carved signs.

He drops me at the address and I see that it is a place to come and stay in cabañas.  I think "uh oh, this guy Fernando lured me here under couchsurfing pretenses only to rent me a room at an okay price"  but it´s too early anway, and the sign on the door says not until 930 - so I just keep walking.  I go all the way down this road which intersects with another, I take a right and see that there is a gap in the fence going up onto the hill above Villa de la Ventana.

Okay, yes, it´s a little posed, but I had to run and get there in less than 10 seconds!

I hope that these pictures accurately represent the size of the place.  I had hiked quite a ways up thinking I was so intrepid and when I finally got to that spot, I looked out and saw people sitting below a large cairn waving at me to come over.  So I did, and it turned out they were 4 scouts from down in town.  (yeah, like boy scouts, except there were 3 guys and 1 gal)  They were very friendly, we talked about my trip, they told me what the word for ant was, and we parted with them shouting after me "don´t get lost".  I went back to my rock and stayed there for 2 hours spinning wool, eating my banana, and enjoying the wind, and the lack of concern for my stuff as it sat in the middle of a hill with nobody around.

I finally went back down the hill and back up to my potential couch to surf, and knocked on the door.  Fernando came around the corner with a smile on his face and said "¿McLean?"  I said "¿Fernando?" and one of the best days of my life began.

I won´t fill too much of this post explaining the extreme level of generosity that I´ve seen here, but it´s all around me.  It turns out that Fernando owns this place:  La Morera and he also takes couchsurfers.  I had tea, home-made pizza for lunch cooked in the horno del barro (mud oven) out back.  I played ping-pong and frisbee with the kids who are staying here with their families (also learned some spansih from them) I went swimming in the pool - spoke more Spanish with the teenagers who were learning English and so were just as excited to talk to me as I was to talk to them.  Sunbathed, did my laundry and hung it to dry with all the towels and sheets up on the terrace, we went out to watch a cover band (Argentinians LOVE CCR, and I almost went up and sang one with them), and then a jazz show put on by the local library (which Fernando does pro-bono work to support his community)  I had to stop being shocked at the generosity as it kept coming and coming.  They love having me as a guest (I´m pretty sure I´m an exciting novelty for the kids staying here) and I really feel quite welcomed.  I was able to sit and talk and drink maté (con jugo - juice) with Virginia y Juan, who are friends of Fernando´s (a Psychologist and Lawyer) and they taught me a lot of Spanish.  I can now talk a bit more like an Argentinian.  (They never us Tu...always vos, which sounds like boss) and we finally went to bed at an early (according to Buenos Aires schedules) 230 in the morning.  I felt like an honored guest walking around with Fernando, his cousin, and his friends last night.

I have to say, it is has been a wonderful pleasure to be a part of this couchsurfing project so far and I reccomend that YOU ALL follow that link and sign up for it.  Even if you are not traveling, or you can´t host somebody on your couch, they have options and preferences and you can get involved as little or as much as you like, and if you´re reading this blog, you´re probably a good person, and we need all the good people we can get signed up for this.  As I told my sister, it really does feel like it brings the world together, and you realize that it´s a wonderful place!

That´s it for now, I was going to go climb Sierra de la Ventana today, but I think I might go play some ping-pong and then sit by the pool before we have marinated lamb for lunch (for those fo you who know and care, you can buy an entire lamb for like $40 here!) and then do...something.  Not sure where I´m headed next, but I´m not too worried about it at the moment.

maybe a bit more sunscreen today...

Las Palabras Españoles del dia:

Hormiga - ant

Pampas - Prairies

Okay, today was the lazy day

And by today I, of course mean yesterday.  That´s the nice thing about blogging from here, as long as I post before Noon, it´ll be brand new by the time any of you wake up!  Except for my mom of course, I´m pretty sure she wakes up at 3 am and starts rototilling.

But today really was a different kind of day for me.  I really did not do much.  I think I spent a total of 5 hours in this internet cafe, bought a sandwich at a legitimately local sandwich shop where everybody knew each other (description to follow) bought my bus ticket, and generally just hung out at the hostel.  Given that that was my day, this is going to be somewhat of a pontificatory post. (ya like that, I just made that up, my skill with making up cognates has now bled over into adjectoiding words - quite successfully if I do say so myself)

This is me walking around Palermo Viejo

(Do I look like a bad boy who you shouldn´t mess with cause he knows his way around?)

(or just a scruffy tourist with remarkably white arms?)

That´s the neighbor hood that I´ve been staying in here in Buenos Aires.  Some interesting things occured to me yesterday.  I was thinking about being in a place, and remembering what it was like to visit a school, and then my first week there, and how the place smells different, and looks different, and feels different in those first days, then it EVER will again.

Well I am in that transition period here.  I am noticing different smelss, and I know the streets, and the people in the store on the corner recognize me and smile now when I walk in (¿mas cerveza?)  Feeling settled in a place has also made me think about home a lot more, and the things and people that are there.  My mom, my dad, my sister, MY PANCHO!, Jay, Bryan, Nikki, Mark, all those other people, and the life that I walked (well...flew) away from not 1 week ago.  (by the way folks I just mentioned, that shout out is like a verbal contract to leave a comment.  I know, my sister´s a lawyer)

It´s so interesting though to think about the difference of traveling through a place versus staying there.  And the same goes with relationships.  I meet people here, we have a connection over too much beer (can you tell I drank a bit much last night) but the next day, we might never see each other again.  It could be the slight hangover talking, but the last 24 hours have been quite surreal.

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The sandwich shop

It was bustling!  Tables were full of locals.  The paint was peeling off the walls, and the menu was one of those old felt reader boards with the letters stuck on, but it was clear that the menu hadn´t changed in quite awhile as letters were missing from nearly item, yet everybody had clearly been able to order their food.  The tables were filled with steaks, salads, sandwiches, and old glass botlle sodas.  Next to the counter there was a Godfather-looking Police officer, who´s uniform had clearly seen years of service, but his hair was slicked back and jet black.  People kept walking by and shaking hands solemnly with him and he would close his eyes and nod.  When I ordered my ham sandwich, the woman who took my order went and grabbed a hunk of meat out of the chest freezer and handed it back to the stooped old man who was hunched over a work table in this back little room that also housed what looked like a kiln and a cement mixer.  After a couple of minutes, she wrapped up my sandwich in paper, and I left - only to discover that when they were asking me "¿jamon, solo?" with incredulous looks on their face that they really meant "Only ham?" and I should say "si, si" a little less.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am going to Sierra de la Ventana, which is a small mountain town just North of Bahia Blanca.  I am taking an 8 hour bus ride that leaves from BS. AS. at 10:00 tonight.  My ticket is for a semi-cama, which means my chair won´t recline all the way back into a bed, but I´ve got my tunes, and a lack of sleep from the night before, so I expect that I´ll be fine.

Good News!  I finally found a couch to surf!  A man named Fernando said that he would be able to host me, and he lives just a little bit outside of town, so that will be very fun and interesting, and an entirely new way to travel for me.  I also found my old friend Jaya on there, and I am well on my way to being a legitimate, trustworthy couchsurfer!!

Well, I think I will leave it here for today.  I have no idea how easy it will be to get back and continue to post daily, but I assure you I will continue to take notes and pictures, and will post whenever I can.  If you can´t tell, I LOVE comments!  You all should know also, that the comment box is a two-way street, and if you like, check back on them, because I do respond to most comments, so there´s always new stuff!  I will leave you with this abhorable thing that I saw the other day, and couldn´t help capturing. 

  Little do they know there is only 1 SuperPancho, and he gave no permission to Coca-Cola to profit off of his name.  His lawyer will be in touch with Coca Cola soon I´m sure.

ohhh, Mr. Pancho...

La Palabra Español del Dia:

Fugitivo - ____________  (hint: it´s a cognate)

El dia perezoso

And by perezoso, I don´t mean really lazy, I just mean that I kind of rolled with things yesterday without trying to plan or accomplish too much.

There is another woman staying at the hostel with me named Chelsea from Ashland, OR.  It really is a small world after all!  At least Disney got that right even if they did pervert it ad nauseum.

Anyway, we decided to go downtown together yesterday and see the sights.  It was a very interesting experience for me.  Certainly the most immediately obvious advantage of this is that I now have some pictures of me taken from more than a foot and a half away (see above and below).  Also, you can look out for each other, and share in the enjoyment of a cool cultural moment (contact me directly for more details).
Now as most of you know I´m a very social guy. I found, however, that when walking around with somebody else, I paid much less attention to my surroundings, and the sights.  Don´t get me wrong (Chelsea if you ever read this), I enjoyed the day, we told our stories, gave each other advice, she bought us fresh squeezed orange juice, I bought us bananas, it just suprised me that it was such a different experience than walking around town alone.  But enough of that - ON TO THE FACTS!

We took the bus (that´s right, I´ve ridden the buses in Buenos Aires - it´s no big deal) down to Avenue de 9 de Julio which is a huge thoroughfare akin to the Champs-Elysees in Paris.  Except, instead of an arch, the Argentinians went for the somewhat more masculine symbol of an Obelisk.  We also tested out the concrete chairs (above) which were actually quite comfortable, and we went left on Avenue del Mayo.  So called because at the end of it is the Plaza de Mayo.  I won´t link you to wikipedia for this one, but I will say that this plaza has a rich political history - many events have occured here, and most recently it is where a social movement began.  The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights group who fight for the right to be reunited with their abducted and "disappeared" children. (despicable casualties of conflicts such as the Dirty War)  It also is where the executive branch of the federal government is housed.

La Casa Rosada (that´s right - "The Pink House")

We grabbed the aforementioned glass of fresh-squeezed Orange Juice and walked down

 

Florida Ave

Which is a HUGE walking mall FILLED with people. (this pictures does not do it justice, but I looked a right fool sticking my hand in the air and taking a bunch of pictures)  We ducked into Galerias Pacifico (a mall) to use the restroom.  Now this was interesting, you´d think that a mall is a mall is a mall wherever you go.  ANd to a certain extent, that was true.  I hadn´t however, ever seen a mall with gothic arches everywhere.

Ignore the silly kid in the middle, but note the modern application of such ancient building techniques...truly remarkable!

Chelsea was on the lookout for Tango shoes (yes I might go tonight) so we saw lots of shoe shops as well.

The day finished out true to it´s beginnings - lazily.  We hung around the hostel, went and bought some liters of beer (my new British friend Lee opted for the Rum and Coke) and sat around talking culture, accents, education, Die Hard Movies...hmm I can´t seem to remember how we got to talking about that... and much much more.

That about does it for me in Buenos Aires, I am spending one more full day here as I await a package (details to follow) but then it is off to Sierra de la Ventana.  My original plan was to go to Mar del Plata, but I put the word out on couchsurfing.org, and the residnets told me to not even bother coming this weekend, as it will be uncomfortably crowded and expensive - Lonely Planet agrees with them.  I figured there´s plenty of Argentinian beaches to see, and the further south I go, the better I feel somehow.

Oh, also, if anybody reading this is on couchsurfing.org, please let me know so that we can become couchsurfing friends - it apparently makes it a lot easier to get hosted if you have couchsurfing friends, and so far all I have is this guy:

The bird wouldn´t even vouch for me.

La palabra español DEL dia:

La Playa - The beach

Culture, Steak, and Dancing in the Street

Well today was quite a full day, except for the fact that I woke up at 10:30 this morning in kind of a haze.  I assure you all that I was not doing any heavy drinking last night.  Instead I sat around with Martine, Melanie, (two French-Canadians) and Teemu (a young Finnish man - ooh that´s fun to say, try it out loud) talking politics, and philosophy, and learning that even if people like YOU, they still might bash you for being American.

I had my complimentary breakfast, which was mostly bread products - something that is perfectly okay with me, which Jay can and will readily attest to - and shared a cup of maté with a tango instructor from Belgium who is here to learn even more tango.

I decided that today would be a great day to head out and see some of the great stuff that this city has to offer.  I hopped a bus and took it down to the Recoleta neighborhood.  Oh, a word of caution: if you do ever ride the bus in Buenos Aires, you should know that you don´t press the stop button a block away from where you want to get off as a courtesy to the driver.  No no, you press that button, he stops and opens the door for you - yes, right in the middle of the street.  So that was exciting at first!

I started off by just walking around the neighborhood, and eventually made my way to La Iglesia  de nuestra Señora de Pilar.  It was a beatiful church, and one of the special things about it is that they opened up the historic cloisters for the public to come see.  For the rest of you heathens like me, this is the super-secret area above and around the main church-y area where you can access the choir, the pulpit, etc.  They had turned this area into a 3-level museum of church-y artifacts.  Don´t misunderstand my levity, it was truly beautiful artwork, and very cool to see tables and chairs used by monks hundreds of years ago.  There was definitely an emphasis on life and death in the exhibit, but probably my favorite part was looking out the windows onto my next stop: Cementario de Recoleta.

This was a really cool place.  I had never been in a cemetary quite like this one before.  I found a quiet spot in there, and wrote down some notes.  A warning: it might get a bit chesy for ya, but c´mon, I was in a cemetary.

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In the cemetary it´s quiet.  If you stop and listen, the sounds of the city float in all around me, but easily fade away as I get lost in the unending rows of mausoleums.  I look in the locked glass doors and see the stairs going down and fading into the dark.  Only now do they seem to be more than creepy boxes with bodies inside.  The carved stone above the entrances say things like "La Familia Duarte" or "Juan Cayoso y Familia".  These are homes, and together they all make up a community to be remembered and experienced by the living.

 

A cat lies at theentrance to the corridor that houses the tomb of Eva Perron - perhaps she knows that this is the place to get some scratches and love - indeed I can´t help myself from stopping to spend some time with her.

Evita´s tomb is surrounded by people - but nobody is talking.  We all patiently wait our turn to take a picture and to stand quietly for a moment and pay our respects.

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It was very cool to see this place.  On my way through I found some crypts whose doors were completely unlocked and open.  One in particular I seriously considered going down into (I mean how often does one get a chance like this?!) but the creep factor of having to walk past two coffins to get down there and there horrific possibility that someone would come along and lock the door while I was down there was reason enough to take a picture and move on.

I then went to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes where they had the work of many European artists on display.  Gaugin, Rodin, Modigliani, Picasso, Degas, Manet & Monet to name a few.  They also had Luis Felipe Noé´s newest exhibit on display.  Very cool, and lots of Argentinian pride in that exhibit hall.

My day of culture continued to the now famous Giant Metal Flower Sculpture

This sculpture is enormous, and not only that but it opens and closes with the rising and setting of the sun.  Of course I didn´t hang around to see it happen, but it was impressive nonetheless!

I went back to the hostel (now a bit more savvy about when to push that stop button on the bus) and decided that I would splurge on my steak dinner tonight.  When I stepped out into the streets of Palermo Viejo something clicked.  All the restaurants had waiters out setting the sidewalk tables as various smells wafted out from each.  The early diners (at 9:00) chatted loudly as I made my way to La Cabrera.

If there was any doubt in my mind that Argentinians love food, and prepare it well, then this dinner confirmed it.  I tried to take a picture of my meal but it was too dark, so I will just say that it was an enormous cut of Rib-eye steak served on a giant wooden slab with 14 little side dishes ranging from mini eggs and cocktail onions in this delicious sauce, to champignon mushrooms and hot apple sauce.  I didn´t have a reservation and so was seated out back in the small graveled area there.  In the next 20 minutes the place filled up!  Mostly large groups, but a good mix of tourists and locals.  It was casual (I wore my flip-flops and shorts) but quite elegant.

On my way home I heard what sounded like construction in the streets.  "No way" I thought, "it´s 11:30 at night!"  It wasn´t construction but a group of 3-4 dozen people playing the drums and dancing in the street.  It was one of those very cool moments where I felt so lucky to be there watching.  They went on for about a half-hour - switching instruments or tapping out to other dancers when they got tired.  I took a video of it, but haven´t figured out how to get it up here yet.  When I do, I will.  I don´t know what it was that they were doing, it seemed to me to be an impromptu street dance for its own sake.  When I got back to the hostel, somebody that that it might have been Capoeira, but I didn´t think so.  They had "Atrevidos por Costumbre" printed on some of the drums, so if anyone knows what that means, please share.

I got home, cut off a piece of my steak for the house dog that lives here, and settled in to bed - the first top bunk I´ve slept in in years!  I´m hoping to spend 1-2 more days in Buenos Aires, and am curently looking for couches to surf on, or places to stay somewhere south of here.  That´s all for now except for

La Palabra Español del dia:

Tango - what I might be doing tomorrow night

Day 1

Well, I have arrived in Buenos Aires in good, if not very sweaty, health.  I´m serious, it is MUGGY here!  I pulled a bandana out of my pack at 130, when I was putting it on my back to leave the airport, and 5 hours later, it is soaked to the bone.  Just as any good researcher would, I am taking "field notes" as well as mental notes.  Some of my blog posts will be directly from these notes.  Like today´s:

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18/1/2010

Arrived in Buenos Aires.

Went out the the curb to catch the shuttle, & right as I walk up, the man packing away bags under the bus informed me and two other passengers that the bus was full, and we´re gonna have to wait for the next one.  Deep down I´m bummed and not looking forward to 15 more sweaty minutes on the curb, but I smile and say "Ok, Gracias"

Lo and behold, not 30 seconds later the"next bus" shows up, and it´s not a bus at all, but a regular car.  The driver loads up our stuff, looking suspiciously at my enormous back pack, and guess what, nobody wants the shotgun seat!

The 2 other passengers in the back consist of a bio-chemist who is just coming back from Rio, & a guy from Southern California who´s starting a 10-day trip in Buenos.  Both are very friendly - she´s from Russia, but has lived here for 20 years - they are talking in the back about all the places to go Party and/or tango here in town.  As I´m listening, I realize that I may go out and tango, but really, I´m here for something else...

We transfer downtown and my very first travel companions and I part ways.  Now, if I thought I was lucky with the 1st car, I had no idea what pleasures awaited me in the 2nd.  3 people were sitting in the back, so I again was sitting shotgun, and guess what - AC!!  I find that I am able to communicate with this driver a little less than the 1st, but it´s probably for the best as this one is bobbing in and out of traffic as if a taxi-eating monster had been released on the city that they have refrained to inform the tourists about.  Whatever his reasons, I let the man do his thing.

He drops me 7 blocks from my hostel (nearly 20 blocks in any other city I´ve been in).  I´m feeling pretty capable, so I tell him "aqui esta bien".  As he unloads my bag (and puts it on me no less) I mumble something along the lines of "conduces muy bien, gracias" as I make a mad grab in my pocket for the mixed handful of change that is his tip.  I fixed the steeliest look of ease and familiarity that I could muster on my face, and set off.

I come upon La Casa Esmeralda, reach through the gate to hit the intercom (hoping that the big black dog staring at me senses that I´m a canine-lover and harmless to boot) and the hostess Cecilia comes around the corner.  She confirms that I am "McLean" and she lets me in to show me around.  I take a long, cold shower, wash my socks, spend a bit of time in my room reshuffling and organizing my money and papers, before I head out for my first Argentinian meal - at a French restaurant called        "Oui Oui" (no joke)

The tables and chairs are all painted a light salmon color and the soundtrack in the place sounds like an old record of a woman singing in French, accompanied by a 3-piece brass band and piano.  I see the sign advertising the menú (set lunch for the day) and something stirs in the back of my brain.  I remember reading something about ordering the menú because that was going to be the cheapest way to go.  I panic slightly when the waiter comes up to me (gimme a break here people, it´s my first day!!) and I blurt out "quiero el menú por favor" without even reading the sign fully.

As I sit here and nibble at my 3-course lunch, I find myself staring longingly at the croissant & cup of tea that the woman across the way has ordered; no doubt quite calmly, and in full awareness of what it is she was ordering.  The food is delicious, and since I´m paying 30 pesos for it, I eat slowly and take int he details of authenticity at Oui Oui.  Their glass-front case with meats and cheeses to be sliced up and bought might have been enough to send me into a Parisienne reverie, but the countertop filled with fresh muffins and the occasional free-standing candle completes the picture.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to shove this meat pastry into my bag without drawing disdainful stares.  First meal in Argentina - 32 pesos including tip.

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But of course the day didn´t end there.  I met 3 travelers who started out individually, but ended up together.  1 is from France, 1 from sweden, and 1 from New Zealand.  The have been on the road for 3, 6, and 9 months respectively, and were very encouraging of this trip of mine, and friendly to boot.  The only other event of note for the day was the enormous rainstorm that came through town all of a sudden.  Right around sunset, lightning started to flash, and then the sprinkles started and before we knew it:

I don´t think it comes across clearly, but that is a RIVER where the STREET (and a little bit of sidewalk) used to be.  Once the rains stopped, the torrent subsided but still...whoah.  I suppose the good thing about this is that it will probably wash away most of the dog poop that can be found every 4 feet or so in this neighborhood.  Don´t get me wrong, this barrio is beatiful - cobblestone streets, plants hanging from the buildings, and lots of parks around - you just gotta watch your step!

That about brings Day 1 to an end.  My dorm-mates are from Switzerland and went to bed about 2 hours ago, so I think I´ll go sneak in there, grab a book and...hmmm nevermind, maybe I´ll go try and find those three and see what we can get up to.

Also, I missed a palabra español on the last post, so here´s two for ya:

barrio - neighborhood

equipaje - bag or luggage

SHOWTIME!!!

So much to say, in so little time. I have nothing particularly profound to share today, I just thought that given that today is my departing flight for Buenos Aires, I should probably drop a line and get this ball rolling.

I am in Arizona currently at The Orme Ranch Camp. You won't find any pictures of me on the website, because I haven't worked there for years, but I still have a friend or two here that I absolutely had to say hello to on my way down south. I was able to take a trail ride yesterday and spent some good quality guy time with my former boss, and perpetual friend; Tim Magill.

On To The Trip!

I have booked my first 2 nights in Buenos Aires at a place called La Casa Esmeralda.  It looks like a very friendly place, and when I spoke to the woman on the phone there she was even giving me advice about how not to get taken by illegitimate taxi drivers at the airport who will apparently drive me around in circles until I have no cash left.  So, having said that I will be sleeping my first two nights in a dorm room with my fellow travelers. (I hope they don't mind spontaneous sleep-singing of Dr Dre (the early stuff, you know like '92) in my sleep - it's been known to happen)

I plan to spend the first couple of days getting my feet under me, and then deciding whether to head South down the coast, or across the bay to Montevideo.  Probably south, considering that Montevideo is in another country which means more visa fees.  If I can make it back there however I would love to, as it is supposed to be a beatiful city with a lot of culture.

Well I suppose that's it for now, except for one last important thing: Antonea informed me that she has been checking this blog nearly every day since I slipped into internet voids and stopped blogging in October, and I promised that I'd throw a shout-out in here.  Thanks Antonea!

That's all I have time for now, the next time I see this page I will be in Argentina!  I hope I don't have too much trouble with their Spanish keyboards.