Tigre

Despite being on public transportation for nearly four hours today, Guille and I managed to fit in a lot!

The plan was to go out to Tigre on the Tren de la Costa. It took a couple of buses to get to the (fabulous!) train station in Olivos. The journey was a standing-room-only, 25 minute train ride to the Tigre Delta. It was a beautiful journey but standing in crowded aisles for that time was challenging.

It does seem that necessity is the mother of invention though! Along the way I came up with my million dollar idea which I can't mention here until I copyright it! Ha!

The afternoon was spent as expected 'sploring around the famous town of Tigre: eating, drinking, shopping, wandering, people watching, etc. I was supposed to be shopping for gifts for other people but nothing jumped out at me and I didn't want to buy more things people won't use. Fortunately my mother told me that the only thing she wants me to bring back from Argentina is ME. Can do.

Oddly enough, I never have problems finding things I like at markets though! Guille had told me Tigre was mate central so I purchase my first mate here...and second! What can I say? They were so cheap here - I couldn't help myself.

The delta is a great place to go to check out the Rio de la Plata by boat but we didn't make the time to do that. Instead we managed to appreciate the muddy waters from the shore and get a bit wet doing it!

We got off the train back to town at San Isidro. The station which had seemed so lively when we passed by on the way to Tigre was dead when we came back. The cathedral beckoned to us instead and we wandered through the square and up the hill to see it. Along the way we found a market and some musicians serenading an appreciative, mate drinking crowd...

...and a fan who'd had a little too much wine!

Once back in the city Sergio picked us up and we went to Guerrin, apparently THE best pizza joint in Buenos Aires. There's something to that claim. It was absolutely packed with locals and the Corrientes theatre crowd, along with a few gringos who've been let in on the secret. It's busy there but that only seems to have added to its charm.

Indeed the pizza was delicious. We left with very full bellies bordering on the "I'm never going to eat again" feeling we all know and love!

Friday the 13th

The winds today blew us in a northwesterly direction up into Belgrano.

Guille and I planned to meet at 14h after her lunch with some friends. I took advantage of a chill morning to catch up on a few emails and then ventured forth for the hour that it took to get the 6km on a very crowded bus.

We intended on going to the Japanese Garden and MALBA, the museum of modern art. Once again we got sidetracked and time disappeared on us. In the end, all we did was wander aimlessly through Belgrano. It's a great neighbourhood though and I'd love to see more of it another time. We just scratched the surface today!

Before Guille headed off for dinner with friends, we wandered down Santa Fe past the zoo and the botanical garden to the Alto Palermo mall to check it out. We didn't buy anything but we did a bit of reconnaissance for another time.

I meant to take the bus home. We researched in the handy little bus guide that the 160 should do the trick. After 20 minutes it hadn't arrived and my legs were so tired from standing.

Murphy's Law summoned the bus right after I gave up and started walking. I was going to walk a short bit and try to intercept it or the 36 but in the end I just walked all the way back. I was tired before I started walking so I was exhausted by the time I got back to the apartment. I checked Google Maps and discovered that I'd walked ~8km today in flip flops. Hmmm. I need a bike...or blades...or a space-pack to get around this city!

Palermo

I've been to Palermo about four times now and I really like the 'hood! I like the look and feel of the place. I know without a doubt that I couldn't live in BA longterm but if I ended up here for a time, this is somewhere I'd definitely consider. As it is, it's about a half hour walk from the apartment on Diaz Velez...which in BA seems close.

While Guille did yoga, I went zen with a fabulous hour long massage. What a treat. Afterwards we refuelled on caffeine, licuados and pastries and then poked into all sorts of funky shops. There are so many shops here that a 200m walk can easily take half an hour or more!

For dinner we went to a classic 'canteen'. Had Guille not told me how good the empanadas were I never would have gone in. It sure doesn't look like much from the outside but inside was packed with porteños dining on good, cheap food in a very cozy space. It's so great to have a local tour guide!!!

We chose the canteen because it was close to La Viruta, our destination for the evening. We were too late for the class but once Sergio and my friend Martino showed up, it was more about visiting and getting in a few dances with them. Bringing friends is a sure fire way to get asked to dance! Yay! I obviously had a nice time because I didn't get home until 3AM. It's amazing how much more fun I have when I leave my watch at home!!!

While at La Viruta I learned another lesson about counterfeit bills as I tried to pay for drinks. I had seen fake 100$ notes and even 10$ notes (seriously why bother for ~$2.50?!?!) and knew how to spot them. Turns out I hadn't been diligent about checking all the bills coming my way. Unknowingly I had acquired a fake 20$ note. The people at the bar were kind enough to give me another lesson on how to spot them.

So far I know that you have to:
-check for the face in the front left hand side of the bill
-check that the metallic stripe dashes connect to make a full line when held up to the light
-really feel the texture of the bill, paper from fake bills feels thicker
-AND...check every bill as you get it without apology - what a shame

Compared to real bills, the fake 20$ is easy to spot, no?

The list...

Often days with Guille start out with fuzzy plans, several ideas and a few suggestions of things we'd like to do. What we really end up doing is often unforeseen at the start of the day. That's the joy of going where the wind blows us!

Today was one of those days that felt very improvised and it turned out wonderfully. We hit a few of the key things on 'my list'. I have a little list of things I'd like to do now that I'm back in BA. Nothing HAS to be done and if something more fun or interesting comes up, great! If not, they're things I'd like to try to work in to my time here.

One of the things on the list was to check out the famously funky neighbourhood of Recoleta and see the cemetery where Eva Perón is buried. Another is to see a tango show.

Turns out we did both of those today. Surprise! When Guille called to ask about the tango show and whispered 'What night?' while on hold I said 'How about tonight?'. No thinking. No saving it for another day. 'Just do it'! Done.

As we wandered through Recoleta, post lunch at a funky restaurant and a necessary shoe purchase for the evening's outing, we realized we'd reached the square with the cemetery and went in. Unplanned. We just did it. Fabulous. And it was interesting...

...and spooky. There are many famous Argentinians and their families in there. Some mausoleums are in better shape than others.

It was also a bit unnerving seeing all of the coffins inside.

Some neighboring apartments must have quite the view at night!

The tango show was in the famous 'Los Angelitos' cafe, a city landmark which opened its doors in 1890. We opted for the dinner and show since the menu looked so delicious. It did not disappoint, nor did the hour and a half show with glitzy costumes, beautiful people and intimate, intricate dances. I'm really pleased we went and have been inspired for tomorrow's planned outing to La Viruta for more tango.

Balance.

I did nothing today and it was good.

There were plans to be ambitious that existed only on a piece of paper. In reality I didn't leave the apartment until 21h30 when Guille and I went to Palermo for dinner.

After being on the go for the last month I was grateful for a day to be still....and to have access to the apartment while Guille drove back from Sierra de la Ventana. Being on my own for the day was just what I needed!

Balanza.

Operation Penguin: Chapter Mendoza, last day

The first day in a while I got to sleep in and I woke an hour earlier than the alarm was set for. Murphy's Law!

I took advantage of this time to catch up a bit more on my blog. With the last few crazy weeks I have had very little time to write because I've been doing so much. As a consequence there is a lot to write about!

Sara and I got a late check-out and took full advantage...to the point that they called us to see if we were leaving anytime soon! We walked around the main shopping area in San Juan trying to run a few errands but we got sidetracked by some amazing spray-paint street artists. It was fascinating to watch. These guys have amazing talent!

By the time we managed to tear our eyes off their paintings the siesta time had hit and all the stores were closing. Argentinians really do take siesta time seriously! One of the problems is it means there are four rush hours every day!

While we waited for the traffic to die down before starting the drive back to Mendoza, we had cafe con leche and an impromptu Spanish lesson with me as the teacher. Talk about the blind leading the blind! Still, I managed to help her out a little and I really enjoyed it. She's eager to learn which will serve her well.

We had a nice but short visit with Beatriz when we got back into Mendoza.

Sara came with me to the bus station and we shared a pizza before I hit the road. It was sad to say goodbye, she's been such a great travel buddy! I'm glad the universe allowed for our paths to cross.

And now I'm on a bus back to BA. I wonder what's in store for the next chapter of Operation Penguin?!

Easter on the moon!

I felt a good dose of homesickness this morning as I thought of my niece and nephew on an Easter egg hunt. I saw pictures on Facebook from a family dinner I'd missed. There are definitely pros and cons to traveling for several months.

My version of Easter this year was spent with Sara, Peter and Pernille as we went to check out the Valley Of The Moon.

Ischigualasto National Park is one of 8 UNESCO sites in Argentina.
Check it out on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_de_la_Luna_(Argentina)

It is a pretty special place and worth the 4 hour drive there from San Juan.

To tour through the park you take a mandatory guided tour in convoy along the 40km of dirt paths. It's a start-stop tour with about seven key sites they allow people access to. In all it took about 3.5 hours to complete.

It reminded me a lot of Drumheller and the Alberta Badlands. Sure enough they've found dinosaurs here too. The landscape is bleak but incredibly photogenic and we all went a bit crazy snapping photos.

Here is a small selection of some of the MANY pictures I took:


The convoy:

The reason it got the name 'Valle de la Luna':

The concretions:

The 'hoodoos':

The submarine:

The hongo (mushroom):

The stunning red rocks:

The wildlife: