Running with the Ponies!

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 7, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

After a few failed attempts to watch the ponies run at the local horse track, today we were finally successful. The horse track, Hipodromo Argentino, is located in our neighborhood, Palermo, about 3 KM from our apartment. Both of us really enjoy watching the ponies, something we do every year on Thanksgiving which also happens to be our anniversary… according to Marc. For the record, we got married on 28 November 2002 which was Thanksgiving Day that year. Thus, Marc considers Thanksgiving to be our anniversary… I like to celebrate both. J

We arrived at the track a little over an hour before the first race, grabbed a race program and started studying like crazy before we placed our first bet. Deciphering the program was our first challenge especially since programs in English don’t always make sense, but we had the extra challenge of translating the program from Spanish. The first few races were a little tough since we didn’t know the jockeys (Russell Baze doesn’t have any relatives in Argentina) or the feel of the track, so needless to say we lost our first few races.

We hit a low on race three…we decided to go for the long-shot with 20:1 odds when we placed the bet. However, at post-time the odds on our long-shot increased to 110:1. The horse didn’t totally suck based on past performance, but at this point we were just hoping he’d finish. On the bright side, since we bet $6 to win, we figured we would clean up on this one race and head out to a really nice dinner giving. Our horse, XIXALIZCO, had a different plan and seemingly decided to stop for a meal before sauntering to the finish line—he finished dead last and at least 30 cuerpos, or body lengths, behind the winner.

We decided this was our last attempt at a quick win and hit the racing form hard to make realistic picks. We got into the swing of things by the fourth race where we hit the First Place and Second Place horses. And we just kept rolling… at times picking the horses based on their names, like Strong Princess, who came in second for us; other times based upon the winning jockey.

The premier race of the afternoon, Race 7, had twelve horses to choose from. We went back and forth and we each finally picked one horse. When our horses crossed the finish line we had a 1st Place and 3rd Place showing. Thank goodness we had money across the board (Win, Place & Show). Our winnings paid for our next race and even allowed us to pocket $17.

The whole day was a lot of fun, sitting outside enjoying the sun, mixing in with the locals and doing something we really enjoy, watching the ponies. The 2400 meter racetrack was absolutely beautiful. Umbrella covered wooden tables were placed “track side” on a lush green lawn, backed by a shady grandstand and a beautiful clubhouse. The only disappointing feature of the track, which we got over as soon as the ponies started to run, was they didn’t sell beer. An ice-cold beer on a hot day while watching the ponies just makes sense, crazy… oh well, I am sure we will have plenty of other opportunities for beer.

Other notes: Since it is now April, baseball season is in full swing in the United States. We are lucky enough to catch a few games on ESPN in our apartment, but we haven’t been able to see our beloved San Francisco Giants play a single game. We had high hopes for the Giants this year since they paid some ridiculous amount ($10M/year) for their new star pitcher, Barry Zito. We attempt to follow the Giants online by getting scores and stats from each game and downloading the daily KNBR Podcasts when we can poach some free Wi-Fi.

Things are not looking good so far this year, but it’s a long season. Bonds does have a home run on the year and is one step closer to breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record. However, only a few games into the season it appears the Giants already need a boost (and some middle and late relief pitching). We’ll be home in a couple weeks and hopefully attend a game before heading off to New Zealand and more soccer, rugby and cricket.

Just a Quiet Day in BA...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 6, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

It was around 12:15 PM when we woke up this morning, the day after Marc’s birthday celebration. We had a wonderful dinner at Rio Alba last night, whose specialty is Ojo de Bife, or rib eye. Marc ordered the specialty, the full portion, figuring he’d bring home leftovers for a nice breakfast of steak and eggs. I ordered the pork tenderloin which looked like a giant penis and tasted wonderful, and we shared a nice bottle of Luigi Bosca Malbec Reserve. We’ve been following our friend Angela’s motto, and enjoying at least a bottle of wine every night since we’ve been in BA… a bottle of wine on any given night!

It didn’t matter that we woke up after noon today since it was Good Friday. The majority of businesses were closed to honor the holiday. We suspected this may be the case and spent the majority of the day strolling through quiet streets, pausing at parks, and occasionally stopping to pick up bread, wine, cheese and other staples so we could cook dinner in our apartment tonight.

Not much else to say… it was a quiet day in BA and we’re just chillin’.

Happy 40th Birthday, Marc!

Today is the day Marc writes the entire blog describing what it feels like to turn 40 since, well, today is his 40th birthday. We will celebrate in Buenos Aires with a nice steak dinner (Yes, Marc requested steak for the first time in at least eight years) and a trip to the Japanese Tea Garden in Parque 3 de Febrero.

----------------------------------------

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 5, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Laura says I have to write the blog update for 5 April 2007. First, let’s get a few things straight. Since I’m the Editor in Chief for our blog my job actually includes editing, adding “color commentary”, inserting hyperlinks, and uploading photos and quick-time movies to all of our updates. I admit Laura is responsible for > 95% of the content in every update and our blog would be nowhere near as slick without her dedication and prose. At the same time, it’s not like I’ve never written for our blog.

So… per Laura’s request I need to write the blog today and explain what it feels like to turn 40 years old. I’ve decided to approach the answer to this question from a Time Perspective and from a Physical and Spiritual Perspective.

Time Perspective:
Laura seems much more excited about my 40th birthday than me. This isn’t surprising since I rarely give much thought to my birthday, and probably wouldn’t even remember my birthday unless she reminded me each year. Plus, I usually get a call from the four sets of parents singing “Happy Birthday” in my ear or on my voicemail. I really stopped thinking about my birthday after my 21st… not that my 21st was that special, but at least I didn’t need to use my roommate’s ID to buy a twelver of Keystone Light anymore.

So… what does 40 feel like?

Well, the reason I don’t give it much thought is because in the overall picture of time; infinite and without a beginning or and end, 40 years is simply… well nothing. Think about it… Earth is nearly 4.6 billion years old and Man has only been scurrying around for about 30-40,000 years. So, I haven’t even been around for 0.1% of the time Man has inhabited our planet and only 0.0000009% of the time our planet has existed. Can we say insignificant?

So, to ask what it feels like to be 40 is sorta like asking a grain of sand in the Sahara desert what it feels like to be part of the world’s largest desert. I guess it would feel like a grain of sand.

I realize 40 is a major milestone to many people, but to me it’s just another moment in time. Don’t get me wrong… I’ve enjoyed nearly every moment, and those I haven’t enjoyed have been valuable learning experiences. I sincerely look forward to spending many more moments navigating my way through this universe, but living for 14,600 days feels about the same as 13,778 days.

Physically and Spiritually:
Chronologically my physical body is now 40 years old. I tend to view my body as a vessel; like a boat, truck or plane carrying “who I am” through this universe. Physically, I feel like I’m in pretty good shape for a “40 year old man”. At the same time, in the past few years, I’ve discovered my vessel isn’t as resilient as it used to be and I’ve had to make compensations. There are parts that need adjusting and other parts I wish I could simply replace, but from an overall perspective I think this vessel should last a few more years. Keeping my vessel in working-order is very important since it is currently the only means I know to navigate “who I am” through time.

This of course leads to questions… “Who am I?” and “What happens when I no longer have a functional vessel?” I sincerely believe these are the questions that cause people so much stress and anxiety about aging.

Personally, I’m comfortable not knowing the answers to these questions.

I realize there are countless questions that will never be answered and things I will never understand; hey, I’m just a 40 year old man. Rather than worrying about these questions I’ll continue to take advantage of the limited and unknown time I have at my disposal. For me it’s all about being happy… I’ll continue to explore life with my loved ones and hopefully help as many people along my path as possible.

So, in my opinion, that’s what it feels like to be 40.

Another Cemetery and a Big Pile of Dookie...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 4, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Even though we have plenty of time in Buenos Aires, we want to make sure we see all the great sites. So, we decided to put a rough timeline together outlining everything we want to see while we’re here in BA. Of course this includes all of the restaurants too.

Tuesday was the first day of the plan and we decided to check-out the Recoleta neighborhood including the infamous cemetery. We were greeted by sunny skies and temperatures in the 80’s as we headed out the door; making for perfect photo opportunities in the cemetery.

We walked about 5 KM to the Recoleta district… again stopping at several ATM’s along the way, many with very long lines; we finally succeeded after five attempts. After wandering through several small parks and little neighborhoods we found ourselves at the cemetery where famous Argentineans such as Evita, Sarmiento, military heroes and past presidents are buried. The crypts are extremely impressive; made of marble with very intricate designs. It appeared some of the burial chambers had fallen victim to grave robbers; with only broken windows and dried flowers remaining. I was a little freaked-out as I peered into the vandalized tombs. I imagined the deceased, who were supposed to lay in peace, angry and seeking revenge. Luckily, I didn’t sense any of this anger, and spent the day pleasantly strolling around snapping pictures.

When we left the cemetery we tried to hit one of Jorge Luis Borges old haunts, but it is closed on Tuesdays—damn! Instead we headed to one of the little parks in the area to see what it had to offer. We went to Parque Thays that didn’t really compare to Parque 3 de Febrero, but it was a nice open space where kids played on the jungle gyms while their older brothers’ practiced futbol.

We strolled through a few more parks on our way to the Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays near our apartment. We walked through the garden the other day, but the rain and gray skies prevented us from getting any photos, not to mention the giant mud puddles. As we cut through the park, hundreds of feral cats were lounging in the grass, soaking up the sun and sideling up against locals that were feeding them kibble and snacks.

Marc is responsible for writing the blog tomorrow since it is his 40th birthday… stay tuned!

Other notes: Google Analytics is really cool! It’s fun to see where people who check out our blog live. Right now someone in Beijing, China is the furthest away. We aren’t sure if this is Kevin Dieker, who recently took a trip to China, or someone in China who’s simply taken an interest in our blog. The majority of the people are in California, as expected, but we do have visits from several states, including Hawaii, Wisconsin and Kentucky, to name a few.

Also of note… as we’ve explained previously, dog poop is a big problem in Buenos Aires. You must constantly watch your step as you stroll along the sidewalks, through parks and basically anywhere you go outside of the house. Obviously, Portenos think leaving their dog’s big, steamy piles of fecal matter is perfectly fine behavior. Due to the abundance of dog shit, we can only assume they take pride in the size, consistency and enjoy sharing it with their fellow citizens. See example below, Laura’s foot provides scale to the prized mass!

Car Talk and a Little Macking...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 3, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Fin de Semana Largo continued into Monday, making Sunday another perfect night to go out and hit the town. The Monday holiday, combined with the first day of sunshine in eight days, was also perfect to get outside and enjoy the weather. We did both.

We had reservation for 11:30 PM (we’re so cool) at a chic Vietnamese restaurant, Green Bamboo, recommended to us by a lady I worked with, Joanne. We arrived “fashionably” early and had to wait outside until the hostess let us in through the locked door. We walked into the dimly light room and made our way to the bar until our table was ready. Asian trinkets were scattered across the top of the bar with little room to place a drink; the bar obviously isn’t used very often. We played with the bobble-head tigers and admired the Asian lava lamps while we polished-off a couple beers prior to being seated.

We shared another great bottle of Malbec, a delicious shaking lamb, spring rolls, and a spicy, lightly breaded, white fish with cherry tomatoes. The restaurant didn’t compare to the top Vietnamese places at home; however, the cuisine was as authentic as I would expect and we welcomed a reprieve from the numerous parillas. There are still a few more Asian fusion places we hope to visit before we head back to San Francisco in a couple weeks.

We jumped in a cab to avoid the thunderstorms and made it back to our apartment by 1:00 AM and watched a little late-night Argentinean TV (which we have found to be quite liberal) before heading to bed.

We were lucky enough to catch an automotive comparison show on one of the local stations. The show compared the Mini-Cooper, the Chevy Spark and the Fiat Nuevo 500—all sub-compact models, approximately the size of the Mini. All cars were rated in four different categories: comfort, suspension, safety and durability. The best part about the show, and why it’s worth mentioning, is that it was based on having sexual intercourse in the vehicle. So… comfort, suspension, and of course safety and durability were all rated during coitus. The program actually showed a couple vigorously testing out each sub-compact car before giving their rating. The show explained the importance of cars to young couples in South America. Most children live with their parents until they’re married and thus the car is their only safe refuge for getting intimate. The program also outlined the importance of putting newspaper in your window to avoid being interrupted during the act.

I won’t hold you in suspense any longer… the winner was the Mini-Cooper; the Cooper’s safety and reliability put it on top of the Spark and Nuevo 500 (pun intended).

As you can guess, we had to watch the whole show to find out the winner before turning off the lights. This means we had a late start on Monday morning—good thing it was a holiday and we didn’t have anywhere to go!

Our plan was to spend the day at the racetrack watching the ponies run, but we first needed to make a “quick” detour to the ATM to get some cash. As expected our trip to the bank wasn’t easy, nor was it quick. What more do I need to say… after attempting to get cash from at least five different ATM’s we gave up and altered our plan.

We opted to head to one of our neighborhood parks instead. We went to Parque 3 de Febrero. The park reminded us of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park—complete with a Japanese Tea Garden and planetarium. There were plenty of in-line skaters, bicyclists and runners; all taking advantage of the vacant streets that were closed to the holiday traffic. We found a patch of sunny grass after walking a few miles through the park. As soon as we sat down, a flock of wild parrots landed in a tree next to us, squawking above our heads and making us feel right at home. The ground was a little damp after the severe thunderstorms the night before, but this didn’t stop the teenagers and those in their early 20's from making-out (macking) and rolling around the lawn.

As the sun started to set, we decided to head back to our apartment and leave the love-birds to mack away the rest of the evening in the park.

The best part… another Fin de Semana Largo (long weekend) starts again on Thursday!

Bocas Win, Bocas Win!

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 1, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

We woke up Saturday morning to what were supposed to be clear skies; they were, at first, but on our way to morning coffee it started to sprinkle. We didn’t let the sprinkles put a damper on our day though.

It was our first morning trip to a café since we’ve been in our apartment; we’ve been taking advantage of our kitchen and having breakfast at home the past couple days. After getting our caffeine “fix” we were headed to see the Boca Juniors play futbol. What more could you want for a Saturday, especially our first Saturday in BA?

As the rain started coming down, we opted to sit inside rather than outside, but the cool café vibe was still there. We sat there, drank our coffee and brushed up on the key words of the Boca Juniors fight song—“Boca Juniors, Boca Juniors.” We got a few strange stares, but nothing to convince us to stop. As the rain came down outside, we hoped for a break in the weather before game time, still thankful it was a warm rain.

Our ride arrived at 2:00 PM and our tour guide was outfitted in Boca gear, obviously a big fan, and seemed very excited to share the experience of seeing a match with us. We jumped in the van and headed off to the match, picking up nine others along the way. When we arrived at the stadium, our guide went over the rules: don’t take pictures outside the stadium or even take you camera out, stay together, and whatever you do… don’t root for the opposing team! The skies were gray, but no rain in site!

The Boca Junior’s stadium is in a sketchy barrio of Buenos Aires called La Boca. There are warnings to stay away from certain rough sections of La Boca even in the middle of the day and this was part of the reason for the guided escort. Plus, it’s almost impossible to get Boca Juniors tickets if you don’t go through one of the approved ticket agencies that have rights to the majority of season tickets.

We climbed the stairs to our seats, looked down and saw a sea of blue and gold; everyone was wearing Boca colors. Fans hung-up their signs to show support for their team including several blue and gold streamers that formed the section holding the “12th man,” a large cheering section for the most devoted Boca fans. At the opposite end of the field, in the very top section, a small contingent of Nueva Chicago fans proudly displayed their colors (green and black). There were at least two-dozen police officers surrounding the section, even though barbed wire fence separated the rabid fans from the Boca Junior loyalists.

Fans were tearing up newspapers, programs, advertisements, anything they could get their hands on, and tossing it into the swirling winds. The winds quickly carried the confetti to all corners of the field; creating small eddies of debris throughout the match. As soon as the Boca Juniors starting line-up was announced the fans went nuts… screaming the Boca Juniors fight-song, throwing confetti, wildly waving their arms, whistling, and essentially working themselves into a frenzy.

From kickoff, until the game ended in a 2-0 Boca Juniors win, the section of fans making up the “12th man” never stopped chanting and screaming. The BJ’s controlled the ball for the majority of the game, but held us in suspense by not scoring until the second half. They quickly added a second goal, to the hysterical delight of the fans.

Before we could leave, our guide made us wait until the fans from Nueva Chicago were escorted out of the stadium. We sat in our seats cheering, for the now 1st place Boca Juniors, for another 45 minutes before filing out to the safety of our waiting van.

After getting back to our apartment it took us a few hours to unwind before heading out to dinner. Dinner at 8:00 PM in BA, is like catching the “early bird special” and you’re still geeky if you go to dinner before 10:00 PM.

We were hip enough to get seated at our restaurant of choice at 10:30 PM and followed dinner with a few beers at a local bar. We left the bar around 2:30 AM; still early since the majority of hipsters don’t even head out until 3:00 AM.

As we walked into our building a group of four girls, dressed to kill, were heading out to the clubs—better them than us. This is definitely why the streets of BA are totally deserted until 5:00 on Sunday afternoon.

We had a truly Argentinean day, all the way down to the late(r) dinner. We didn’t hit the clubs, but remember we’re now only four days away from Marc’s 40th. Is Marc’s vessel too old for all night discotheques? (Find out when Marc writes the blog on his birthday, April 5th.)

Other notes: We attempted to make a reservation for accommodations in Iguazu Falls. The hotel actually requested we give them a deposit for one of the two nights by going to Western Union and wiring money to a designated account. Luckily, we were able to find another place that didn’t require such a ridiculous request.

Also of note… Marc thwarted another pickpocket attempt today. This time it was a group of four people. One lady bumped him and fiddled at his left pocket, while another other lady attempted to unzip his bag. Marc heard the zipper and quickly turned around, made eye contact with the lady and gave her a stiff shoulder to her chest. Without a word or comment, the group quickly turned around and walked away empty handed!

Geeking-Out on a Stormy Day...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

March 30, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Today was the beginning of Fin de Semana largo, the first of two long weekends in a row, most people only worked a half day. Monday is Malvinas Day, similar to Veteran’s Day in the States, and honors those who fought in the Falklands Islands War which broke out April 2, 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The UK defeated Argentina in a mere 73 days; ultimately resulting in the expulsion of Argentina’s military government.

Next weekend is Fin de Semana mas largo which starts on Thursday to celebrate Semana Santa, or Easter week. Friday is an official holiday for Good Friday, but of course most people take the entire week off.

Man... if we had this many holiday’s in the States we wouldn’t need to take a year off to travel around the world!

It was a perfect start to Fin de Semana largo, since we awoke to massive thunderstorms in the middle of the night. The storms continued throughout the day, making a trip outside a drenching experience even with a rain coat and umbrella. The rain didn’t let up all day. It seemed you could collect a gallon of rain in less than ten minutes at any point of the day. Needless to say, we didn’t head to the racetrack to see the ponies run. We figured we’d go to the track on Monday when it’s supposed to be clear and sunny.

Since we were trapped inside all day, we took the opportunity to geek out a little bit and keep some of our techno skills in tune. We signed up for Google Analytics to see how many people really review our blog every day, where page views originate and other really cool and geeky statistical information. We also analyzed our daily budget and determined our Budget vs. Actual expenses.

I haven’t mentioned this, but I religiously track our expenses every day in my little travel notebook. Each night, after we finish our story for the blog, I update a spreadsheet that tracks, sums, forecasts and applies all of our expenses into pivot tables by category. The three main categories (Big 3), lodging, food and entertainment, have a forecast of $100 per day. In addition, we have two other categories, transportation and miscellaneous, that have a forecast of $25 and $10 a day, respectively. Today we graphed everything to make sure we are on track. The big three came in under budget, as expected; however, the other two categories are slightly over budget right now… but nothing to worry about.

We thought $25 per day for transportation was pretty generous, but after all the bus trips we have taken, not to mention two extra flights, we are a little over budget. We expect these numbers to average out over time and we’ll be back on track.

After I geeked out on the budget tracking, Marc took his turn analyzing all of the available information in Google Analytics. It’s a really slick tool, especially since the entire package is free!

We did step out briefly to take a quick walk, get some fresh air and pick up a few necessities (Latitud33 and beer). As soon as we got back in we started studying the Boca Juniors fight-song for the match tomorrow. We decided not to buy an over-priced jersey, so we figured we better know the words to the anthem! We’ll let you know how the match goes... hopefully we’ll see a Boca win!

Settling down and relaxing...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

March 29, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

We made coffee and breakfast in our apartment today; it was a very nice change. After breakfast we made tracks… we wanted to pay the remaining balance from the apartment fiasco as soon as possible and bring closure to the whole saga. We strolled out into the familiar warm, humid, drizzle, we’ve grown accustomed to; the weather is supposed to improve by this weekend. Luckily we found a “Link” ATM a few blocks from our apartment and withdrew the required cash to settle our debt. I hate owing people money!

We walked about 2 KM to the property management office, taking the opportunity to check out our new little neighborhood. I located the closest carneceria (meat), paneria (bread) and pescaderia (fish) markets and filed it away in the “database” so I could come back later for one of our home cooked meals.

We spent a good portion of our day ducking in and out of shops and cafes attempting to stay dry. It was a perfect opportunity to scope out the cute little boutiques and hot restaurants in the hip areas of Palermo SOHO and Palermo Hollywood. We picked two places for Marc’s big birthday dinner in one week—now I need to make reservations for one of them! We felt very comfortable in our new neighborhood, but don’t get me wrong… we’ll still be on the lookout for the lotion throwing scammers.

The weather is supposed to clear up a little tomorrow and we’re off to the races; literally, we’re headed to the local horse races. We’ll let you know how it goes.

BTW... if you want to see Laura cooking up a storm in her new "gourmet" kitchen just click here: Take 1, Take 2.

A little hand-lotion, a hard move, and home cookin'!

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

March 28, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

My plan today was to discuss the wonderful meal we had last night at a cute little restaurant we found by chance. Café Cumana, was totally packed, and just doors down the street from the Mexican restaurant we tried a couple days prior. I wanted to tell everyone about the great empanadas and the chic lesbian chit-chat that took place at the table next to us which ended in the two feeding each other—until the events from today unfolded.

We were really looking forward to today; moving into our apartment and having a home cooked meal, but nothing is as easy as it seems, right? That was definitely the case for us today.

We woke up this morning and quickly packed up our stuff for the last time for awhile, went downstairs to checkout and checked our backpacks with the doorman. We headed out into the humid and overcast Congreso district with our daypack (and computer), in search of coffee, free Wi-Fi, and the goal of burning a few hours before getting the keys to our apartment.

After 2 ½ hours of web surfing we headed back to our hotel to grab our backpacks; about 45 minutes prior to our appointment with the apartment agent. As we walked down a side-street, about a half block from the hotel, someone started yelling at us, “you, you, you!...” I didn’t really pay much attention to the yelling, but a young woman came up behind me and pointed at Marc’s back. Marc was wearing the daypack with our computer and his infamous camera bag and it looked like a bird pooped on the backpack. At least that was my initial thought, until I saw the mess was all down his pants too. The woman started pointing at the back of my legs as well and “conveniently” had a towel available, signaling she was willing to help wipe it off.

I was immediately alarmed by the fact that she had the towel readily available. Marc and I only momentarily broke stride and quickly walked back to the hotel covered in what turned out to be hand-lotion. We wiped the lotion of our clothes and our daypack, grabbed our backpacks and jumped in a cab to our new neighborhood… successfully avoiding one of the most popular robbery ploys, see outline below:
1) Foreign substance (mustard, paint, or hand-lotion) is tossed on an unsuspecting tourist
2) Tourist stops to review the damage
3) “Friendly” local(s) approaches tourist to help clean up the mess (and close the gap)
4) “Friendly” local(s) then pickpockets or mugs unsuspecting tourist

The day can only get better, right?

We were scheduled to meet the owner and the associate, Gabrielle, from the property management company at 3:00 PM. We immediately liked the apartment; I checked out the kitchen equipment and came up with a rough dinner menu in my head. We sat down with the owner and Gabrielle and reviewed the contract (all in Spanish, of course). There was a statement on the second page regarding payment that immediately caught my eye.

The statement said we had to pay the entire amount of the rent (16 days) plus a $300 USD deposit in cash. The Property Management Company never told us anything about a cash payment of almost $1000 USD, and actually took our credit card information when we made the reservation. The understanding, at least on our side, was they would charge the card the entire amount today.

We’ve been out of US dollars for sometime now except for $200 we hid in the bottom of Marc’s sleeping bag, but we were still VERY short. If we knew about the cash payment, we would have had cash, and were very perplexed as to how this important detail wasn’t explained before our meeting.

Gabrielle suggested we head to a bank down the street to withdrawal some cash. We were concerned about the daily maximum for withdrawals but since we had two ATM cards—we should be fine, no problemo. We all headed out to the bank—yes, all of us, the owner, Gabrielle, Marc and I. We figured we would be done in no time and our next stop would be the Super Mercado to buy groceries for our first home-cooked meal in months.

Our first stop was a Citibank a stone’s throw away from the apartment only to be denied; not because we didn’t have money, but because the ATM didn’t have money. Gabrielle talked to a bank representative and they were working to refill the ATM machine (yes, they only had one ATM!) We headed across the plaza to another bank with only one ATM that was out of service. Both of the ATMs we tried were part of the Banelco network; Banelco limits the amount you can take out regardless of what your bank allows (discovered through trial and error). We told Gabrielle and the owner we really needed a bank that is part of the Link network… again, through trial and error we found Link ATM’s allow you to withdraw close to your daily limit.

Now we headed to a third bank to withdrawal the required money, it was part of the Link network, and we thought we were in luck. We were wrong. The ATM was completely out of service and money. Marc and I were both completely frustrated at this point and didn’t know what to do. We were happy they came with us to witness the bank inefficiencies in their country—I don’t think this was a new problem for them… they didn’t seem surprised at all.

After one last failed attempt at Citibank, and swearing under our breath about the unbelievable inefficiencies of South America, Marc told Gabrielle we could amend the apartment contract to start tomorrow. This is when I started tearing up—I was so looking forward to being in our apartment tonight. I didn’t want to trudge my luggage around trying to find somewhere else to stay—I only wanted to get in the kitchen and cook us a nice dinner and not stress about where we were going to eat, how far we had to walk, etc.

Gabrielle saw my tears and frustration and quickly came over to console me. She knew first hand about the banking inefficiencies after her ATM card failed to work for four months. She actually moved all of her money out of Argentina and now uses a bank in Brazil—I can’t say I blame her.

The owner and Gabrielle agreed to take the little cash we had and alter the contract to show the remaining payment—due by Monday. We were able to stay the night and cook our first meal in over two months—roasted chicken and potatoes, tomato and fresh mozzarella salad, bread and a bottle of Latitud33.

Other notes: We shouldn’t have been surprised at the inability or unwillingness to take credit cards… we’ve had many such stories, even with major corporations like American Airlines. When we were in Puerto Natales we called American Airlines to change a flight. There was a small fare difference ($27 USD), and since they couldn’t charge my credit card over the phone, they advised me to go to Santander Santiago and make a bank deposit and then call them back with the wire number. I threw a fit and told the American Airlines person (who was based in Chile) that this was the most ridiculous process I had ever heard. It turns out it isn’t ridiculous to them, but normal practice. Another example… we were told to go to Western Union and wire money to a company to pay for our Boca Junior tickets. We opted to go to the office instead and pay in person.

After Argentina's economic crash in 2001, several of the banks closed down, and their president put a daily limit on bank withdrawals to protect the banks still open. People could only withdrawal approximately $100 USD/day. The country still suffers from the crisis and this is apparent when we try to get money, like today. Forget trying to get money on a Sunday, all ATMs are completely out of cash! Since the country operates largely in cash, most people go to the bank during the very limited bank hours (10:00 AM to 3:00 PM) and complete any transactions necessary. The lines at banks on Monday mornings stretch out the door and down the street.

This is very hard for us to comprehend (and frustrating) since we do everything electronically. It’s days like this that make us appreciate the technology we’ve become accustomed to. It makes us question how countries like this will be able to compete on a global scale.

Another spicy day in BA...

Buenos Aires (Congreso District), Argentina

March 27, 2007
S 34°36.583
W 058°23.472

Last night, still having a serious craving for spicy food, we reviewed the list of international cuisine at our fingertips and decided to give the Korean restaurant, Biwon, a try. We shared a nice, spicy soup and bibimbap. The soup put a little sweat on our brow, while the bibimbap was definitely tamed down by the Korean owners; they obviously thought we couldn’t take the heat.

There was a business dinner taking place at a semi-private table next to us with a great deal of soju, wine and beer. I knew the majority of Koreans doing business in South America were probably involved in telecommunications, specifically wireless devices. After thirty minutes or so my instinct was confirmed when they mentioned Samsung and the celebration was for the engineers who just finished a device implementation. I felt their excitement—briefly—but, I gradually let it go… now reveling in my new life as a traveler.

As we walked out, three more liters of beer and two more bottles of soju were brought to the engineers. We weren’t sure how these guys were going to make it to work in the morning, we guessed they weren’t!

We woke up this morning to pouring rain and spent the first three hours in a cafe with free Wifi trying to take care of a few things. Coincidentally, as our battery was close to dead, the rain turned to a drizzle and we quickly headed out to see more of the city. We explored the antique barrio of San Telmo; mostly window shopping, and thinking of my youth when my parents dragged me to antique shows—even on my birthday! If you like antiques, this is the place to go shopping. Sundays are an antique lover’s paradise when the antique festival is held in the Plaza de Dorrego.

We enjoyed wandering the streets to see what the day would bring us; luckily it didn’t bring anymore rain. We were able to wander for several more hours before the drops started coming down again and we scrambled back to our hotel.

A few more things about Buenos Aires… they don’t observe siesta in the capitol city! Finally, we don’t have to worry about things being closed from 1PM-4PM. Tomorrow we move into our apartment for the next 16 days and finally get a home cooked meal. We can’t wait!

Don't cry for me Argentina...

Buenos Aires (Congreso District), Argentina

March 26, 2007
S 34°36.583
W 058°23.472

Well, we’re in Buenos Aires, an international city with various cuisines and we are definitely ready for a change. Don’t get me wrong, the beef is really damn good. However, everyone knows you can’t eat beef and ice cream every night if you want to live to be 40. Marc wants to see this milestone; now only ten days away.

We took a bit of a risk on dinner and tried a Mexican restaurant we spotted earlier in the day as we strolled through the local streets. We haven’t had Mexican food since Quito, Ecuador, but we haven’t had “real” Mexican since we left San Francisco. I can’t say this was authentic, it was good, but a little overpriced and not as tasty as Nick’s Crispy Tacos or La Taqueria at home. We were pleasantly surprised when the salsa actually had a little kick to it. Spicy food is uncommon in most of South America; in fact pepper doesn’t even accompany the salt shaker on the table. We drenched our little tacos in the tasty sauce, probably shocking the staff when we used the whole bowl. We were happy we tried the Mexican place, it should hold us over until we get back to San Francisco in a few weeks.

We went to bed our first night in Buenos Aires to heavy thunderstorms that caused a black-out as far as we could see from our seventh floor window. (Thank goodness our place had back-up generators in place.) The view of the dark streets and silhouettes of the park and government buildings were surreal against the black night skies. The occasional lightening bolt provided a flash of light through the buildings before turning everything dark again. The cars on the street in front of our hotel kept moving through the dark traffic lights; barely slowing to see if anyone was coming from the other direction.

Luckily, the skies were clear when we woke up this morning, at least for awhile. Our main goal for the day was to find the ticket office to purchase our Boca Juniors tickets. We wanted to see some of the main sights along the way, so we planned our path accordingly. We started from the Plaza de Congreso, which is practically in front of our hotel, and headed down towards the Plaza de Mayo. Along the way we crossed the largest intersection in the world—10 lanes in each direction (20 lanes total)!

From the intersection, we wandered towards the beautiful rose building, Casa Rosada, which we were pleased to see is currently being renovated. The back of the building opens up to the Plaza de Mayo where many of Argentina’s heated protests take place. A balcony overlooks Plaza de Mayo where Argentine leaders (including Juan and Eva Peron; also known as Evita) have addressed massive crowds. In fact, Madonna filmed the movie “Evita” from the historical balcony.

Over the weekend, Plaza de Mayo was the site of a huge protest in remembrance of 30,000 people who went “missing” in what is termed the Dirty War; during the years of the Argentinean government being ruled by a military regime. Demonstrators, known as Madres de la Plaza Mayo, meet in Plaza de Mayo religiously on Thursdays at 3:30 PM to encourage a full account of the atrocities from the war.

We made our way towards the “shopping mecca” of Florida Street to find the Boca Juniors ticket office. The mass of people, tourists and locals, is somewhat reminiscent of New York’s Times Square on a slightly smaller scale. After swimming through the crowds for 10 blocks we finally found the ticket office and secured two tix for Saturday’s match. We still need to buy a jersey—we don’t want to get mobbed for wearing the wrong color… imagine going to an Oakland Raider game wearing a John Elway jersey.

Wandering through the city, we were pleased to see the City of Buenos Aires and the Country of Argentina is putting money into restoring several of their historical monuments. This is a good first step since graffiti currently plagues many of their national monuments, and by restoring the monuments one would hope it gives those in the city a sense of civic pride to protect these gorgeous buildings.

It’s shocking to see so many stunning landmarks riddled with political scribbles and garbage. These buildings would be equivalent to the Lincoln Memorial or The Washington Monument, yet they are spray-painted and defaced. Unfortunately this seems to be socially accepted; with no sense of urgency to remove the offending graffiti.

The construction may also give hope to the people of Argentina that their economy is on the road to recovery. It is easy to forget, in the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires, that Argentina’s unemployment rate hovers between 17-23% and 51% of the country’s population lives below the poverty line. However, you’re quickly reminded of the troubles as you make your way out of the financial district, back towards the Congreso building. There are people sleeping in doorways and cardboard boxes — there’s a small shantytown of blue plastic tarpaulin and shopping carts right in the middle of Plaza de Congreso.

Overall, we had a great day meandering through the city streets, enjoying the European feel of Buenos Aires. The city not only houses some incredible European architecture, but the culture of the people in the city has a European feel—tables line the streets of the city, dinners tend to be late and are truly for the experience, their love for dance/theater, and their pride of being Argentinean.

Other quick notes: If you want hardcore porn, not a problem… they sell it right at the newsstands on the streets of Buenos Aires. Watch your step… you’ll find huge piles of dog poop on the street; apparently picking up your dog’s poop is too big of a hassle. Lastly, Marc hasn’t received a haircut in at least three weeks. His hair is longer than it has been since I met him.

Finally in Buenos Aires...

Buenos Aires (Congreso District), Argentina

March 25, 2007
S 34°36.583
W 058°23.472

We enjoyed five nights in Mar del Plata; the longest we’ve stayed in one place prior to 29 January 2007, it sure was nice to be able to unpack and just chill-out for a few days.

The Gran Hotel Manila had its little quirks, like the little old man who runs the place and seems to speak in riddles only he understands. And the fact that we had to stumble around our dimly lit room for three days since our light bulb burned out after the second night. We considered telling Ol’ Timer about our light, but we feared he would attempt to replace the bulb himself and we’d come home and find him on the floor of our room with a broken hip.

After a wonderful beach day yesterday, we boarded a double-decker express bus at 9:30 AM for a six hour ride to Buenos Aires (BA). We couldn’t get a seat on the bottom of the bus, obviously we aren’t the only ones who feel safer down there, but we did get a seat in the middle of the top-deck. The ride was definitely calmer today; not sure if it was the placement of our seats, or if the wind wasn’t battling the bus with the ferocity of our last ride.

We arrived in BA in exactly six hours. We quickly grabbed a cab and headed to the Ibis Hotel in the Congreso District of BA. We decided to stay at the Ibis for three nights so we could experience a different part of the city, prior to moving into an apartment we’ve rented in the Palermo District for about three weeks.

Our apartment will allow us to have a much needed “home base” in BA and take side trips to other locations, such as Iguazu Falls and Montevideo, Uruguay. Additionally, the weekly rate is much lower than living out of a hotel for three weeks…. best of all, I will have a kitchen to cook in!

We’re very excited to finally explore BA. There are a lot of things we want to do and see over the next three weeks. This includes a trip to see the Boca Juniors, a tango show (maybe classes if I can convince Marc), Spanish classes, and lots of food and cafes must be sampled.

It’s interesting… BA seems to be something of a milestone in our overall adventure since it’s the last stop in our journey through South America. It seems Montanita, Ecuador was just a few days ago, but at the same time a distant memory. We can’t believe we’ll be swinging back through San Francisco in just a few weeks before heading to New Zealand and embarking on the rest of our trip.

We hope to have several new and exciting stories from our time in BA, more exiting than the past few days… stay posted.

A slow news day...

Mar del Plata, Argentina

March 23, 2007
S 37°59.389
W 057°32.687

Good news, the weather report was wrong for today. The forecast predicted a 90% chance of rain, but when we woke at 10:00 AM the skies were slightly overcast with no rain in sight.

We headed out for coffee (not the hotel breakfast), to test the weather, and figure out what we the day may hold for us. As we walked to the coffee shop, we noticed people pulled out all of their winter jackets over night; they were wearing scarves, down jackets and boots. We comfortably strolled the streets in our shorts, t-shirts and Tevas in the slightly cool 69° F weather. These people obviously don’t know cold… they need to take a little trip to Torres del Paine.

We decided it wasn’t a beach day since there was an offshore breeze that cooled things down a little too much and was causing an occasional sand-storm. Instead we went for a long walk, bought our bus tickets for Buenos Aires and found a festival in the park playing live music. Marc was very excited to hear music live, especially the familiar riffs of Stevie Ray Vaughn.

We finished the day with beers and dinner at the Cevezeria Artesenal. We arrived right when they opened, at 8:00 PM, and managed to have a beer before the place was too packed. By 8:45 PM the entire pub was standing room only and a line was out the door when we left at 10:30 PM.

We slowly walked the mile back to Hotel Gran Manila and called it a night at 11:30 PM. I guess we won’t be hitting the night-clubs in Buenos Aires; everything we’ve read says if you arrive before 3:00 AM you’re a nerd… I guess we’re nerds.

Tomorrow is supposed to be perfect weather; at least perfect for the beach. If so, we’ll be heading to the beach for sure—right after our morning coffee.

Breakfast, Pork and Lesbians...Next!

Mar del Plata, Argentina

March 22, 2007
S 37°59.389
W 057°32.687

24x7x365: Marc and I have an ongoing debate about the “free” breakfast included in our room fee. Marc feels the coffee sucks, the pastry and juice are shitty and he is going to go out and pay for it anyway, so why should he waste his time? Marc wants to ask for a refund and take the money… it seems he doesn’t understand this isn’t “Let’s Make a Deal” and not everyone is Monty Hall. Me, being the budget conscious one, still encourages the breakfast… you don’t know what it will be like until you try it, right? We’ve stayed in several places without even trying the “free” breakfast, but today I stressed we give it a shot before heading to the local coffee shop.

We don’t eat much for breakfast to begin with; we typically have a cup of coffee and one medialuna, or croissant. Most locals order two medialunas with their coffee, but we are fine with one. The majority of hotel breakfasts include medialunas, toast, coffee and juice—right up our alley, so why don’t we take advantage, right? I convinced Marc to give the breakfast a try today, if the coffee sucked then I would give up on the breakfasts. Well, the jury is still out! The coffee was better than anything we ever had in Chile, but that’s not saying much… more to come.

We got a little beach time today before we realized the sun wasn’t going to burn-off the clouds and headed back to our hotel. We showered and went out for a nice walk to find the local Cevezeria Artesanal that opened at 8:00 PM. We were too early to grab a beer; we weren’t ready for one anyway, but really just out on a walk to check out a different part of town. After the Cevezeria reconnaissance, we crossed the street to check out a Parilla that just slapped a couple sides of pig and lamb on the rotisserie. We thought to ourselves it might be a good place to come back to for dinner.

Rain started coming down as we headed back to the center of town; we ducked in between store fronts in an attempt to stay dry. We hop-scotched back to the Gran Hotel Manila and spent a couple hours drying off and relaxing, before venturing out for the evening. Our plan was to hit the Cevezeria and make our way back to the center for dinner.

We found our way back to the microbrewery without getting wet. When we walked in we immediately saw coasters and posters from different microbreweries all around the world—including Sierra Nevada and San Francisco Brewing Company. We sat down and made ourselves comfortable at the long bar… we each had two beers, the first one was okay for both of us—Porter and Scotch, but nothing to write home about. The second beer—Imperial Stout and Creamy Stout—were both excellent. After we finished the second drink, it was close to 10:00 PM and we figured we should find a place for dinner.

As we walked out of the microbrewery the rain was coming down in buckets. Instead of heading back to town we decided to take a chance on the Parilla we saw earlier in the day.

Marc ordered the beef and I ordered the pork, which was one of the meats we saw on the rotisserie earlier. We tried pork at other parillas, but tonight was a different story. The meat arrived at our table—a big steak and five silver dollar size chunks of pork. I was immediately overwhelmed and thought we would be taking half of this meat back to our room and placing it in our mini-fridge. I was wrong.

The beef, delicious as always, matched perfectly with the tasty chimichuri. I didn’t have high expectations for the pork, but my mind quickly changed after one bite. It was absolutely fantastic, as it should be, since the pig was gutted and skewered on the spit in the restaurant—you can’t get fresher than that!

We both shared the beef and pork and decided the pork actually won the contest tonight. We were very pleased with our decision to try the parilla and thanked the rain for driving us into this incredible find. It was still raining when we walked outside; giddy with our find, we decided to walk back “home” and enjoy the weather.

We decided to sleep in tomorrow and skip the free breakfast. We will find something on our own terms.

BTW… has anyone seen the show MTV NEXT? We are lucky enough to watch this show on a regular basis since it’s one of the few English language shows on Argentinean TV. Marc decided he loves NEXT as soon as we saw the lesbian version. Nothing like watching hot 19 year old lesbians banter in pre-scripted sexual innuendo… oh how we miss American television.

American Express or Visa?

Mar del Plata, Argentina

March 21, 2007
S 37°59.389
W 057°32.687

We had a great day on the beach. The weather was perfect, nice and sunny with occasional clouds to provide a little shade. I realized this is the first time I have ever been in the Atlantic Ocean; I’ve seen the Atlantic, but never actually put my foot into it. The water was cool, but nothing like the bath water in Montanita, Ecuador. As for Marc, he first set foot in the Atlantic Ocean on his cross-country trip with Mike; if you want to see the videos, just give Mike a call.

We know we should be over it by now, but we’re still baffled by the whole concept of Sietsa. However, we finally know what everyone does during siesta, at least in Mar del Plata. We arrived at a fairly empty beach right around noon today. At 1:30 PM the beach slowly started filling up with locals. They ate their lunches, relaxed, and some jumped in for a swim; the exodus started around 3:30 PM—just in time for siesta to end at 4: 00 PM. This definitely helps explain why everyone has such a great tan.

The only people at the beach the entire day were retired folks. We think Mar del Plata is the equivalent to Argentineans as Del Boca Vista, Florida is to New Yorkers. With a beautiful beach like this, who can blame them? Apparently, during summertime, the beach is so packed with tourists and retirees that there isn’t even room to walk. Luckily we arrived during the low-season… we definitely prefer walking room and a little space to breath when we hit the beach.

After a few hours in the sun we decided to do a little yoga. We found a fairly remote spot on the beach. The session was great in the sun, but we were completely covered with sand when we finished. We made tracks back to our room (stopping first to pick up a few cold beers) for a good shower to get all of the sand off of us—well, we got most of it.

Other big news today—Marc shaved off the Grizzly Adams beard he grew in Torres del Paine. It served its purpose in the cold, but in this beautiful beach weather it just makes him hot and he said it was starting to make him feel mangy.

Other notes:

The place we are staying, Gran Hotel Manila, is listed as a 3-Star hotel (0ur strained view of the beach is above). Clean with a private bathroom; our only hard requirements. Marc thinks the bidet is a nice bonus; he believes the bidet may be the only valuable contribution France has made to the modern world. The place has some character as well as characters… especially the old man who works the evening shift.

The little old chap is probably is in his mid-to-late 70’s and hard of hearing. When we checked in yesterday, it took us at least 15 minutes to complete the registrar with him. He would ask a question, we would give him an answer, a correct answer, and he would ask again. For example, what nationality are you? Are you Canadian? We responded Estados Unidos. He then asked us if we are English. Sure dude, we´re English. We figured it was easier than going through the list of countries with him again.

After we finally finished the registrar, literally 15 minutes later. We gave him our AMEX card and he tried to read it upside-down... first sign of trouble. After several failed attempts swiping the card through the new-fangled contraption he actually handed us the machine. When the machine gave an error, he would simply unplug the machine and plug it back in again. This went on for at least ten minutes; us attempting to decipher the Spanish abbreviations on the card reader and him explaining (in Spanish) how it “should” work.

We finally suggested a Visa card… “Ahhhh, si, si, si, si! Visa es muy bueno!” he replied. We allowed the old-timer two tries with our Visa card when it was apparent he had no fn clue what he was doing (obviously not his fault… just a training issue). We suggested cash… “Ahhhh, si, si, si si! Efectivo es muy bueno!” and we headed out the door to find the nearest ATM.

We wondered why the hotel is paying a monthly fee to Visa, Mastercard and AMEX when their own employees clearly can’t use the machines. We knew better than to “ask why”… for some things down here it’s just the way it is.

We gave our night-clerk 400 pesos and all was good. The whole process was mind-boggling! We finally got in our room, took a shower and headed out to dinner a bit later. When we came downstairs old-timer was taking a little siesta in the lobby chair with the television blaring. We didn’t want to wake him (he had a hard day – new fangled contraptions and all) so we left our key on the counter and attempted to head out the door. Unfortunately, the door was locked and we had to wake him from his slumber to unlock the door to let us out.

When we returned home around midnight old-timer was still at his post, standing guard, at the Gran ol’ Manila… no wonder he needed a siesta!

Back to the beach...

Mar del Plata, Argentina

March 20, 2007
S 37°59.389
W 057°32.687

I insisted we sit on top of the double-decker bus for our ride to Mar del Plata. I really wanted to see the views from the top as we crossed the countryside and had our first views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Well, we sat on the top of the bus, and next time I will request a seat on the bottom. We had the very front seats and could see everything happening right before our eyes—this included all the near misses as we passed one semi-truck after another. Being on the second level you’re farther from the bus’ center of gravity; thus every little shimmy and shake is greatly accentuated sitting 15 feet above the pavement. As we traveled down the narrow two lane road the on-shore winds didn’t help the situation. With the wind ripping I was amazed at how our driver passed trucks—including those coming towards us. We felt every single truck we passed accompanied by a loud WWWHHHOOOSSSSHHH! I finally put the curtains up in front of me to avoid seeing the road and to protect us from the blazing sun.

After seven and a half hours we arrived safely in Mar del Plata to an abundance of sun, beach cabanas, and thong bikinis. We found a little place to stay two blocks from the beach, and we even have a slight ocean-view if you strain your neck.

24x7x365:
We’ve received a few questions about how we’re doing as a couple being together every day, all day long. We’ve been together 24x7 for the past 70 days and probably a little more since we had time together preparing for the trip.

We’re doing very well and get along great… Marc thinks so too ;-). There have been a few tense situations like the “bag incident” and a few misunderstandings with locals due to our inability to fully understand the language. This doesn’t result in any serious issues between the two of us. We’re able to get by with the limited Spanish, but there are times when we don’t have a clue what is being said. We normally just laugh these issues off… what else can you do?

We definitely know each other’s annoying habits, most we knew before the trip, but some are new or more exposed being together 24x7. Marc started making fun of me and my stray hair fetish. I don’t like it when I can feel a hair on my shirt, tickling my arm or chest, and I have to find the damn thing. This sometimes results in us stopping and searching for this one annoying hair. Other examples include Marc’s knuckle cracking or post beverage burps… classy American.

Another challenge that Marc finds funny and I find frustrating is dinner conversation. As most of you know, Marc already tends to be a man of few words. But when we are together all day long, and see and do the same things, dinner tends to be me talking about nothing in particular and Marc occasionally nodding. We figure when we get to Buenos Aires we will spend a few hours apart a day while I attend Spanish Classes and Marc takes pictures.

Overall, I think we enjoy every minute, well almost every minute we spend together, and would hate to see something during the day that the other misses. This way we see all the great sites and share all the memories together. I think this is a pretty good trade-off for an occasional lull in the dinner conversation… More 24x7x365 to come.

So this is Bahia Blanca...

Bahia Blanca, Argentina

March 19, 2007
S 38°43.060
W 062°15.923

We woke up yesterday morning in a complete haze and tried to decipher the events from the night before—everything seemed a dream. It wasn’t a nightmare though since it did have a happy ending.

We finally managed to get out of our room around noon intent on finding some coffee. We only had one hour before siesta, and since it was Sunday we knew a lot of things would be closed. We found a café got our “fix” and started roaming the vacant streets of Bahia Blanca; a town of over 300,000. We wondered where the heck the 300,000 residents were on a Sunday afternoon. The streets were barren, occasionally a car would buzz past us, and only a few people (seemingly wandering around with no direction), including us, populated the main square of town. We figured everyone must either be at church or still in bed.

We wandered the streets for a few more hours to get the blood flowing in our legs after the bus ride. We grabbed a few lunch-snacks at a cute little deli that just happened to be open and headed back to our room. Since we have wireless access we were able to take care of several things: book an apartment in Buenos Aires, update our blog, book a car for New Zealand, manage our Fidelity accounts, review our home rental statements, and catch up on email.

Bahia Blanca was like a completely different town at 8:00 PM as compared to earlier in the day. The streets were buzzing with people, restaurants were open, tables were scattered across sidewalks, and soccer was on every TV. The craft-market was set up in the middle of the park and food vendors lined the streets selling everything from hamburgers to cotton candy to popcorn. We even found another microbrewery that called our names.

Good thing we didn’t give up on Bahia Blanca; especially since we decided to stay another night to recover prior to our next bus ride to Mar del Plata.

Muy Bueno Karma!

Bahia Blanca, Argentina

March 17, 2007
S 38°43.060
W 062°15.923

The bus station and streets of El Bolson were pretty much deserted at 7AM; with the exception of stragglers coming home from the discotechas or those still drinking in the park. The lady where we were staying even questioned the existence of a 7AM bus since it isn’t common for Argentineans to be up that early—that was clear as we boarded the bus.

The bus from El Bolson took us as far as Bariloche. We waited an hour before transferring to another bus that was actually heading to Buenos Aires—a 24+ hour journey. Thank goodness our journey was “only” 13+ hours. We boarded our bus at precisely 10 AM and headed towards Bahia Blanca, our destination, on what should have been a long and uneventful day.

We headed out of the Lake District and took one last look at the perfectly colored sapphire blue lakes with picturesque mountain backdrops. As we headed east, the landscape changed to an agricultural setting with a labyrinth of irrigation ditches meandering through the fields next to the roads. The fields were lined with poplar trees, 30-50 ft tall, almost hiding the fruit trees behind them. The poplars provided shade and a wind brake to the cherries, apples, pears, plums and, of course, grapes.

We passed through several little towns very reminiscent of small California farm towns (Reedley, Lemoore, Clovis, Hughson, Denair) during the 60s and 70s. (Of course I have only seen pictures from the 60s.) We passed several 18 wheel trucks carrying wooden bins, stenciled with local farmer’s names or initials (LORI, LUGAR, IMF, TATI), full of fruit and headed for the cannery. After several hours we left the rich, agricultural soil and headed into a rough looking desert.

The entire trip was on a two lane road, but I think we spent as much time in the lane of on-coming traffic as in our own lane. At one point I think we passed a dozen semi trucks in a row and then darted back in our lane. Thank goodness I couldn’t really see out the front of the bus to know how close we really were to a head-on collision.

We stopped at several more bus stations before finally arriving in Bahia Blanca around 11:30 PM; 30 minutes after our scheduled arrival. We were happy to finally unload ourselves from the bus and couldn’t imagine another 12 hours to BA. Trust me; we would have taken a flight before enduring that bus ride!

Knowing we would be arriving close to midnight we pre-booked a hotel. We also decided to splurge a little for a place with a few more amenities, such as wireless access. We grabbed the first taxi we saw, a small white Fiat hatchback that could barely fit our two packs. We finally got everything in and closed the hatch and were on our way to the hotel. We made small talk with the driver on the short drive to the hotel (yes we’re from San Francisco -- Estados Unidos, yes we love Argentina, etc.). A wedding reception was just ending and the bride and groom were pulling away as we arrived. We got out of the cab and gave our driver a decent propina, or tip. We could tell he was surprised by the tip and seemed to enjoy spending a few minutes with a couple gringos from Estados Unidos.

Feeling very grimy after being on the bus for so long I immediately jumped into the shower. After my shower I started searching for our second water bottle, attached to Marc’s bag, to purify more water for the next morning. I scanned the room and couldn’t find it. I finally asked Marc. “Oh Fuck,” he exclaimed, “I left it in the cab.”

Marc’s bag is a shoulder type sling-bag that holds his camera, telephoto lense, memory cards, and, at the time, his iPOD. The vast majority of the photos on our blog our taken with Marc’s camera with only a few from mine. Fortunately, we shipped 3 of 4 memory cards home last week and we’ve been diligent about backing up our photos for situations like this. Needless to say, this was a big loss and very stressful… after several minutes and a few deep breaths we realized neither of us was hurt by the loss and everything was replaceable.

We immediately went downstairs and did our best to explain our situation to the two men (Mario Mariani & Ariel Mayor) working the night shift; it was about 12:45 AM at this time. They were the same men who helped us when we arrived at the hotel. They asked if we remembered the cab number or cab company, but after a 14 hour bus ride, noting the name and number of a cab was not high on our RADAR. In fact, at this hour and after that ride, we were lucky if we could remember our passport numbers. We explained we had no idea… they both solemnly shook their heads and we could tell they didn’t see a happy ending to the story.

Regardless, the nice men quickly got on the phone and started calling the various cab companies to report a lost bolson negra (black bag) left in the back seat. They suggested we go back to the bus station (picture to the right is the bus station during the day) to cover all of our bases. Now 1:00 AM, we jumped back into a cab and arrived at a nearly empty bus station a few minutes later, and explained our sob story to the information desk.

A police officer walked to the front of the station with us, told a few cab drivers what we were looking for and asked them to broadcast the information on their radios. He took our name and information, and told us he would call our hotel if it was returned. If we didn’t hear from him, he didn’t find the bag—it was that simple. Exhausted and dejected, we once again jumped back in a cab and headed back to our hotel.

Nothing changed when we arrived back at the hotel. We thanked the men and asked them to call if anything showed up in the middle of the night. We headed back upstairs; it was almost 2:00 AM at this point. I told Marc that I truly believed if the cab driver found the bag, he would return it. He seemed to like us and appreciated the tip. The unknown was if someone else found the bag first.

As Marc started putting a list together of everything he needed to replace immediately, and things that could wait until we returned to San Francisco (in a month), I looked up the word “reward” in my Spanish-English Dictionary.

In a last ditch effort I headed back downstairs. I told the two men we would give a “recompense” of 100 Argentina Pesos (~$33USD) for the return of the bag. They got back on the phone with all the cab companies and explained the reward. I thanked them again, reminded them to call, and headed back upstairs. We finally tried to get some sleep around 2:30 AM, but both of us were still disappointed about the loss and the effort required replacing everything. We accepted our fate at this point, it had been at least 2 ½ hours since the cab driver dropped us off and there was no sign of the bag. There was nothing more we could do.

The phone rang at 4:45 AM! I jumped out of bed immediately and told the men downstairs I would be right down. They informed me a cab driver was there and he claims he has the bag. I was dressed and at the door before Marc (just in his underwear) could even get to the edge of the bed, but I slowed down and waited as he handed me a 100 peso bill. I ran out the door without my glasses or any shoes. The wedding party was just returning as I hit the lobby, they looked fuzzy without my glasses. The cab driver was waiting just behind them. He explained he found the bag, but wasn’t sure who it belonged to until he heard the message over the radio.

I walked out to the cab with the driver. Marc’s bag was sitting all by itself in the front seat, waiting to be reunited with its owner. I told the guy how important the bag was to my husband and we really appreciated his honestly and efforts to return the bag. I handed him the 100 peso bill which he quickly refused—I insisted. This was more money than the guy probably made working all night long and we felt he deserved to buy something extra for himself, or his family.

I continued to thank the cabby profusely, and before grabbing the bag and heading back into the hotel I told him Muy Bueno, Muy Bueno Karma!, not knowing how to translate Karma into Spanish. He smiled and knew what I meant.