Life As We Live It

Hello again everyone! 

The last time we were at a computer...Julia spent about 1.5 hours typing the entry I´m about to tackle...and the damn computer crashed, erasing everything.  FRUSTRATING!!!  Understandably...she´d rather I type the redo...although I doubt that I´ll get nearly the detail she had.  Perhaps she can add her details in another entry.  She has also added some fantastic photos of our trips...so check out the galleries!

ANYWAY...arriving to Buenos Aires after another 18hr bus ride from Iguazu Falls...it was our 3rd night out of 4 that we had spent sleeping on a bus (or trying, amidst the MAJOR snoring and noisy atmosphere....kids, farts, boisterous people, loud movies...earplugs are a godsend on buses!)...our hostel on wheels.  Before we left...we had phoned a guy named NACHO, who runs a hostel that had no room for us, who we had met for about 4 minutes before leaving to Iguazu, to ask if he´d reserve some tickets for us to the soccer game between Boca Juniors and Indepiendente.  Surprisingly and luckily, he DID get us some tickets to a sold out game (60,000 plus people) between the first (Boca) and second place teams...severe rivals!  Apparently, tickets were a hot item, and this was a HUGE game.  Boca Juniors is a team with a massive following...in part because their manager is Maradonna...the ex-soccer superstar from Argentina.  Their fans have been known to kidnap player´s mothers (if they didn´t play well??? and create major havoc)...and Boca is a relatively poor part o Buenos Aires...so they are particularly passionate about their teams´success!  SO...with a group of about 35 tourists (all  young travelers), we bused to the stadium (en route we say an escaped police horse...being chased by two mounted police...almost get his by a car!), waited for 1.5 hours at the curb sipping pepsi and water (it turns out that the whole community is NOT allowed to sell booze for 2 hours before and after the game...let alone during...in an attempt to disperse the already rowdy crowds, without the help of booze, when it is all over.  After we crossed the frisking stations and the police barricades, our seats...or cement ledge...was accessible only by walking overtop of the laps of hundres of people...no stariways here as we had the standing room seats in the ROWDY section!  It was a hot and sunny day...and as the fans got jumping and singing in anticipation for their team (still about 2 hours before they´d even come onto the field)...we felt a nice misting falling from above...refreshing in a way...except for the fact that a good deal of the ´mist´was saliva!!  Clever as they often are here...they seated the OPPOSITION fans directly above our section!  Throughout the next 4 hours, we were hit with LOTS of loogies...water bombs, explosives, smoke bombs, pieces of the stadium they could rip off (wood, tiles, etc), cigarettes, Julia caught a role of ticker tape in the side of the head, coke cups, other litter...and to top it all off...some of them pissed on the crowd at the end of the game!  I´ve never been quite so ready to start a brawl...disgusted...and with the feeling that at least SOME soccer fans really are the lowest form of humanity!  The BOCA crowd was amazing...59000 people singing in unison, jumping cheering in their wierd kind of single wrist action sort of way...climbing the fences, swearing at the opposition and calling on all the spit the bad guys could deliver.  Deliver they did.  After a first scoreless half (typical of soccer haha), we were once again showered with who knows what during half time...some of those more seriously hit were taken away to the hospital...OUR fans decided they needed something to spit on too (feeling left out of the whole spitting thing I guess)...so they targeted some of the riot police who weren´t reacting to their satisfaction to the explosives that were being sent to our seating level (a couple of times I caught myself working up a loogie or two thinking that MAYBE I could launch it the 20 meters to the upper deck...but the Canadian in me took over...so I just spit it at the cop...kidding...)...needless to say, we were happy for the game to begin again.  Luckily, Boca scored 2 goals...totally outplayed the visitors...and so SPIT or no spit...we were HAPPY!!!  Major excitement...even Maradonna was there with his shirt off and cheering hysterically.  It turns out that Boca earned the right that day to play for the south america cup...and won it on wednesday!!  The trip home was uneventful...needless to say, we had a shower before bed.

Walking around the town of Beunos Aires is good for several hours or even days of entertainment.  We walked the streets for HOURS...to the ports, through the shops and restaurants...getting handed pamplets at every 10 steps for another restaurant that was just like the others.  They really need to get a better system of promotion I think.  One man who´s business it is to exchange money made us laugh as he bellowed ´CAMBIO´every 2 seconds in a duck like voice...MANY people playing instruments on the streets...including kids playing the accordian, and the SAlvation army playing x-mas carols.  Cheap food (like a GOOD hotdog place we found, or pastries and empanadas galore)...30 cents to 1$ COULD fill up the real budget travellers...but we often opted for some fruit in the morning, with perhaps an empanada or other treat...a light lunch...and a significant dinner!  Oner such significant dinner was a dish called Edward VII.  Recommended by Gus...it turns out that ol Eddie was somewhat of a glutten...and this dish (for 2 at least) came with 2 keg sized baseball steaks...about 1lb each...with gravy, potatoes, lots of pate, ham, bacon, peas, artichoke, and that´s about all.  All this for 7$!!  Good meat too...although I think the Argentines brag a little too heavily about their beef being the best...my favorite beef has still been enjoyed in Canada...although the prices here make it very attractive indeed...and perhaps the lesser cuts of beef are occasionally more tender!

Around this time...I developed yet another health problem on our trip.  Not as painful as my toothache...but very strange indeed!  My wooden bracelet, purchased from Costa Rica and which I wore for 4 weeks had started to give me a small rash.  Earlier in the week I removed it, but the rash progressed to surround my wrist with a BRIGHT red, blistered mess!!!  My whole hand and arm are sort of swollen too...but the damage is really on my wrist.  Our doctor friends from England, who we met on the Inca trail and plan to visit later in the trip (Paul and Roseanne), comforted me by saying that it´ll go away in a few weeks with some hycrocortisone treatment...and likely no need for skin grafting (kidding..I hope!).  It´s itchy as hell...irritating...but, that´s life I guess.  The one problem I really expected...a bad stomach...hasn´t been a problem from day 2...luckily!

A few of the other notable things we´ve done here.  First...we went to see a Tango show.  Although quite overpriced, and very touristed up...it was a nice evening!  Me looking like 1$ and Julia looking like 1,000,000 (strange how women can do that...even when travelling haha), we had a mediocre dinner, with good juice and desert and steak...but BAD wine...then proceeded to the tango theatre...a nice old looking joint with a good atmosphere.  We saw a fantastic bit of music (2 violins, 1 base, 2 accordians and an amazing pianist) and dacing by 3 VERY good tango pairs...interspersed with some BAD lounge singing (like the frank sonatra of tango music, and some old hag who was trying to flirt with the audience), and some decent other music.  Paul (dad) Korzeniowski...you would have LOVED it, and perhaps you can go to something like this some day!  WE sat with a very nice honeymooning couple from California...and chuckled or admired the performance.  Nice night.

We also spent a day in Uruguay...a small colonial town cleverly called Colonia.  It has a history of being taken over by nearly every country...some several times.  Settled by the portugese while the spanish technically occupied the region, there have been many battles there.  It´s a great little town though, and we´d have liked to stay for at least another day if we´d known it´s charm in advance.  After our organized city tour...that took us to see an impressive bullring that was built and used only 8 times before bullfighting was outlawed in Uruguay...we rented a scooter for 1 hr and scooted along the shore and through the old town for a while.  We also climbed a high lighthouse (very exciting, remember the picture hahah!) and walked the street of sighs 3 times assuring us all our love wishes to come true for life!  The 6 hours on the ferry were only tolerable with our newly purchased deck of cards (as we forgot to bring AN YTHING to read or do for the boat).  We dined at TGI Fridays that night for some good ol US of A food for a change, at 11pm...average time for dining here it seems...and headed home.

Graveyard...after a delicious lunch with our British friends Paul and Roseanne (last day in BA...and we FINALLY got to meet up) and friend Federico, we walked the most ama<ing graveyard I´ll likely ever see.  Many acres of HUGE and elaborate tombs...some as large as a small church...all made of marble, with cellars to store the bodies...many of them open for us to see the coffins...and home to some very famous bodies like Evita, many of the presidents, etc.  We thought it might be nice to one day build a family shrine of our own like that...we´ll see!  We also wandered through a few shops (armani or ralph lauren, etc.) where a t-shit would cost upwards of 100$ US.

Ballet...we finally saw our first ballet here too, and it was one to remember!  It was one of those horizon expanding moments I suppose...as I thought I might not like it, but was excited for 2 things...first, to see the AMAZING opera house (known to be one of the world top 5 opera houses!!), and second...we got standing room spots in the peanut gallery for only 1.5$ each!!!  Despite being about 70 feet stright up, and 200 ft away from the stage...we had centre view and a birds eye view of a very good show!!  Ballerinas are beautiful and graceful...ballerines...well...their PRRRRRancing and dancing was good, but a little...well...perhaps I should save my opinions for myself.  With the help of my mother and wife, I may be learning to edit my thoughts to spare feelings haha.  They were very good and quite athletic...although some of the male chorus of Ballerines looked sort of like they put Benny and Mitch into a leotard and told them to have at er (kidding...they were all very good dancers, could twirl with the best of them, and looked nothing like Benny or Mitch...although some of them did have mullets).  The Prima Ballerinas were VERY good and graceful...made me think of my mother´s days as a Ballerina and dreams to be soft and graceful (boy did you ever fall far from the tree on that one hahahaha...kidding mother dear, the ballerinas DID sort of remind me of you, and although I was chuckling...I had good warm thoughts!) and the maestro Ballerines could do 4 spins followed by a graceful exit...something I challenge anyone who scoffs at ballet to do.  Yet, although it was impressive, I might have a hard time encouraging my son to try ballet.  I did enjoy when the two men dressed in pink leotards were lifting each other like the other male/female couples...and I also learned that if a Ballerine jumps up in the air fluttering his feet front to back 3 times each time...and does this 10 times in a row...he earns sparse shouts of BRAVO from the audience...and it he does it a further 10 times...he earns MANY shots of BRAVO!!!  I jest...but I really did enjoy the night!!  We finished the night with a tasty argentine burger joint...we had hoped to get into a recommended buffet...but 11pm still had 1 hr of waiting time for supper...so we settled for a booger.  We looked for clubs to sample on the way home...but finding none of interest, I got a litre of beer, Julia got a large Oreo surprise...and we went to rest after HOURS of standing!

So...here we are, we toured the opera house today...although seeing a performance was much better for me...it is our last day in Argentina.  Although we´´re getting a little sick of spanish, not understanding much of what is said...or having to deal with the people who gibber jabber on to us at moch 10 despite knowing our lack of language skills...I think we´ll miss this country and city very much!!  It has a lot to see still, and is a good place.  Buenos Aires...population of 3 million, but usually with 10 million people in it everyday...this province is also home to 45% of the total country population of 36 million.  I like the fact that things are so cheap...I like the late night suppers, and night owl feel to the place.  I like that silly rules aren´t strictly enforced (like driving rules)...and I like being able to buy a good steak and a big beer for under 10$, and being able to walk down the streets with a BIG beer, no worries!  It has been fun in BA...and I´d hope to come back someday!! 

I hope you´re all well...thank you again to those of you who write comments to us...I´ll write to you while relaxing in the cooks!  Oh yeah, we´re off to the cook islands now for 14 days of paradise, scuba, and relaxation after a busy first 40 days of travel!

Take  care to everyone...merry x-mas if I don´t have another chance.  We miss you all and think of you all often!  Be in touch!!  Love Tyler and Julia