38 degrees, sunburns, beaches and extended holidays...
Well, after all the drama I outlined in my last post, I reconciled myself to staying here for another few days, and accepted the fact that I´m not going to have somewhere to live come January. It isn´t the best state of affairs, or at least it won´t be in January, but when I read the weather report today and saw that Toronto is under a winter storm advisory with white outs and wind warnings, and I imagined myself trudging through said winter storm looking at flats... and compared that to my current existence here in Argentina where the sun is shining and it is 38C out... Suffice to say that I don´t feel quite as cranky that Air Canada screwed me around. I´m still not thrilled with them, or anything, but I AM appreciating the extended vacation!
My sunburn from the beach at Punta del Diablo in Uruguay is almost better. I made the error in judgement of meditating on the beach last weekend when I was there and got a horrible sunburn on my poor calves and shins from the strong strong summer sun. It wasn´t that hot there because a cool wind was blowing, but I should have known better. Fortunately no permanent damage done, or at least I don´t think there is! But it is nice to be able to wear skirts again, considering how very hot it is here and for that matter, to just be able to walk properly without throbbing pain in my legs. Oy.
I really enjoyed Uruguay. It´s a bit more expensive than here in Argentina, but the people are friendly, the food is good and I enjoyed seeing another South American country. I ended up visiting Montevideo, Punta del Diablo and Colonia del Sacramento, which is just on the other side of the Rio Plate from Buenos Aires. I spent almost a week in Uruguay, and have the pictures to prove it, except that this internet cafe doesn´t have a usb port for me to use. Alas! But I did take a picture of the ridiculously large piece of meat I ate at a market in Montevideo. It´s sort of a tribute to certain stereotypical male eating habits -- barbequed steak, potato chips and a glass of beer :) The experience of eating it was quite special though because I sat at the bar, watched the chef do his magic with the hot coals and was fortunate enough to have chosen a restaurant where four local guys (friends, by the looks of it) were spending the afternoon singing and playing excellent music together... about five feet away. Awesome. On my last afternoon in Colonia I walked down the coast a little ways and found a shady terrace, ate a good piece of local fish and had a beer, whiling the afternoon away chatting with some Argentinians on a break from work, and reading my book. Holidays are a bit of alright, really.
Back to Buenos Aires last Tuesday. It´s been a good several days here. I spent Wednesday wandering around most of Palermo Viejo and Collegiales trying to find my mother´s dance shoes. We´d ordered them while she was here a few weeks ago and I had the bill of sale so that I would be able to find the store again. Only it wasn´t quite that simple! It turned out (after much fuss and bother) that the address I had was for the shoe designers HOUSE, not her business. Oops?! Thank goodness for speaking Spanish and friendly people... I think my new friend from the dorm at the hostel was a bit taken aback by the um, scenic, tour he got of Palermo, but I made it up to him by buying a beer. It wasn´t all bad, I think! And the shoes are beautiful :)
I´m staying in San Telmo this time in BA instead of Palermo Viejo. It´s fun, and a little grittier than my last neighbourhood. (Maybe a little too gritty -- said dorm buddy got mugged by a kid with a knife walking home a couple of nights ago... methinks I´ll be taking cabs, thanks!) But right around the corner from my hostel is a great venue that is hosting a tango festival this month and so I´ve been a couple of times with people from the hostel to hear some great traditional tango music. Awesome.
Today I´m in San Antonio de Areco, which is a small town about two hours away from BA. It´s really quiet. And really hot! (about that 38 degrees). And for whatever reason (Saturday, siesta, almost Christmas... I´m not sure, really) most of the town has been shut since I got here. I took a nap in the park for a while, eventually found a place to eat lunch (they closed *while* I was still eating. In fact, they´d barred the doors out of the restaurant while I was in the ladies room!) and now found a blessedly air conditioned cyber cafe to spend a bit of time. Not quite what I´d imagined, but it´s still a pretty little town with lots of turn of the last century buildings, some lovely parks and a mellow vibe. Back to BA tonight though.
Only two days left. How bizarre.
My sunburn from the beach at Punta del Diablo in Uruguay is almost better. I made the error in judgement of meditating on the beach last weekend when I was there and got a horrible sunburn on my poor calves and shins from the strong strong summer sun. It wasn´t that hot there because a cool wind was blowing, but I should have known better. Fortunately no permanent damage done, or at least I don´t think there is! But it is nice to be able to wear skirts again, considering how very hot it is here and for that matter, to just be able to walk properly without throbbing pain in my legs. Oy.
I really enjoyed Uruguay. It´s a bit more expensive than here in Argentina, but the people are friendly, the food is good and I enjoyed seeing another South American country. I ended up visiting Montevideo, Punta del Diablo and Colonia del Sacramento, which is just on the other side of the Rio Plate from Buenos Aires. I spent almost a week in Uruguay, and have the pictures to prove it, except that this internet cafe doesn´t have a usb port for me to use. Alas! But I did take a picture of the ridiculously large piece of meat I ate at a market in Montevideo. It´s sort of a tribute to certain stereotypical male eating habits -- barbequed steak, potato chips and a glass of beer :) The experience of eating it was quite special though because I sat at the bar, watched the chef do his magic with the hot coals and was fortunate enough to have chosen a restaurant where four local guys (friends, by the looks of it) were spending the afternoon singing and playing excellent music together... about five feet away. Awesome. On my last afternoon in Colonia I walked down the coast a little ways and found a shady terrace, ate a good piece of local fish and had a beer, whiling the afternoon away chatting with some Argentinians on a break from work, and reading my book. Holidays are a bit of alright, really.
Back to Buenos Aires last Tuesday. It´s been a good several days here. I spent Wednesday wandering around most of Palermo Viejo and Collegiales trying to find my mother´s dance shoes. We´d ordered them while she was here a few weeks ago and I had the bill of sale so that I would be able to find the store again. Only it wasn´t quite that simple! It turned out (after much fuss and bother) that the address I had was for the shoe designers HOUSE, not her business. Oops?! Thank goodness for speaking Spanish and friendly people... I think my new friend from the dorm at the hostel was a bit taken aback by the um, scenic, tour he got of Palermo, but I made it up to him by buying a beer. It wasn´t all bad, I think! And the shoes are beautiful :)
I´m staying in San Telmo this time in BA instead of Palermo Viejo. It´s fun, and a little grittier than my last neighbourhood. (Maybe a little too gritty -- said dorm buddy got mugged by a kid with a knife walking home a couple of nights ago... methinks I´ll be taking cabs, thanks!) But right around the corner from my hostel is a great venue that is hosting a tango festival this month and so I´ve been a couple of times with people from the hostel to hear some great traditional tango music. Awesome.
Today I´m in San Antonio de Areco, which is a small town about two hours away from BA. It´s really quiet. And really hot! (about that 38 degrees). And for whatever reason (Saturday, siesta, almost Christmas... I´m not sure, really) most of the town has been shut since I got here. I took a nap in the park for a while, eventually found a place to eat lunch (they closed *while* I was still eating. In fact, they´d barred the doors out of the restaurant while I was in the ladies room!) and now found a blessedly air conditioned cyber cafe to spend a bit of time. Not quite what I´d imagined, but it´s still a pretty little town with lots of turn of the last century buildings, some lovely parks and a mellow vibe. Back to BA tonight though.
Only two days left. How bizarre.
Comments
Enjoy your last couple of days in the heat, and have a safe journey home.
Tonnes of love,
Nicola