Touring Patagonia's Lake Country

This morning I got a message from Pete asking if Patagonia was, indeed, the prettiest place on earth? I kept thinking of that as I drove about 200 kms around several lakes. I didn't reach any conclusions but here are a few images to ponder.

I took this picture specially for Katherine. Guanacos, of course, are related to alpacas.

After I took this picture of the bridge, I turned around and saw a fly fisherman in the same stream behind me.

When I look at this picture of the condor I hear the sound of Peruvian pipes in my mind.

Are those clouds, or mountains lurking in the distance?

A Funny Thing About Language

Today, I rented a car and no one in the office spoke a lick of English. I soldiered on and got the job done and actually felt proud of myself. But if the truth be known, I've committed an unknown number of atrocities with the Spanish language. I've cut a wide swath across greater Argentina with linguistic gaffs. The people are very tolerant and even sometimes encouraging. Yet, I see their eyes slide away in discomfort as they realize what I'm trying to say but hear the mangled way it's coming out.

My defense is to collect translations from Spanish into English in brochures and signs. As I waited in the car rental office, I read their brochure and found the following. It starts with the rather strange form of address: "Dear Passenger:" Then, they make a strong start: "we welcome you and it's a pleasure for Horizontes Patagonicos to be your host in this city." So far so good. But in the next line, the wheels come off: "Our arm is to hierarchize the quality of our services in order to satisfy your needs." I know what they want to say but the word "hierarchize" isn't all that common in English speaking countries. The closing line makes a strong return to form with the exception of saying that they will "transmit" information to us.

Buenos Aires - A View from Above

Today I took off from an airport on the river near downtown Buenos Aires, heading for Patagonia and the resort town of Bariloche. We climbed and circled and then flew back over the city and I took this picture. It gives a sense of the incredible density of the buildings and the narrow streets. The diagonal swath cut through this picture is Avenida Nueve de Julio with the famous Obelisk and the Evita Peron building. At the other end of my flight, this is what was waiting for me, a huge lake called Lago Nahuel Huapi.

Doing Business in Buenos Aires

This is the way the sky looked this afternoon in Buenos Aires. Often, when the sky is beautiful, it's hard to photograph. But this time it worked and I'm thankful. Pete, I think you should paint this photograph.

This morning, Drew came to my apartment and we hurried to meet a travel agent recommended by the owner of my present apartment, Adolpho. We met Laura at her office and she kissed us both. We met her co-worker, a man, and kissed him too. We sat and she offered us coffee. When the coffee arrived it was served with nice little cookies. Laura arranged a flight to Bariloche, a car to the hotel, the hotel for three nights and a return on a luxury bus with a suite and a bed. When it came time to pay she wouldn't take money but said to pay Adolpho. At this time, another worker arrived and we kissed her too. As an after thought, she loaned me a cell phone to take on the trip. When we were all done we kissed everyone again and left. This is the way business is done in Buenos Aires.

La Bombonera de Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors is the best and most popular futbol team in Argentina. They play in "La Bombanera" which I thought was some sort of artillery device. Instead, it means "Chocolate Box." Despite the name, it is a scary place since it is located in the neighborhood of Boca which is dangerous. Tourists are warned not to go to games there unless they have local guides. There was an intense rivalry between Boca and River Plate until River (pronounced "Reever") was knocked down to the B Division. (Continued after the next photo)

My professor is a huge futbol fan and suggested I go to La Bombanera to see a game this weekend. It turned out Godoy Cruz from Mendoza was playing against San Lorenzo from Buenos Aires. We bought tickets and arrived to find mounted cops and lines of riot police. We got in a long line of fans who were marching along the outside of the stadium pounding on the metal siding, which was deafening. They were singing songs in unison in loud voices.

We had trouble finding the right entrance and then, when we got in, and emerged into La Bombonera right when San Lorenzo scored. It gave me chills to see the crowd, like some enormous monster, pulsing and throbbing as if trying to get free of some restraint. The steep steps of La Bombonera seemed to amplify the sounds of pounding drums, whistling, cheering and singing fans. We had great seats, near the field and I could see turf fly off their cleats as they ran. I have to say that of all the professional sports I've seen this was the most impressive -- far more impressive than seeing it on TV. The players seemed incredibly fast and powerful and fought for every ball. San Lorenzo won 3-0. Afterwards, we saw cars driving around with guys hanging out the window. And one fan rode down a busy city street in the back of a hatchback happily covered in shaving cream. Don't ask me why.

Capturing the Moment

I handed the camera to Drew and said, "Take some interesting pictures." I can tell by looking at the result that he thinks differently, outside the box. This was taken on the patio outside my apartment while we were relaxing with some mate, the traditional drink of Argentina and a few other countries in South America. My photo of Drew, below, is much more conventional but a nice expression.

Autumn in Buenos Aires

Photography is light. That thought came to me today when I was crossing the street after class and saw this tree aflame with light from the sun which is, everyday, closer to the horizon. The picture doesn't to justice to the reality but it captures the very subtle feeling of the change of the season. I flew here at the beginning of my spring. I'm here now to see the arrival of autumn. In a few weeks I'll fly back to find that summer has arrived.