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.

Living Like the Porteños

As you read this, picture me sitting in this chair with my laptop, writing and listening to the sounds of the city and the other residents of this building. This patio opens up from my small bedroom. I moved today, away from the security of an apartment where I could come and go unnoticed, and interact very little, to living with a porteños (a person from Buenos Aires). I'm living in the spare bedroom of Adolfo Nusinkier, a single man about my age. He teaches English and translates writing for IBM. His parents were from Poland and fled the nazis to come here during WWII. We are on the 10th floor in the back of the building. It's still a little noisy but the sounds are distant: sirens, dogs barking, people somewhere cheering a futbol game. I was nervous thinking of living with someone else but, so far, so good. He fixed me dinner tonight and even a dessert of flan with duche de leche, a caramel sauce. And now it is late, so here is the view at night.

Dinner with Thiago and Drew

Drew's good friend here is Thiago from Brazil who is studying history at a university here. We had pizza together last night and then took a cab to a casino which is on a boat in Puerto Madera. I played blackjack at a table that had a very low minimum bet. The table was packed and the guy next to me was muy burracho (I bet you can figure out what that means). It was very hard to follow anything that was said but luckily, I communicated my bets with hand signals. I held my own for an hour and then lost about $40. Afterwards we shot pool at an old school place near my apartment.

Sunday Photos from Around Buenos Aires

I went on a different line today and found it to be much more modern. I'm posting this because my other pictures of the "subte" looked a bit like some grim Eastern European city.

I'm waiting for the train and took this self portrait in a mirror on the platform.

On the subway, people come around and hand out booklets, cards, subway maps and pamphlets. They set them right your your lap or your knee! Then they come back and ask for a donation. The passengers are patient and sometimes flip through the offerings and then politely decline them. The sellers usually aren't pushy. It's a funny system.

McDonald's is trying to upgrade it's image here so they have introduced "McCafes" that serve coffee drinks. I tried one out and ordered a double expresso con leche. I'm sorry to report that it was excellent. How do you like the little cookie and glass of "agua con gas."

This is a little detail on a building across from my apartment. Nothing other than a photo I liked.

The skyline here is marred by cell phone towers and power lines. Peter said it was much more expensive to put them underground. But what an eye sore.

Drew and I went to Boedo, a nice neighborhood in the city. He borrowed my camera and shot this. The fence really makes it much more interesting.

We went to a park on Sunday afternoon and rock bands were all over the place blasting away. The park was packed with kids, families, musicians, vendors. Drew has such an appetite for exploring this city. I get a little worn out.

In the middle of all the confusion in the park, this gato was just hanging out with some of his amigos.

Happy Easter from La Plata, Argentina

We rode the train from Buenos Aires to La Plata, about 40 miles, for only 4 pesos, or about a dollar. We thought we had a round trip but we were in for a big surprise. More later.

Drew said this is one of the biggest cathedral in South America. When the Pope comes this is where he hangs out.

 We took an elevator up inside the spire and this in looking back down the shaft.

Back in the train station we had some time to kill. These girls were very curious about Drew and it made him uncomfortable.

Drew took this picture of me buying a soda to prove that I really do interact and try to speak Spanish with the locals.

This dog is watching a fat man eat a sandwich. The dog is the picture of patience.

We caught the train back to Buenos Aires and I was in the middle of a power nap when they kicked us off the train in some little town. There was lots of confusion but we boarded a bus under a freeway and continued on. It became the ride from hell snaking all over the province of Buenos Aires as the sun set. They recently had tornadoes here so some roads were closed. At one point the road was block by people burning debris right in the road. The bus whipped a U turn and kept going down dark side streets, dodging fallen trees. We were on the bus for two hours before we made it back home. It was kind of depressing to see all the slums but it was an adventure nonetheless.

Every night from my apartment I hear lots of shouting. I went to investigate and found an indoor soccer stadium across the street.



Mis Profesores

These are my teachers at my language school. On the left is German (pronounced Herman) and then Victoria. German has a two-month old baby. Toward the end of one lesson his cell phone rang. Through the phone I could hear his wife's voice, no doubt telling him to get his butt home as soon as the lesson was over. He rides the subte from Boedo, which Drew said is a nice neighborhood. Victoria is still a student and I don't know a lot about her except she wants to be a writer. In my lessons, I mainly try to understand what they are saying and talk with them. They occasionally write things on the white board and Victoria likes to teach grammar. Next Wednesday I will be living with an Argentine family for one week which will be really scary but it will give me a chance to see how much I've learned.

The Heavens Opened Up!

Drew met me after class and we walked back to my apartment together. Around us, the light was fading but the sky was a threatening orange. We shopped at "el Chino" (the Chinese market) and we were upstairs cooking dinner with the balcony window open when the wind began to howl. We are on the 9th floor (they don't count the ground floor here) and we are looking down on the tops of the trees. They were waving like crazy and stuff was flying through the air. Down on the street people were running for cover and the traffic actually slowed down. I opened the shutter on the camera tried to get a lightning bolt but nature didn't cooperate. But I did like the glow of the rain in the air in this picture.

A Subway Ride in Buenos Aires

Here, the subway is called the "Subte" and is pretty big, very crowded and fairly cheap to ride.

You have to buy a ticket first, of course. Each ride, or "viaje" (trip) is $2.50 pesos which is 57 cents.

Let's go down to the platform. Somestair cases have these nice tiled walls. But there's a lot of graffiti too.

Oh man! We just missed a train. No importa. I'll have time to look around.

The routes seem to start at the port, which is the right of the map, and fan out as they go inland. There are only two cross-town lines. 



There's a lot of people who beg in the subte. Here, a child is sleeping while his mother (out of sight) asks for money from passersby.



On the trains, people are selling all kinds of things such as books of stickers and even socks! The passengers are very tolerant and a surprising amount actually buy stuff from the vendors. The portenos (people of Buenos Aires) seem to treat poor people with respect.

Here's an action packed photo from this morning's ride. Here is an ample woman and a man sniffing his armpit. At rush hour the trains are really packed.

 It's a relief to be out of the subte and I find myself on the edge of a plaza with stalls of booksellers and these guys playing chess. Their concentration is so great they don't notice me take their picture.

A Living Spanish Lesson



As you know, I've been taking Spanish classes at a school in Buenos Aires. But Monday was a holiday so I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. I asked Drew to give me Spanish lessons for one hour each day. Of course, I knew that it would be much longer than that because he would give me a "living lesson." We walk around the city together and he points things out and makes comments like, "Here's a useful thing to know in Spanish..." Other times he regales me with observations about how quirky languages can be. In English we say, "I like the plant." But in Spanish it is, "The plant is pleasing to me." Also, quiero is "I want" but "te quiero" is "I love you." He's a wonderful teacher, very patient and determined to help me. Today's class was held on my balcony. And no, that's not wine. It's Coca-Cola.

Moon Over Buenos Aires

Glance at Buenos Aires and it looks similar to New York or Paris or many other cities. But the more you look at it the more you feel it has it's own style. And some of the buildings are old, dark and mysterious. This building is high above the famous Avenida Nueve de Julio. And it has a spire which is common here. It's one of probably one hundred thousand such edifices in this sprawling city.

A Tour of My Life in Buenos Aires

Here are a few photos of my life here in Buenos Aires after three days in the city.

To the right of the white van is the entrance to my apartment building. My studio apartment was arranged by the language school I'm attending.

This is the view from my 8th floor balcony of Avenida Corrientes, one of the main thoroughfares in this vast city.

Two floors above the first balcony is my language school. It's a wonderful building with a cage elevator. I've had two professors so far, German y Victoria. I chatted about futbol with German and books with Victoria. I'm sure I butchered their language but they were muy tranquilo.

I've noticed that many corner buildings here in Buenos Aires are almost Parisian looking. Buildings in the middle of the block have been torn down and replaced with modern concrete monstrocities.

We took a walk in a nature preserve on the edge of the city, on the river banks and found this crazy booth. It looks so South American to me. It's purpose is unknown.

Drew said the Spanish slang for bicycle is "bici" so I call this photo "bici loco" for obvious reasons.

It looks like I've been photoshopped against this background but I was really there. This is the famous Puente de la Mujer or bridge of the woman.

Today, as an exercise, I thought I would explore just one single block, the one across from my building. It was completely packed with stores and bars and restaurants. Just one block! Here is one of many little markets.

Carlos Gardel was an Argentine tango singer from the 30s. This is his street.