Gooooooolllllllll!

Oh yeah, I forgot! On Saturday night I went to a futbol (soccer) game! Oh so exciting! In a real life Argentinian stadium. So it was an ordinary game between River Plate (know as River), the local favorite, and Arsenal, the visting team from some small town far away. A very unimportant game as I was told but you haven´t seen fans unless you´ve been to a soccer match. The cheap seats were packed with a crowd of jumping, shouting and singing fanatics. Imagine a regular sports stadium, imagine the wave, now imagine the wave going vertically rather than horizontally with falling bodies rather than just arms. Yes! That happened, several times! Unfortunately, I had to sit in the better seats where it was ¨mas tranquillo,¨ but it was fun regardless. We had our very own fanatic behind us who never once stopped singing through the 2 hour match.
And you thought that was crazy...so at the end of the game, the home fans are held in the stadium for 15 minutes to allow the visiting fans to leave safely...and all is done under the watch of armed and shielded riot police, lots of them. All for an ordinary game between a favorite team and a weak challenger. Imagine the Mundial!
River won, 2-1, who knows what would have happened otherwise...

Chau Chau

Chau, chau, suerte! The proper way to say goodbye in BA. I´m sitting in the domesitic airport in Buenos Aires awaiting my trip up north to Iguazu falls. It´s been a good two weeks in Buenos Aires- a city of real contrast. From the old tangueroes in San Telmo and surrounds to the hipster bar-hoppers in Recoleta and Palermo, you can find any scene you want here. The swankiest restaurants and bars rival those in SF and the bustle of downtown leaves you wondering what continent you are on, but the history of the city is palpable. You really do hear tango in the streets and in the taxicabs. The architecture brings you back to the 20s and 30s.
There maybe an air of melancholy with the porteños (the Buenos Aires-dwelling Argentines), especially if you are talking about the economic situation, but they are a people full of life and love. Family, friends and food seem to dominate weekends, especially Sundays when most stores are closed and streets empty.
I´ve been lucky enough to get to know a couple of Argentines so far but it´s amazing, really, how many people I´ve met and learned a bit about. Friends made travelling seem to be friends for life and make the world a smaller, more comfortable place. So, I had to say good bye to Naemi, Maya, Hernan, Peter, Mizuki, Juan, Flavio and others but they´ll still exist here and in my photos and who knows where I´ll run into them again.

Milonga anyone?

So I´ve been learning lots of tango. It´s a bit hard on the ego as it a difficult dance to master. There are endless tango classes, shoe shops and shows here in Buenos Aires. For those who want to dance, they go to a Milonga. These usually start around 12am, any night of the week, and go till 4. Scratchy music, seemingly from an old phonograph, is piped into a large, stark room filled with tables, chairs, whirring fans and tangueroes in their best shoes. A request to dance is initiated by the men with a nod or glance from across the room but nothing more. No words, no gestures. One must scan the room constantly in order to catch someone´s eyes. But dare not dance unless you know how as only the best are rewarded with another dance.

Around the world.

It is amzing how quickly one meets people from all over the place. France, Austrailia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Chile, Italy and the US have all been represented already. One couple, from Austrailia, has been travelling for 5 years! Another group of young doctors from Taiwan was striking out to cover most of southern South America in a month.

Roughing it?

Not exactly. Yesterday we spent the day at Familia Zuccardi winery in Mendoza in western Argentina - just 200 Km from Santiago, Chile. Argentina has a rapidly growing wine industry and 3/4 of it is in Mendoza. Mendoza is actually a desert, getting only 5 days and 250mm of rain a year. It looks like Wyoming with a lot of dry land and scrubbrush. An unlikely location for the acres and acres of lush vineyards that exist there. The key elements are good sandy soil and a dry climate. Precise control over irrigation makes a great grape and some excellent wine.
We had, what turned out to be, a private tour of the vineyards and winery. Our guide was Francisco, wine expert at 22. Our day of picking grapes and tasting several wines, including some experimental ones, was topped off by a fabulous Argentinian barbeque. Vegetarians be warned before travelling to Argentina!

¡Bienvenidos!

Did you ever wonder what happened to all the meals on the American air carriers? They´re all on the Chillean carrier LAN! 4 meals, 3 stops, over 20 hours and 5 time zones later, I have arrived! But if you think that´s long... there was a group of 50 on my flight who were flying from Taiwan to Santiago, Chile (via LA and Lima). From there, they were boarding a ship (the QEII) that would take them up the coast making stops all the way to LA!
I am now in Buenos Aires, city of tango and so much more. I´m staying in a trendy section of town called Palermo Viejo known for its tree-lined and cobblestoned streets, and fashion boutiques to rival Soho.
Change of plans already - I am headed to Mendoza tomorrow - the heart of the Argentinian wine-growing region to meet up with David and Aynur. Then it´s back to BA for some tango.
Hope to have some pictures up soon!