BsAs

It’s been five days since our arrival in Buenos Aires. The abbreviation in the title is used as a short form for the city’s name. I'm all for abbreviations, but when you consider that Argentineans don’t pronounce their esses, you wonder why use such an abbreviation. But I digress…

Our trip here, so far, has been eventful, and fun. Buenos Aires is a grand city. Massive boulevards with six lanes of fast moving traffic crammed into four. Five to eight story buildings on all of the major arteries, excellent food, and generally friendly Porteños (the city's folk). It’s true, BsAs does look and feel like Paris, but somehow, the French café that we went to on our first afternoon didn’t quite have the same feeling I remember while in the French capital. Having recently seen a few locals block traffic with a truck: leisurely loading some bags of unmixed cement while carrying on an impromptu conversation with a couple of passers-by -- all this taking place to the magnificent soundtrack of ear deafening horns of varying pitches. Then, I felt a bit more like I was in Latin America. And it feels good!

Shopping has been a little more successful for Mr. T, than I... I have been looking for a leather jacket, but I think that I might be too picky. When we came across this shop, I thought it best to stay away, and take heed to the warning in our guide about some stores selling lower quality goods. But I thought, at least they're honest...



Our hotel (or temporary apartment, as they call it) is very central, affordable, comfortable, and perhaps most importantly, air-conditioned. I’m not saying this to rub it into anybody’s face, but it’s been HOT since we got here. Also, being able to close the windows for a bit of respite from the traffic doesn’t hurt. We have a pool, and have fallen into the routine of spending most of the day outside touring different neighbourhoods and city sites, then heading back for a little relaxation by Piscine Miguel (what I have taken naming our pool). Followed by some sparkling wine (well, at least once so far), then we usually nap.


Since Porteños tend to have supper at about 11:00 PM (!!!) we have been struggling to hold out before heading out to the restaurant. On our first night here, we made a reservation for 10:00 pm, and found ourselves alone in the restaurant for the first 45 minutes. At that point, we understood that our trusty travel guide wasn’t lying when it explained that supper happens between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am. When do these people sleep?

The city is rich by day, and poor by night. After the pampered Recolettans tuck themselves into their hideaways in the city, the poor come to the city in droves via pick-up trucks to root through the day’s debris in hopes of finding carton and plastic to exchange for some pesos. Knowing that so many people depend on the debris, I can’t help but feeling guilty for recycling on my own.

The most touristy thing that we have done so far was today: we went to Recolleta Cemetary to visit our beloved Evita! We had to fight off many Japanese tourists to get our way in to take a picture. And surprise surprise, we weren’t the only gay men there!
Tonight, it’s tango lesson night. But we still haven’t decided who’s going to lead… I’ll keep you posted!