Well... here we are in Buenos Aires. Yes, still waiting for our car .... customs people are the same the world over I guess; they don't hurry too much ... but if all goes well, we should be leaving BA in a couple of days to go south.
Our trip over here was uneventful. We arrived outside our hotel in the San Telmo quarter of BA at 08:30 .... we had yet to learn that Argentina doesn't wake up until 10:00, so everything looked really dead and depressing. We found a 24-hour cafe and had our first Argentine hamburger; this was a foretaste of what was to come! The hamburger cost 0.70 euros, and was a thousand times better than anything from McDo! The area of BA where we're staying is trendy and arty. Full of little cafes, bars, restaurants and antique shops. If there are two words to describe BA, they must be "steak" and "Tango". If you like meat, its a paradise; the beef MUST be the best in the world (the cows only feed on grass ... thousands of square miles of pampas) .... and on warm evenings (yes, the temperature is still around 20 degrees), the local people come out to dance the Tango in little plazzas. All ages join in .... its an amazing sight. The Tango is a total passion for them, amd everybody has so much fun!
Traffic is quite scary (try taking a taxi!). Cars are very old and falling apart. There are hundreds of buses everywhere .... driving round in groups at hair-raising speeds ... all following one-another to the same destination ... with virtually nobody inside! The noise they make is incredible! The other "feature" of driving in BA that makes it definitely suicidal for foreigners is the one-way system. Almost all streets are one-way only .... but nobody thought to put up any signs saying which way!! No 'One-Way" arrows, no "No Entry" signs! So if you don't know ....... your life expectancy as a foreign driver in BA is approximately 30 minutes!!!!
The people in our hotel ( a hostel really) are a real mixed bunch .... American students, an Argentine artist, a lap-dancer, and a group ( or should I say a "swarm") of Chilean bee-keepers!
How do we always manage to pick these places !!?
Just a word about the Argentine people .... they're really great! They're kind, polite, friendly, and always ready to practice their English. We've been here now for just over a week, and not a single wrong word or unfriendly look. If only all the people round the world could be the same ....
I think that's all for now. The next update will be from a cybercafe somewhere in Patagonia ( if the nice customs people will just give us our car!!)
Ciao
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2 commentaires:
Hello Wondering Wonders !
Well, this is definitely a good place to practice your driving skills and your dancing talent !
Anyway, life is boring here compared to you ! Only work, tennis and sleep!
Have a great time in Argentina and keep us posted !
Kirk
Hallo Ann and John!
Reaction from Cannes et Clairan, it is Thursday June 14 and we hope they give you the car soon so you can start your trip to Patagonia. In stead of "Steak and Tango" , here it is "Grapes and Sun". Concerning the crowded traffic in BA, at least did you discover do they drive left or right? We look forward to your humorous reporting. Keep healthy, bisous. HAJA (Hans and Jannie).
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