Northern Argentina
So I have arrived across the border with no money, no map and its dark, and promptly get offered a free lift to a really cool hostel, where they are quite happy to run a tab until I find a working ATM, nice. Its like coming back to civilisation, the streets are clean, well stocked supermarkets, no clouds of diesel fumes, and amazingly for the very first time hot water comes out of the hot tap and cold comes out of the cold tap. I am grinning with joy.
Move on to Buenos Aires, my Bolivian diarrhea finally calls it a day, which is nice. Try and adapt myself to the social scene, which is not so easy if you have been on the road for a long time. For what looks perfectly passable in Bolivia, gives the impression of being like a down and out in BA. First a shave, then some shopping for new clothes and finally get my shoes polished by a shoe shiner. Image is very much everything here.
Observing local life this seems like a typical day:
8:00 Breakfast; coffee, bread and jam.
13:00 Huge steak and chips with a glass of wine on the side.
18:00 Light tea of bread, soup, or empenadas (baby pasties)
23:00 Full evening meal, often a BBQ of sausages, followed by steak, by ribs, by more steak, etc. It is perfectly normal to sit down and eat at a restaurant after midnight, before going out for the night.
02:00 Any night of the week go to a club, any earlier and they are bit empty.
06:00 Wander in the early morning mist back to pick up some breakfast and go to bed.
But in all this where do they manage to work, sleep and study? On top of this everyone smokes. Sat in a travel agency opposite a computer operator and she promptly lights up. Seems smoking at your desk is perfectly normal.
If you can get with the BA life, its a cheap place to live. A two bed apartment in a top neighbourhood for $50,000 US, cant be bad.
In this city have I changed accommodation more than any other. They are either full of very quite people on organised tours or full on partying types. I find an ideal compromise with the bonus of being between two 24hr fast food joints. 14 inch pizza for 60 pence! Some long parties, and cool times.
Checked out the flea markets, wow is BA tough on the show leather, its a big place.
Watched a man casually dressed strolling down the street, stop at the restaurant door, stoop forward twisting his arms and then entered the restaurant and started begging.
Watched street kids taking turns with a baby, holding it up, giving the big eyes holding out a grubby hand. The suited and beautifull coming out at lunch time walking past big shop windows stopping to check their reflections. It all seems a bit false and superficial at times.
Got my self in a bit of a routine, so its time to get out and head south. Parcel up and leave my warm clothes behind as is going to get cold.
Move on to Buenos Aires, my Bolivian diarrhea finally calls it a day, which is nice. Try and adapt myself to the social scene, which is not so easy if you have been on the road for a long time. For what looks perfectly passable in Bolivia, gives the impression of being like a down and out in BA. First a shave, then some shopping for new clothes and finally get my shoes polished by a shoe shiner. Image is very much everything here.
Observing local life this seems like a typical day:
8:00 Breakfast; coffee, bread and jam.
13:00 Huge steak and chips with a glass of wine on the side.
18:00 Light tea of bread, soup, or empenadas (baby pasties)
23:00 Full evening meal, often a BBQ of sausages, followed by steak, by ribs, by more steak, etc. It is perfectly normal to sit down and eat at a restaurant after midnight, before going out for the night.
02:00 Any night of the week go to a club, any earlier and they are bit empty.
06:00 Wander in the early morning mist back to pick up some breakfast and go to bed.
But in all this where do they manage to work, sleep and study? On top of this everyone smokes. Sat in a travel agency opposite a computer operator and she promptly lights up. Seems smoking at your desk is perfectly normal.
If you can get with the BA life, its a cheap place to live. A two bed apartment in a top neighbourhood for $50,000 US, cant be bad.
In this city have I changed accommodation more than any other. They are either full of very quite people on organised tours or full on partying types. I find an ideal compromise with the bonus of being between two 24hr fast food joints. 14 inch pizza for 60 pence! Some long parties, and cool times.
Checked out the flea markets, wow is BA tough on the show leather, its a big place.
Watched a man casually dressed strolling down the street, stop at the restaurant door, stoop forward twisting his arms and then entered the restaurant and started begging.
Watched street kids taking turns with a baby, holding it up, giving the big eyes holding out a grubby hand. The suited and beautifull coming out at lunch time walking past big shop windows stopping to check their reflections. It all seems a bit false and superficial at times.
Got my self in a bit of a routine, so its time to get out and head south. Parcel up and leave my warm clothes behind as is going to get cold.
posted by Richard at
11:21 pm
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