Chau, Buenos Aires. For the last time.

The "best pizza in Buenos Aires" turned out to be "just OK" but maybe that was just our gringo taste buds talking. (No pepperoni?? Snobs.) The place was worth seeing though - full of locals and animated waiters. A fun evening. The taxi rides to and from, not so fun for me... my knuckles were white the whole time.

Tuesday I felt a lot better so after breakfast I went to the Reserva Ecológica Costenera Sur along the shore. It was the one place I hadn't been able to visit when I was first in BA and it was probably for the best - I am so glad I went in the fall instead of the hot, humid summer. And I am so glad I went in general. Getting there involved crossing many busy intersections so it was good (although a bit nerve-wracking) to put myself back into the crazy BA streets, but once I was there I got nature's mental reset which I desperately needed.

In the reserve there is a big loop path that goes through pretty marshland and overlooks the city. After about a mile I unexpectedly came to a small beach and sat there for a while enjoying the scenery.

The reserve houses all kinds of birds and at one point I looked around and noticed that about eight different species of birds were pecking the ground around me, and a handful of other sea birds were gliding above. No cars, no other people... just me, the birds and the waves. Chevere.


Heading back to meet Kim for lunch I went through the mall and up Florida Avenue for old times' sake (and to use the mall bathroom - when in need/doubt, hit the mall or McDonalds). What a madhouse of consumerism.

We had a great last BA lunch at a San Telmo trattoria and wandered the antique shops for a bit, then headed to the airport.

(ricotta vegetable crepes with pesto sauce for me...)

(...steak and sweet potato fries for Kim)

Surreal to think the trip is over. I saw too many truly spectacular things to list, I met some very nice people (locals and travelers) and I shared some good times with good friends.

I didn't "figure it all out" but I didn't expect to... However, I did get some great perspective on myself and on the world that I hope to put to use in my next endeavor(s). One point I don't want to lose sight of: how very fortunate we are in the US, for so many reasons. None of which involve TV, flavored coffee or name brand clothing.

So. Entonces. We now return you to my regularly scheduled programming. Not sure what that means. The 2010 Adventure is to be continued... As with Part One, I don't really know what to expect from Part Two other than lots of options and exciting times ahead.

And continued roaming, of course.

Photo of the day, 6/1/2010: if only.

much to my dismay, it was merely a restaurant

Photo of the day, 5/31/2010: exactly.

ArtFactory hostel wall art

And when I say "a little run-in," I mean... literally.

Got derailed from my original plan to check out El Tigre delta this morning when I had a little run-in with a taxi.

I have successfully avoided frostbite, malaria/dengue fever, altitude sickness, decapitation by surfboard, several earthquakes, and even a common cold for four months. I've crossed ten borders without issue, safely taken many crazy taxis/twelve airplanes/four overnight buses/too many day buses and boat rides to count, and walked somewhere around 500 miles over the length of this trip without even a blister.

So why was it in my destiny to be knocked over by a Buenos Aires taxi the day before heading home?

Bad news is, I lost a day (and man, was it a gorgeous day outside). I might have some bruises. My back is a little sore from where I got slammed into the concrete and my knee is a little creaky on the side where I got hit. I am still a little head-achy and nauseous from the whole thing.

Good news is, it could've been a LOT worse. It could have happened anywhere. Nothing on me or my person was broken (even my glasses hit the ground hard and survived) and nothing was taken from me or lost by me in the mayhem. The ibuprofin is working. I'm eating what is allegedly "the best pizza in Buenos Aires" tonight for dinner. We still have most of tomorrow here. And it reinforced my opinion that South Americans are the nicest people on the planet. I've heard of numerous bikers in Portland getting hit by cars where the drivers don't slow down, let alone stop. Here I had a nice little crowd of helpful gentlemen around me holding up traffic with their stopped cars, who wouldn't leave until I absolutely insisted. The taxi driver even offered to give me a ride back to the hostel. Um, a) it's 50 feet away and b) REALLY?? YOU JUST HIT ME, THINK I WILL BE AVOIDING YOUR CAR AT ALL COSTS. BUT THANK YOU.

So today was unexpectedly my last zero day until I can't call them zero days anymore. From now on they will be called "unemployment."

Hmm. All day I've been trying to figure out what I was supposed to learn from this unique experience. I wonder if having a last zero day was all part of the Universe's greater plan...

I will never again use "I could get hit by a bus tomorrow..." as my rationale for doing adventuresome things though. Be careful out there, especially at this intersection:

(taken the next day)

Really living it up here in Buenos Aires, I tell ya.

We spent the last day in Colonia enjoying a true fall day - rainy, cold, windy. I was very glad we did the coastal walk the day before as wise Kim had suggested. It was quite a lazy day actually, we got a late start, sat outside for a while having coffee (and stretching it ouuuuuuuuuuut as long as possible), decided to skip the museums and headed to the ferry station. Actually, I don't think we even discussed the museums. It was just understood that we both wanted to skip them.

coffee shop placemats

Anyone taking the ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia/Montevideo should keep their original ticket with the entry stamp, otherwise you will be charged $75 US when exiting Uruguay to return to Argentina. It didn't happen to me personally because I have kept every bloody piece of paper from this entire trip "just in case"... I'm just saying.

It was cold and dreary in Buenos Aires too, so we grabbed some delicious pasta at a restaurant just up the street (nicest waiter too) and headed back to the ArtFactory hostel to call it a night.

ArtFactory art

I'm so glad I'm traveling with people who go to bed as the other hostel residents are gearing up for a big Saturday night on the town. I know I'm in a great city but I don't do that at home, so why would I do it here...? Besides, I'm old.

Sunday we walked all over. Through the empty and grungy financial district...

whaaa... ?

... up to ritzier Palmero and the Botanic Garden...

Oregon and California in the Buenos Aires hizzzouse!

... over to charming Recoleta for some great pizza and back to the cemetery for a little while...

... and that's when things got weird. We had two maps, two brains, and four able legs and feet, yet we still managed to get completely turned around numerous times (to the point where it really felt like we were in the Bermuda Triangle of BA).

it's not rocket science

I had been up since 4am for whatever reason but thanks to our early-to-bed habits, had gotten 7 hours sleep so I couldn't even use that as an excuse... I think we spent an hour and a half trying to get out of that little neighborhood and finally hailed a taxi out of exhaustion and desperation.

We stopped by the San Telmo market and went our separate shopping ways. In my meandering back, I found an artisan brewery where we went later for dinner - corner of Bolivar/Chile, la Poetia I believe it was called? - GO THERE. My salad of beets, walnuts, sesame seeds and green apples might have been the best salad yet. After a little while supporting the hostel bar we called it a night.

Last night we managed to stay up past 10 though. Progress! And still the days wind down... Sadness.

Photo of the day, 5/30/2010: botanical garden kitteh.

why, hello

Buenos Aires-Montevideo haikus.

Where had I come from?...
Hostel staff wanted to know
Had to stop and think...

Time is running out
Being a "person" again
Is in my future

Manta surfing pal
At Buenos Aires hostel
It's a small, small world

Planes, buses and ships
Mountains, jungles and cities
Ten border crossings

Kettleman bagel
Then no bread for several months
... Make that two bagels!

(title: in this order...)
Electric toothbrush
Stumptown and peanut butter
Shower and haircut

(title: note to self)
Nature v. culture
Solitary v. social
Balance is key

(title: BA for ~14 necessary horas)
A backpacker's life
Vamos a Uruguay hoy
Chau, Buenos Aires

Hola y chau, Buenos Aires.

Step 2 ended up involving crashing in BA for a night (at the ArtFactory - a hostel I had wanted to stay at back in February, bonus!), getting some much needed rest and heading to Uruguay the next morning. Turns out that the hostel is awesome (great breakfasts, great crazy murals everywhere and great staff who kindly ordered empenada delivery for us that night as it poured and poured and poured outside). But it was a thunderstorm in BA and that was pretty amazing. Those little things never cease to catch me off guard.

In the morning I went for a quiet walk to reconnect with the city that was my intro to South America. (Truth be told, it was to look for peanut butter - which there is a dearth of in BA and Uruguay, turns out.) The holiday was evident from the empty streets, and the barely-spitting sky seemed to keep people inside as well. It was a good 30 minutes.

And well timed, apparently. When I got back to the hostel we called for a taxi and were waiting in the lobby, and who should walk around the corner and stop in his tracks but my old Manta surfing buddy. We caught up briefly and he planned to be there for a while so I hope to hear about his adventures in Columbia. I really couldn't get over the whole "sliding doors" idea which seems to happen to a lot of people here - randomly running into acquaintences months apart in different countries. How odd to start and end my trip seeing the same person a continent's width apart, though. I wonder what I am supposed to learn from this...?

Photo of the day, 5/23/2010: there, I fixed it.

I couldn't get the blind at the hostel to stay up

Sleep-depraved travel thoughts.

Why doesn't every South American airport have Internet cabanas like Quito? They could make a killing from folks like me with incompatible wifi services.

While I am on the subject, why doesn't every airport have yoga classes? (At least the international ones?)

And Cuenca needs a few cafes along their riverfront.

Hmm, seems I have my work cut out for me on this continent.

Sitting on the bus at Buenas Aires' international airport waiting for the domestic airport transfer, bus radio playing "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. American music in South America never ceases to be weird.

Also weird to think this is where I started almost three months ago and where I will end in three weeks. Feels like it has been a lifetime yet not long enough, simultaneously.

Forgot how different Argentina is from Ecuador and Peru (which are completely different from each other too).

I hope Salta has Andean cheese...

Photo of the day, 2/22/2010: Buenos Aires.

Hasta pronto, Buenos. Aires.

And song of the day, which I only did through the Antarctic portion of my trip: Waiting for the Bus, the Violent Femmes.

I must have sat in the BA airport for at least six hours waiting for the plane to Ushuaia. I was NOT going to miss the ship departure, gosh darn it, so I got there two hours early... and then the plane was delayed four hours due to inclimate weather.

But I got there. And that's all that mattered.

Photo of the day, 2/21/2010: Buenos Aires.

Ahhh, San Telmo. I have found my people.

Expect the nonlinear.

I forgot about yesterday. Yesterday I went to Cementerio de la Recoleto, housing graves of many important political figures including Evita herself.

Evita's tomb

It's really an amazing place - paths and paths of mausoleums, some classic, some megolomaniacal and some outright ridiculous. I think I spent two hours there and could have easily spent two more. All that in the midst of high rise condos and busy city streets.

condos above, tombs below

looked totally out of place amidst all the white stone tombs - I loved it

also lots of cats here, this one was about to send a butterfly to an early grave

After the cemetery I headed to the Museo National de Bellas Artes. Lots of familiars (Degas, van Gogh, Pollack, Monet, Renoir) as well as classic Argentine artists. Free. Another two hours there, an hour waiting out the afternoon thunderstorm, a quick wander through the neighborhood and back downtown for an attempt at grub (pasta, still not a good idea).

Floralis Generica near the museum: a 20m structure that opens at dawn and closes at dusk.

Now I am in the hostel listening to a live band in the hangout area, waiting to see if a computer opens up so I can IM, while the USA plays Canada in Olympic hockey, and suddenly I have no idea where I am. Life is good. :)

Oh right, the eats.

Buenos Aires is great for eating, so long as you like meat. I had been acclimating to meat in prep for the trip, but by no means did I wish to make it my primary intake. Nor did I wish to eat pizza for every meal. Without significant effort, these were my options. I got cocky the first night and ate meat... And suffered... And opted for granola bars and bananas for two days. Today I sort of felt back to normal so I chanced the aforementioned street vendor burrito and that was actually really good.

Lucky for me, I don't travel to eat or shop. But yeah, I hear the food is great.

Hasta leugo, Buenos Aires!

I finally found my BA people. They were in the neighborhood I considered staying in (San Telmo) and while I'm still glad I stayed central instead, I am so glad the Lonely Planet fail that led me in search of vegetarian fare down here led me to Feria de San Telmo. The best comparison would be Portland's Saturday market, only bigger and better quality.

it went on for blocks and blocks... and blocks

how I knew I'd found my people

Even the veggie burrito I bought from a street vendor (with much trepidation) had no ill effects on my stomach, unlike everything else I've consumed here.

I am on a mission to not purchase anything until I have offloaded all my polar gear but I made an exception for a small photo that will grace my next kitchen:

kitsch for my next kitchen

Really great stuff. Also today: Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays and Jardin Japones. The former featured lots of mosquitos and non-feral cats (they feed and care for them) along with cool plant life including a sole US tree species from Ca/Or.

and I shall name him One-Eyed Willy

Celocedrus decurrens ("Libocedro") - Estados Unidos, California y Oregon

Saturnalia - Ernest Biondi

a closer look

The latter was much lighter on the mossies and heavy on very hungry koi. I have never seen koi beg before. The Japanese garden is between two major byways and right under the air traffic, so not so zen. But still very pretty, and not at all crowded for a Sunday - thank you, "partly cloudy with a chance of showers."

pretty gardens with planes flying overhead

feed me!!

I walked there (maybe 2 miles of pleasant neighborhoods) but I had gotten tired of getting caught in afternoon downpours so I opted for the Subte (subway) on the way back. I forget how nice subway consistency is. No matter where you go (DC, SF, PDX, Paris, London, BA) the process is the same - you buy a ticket, you go through a turnstile, the routes are color coded, the train has the final destination and the elderly get priority seating. Sometimes you buy the ticket from a machine, sometimes a person. Sometimes a nice lady tells you the doors are closing or to mind the gap, sometimes (like today) there is a loud honk before the doors slam shut. But it's pretty much the same. Is there a universal subway standard I don't know about?

Might seem silly to notice such things, but after four days of feeling somewhat like a fish out of water as I get my travel legs on (?) little things like that make my day sometimes.

Photo of the day, 2/20/2010: Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires.

Not sure if this qualifies as megalomaniacal or ridiculous...

More on the cemetery later.

Photo of the day, 2/19/2010: Buenos Aires.

Toilet museum, Museo del Patrimonio.

Keeping BA weird.

Realized today why everyone moves so slow, in addition to cultural adjustments. It's called 100% humidity.

As a quick repose I went to the Museo del Patrimonio because of the Lonely Planet description: "if you like quirky museums..." Already they know me so well. It's full of old pipe fittings and toilets. Strange, yes, but a nice break from the loud, dusty, congested city streets.

pipe fitting display at the Museo del Patrimonio

Cool building on the way to/from the toilet museum

And finally, the Washington Monument in Buenos Aires... donde estoy?

El Obelisco de Buenos Aires

Photo of the day, 2/18/2010: Buenos Aires.

Mark said something about it looking like the Jolly Green Giant's shoe. I would agree.

Early Friday five.

Five things I learned about Buenos Aires today, in no particular order:

• The legend is correct - people ARE nicer. Except the people who have to deal with tourists all the time.
• Traffic lights don't mean a damn thing, for cars or pedestrians. Just cross your fingers, look both ways, step off the curb and hope for the best.
• Really good coffee and really crap beer cost the exact same.
• They do love politics. Most of the graffiti I saw today was politically-based and tonight I passed a street protest on the way to dinner. (In 2 months I might be able to tell you just what they were protesting.)

political signs outside the Casa Rosada

• And the golden rule: You are the only one in any kind of hurry.