Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay

We arrived in Colonia de Sacramento on Thursday around 11am after taking the ferry over from BA. Our first day did not start well as the skies poured down rain and our lunch was at a bad tourist trap place. Fortunately the weather improved in the afternoon and the day turned glorious! We had a bottle of wine and cheese at a local bar and enjoyed a fun conversation with two ladies from the US (one from LA, the other from NYC) and two Germans. At 9pm we wandered over to the shore and watched a gorgeous sunset. Our final stop was another bar where we snacked and split another bottle of wine before retiring for the evening. Colonia is quite a change from BA as it is a small quaint town that has maintained its charm with cobbled streets and only two floor buildings. The town was founded by the Portuguese in the late 1500s and changed hands many times over the years. It is quite a popular tourist destination as well as an escape for a few days of calm for residents of BA. Our second day was amazing. Wonderful 25 degree weather and sun! We found a restaurant called La Florida where we had an expensive but awesome lunch; our best meal to date on he trip. Lisa had an excellent salad and steak while Christos had gazpacho and lamb. of course we split a bottle of wine as well. As we left the proprietress chased after us telling us we had left too much money; we told her it was 'propina', or a tip as we were so impressed with the service and the food. After the big lunch and a bottle of wine we retired for a 'conference' (a euphemism for nap).

We also noticed some sort of activity in the main square and found out that tonight (being the 21st) there will be live musician dancing till the wee hours! It's now 8ish and we are off for another wander, view of the sunset and to enjoy tonight's festivities.

A day of Action!

Our plan for today, our last day in BA (Wednesday the 19th) had been to check out the world famous Teatro Colon (opera house). We put on our marching shoes and walked the 5km for our hotel to the opera house only to discover that today they were doing a lighting check ... We could still do the tour but would miss the main auditorium, ie the main attraction! Given the 25 dlr fee each we decided to pass and were both feeling a little disappointed about this turn of events. So we decided to visit Plaza Mayo again to see the Casa Rosada, or government house, as we now had a better appreciation for its role in Argentinian politics. Well were we in for a surprise as today was the day for a huge rally and march to Plaza Mayo! When we arrived things were getting started but not yet in full swing. Drums were being banged, flags being waved and massive BBQs were going to feed people. Turns out it was a rally of union groups for a political party. Each union had its own colours and they seemed to try and outdo each other with their show of support for the local politico.

We were quite amazed as one does not see such grassroots political labour action in Canada. As Lisa was posing for some photos one of the locals decided to get in on the picture; he and his mates were laughing at his bravado and it was all in good fun. After the photo, he passed us a tallboy of Quilmes, the local beer, which was really a lovely act. We hung around for about half a hour then decided to pop into a local bar for a drink. That is when we noticed that the march/rally was all over the news! So after a couple beers we headed back to the Plaza Mayo and by this time it was in full swing. The square was packed and more people kept spilling in from the side streets. It was quite a spectacle and we just hung out for another half hour watching the mayhem. Finally we decided it was time to head back which was a good thing as we were a bit like fish swimming against the current as massive amounts of people continued to head to Plaza Mayo. We walked back to our hotel and are currently in the process of finishing off a nice bottle of Malbec and discussing dinner options (its only 7:30 so dinner is not for another 2 hours). Tomorrow it's off to Uruguay!

Don't cry for me Argentina

The day once more took some time to get started as business issues occupied our time until the early afternoon. We have started calling our holidays "callidays". In any case, by 2pm we were well on our way and our first stop was the Evita museum which was fascinating. It had a major impact on Lisa as she likes tales of strong women.

Truly amazing to think she was dead at age 33 and that for her mourning period the continent of South America literally ran out of flowers! We lingered at the museum for about two hours before heading off to the nearby zoo. While both of us are not wholehearted supporters of the concept of zoos, it was still a fun experience. As it was a gorgeous day (sunny and 25 degrees) we wanted to stay outside so we wandered around the zoo until closing at 6:30pm. We saw capybaras, giraffes, an elephant, rhinos, tigers, a lion, goats, monkeys and other assorted beasties (snakes and birds). The grounds were also filled with wandering black swans and Patagonian Mara which look like jackrabbits. Lisa fed quite a few of the Mara as well as the other animals as we travelled (they sell food pellets at the entrance to feed the animals).

After the zoo we wandered back to our neighbourhood, stopped for a couple of pints in the sun and finally made it out for dinner around 9:30pm at a Mexican place (we needed a change from BBQ). We had intended to go out for Tango but a few drinks too many put is in a sleepy frame of mind so we stumbled back to our hotel shortly after midnight. All in all an excellent day!

The long walk

Our first Monday in Argentina began with beautiful weather, a sky filled with blue and a perfect temperature in the mid 20s (Celsius of course!). After a quick breakfast and some work issues we managed to get out of our hotel around noon for a serious ground pound. We walked down to the botanical gardens which are very cool with lots of plants and a community of semi-wild cats (BA seems to be primarily a dog city) then to the famous statue "floralis generica" and finally to the La Recoleta Cemetery. The cemetery was fascinating as it really is a necropolis packed with mausoleums cheek to cheek and includes the mausoleum of the Duarte family wherein lies the remains of Evita.

We were done our touring by about 5:30pm and then walked back to our hotel which took about another hour. All told we likely walked some four hours! It's now 8ish and we are finishing off a Malbec while relaxing in the garden of our hotel deliberating on dinner. On a side note, last night's dinner was at another Parilla (BBQ place) where we had super yummy chorizo sausages and arugula salad. The chorizo was so yummy that when our waiter asked what we wanted for dessert we decided to split a final sausage!

First weekend in Buenos Aires

We arrived in BA on Saturday afternoon to a bright sunny sky and 36 degree weather (what Christos calls "ballsweaty heat"). Our cab dropped us at the Palermo hotel located near Serrano Plaza in Palermo / Palermo Soho. The hotel is a nice boutique hotel with a lush garden and very friendly staff. After settling in a bit we went for a walk in the neighbourhood, discovered the craft fair (Christos bought a cool pendant for Lisa) had a couple beers and finally got back to the hotel around 8ish. We rested for a bit then headed out for dinner on Argentine time, ie around 10pm! We had OK steaks (we are seeking better) and a yummy 20 dollar Malbec. After dinner we wandered from bar to bar until after 1am. While we had a good time, we were both reminded that we are no longer young ones! The bars were packed with 20 something locals and foreigners. Upon returning to our hotel we realized that our room faced the street and all its incumbent boisterous madness. Sleep was not quickly forthcoming. Lisa had a work call scheduled for 9am so she was a little worried about the lack of sleep but at 8:30am Sunday she received an email indicating the call was not going to happen till later in the week. A bit frustrating as we would like to get our remaining work commitments out of the way! Sunday morning's weather was a veritable deluge of rain with concomitant thunder and lightning! We thought the day was going to be a write off but the clouds broke around 2pm so we headed off to San Telmo where there is a large antique market every Sunday. San Telmo was great! We wandered about for three hours looking at the various goods available and bought a few minor nick naks. Then we wandered around a bit more and found Plaza Mayo which was very interesting as it had a lot of political banners etc in it. We visited the cathedral which houses the tomb of Jose De San Martin complete with two uniformed honour guards in attendance! We finally made it back to our hotel around 7:30pm and convinced the concierge to move our room to a more quiet one. A the present time we are relaxing in the garden sipping a tasty Malbec and discussing dinner plans.

Partying in São Paulo

Christos arrived in São Paulo on Friday afternoon to a serious downpour! So it may be summer in South America but that doesn't mean sun all the time. We got together around 4pm, grabbed some lunch and then relaxed for a bit before heading off to the Yamana Xmas Party (Brazilian office) around 9pm. The party was a blast although a bit odd from a Canadian perspective. A great live band in the reception area, yummy fruity drinks and lots of well made up Brazilian guys and gals. That was all fine and normal but as the evening progressed it became apparent that Brazilian corporate parties are not like Canadian ones ... In the main hall another live band was playing all sorts of weirdness (CCR cover, the gay anthem "it's raining men", a medley of 50s rock etc) and the dance floor was packed with everyone from the receptionist to senior executives (we doubt Yamana's Canadian CEO would ever get down with such gusto if at all!). No dinner was served although plenty of nibblies. When we left at 1am the party was still going strong and we found out later that a samba band started at 2am! The next day we woke up a little groggy, grabbed a quick bite and then off to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires!

Waiting to start our next adventure

I arrived in São Paulo, Brazil to visit my company office here. I'm counting the sleeps until Christos arrives to accompany me to the São Paulo office Xmas party Friday night. Which I have been told is expected to go well into the wee hours. After that, Christos and I are off on our next adventure - Argentina for Xmas! We hope to be able to update our blog regularly on the trip. Stay tuned.