Final Trip Report (No. 11)-- Semi-Stranded

Sat. Apr. 16---5:15 a.m.----- Last night the 1st significant problem of my trip occurred, which is that my 11:15 p.m. Fri. flight was delayed until 8:30 the next morning. I had returned to my hotel @ 6:00 p.m. to close out my safe deposit box and wait for my ride to the airport an hour later. Upon getting my bags there was a message to call the airline, which couldn't have been good news, and indeed upon calling I was informed of the above.------------- My hotel was full for that night so I had to figure out my next move. I only had enough pesos on me for the ride to the airport and, in my worn-down condition, experienced several minutes of mild panic. I had mentally and physically (by doing a lot of walking such that I would be tired and able to sleep on the flight) prepared myself for this evening's departure, and now had to regroup fast. Fortunately, the first place I called had a room available (from my pre-trip research I was familiar w/some of the other hotels in town).------- A quick cab ride over and I was checked in. It totally sucked when the porter began informing me of the hotel's amenities, inc. a sumptuous sounding breakfast, only to inform him that I'd be checking out @ 4:30 in the morning.------------ It wasn't like I was totally out of cash, so I paid for the room on a credit card and hit an ATM for some $ that night. A quiet meal @ a nearby cafe and then off to bed for a brief rest. I was due back at work the next monday, and was already cutting it tight with a Sat. return.----------- Utterly unsurprisingly, I did not feel that well the next morning due to the truncated sleep and not-completely-dispelled stress, but had certainly been better off than those passengers who were already @ the airport when the delay was announced. I blew my last pesos on candy at an airport kiosk, and basically waited around in a semi-zoned state to depart the country. The flight back was full, and worse yet the movie was "National Treasure" (again!).-----------The only 2 cool things were that I was sitting in the window seat of the left hand/west facing side of the plane, and you could totally see the Amazon River. The other cool thing, which was a view as well, was seeing what must have been the northern coast of Venezuela stretch endlessly in the horizon, where South America meets the Caribbean Sea. My sojourn to South America was ending. Now, every time I put on a tango CD or ponder the sights that the rest of the country has to offer (while hoping that the exchange rate remains favorable), I can only think of one word: REGRESAR!

Trip Report 10- Last Day in Town

Fri. Apr. 15 ---- The agenda today was to check out a museum, take a landmark tour and eventually walk back to the hotel so that I would be tired for (and could thus hopefully sleep on) the 11:15 p.m. flight back to America.-------- This morning I took a cab to the Museo Historico Nacional in the San Telmo neighborhood, which is a historical museum about BA and Argentina in general. Some of the exhibit captions were in English, and amongst the inevitable portraits of generals and military figures there are a ton of artifacts, relics and curios (plus a slightly amusing revisionist display relating to the early 1980s war over the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands).---------------- Thereafter I walked up through a non-picturesque, busy street up to the Plaza de Mayo area and had an unremarkable lunch at a businessman-geared cafeteria. Given the warnings about San Telmo (although these are usually restricted to the night) I was kind of nervous to walk on any deserted side streets and, at the price of visual aesthetics, stuck to the larger thoroughfares.---------------------------- After lunch it was on to a tour of Teatro Colon, which is considered to have some of the best acoustics in the world. I had made a reservation for the English-speaking tour, and it lasted a little over an hour. You do get to sit inside the Teatro itself (the architecture can be described as elaborate and sumptuous), which is amazing, plus you go to the extensive basement area, which has rooms for rehearsals, costumes and sets/props. We even got to see dancers rehearsing for an upcoming performance. Very interestingly, part of the basement runs underneath the 20-lane Avenida 9 Julio, and there is a window where you can look up at the street. It's intense to think of all the traffic racing overhead.------------------------- Following the tour I got some empanadas and wandered over to the nearby Galerias Pacifico, a well kept mall in the middle of town. If you go to its lower part there are large wall paintings/murals that make even a quick trek through the mall most worthwhile. Two cortados and then jumped in a cab back to the hotel to wait for my taxi to the airport. Taking in the sights and people on the cab ride back, it really began to hit me just how much I would miss BA. More than just the usual end-of-vacation-imminent-return-to-reality blues, but a deep seated aching to be leaving a place that I really enjoyed and, even more important, in which I felt very comfortable.

Trip Report 9- Rainy Day at the Spa

Thrs. Apr. 14 ----------- The physical effects from the previous day's walk had really caught up w/me, and the only items on the agenda were a 2:45 p.m. session at a spa around the corner and dinner with my Argentine friend that night. Plus it was gray outside and raining hard (it would continue to so the entire day; Travis Bickle would have loved it!). ---------------As it turned out, despite my lack of a serious schedule I still had to rush to my appointment, mainly b/c I became enthralled in CD shopping (I went back to finish up later in the evening- more on this below). I took a cab up the street to sample some empanadas from a recommended old-school place (El Sanjuanino). Running late, I got them to go and ate them as I walked back in the mild rain towards the spa (I don't like having to eat while walking, but they were quite good).----------------- I popped a mint before going in and my body was a little pumped form the 15 minute walk. It wasn't until about 1/2 way through the initial facial treatment that I started to calm down.---------------------- As part of my research I had pulled every New York Times travel piece about BA from the past 3 years. The Aqua Vita Medical Spa had been mentioned in one fairly recently, and of course I had to check out at least one thing discussed in the articles. While I have had massages before, this time I allowed myself the pleasure of a full-out spa visit, and at about US$ 75 there was no excuse not to. The facial was super relaxing and the massage afterwards was fantastic, esp. after all the walking I had done plus a recent lower back injury at the gym. The final treatment was a hydro-aroma therapy bath, which was very mellow and ultimately resulted in a huge release of toxins via sweat. Given the high humidity that day, I continued to sweat heavily for over a half-hour after I left the spa, which wasn't necessarily nasty (I certainly did not smell bad) but was somewhat unpleasant to the extent of feeling drenched. I left a nice tip for the skin therapist and masseuse, and walked out of there with my body feeling completely at ease.----------- Afterwards I stopped in a cafe for a bit and then to the CD store to finish up my shopping. I went to Musimundo, which has a wide range of genres but not much depth. Since I didn't really have any tango music the lack of depth was not a huge deal. If you like music, CD shopping in BA is one of the best bargains around. The price for everything, including new releases, was US$ 6-8. Plus I found a 10% off coupon while glancing through a tourist guide, so about 30 CDs ended up costing US$ 160 (i.e. slightly more than US$ 5 apiece!).------------- Having not sampled that much pasta yet despite the country's Italian influence, that evening my Argentine friend took me to an Italian spot in the Monserrat neighborhood, well off the tourist path. The pasta is made fresh, and you choose the kind of pasta you want + the sauce (there were about 15 choices for each!). The decor was exposed red brick with mirrors and other ornamentations. It truly was one of those meals that you don't want to end b/c you are enjoying the company and the food so much. Afterwards we walked back to our respective places (her apt. was not too far from my hotel) in the pouring rain. It was actually a very enjoyable walk, and I got to take in a few previously unseen neighborhoods.

Trip Report 8- Palermo Viejo

Wed. Apr. 13 (written the next day)------------- Another side note: a lot of places here use military-style time (I don't know the exact phrase for it, but it is based on a 24 hour clock), so for instance 3:00 a.m. is 0300 and 10:00 p.m. is 2200. If you are totally unfamiliar with this method of time-keeping, at least be aware of it.-------------------- Yesterday was a day of major walking; it is very fortunate it worked out that way b/c today (Thrs) it has been rainy and rather unpleasant outside the entire day.---------------------- I started the day by heading to the former home of tango icon Carlos Gardel, located in the Abasto neighborhood southwest of my hotel. It is not a huge museum but has a lot of historical curios and some cool tango-themed artwork. I kind of wanted to check it out as well b/c of an interest in house-based museums (for instance, I remember visiting the Ben Gurion house in Tel Aviv). Admission was free that day and the chick working at the entrance was extremely friendly and outgoing. We talked for a bit and she told me about a folk music show that night (unfortunately I already had other plans; oh well).------------------------------------------------ After that I walked around the noticeably new and gleaming Abasto Mall for a bit (the malls are very nice) and headed west through the historically Jewish neighborhood of Once (though I didn't see that much Jewish-related stuff).------------------------------ From there the destination was the much-discussed as up & coming Palermo Viejo neighborhood (I will attempt to refrain from hackneyed adjectives). It was a long walk, and as it turned out quite worth it. The architecture here is 1 & 2 story buildings, which is a pleasant respite and contrast from the taller structures found in much of the city. Around 1330 I stopped at a spot called Bar 6. Couches, exposed concrete, small upstairs and outside areas plus a bar constitute the main decor; during the day it is pleasantly lit inside. It, along with several other places I went to, it can in retrospect be classified as a modern-style type of cafe/restaurant/bar since you could basically get anything from a coffe to a to drink to a full meal (this makes for interesting people watching as well).--------------------------

I really needed to rest and recoup, so I got a well-deserved beer, read "Balkan Ghosts" for a while on one of the couches and ordered a roast duck entree (it was very good). Unlike most places in America, nothing was rushed; w/lunch, more reading and coffee I was there for over 2 hours.

----------------------------------- Although I was not really in need of any clothes, I wanted to check out some of the independent/designer boutique shops in the area. After wandering around for a while I ended up buying some unusual bell bottom khaki pants and a CD at a store that most closely reminded me of BASE (on Miami Beach) in that this one had clothes, a few decorative items/housewares and a CD area when you walk in.------------------- It was getting later in the afternoon & had started to rain. There was no way I was walking back to my hotel so I grabbed a cab and rested for a while. That night I actually returned to Palermo Viejo for dinner w/a friend at a spot with a mellow, minimalist chill interior + CD store upstairs (Lomo). --------------At night in this neighborhood each restaurant is kind of its own enclave, as there weren't many people walking around (then again it was still raining); I prefer it during the day b/c you can wander around a bit more and feel removed from the more bustling areas of the city. Overall definitely a happening neighborhood with a low key/chill feel.