Buenos Aires again...

I've spent the last four days in Buenos Aires "again". What an absoloutly fantastic city! We have managed to knock out much of the traditional siteseeing. I toured the barrios of Recoleta, Palermo, and Boca. I also had the interesting experience of enjoying Austrailia Day (Australian independance day) abroad.

When we got back to BA, we decided to stay in the infamous Milhouse Hostel once again. We have begun to refer to it as "the Black Hole". Milhouse has a very friendly staff, is very clean, and holds up to 150 backpackers. The problem....is that it holds up to 150 backpackers. Its very easy to get stuck sharing stories and cervezas for hours on end. Buenos Aires can quickly become an afterthough after a few hours at Milhouse. This time in BA we have done a much better job of circumventing the magnetic force of the ¨the black hole¨.

click here to see milhouse....
http://www.milhousehostel.com/en/home.html

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I have been using "Time Out:Buenos Aires", a travel guide recommended to me by multiple sources to help with my exploration. So, last week I decided to take a little tour by myself through the best barrio in town, Recoleta.

click here for info on Recoleta:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recoleta

My relaxed stroll started at the French Embassy on Nuevo de Julio and came to an end at the British Embassy on a high hill overlooking the Barrio of Palermo. The main strip of Recoleta is very posh. Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Salvator Ferignamo are among some of the boutiques I passed by. According to the travel guide, the architecture is heavily influenced by the French. At the point I read this, I came to the conclusion that I know about as much about architecture as I do about nuclear physics. Regardless, I strutted along the scenic root and decided to dive into a coffee shop. There I met Julio, the manager of the shop, and former resident of New York. Over a cappachino and pastry, we had a inciteful conversation about the state of both Argentina and the Estados Unitos. Apparently Julio was blocks away from Wall Street when the first plane crashed into the twin towers in New York. After 9-11, he couldn´t handle the new stress and moved back to Buenos Aires. 2001 is also the year that Argentina had their ecomomic collapse. They had 4 presidents in 5 days, riots, protests, and are still recovering.

Click here for information on the Argentine Economic Collapse of 2001:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_economic_crisis_(1999-2002)

Pretty sad stuff. Julio and I both agreed that 2001 was a piece of shit year. In addition to the extremely depressing - slit your wrists- jump off a tall building conversastion, we also chatted about Argentinian ecomomics. Did you know that Argentina has one of the worlds largest fresh water supplies? Julio is convinced that in 75 years water will be the worlds new "oil". I am convinced that I should not be getting all of my economic advice from coffee shop managers.

So, after satisfying my caffine addiction I strolled on....

The centerpiece of Recoleta is the Recoleta cemetary. This is where Eva Peron ¨Evita¨ is buried.

For more information on Evita click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Peron

The tombs are elaborate, ornate, and eiree to say the least. They stand 20 feet tall in some areas. Most have glass windows so you can look directly in and see the actual coffins. The cemetary houses the elite of the elite. Presidents, Professors, Scholors, Bishops, and anyone of major importance in Buenos Aires has been laid to rest in Recoleta Cemetary.

Its a bit bizzare, but the cemetary also houses dozens of stray cats. Its just plain weird.. Down every aisle you see a cat or two. They sit on the tombs, around the tombs, and probably in the tombs. They weave in and out of the crowds of tourists without a care in the world. They own the place, and run the show. Maybe the spirits of the dead dignitaries come live on through the cats....Hmmm.....Or, maybe they are just a bunch of stray cats that have wild cat sex on the graves all night. You decide!

For more information on Feral Cats click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat#Feral_cats

The walking tour took me past more victorian architecture, restaurants with elaborate outdoor cafes, and dog shit. When I say dog shit, I mean loads and loads of dog shit. So far, I have not stepped in any. But, by expressing this point I am damning myself to step in the next steamy pile. Its as if the dogs are competing to cover every square inch of sidewalk in the city. A lot of these dogs are pretty damn big as well. We are not talking about a bunch of toy poodles running around.

The walking tour ended at the British embassy on top of a huge hill overlooking Palermo.

I wrote this in my journal while sitting on the monument below:

I am sitting on a hilltop, graffittied monument at the end of my walk through Recoleta, Buenos Aires most exclusive barrio. The view is brilliant. I am overlooking the parks in Palermo at just about sunset. It has to be exactly 70 degrees. There is not a clould in the sky except a few improving the suns fading image on the horizon. I feel very at peace with everything in my life at this exact moment. Its good to get away with my thoughts for a while. So far on this trip, I have been anything but alone. This city is so elegant, and the people are so inheritly good (minus a few damn dirty thieves). I have heard and read many comparisons between Buenos Aires and Paris. .. Well, I have never been to Paris. All I know is that I cannot compare this place to anywhere I have ever travelled before. It is a city all unto its self. A completely new and remarkable experience for me.

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The next day we went to Palermo and somehow ended up at the zoo. It was typical of any other zoo I have been too. The Polar Bears were trying to figure out why the hell it was 90 degrees outside, idiots were feeding the antelope popcorn, and a young chimp spent much of his time throwing rocks at a zoo keeper. It was a touch on the depressing side. The aussies got a kick out of the fact that Kangeroos were one of the main attractions. Apparently, the beloved kangeroos of Austraila are much like deer in the Eastern United States and spend a great deal of their time getting smashed by oncoming automobiles.

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Aussie Ben and I toured the barrio of Boca. It is one of the poorer areas in town and we were advised to stay on the main strip. Straying could be a problem. Somehow, against our best judgement we decided to tour Boca Juniors stadium, La Bombonera. As great as the River vs Boca game had been last week, we figured it could be a good time. Conversely, it was hands down, the worst tour of anything I have ever been a part of. I almost fell asleep, it was pouring down raining, and the stadium is more or less a giant slab of concrete. The only highlight was finding out about all of the things that the spectators throw at the players when they are not playing will. Batteries, coins, cigarette lighters, and rocks are among the fan favorites. Please do not forward this to any Argentinian Boca fans as I may be hunted down and knifed.

For more info on La Bombonera click here: (why you would want to after my review I´m not sure) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Bombonera

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Austrilian Day was pretty interesting. I thought is was Austrailians 4th of July, the day the Aussies got their political independance from England. But, after doing some research I found out its when the brits landed in Sydney in the 1700´s and first established Austrailia as a colony. In Milhouse we probably had about 40 Aussies participating in the festivities. Austrailian music blared (Crowded House, Hiltop, ACDC, Men in Hats), and most of my Austrailian compadres were decked head to toe in Austrailian gear. For whatever reason, most have beach towels of the Austrailian flag. The night was pretty crazy, we went out to a club at the Argentine standard time of 2:30 am and got back as the sun rose. I had the privelege of helping to peel a few of my poor Aussie friends off of the floor in the early morning hours. All in all, good times. I also realized this that there is a genuine New Zealand/Australia Rivarlry. Some of the New Zealanders were not feeling the Aussie Day celebrations one bit.

Sidenote: Can you imagine if I rocked the American Flag beach towel? It must be nice to be able to be so overtly over the top patriotic in far away lands.

click for info on Aussie day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day

Aussie day at Milhouse Hostel, Buenos Aires

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One the more bizarre things I have observed about Buenos Aires involve their poorest of citizens. I do not remember many occurances of people coming up to me and begging for money. Instead of seeing people standing at corners with signs like in the US, people stand at the corners and juggle 4 or 5 balls. Some of these dudes are pretty talented, others really, really bad at juggling. Throughout the day and the night, you see people pick through the citys trash. They are not looking for food. They are searching and sorting cardboard, glass, plastic, and anything else that can be recycled. These people work their asses off. At the end of the day they roll their carts miles away to Buenos Aires recycling plant and get paid pennies per kilo of ¨trash¨. They are not being paid by the state. They get up everyday and go to work for themselves. Crazy stuff!

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Notes:

>Its time to start heading west and south. Hopefully I will update my Cordoba and Mendoza experiences later this week.

>Carrying around a 1200 page book is outrageous. It adds 5 pounds to my gear.

>Someone please help me figure out how to convert kilos to pounds. Why is the US the only country in the world to not use the metric system. Moreover, why do I have no idea how to convert to the metric system¿ Whats a liter? How many kilos in 215 pounds? Whats a fortnight? Whats the meaning of life? I am an idiot for not knowing all of this? I think probably.

>Super Panchos are the best thing ever. Think really long hot dog with ketchup, mayo, cheese, mustard, and tiny french fries sprinkled on top.