Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback on the blog. I appreciate it. I'm finally starting to figure out how to work this damn thing. Look for some more additions in the next couple of weeks. The comment section has been turned on so anyone can comment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK.. Where do I begin. Its been a crazy last few days and we have covered quite a bit of ground. I am now back in Buenos Aires. We travelled from Villa Gesell to Mar Del Plata on Saturday to spend a few days. Then back to BA this morning by bus.
Mar Del Plata is beautiful.
Click here for information on Mar Del Plata:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Del_Plata
While in Villa Geselle we heard that there was a friendly off season soccer match between Boca Juniors and River Plate in Mar Del Plata. Boca and River are the number one and number two soccer clubs in Argentina. The rivalry between these two teams is anything but friendly. None of us are huge soccer fans outside of the World Cup. But, the classic rivalry between these two teams made the game a priority. People are so crazy about soccer down here. Think American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, and Baseball all put together. The rivalry is best compared to the Yankees vs the Red Sox. Its really the only sport people care about in Argentina. So, we jumped on a bus without yet securing tickets and crossed our fingers. We figured we could scalp them if we had to.
For more info on Boca, and River click below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boca_Junior
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Atlético_River_Plate
I went to the game with Aussies Paul and Ben, and a group of Israelis (Israelis travel after completing their mandatory military service and before college, they are all over South America right now). While Mar Del Plata is a stunningly remarkable city in parts, the soccer stadium was in the G H E T T O. As we approached the main gates we were repeatedly reminded to be careful with our valuables. Apparently the hooligans (crazy fans) occasionally like to appropriate the valuables of tourists. So of course, in true form, I brought every single important item that I have in the world. I had my passport, my credit cards, my cell phone, my camera, etc.... I managed to rig my passport pouch so that it hung down in the inside of my pants to about knee level. I tied it to my belt loop. To further complicate things, I needed to get into the pouch 3 or 4 times after I rigged it up which required almost taking my pants off in public multiple times.
The rivalry between these two teams is tense. They hate each other. Police lined the streets and stands in full riot gear. No alcohol whatsoever is served at the match. The hooligans take over the section in the middle of the public seating (basically standing room behind the goals). They have flags, flairs, and many of them stand up on top of the railings balancing themselves with flags they tie to the sectional dividing bars. From the time we got there, until the time we left, the crowd didn't stop chanting and singing. We did not know what the hell we were singing but we joined in.
The stands are divided into a River Section and a Boca Section. The fans in the public section cannot co mingle. There are fences dividing the respective fan bases. What was really bizarre, was at the end of the game the losing teams fans have to leave first. One hour later, they let the winning teams fans leave. And, while everyone in the stands wears team colors, they all take off the shirts and jerseys after the game outside of the stadium. There is very violent history between these two teams.
Boca, the favorite, and our team for the day, played like poo. They lost 2 to zip. Anyway, it was definitely an experience I will not forget anytime soon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day at the beach we met up with 3 more Aussies in Mar Del Plata. A few of the guys and I were out swimming in the Ocean. It was pretty rough. The waves were really pounding us. After 15 minutes or so I had enough in and headed back in. One of the new Aussie guys we met, Scott got sucked out by the riptide and had to be rescued by the lifeguards. It was a full scale operation. Thank god nothing bad happened. When he walked onto the beach the lifeguards had their arms around him and he had a life saving ring around his body. He was greeted by about 500 Argentinians wildly clapping. Everyone on the beach had come to witness the rescue.
On the other hand, the Aussie guys I was thought the whole thing was the funniest thing they had ever seen. They were doubled over in laughter. In the blink of an eye, they ran as fast as they could to the beach to video tape the whole thing once they realized who had been saved. Its going to be a long time before old Scotty lives this one down. Our drowning friend is apparently dating a Brazilian Model in Bolivia. In the words of Ben, "This guy is no oil painting" Which in Australia apparently means he is not blessed with good looks. Soon after we found out she was 17.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I started reading Atlas Shrugged. Its a 1200 page monster of a book. I think I'm on page 26.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ben and I had the bright idea to go straight to the bus station this morning instead of going to bed. We had hopes to catch an early bus to BA and sleep on the 7 hour bus ride. Well, that did not exactly work out so well. We could not get a bus until 1:00 pm, which was a four hour wait. Then, the bus was two hours late. So, not only did we not get any sleep, but we had to sit around in a smelly bus station for 6 hours. I would compare the smell to rotting food meets a 6 day old ashtray full of Marlboro reds. ( Everyone in this country smokes, Everyone!) The police also found it amusing to wake us up every time we dozed off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK.. Where do I begin. Its been a crazy last few days and we have covered quite a bit of ground. I am now back in Buenos Aires. We travelled from Villa Gesell to Mar Del Plata on Saturday to spend a few days. Then back to BA this morning by bus.
Mar Del Plata is beautiful.
Click here for information on Mar Del Plata:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Del_Plata
While in Villa Geselle we heard that there was a friendly off season soccer match between Boca Juniors and River Plate in Mar Del Plata. Boca and River are the number one and number two soccer clubs in Argentina. The rivalry between these two teams is anything but friendly. None of us are huge soccer fans outside of the World Cup. But, the classic rivalry between these two teams made the game a priority. People are so crazy about soccer down here. Think American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, and Baseball all put together. The rivalry is best compared to the Yankees vs the Red Sox. Its really the only sport people care about in Argentina. So, we jumped on a bus without yet securing tickets and crossed our fingers. We figured we could scalp them if we had to.
For more info on Boca, and River click below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boca_Junior
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Atlético_River_Plate
I went to the game with Aussies Paul and Ben, and a group of Israelis (Israelis travel after completing their mandatory military service and before college, they are all over South America right now). While Mar Del Plata is a stunningly remarkable city in parts, the soccer stadium was in the G H E T T O. As we approached the main gates we were repeatedly reminded to be careful with our valuables. Apparently the hooligans (crazy fans) occasionally like to appropriate the valuables of tourists. So of course, in true form, I brought every single important item that I have in the world. I had my passport, my credit cards, my cell phone, my camera, etc.... I managed to rig my passport pouch so that it hung down in the inside of my pants to about knee level. I tied it to my belt loop. To further complicate things, I needed to get into the pouch 3 or 4 times after I rigged it up which required almost taking my pants off in public multiple times.
The rivalry between these two teams is tense. They hate each other. Police lined the streets and stands in full riot gear. No alcohol whatsoever is served at the match. The hooligans take over the section in the middle of the public seating (basically standing room behind the goals). They have flags, flairs, and many of them stand up on top of the railings balancing themselves with flags they tie to the sectional dividing bars. From the time we got there, until the time we left, the crowd didn't stop chanting and singing. We did not know what the hell we were singing but we joined in.
The stands are divided into a River Section and a Boca Section. The fans in the public section cannot co mingle. There are fences dividing the respective fan bases. What was really bizarre, was at the end of the game the losing teams fans have to leave first. One hour later, they let the winning teams fans leave. And, while everyone in the stands wears team colors, they all take off the shirts and jerseys after the game outside of the stadium. There is very violent history between these two teams.
Boca, the favorite, and our team for the day, played like poo. They lost 2 to zip. Anyway, it was definitely an experience I will not forget anytime soon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day at the beach we met up with 3 more Aussies in Mar Del Plata. A few of the guys and I were out swimming in the Ocean. It was pretty rough. The waves were really pounding us. After 15 minutes or so I had enough in and headed back in. One of the new Aussie guys we met, Scott got sucked out by the riptide and had to be rescued by the lifeguards. It was a full scale operation. Thank god nothing bad happened. When he walked onto the beach the lifeguards had their arms around him and he had a life saving ring around his body. He was greeted by about 500 Argentinians wildly clapping. Everyone on the beach had come to witness the rescue.
On the other hand, the Aussie guys I was thought the whole thing was the funniest thing they had ever seen. They were doubled over in laughter. In the blink of an eye, they ran as fast as they could to the beach to video tape the whole thing once they realized who had been saved. Its going to be a long time before old Scotty lives this one down. Our drowning friend is apparently dating a Brazilian Model in Bolivia. In the words of Ben, "This guy is no oil painting" Which in Australia apparently means he is not blessed with good looks. Soon after we found out she was 17.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I started reading Atlas Shrugged. Its a 1200 page monster of a book. I think I'm on page 26.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ben and I had the bright idea to go straight to the bus station this morning instead of going to bed. We had hopes to catch an early bus to BA and sleep on the 7 hour bus ride. Well, that did not exactly work out so well. We could not get a bus until 1:00 pm, which was a four hour wait. Then, the bus was two hours late. So, not only did we not get any sleep, but we had to sit around in a smelly bus station for 6 hours. I would compare the smell to rotting food meets a 6 day old ashtray full of Marlboro reds. ( Everyone in this country smokes, Everyone!) The police also found it amusing to wake us up every time we dozed off.
Travelers Profile- Paul O' Hanlon aka Lava Lips
Ben, Paul, and I traveled together together for about a week and a half. Paul grew up in Western Australia in the town of Perth, and is going to work as an investment banker in Dublin in March. Hes been travelling in South America for about 4 months and plans to head through Central America, Cancun, Miami, and finish up his trip in the big Apple. His signature phrases are classic. Everything is a "Disaster"and all girls not attracted to him are "Pirate Hookers". "Get your rig out", "Hola, Hola, Hola", and "Gaylord" are also mainstays in his vocab. He's travelled all over the world and has been really helpful giving me ideas where to go. Hes been a big help with my Eastern European planning and has highly recommended Latvia and Croatia. I am planning on meeting up with him in Dublin in May or June when I get over to Europe.
Paul said his goodbyes and is heading off to Bariloche in the South. Ben and I are planning to see a few more of the sites in Buenos Aires and then make our way west and south at the end of the week. Although, who the hell knows whats going to happen...We all have Latin American cell phones now and will be able to stay in touch via text message in the different countries we travel through.
3 comments:
I'm glad your gayyycation is going well. Let me know where you are going to be during the May/June timeframe. I am going to have to pass on Phil Picchu.
Dick Vermeil, dick dick verMEIL
Have to say I'm a fan of the spiel
Empire builders...
Vive River! I'm enjoying your blog a lot. You should try going to a Boca game in Boca, it's a great atmosphere.
Post a Comment